Someone immediately refuted. “Isn’t it common? Mr. Barkworth is at the courting stage. Since Ms. Lane doesn’t want to get back together, of course she will throw a fit.”Everyone discussed among themselves as they watched Michael and Ivanka leave.Someone suddenly pointed out the problem at hand.“Oh my God, look at the roses on the floor. Now that they have left, what about… us?”The others were arguing among themselves earlier on. They quickly came to their senses.Sh*t!The roses were still left all over the floor. How were they going to get out?They could step on the stairs at the company entrance, but what about other places?What if they accidentally stepped on the roses, which was Michael’s gift, and he went berserk?At that point, no one else was in the mood to gossip about him and Ivanka. They just wanted to leave the company and go home.They could gossip at home!…Meanwhile, Michael had strong-armed Ivanka into the car. The moment the car door shut, she immedia
Michael froze instantly.He gazed at Ivanka coldly.She seemed calm and composed. One could not tell that she was getting back at Michael at all.Rosie looked at Michael in shock. “What’s the surprise?”Michael forced a smile. “I can’t tell you, of course.”“Then you should at least reveal it here. I want to see it with Ivanka.”Mockery flashed in Ivanka’s eyes. She knew that Michael had prepared nothing. In that case, she ought to insist on getting a surprise. He was a man of his word, right?Seeing him in a bind pleased her.Michael said nothing and kept eating.Meanwhile, Ivanka smiled. “Perhaps he has not prepared anything. We were just putting on a show in front of the others. He said that to justify my departure.”Rosie immediately frowned and looked at Ivanka unhappily. “You must put your money where your mouth is. Didn’t I always teach you that since you were young? Now that you’re grown up, you have forgotten about that?”Michael pressed his lips together tightly, b
Michael was so angry that he guffawed. He looked at Ivanka. “You’re right. So I’ll post about the surprise I’m about to give you and let everyone see I’m not lying. I said that I’ll surprise you, and I’ll keep my promise.”Ivanka was baffled.What a jerk!Somehow, she could not get one up on him at all. He managed to retaliate every time!Rosie was suddenly delighted deep down. Her grandson was quite smart.Posting about his grand romantic gesture online was a great move. He finally learned that he needed some effort to woo a lady. At the very least, he should make it public and let everyone know about his intention. That way, some people would back off. Although Jonah was outstanding, he was a playboy. If Ivanka were to marry Jonah, she might as well get back together with Michael. At least Michael was not a playboy.As for Chiara, Michael might have agreed to marry her, but Rosie knew that he was tricked into the arrangement because he thought Chiara had saved his life and only
Michael’s expression was calm. “Alright, I’m going to get ready for her surprise. Grandma, draft a post and help explain her situation.”Rosie immediately nodded. “Okay! You better put more effort into this, or else I’ll never let you hear the end of this!”Ivanka was speechless.Meanwhile, Michael had finished his meal. He put down his spoon and got up.“That won’t be necessary! Michael, get back here!” Ivanka cried out in a panic. She was worried that he would actually do it.But Michael did not stop walking. Rosie went to the bathroom to wash her hands with a smile. Then she sat back down at the dining table and said, “Ignore him. Let’s keep eating.”Ivanka had an odd expression on her face. She immediately finished all the food on her plate and said, “Grandma, it’s getting late. I have some work to do. I’ll head back now.”Rosie frowned. Seeing that Ivanka was about to run off, she seized her hand at lightning speed. “You can’t leave, dearie.”Ivanka was puzzled.With an a
A flicker of emotion flashed in Ivanka’s eyes, and she said nothing.She wanted to leave, but she could not.Meanwhile, outside the Barkworth’s family mansion, Michael had already driven off.But he did not go far. People simply could not see him from the house.He stopped his car and slowly produced a blue box from the trunk.He put it in the front passenger seat and returned to the driver seat.Michael was not in a hurry to start driving. He seemed to be waiting for the right moment.His cold expression did not betray much emotion.Suddenly, his phone started ringing. He snapped out of his reverie and answered the call.“What are you up to? Come hang out with us.” Ivan sounded rather frivolous.Micheal said calmly, “I’m busy.”Ivan immediately chuckled. “What are you busy with? I see you getting into the car, but you didn’t start driving. You call this ‘busy’?”Michael was speechless.In the next second, Ivan began chuckling again and said, “You finally know to make the
Ivan’s words felt like a venom that seeped into his heart and corroded Michael’s mind. Michael never believed that he fancied Ivanka. He simply thought they were a good match.That was all.Then, he said in a solemn voice, “If you have so much time on your hand, you might as well think about Sandy.”“Heck!” Ivan was relaxed just a moment ago. Once he heard this name, he exploded with rage.“Why do you have to mention her? What’s wrong with you?”Ignoring him, Michael snorted coldly and rolled up the car window. The glass panel raised and forced Ivan to withdraw his arm. He said with a sullen expression, “Shit, you really want to leave me here? My car broke down, and I don’t have a spare now. Let me in!”Michael frowned impatiently.But Ivan still saw him click something, and the car door was unlocked.Just as Ivan wanted to go over to the front passenger seat, Michael said in a somber voice, “Take the back seat.”Ivan halted in his tracks and did just that. He was grumblin
