Michael was already driving to Barkworth’s Group. He was indifferent toward Theodore’s affair.Theodore was insignificant to him, and he had no intention of taking any action against him.If Evan were in the passenger seat, he would probably have noticed that Michael was... in a good mood.Time passed quickly todayWhen he reached his desk, to his surprise, he felt alert and decided to continue working.However, when he saw his computer, images of Ivanka sitting in front of it and focusing on cracking the secrets of Barkworth’s Group, surfaced in his mind.She was able to handle the levels of security so effortlessly. He knew that as long as she was determined to crack them, no one could stop her.Twenty levels might be just a simple game for her; she did not even need to exert much effort.How much more had Ivanka still hidden from him?!He could not fully comprehend his emotions when he found out she was Black-eyed Susan.He used to think she was worthless, greedy, and ruth
Rebecca awkwardly cleared her throat silently.“I’m sorry for losing my composure earlier. I know I shouldn’t have...” Despite feeling guilty, she could not help but speak up again. “But Iv, you’re such a good person. I hate the thought of seeing you get bullied. I wanted to give you a heads-up, but honestly, considering how awesome you are, I don’t think I even need to bother.”Ivanka smiled and nodded, “I understand, Rebecca. You don’t need to explain.”When Rebecca heard this, she grinned and nodded. “I know. Well, just take a look at these files whenever you have time. Let me know if you need anything.”Ivanka then replied, “Okay.”They exchanged a few more words before Rebecca left.After Rebecca left, Ivanka stared at the closed door for a while before returning to work.Time flew by in the blink of an eye for Ivanka in the afternoon.Over the next week, Ivanka visited Rosie three times. She took pictures and sent them to Michael as proof each time. She did not keep track
Ivanka pursed her lips silently. Sandy shook her head again. “Our case is different from theirs. Hanson grew up with us. Our families are very close. Besides, no one would have wanted this to happen. I believe Aunt Emeralda won’t do that to us.” Anna sighed. “Still, I’m worried about it. Logically speaking, Aunt Emeralda won’t do that to us.” Anna looked down after finishing speaking. She still felt guilty for everything she accused of Ivanka that day. Emeralda cared about Hanson more than Anna did. After all, Hanson was her son. Anna grew increasingly worried. Meanwhile, Ivanka was calm. “Regarding the incident that day, it was my fault. It’s normal even if Aunt Emeralda blames and complains about me. Ann, don’t overthink it. Sometimes, we just have to bear the consequences.” Sandy frowned. “We’re friends. Anna, you feel guilty because you treat Hanson as your friend. Iv and Hanson are the ones who decide whether they want to get into a relationship. Since he refused to g
Emeralda knew Hanson had a crush on Ivanka since high school. After Emeralda learned about it, she gave her consent to have the two of them get together. After all, they were a good match for each other. Unfortunately, it did not happen that way. Emeralda sighed silently. Ivanka sighed. She turned to Emerald and saw her smiling gently. Emeralda did not look as cool as she usually did. A hint of guilt and complication grew stronger in Ivanka’s eyes. “Aunt Emeralda, you know my current situation. I’m no longer a match for Hanson.” Emeralda’s eyes flickered with some emotions. She subconsciously turned to Ivanka. “We don’t mind about it.” Ivanka was a little stunned. Both Anna and Sandy looked slightly puzzled. Even though the trio was close with Hanson, they had little contact with his family. Hence, the trio did not know his parents well. Emeralda obviously did not mind that Ivanka was a divorced woman. As long as they were willing, they consented to Ivanka to be togethe
Ivanka’s eyes flashed with guilt. “Ms. Emeralda. Sorry. I was the one who caused the trouble, yet you have to bear the consequences on my behalf. Unfortunately, I’m truly at my wits’ end. I’m worried that he’ll become agitated again if I tell him all this.” Anna sighed. “She’s right. Based on Hanson’s condition, he can’t afford to be agitated again. On the other hand, if this continues, he’ll find out the truth eventually. I hope he’s mentally prepared for this and won’t collapse after knowing about it in the future.” Sandy pursed her lips. After sipping some orange juice, she could not help but say resignedly, “Hanson is truly a loyal man. He has been in love with Iv for so many years, and his love for her has never changed. If he opens another window, he will learn that there’s a woman whose love runs as deep as his and has always been very fond of him.” Emeralda was a little surprised. When she saw Sandy turning to Anna, Emeralda rested her gaze on Anna in puzzlement. Anna cou
“Alright. I’ll keep this sense of boundaries.” Ivanka nodded in agreement. After they chatted for some time, Emeralda felt pity for Ivanka. She pitied Ivanka for being a divorced woman and regretted that she had no feelings for Hanson. Nonetheless, after finding out about Sandy’s love life, Emeralda felt relieved. Emeralda was very satisfied with the trio. She was happy with any of them becoming her daughter-in-law. It was a pity that she did not have two sons. If not, she would have had both Sandy and Anna to be her daughters-in-law. After they chatted, Emeralda said with a smile, “Alright. That’s all for now. I need to return to the company. Thank you for helping Hanson. I’ll treat you to a meal some day.” “Ms. Emeralda, you’re welcome. Hanson is our good friend. We grew up together.” Sandy was easygoing. Hence, she seldom offended people with her words. Meanwhile, Ivanka needed to keep a distance from them while Anna was shy. Emeralda smiled. After they exchanged som
Theodore recovered his senses. He looked away and turned to the attendees. “I believe everyone knows why I had Iv come over today.” The audience was silent. Their silence meant assent. Ivanka sat on her seat calmly and silently. Despite his reluctance, Theodore continued, “Barkworth’s Group informed me that they would start the new project with our company after three days. Iv will be in charge of the project. Staff under the project will follow Iv’s instruction without qualms.” Ivanka raised an eyebrow. She understood his hidden malicious intent. Theodore did this so that when she made a mistake, everyone would realize her incapability. By then, he would have someone to take over her. Or perhaps, someone would intentionally cause havoc and make Ivanka bear all the consequences. Theodore had planned well this time. Thomas chuckled. “I naturally have no qualms with this. Speaking of which, Ivanka is just the person in charge while Mr. Barkworth has the final say in the
Ivanka raised an eyebrow in silence. The audience also wondered why Ivanka had to be there to hear about it. Since Theodore had made up his mind, they did not protect. They let him do as he wished. After all, Ivanka was also part of the Lane’s family. She was not an outsider. It was only normal and inevitable for her to know the outcome of the meeting. Everyone knew Thomas sided with Ivanka. Ivanka had just made a name for herself in the company, and she instantly became a hit. It was likely that she would take over Lane’s Group in the future. After all, her father was the former president of the company. Everyone stood by and watched the show. No one put her in a spot. Those who had sided with Theodore started to switch sides. Theodore had feared this. He was on the verge of losing their support. While waiting, Theodore asked calmly, “Do you have any suggestions for this?” “Based on the current situation, we can only go one step at a time. If you already have a
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