Ivanka looked at Chiara with a hint of a mocking smile on her lips.“Do you think I heard her?”Chiara’s eyes widened. But she was not shocked. She was too furious to speak.Was there something wrong with Ivanka’s ears? How could she not hear Lyla?Earlier on, Chiara had simply reminded her to reply.But Ivanka dared to ask her a question instead. How could she be so shameless?Just as Chiara wanted to say something, Lyla quickly chuckled. It sounded like a reminder to her daughter.Deep down, Chiara was furious. But she gave a cold snort, suppressed her emotions, and fell silent.Lyla tried to channel some emotion into her speech, and she said to Ivanka with resignation, “Iv, don’t overthink it. I know that you need to consider this matter. But the situation is a little urgent. Why don’t we resolve this in private?”Theodore was pulling a long face the entire time. He remained in his seat without a word. He could not bring himself to beg for Ivanka’s mercy. He could only rely
At that moment, Theodore could not describe his anger in words.But he still chose to suppress his anger. Once the server came in, he immediately ordered some food and sent them away.He, his family, and his guests were the only people left in the private room.Their conversation was interrupted earlier on. Theodore had to bring back the topic, or lest this meeting would be a waste of time.Besides, even though there were so many people in the room, they formed only two sides.Ivan and Michael were best friends, so he naturally sided with Ivanka. Sandy and Suki would of course defend her as well.Therefore, there was no need for Theodore and his family to hide things from these people. Ivanka would tell them everything after this meeting, anyway.After a moment of hesitation, Chiara turned to Ivanka and could not help saying, “Iv, no matter what happened between us, we were relatives, and blood is thicker than water. What happened this time has caught us by surprise. We have bee
Lyla could not let this situation worsen. Besides, she ought to start the topic she wanted to discuss.If she could not clear their names, her family would not be able to execute their plan. She knew this. But everything should happen in order. Even if they did not bring up the subject, Ivanka eventually would.Lyla nudged Chiara’s foot under the table to remind her not to be impulsive.Back then, when their life was smooth sailing, Chiara could mask her emotions. However, ever since her family started facing a series of troubles, her temperament had changed drastically. She would have a meltdown every time something did not go her way.Lyla decided to lecture her daughter about this later.Inhaling deeply, Lyla looked at Ivanka again and said with concern, “Iv, the agreement will affect the fate of our whole clan. So we can’t do whatever you want us to do. But you mentioned that we hurt your father. That’s impossible!”There was mockery in Ivanka’s eyes. She said nothing. It was
Theodore’s expression changed. “Miss McNeil, that’s not true.”Sandy snorted coldly. She wanted to mock him, but eventually decided against it and stayed quiet.Suki did not even bother to look at Theodore and his family. She turned to Ivanka with a gentle look on her face. “Your father has already long passed. Sometimes it only upsets you to bring them up again. Iv, why don’t we let this go?”Theodore was alarmed.Since Ivanka had come to meet him, it showed that she indeed wanted to know more about Fernando, and Theodore had made the right bet. But if people around her kept telling her to let it go, she might just give up.As expected, Ivanka nodded in agreement. “You’re right. The more I know, the sadder I’ll get. I’ll only miss him more.”Theodore and his family paled slightly. Before they said anything, Suki immediately nodded with a smile. “Yes, just let it be, and don’t dwell on the past. Your father would want you to be happy.”“Yeah! He’d have been upset to see you like
Once again, the room was theirs.Ivanka’s patience had already worn out.Seeing that Lyla and Theodore kept refuting an irrefutable fact, she ignored them, picked up her cutlery, and started eating.Ivan was speechless and wondering how she managed to have an appetite after all this time. But he, too, began eating.Naturally, Sandy and Suki picked up their cutlery as well.They were here to grab a bite, after all.Theodore’s expression darkened. All this while, he never said it was okay for them to start eating.But they did that anyway, which was highly disrespectful. Did they not realize that they were in the middle of a discussion?Inhaling deeply, Theodore controlled his emotions and raised his glass at everyone else.“Since we’re already eating together, why don’t we have a drink too?”There was a polite smile on his lips. He acted like he was drinking with his business partners.But he did not expect that after he lifted his glass, only Lyla followed suit.The people
Theodore shook his head and sighed as various emotions brewed within him. “It’s really—”“I don’t have time for your sentimentality. Just get straight to the point” interrupted Ivanka impatiently, which surprised Theodore.He thought Ivanka would resonate with him through this. He tried to stay composed but he was already simmering with anger. Lyla could sense that he was already too upset to speak. So, she quickly intervened, “Wait, Ivanka. Don’t be mad.”This time, she did not dare to waste her time beating around the bush and went straight to the point. “Before your dad passed away, he left us a message for you.”Ivanka narrowed her eyes. Before Fernando passed away, he had also spoken to Michael.Did he also say something to them?She frowned. Could Fernando also have told them to tell her not to take revenge when she learned the truth?!Ivanka’s expression turned colder. She seemed to have figured out something. Theodore and the rest had no idea what was on her mind. He
Ivanka subconsciously bit her lip. She was struggling to contain her sadness and maintain her composure.Whenever she thought of her father, she could not control her emotions because she always felt indebted to him. Had it not been for her past obsession with a love that should not have happened in the first place, she and her father would not have ended up in their current unfortunate situation.If she had prioritized her family more back then, things would not have deteriorated to such dire straits.The recording continued playing.Chiara felt satisfaction and relief seeing Ivanka distressed. Until now, Ivanka had always seemed aloof and stoic.Chiara longed to see Ivanka in pain and could finally witness it. She took a deep breath as she intently watched Ivanka. She did not want to miss any of her emotional reactions.“Iv, honestly, I hadn’t planned on leaving you this recording, but I worried you’d feel down without memories of me. So, I kept this recording with Theodore. I
Sandy felt so disgusted seeing Theodore’s pretentious facade that she let out a cold snort.“Iv, dear. Goodbye. I love you.”Those were his final words.Her heart wrenched with pain, but Ivanka tried to rein in her emotions and not show them too prominently.Lyla and the others waited, hoping Ivanka would speak up. As moments passed in silence, Lyla finally spoke with hesitation. She said softly, “Iv, I know you’re hurting inside. But your father is already gone. You...”Before she could finish her sentence, Ivanka shot her a sharp gaze. Lyla was startled. Ivanka’s intense gaze cut off her words.Ivanka’s icy gaze was filled with hostility. This terrified Lyla.Theodore, Lyla, and Chiara panicked instantly. They were unsure of what to do next.Ivanka kept looking at them before letting out a cold laugh. “My father is already gone, you say?”Lyla’s heart skipped a beat. Oh no... did she just say the wrong thing?Theodore’s expression shifted. He was about to say something, b