The two cars left the renowned hotel and headed back to the hotel they were staying in.Once they reached the hotel, Bianca got out of the car.Sue soon followed suit.At the hotel entrance, they saw Jason Doyle waiting, dressed in his smart suit and leather shoes.“Good afternoon, Mr. Doyle.” Just like Sue and the others, Bianca greeted Jason as she went in.Jason nodded at Bianca too, but his gaze changed when he looked at Bianca.After Bianca walked into the hotel lobby, Jason was still frowning slightly as he looked inside.Luke got out of the car and noticed that there was something off about Jason’s expression.As usual, he turned his dark gaze directly at Jason. When Jason realized something amiss, he hurriedly turned around too, looking at his boss perfectly professionally.Standing tall and straight, Luke strode into the hotel, his voice icy cold as he stated, “You were looking at her.”He was addressing Jason, who was behind him.Jason seemed to be deliberating if
By the time they returned to A City, it was already morning.Naturally, Tom drove the company Bentley back to the company.Sue alighted from the car.On the other side, Jean brought Bianca’s luggage down from the trunk as he said, “I’ll send you back home first so you can rest. Sleep well, and I’ll come find you at night.”Bianca nodded.They pushed their luggage along as they said goodbye to Sue and Tom. After that, they walked to the roadside and hailed a cab.Jean was thinking he should go buy a car tomorrow.It was too inconvenient without a car.Bianca was both tired and sleepy. She had slept for slightly over two hours in the car last night, but sleeping in the car was by no means comfortable.Before they could find a cab, Jean’s phone rang.“Let me pick this up.” Jean looked at his phone and gave Bianca’s a heads-up before accepting the call.Bianca looked at him and saw that he was frowning. He said “okay” into the phone a few times before adding, “Alright, I’ll be t
“I don’t know who they’re from,” Bianca repeated.She did not want to see Jean’s hurt gaze. She did not want any more stains in her life.However, there was a fury burning in Jean’s eyes as he said, “You don’t know who they’re from? Are you kidding? Do you take me for a fool? Bianca Rayne, it’s barely been a week since we came back, and you already have another man in your life. If it’s strictly platonic, which man would spend so much money flying in fresh flowers for you?”Bianca could not stand the way Jean was staring daggers at her.She knew she did no wrong. Her conscience was clear.It was true that she did not know who sent her the flowers.“I’m going to work.” Finally, Bianca just said those words to Jean calmly, turning around and throwing the flowers into a rubbish bin nearby without giving them another glance.Jean watched her back as Bianca walked over to the opposite side of the road calmly. Instinctively, his hands clenched into fists.She walked toward the subway
Bianca thought that Rainie would like this Spongebob wrapper.She put the others aside and picked up the Spongebob one before getting up to leave."Ah—"When she stood up, she was fully focused on how she would best maximize the effect of the Spongebob wrapper on the book. As a result, she had completely forgotten about a certain man standing next to her.Bianca wore a brooch on her work clothes, and now it was caught onto the man's leather belt…"S-Sorry, I…" Bianca stared at the two items stuck together, feeling extremely awkward. The man lowered his head. When he looked at her, there was something unreadable deep in his eyes. "Hold on, I'll be done in a second…" Bianca scrambled around, grabbing the man's belt frantically. In all of her years, this was the first time she had grabbed a man's belt of her own accord.On those nights five years ago, Bianca had not touched the man's clothes or anything like that. Nothing like that had happened in the years she had been with J
Jean knew that Bianca loved him, but he also knew that she did not love him as much as he loved her.That was why, in order to make sure the proposal succeeded, once he decided to propose that noon, he asked his parents to invite his grandparents, aunts, and uncles over.All in all, there were more than a dozen of his relatives, young and old.After Bianca followed the Langdons upstairs, she was stunned in place the second they opened the door…Similarly, Nina stared at her relatives crowding the house, looking at them like they were ghosts. "You're here, you're here!" The one who spoke was Jean's father's second sister. When she saw the girl standing at the door, looking just like how she looked in the photo, the older woman immediately grabbed her mother's arm and said excitedly, "That's Jean's girlfriend, Bianca Rayne. She's right there at the door! Oh, what a beauty. Come over here and check her out, Mom…"Bianca was rendered speechless. "Come on in." Jean looked at her te
"We're here to…" Before the boy could finish that sentence, he saw an older lady walking toward them. Was this grandma Miss Bea’s mother?“Hi, Grandma!” Lanie greeted her politely.Grandma…?Bianca followed Lanie’s gaze and looked behind her.There was an older woman in her fifties, wearing a white-and-pink Adidas tracksuit. She was just passing by, but then she suddenly stopped in front of the three of them.Luke knew that she was not Bianca’s mother, so he did not greet her.“Is something the matter, ma’am?” Bianca was confused by the woman’s intense stare.The woman then frowned and began to sincerely advise her, “Once you’re married, girl, you gotta learn how to take care of your family. You can’t let your husband and child go hungry. I mean, look at you! It’s already this late, and you’re only back now?”By “your husband”, she clearly meant that man with the poker face behind her.Bianca felt quite embarrassed and awkward.She was about to explain when the woman looked
The next day.Bianca only left the house at eight o’clock.It only took her twenty minutes to get to work via subway. At times like these, Bianca was really glad that she managed to rent a cheap place this close to the company.When she walked out of her unit, Bianca could not help but raise her hand to try and shield her face from the rising sun.She had not managed to sleep last night, so her eyes were really tired when she got out of bed this morning.The sunlight was enough to make her eyes very uncomfortable.Last night, Bianca had spent a lot of time mulling over it and analyzing all the possibilities. Why was the almighty president giving her so many gifts like this?Were the house call and healthy feast back then really a sign of his appreciation because she helped take care of the kids for a while?Were the imported flowers really a friendly greeting to her since she was ill?Nevertheless, that man did not look friendly in the slightest.She was even more stumped abo
