Chiara was stunned. She felt as if lightning had struck her. Although she had come with a bad feeling, she had been hopeful. However, things had changed.They had spoken to her face. The Barkworth family wanted to cut ties with her! She would become a laughing stock! “Aunt Mindy, why is it so? Do you truly believe everything the treacherous people have said to you? I hadn’t done anything!” Chiara was cautious with her words. She kept giving explanations and denying everything. Nonetheless, she did not mention what she had been denying. Samuel heaved a sigh and said solemnly, “We’re the ones who proposed to call off the marriage. If you have any grievances, tell us, and we will partially compensate you.” “Compensation, huh?” Theodore scoffed at them. “Although we’re not as reputable as your family, we are equally well-known. You dare abandon my daughter all of a sudden and still think it’s okay to brush off the matter just by compensating us?!” Meanwhile, Lyla could no
Theodore and his family’s expressions changed slightly. They knew the Barkworth family would not give up calling off Michael and Chiara’s marriage. Theodore smirked. “You can call off their marriage if you want to. Why such arrogance?” Michael indifferently glanced at Theodore. Theodore ignored him. He turned to Samuel and said in a deep voice, “Master Barkworth, since you’ve made up your mind, I regret to say that we are not destined to be part of your family. It’s fine to call off their marriage. Likewise, we’ll terminate all of our collaborations too.” Theodore had left them no room for negotiation. Lyla changed her attitude. Although the Barkworth family was great, it was equally important to collaborate with the Lane family. The Lane family could make their projects even more profitable, so she believed the Barkworth family would not easily give up on them. Lyla believed the Barkworth family would beg to make peace with them. When that happened, she wondered if the Barkw
Who would have an appetite in this situation? The attendee headed out and closed the door. Samuel said lightly, “Let’s eat. After all, we still need to finish the food before breaking up.” Theodore was furious. Who would have an appetite in this situation? Theodore had explicitly laid out everything before the Barkworth family. He had even threatened them. At that moment, he was speechless. He could not possibly take back his words. Besides, Samuel had no qualms with Theodore terminating their collaborations. The Barkworth family even took the initiative to pay liquidated damages as compensation, which was normal to have to pay for any breach of contract. They had blocked all of Theodore’s paths! Theodore thought. “So you think you guys are amazing, huh?!” He had no intention of taking his cutlery. It would be all too humiliating to eat with the Barkworth family. They had abandoned Chiara. The Lane family was about to become a laughing stock in the town. How could t
After some time, she finally snapped back to her senses. After realizing he had walked away, she chased after Michael in a panic. “Mic!” she called out in agony.Michael’s grim expression made Chiara’s body tremble. But she could not care less and ran to stop in front of him. “Why won’t you believe me? Mic, I really didn’t do it!”Michael stopped walking. He stared at her and coldly said, “I’m giving you one last chance. Get out of my way.”His cold voice struck through her heart like a jagged dagger of ice covered in thorns.Chiara gasped in pain and burst into tears. It would have worked in the past. The expression on her face would make him feel bad even if he did not feel sorry for her.But now, he was indifferent. Chiara was having trouble breathing at that point, and her brain had stopped working. Chiara watched the man walk past her. She struggled to turn to look at him before all strength suddenly left her body. Her surroundings blurred, and her eyelids grew heavier
Ivanka sat on the living room sofa. She could not help but chuckle at Sandy. “What’s wrong? Are you looking for a boyfriend?”“Yeah. I am!” Sandy pouted. “But it’ll be a hassle finding a boyfriend who’s not in our friend group. It’s our fault for having only one guy in our small friend group. We should’ve gathered more guys that time, and then I could pick a boyfriend among them. That way, we can still have gatherings together in the future, and it would be so much fun!”Ivanka chuckled and looked at Sandy with fond resignation. “Having a childhood sweetheart is nice. But with your personality, you would think that you couldn’t experience the romance of getting to know someone new this way.” After all, Sandy craved novelty. Sandy laughed as she brushed her short hair, and lazily said, “You know me so well, Bestie!”“Of course, I do.” Ivanka could not contain her smile. She put down the notebook in her hand and asked, “Do you mind if I invite someone over tonight?”“Who?”“Some
Ivanka turned to face her and asked, “What happened?”“It’s the Cullen family!” That was all Sandy said as she continued to scroll through her phone. At that moment, all her attention was on her phone. The Cullen family? Ivanka was a little confused.She recalled the time she and Michael went to Springvale for a banquet, during which they had met Tanya Cullen and even talked to her. At first glance, the woman appeared very purposeful, but she also exuded nobility. Although she distanced herself from most people, she did not go too far in doing so.But of course, that was only Ivanka’s first impression of Tanya that day.“Oh my god! An official announcement has been made!” Sandy exclaimed after reading another tweet. After saying that, Sandy was already walking over to Ivanka’s side and handed her the phone. “Look! The whole Cullen family is going to move here!”Ivanka was a little surprised. “They are doing fine over there. Why move here suddenly?”“They still have a company
“You were doing fine last time. How did you end up in a car accident? How is your recovery going?” Aalto asked while looking across at Ivanka. He did not hurry to pick up his spoon.Ivanka smiled and said, “Two trucks drove at me. There was no way to avoid it.”Aalto’s expression immediately changed.“You’re the one that drove into the chasm?!”Even though the incident went viral online, the identity of the person involved in the accident remained unknown to outsiders.Sandy tilted her head and added, “Not only that, Mr. Aalto. I was there too!”Aalto’s expression changed slightly, and he said, “Someone was trying to kill you.”Ivanka just shook her head and said in resignation, “I hope that’s not the case.”Aalto frowned. “People are getting more and more unhinged these days. How is the police investigation going?”“They’re still looking into it. The two drivers who caused the accident have been found but, so far, no evidence has been found against them. It was only reported
She was an insider, so of course she knew!Lane’s Group’s shakier deals were all given to Ivanka. If they really collaborated, what would happen if Lane’s Group lacked an excellent operation team to execute it? Was it not going to turn out to be a trap?Ivanka was not that kind of person. She would never let this go wrong. So, what fuelled her confidence? What was she going to do?Sandy looked at Ivanka subconsciously. Her palms were sweating. Ivanka smiled calmly and said, “In your opinion, I’m asking you for that, but in my case, this is not something I take to heart.”Aalto raised an eyebrow silently as he waited for her to continue speaking. “Lane’s Group primarily works in the wood industry but still has outstanding results in different areas,” Ivanka said with a smile. “No other company can match our accomplishments yet. Other than this, Lane’s Group is experimenting with various things, all of which are still in the early stages of development. Dare I say that the plan