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