Blanche watched as his father drove away grumpily. The boy knew that he had definitely hurt his father this time, stabbing his words right into his father’s frigid heart.Rainie came down the stairs and walked out of the house, asking her brother, “Where did Dad go?”“He just left. I think I might have hurt him.” The boy lowered his head guiltily, sounding really upset as he admitted to his younger sister.“Big Bro, I miss Miss Bea!”What about Dad, you ask? What about him? He was not tasty or fun, and he always looked at her so fiercely. She liked him even less than her annoying chatterbox of a teacher. Rainie Crawford never really cared if her father was around on the weekends.Miss Bea was different, though. She was pretty and smelled good too.“Rainie, do you want me to take you to Miss Bea’s place? I know where she stays!” Blanche said, picking up his sister’s hand.Rainie nodded.The twins immediately came to an agreement.They left the house, hailing a ride on an app.
“Something I like?” Luca laughed. “What could that be?”“You’ll find out when we get there.” Luke kept it mysterious.“Alright then, I’ll wait for your surprise, Mr. Crawford.” Luca was in good spirits without letting family issues dampen her mood. Therefore, she video-called the kids.Luca dialed Mr. Griffin’s number.After Mr. Griffin answered the call, he handed the phone to Lanie. “Young Master Lanie, Ms. Craw wants to talk to you.”“Thank you, Mr. Griffin.” Lanie took the phone and pressed ‘accept’.Luca positioned the camera to include both her and Luke. She waved at the screen. “Lanie, Rainie, Tommy, what are you all doing?”“Lanie! Lanie, I want to talk to Ms. Luca!” Tommy waved excitedly at the camera, eager to take the phone.Lanie handed it to him. “Go on, tell Daddy and Ms. Luca about your good news.”Luca smiled and asked with curiosity. “Good news?”“Daddy, Ms. Luca, I made it to the next level in the math competition! The finals are this Saturday!” Tommy said e
“Why are you being so slow?” Allison was irritated. She shoved the products into Sophian’s hands.“I told you to use them, so just use them.” Allison ran out of patience. After urging Sophian, she lay back down.Sophian had no choice but to follow her instructions and poured out some product. The texture of the product in her palm made her pause for a moment. It was incredibly moisturizing!She gently patted it onto Allison's face and noticed the area she touched felt just as smooth.Allison let out a content sigh. “This essence is really soothing.”Even though Sophian was still worried about potential side effects, she could not help but admire the instant hydrating effect. She asked in a low voice, “Madam Allison, is this really developed by that woman?”She could not believe that Luca had such skills and wondered if the essence had just been repackaged into another bottle and sold as her own creation.“That's what she says,” replied Allison. “But she's into pharmaceuticals, s
After agreeing to become the maid, Sophian’s excitement gradually turned into anxiety.The villa was so large. Could she really handle all the tasks a maid was supposed to do?As she thought about it, she accidentally left the bread in the toaster for too long. After serving it to Allison, she was scolded.“What’s this? It’s just a slice of toast. How could you burn it like this? How am I supposed to eat it?” Allison was clearly displeased.Sophian awkwardly explained, “Madam Allison, this is my first time using this toaster. I didn’t quite get the temperature right...”Allison was about to keep complaining but paused for a moment, remembering that Sophian was the one she had brought in to be the maid. Now, she was the only one who could make breakfast for her. She disdainfully tore off the burnt part and took a bite. “Where’s the soy milk?”“It’ll bring it out,” replied Sophian, heading back to the kitchen. She brought out two glasses of soy milk and another slice of toast tha
“Are you planning to tell me that Madam Allison brought someone back?” Luca had a feeling she knew what was going on. Luca had been wondering why Allison had taken such a big risk by going out during the day, but it all made sense now.“Yes, she brought someone back and said she'll be taking over my job,” Aunt Neile replied helplessly. She was worried she had lost her competitive edge, which made her feel anxious.“I got it, Aunt Neile.” As soon as Luca spoke, there was a cheer from inside the lab. She glanced back and saw that there seemed to be progress in the research. Rhett gave her a thumbs-up to signal success.She slightly smiled and nodded before hearing Aunt Neile's voice again on the phone. “Ms. Craw, there’s something I’d like to say, though I’m not sure if I should. I’ve thought about it, and I feel like I should. Even though Mr. Crawford isn’t the type to fool around, you have to be careful. He has no interest in that woman, but she’s clearly interested in him. You sh
Allison watched the two of them go upstairs, and instantly, her temper flared.Not allowed, huh?Allison refused to believe it. She would find a way to turn things around and reclaim her position in this family!…The next morning, as Luke and Luca came downstairs, they noticed Aunt Neile looking at them with red, puffy eyes.“Aunt Neile, what happened?” Luca was puzzled. What happened?“Mr. Crawford, Ms. Craw, Madam Allison just told me that I’m fired.” Aunt Neile looked distraught. She thought Allison’s words yesterday were just a joke, but first thing in the morning, she was told to settle her wages and leave. She was completely stunned.“Mr. Crawford, did I do something wrong?”Luke’s brows furrowed. Allison’s behavior was truly astonishing.“You’re not fired,” replied Luke. “Is breakfast ready?”Relieved to hear she still had her job, Aunt Neile quickly wiped away her tears and let out a sigh of relief. “Yes. Mr. Crawford, Ms. Craw, please have a seat. I’ll bring it out.
