"Are you thinking of going there alone again?" Ruben already knew what Lucille's plan was. He continued in exasperation, "When are you going to stop this bad habit of acting alone? I don't even know when you picked this up!"Lucille lowered her eyes without saying anything. Her eyes gleamed ruthlessly. She subtly took a deep breath after a brief silence, then said, "After Riley left, I guess."That took Ruben aback. Then, he slapped himself for bringing up the subject. He'd killed the conversation. He knew Riley's death was a painful subject to Lucille.None of them knew what had happened that year—not even Octavius, who'd been there with them. All he knew was that Lucille and Riley had been taken away together. Then, Lucille had returned alone.Octavius had told the rest of them that Lucille had become a woman of few words from that day onward. She'd refused to talk about what had happened between her and Riley, and they hadn't pushed her.Lucille gave Ruben a sideways look. "It'
So, did this mean Zachary had been worried for nothing?"No, something's not right here," he said. "Since when has Luce been friends with Ruben Gale? It's not like you don't know what he's like."Spencer was still as cool as a cucumber. "She has every right to befriend anyone she wants. I can't interfere with that.""When did you become so generous?" Zachary was nonplussed by his words. "Aren't you jealous? That's Ruben Gale, you know. He looks good and comes from an influential family. He's also the head of The Grid."Spencer asked in return, "Are you saying I can't compare to him?"Once again, Zachary was rendered speechless.Spencer was only this calm and composed because of what had happened with Corey. It was true he didn't like any men being around Lucille, but things were different if they were his "brothers-in-law".As far as he knew, Corey and Ruben were good friends. So…He didn't want to act rashly this time in case it led to yet another misunderstanding. More import
"So, he knows I'm here?" Lucille asked.Of course Zachary knew who she was referring to. "Yeah, he does. I told him about it."He was telling the truth. Besides, he didn't want them to misunderstand each other. "I told him to come, but he refused. He said he wouldn't interfere with your social circle."Lucille believed him. Spencer had always given her freedom and his complete trust. He would get jealous but also knew how to control himself. He knew when it was the right time for jealousy and when it wasn't.Zachary's curious gaze traveled between her and Ruben. For once, he became as eager for gossip as Ethan. "How do you two know each other, Luce?"Since he'd already run into them, Lucille had nothing to hide. She was about to answer when Ruben spoke up, sounding sarcastic. "What's up? Are you feeling jealous or envious? God knows where you were when she met me."Everyone fell silent at that. This was Phoenix's first time seeing Ruben so sarcastic. He was rather… childish.S
"Don't worry, though. The competition will still go on as usual. Here's the plan…" Lucille whispered a few things to Matilda, which calmed the latter down."Alright, then. We'll follow your plan," she said. "With me around, you can do whatever you want. I'll clean up the mess if anything goes wrong."She paused. "No, that's not right. No one would dare do anything to you even if I'm not there to clean the mess up."Lucille knew Matilda had many more things to do, so she didn't linger and left after a while. In the car, Bethany asked, "Should we head home now, Mrs. Layton?"Lucille thought about it. "Let's go to Creekside Villas."Bethany didn't question it. She drove out of the hotel's parking lot. She noticed something amiss when they were halfway to their destination. "Someone seems to be trailing us, Mrs. Layton."Lucille had been resting her eyes. She opened them at Bethany's words and glanced in the rearview mirror. Then, she said, "Shake him off. I have faith in your skil
Lucille and Bethany soon arrived at Creekside Villas, but Lucille didn't get out of the car. Bethany saw her looking glum after hanging up the phone. It was rare to see her like that. "Is anything wrong, Mrs. Layton?"Lucille looked at her and asked, "Why do you think Ian is so insistent on finding Eunie? Why doesn't he want to let her go?"Ian was even willing to use Moore Group's shares as part of his wager. If it were true that he didn't have feelings for Eunice, why was he doing this?There was no telling who would win the bet, but his willingness to put Moore Group's shares on the line showed how serious he was about the whole thing."I think Mr. Moore has feelings for Ms. Lennon, Mrs. Layton," Bethany said.Lucille raised an eyebrow. "How can you be sure about that?"Bethany bit her lip hesitantly. "I heard about something once. It seems Mr. Moore Senior objected to Mr. Moore marrying Ms. Lennon, but Mr. Moore insisted on it. He and Mr. Moore Senior even got into a huge f
It was such a wondrous feeling."The baby usually only kicks me at night. Looks like it made an exception today because it knew you were here," Eunice said with a smile.She and Lucille chatted for a while. Then, Lucille asked, "Are you sure you won't tell Ian about this, Eunie? You're just going to drag this out and keep this from him forever?"Eunice briefly fell silent. "This is all I can do since he refuses to sign the divorce papers."She sighed. "It's only for two years. It'll pass soon enough."Lucille knew what she meant by that. She was still determined to go through with the divorce. "Can you bring yourself to let him go?"Eunice turned to look at her, her smile relaxed. "So what if I can't? There will never be a place for me in his heart."For a moment, Lucille didn't know what to say. She caught a hint of bitterness in Eunice's eyes before the latter looked down at her belly. "The first time I asked for a divorce, he came to Whiteloop City to look for me. At the ti
That night, Bethany went to report the information she'd dug up to Lucille. She handed the latter an envelope and said, "This is the information on Ms. Sage you requested, Mrs. Layton."Lucille sat cross-legged on the couch in the living room. She took the envelope from Bethany but noticed the latter holding another. Bethany continued, "Please go through this one first."She stood there and waited. Soon, Lucille frowned. Bethany asked, "Is anything wrong?""They're half-sisters?" Lucille asked."Yeah. You didn't know that?"Lucille was taken aback. No, she hadn't known about Sage and Eunice being half-sisters. She'd always thought they shared the same parents. The information indicated Sage had only been two years older than Eunice.Sage's mother and Carson had divorced when Sage had only been one. A year later, Carson had remarried and started a new family. It turned out there was a story behind the Lennon family's relationships.The information indicated that Sage had always b
Connor said, "Wait, Lucille's into perfumery, too? Why would she need to join any competitions with her status? She can just—""That's why she's a judge, not a contestant." Spencer sounded proud, and Connor could hear it. The latter was lost for words.…The following day, Spencer told Lucille he would be her driver for the day. What reason did she have to turn down a handsome and considerate man who was offering his services for free?Once they left Sparrow Residence, Herbert got to work and instructed people to do what Spencer had requested.This year's International Perfumery Competition finals were held at Whiteloop City's Golden Troupe Exhibition Center, a large space that could accommodate close to a thousand people.Outside the venue, three entrance and exit pathways had been set up—one for the contestants, one for the judges and VIPs, and one for selected audience members. The audience members could vote for the contestants.In addition to the contestants and judges, 500