Even though Nina was not willing to be together with Percy, she had to admit that he took very good care of her. She had a stable job, but the salary could never satisfy her mother and elder brother's voracious appetite for money. "Many people are suffering. We usually don't see the suffering around us because we're too focused on our lives," Luca said, feeling quite emotional. "Mm." Nina agreed with Luca, though she was not in the mood. Seeing that Nina was quite dejected, Luca guessed that what happened in the security guard's house triggered some unhappy memory in Nina's mind. She felt sorry for her best friend, and she held back the urge to give her a hug. When she was Bianca, they hugged each other quite often, no matter if they were happy or sad. However, she was not Bianca now… Luca drove the car back to Luke's apartment, parked the car by the side of the road, and ordered a designated driver from the app on her phone. Nina came to her senses after the car stoppe
Nina was becoming irritated when Percy insisted on not coming back to the mansion. Is he staying away from her because he had found another woman? "I'll wait for you. Just come back when you're done with your business." After that, she ended the call. Percy was a little confused. He knew that everyone had their limits, though Nina had never spoken to him so aggressively before. It made him wonder if that was Nina's true personality. It was the first time that she was impatient toward him. Percy put his phone away. Who could have told her that he was still in the country? He had deceived Nina for the past few days because he was busy dealing with his business, not to mention that Ms. Johnston, the young woman that his mother was trying to match him with, was pestering him twenty-four seven. He had to keep himself away from the mansion so that Nina would not be caught in the crossfire, and he only planned to go back after he dealt with the matters at hand. He was about to s
In the face of Nina's desperate cries, Percy's expression remained cold. Nina's insistence on leaving stoked the fires of anger in Percy's heart. "I've already told you from the start that only I get to end this relationship. Don't even think that you can get rid of me that easily!" Percy said while gripping Nina's lower jaw. He did not offer to explain what he had been doing. Nina pushed his hand away and stood up. "You still don't know how to respect me, Percy Mallory. I'm not your slave, and we've never signed any contract. If I want to end this relationship, you have no reason to refuse!" She had not consented to start the relationship. Now that she wanted to end it, he did not allow it either. What was she to him? Did he want to keep her by his side until she was old and useless? Nina did not understand. She did nothing wrong, yet Percy wanted to treat her that way. "I don't agree with it. If you insist on leaving, you'll eventually return to me crawling on your kne
Luca held her phone in her hand while she slept, in case someone took her phone away and read the messages inside. Any sound or vibration her phone made would wake her up. She clenched her phone tightly when she felt the vibration, and she woke up to find that it was a message from Nina. Something must have happened to her if she sent a message so late in the night. Luca immediately replied: [I'm not asleep yet. Why aren't you sleeping?] Soon, she received a reply from Nina: [I can't sleep, and I want to find someone to chat with. Are you free now?] Luca immediately sat up. After what happened at the exhibition, she was sure that Nina was unable to sleep because of Percy. Knowing Nina's personality, she might have even talked about it with Percy. Luca guessed that the conversation did not go well. Luca sent a reply: [Where are you now? Let's talk face to face.] Nina's heart warmed when she saw how quickly Luca replied to her messages. She would rather not trouble her, but
Tears welled up in Nina's eyes when she saw that Luca came prepared. She thought that Luca was worried about her, and that was why Luca wanted to stay over for a few days… Luca thought that Nina was reluctant to let her stay there. She said, "If it's not convenient for you, I can book the room next door. I don't have my ID with me now, so I might have to borrow your ID to book a room." Her concern for Nina was genuine, but she was also using Nina for her convenience. She would have to go and take the antidote in two days. It would not be very convenient if Luke's subordinates tailed her. Nina said, "I'm happy that you're willing to accompany me. Thank you so much, Luca." She was genuinely touched by Luca's gesture, and she called her "Luca" instead of "Dr. Craw." Luca smiled and put her backpack away. "What would it be? Can you still sleep?" Nina shook her head. "I don't think I can sleep." Luca could see the sorrow in her eyes. Even though she had missed out on what
