Why did she seem so indifferent and sometimes resentful when he came to see her?Did she not know how to feel touched?Since Thomas entered, Ivanka had not even spared him another glance. She kept engaging with Thomas and Sandy in conversation and laughter.She completely ignored him as if he were invisible.Thomas noticed the awkward atmosphere in the room and turned to Michael. He still wore his gentle smile.“Mr. Barkworth, what a surprise to see you here today.”He implied that he was supposed to be too busy to be showing up here.Michael replied indifferently, “I had some free time today.”While they were cold to Michael, he was still physically present.It would be too much to blatantly ignore him.Sandy found the situation a little awkward. After a brief pause, she smiled and said, “Um... I should go out for a walk.”Ivanka nodded in response.Three people remained in the room.Ivanka instinctively glanced at Michael. She was silent, her expression seemed to convey
His voice was almost a whisper.However, Ivanka still caught the underlying sarcasm in his words. She was about to open her mouth and drive him out, but the presence of Thomas made her hesitate. If she said it, Michael’s dignity would suffer a blow. He might cause trouble for her later. She did not desire that.After a pause, she said softly, “I’m afraid I can’t agree to cooperate with you. Besides, given our relationship, we should avoid arousing gossip.”Michael frowned silently.Sensing Ivanka’s gaze on him, Thomas understood immediately. “Mr. Barkworth, Iv, I rushed here today when I heard about what happened. Seeing that you’re okay now, I feel relieved. Take care of yourself. I’ll come by to see you again tomorrow.”Ivanka shook her head and smiled. “There’s no need to trouble yourself, Mr. Thomas. I’m perfectly fine. I’ll be back at the company in no time.”Thomas sighed but knew it was not the time to stay any longer. He nodded and smiled. “Then, I’ll take my leave. I’ll
Ivanka looked at him strangely. “What exactly are you getting at?”Unable to break free from his grip, Ivanka gave up struggling.Michael took a deep breath as he tried to control his emotions.However, his silence exasperated Ivanka.What was he up to?After a moment of silence, he spoke in a deep voice, “I won’t get engaged to her.”Ivanka’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re not getting engaged anymore?”That piqued her interest. Anything that did not bode well for Chiara intrigued her.Michael pursed his lips. “If everything you’ve said is true, I will give you the result you deserve.”Ivanka chuckled. She looked at him and said with ease, “So, you no longer think I’m a vain and purposeful person?”Michael furrowed his brows. There seemed to be a hint of mixed emotions on his cold face.After a pause, he spoke in a deep voice, “I hope you’re not that kind of person.”“Tsk.” Ivanka chuckled. It seemed like he still believed she was that kind of person.Michael’s expres
Ivanka answered the phone with slightly narrowed eyes.“What’s the matter?”Belle immediately responded. “Ms. Ivanka, she’s making moves again!”Ivanka pursed her lips silently. She waited for Belle to elaborate.Belle took a deep breath and hurriedly continued. “Today, I overheard her talking on the phone with Madam Lyla. She said she refuses to accept failure and wants to take further action. I know that you’re hospitalized, so I suspect they’re planning to target you again!”Over the past few days, with Ivanka hospitalized, Chiara had visited along with Theodore and his wife. They had all been very caring. They seemed like her own parents and showed genuine care for her.“Do you know what they’re planning to do?” Ivanka’s voice remained calm.Admiration flashed in Belle’s eyes. Ivanka always remained composed in times of crisis, a quality she possessed in abundance compared to Chiara.In the past, when she was working with Chiara, Chiara always portrayed herself as a compose
Suki paled instantly and quickly turned around.When she spotted Sandy, she heaved a sigh of relief.Sandy was a little surprised. “Hey, Suki, you’re here!”After all, Ivanka had told her not to tell Suki anything.Suki nodded. “You’d still keep me in the dark if I hadn’t come over.”Sandy chuckled. “Don’t be angry, Suki. You can’t blame me for this. Iv didn’t want you to get worried, so she told me to keep this a secret.”Suki sighed helplessly. “What am I going to do with you lot?”Ivanka simply smiled wordlessly.Since Sandy was here, Suki stopped discussing how they were going to take down Chiara.Similarly, because of Suki’s presence, Sandy did not talk about Michael with Ivanka.Because of that, Ivanka felt rather relaxed.They chatted merrily for a while before Ivanka grew visibly tired.Suki immediately got up. “Alright, I’ll visit tomorrow. Get proper rest tonight.”Ivanka nodded and smiled. “Okay.”Sandy quickly said, “Suki, I’ll walk you to the hospital entranc
“Iv, I found something regarding your father.”Ivanka’s face expressed shock and disbelief. She blurted out without even thinking, “What did you find?”“It isn’t convenient to talk about it over the phone. It’s not particularly important, but I think it may be useful to you. When I’m back, I’ll come over and discuss this with you, alright?”A strange emotion flickered in Ivanka’s eyes. She said nothing, but she did not want to hang up the phone either.Perhaps people around her did not know how much any piece of information about her father meant to her. But Jonah had been watching her all this while. He must have known what she wanted.Besides, she had to put everything in perspective. If Jonah had to be in person, this was no small matter.Now, Ivanka needed to get her hands on every piece of evidence.After a pause, Ivanka said in a low voice. “Did someone call you? Or did you find any documents? Can you send them over?”There was a pleading tone in her voice.Jonah gave
