Michael responded indifferently, “Do whatever you want.”He then stood up and walked away without looking at Samuel.Rosie glanced worriedly at him. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from her sight.She looked angrily at Samuel. “I’ll divorce you if I find out you contacted Iv. You’ll never see me again in your life!”“Rosie!” Samuel exclaimed in frustration.She did not even spare him a glance and quickly walked away.He slammed his hand on the table.Jay looked calmly at him and said, “You’re the head of the family. You can do whatever you want. But is exercising your authority more satisfying than potentially losing your family?”Samuel became even more furious and said, “What do you mean by that? Will you also break ties with me if I contact her?”Jay just calmly replied, “Parents tend to side with their children. Naturally, I’ll follow my son.”“You...! Cough cough!”“Dad!” Mindy swiftly moved around the table and walked worriedly to Samuel. She patted his back and
Jay looked at Michael and asked calmly, “So, what’s your plan? Are you going to remarry Iv?”“Yes,” Michael responded briefly without hesitation this time.Jay was surprised. “Have you thought this through already?”“Mm.”Jay continued to look at him intently. “Do you actually have feelings for Iv now? Or do you still see her as just a suitable match?”Michael frowned and turned to Jay. “Given Iv’s current attitude, do you think she’s emotionally available to develop romantic feelings at the moment? Without the love factor, whoever she chooses to marry later won’t be as compatible as me.”“I’m not asking about her. I’m asking about you,” Jay said seriously and waited patiently for Michael’s response.Michael’s frown deepened. “What’s the difference?”Ivanka did not have romantic feelings for him, nor did she have feelings for any other men. Consequently, marrying for love was not in the cards for her. In this scenario, he remained the most suitable choice as her original partne
The next day, Ivanka went to work as usual. Gossip was particularly abundant. Evan already had someone to stop the spread of the gossip. Even though they had stopped gossiping, their gazes remained audibly curious. This was especially so when Ivanka showed up. Their expressions looked odd. Nonetheless, Ivanka did not pay them attention. She did her work as usual. Even if someone intended to set her up, she could not leave her tasks unattended. It did not matter whether the others believed her or not. What mattered most was if Michael believed her. Although she had verbally put Samuel on the spot, it was up to Michael whether he wanted to terminate his collaboration with Ivanka. However, if Michael really terminated their collaboration, Ivanka’s efforts would go to waste. After all, she had worked hard on it. Even though she could start over again by collaborating with Sadler’s Group, it would be very inconvenient. Everyone kept exchanging glances. When no one was around
Ivanka looked away silently. Sometimes, she really did not know what to say to Jonah. He always had his mind in the gutter. This made Ivanka find the thought of getting into a relationship even more revolting. She had repeatedly warned Jonah to stop having dirty thoughts about her, but he refused to listen to her. After warning him multiple times, she had given up. Everyone knew Jonah had high EQ, but Ivanka was the only person who made him feel troubled. Regardless of what he did, she never felt touched. She also never had any sort of romantic affection toward him. If the others were to know about this, how embarrassing would it be for Jonah? But he could not help it. He still had to do what he needed to do. He certainly would not give up on Ivanka. “Have a look at the proposal first.” Jonah then took out the proposal. He smiled gently as if nothing had ever happened. Since Jonah did not mention it, Ivanka calmed down. She took the document and read it swiftly. It did not
“Yes. I know. That’s why my heart aches for you. Iv, must you run yourself to the ground?” Ivanka stared at him silently. Jonah returned her gaze intently. After all the time they had spent together, this was Jonah’s first time being that sincere to her. Ivanka’s eyes flickered with some emotions. For a moment, she felt uneasy. The next moment, Jonah said with a magnetic and gentle voice, “I know you never like to rely on others. You want to win this battle and personally avenge your father. But this would only exhaust you. Friends are meant to help each other. Why do you have to reject my offer to help you? Have you never believed in my sincerity toward you?” Ivanka’s eyes flickered with some complicated emotions. She said nothing. At that moment, she did not know what else to say. Could she trust him? Her silence reassured Jonah that his thoughts were real. He sighed in resignation. “Everyone says I have high EQ and am capable of handling various problems, but with yo
TooMuchFreeTime: @HatesHaters, don’t you feel guilty for saying that? You’re obviously paid to post positive comments about Ivanka, right? Everyone knows that Michael and Jonah hate each other, but Ivanka is flirting with them both. Don’t you think this is due to some “special” reasons? It’s so ridiculous of you to speak up for her! HatesHaters: I’m not speaking up for her. I’m just stating facts! OnlineDetective: Honestly, your “facts” remind me that during Ivanka’s divorce, she purposely showed up with Jonah at a banquet. She even linked arms with him and announced her divorce in public. This showed that she cheated in the marriage. After she and Michael divorced, she almost instantly helped Jonah with his lawsuit against Michael. Michael suffered a loss of tens of billions of dollars as a result, and it was a significant amount. She was clearly biased toward Jonah. Her collaboration with Michael on the project might be an attempt to create a smokescreen. Her real intention is to
OnlineJoker: @EwEwEw is right! She probably owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets. She’s a great lawyer and a top hacker. These two identities alone make her worth a great deal of money. Moreover, she was Lane’s Group’s ex-president’s daughter and Michael’s ex-wife. Imagine the amount of assets she has gained from them. How on earth do you guys even think about getting together with her? What a joke! They did not stop mocking the trio. Some thought they purposely brought in other topics to make a big deal out of it. But the trolls did not want this. They quickly went back to the topic and trolled Ivanka by calling her a wh*re and making other nasty remarks. Everyone believed Ivanka and Jonah were in cahoots and went against Michael to steal his trade secret. Michael had changed the second level of security. If Ivanka stayed on, she would certainly be a scourge to Barkworth’s Group. Many people already commented about this on the internet or sent a private message to
Ivanka hesitated for a while before picking up. Before she said anything, Michael said in a bone-chilling voice, “Why did you see him during this period of time?” Ivanka’s eyes flickered with some emotions. She could not help but sigh to herself. “This was due to my negligence. I’ll be more careful next time.” Michael’s expression was extremely dark. Although Ivanka did not see his grim expression, she could guess it. “Everyone is suspecting you. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?” “You don’t trust me?” Ivanka did not sound as if she was in disbelief. Instead, she asked calmly. It was not like she had to make Michael believe in her. Michael’s expression darkened, and he scoffed. “Why should I?” Ivanka was speechless. He was right. It was only normal for everyone to suspect her in this case. If she had not been directly involved in this, she would probably suspect herself too. When Michael did not hear her response, he seethed in fury. Whether he trusted
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