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
Sandy immediately pulled a long face. When she stared at him, her eyes were filled with annoyance. “Get out of here! This is Iv’s home. That makes me an owner too, and I say you’re not welcome here!”Ivan was so furious that he let out an angry bark of laughter. At this point, he had already uncrossed his legs and said with clenched teeth, “Ivanka didn’t tell me to leave. Who are you to kick me out?”Sandy was flabbergasted.Furious, she refused to say another word to him. She turned around and strode into the kitchen right away.“Anger is venom!” She told herself internally. “It’s not worth getting high blood pressure because of this idiot!”It was best that she simply ignored him!Sandy had already washed her hands and taken some ingredients from the fridge. She was going to cook for herself.After all, one would not starve if they could do everything themselves. She assumed Ivan could not cook, but even if he could, she would not let him cook for her. She refused to owe him a
Sandy had just reached the bedroom door when she heard Ivan’s words. She became furious and had a strong urge to tear Ivan apart!However, she restrained herself. She chose not to stoop to the same level as that idiot. Otherwise, she would be no different!She walked straight into the room. She no longer felt hungry; Ivan truly had the effect of spoiling her appetite.Meanwhile, downstairs, Ivan was still frustrated.That damn woman! She had not eaten for such a long time. She must be starving!He stood up abruptly as he gritted his teeth.Michael looked at him coldly and mocked him, “You’re just eating her leftovers.”Ivan could not stand being mocked by his best friend. He glanced at Michael and sneered, “Speaking of which, Ivanka came out late at night. I’m sure she hasn’t eaten anything. She’s still injured. She hasn’t changed her dressing today, either. With an empty stomach, no energy, and not having changed her dressing, her wound won’t heal anytime soon.”Michael’s expr
If Ivanka went downstairs, Sandy would follow. However, if Sandy went downstairs first, Ivanka might not follow her.Michael did not reply to him.Ivan perked up and said, “Just go get them.”Michael stayed silent as his expression darkened.However, he still decided to call Ivanka.The call failed to go through because Ivanka’s phone was still switched off.Michael’s expression turned cold, and he remained unmoving.Ivan sat with his legs crossed leisurely and said, “You should just go get her. She’ll only come down if you go get her.”Michael looked at him coldly. “I have a way to get Sandy down. Ivanka will then follow.”“Bullsh*t.”“Want to bet?!”“Sure, I’m in! What’s the wager?” Ivan looked at Michael, brimming with confidence as if he was sure Michael would lose.Michael calmly replied, “If you lose, you’ll have to take Sandy away today. If you can’t manage that, you know what happens next.”“Oh, wow. I see how it is! You’re playing hardball, aren’t you? What if you
In an instant, Sandy’s appetite returned. She was sure she could eat like a horse!Ivanka, on the other hand, quietly remained by Sandy’s side.Even though she did not want to see Michael, she followed Sandy downstairs anyway because she did not want to make her best friend worry.Besides, she had to admit that eating would help her wounds heal faster.She would just ignore Michael and Ivan.Ivanka and Sandy washed their hands and sat at the dining table. As they started eating, Ivan and Sandy stood up and sat down at the same time to get more food. Sandy looked at Ivan as he continued to scoop more food. She could not help but feel appalled as she said, “Are you a pig or something? How could you eat seven or eight meals a day? Even pigs can’t eat as much as you!”Ivan’s expression darkened. He had a strong urge to kill this damn b*tch!But he lost the bet. He had to take this woman away tonight, so he could not afford to provoke her at that moment.He took a deep breath
Jimothy did not speak for a long time as if he had suddenly thought of something.An eerie silence spread between the two.When Candice saw that Jimothy did not answer her, she assumed that he had agreed to it silently and did not continue with the topic. She had no idea how to continue the topic either.Jimothy seemed rather heavy-hearted. In the past, after persuading her but to no avail, he would probably do something to ease Candice’s frustration.But at present, he just felt… that perhaps doing nothing was the best.On the other side, Ivanka entered the elevator and watched the elevator’s floors slowly rise in a bit of a daze.In the elevator, she and Michael also thought about the matter of an inside man.Normally when entering the Lane’s Group, even if Michael were to come personally, he would have to have an appointment, let alone an unfamiliar face.In such a situation, there would also be migrant workers appearing on the top floor of Lane’s Group. It was hard to bel
But at that moment, Michael’s words pulled Ivanka back when she was absolutely bonkers from her anger.Yes, she could not play into their hands. If not, was she just going to go along with their goal? Ivanka croaked an “okay”. Michael finally felt relieved. After passing through the scene, Ivanka came downstairs.She tilted her head to look up. A migrant worker stood on the roof of the building. Most of his body was already outside the guardrail.He held a long banner in his hand, which read: Unpaid pay, forcing the migrant workers to die!There was a speaker in his other hand as he screeched. “Stop faking it, Ivanka. No matter how grand your speeches are on TV, it still doesn’t change how venomous your heart is. I have a question. Everyone on the internet, how did all of them believe a poisonous woman like you?! Don’t they all say that the eyes of the masses are sharp? Now that everyone has been deceived by your appearances, I’m going to reveal your true colors for everyone
