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
Rosie was about to ask Ivan what he meant when she saw Ivanka’s pale face.Ivan also noticed something off about Ivanka.He no longer felt like joking anymore. He looked at her and wanted to ask if she was okay, but Rosie spoke first. She asked her worriedly, “Iv, are you okay?”Ivanka had been perfectly fine earlier. Even though she had mentioned earlier that she wanted to leave, she still chose to stay for Rosie’s sake. Rosie thought she helped Michael buy enough time.But why did her expression change so drastically after seeing the gift?The gift box fell to the floor, and one of the crystal shoes tumbled out, revealing its eight-centimeter-high heel and delicate beauty.Ivanka recognized that these crystal shoes were a limited edition designed by Papaver.Back at Rosie’s birthday banquet, there was an issue with Ivanka’s shoes. Harvey told Ivanka that Michael was the one who gave her the shoes.Ivanka felt conflicted about it back then and did not believe it because she kn
Rosie looked outside as she watched Michael chase after Ivanka. She then said worriedly again, “Something’s not right! I know Iv is disappointed in Mic. But despite that, I know she’s still not over him deep down. Normally, even if they’re having issues, Iv wouldn’t leave so abruptly. But today, she walked out without a word and looked all gloomy. And what’s with those shoes anyway? You mentioned the meaning behind giving shoes to girls earlier. What is it?”Ivan became puzzled.Oh man, could it be that the meaning of the shoes caused this? Did that mean Iv still had not moved on from Michael?So, did that mean she had been deliberately stringing Michael along for such a long time?Hmm, that did not seem right either.Rosie noticed Ivan’s strange expression and asked him, “Ivan, quick, tell me already!”She had not heard about this superstition beforeIvan stopped overthinking and quickly explained, “There’s a saying that lovers shouldn’t give each other shoes because it’s belie
Ivanka had to walk away since she did not have her car with her, which allowed Michael to catch up quickly.When he noticed that she was walking ahead without looking back, he decided not to waste his breath calling out to her. He walked in front of her and grabbed her wrist. This stopped her from walking any further.She frowned and gave him a cold look. “Let go.”Her sharp gaze made him pause momentarily, but he held onto her wrist firmly. Instead, he stared at her and asked, “Why?”“Why?” Ivanka was ironically infuriated. “You said what you said and did what you did. And now you’re here asking me why?”Was he expecting her to recount the humiliation she had faced?She found it amusing.Michael frowned and did not understand what Ivanka was talking about.He suppressed his annoyance, tightened his grip on her hand and asked again, “What exactly is this fuss about?”Fuss?Ivanka scoffed as her impatience and disgust became more evident. “How could you say such a thing?”Mic
Michael remained silent.Ivan grew anxious as he frowned and urged, “Say something already!”Michael’s face clouded with gloom as he continued remaining silent.Ivan was starting to get frustrated with Michael’s silence. He said in a low voice, “Why won’t you speak up?! Did you catch up with Ivanka? Did you talk to her? What happened?!”Michael did not seem inclined to speak. As he started walking away, Ivan grabbed his arm.Michael gazed sharply at Ivan’s hand. He never liked anyone touching him.At that moment, Ivan could not care less. He pressed on, “Ivanka was in a very bad mood earlier. Something huge must have happened. Why didn’t you chase after her?”Ivan arrived late because he had to stay with Rosie. He came over because she insisted on checking the situation.But all he found was Michael standing there alone like a fool.“Damn it! Say something! Tell me what happened. Grandma is getting worried over there.”Michael’s frown deepened. He finally spoke in a low voice
Sure enough, after Ivan said that, Ivanka stopped walking.He promptly pulled over beside her and urged, “Please get in. Grandma is worried about you. She insists that I send you back. Otherwise, she’ll be worried.”Ivanka frowned but did not speak. Through the car window, she saw that there was indeed only Ivan in the car. However, he remained adamant about not getting in. She replied indifferently, “You can simply inform her that you sent me back. I won’t snitch on you.”“She said she’ll call me later and expects you to answer the phone. Or else, she’ll question me. Besides, she’s not young anymore. Let’s not make her worry. Do you know how anxious she was when she saw you storm off in a bad mood earlier?”Ivanka frowned and remained silent.“Come on, get in already. Grandma will be worried sick,” Ivan urged again.With no other choice, she ended up reluctantly opening the passenger door.Only after ensuring that she had gotten in, closed the door, and fastened her seatbelt
