“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.”
The disappointment in Chiara’s eyes gradually turned skeptical. “Is that really the case?”“Yes.” Lyla smiled. “Why would I lie to you? But what happened to you? Why did you faint suddenly?”Theodore’s tensed expression finally eased a little.The door to the ward opened.Three doctors walked in together to examine Chiara.Once the examinations were complete, the doctor said, “Ms. Chiara is fine now. All her health indicators are normal, but her time spent unconscious is concerning. I advise staying in the hospital for three more days for observation. If everything is fine, she can be discharged. Is that all right?”Lyla immediately nodded. “Yes, let’s stay a few more days for observation.”The doctor nodded and provided a few more instructions before leaving the room.The three of them were once again left in the ward.Chiara said, “I don’t know what happened either. I just felt dizzy and gradually lost strength. The next thing I knew, I woke up just now. But I feel like I sl
Ivanka was startled. She was still covered in bubbles from the shower.Sandy was holding her phone. She was initially excited to share the important news, but Ivanka’s alluring figure unexpectedly captivated her.As a woman herself, Sandy could not help but swallow hard. She stared at Ivanka and remarked softly, “Iv, I think you might be turning me gay.”Ivanka was speechless.Ivanka said, “Get out, I’ll follow in a moment.”Unable to resist taking another glance at her, Sandy said, “Hurry up, I have big news for you!”Ivanka, resigned to her friend’s persistence, realized it must be something significant, especially since Sandy had never barged into her bathroom like this before.Only the two of them were at home, so Ivanka had not bothered to lock the door. This girl...Not long after, Sandy’s urgent voice came from outside.“Iv, are you done? Why are you taking so long?”Ivanka was drying her hair when she heard Sandy yelling anxiously from outside.She had no choice but
Ivanka remained calm and composed as she said, “That’s fine. If I take over in the future, I won’t have any dealings with Barkworth’s Group. It’s good to let them initiate this now and save me the trouble.”Sandy pursed her lips. She was hesitant to speak, but considering Ivanka’s reasoning, she nodded. “Tsk, I wonder how the Lane family will react to this situation.”Ivanka smiled. “It’s a pity I can’t go now. Otherwise, I would visit her in the hospital to express my concern.”“Hahaha! Right, I’ll go with you then! Maybe we can upset her to death and save ourselves some trouble!”Ivanka squinted her eyes. Honestly, she did not want Chiara to just die like this. How could she let them get away with what they did to her so easily?She wanted them to go through the rest of their lives....Theodore and Lyla remained at the hospital. They stayed by Chiara’s side the whole time. Theodore’s phone rang. He glanced at his wife and daughter before he said frustratingly, “It’s the compa
“They have already posted it. There’s no way they will delete it! Leave it for now. I’m going to check on Chiara! Let’s stop talking about this!”Lyla hurried.But when she and Theodore returned to the ward, Chiara was already looking at her phone. Her face was as white as a sheet.They, too, paled at the sight of her.Tears suddenly streamed down Chiara’s face. She turned to look at her parents and smiled miserably. “So I wasn’t overthinking it. My instinct was right.”Lyla felt her heart shattering into pieces. She quickly strode over and said anxiously, “Chiara, that isn’t true! It was Samuel. He suddenly changed his mind. I won’t let Michael call off your engagement! They won’t dare to. They can’t possibly do that!”Chiara suddenly started laughing. “Why not? They are ready to pay liquidated damages. There’s no room for negotiation…”At the moment, she was rather calm. There was no outrage or panic like a while ago. She looked like a fragile doll made of porcelain. A puff of
The Barkworths broke her daughter’s heart. Lyla would never allow them to live in peace!With that, she hurried toward the door.Theodore grabbed her arm. “Didn’t you have an idea? You were saying the other day that…”“That was before they made the announcement. What’s the use of my plan now? Watch Chiara. I’ll go to the Barkworths and demand answers!”Theodore pulled a long face, but he did not intend to stop his wife. This time, he felt utterly humiliated and powerless. They could not even throw a tantrum when everyone was watching!His phone was flooded with incoming calls. He had irritably turned it off.Lyla looked at Chiara worriedly. “Chiara, I’m heading out for a bit. Stay here and wait for my call!”Chiara did not look at Lyla or acknowledge her. Dazed, she remained in bed.She did not throw a tantrum. Instead, she just let her tears silently stream down her face.Lyla was so upset that her body was trembling. She would not let the Barkworths off the hook! Never!…
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