Ivan swaggered behind Michael. Seeing Rosie, he immediately greeted her enthusiastically, “Hi, grandma!”Only then did she notice the person behind her grandson. She quickly nodded with a smile. “You’re visiting too?”“Yeah, I miss you, so I dropped by to visit.”But as soon as he said that, Ivan realized something was off. After all, he came empty-handed…He instinctively looked over at Michael and saw the gleam of mockery in his eyes as well as the disdainful smirk on his lips.Ivan faked a cough and rubbed his nose. That was fine. If he was thick-skinned enough, there was nothing to be embarrassed about.Rosie immediately chuckled. She did not mind this at all. “You’re late though. You should have come during dinnertime.”“It’s alright. I’m just happy to see you. We can dine together some other time.”Ivanka furrowed her brows. She did not care if Ivan was around. What troubled her was the fact that Michael had indeed brought home a gift. There were surveillance cameras in t
Michael seemed like he was not paying attention to them. However, if they were to look closely, they would notice that he was observing them through his peripheral vision. “Quick, open it up and look!”Without hesitation, Ivanka lifted the lid of the gift box.When she saw what was inside it, she froze in stunned silence. Michael silently focused on Ivanka. He pursed his lips and subconsciously turned to face Ivanka to get a clear view of her.Even he was unsure if he was feeling nervous. As for Ivanka, her face was as white as a sheet.Michael sure knew how to humiliate her.She did not expect him to resort to such a method on her.She subconsciously reminisced about what had happened two years ago.On that day, they attended a banquet together. Naturally, they pretended to be a model couple in front of others.On that day, she wore a pair of uncomfortable, low-quality high heels Michael gave her.Her legs became red and swollen. She subconsciously took off her shoes
Ivanka nodded. What Rosie said was true. Rosie continued, “If Michael were the stranger, why are you resisting him and feeling helpless?” Ivanka was stunned. It was a fact. If a stranger courted her relentlessly, Ivanka would only find them annoying. But she would not resist them. Only she knew the reason she refused to accept them. But when it came to Michael, she treated him differently. From the bottom of her heart, she refused to give him a fair chance to court her. Was it because she was worried that her heart would move for him? Ivanka was startled by the thought. She shook her head as if trying to get that ridiculous thought out. When Rosie saw this, she chuckled. Ivanka was a smart woman. It was sufficient to say all that; too much would be meaningless. Rosie looked up at the moon. She could not help but sigh. “Tonight’s a beautiful moon night. Unfortunately, it’s time for me to go to bed.” After Rosie finished her sentence, she headed to her room. Ivanka
On the other hand, Ivanka had no idea her best friend had “betrayed” her. She helped Rosie into the bedroom. When they passed the garden, Rosie suggested walking inside it. Ivanka was too embarrassed to reject her. So, they came to the garden. The gardeners attended and trimmed the garden daily. It was naturally a sight to behold. There were many rare plants in the garden. Of course, there were also some rare herbal plants in the garden. Ivanka had planted them, and the herbal plants were flourishing. There was a botanical garden encircled within the garden. It contained the herbal plants used to nourish Rosie’s health. While they were walking along the path, the fragrance of flowers, the earthy smell of the soil, and the faint aroma of the herbal plants entered their nostrils. The fragrance lifted their spirits. On top of that, the fragrance could refresh one’s mind. Rosie felt more refreshed as she walked down the path in the garden. She grabbed Ivanka and shared
Within the blink of an eye, it was already 12 a.m.. Ivanka noticed that Rosie had been yawning but still refused to go to bed. Ivanka knew why. While they were chatting, Ivanka occasionally turned to Rosie. While Rosie was wiping off her basal tears, Ivanka and Michael exchanged glances. Ivanka sat beside Rosie and patted her hands gently. Rosie looked more alert, but her eyes were still a little blurry and appeared bloodshot. She had dark rings beneath her eyes. In spite of her exquisite makeup, her dark eye rings were still visible. Of course, it was only visible when Ivanka looked closer at her. Seeing this, Ivanka’s heart ached more for Rosie. Ivanka believed Rosie must have stayed up late or had insomnia when she and Michael went missing. Rosie wanted to receive first-hand information about the missing duo, but she was also worried that she would not be able to face reality. After struggling and battling with her inner conflicts for a month, Rosie’s health de