Ivanka agreed with a deep grunt. The gas pedal under her feet unconsciously roared.As she drove to the company building, lots of people had gathered around.There were onlookers watching the commotion. The media, the fire department as well as the police had just arrived.Most importantly, there was also a group of migrant workers. They were all wearing blue work clothes and yellow hats.No matter what their status was, everyone tilted their heads and looked at the roof of the building.Ivanka got out of the car. Under the escort of the security guards, she passed through the middle of the crowd.During this time, for some reason, someone deliberately or unintentionally stirred up everyone’s emotions by shouting.Anyway, someone shouted Ivanka’s name.“Isn’t this Ivanka, the chairman of Lane’s Group?”All of a sudden everyone leaned over towards this side.Some media outlets wanted to find out what was going on. After the last time, Ivanka clarified things live online, she h
Ever since she ended the call with Candice, Ivanka was troubled. She always felt like another incident was just around the corner, especially over the last two days; that feeling had gotten stronger. Ivanka had told only Michael about this feeling. After Michael heard her through, he said that he had the same thoughts and feelings as Ivanka. One thing was certain: the large batch of media reporters appearing at the company’s entrance at the same time was obviously organized and premeditated. So, it was definitely not an accident. That person obviously had some power, and to be able to make so many media companies respond to them meant that they must also have some power financially.What was more, the person behind this was very mysterious. Both Ivanka and Michael could not find out who that person really was, no matter what strings they pulled.There was not even a single clue leading to the person.Michael looked at Ivanka, who seemed a bit worried, and comforted her by
After walking out of the room, Ivanka received Candice’s call. Candice called to report her good news. Ever since the live broadcast, things had clearly improved for the company. The company’s stock had rebounded when it was once on the verge of falling. It was undoubtedly a good sign. Candice informed Ivanka all of this happily while Ivanka was still caught in a daze. “The company is back on track, all thanks to your move in saving the day! The other companies are regretting their decisions now. Iv, you’re awesome!” Ivanka smiled. “I’m glad to hear that the company is operating as usual. I hope nothing else will go wrong again. But I somehow find it odd when things get resolved a bit too smoothly.” Candice, on the other hand, dismissed that thought. She believed Ivanka had been too vigilant. What mattered most was the company’s reputation had been salvaged. Other than that, she could not think of any other problems. Ivanka parted her lips, but no word came out of her
Ivan said this not just because he trusted Ivanka’s medical skills, but mostly because he believed in Sandy. Although a paralyzed person could neither move nor talk, they could hear sounds. Ivan believed Sandy heard Ivanka’s calls. It would help her regain her consciousness. Ivanka felt extremely grateful for their trust in her. She swore to herself that she would not disappoint them. Since Sandy’s family members agreed with this, the physician had no reason to stop Ivanka. When the physician watched Sandy being carried up to the ambulance and sent to Ivanka’s home, he shook his head and sighed. The physician believed Sandy’s family members’ blind obedience and foolishness would only get Sandy killed. Nonetheless, it was out of his hands. The physician could only pray for Sandy. Ivanka did not know what the physician was thinking, nor did she even care. She accompanied Sandy’s mother and talked to her. They had a heart-to-heart talk. After that, she had someone se
Sandy laid quietly on the bed without any signs of life. Ivanka found it strange. After so long, Sandy still did not show any signs of improvement. Ivanka had questioned the attending physician. But the physician gave her a very vague answer. “Even to this day, we don’t knaow the exact time she would regain her consciousness. There’s no way for me to give you an accurate answer. What I could say is, fate will decide. Perhaps she will regain her consciousness by tomorrow, or perhaps she will never regain her consciousness for the rest of her life. In the meantime, her family and friends can stay around and chat with the patient as this can stimulate her will to live on to a certain extent.” Ivanka thought the physician might as well have said nothing at all. Did that mean she could not do anything to help Sandy and could only let fate decide? Ivanka was an atheist. She never trusted in any gods or fate. Judging from the current situation, it looked like the physician was unr
With that, Ivanka caught everyone off guard as she turned off the live broadcast. The netizens still had not had enough of it. This was especially so when they seemingly detected something, only to see Ivanka go off the air abruptly. As a result, they had no more drama to watch. After stopping the live broadcast, Ivanka heaved a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Michael stared at the comments from the sharp-eyed netizens, and his gaze grew increasingly dull. Monkeyking: Who’s that who just showed up in front of the camera? I can tell that he’s a very handsome man just by looking at his side profile! Kingkong: Although I’ve no idea who that man is, I believe he’s Ivanka’s partner. Didn’t you see how close they are? Besides, they are a good match for each other… Gorilla: I screenshot him and sent it to my boss. He told me that man comes from a powerful background. It’s a bit inconvenient to talk more about him here. Just see and wait. ... There was a hint of a smile in Michael
Ivanka already had a framework for her speech in her mind before speaking in front of the crowd. Although she did not write them down, she had a good memory. Therefore, she could deliver her speech smoothly and perfectly. Although she occasionally forgot what she needed to say, it seldom happened. Moreover, she had a wealth of experience in delivering speeches in front of the crowd. In other words, she was good at applying the right tones and wordplay at the right time. Occasionally, she would crack some jokes to ease the atmosphere as well as to relieve her own stress. In short, she delivered her speech eloquently and calmly. The way she delivered her speech made her listeners feel comfortable. At the same time, it was only then that they finally realized the truth. They knew it was Lane’s Group’s subsidiary that was the main culprit instead of Lane’s Group. Lane’s Group was like a tree, and its subsidiaries were like its branches. A tree had many branches. When one of