“Then get some rest. I’ll get confirmation on this matter as soon as possible and contact you.”“Alright, thanks.”Jonah frowned. “I don’t like hearing that from you. From now on, if you want to thank me, you can say, ‘Jonah, I like you.’”Ivanka frowned silently.But Jonah added with a smile, “That way, I’ll know that you are thanking me. Rest assured. I won’t get the wrong idea.”Ivanka was speechless.“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. Go to bed.” Jonah’s voice was gentle as always, but he hid his bitter sorrow well.“Um.”That was all Ivanka said in response. Without another word, the two of them hung up.Ivanka tightened her grip on her phone. She had not been sleepy to begin with. Now, she definitely did not feel like going to bed at all.“Iv, why aren’t you asleep? It’s late!”Sandy’s voice rang from the bedroom door. Ivanka quickly said in reply, “I’m going to sleep soon.”She had not fully recovered from her injuries and still needed someone to look after her. Theref
Chiara was dumbfounded.She gaped at Lyla with disbelief. “Mom… at this point, do you seriously still think we can get engaged?”“Chiara, why are you overthinking?” Theodore frowned. “I’ve already told you. If they really want to call off the engagement, they wouldn’t make a last-minute decision. This is not how they handle things.”Chiara furrowed her brows tightly. “Y-you’re not listening to me! But it’s exactly what I’ve felt!”Sometimes, one’s sixth sense was highly accurate!More accurate than any presumption!There was really something off with Michael!He was up to something! Lyla frowned slightly. “In that case, I’ll pay Mindy a visit. I’ll talk to her and see if there’s anything strange going on.”Chiara quickly nodded. “Yes, mom. Go over and look, or else I won’t rest easy. Lately, whenever I call him, his assistant would answer the phone instead. He was busy every time I reached out. I didn’t even have the chance to speak to him. If this goes on, then the two of us
Ivanka frowned deeply. Michael was in a horrible state. He had been poisoned and suffered gunshots. He had a strong tolerance to medicine and pain. But it was his mental condition that caused him to fall into this state. Not being fully recovered also added to the burden. Ivanka gave him a white pill which she had formulated by herself. After that, she had the security guard carry Michael into her car. Then, she sent him to the hospital. They arrived at the emergency department. Xavier had finished attending to his patients. When he walked out of his office, he saw Michael being carried into the hospital. He then saw Ivanka beside Michael. Xavier frowned. His expression became tense, and he asked solemnly, “What’s happened to him?” “He’s weak and had previously been poisoned. Since you’re around, you can look after him.” Ivanka summarized Michael’s condition. After hearing Ivanka’s brief explanation, Xavier gave Michael a checklist and put him on a drip. After that,
Since Jonah had come to this and Ivanka was not an ungrateful person, she nodded and gave her word. “Jonah, I’ll give this my all. Don’t worry. As long as it’s within my ability, I’ll help you.” Jonah had to be bound to the wheelchair at the moment. Since Ivanka had shared a similar experience when she took over Lane’s Group back then, she naturally figured out how wolfish and greedy his adversaries would be. Jonah was injured because of her. She swore to give her all to save him from whatever crisis he was facing. Jonah took advantage of this and asked, “What time are you coming tomorrow? I’ll have my assistant get ready.” Ivanka thought for a moment. “Tomorrow afternoon.” She needed to manage her company affairs during the first half of the day. Jonah was content upon hearing her answer. “Good. I’ll wait for you tomorrow.” “Okay.” Ivanka nodded before hanging up. When she returned to her office, she did not expect to see Michael sitting on the couch. She nearly jum
There was only one possibility. Ivanka was calling somebody else. Michael wondered who could strike up such a long conversation with her. Sandy and Ivan had returned to the country. Ivanka’s besties were around her. Even if Ivanka deliberately approached Chiara, she could not possibly have so much to chat with Chiara. If Ivanka’s phone call was business related, there was no need to chat this long. Michael eliminated the possible reasons one by one. In the end, he thought of Jonah. Michael’s expression instantly turned as dark as thunderclouds. His gaze was dull and cold. Evan noticed it. He also saw the call record on Michael’s phone. Evan quickly persuaded Michael, “Mr. Barkworth, Ms. Lane could be tied up with her work, so she couldn’t answer your call. We could go to her workplace now.” Michael said nothing. He gave a cold glance at Evan. Evan got a shock. The next second, Michael turned around and left his office. Looking at Michael’s fading silhouette, Evan wi