Ivanka knew her place very well.She was suitable to be Mrs. Barkworth, but she did not deserve it.Considering these thoughts, Ivanka had lost interest in having anything further to do with Michael.Ivan was puzzled.He thought he was good at coaxing girls; why was he failing today?However, he overlooked one thing: he typically coaxed girls who liked him. Some of whom had ulterior motives, whether for his looks, status, or money.Consequently, he adopted a nonchalant approach toward women. He was convinced that minimal effort on his part would effortlessly draw in numerous women who would eagerly pursue him.“Don’t get mad, okay? I know you’re not happy right now, but I think it’s important for you to tell me what’s going on. It might help clear up any misunderstandings between you two.”“We’ve never needed to sort out any misunderstandings. In fact, there haven’t been any.”He had already made it clear to her that she was not deserving. What misunderstanding was there to ta
Michael pursed his lips silently. Still, they could sense that he was in a very bad mood based on his standoffish demeanor and the coldness in his eyes. Rosie grew increasingly worried. “Iv, are you…” Rosie did not say more than that. At that moment, Ivanka looked calm. She smiled and said, “Grandma, you truly don’t have to worry about me.” “With your current state, how could I possibly not worry about you? Why don’t you come back? I can have Ivan fetch you back and kick Michael out of the house so that the two of us can have a good chat. How does that sound?” Ivanka said, “Grandma, I’m really fine. Besides, I still need to handle my work. How about I visit you again next time?” With Ivanka’s current mood, Ivan knew she could not possibly return to the Barkworth family’s mansion. He instantly said, “Rosie, I’m sending her back. In any case, she intends to visit her friend too. Her mood will improve once she gets together with her friend. Don’t worry. I’m with her. I can
Instead, she remained standing in front of Jimothy and studied the group of men with a smile.“He works at our company. Since I’ve run into him, I’m obligated to come over and check on him. Pray tell, what has happened between you and why do you feel the need to resolve it with violence?”Jimothy stared at Candice while she stood with her back facing him. The look in his eyes was conflicted.The men exchanged glances with each other and saw a hint of astonishment in one another’s eyes.The man at the front of the group, who was likely their leader, said, “We just get paid to do this, lady. You should stay out of it.”When Candice heard his advice which also sounded like a threat, she did not intend to back down at all. Instead, she asked him, “Oh? How much did you get for this? I’ll pay you double. I just told you that this guy works for us, so I have to intervene.”The leader started laughing, and so did the men behind him. They did not even bother to hide the mockery in their t
Candice ordered some food she liked, and the dishes arrived soon after.Sandy suggested that they all took a picture together.The others did not object.Sandy gave her phone to the waiter.Then the five of them moved their chairs to sit in a row.Michael and Ivan each took the outermost seats.Naturally, Ivanka was seated next to Michael while Sandy, who paid for the dinner, was right beside her.Next to Sandy was Candice, who sat awkwardly in her chair. Ivan was beside Candice.The second the waiter took the picture, Ivanka and Michael exchanged glances inadvertently. Meanwhile, Ivan stared past Candice, and his eyes fell on Sandy.Sandy and Candice were the only people who looked into the camera.But each and every one of them had a genuine smile on their face.Once they had taken a picture, they started eating together.It was a nice, relaxing dinner. They did not talk about work or how annoying Coco had been.They mostly chatted about the fun anecdotes they had he
The call was soon answered, but the person who picked up was not Rosie. It was Mrs. Ruth.“Ms. Lane, you finally called! Mdm. Barkworth will be over the moon when she wakes up!” Mrs. Ruth sounded quite excited as she spoke.Ivanka smiled and asked, “Is Grandma resting now?”“Yeah, she hasn’t had a good rest after learning that you’d be kidnapped. Once you were safe, she finally allowed herself to rest.”Ivanka nodded and told Mrs. Ruth to take good care of Rosie. She later said that she and Micheal would visit Rosie soon.With that, she hung up the phone.Meanwhile, she also reflected upon herself.Rosie had gotten old, yet Ivanka always made her worry. From that moment on, Ivanka would consider the consequences before making any decision. It was not only for the sake of herself, but the important people in her life, who also cared about her.As she contemplated this, Ivanka inevitably thought of the gathering. It would be quite fun.Before they were about to get off work, San
Coco practically ran out crying.Candice glanced at Ivanka worriedly and asked, “Will something bad happen to her?”Ivanka was not concerned at all. “What could possibly happen? She is an adult. Even if something bad happens, she has to bear the consequences of her own action.”Hearing that, Candice no longer fretted over the matter.She was not really worried about Coco. She was just afraid that something would happen to Coco, and Ivanka would be blamed for it.But Ivanka had made a good point. Candice did not want to trouble herself with Coco’s matters. It would only be an unnecessary emotional burden to her.Everyone in the office began discussing the progress of their project.Perhaps it was because Ivanka had made an example of Coco, the other employees became especially energized and diligent during their discussion.They were even more focused than before, since they were all afraid that Ivanka would treat them harshly as well.Hence, they were particularly efficient.