Nina moaned comfortably. "Where did you learn this technique, Luca?" "I devised it myself. How does it feel?" Luca looked at Nina's face and planned how she could make her life more comfortable. If what Nina said were true, Percy would not let her go that easily, and he might be able to find her by today. "This is great. You're so amazing, Luca. You're well-educated, gentle, and caring, not to mention you're a great cook. You even know how to give great massages too! Any man would be very lucky to marry you," Nina praised. At the same time, she thought of Bianca. Luca's personality reminded her of Bianca before she lost her memories. It was understandable that Luke was interested in Luca. Women like her deserved to be loved and pampered. Any man would want their wife to be like that. Luca smiled but said nothing. She continued pressing certain spots on Nina's temples to make her feel better. She was not as amazing as Nina said. She imagined that Nina would hate her if Nina
The door slammed loudly in Luca's face. She wanted to kick down the door in her anger, but she stopped herself from doing so because Luke was just next to her. She turned around and looked at the man leaning against the wall. "What is it, Mr. Crawford?" Her tone of voice changed from agitated to composed in one second. "I'm here to see if you lied to me," Luke said. He could sense the sudden change in Luca's attitude. Luca seemed to be a different person when she stood up for Nina. Bianca was like that too. Whenever she heard that Nina was in danger, she would try to stand up for her no matter how weak she was. Luca also wanted to protect Nina. However, she exuded an aura of might instead. In any case, Luca's fearless spirit when she tried to protect her friend reminded him of Bianca. "I have no need to lie to you," Luca said, wondering if that was the only reason why Luke came to look for her. With Luke's help, it was no wonder that Percy managed to find Nina so quickly.
Luke knew all that, but Luca did not. That was why Luca was doomed to lose right from the start. Seeing how confident Luke was, Luca began to wonder if she had fallen into Luke's trap. If she really lost the bet, what would Luke make her do? Would he force her to tell him all the secrets of the Island of Despair? When she thought about that, she regretted her impulsive decision even more. Just when she was thinking if she should rescind the bet, the room door opened, and Percy stormed out. Luca was shocked by Percy's reaction. She instinctively glanced into the room. Nina was sitting on the couch, and Luca could not see her expression clearly. Percy, standing at the door, shouted into the room. "You'll eventually return to me, Nina Langdon!" Then, he walked away in big strides. Luke also left, following behind Percy. After Luca watched the two men leave, she quickly went into the room and closed the door. In case the two men would return, she also bolted the door firm
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’
“If Abel finds out that Hera's body isn't suitable for organ donation to Kassy, what do you think he'll do?” asked Shanks.He already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Luca’s thoughts.“He has invested a lot of time and money in Hera. If he gets nothing out of it, he won’t let her off easily,” Luca said bluntly.Luca and Shanks were on the same page.They did not have a good relationship with Hera, but they had no intention of ruining her either.Hera’s personality was unpleasant, but that was not enough for them to hate her so much that they wanted to see her suffer.“What methods do you think he’ll use?” Shanks asked again.Luca was silent for a long moment.Shanks already knew the answer, yet he still wanted her to say it out loud.After thinking it over, she finally said, “There are plenty of ways he could go about it, but no matter what he chooses, Hera’s fate is sealed. She’s as good as dead…”She lowered her gaze, her tone firm and certain.Shanks nodded.
Hera heard that Luca had returned and immediately went to find Shanks. She narrowed her eyes.That woman went to see Shanks. Could she be talking about her?The thought made Hera uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with her medical report.However, when they left the medical center earlier, Abel asked Luca when the report would be ready, and she said it would be available tomorrow.Hera turned to Gerald and said, “Take these back for me first.”“Alright.” Gerald carried the bags as he walked away. He could not help but wonder what exactly Hera bought. These bags were really heavy!Only after Gerald went upstairs did Hera slowly make her way up as well. Her room was on the third floor, but she stopped when she reached the second floor. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading toward the laboratory.The door was closed.Instead of knocking, Hera pressed her ear against it, trying to eavesdrop.However, the laboratory was special