Speaking of which, this was Michael’s first time seeing Ivanka looking this helpless, and he found this a novelty. Whenever Rosie said things like that, Ivanka usually looked expressionless. She either looked calm, or she pretended to be deaf. Based on her unease and embarrassed look, did that mean her heart began to move for Michael? With that thought in his mind, Michael was eager to find out the answer. At that moment, they heard Candice’s voice. “Why are you staying outside? Did I come at a bad time? I thought I could have dinner immediately after I returned from work.” Ivanka and her group turned around and saw Candice standing not far away from them. She smiled as she looked at them. When Candice noticed Rosie’s teary eyes, she looked surprised and approached them. “Grandma has a sharp tongue, but she’s soft-hearted. She said the two of you were so cruel that you left her and a whole mess behind. She said she would teach you a lesson when you return.” While speaki
Everything had been fine just a moment ago.Why had she suddenly started to distance herself from him?It was probably true that a woman’s mind was unpredictable. Even a strong woman was no exception.Soon, they arrived at the Barkworth family’s mansion.Michael wanted to get out first and open the door for Ivanka, but she stopped him by tapping her soft hand on his shoulder.He looked down at her hand and then looked at her.“Don’t get out yet. I’ll grab a coat for you from inside and come back.”Michael wanted to refuse, but Ivanka had already exited the car.He watched her walk away. He then leaned back against the seat and felt a wave of relaxation.It felt as though he had finally found someone who had his back.He could not help but find it funny when he thought about it. He glanced at the spot where Ivanka had touched his hand and chuckled quietly.In the front seat, the driver felt so awkward about what he had just witnessed that he wished he could hide behind the st
The motorcycle approached them with no sign of slowing down.Michael’s expression turned grim. He quickly pulled Ivanka to the side and turned to shield her with his back.Ivanka felt a sudden spin. By the time she regained her balance, she found herself in Michael’s arms.His embrace was warm and strong. She could smell his familiar scent.It felt as if everything around them had slowed down.Then she heard the sound of water splashing on Michael. She pulled away from his embrace.Michael felt his arm grow light and stared at the empty space where she had been. He could still feel her warmth lingering.He shifted his gaze to Ivanka.Before she could speak, he quickly asked, “Are you okay? Did you get splashed?”She blinked and shook her head.“I’m fine. What about you?”He shook his head, but she did not buy it. She was sure the sound of the water splashing had been loud. There was no way he was not wet.Without hesitation, she grabbed his arm and turned him around.His b
Both Ivanka and Michael walked side by side as they maintained just the right distance between them. They looked great together, and their presence naturally attracted many gazes.It was worth mentioning that it was difficult to tell whether Michael did this on purpose or if it was just a coincidence.Both of them wore black trench coats that day. The styles were quite similar. This made them look even more like a couple in matching outfits.Ivanka’s wavy hair and red lips were striking. The beauty mark by her eye was the perfect finishing touch, which made her look stunning.Despite her beauty, Michael standing beside her did not go unnoticed either. He seemed to be a perfect complement to her.They looked like a perfect match.Ivanka noticed it but said nothing.Michael broke the silence and asked about Ferris and Mandy.“What are you going to do about Ferris and Mandy?”Ivanka did not answer right away.Michael continued, “Just having them arrested seems like getting off t
Mandy was rushed to the hospital.She fainted, but Ferris was not as fortunate.It seemed that he could not accept the fact that he had kicked his own child. He kept shaking his head and muttering, “This can’t be. How could this happen?”He looked like he was losing it.However, the law would not overlook his actions just because of his mental state.Ivanka had seen enough of their mess and was no longer interested in watching them tear each other apart. She asked the police to explain why they were there.“Mr. Clark, Ms. Ivanka has filed a report requesting a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding her fall into the water. Following our preliminary inquiry, both you and Ms. Mandy are now considered suspects. We are required to take you both in for further questioning.”Ferris did not respond. He was still unable to process what had just happened.The police followed protocol and arrested him.Ferris was led away with his hands cuffed. He was completely dazed.N
Still, Ferris kept quiet. However, the others in the room did not.A portly shareholder stood up, smacked his lips, and forced a flattering smile. “Isn’t it obvious? Ferris wants to take your place, Ms. Ivanka. Everyone can see it. He’s nothing but a complete traitor!”Once he spoke up, the rest quickly chimed in.“Yeah, he’s a traitor!”Ferris looked around the room. He already knew these people were untrustworthy, but he had not expected them to turn on him so easily.Ivanka, on the other hand, did not seem surprised.She had not taken any action on Ferris and Mandy because she wanted to watch the chaos unfold. These shareholders had sided with Ferris when she was gone, and they switched back just as quickly when she returned.Ferris was no fool. He knew that too. But the sense of isolation he felt at that moment drove him into despair.Still, he was not one to back down easily.He spat in the portly shareholder’s face.“And who the hell are you?” Ferris sneered. “You were