“Why don’t we leave now so that you can deal with this matter, Ms. Ivanka?”The director of the project department, who was perceptive and shrewd, planned to leave right then. Ivanka shook her head and signaled everyone to sit down.They were all uneasy, and they kept giving Coco weird looks.Two people had dared speak to Ivanka like that in the past—Ferris and Mandy.But those two were no longer with the company.At the thought of those people, the project department staff began looking at Coco with pity.However, Coco could not care less. All she wanted was to make a fuss.She wanted to see how shameless Ivanka could be.Unruffled, Ivanka stared at her. She did not get angry and seemed rather affable as she asked, “Tell me what upset you. Have we falsely accused you of something you didn’t do?”Before Coco said anything, Ivanka added cruelly, “Oh, I forgot that you aren’t familiar with the protocol here, so you have no idea what you did wrong, right?”Coco paled. Undoubte
Candice was momentarily stunned by his answer. She was a little offended.“Then why did you come to my office for this conversation?” Jimothy’s grin was mischievous. “To prove your company’s HR is blind, and you just lost a great talent. That’s all.”With that, Jimothy stood up, dusted off his sleeves dramatically, and turned to leave.“Your resume!” Candice called after him.Jimothy waved dismissively without looking back. “Keep it. Enjoy reading it. And don’t let an incompetent HR handle your interviews again.”Candice stood there for a moment and processed the scene before an involuntary chuckle escaped her lips. This one had personality.Regardless, the incident served as a wake-up call for Candice.It became glaringly clear that Coco was not only incompetent but also prone to overestimating her abilities.Before the task was assigned, she had the chance to decline. Candice had given her the opportunity and explicitly asked if she could handle it. Yet, Coco confidentl
The college student finally believed her and walked toward Candice.On the other hand, Coco seemed guilty and was desperate to prevent it. “He has no respect for our company! Are you really going to hire someone like him who won’t follow orders?” Coco’s tone was sharp. Her finger trembled as she pointed at the young man.She scanned the room for backup in hopes that the people who had been flattering her earlier would speak up in her defense.Unfortunately, no one stepped forward.Those who flattered Coco only did so out of respect for Ivanka. Yet Candice had a close relationship with Ivanka and was the company’s vice president.The gap between a vice president versus an intern was as vast as night and day.Anyone with common sense knew where to align themselves.Coco felt a mix of despair and resentment.Candice ignored her entirely. Why Ivanka was so wary of someone as clueless as this was beyond her comprehension.Coco was simply dumb.Without wasting another thought o
However, reality proved she had worried for nothing.Candice had called her over merely to ask if she had the most basic professional knowledge and whether she could handle the afternoon’s interview.Coco let out a deep sigh of relief before patting her chest confidently and assuring Candice she was more than capable.Knowing Coco came from the mountains, Candice was naturally skeptical, so she asked again, “Are you sure?”Coco thought to herself that it was just an interview. All she needed to do was just ask the candidates some questions. They could just choose someone who wrote the resume well.Not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Michael’s cousin, Coco pretended to be confident and accepted the task.Candice was half-doubtful, yet she still gave her instructions and let her go.However, Coco’s firm assurance eventually led to trouble....“Your company must be a joke to hire someone like you for HR. You’re offended? You’re not even a real professional. What? You ca
Word quickly spread within the HR department. After learning about Coco’s connection to Ivanka, some colleagues were vying to curry favor with her.Although some observant individuals noticed that the relationship between Coco and Ivanka was not as harmonious as it seemed, it did not deter the opportunists. Relentless flattery and attention poured in.One moment, a male coworker would offer to grab her food while placing his own lunch order. Next, a female coworker would ask if she wanted to order some coffee too.At first, Coco was caught off guard and politely declined. However, as she realized their intentions were purely self-serving, she began to accept their gestures without hesitation.By midday, Coco had become the department’s little queen. Ironically, as an intern, she should have been the one fetching coffee, running errands and collecting mail. Instead, she had colleagues practically lining up to do those tasks for her.Coco quickly assembled her own little e