“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
Michael glanced up at him coldly. “What are you thinking about every day?”Samuel frowned slightly and said unhappily, “Tanya has been in love with you for some time now. Do I really have to spell it out for you?”Michael’s face turned a little darker. He glanced at Samuel coldly and said, “You don’t have to worry about my marriage. The Lane family was still alright. I fear you won’t be able to handle the mess if you say anything foolish to the Cullen family and end up getting slapped in the face.”“You!” Samuel glared at him angrily and said, “You brat! I’m doing this for you! Tanya is exceptional and among the best in every aspect. The Cullen family’s reputation is almost on par with our family. Where can you find a girl like this? The most important thing is that she likes you!”Michael got even more annoyed. “I want nothing to do with her. This ends here, Grandpa. I don’t want you to make any life decisions for me.”“Michael!” That was all Samuel could say. Michael fixed h
“Stop bringing up Tanya. I still remember that when we were together, didn’t your family want to introduce you to another woman too? What was her name again? Was it Jane?”Samuel turned red and said, “Why are you bringing up something that happened so long ago?”Rosie was amused. “Of course I had to. Jane’s family was also quite powerful back then, and it can be compared to Tanya’s situation, right? But didn’t you still argue with your family and choose me without hesitation?”Samuel did not know how to respond. He thought Rosie was trying to bring back old arguments, but he forgot that she had a purpose from the start. After a long pause, he finally said, “That’s different!”“How is that different?” Rosie snorted.“I met you and I had you at that time, but who does he have? I used to think everyone was the same until I met you. He must have been thinking the same things that I was.” “If so, why would he reject your idea?”“That’s because he doesn’t understand. Maybe he thi
Rosie sensed he was not in a good mood. She asked again, “What are you doing?” “I’m driving.” Michael stared straight ahead with tightly pursed lips. The veins on the back of his hand were pulsing. He could remain calm when she was not in his mind. However it had been brought up. He felt like killing that heartless woman! “Okay then. Drive safely, dear. I won’t disturb you anymore,” Rosie said without knowing what he was thinking and hung up. Michael pursed his lips and continued driving. His cold expression could send chills down one’s spine. ... Time passed. Sandy felt her brain about to explode from the onslaught of terms and proposals. These two people had been arguing back and forth for so long. It was a collision of skilled debaters. How could they be anything but extraordinary? They never stopped talking.But Sandy was ecstatic! Excited! Thrilled! She may not understand them, but she could not tell who was winning! Aalto was spending more time floundering.
“Iv, you’re so amazing! You managed to close a deal with Mr. Aalto! Oh, my God! I feel like going out and bragging about you for three days and nights!” Sandy’s excitement seemed to exceed Ivanka’s.Ivanka chuckled. “Won’t you get tired?”“How could I get tired?” Sandy tilted her head and beamed with excitement as she said, “At times like this, I’m proud to have a bestie like you! I want to show them how capable my bestie is. With you backing me up, I dare anyone to mess with me!”Ivanka smiled helplessly as Sandy continued, “Are you going to go for the handover next? But you haven’t fully recovered yet!”Ivanka smiled. “The deal’s closed. I don’t need to handle the handover myself. I just need to inform our department head, who’ll take care of it. The future collaboration will have to wait until all the processes are arranged. It would take time. By then, I should have recovered.”Sandy nodded in relief. “That’s good, that’s good.”...Theodore and Lyla had been at the Lane Hosp
Sandy was still in awe of Ivanka and had been chatting with her. Ivanka’s phone suddenly rang and interrupted their conversation.It was Anna. Ivanka’s eyes flickered slightly. “Ann?”Sandy was worried. “Did Hanson find out about us?”Ivanka frowned silently. She picked up her phone and put it on the speaker.“Ann?”Anna quickly said, “Chiara has been admitted to the hospital.”“Huh?” Sandy was surprised. “What happened? Did you see it? But doesn’t the Lane family have their own hospital?”“I just got off the phone with my mom, and she told me. Her men saw Chiara at Lane’s Group hospital. My mom owed Lyla a favor before, so she went to check on her today.”“What? What happened? Tell me quickly, let me have a good laugh!” Sandy’s face lit up with excitement, but then she fell silent. “Could it be another one of her acts? Did Michael and the others go?”Anna hesitated a bit. “I’m not sure. My mom said no one else was there. No one from the Barkworth family went, and as for how s
The three of them fell silent.Clearly, they had not figured out how to handle the situation.Anna sighed. “Yesterday, Hanson asked me if we were lying to him. He wondered if Iv never agreed to be with him.”Sandy took a deep breath. “Oh…”Ivanka pursed her lips and finally spoke softly, “It’s good for him to be suspicious. At least he’s somewhat prepared for the truth.”Anna’s eyes welled up with tears. She stood at the end of the hospital corridor and occasionally glanced back. She was afraid Hanson might show up.When he did not appear, she sighed. “Iv, why doesn’t he like me? Would he be happy with me?”Sandy opened her mouth, but she did not know what to say. She had mixed emotions about this.“Let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll give it more thought,” Ivanka finally said calmly.Anna and Sandy had no other options but to accept the situation.Anna took a light breath. “How are you doing now?”“I’m much better. I’ll be able to go see him at the hospital in a few days.”
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