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
Ivan pretended not to notice Michael’s gaze as he casually looked away.If Michael had not called a doctor, she would have contacted her own doctor herself. However, since the doctor Michael called was already on her way, she chose not to call her own doctor to avoid them running into each other.After a while, the doctor arrived.She was surprised to see that it was the same female doctor who changed her dressing yesterday.Had Michael called her over?Ivanka instinctively looked at Michael.Michael said calmly, “It’s better to have only one person handle your wound.”Sandy looked at Michael with confusion.Was Michael this caring before? Did he really have feelings for Ivanka?He seemed genuinely worried when Ivanka was not around this morning. The way he knocked on the door sounded very urgent. He even snatched her phone quite rudely. He looked extremely concerned. His behavior seemed almost instinctive.Well, she did interact with him before. He and Ivanka were married be
Michael had always believed that being so self-reliant was a way for a person to flaunt superiority.However, Ivanka never troubled him with anything. He was always the one who took initiative.He frowned as his expression soured.Sandy could not bear seeing the pain and exclaimed, “It’s really f*cking painful, isn’t it?! I’ve never experienced this level of pain, but even much milder injuries are hard for me to handle! Voicing the pain can actually help relieve it a little, you know?”The female doctor did not interrupt their conversation. It could be a distraction that could lessen Ivanka’s pain. The doctor tried to be gentle with her movements to ease Ivanka’s discomfort as much as possible.Ivanka smiled and replied softly, “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”Her voice was light and dainty. There was no sign of pain at all.Sandy sighed resignedly. “Iv...”She knew that Ivanka could endure a lot of pain. Plus, Ivanka probably did not want to worry her or become Michael’s laughingstock
Ivan’s expression darkened. “Why do you want to stay?”He tried to restrain his anger as he silently mouthed, “Are you planning to keep being a third wheel here? If you stay, their relationship will only become more strained!”He did it slowly enough for Sandy to catch most of it and understand enough.She hesitated and felt conflicted for a moment.Should she stay?It did not feel right.But if she left, Ivanka would be alone. What if Michael did something extreme to her?Ivanka was still injured. Michael seemed very strong and capable. There was no way Ivanka could stop him.Ivan thought there might be hope when he noticed Sandy hesitated. But before he could speak, Sandy said firmly, “I’m not leaving. I’m staying here tonight! Since Ivanka is injured, it’s inconvenient for you two big guys to stay here. Obviously, I should stay to take care of her!”Ivan’s expression turned grim. Sandy was being reasonable, but the way she said it sounded absurd. He gritted his teeth and re
The next moment, Ivanka came back to her senses. She smiled sarcastically and said indifferently, “You really don’t have to go to such lengths for me. I’ll be fine. Grandma won’t blame you for any of this. You can leave.”It was obvious that Ivanka did not want him around. Michael’s face turned pale with anger. He even had to restrain himself from strangling Ivanka. He headed upstairs wordlessly.Ivanka frowned irritably as she watched Michael go upstairs. She just could not drive him away.After hesitating momentarily, she decided not to bother with that jerk anymore and went back to her room. The two of them were like strangers living under the same roof.If Ivan and Xander found out how awkward Michael was, they would definitely mock him, especially Ivan. Xander might be a little more understanding.Soon, it was nighttime.Michael could not sleep at all and was plagued by persistent coughing throughout the night. He frowned in discomfort but chose to remain silent. He took a
Ivanka frowned. She stared at Michael unhappily. Despite not having said a word, she had explicitly shown what she really meant through her behavior. Michael, on the other hand, acted as if he had not noticed anything. He sat on the couch and read the documents. Ivanka fumed silently. She stared at Michael coolly. “What’s the point of doing this? Why are you doing this?” Michael sneered, “What do you think?” “I think you’re no different from common thugs! It’s almost as if I’m the only one for you. Stop making me have such illusions about you! I’ll only find you to be disgusting! Please leave now.” The veins on Michael’s forehead throbbed. He stared at Ivanka coolly. His eyes were filled with mockery. “You’d better stop having such an illusion about me. You’re not worthy.” “Get lost, then! Can’t you see I feel extremely irritated seeing you now?!” Apparently, Ivanka was furious at Michael’s words. Hence, she sounded cold and harsh. If one listened carefully, one could se
Michael opened the door without hesitation, but he could not find Ivanka inside the room. Michael’s expression darkened. He checked every room inside the house but could not find her. That meant she had left the house from upstairs. She had jumped out of the house. Michael thought. “Damn her!” At that moment, the veins on Michael’s forehead bulged. Clearly, he did not expect Ivanka to do that. He seethed in anger. Ivanka did not even leave him a message. It was clear to see that she hated him to the core. Through her actions, she had explicitly warned him not to interfere with her life. At that moment, Michael even had the urge to strangle Ivanka! He contacted Ivan. Right after Ivan answered his call, Ivan heard his bone-chilling voice. “Find out Ivanka’s whereabouts now.” Ivan was stunned. He became stupefied. He wondered. “Hasn’t she been staying in his house? “Did she sneak out? “If Mr. Barkworth is at home, he would certainly know if Ivanka has left th
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