Michael’s icy gaze fell directly on the bed, but the sheets were neatly folded. There was no one there. He looked in the bathroom, only to find it empty!His face darkened instantly. He immediately took out his phone and tried calling Ivanka, but all he got was the female voice prompt indicating that her phone was switched off.Michael’s expression darkened even more. He immediately left the room and headed toward Ivan’s room.After ringing the doorbell, he continued knocking. Ivan irritably spoke up. “Who the hell is it? Knocking endlessly early in the morning!”He had never considered Michael doing this. Irritated by the persistent knocking, Ivan opened the door, ready to give a piece of his mind.He was surprised to see Michael standing at the door grimly.Ivan was dumbfounded. “Whoa, how come it’s you? Are you crazy? Knocking like this?”“Where is Sandy?”Ivan frowned immediately. He spoke up in a protective tone, “Sandy isn’t even up, and you want her to go accompany Ivank
“Give me my phone back!”Sandy’s voice carried a hint of displeasure. She did not like her phone being scrutinized by others, especially since it was a message from Ivanka.Thankfully, it did not mention Michael at all. If Ivanka had said something bad about Michael, would it not be her fault then?Michael did not answer. With a stern expression, he swiftly walked out.Ivan quickly stepped forward and asked, “Where are you going?”Sandy frowned as she had a bad feeling about it. Michael looked furious. Was he going to confront Ivanka?At that moment, Sandy felt a little panicked.“Is he going after Iv? Maybe Michael has some unfinished business with her. I have to go find her!”Sandy was worried that Michael might go after Ivanka, which would not be good. Hearing that Sandy wanted to leave, Ivan’s expression darkened.He immediately said, “I’ll take you back right now.”Sandy had mixed feelings about that. Just yesterday, they had a heated argument, yet today Ivan was offerin
Sandy was about to reply, but she sensed that something was off. Seeing the conflicted look on Ivan’s face, she said, “I think I shouldn’t tell you, or else you’ll relay this to Michael. Iv doesn’t want him to know where she is.”Ivan snorted in cold laughter. His eyes were filled with mockery.Sandy frowned in slight displeasure.“What are you laughing about?”“Do you take both of us for fools? Do you think Michael won’t find out where she is just because you’re keeping quiet about it? You’re hilarious, aren’t you?”Sandy was speechless.She thought. “Eat sh*t, you jerk!” She knew that he would say something mean like this.In the next second, Sandy said with gritted teeth, “Let him figure it out himself, then. At least he won’t hear it directly from me.”Ivan snorted coldly and said nothing. He had nothing to do with Ivanka, after all, so he did not care how she was doing.He did not mind if Sandy kept her whereabouts secret.In fact, even if Sandy told him, he would not te
Ivanka frowned and eventually shut the door. She stared at him coldly. “What are you here for?”Back then, if she said something like that to Michael, he would have stormed out in anger.But this time, he did not leave.Even if he stayed, his overbearing aura spread about the house. It was so menacing that perhaps even the plants in the villa shriveled in fear.Ivanka’s frown deepened. “Michael, this is unlike you to overstay your welcome at someone’s place.”“Do you think I would if it weren’t for Grandma?”Ivanka snorted coldly. She thought that he was being unreasonable, but she never doubted his excuse. After all, if it weren’t for Rosie, he would not spare her a glance.In the next second, she smiled faintly and said, “If this is your concern, then I’ll clarify things with Grandma.”Michael’s expression instantly turned icy. “How dare you!”“Why wouldn’t I?”Ivanka stared at him expressionlessly, and she seemed increasingly at ease.She no longer cared about Michael, so
At that moment, the air in the room seemed to freeze. Even Ivan and Sandy, who stood outside the door, felt the tension.It was a hot and sunny day, yet Michael’s anger gave them chills.Neither of them said anything and exchanged glances out of reflex.The look in Michael’s cold eyes was murderous, but Ivanka was not afraid. She stared him in the eye.Michael nodded with a sneer. “Good. Very well.”“Good, my foot! Can you let go?”As she spoke, she suddenly gave a jerk of her hand. Michael was unprepared, and she was able to pull herself free.Ivanka quickly strode to the door and opened it. Ivan and Sandy walked in together.Ivan looked at Michael with a grin. “Bro, you’re really fast.”He and Sandy had eaten breakfast. He was sure that Michael had not eaten anything.With that, he smiled at Michael and said, “You haven’t had anything since last night, right? Then you left to find Ivanka. You probably haven’t eaten till now. Why don’t you grab a bite?”As he said that, h
Ivanka furrowed her brows slightly, only to sneer a second later.Michael had become such a great actor. He even managed to fool Sandy.Ivanka kept her thoughts to herself, but Sandy seemed to have guessed what was on her mind. She added, “Ivan and I were the only people around. Michael didn’t have to fake it. He could have gone to work as usual.”Ivanka pursed her lips. Unwilling to discuss this matter, she said calmly, “Whatever. He can do whatever he wants. I don’t want to get involved anymore. I’m fine as long as he doesn’t control my life. As long as we maintain our boundaries, I don’t care what he is up to.”She was all alone, and he could not threaten to hurt her loved ones. Besides, she knew that Michael was not a despicable man. Even though he was overbearing and obsessive, he was a decent person.Ivanka no longer wanted to deal with him, so she said calmly, “This incident has nothing to do with me. And those two probably won’t leave just yet. Why don’t you get some rest?
The furrow on Michael’s brows deepened. Displease was written all over his face. He shot Ivan a cold glare. It implied that he did not want to hear such a thing from his friend again.But there was no way Ivan cared about what he thought. On the contrary, Ivan continued calmly, “Perhaps even before this, a long time ago, you have begun to care for her. But there was a great misunderstanding between you. You always believed that she and her father had conspired together and coerced you into marrying her. You hated marriages that came with a price, but you ought to know that…”Here, Ivan paused on purpose. Michael stared at him grimly.“Are you done?”There were surveillance cameras in this place. Michael did not want Ivan to keep talking. But Ivan said all this while knowing full well that cameras were around. It meant that he intended for Ivanka to learn about this.Unbothered by Michael’s warning, Ivan said, “Sometimes what you see and know isn’t necessarily the truth. It could b
Ivanka chuckled and stopped offering to cook. Instead she said gently, “If you’re hungry, you can cook downstairs or order food delivery.” “Yeah, got it. But what if they refuse to leave?”Ivanka’s lips curved into a disdainful smile.“Michael’s pride and ego will not allow him to do something like this. Ignore them. They will be off soon.”She understood Michael to a certain extent. After all, she had spent three years trying to understand what he liked. She had wanted to make him the best dishes and give him the best of everything.She was once truly infatuated. She kept giving without complaint. But it was futile, and Ivanka was tired of it.“Well, there’s nothing we can do.” Since Ivanka had made her point, Sandy did not delve into this. As she got up, she said, “I’ll cook downstairs then. You get some rest. By the way, when was the last time you ate? Are you hungry?”“I’m not. I ate something shortly before you came over.”As a matter of fact, Ivanka lied. She had not eat
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