That afternoon, they said this matter had to be confidential, and no one else could know about it. Hanson immediately let out a sigh of relief when he heard this. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just checking. What are you doing?” “Driving.” “Hm? Where are you going this late?” “I just ate with my colleagues at the office. I’m coming back.” In reality, she was not going back. She was going to visit Rosie. However, Rosie was from the Barkworth family. She was her ex-husband’s grandmother. Saying it outright might make Hanson feel bad. She did not want to get him too worked up. Hanson’s gaze flickered. “I see. Since you’re driving, be careful on the road.” “Alright.” Ivanka had no plans to ask him to stay at all. Though Hanson was a little disappointed, he could only ask her to take care of herself and hung up. He subconsciously gripped his phone. The fear in his heart continued to build up. “Iv… were you really lying to me?” Hanson looked down at his phone’s screen
Ivanka smiled and looked at Rosie. “Grandma, shall we continue to walk further up?”Rosie instantly nodded excitedly. “Yeah, let’s go.”Michael was silent. Looks like what he said to Rosie earlier was futile after all.Otherwise, she would have just been disgusted at the sight of him.That was proof enough that she did not care about this matter anymore. Without Rosie’s guidance and help, things would become harder for Michael. He has never faced any setbacks before, so why was he facing them now?Michael frowned slightly. He had a bad feeling about this.He did not say anything and strode up to follow them. He maintained a distance from them both while also remaining in their line of sight.Ivanka was used to many things. Moreover, she was on speaking terms with Michael, and they still had to work together in the future. It was not too awkward. Just then, they stopped in front of a Black-eyed Susan.Rosie was a little surprised to see the flower. “Why is a flower like
If the bystanders heard Rosie say this, they would probably look at her oddly.Only Rosie would dare to say such a thing. Who else would dare to?Mr. Barkworth was not attractive? What a joke. The line of women who liked Michael would overflow Bostone, and it would even spill into multiple states around it. How many women would kill to get married to Michael, but they never caught his eye? Rosie glanced at her grandson and said with mild concern. “So, what’s the situation in the company now?”Ivanka was silent. Michael, on the other hand, said calmly. “Everything is fine. The other party cracked up to the last layer and gave up.”“Gave up on the last layer? They could get to the 19th layer but gave up on the last one?” Rosie felt like something was amiss there. “Mm.” Michael did not go into the details. “You don’t need to worry too much about things in the office.”“Hmph. I’m just curious. What does the company getting bankrupt have to do with me? Things are not as goo
Rosie truly felt that it was a pity, but she already knew that she could not continue persuading her. “Alright then, it’s late. I won’t keep you any longer. Go home earlier. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be safe too late at night.” Ivanka smiled and nodded. Just as she was about to say something, Michael had beaten her to it. “I’ll send her back. There’s some work matters I need to discuss with her.” Ivanka frowned. She balked at this. But at the thought of their partnership soon, he might really need to brief her as her boss. She did not say anything either. Rosie was suspicious and wanted to say something. But at the sight of Ivanka’s mood, she kept quiet and did not make a sound. Ivanka smiled at Rosie. “I’ll take my leave then Grandma” “Alright. Come over when you’re free, Iv. But you don’t need to come to visit when you’re very busy. Your work comes first.” Ivanka smiled and nodded. “Yep. I understand.” Just like that, with some small talk, Michael and Ivanka left toge
Immediately afterward, he saw a man in a royal blue suit with a slender and upright figure. He was looking straight at Ivanka. Ivanka saw him stride over once she turned to look. There was a food box in his hand too. She was stunned. Why was he here?Michael had just opened the car door when he heard that man’s soft voice. “Why are you home so late?” Michael’s expression turned absolutely chilling! Ivanka spoke with a calm expression. “I had something to do. Why have you come here?” “I’m here for you.” There was a gentle smile on Jonah’s face. Michael looked at Jonah coldly. “Do you think it’s appropriate at this late hour?” The voice suddenly rang out abruptly, but it did not surprise Jonah. After all, he knew this was Michael’s car. Jonah narrowed his eyes, as he kept smiling elegantly. “What a coincidence, you are here too, Mr. Barkworth.” Michael’s sharp gaze flashed toward him. His gaze was chilly. He had no intention of paying attention to Jonah. Jona
Michael looked at Jonah coldly. He did not want to waste time with him here. But at the thought of Jonah looking for Ivanka again once he left, he frowned. Suddenly, he stood still and did not move.Jonah seemed to have the same thought as Michael. He just smiled. “Why don’t we have supper together?” Michael frowned slightly. Clearly, he did not want to agree, much less spend time with him. However, his desire to defend Ivanka was stronger. He took a breath and said calmly, “Okay.” Jonah smiled wordlessly. The two of them each went back to their respective cars and drove off together. Ivanka went to the balcony and saw this scene until she could no longer see their cars. Then she withdrew her gaze and pulled the curtains back. She was going to take a shower and then rest. It was also kind of satisfying now that everything was going in the direction she had hoped. On the other hand, the two men were not so happy. Michael simply did not want to eat with him. However, he
Chiara understood her own mother. She would not be acting like this if something big had not happened. She could usually handle them. Moreover, whenever she ran into trouble, her mother kept trying to find ways to help her deal with all kinds of things. Her mother’s state of mind was still good, regardless of whether she succeeded or not. But now, she was completely off. Even Chiara could feel that she was holding back.“Nothing much happened. All you need to do is just to get well. You don’t need to worry about them.” Lyla forced a smile at Chiara and spoke with a calm expression.“At this point, what can’t I accept? If you don’t tell me, it’s one less person to bounce ideas off of. No matter when or where we are, we’re family. How many outsiders could be of help?”Lyla’s anger seemed to grow even more. Did they still need outsiders to do anything else? Theodore alone was enough! If not for him, how could something like this happen at home? Now that she thought about it, sh
Therefore, she was completely cut off from contact with the outside world. Every day, all she could see was trash on her phone. So, she had no idea what was happening at the company.“Where is Dad? He hasn’t come to see me lately.”She asked casually, but Lyla looked slightly annoyed as she said, “He’s been tied up with a lot of things lately. He probably doesn’t have time to visit you.”Chiara frowned again. Lyla could only sigh. “The company has a lot on its plate right now. Ivanka is still running amok. She has gained many supporters. Your dad has been worrying about these things lately. Chiara, he really doesn’t have time to come see you.”Lyla was really worried that Chiara might get too worked up again. After all, even if she did not lose it this time, she was teetering on the edge.Chiara frowned. “Was this all that was bothering you earlier?”“Yes.” Lyla sighed resignedly.Chiara continued to stare at her. She still felt that something was off.Her mother’s expression w
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