Over the next ten days, Ivanka’s injury gradually improved. She decided not to stay home and started to go to the office. When she did not go to the office, Michael did not tell anyone that she was injured. Evan only said that Michael had sent her to do something else. If he said that Michael wanted it, people would not question it in the slightest. But if he said that Ivanka wanted to do it on her own, then people would talk about Ivanka. They would say that she was up to trouble again. Over these ten days, Michael had not gone to see Ivanka. But when he learned that Ivanka had come to work, he immediately frowned and walked toward Ivanka’s office. He did not voice his arrival and just opened the door. Then, he saw Ivanka working. Michael frowned harder. “Who let you come to work?” Ivanka was a little surprised. She looked up and saw that Michael had already closed the door and walked in. He was glaring at her darkly. She was surprised that Michael would come over, but
“Ivanka, you…”The woman’s angry words were cut short as she suddenly stopped in her tracks.Behind her, the other employees were all dumbfounded.What… What did they just see?!Ivanka was sitting sideways at her desk. Michael’s hand rested on her smooth back. The zipper of her dress had been pulled down to reveal her bare, fair-skinned and flawless back.Upon hearing the sound, Ivanka immediately turned her back to the desk. She was facing them, but because her shirt was loose, she had to hold it in the front to keep it from falling.However, her beautiful shoulders were still exposed. They could even see her white bra straps.The expressions of the group became even more conflicted. Ivanka frowned and glanced coldly at them. She thought. “Have people forgotten how to knock?” However, it was not the right moment to lash out at them.The men and women standing at the door were all frozen in shock. They had come to settle scores with Ivanka as her arrogance irked them. Plus, t
Ivanka’s expression was particularly grim, while Michael’s was brooding as well. So many people had just seen Ivanka’s back, which made him furious!He quickly unwrapped Ivanka’s bandage and found that her wound was as she had described. It had already healed with new flesh and scabbed over. He carefully re-applied the bandage and did up her shirt.Ivanka remained silent as she was trying to control her emotions. However, those people’s intrusion today made it hard for her to control her anger.She took a deep breath and spoke coldly, “I seriously doubt whether you have any authority at all. Your subordinates’ proposals are worse than trash. They all want to settle scores with me just because I criticized them. Even when I brought you up to intimidate them, it didn’t work. Now that they’ve seen what we were doing, they would probably say that I got my position by sleeping with you.”Michael’s expression darkened a little more, but strangely, hearing Ivanka’s last sentence seemed to
“Iv, why aren’t you taking the food? You need to eat more, you’re too thin now.”Ivanka smiled. “I am eating, Grandma.”Rosie looked at her with concern and said resignedly, “You have to eat enough. Don’t skip meals just to maintain your figure. Besides, you’re slim enough! You need to eat more to put some weight back on!”Ivanka nodded with a smile. “Okay, I’ll eat more.”Ivanka was not underweight. It was quite standard. However, in Rosie’s eyes, she looked thin enough to make her worry.The dinner was quickly over. Samuel remained silent the whole time, but at the end of the dinner, he looked at Ivanka and sternly said, “Ms. Ivanka, come to my study later. There are some things I want to ask you about.”Samuel’s tone was harsh and authoritative. What he said to Ivanka sounded more like a command than a request.Moreover, he addressed Ivanka as “Ms. Ivanka,” indicating his attitude.Ivanka remained indifferent. It did not bother her, but before she could respond, Rosie glared
Besides, if she persuaded Rosie to let her follow Samuel to the study, Rosie would surely defend her again. Then, there would be another big argument between Rosie and Samuel.It was better for her to confront Samuel directly. Let Samuel vent his displeasure on her so that it would not affect Rosie and Samuel’s relationship.Michael’s mood seemed to lighten further. Ivanka’s sharp tongue, which was usually directed at him, was now aimed at Samuel. He was relieved someone was sharing the burden with him.Samuel gritted his teeth as his gaze shifted to Michael. His eyes were filled with displeasure and insinuation. They seemed to express something. “So, this is the woman you chose? This is the woman you want to protect?”Michael looked back at Samuel calmly. His gaze held the answer. “Weren’t you the one who chose her back then?”Samuel could not deny that.Samuel immediately turned his head away and broke eye contact.Back then, the marriage alliance simply seemed inevitable beca
Rosie’s expression was cold. She would not even look at him.Meanwhile, Ivanka and Michael turned to Rosie. Ivanka spoke up directly. “Are you okay?”She reached for Rosie’s wrist. Her fingertips casually felt her pulse.Rosie patted the back of Ivanka’s hand with her other hand. Her anger from before dissipated. She looked at Ivanka with affection and said, “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”Ivanka nodded slightly. She loosened her grip on Rosie’s wrist but did not let go. She smiled as she said, “Okay, that’s good.”Michael, on the other hand, looked at Rosie and asked, “Why is your heart acting up? You didn’t sleep well?”Rosie immediately shot a displeased glance at Samuel, who was already looking dejected beside her, and said irritably, “It’s all your grandfather’s fault!”Samuel suddenly felt extremely wronged, but he did not dare say a word to retort.At that moment, he was like a completely different person compared to his earlier aggressive self.Ivanka found it a litt
“Mr. Barkworth, we have a big problem!” Evan’s voice came through. It lacked its usual composure.Ivanka’s eyebrows twitched. She instinctively held her breath and paid attention.“What happened?” Michael’s magnetic voice remained calm.Evan seemed to regain some composure at Michael’s tone, but his nervousness was still evident as he spoke. “Our company secrets have been stolen!”Michael’s expression instantly turned icy. He said, “Look into it. Initiate the backup plan immediately.”“We’re already working on it, but the stolen information must have already been put to use.”Michael’s expression remained cold, but he did not say anything more.They had just left the old mansion and were at a crossroads. To the left led to the company, while the right led to Ivanka’s house.Michael chose to turn left without hesitation.Ivanka did not say anything. With Barkworth’s Group facing such a crisis, she would not demand him to take her home, especially since her car was the only tran
The technician was startled. His face turned pale. Why was Mr. Barkworth staring at him like that? Was he suspecting him?But he was innocent!However, before he defended himself, Evan had already walked over and said, “Give your seat to Ms. Lane.”The technician reacted out of reflex and quickly got up from his seat, even though he was still in a daze. Why did Evan ask him to give up his seat again?What was Ivanka going to do in front of the computer?With that in mind, everyone turned to Ivanka. In the next second, they saw her typing away on the keyboard.They all looked up out of reflex and saw strings and strings of white codes on the computer screen. It was a startling sight.Everyone in this office was an IT expert, and their skills were top-tier.But at that moment, when some of them saw the codes she wrote, they thought they might have wasted all those years studying and accomplished nothing. They could not even understand the codes, let alone fathom the speed at whic
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