Sandy nodded. “That’s right. You need to stay with us. If not, you can have Michael take care of you.” Ivanka was speechless. Sandy hesitated. In the end, she could not help but say, “I more or less know what sort of person Michael is now. Based on his actions over the past few days, he has grown more humble. Although it’s because of him that you got hurt, you have explicitly shown him through your actions that you don’t need him. If he doesn’t care about you, he should be living a carefree life. He could simply get a caretaker to take care of you. Or, he could just ignore you. After all, you’ve got us.” Anna nodded. “Right. I also feel the same. Iv, it could be because you’re different from last time, so he started to pay attention to you.” Ivanka’s lips twitched. “I don’t care. He can do whatever he wants. I won’t entertain him. Everything is good so long he doesn’t interfere with my life.” “Tsk. Since you decided to stay with us, he’ll certainly have someone to keep an eye
Ivanka nodded with a smile. “Quick. Wash your hands and eat dinner.” Hanson nodded. He entered the washroom. After Ivanka picked her seat, Anna sat beside her. Sandy could see what was going on, so she sat opposite Ivanka. She deliberately saved the seat opposite Anna for Hanson. A hint of uneasiness crossed Anna’s eyes. “Sandy…” Her voice was very soft. Only the three of them could hear her. Sandy chuckled and winked at her. “Don’t be afraid. Be brave and win his heart!” Anna fell speechless. At that moment, Anna did not know what else to say. She looked forward to talking to Hanson. At the same time, she was nervous. She wondered why Hanson did not like her. After Hanson came out of the washroom, he noticed only one seat left. A hint of disappointment darted across his eyes. He was not able to sit next to Ivanka or opposite her. When he noticed he had to sit opposite Anna, he believed the trio must have arranged it on purpose. He sighed in resignation. He
A thought came across Hanson’s mind, and he asked in puzzlement, “Why didn’t you prepare wine?” “That’s because we know you drove yourself here. Besides, too much alcohol is bad for us. I have had many pimples growing on my face recently.” “Then you should reduce eating spicy food.” After he finished speaking, he noticed there was no chili on the table. He instantly laughed. “When did you guys become so concerned about your health?” “If not now, when?” Anna sighed in relief. Luckily, she had mentioned pimples as an excuse. After that, they had a good chat. The atmosphere was harmonious. Suddenly, Hanson looked at the trio and said, “Actually, I have something to say.” “Go on.” Despite saying that, Sandy was worried. She wondered why Hanson made the atmosphere so solemn all of a sudden. Anna became tense. She was worried about what he was about to say. Hanson continued, “Our friendship is no longer like it was in the past. I know it’s all because of me.” Ivanka’s
Ivanka nodded. “It’s alright.” That was it. She said nothing else. Hanson seemed relieved. Then, he laughed lightly. “I might have been too stubborn in the past. Or maybe I just loved you too much. Every day, I was only thinking about how I could get you to say yes to me. But then, I went so far as to use my injury to tie you down into staying with me. “To be honest, in the days when I was in coma, when I heard you say yes to me, I was so happy I felt like I was on cloud nine. But I was also worried. After all, you only agreed to be with me because of the accident. So, something is inevitably not right. But still, I want to be blind to it and keep lying to myself.” Hanson could not help but laugh and shake his head as he said this. Anna wanted to say something, but she did not know what to say. Instead, Sandy spoke up. “No matter what happened at the time, at least you’re awake. Do you know how upset we all were when you stubbornly stayed asleep?” Hanson nodded hasti
Hanson then smiled and said, “It’s because I was not attentive enough. I didn’t notice many things about you. Also, I even pursued Iv countless times right in front of you. In fact, I even discussed ways to pursue Iv with you. You had to endure the sadness while helping me brainstorm. I’m sorry, Ann.” Anna hurriedly shook her head again. “No, this has nothing to do with you. It’s because I didn’t mention it before. None of you knew about it.” She just did not want to trouble everyone and was afraid that they could not even be friends once she said anything. Anna took a deep breath and dipped her head. She did not dare to look at Hanson’s face. Hanson then said softly, “I’m sorry, but I know that it’ll be harder for you if I say more. Even though I’m saying that I’m giving up on Iv right now, I still can’t get into a new relationship anytime soon. It’s hard for me to get into another new relationship. Ann, can we still go back to being friends?” In fact, with these words, he h
As she said that, Anna cried even more. Sandy’s expression changed. “Oh no! Don’t cry. Men aren’t worth it!Hanson may be our friend, but he can only be our friend. If he really becomes your boyfriend, something terrible might happen!” Ivanka and Anna were both speechless. “Forget it. I’d better handle it on my own. You’re going to be the death of me.” Anna could not help but snap. Sandy was speechless. “Hey, I’m going to take a shower first.” Anna got up after saying this. Both of them were planning to stay at Sandy’s house tonight. After all, they had to take care of Ivanka.Neither of them went to work the next day either. After all, they are all affluent ladies. No one was short of money. So, things like going to work were just something they did for fun. Anna was destined to take over her family business. Sandy might have distanced herself from her family, but she would still have to return at some point. … The next day, Ivanka had to go back to pick up
The doorbell rang suddenly and disrupted the trio’s attention.Sandy was instantly a little puzzled. “Michael couldn’t have come here, right?” Anna was a little surprised. “Huh? Would he, though? Last time, didn’t he say that he wouldn’t bother Iv as long as we were around?”Both of them seemed dubious. Then, they subconsciously looked at Ivanka.Ivanka got up instead. “I’ll go take a look.”“Don’t! You’re a patient! Why can’t you focus more on healing?!” If she was not injured, Sandy would have pushed her onto the sofa in anger.Ivanka laughed and rubbed the tip of her nose. She said nothing else.Immediately after, Sandy walked toward the door. “I’ll go take a look. If it’s Michael, I’ll send him away.”With that, she walked toward the door. When she saw that it was actually Jonah, she was a little surprised. Then, she turned to look at Ivanka. “It’s Jonah.”Her voice was not loud. She did not dare to be too loud, anyway.Ivanka’s eyes flashed with surprise, and she finall
Sandy was rather interested in the compensation.After all, she had heard about Jonah’s high emotional intelligence before. On the other hand, she and Anna wanted nothing. They were not tempted by money and jewelry, as well as those bags and other luxurious items. They would not feel like he was making up to them if he gave them those things. Rather, it would feel as if he was just humoring them. So, what else could Jonah do?At that, Anna was interested as well. Jonah smiled. “I remember that Iv’s birthday is coming soon.”Anna was confused. Sandy instantly rolled her eyes. “So the compensation you’re talking about is for us to prepare a gift for Iv for her birthday?”What kind of compensation is that?Ivanka instantly smiled. “Why would I ask you to do that?”Ivanka frowned slightly as she looked toward Jonah. Although she did not say anything, it showed all her disapproval. But Jonah did not care so much. He said elegantly as he looked at Sandy and Anna, “I want to o
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