Chiara was very clever. Most of the time, she could immediately tell when something was amiss.Lyla dreaded her daughter’s perceptiveness. She could only maintain a calm demeanor and say, “Well, the place is just being renovated. I didn’t like the layout there and wanted to make some changes. After the renovation is finished, we’ll need to open the windows for ventilation. It will take at least a few months. Let’s just stay here for now.”Chiara immediately furrowed her brow again. “But that house was just newly done. You liked the design style. Why would you want to redo it?”She stared at Lyla suspiciously.However, Lyla said with a resigned manner, “It’s all your dad’s assistant’s fault! He hired workers who used poor materials for the renovations, and now, after only a short while, the walls at home are cracking.”Chiara felt skeptical. She kept sensing that something was off, but she could not quite put her finger on it.After a pause, she spoke again, “But even if we have t
Lyla snorted and indifferently said, “I’ll make something to eat. Wait here.”Chiara was surprised. “You’re cooking? Where is our maid?”Lyla remained silent.With the house sold and no money left, there was no way they could afford to hire a maid.As she washed her hands, she replied indifferently, “Considering your situation, it’s best not to interact with outsiders anymore. They might notice something amiss, and it wouldn’t be good for you. With everyone around us now unreliable, it’s risky to trust anyone new.”Chiara frowned. She acknowledged the truth in her mother’s words and said nothing more. She walked over to the sofa in the living room and sat down. Turning on the TV, she could not shake off her inexplicable frustration. “The distance between this sofa and the TV is too close!”Although Lyla could hear Chiara’s frustration from her tone, the current situation did not permit any indulgence. She pretended she did not hear that and ignored Chiara....As the evening app
He was a little stunned as he did not expect that Ivanka was really in the shower.She was wrapped in a slightly short towel that barely reached her thighs. Water stains adorned her delicate collarbone. Further down, there was a glimpse of something more.Michael’s pupils contracted slightly. His lips pressed tightly into a thin line as he remained silent.Ivanka clutched the towel tightly. She was worried that it would slip off. Her brow furrowed with impatience. “What the hell do you want?”As Ivanka shifted, a strand of hair fell across her chest, adding to the alluring mystery. Michael’s eyes flickered with lust and his Adam’s apple bobbed subtly. Without a word, he turned and walked away.Ivanka was left baffled by his sudden departure.What was that about?Without saying a word, she was going to close the door and go back to her shower, but then she heard Michael’s voice. “Get out here when you’re done!”Ivanka’s face darkened. Gritting her teeth, she said nothing. She cl
Michael’s face darkened further. “See it yourself and see if I was finding fault with you.”With that, he tossed the laptop to Ivanka.She frowned silently. Instead, she looked toward the screen.Earlier on, she had simply scanned it.But after what Michael had said, she had to regard it attentively.There was a ten-page Word document on the laptop. From the preview in the column on the left side of the screen, each page was filled with text.If it were someone else, they would feel a headache at the sight of it. After all, it was tiring to read all these words.But Ivanka read very quickly. After reading two pages, she realized that she had misunderstood Michael.Without a word, she read all ten pages of the document.At that point, Ivanka had already calmed down. Michael had not left, and he sat beside her the entire time.There was a conflicted look in Ivanka’s eyes, but she did not feel remorse. Michael had always been moody and tried to find fault with her. Even if she m
No one realized that it was already getting late.While they discussed the plan, the atmosphere in another room was a little tense.After Sandy returned to the room, she pulled a long face and kept suspecting that Ivan was up to no good.That jerk kept trying to approach her because he wanted to get something back, but she would never let him have it. It was hers!At that moment, Ivan was filled with rage. Seeing the insufferable look on Sandy’s face, he said angrily, “Woman, shouldn’t you give me a heads-up before you grabbed a bite? Didn’t you know I was waiting for you to dine together?”Sandy was so furious that she gave a bark of laughter. “Did I ask you to wait for me? Since when have we become chummy enough to dine together? You were waiting for me? Humph, I don’t trust you!”Ivan ground his teeth. “Why couldn’t I wait? You’re getting more and more unreasonable!”Sandy laughed once again and stared at him with a quizzical look.“Who are you calling ‘unreasonable’? Are we
Ivan grew even more irritated. “What? You don’t believe me?”Michael’s lips curled into a faint smile. “I will, once you get the thing you said.”Ivan was speechless.The elevator door soon opened. Ivan said with gritted teeth, “I’m only unable to get it from her at the moment. If I could bring myself to cross the line, there’s no way she manages to keep it for so long. I wouldn’t allow it!”The two of them got into the elevator. When they came out, Michael said nothing. He knew that Ivan was only venting and acting like a drunkard before he even touched the alcohol.Soon, they arrived at the bar. Ivan did not speak to Michael and instead downed a glass of wine. After a pause, he finally looked at Michael. “I questioned her earlier on. Hey, don’t you think that there’s something wrong with her? Didn’t she know that I was waiting for her so that we could dine together? What did she do instead? She went to dine with Ivanka without notifying me! I was the one who brought her here. Sh
At such a time, Ivan refused to wallow in sadness alone. He ought to make his friend suffer alongside him.As Michael drank expressionlessly and said nothing, Ivan started talking again. “I think Ivanka has really gotten over you.”The look in Michael’s eyes grew colder.Seeing that, Ivan was even more excited. “Technically, when she showed up at the party with Jonah and demanded a divorce, she had already given up on you.”Michael continued to drink in silence.Ivan clinked his glass against Michael’s. “See the things she did after that? She didn’t need you at all, let alone approach you. If you didn’t approach her yourself, she would simply disappear before your eyes.”Michael did not react, but Ivan thought that the wine glass nearly cracked in his tight grip.“Hey, look at you. Do you still refuse to admit that you have already fallen for her?”Michael immediately snorted coldly. “Does she deserve my attention?”“Doesn’t she? If not, why would you bring her out here? Is it
Seeing Michael’s grim expression, Ivan added, “So, you ought to explain everything to me!” “There’s nothing much to talk about.” Michael put down the glass. He had lost the mood for drinks.He did not want to tell anyone what happened that day, not because he felt humiliated by Ivanka’s treatment. It was because he did not want anyone to learn about their past.Ivan was speechless. He had wasted his breath for the past few minutes and learned nothing in return. Flummoxed, he said, “Damn you! I should’ve left you be. I have things to worry about myself!”Michael glanced at him expressionlessly. He had already given his take on Ivan’s situation. They did not need to discuss further.The two of them started drinking in silence.Once Ivan finished his last glass, he said through gritted teeth, “Sooner or later, I’ll give Sandy a taste of her own medicine!”“It’s not worth the effort.” With that, Michael stood up. “It’s getting late. Let’s head back.”They had drunk a lot, but ne
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