Ivanka hurriedly shook her head. “Dad, please don’t say that. It has nothing to do with you. I guess we were simply not fated to be together.”Jay shook his head. “Iv, you two are fated to be together.”Ivanka was stunned. She thought. “Did he come to persuade me to reconcile with Michael?”“You…”That was all she could say, since she did not know how to respond.Jay sighed helplessly. “Iv, I know him well. He actually has feelings for you.”Ivanka could not help but chuckle after hearing that. “Dad, although I regret wasting my love in the past few years, you don’t have to say such a white lie to comfort me.”Jay shook his head solemnly. “No, Iv. I’m not lying to you.”Ivanka said nothing.She clearly did not believe him.Jay did not force her to believe it and continued speaking.“You have known each other for many years. Before that incident happened, Michael’s attitude toward you was not bad, and you could feel it, right?”A trace of nostalgia flashed in Ivanka’s eyes.
Ivanka had great doubts. She thought. “Michael probably didn’t investigate the incident and thought I was behind it.“If Jay knows the truth, why didn’t he tell him?“Or, Jay had told him, but he didn’t believe him.“If someone tricked Michael, that person would definitely suffer, but why is nothing wrong with that person until now?“Is that person being dealt with privately?”While Ivanka was thinking, she kept looking at Jay. She saw him lose his calm for a second, but he returned to normal immediately.“You don’t know that person. It’s someone from the business world. He wanted his daughter to sleep with Michael, but you two accidentally got together. That company has vanished.”Ivanka’s lips twitched.If Michael speedily acted and wiped that company out, he would not have had so many misunderstandings of her.Of course, he might hate her, but according to Jay, Michael had feelings for her.So, of the two things Jay told her, he had lied about the first one.Michael had n
Catherine’s mouth was wide open. She looked at the two people sitting opposite each other on the second floor in disbelief.“Oh god! Aren’t they Ivanka and Michael’s father? W-Why are they together?”Everyone was in the circle of the wealthy, so everyone knew Jay.Chiara looked nervous. She thought. “Jay has always liked Ivanka. Was he here to persuade her?“It wasn’t easy to get those two to get a divorce. I mustn’t let them reconcile!”Chiara thought of an idea. She immediately took her phone out and took a photo of the two.Catherine looked at her in surprise. “Chiara, what’re you doing?”Chiara smiled. “Mr. Barkworth has always liked Iv. I’m sure he asked Iv out to persuade them to reconcile. I’m going to show this photo to Mic and let him know how hard Mr. Barkworth has worked for their marriage so that he can change his mind and remarry Iv.”Catherine looked at Chiara in surprise. “Chiara, are you crazy?! How could you say such a thing?!”Chiara shook her head helplessly
“I’m not making this up! It’s all over the press. She and Jay’s photos are all over the Internet. Go on Twitter to check it out if you don’t believe me. Her name topped the list of trending searches. I say, Ms. Lane is quite something. Even though she isn’t in the entertainment business, she consistently tops the trending searches. She really knows how to play her cards well. Tsk…” The mockery in Drury’s eyes was blatant. She stared at the man across the room. However, Abel was not listening to her at all. He was fiddling with the files on his computer. Drury could not help but say something again. “Abel, didn’t you hear what I said? Ivanka is a tramp!” Abel cast an indifferent glance at her. “Are you done talking?” Drury choked up with anger. “You… Ivanka is…” Drury was about to keep going when her arm was suddenly gripped by Lucy, who was sitting next to her. She whispered, “Dru, stop talking.” As Lucy said that, she signaled to her that Ivanka was staring at her from th
She was speaking very casually, but the six people in the room could feel the intense hostility coming from her. They stared at Ivanka in disbelief. They thought, “Is that why she was Mrs. Barkworth?” She gave off a different vibe compared to common people. Drury’s expression was dark as well. In spite of her fear, she yelled back for the sake of her pride, “Do you think I’m afraid of you? I was simply stating the facts!” Ivanka sneered. Then, she turned around and walked towards the office. Drury and the rest remained on their feet. They could not take their gazes away from her graceful and inviolable back. It seemed that Ivanka was destined to be the center of attention wherever she went, and all the bad comments about her seemed to have been spurred by jealousy. Lucy sighed resignedly and gave Drury a little nudge. “Dru, cut her some slack from now on. Although she is now divorced, she should not be underestimated. Besides, we are all lawyers. We all know that many thing
The chattering continued in the law firm.Time passed, and afternoon arrived.Chiara kept herself busy by going to the Barkworth’s family mansion.She also brought some gifts to please the Barkworths.She had already told Mindy she was going. Therefore, she went to visit them.As soon as she entered the door, she saw Mindy coming to greet her enthusiastically. “You’re here, Chiara.”Chiara smiled and nodded. “Hi, Mrs. Barkworth.”She handed over the high-end skincare gift box in her hand to her. “Mrs. Barkworth, I asked my friend to bring this back from abroad. They’re all authentic products. They’ve very effective. You have to try it. If you like it, I’ll ask my friend to bring me some more.”Mindy accepted the gift with a polite smile. “Oh, you could’ve just visited, yet you always brought me a gift. There is no need for this next time, all right? You saved my son’s life, and you suffered so much for it. I’m forever indebted to you.”Chiara instantly shook her head with a sm
Chiara nodded along. “They really have gone too far, but these are what netizens like. You just need to get used to it, Mrs. Barkworth.”“No! I meant that these two have gone too far!” Mindy’s expression was livid. Without saying another word to Chiara, she took her phone and made a call.He answered almost immediately. Mindy clenched her teeth and asked, “Where are you?”Jay said with a calm expression on his face, “On my way home.”Mindy, who was still suppressing her anger, tightened her grip on the phone and said, “Why didn’t you tell me that you were back? Why did you actually go to see Ivanka first?”Chiara’s eyes flashed with a sneer. If Mindy and her husband got into a fight, she would dislike Ivanka even more. By then, Ivanka would completely have no chance of returning to the Barkworths.Besides, the one who called the shots in this family was Grandpa Barkworth. He did not like Ivanka either. He just wanted her to marry into his family, which she would.Chiara pulled M
Mr. Murphy was just about to walk over and talk to Ivanka after the call when he suddenly received another call. Mr. Murphy’s expression seemed to grow a bit more serious. He kept turning around and looked at Ivanka with an apologetic gaze. Ivanka picked up on it as well, and she was perplexed. Soon, Mr. Murphy walked toward her and looked at her apologetically. “Ms. Lane, I’m really sorry, but I’m afraid… I can’t sell the place to you anymore.” Ivanka’s eyes filled with confusion. “Is something wrong?” Mr. Murphy could not help but let out a sigh. “I blame myself for my lack of power. I can’t even choose the buyer of my mall. A big shot just gave me a call and said that I could only sell my mall to him, or he would…” He did not finish his sentence, but it must have involved Mr. Murphy’s other interests. Ivanka frowned slightly. “Are you at liberty to tell me who he is?” Mr. Murphy said resignedly, “People will find out who he is when he runs the place later, anyway. I gu
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