Theodore and Lyla remained silent. Ivanka’s current transformation was completely beyond their expectations. No one had anticipated that Ivanka could become such a formidable figure one day.Over the past few years, why had they failed to notice anything unusual about Ivanka? She had grown up right under their noses, so how had they missed her many talents?Had they simply neglected Ivanka’s excellence?After all, her academic performance had always been outstanding....At the cemetery, Ivanka stood before her father’s grave. There were mixed emotions on her face but longing surpassed everything else. Even from a distance, others could sense the sorrow emanating from her.Ivanka looked down at the photo of her father’s kind smile on the tombstone. She took a deep breath and whispered, “Dad, it’s been a long time since I last visited. Do you think I’m being a bad daughter?”Her voice was low and slightly hoarse. Sniffling a bit, she continued, “I grew up without a mother, and af
She became even more determined. After speaking to her father this time, it felt as if she had gained his approval.Ivanka became the Chairwoman of Lane’s Group. As soon as the meeting ended, Thomas released the news.The public’s reactions were nothing short of shock.Of course, her fans were ecstatic!They were all hoping for Ivanka to reclaim her position as chairwoman!Now that she had, it sparked a wave of cheers.GradeASimp: Oh my god! My girl Iv actually became the chairwoman! She’s seriously amazing!Fangirling I think she’s incredible too! My dream girl has so many talents, and now she’s the chairwoman. Iv’s future is truly boundless! She’s going to become someone no one can reach!YesImASimp: Exactly! Our dream girl is the best!The comments went on like that. They were all praising her!They made her sound like a perfect woman.While some praised her, others criticized her as well.Cynical: Is this supposed to be impressive? Ivanka was the daughter of the forme
“I threatened him.”“Huh? How so?” Sandy was even more confused.Ivanka simply smiled. “He used to ask for my shares. Even though I handed them over willingly, our agreement had a big loophole.”“Oh?” Sandy was surprised. “That’s good, then! He has to return them to you!”“Yeah.”“Hah! This terrible family of three finally gets what they deserve! Since the agreement has no legal bearing on you, you can definitely ask for the profits they made with your shares all these years!”Ivanka chuckled. “I will. Don’t worry about me. I’ll handle everything else. They can’t spare any attention or energy to target me for now.”Sandy sighed. “I’m just a little concerned, but I also know that you’re capable of dealing with them. You mustn’t let those b*stards have their way!”Ivanka was touched and teared up. “Alright.”They chatted for a bit before hanging up. Anna and Hanson also texted her in the group chat. They congratulated her and asked about her current situation. Ivanka did not tel
The family of three discussed this matter. They decided to ignore Ivanka’s threat. They all agreed that she would not take away their shares, so they grew emboldened. The time was finally up.On the day of the deadline, Ivanka called Theodore on the phone.Theodore answered the call with a grim expression. “Hello.”As soon as he said that, he heard her cold voice. “Have you considered my words?”Theodore’s expression darkened further. Ivanka’s tone was icy. She did not even call him uncle. How disrespectful and loathsome!He said calmly, “You’re still young, so you shouldn’t have that many shares for now. Besides…”Before he finished, Ivanka said, “This is your last chance. Since you don’t appreciate it, don’t blame me for escalating this.”Theodore immediately snorted with laughter. “Escalate? What are you going to do about it?”“You know what I’ll do and the consequences you have to bear. That’s all I am going to say.” With that, Ivanka hung up.Theodore’s heart skipped a
At Cullen’s Group, Tanya was working in her company when someone knocked on the door to her office.“Miss Cullen.”Tanya snapped out of her reverie and looked up.“Come in.”Soon enough, a female secretary dressed in office attire pushed open the door and walked in. She had a document in her hand.“This is the document you’ve asked for. You have a meeting with the design department in fifteen minutes.”“Alright.”The secretary acknowledged her response. Seeing that Tanya had not given any more instructions, she left the room.Tanya rubbed the spot between her brows and flipped through the document she had received.She had heard of what happened in Lane’s Group lately. Soon, Ivanka would take over the company.Tanya wondered what the company would become under Ivanka’s leadership.Would it flourish at an alarming rate, or would it crash and crumble? Perhaps in the end, Michael would no longer be impressed with Ivanka, and all her admirers would leave her.Tanya pressed her
Tanya pressed her lips together and said nothing. She signaled Erica to continue. Erica adjusted the glasses on her nose bridge and said, “The design department is facing a bottleneck, but it isn’t because of our design. It’s due to the consumers’ increasingly picky and divisive tastes. Many designers’ products can hardly appeal to everyone.”Her explanation sounded like an excuse to shift the blame to someone else.Tanya furrowed her brows slightly and looked at Erica. “What you said about the consumers’ tastes is true, but you have to do your best in terms of design.”Erica quickly shook her head. “No, Miss Cullen, I’m not saying that our design is not to blame. I merely explain this situation from an objective lens. When it comes to the color palette and proportion, our designs are fine. Everyone has been working very hard as well. But I think that if we have a world-class designer on the team, we will have some breakthroughs even if we only borrow her fame.”Tanya pulled a lo
After some thinking, Tanya rested her hand on her forehead and said calmly, “I’ve got other plans for this. Just use the design concept and come up with a design. I’ll send someone to look for Papaver, but be ready in case we can’t find her.”Everyone nodded and did not say anything further.The meeting was then adjourned.Tanya was quite interested in Papaver.She had considered collaborating with her before. However, Papaver was aloof and had never revealed her true identity. This made her extremely elusive. Tanya had never been able to contact her.The Design Department’s approach seemed very reasonable to her. Collaborating with Papaver would be a significant advancement for them.Another reason she wanted to collaborate with Papaver was to hope that Michael would regard her more highly. By becoming more exceptional and achieving more, she hoped to be worthy of Michael and have him pour his attention on her instead of his ex-wife. ... The deadline Ivanka gave Theodore w
Ivanka seemed to be waiting for Theodore’s agreement.He had to call Lyla immediately!... Sandy, Anna, and Hanson were at Ivanka’s house. It had been a while since they last gathered.Ivanka had prepared some food for them. The other three were helping out in the kitchen.Once everyone settled down, Sandy eagerly picked up her utensils. “I can finally eat Iv’s cooking again!”Anna chuckled, “Hey, don’t be greedy! I miss Iv’s cooking too.”Sandy snorted, “See?! You miss her food too! I’m not the only one who’s greedy!”Hanson smiled and picked up his utensils.Ivanka’s wounds were almost completely healed, but they still did not let her drink alcohol. So, everyone could only drink juice instead of wine.After they toasted, Sandy took a sip of her juice and looked at Ivanka. “Iv, is Theodore’s family still acting indifferent?”“Mhm.”Hanson frowned. “Even after you threatened to sue them? Aren’t they afraid?”Anna found it hard to believe. She laughed and said, “How can th
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