Luke was driving back home with Luca. It was already 9:00 pm when they arrived at the villa.Just as they reached the foyer and had not taken more than a few steps, Allison's voice rang out.“Oh, so you're finally willing to come back from Crawford Manor?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.Luca did not know how to respond to Allison and looked over at Luke.Luke let go of Luca's waist and whispered, “Go upstairs first.”“Okay.” Luca nodded, changed her shoes, and was about to head upstairs when Allison said again, “Stop. Who told you to go upstairs?”“Madam Allison, is there something you need?” Luca's tone was cold, carefully masking the helplessness inside her.Since she learned that Allison would be returning to the country and moving here, Luca had mentally prepared herself to be put in a difficult position. She loved Luke, so she was willing to tolerate whatever troubles came with it.Luca believed that as long as she and Luke faced things together, there was nothing th
After finishing work, Luca headed straight to Crawford Manor.When she arrived and greeted Old Master Crawford, the three kids came running down the stairs and surrounded her. They each took turns expressing how much they missed her and Luke.Luca missed them too, so after exchanging a few words with Old Master Crawford, she went upstairs with the kids to help them with their homework.It did not take long before Luke arrived.Not seeing Luca in the living room, he asked Old Master Crawford, “Grandpa, has Luca arrived?”Old Master Crawford was in a good mood. He nodded and replied, “She's upstairs, helping the kids with their homework.”Luke sat on the couch and watched the evening news with Old Master Crawford.“Has your mother caused any trouble lately?” asked Old Master Crawford.“Not really,” answered Luke. He could still manage Allison.“That doesn’t sound like her,” added Old Master Crawford, assuming Allison would always be causing trouble.“Her condition is bad right
“What do you mean ‘suppose so?” Allison hated vague answers like that. The more uncertain she was about how Old Master Crawford felt about Luca, the more she wanted to know.“Where's the car key?” asked Allison.“Madam Allison, what do you need the car keys for?” asked Aunt Neile, already knowing the answer but trying to delay her.“Of course, I’m going to Crawford Manor. Old Master Crawford is the strictest with Luke, and I can't let him ruin everything because of a woman." Allison was already planning ahead. She was worried that the old master would not like how Luke was behaving and that he might strip him of his power. A wave of panic washed over her.“Madam Allison, it’s already too late to go to Crawford Manor now,” Aunt Neile quickly said. “If you drive over there now, they’ll already be having dinner. If you go now, Old Master Crawford will just scold you for being disrespectful. You just came back. It’d be better not to upset him, right?”Allison paused for a moment.
On the other hand, Allison could not sleep, so she got up early. She first checked the master bedroom, noticing that Luke and Luca were already up. Thinking of her own matters, she quickly headed downstairs.When she came to the living room, she found Aunt Neile tidying up and asked, “Aunt Neile, where’s Luca?”“Ms. Craw is already off to work,” replied Aunt Neile. She could not help but flinch slightly when she looked at Allison’s face, but she quickly tried to hide her reaction, not wanting to offend Allison.“Already at work?” Allison’s voice rose a little. “Isn’t that a bit early?”“Madam Allison, it’s almost 9:00 am. It’s not that early,” Aunt Neile pointed out, noting that most people were already at work at this hour. Luca was probably settled in at the company by now.“Isn’t 9:00 am early?” questioned Allison. “Isn’t she working at Luke’s company? Why would she have to clock in on time?” Aunt Neile finally understood what she meant.Allison was clearly expecting that