It was why Ivanka still came for Jonah in spite of her unpleasant experience with Margaret in the hospital last time. Jonah had been injured because of Ivanka. She came for him only. The other people did not matter to her. Jonah’s heart sank upon hearing her words. His expression tensed up. He could imagine the indifferent look on Ivanka’s face right at that moment. She had that expression on her face simply because he was never really important to her. Jonah was upset precisely because of her indifference to him. He wanted to say something to her but did not know how to begin. He was also not in the position to say that. It did not take long before Ivanka’s gentle but rather indifferent voice rang in his ears, “Jonah, don’t worry. I’ll treat your legs until they recover. Don’t run into any conflicts with your mom because of me.” Her words pulled Jonah’s wandering mind back into the present moment. He felt a heavy weight on his heart. “Iv, I trust you. You don’t need to
Margaret became frustrated and grabbed Ivanka. She could not understand why Ivanka was fine while Jonah ended up in such a bad situation after the accident.Then, Jonah defended Ivanka. There was also all the talk about Ivanka’s treatment. Margaret was curious to see what kind of miracle medicine Ivanka could develop.In the end, Ivanka’s treatment did not work. Moreover, her relationship with Jonah, which had finally started to improve, was once again ruined because of Ivanka.Jonah scoffed. “Mom, I’m not an eight-year-old anymore. You’re saying all this because you want me to go along with your plans for an arranged date, right?”Margaret had not expected Jonah to guess her thoughts. She was about to insist on her point when Jonah spoke first. With a mocking smile, he said sarcastically, “Do you think anyone would date someone like me?”He had a point. But Laura might be one such person.However, Margaret did not like her. She would do anything to keep Laura from becoming her d
“That’s because you want him to fall in love with you!” Margaret snapped.Ivanka chuckled softly. Her tone was edged with sarcasm. “Love? Does it really matter that much?”Margaret felt humiliated and furious. She pointed a finger at Ivanka’s face with a hostile expression. “If it doesn’t matter, why are you doing all this? Stop pretending, Ivanka!”Ivanka let out a bitter laugh. “Pretending? What am I pretending for? Is being divorced a crime? Margaret, you’re a woman too. How would you feel if someone accused you like this?”She hoped Margaret would take a moment to reflect. After all, she was Jonah’s mother, and Ivanka did not want their conflict to escalate.But Margaret was unmoved. Her glare turned colder, sharper, and filled with hatred.“You think I’ll just let this go?” Margaret said sharply. “If it weren’t for you, Jonah wouldn’t be in this mess! I meant every word I said, and nothing will change that.”To her, Ivanka was nothing more than someone scheming to use Jonah
“Ivanka,” Margaret took a deep breath while trying to compose herself. When she looked at Ivanka again, her expression was calm. She said, “I don’t know how deep Jonah’s feelings for you run. What I fear most is that once he becomes fixated on you, that’s it. When he falls for someone, his heart won’t make room for anyone else. In that way, he’s just like his father.”Ivanka’s gaze wavered. She bit her lip and was unsure of what to say.“I beg you, don’t hurt Jonah anymore!” Margaret’s voice carried a note of desperation.Ivanka’s expression turned extremely complicated.There was a time when Jonah came to her only to use her. Back then, they were both using each other. It made things simple.But later, Jonah unexpectedly started talking about marriage. Perhaps it was to provoke Michael, or perhaps he simply wanted to keep her close because she was useful to him.At some point, though, it seemed Jonah had become serious about her. She could not pinpoint when it happened. Perhaps
Jonah frowned in clear disagreement, but he stayed silent. Ivanka’s confident smile reassured him and made him trust her.Eventually, he let go of her wrist.Ivanka noticed Margaret putting on her shoes. She quickly followed, stepping outside just as Margaret was about to get into her car“Margaret,” she called out.Margaret frowned slightly and stood still.Since Jonah had not come out with Ivanka, she decided she could spare a moment to speak with her.She turned and looked at Ivanka coldly.Ivanka softened her tone. “Let’s take a walk.”Margaret did not respond, but her silence was enough of an agreement.They walked slowly around the edge of the mansion. The surrounding area was all part of the Sadler family estate.Margaret suppressed her anger and glanced at Ivanka before speaking in a composed tone, “Alright. What do you want to say?”Ivanka met her gaze briefly before looking ahead and said, “Do you know what will happen if Jonah’s coughing continues?”Margaret’s he
Margaret glared at Ivanka and scoffed, “If there’s an issue, I’ll get another doctor to handle it. It’ll be anyone but you, Ivanka. Haven’t I made myself clear enough? I’ve told you this before.”She hated how Ivanka ignored her warnings and kept coming back to visit Jonah time and again. What if Jonah got too close to her and ended up ruining his reputation? If Jonah had not been here, Margaret would have been even harsher.Ivanka frowned as she met Margaret’s sharp gaze. “I’ve never tried to get close to Jonah like that. We’re just friends. I know I’m not good enough for him, so I’ve never even thought about it.”“You might not have, but he has!” Margaret snapped, raising her voice.“Mom!” Jonah’s expression darkened.Jonah was usually calm and polite. This was the first time Ivanka saw him looking so upset and was about to lose his temper.Ivanka’s eyes flickered with hesitation. She was unsure of what to say.Explaining Jonah’s coughing would do no good. Margaret would not