She was not one of the socialites of A City, but she could afford to buy items from such an expensive brand. It was either she was a vain white-collar employee, or she had a sugar daddy. She looked at Luca’s exquisite face. This woman was hanging out with Nina. Madam Mallory simply categorized Luca as someone in the latter category. “Ms. Nina, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Madam Mallory pulled her gaze away and it fell on Nina. She curled the corners of her mouth. It looked like she was smiling, but her smile was insincere. “Such a coincidence, Madam Mallory.” Nina forced herself to cover up the nervousness and helplessness in her. She pretended to face her calmly. “How have you been lately?” Madam Mallory continued to ask. She must be living a tough life without her son providing for her. Nevertheless, she still wanted to strike a nerve in her.This had nothing to do with her generosity. Sometimes, these women only dreamed of marrying a rich man so they could live their l
Madam Mallory set aside the matter, claiming that she would leave the decision to the men in the family. However, she knew the Mallory family had made their decision even if they had not announced it to the public. She had no idea what Percy had on his mind at that time, but it was a marriage of convenience. Now that the Johnston family was in trouble, Madison would be abandoned. The Mallory family was heartless, indeed. Although Nina was not born in a wealthy family, she knew pretty well how heartless these wealthy families were.If there was no Johnston family, would Percy have abandoned her so heartlessly when he became tired of her? Nina’s heart was in dismal at the thought of it. She did not know what happened to her. After all, she was not Madison. She had never gone through these. However, the sorrow in her heart was getting bigger endlessly. “You seem to take it lightly. If the daughter of the Johnston family has feelings for Percy, are you still going to separate th
Percy breathed out a swirl of cigarette smoke and looked at the pitiful Madison. He did not feel any pity for her, though.The woman who could make his heart race and break his heart was not the woman in front of him.Madison listened to his heartless words and said broken-heartedly, “I know you don’t like me. You’ve always been in love with Ms. Nina, right?” Percy did not answer her. Madison then said, “If you really want her so badly, why did you agree to our marriage back then? You gave me hope and now you’re taking it away. Percy, do you think it’s right of you to do that?” "There's no such thing as to whether it’s right of me or not. It was someone else in the Mallory family who agreed to this marriage. It wasn't me." Percy passed the buck and got away squeaky clean."So it has always been someone else who made the decisions for you. You’ve been reluctant the entire time, right?" Madison was in despair. She could barely see hope when she listened to such irresponsible wo
It looked like Madam Mallory's plan to break them up had failed…Nina felt a dull pain in her heart at the thought of this. She lay down on her bed and pondered why she felt this. Had she not stopped being in love with Percy?Why did she feel heartbroken when she saw him kissing another woman?Nina touched her chest, and tears ran down her face. Her heart ached so painfully that she could barely take it. Perhaps it was the after-effects of taking too much medicine, or maybe she was sick. The doorbell rang. Nina wiped her tears and sat up on the bed. It was still early. Who was it who came?She walked to the living room and looked through the peephole. No one was outside the door. It seemed like the person knew she would check the situation outside through the peephole, and that was why they hid on purpose.Usually, it would be someone unwelcomed by her.“Who is it?” Nina asked.There was no sound from outside the door.“I know you’re out there. I’m going to call the police if
“I’d like to talk about us,” said Percy."Us? Aren't we just strangers? Percy, can you please get out of my life? If you love her, you should just stay together with her. But you're back to messing with me now. What are you up to?" “Her?” Percy frowned. He was eager to know what was on her mind.Nina sneered and said, “The daughter of the Johnston family, Madison. Didn’t you kiss her on the street last night?” “Who told you that?” When Percy heard her mentioning Madison, he could not stop himself from getting angry. People who knew him would know that his relationship with Madison was something that was done against his will. Now that the Johnston family was in trouble, it was easy to know that he was going to break up with Madison sooner or later.Hence, was it true that Nina had never cared about him? Was she simply not using her brain?“The photo of you and Madison kissing on the street is all over the news now. Percy, I beg you. I’ve been your secret lover for years, and I
[You’re not feeling well? What’s wrong?] Sue asked caringly. [It’s nothing. I just want to take a rest for a day or two. You don’t have to worry about it. If there’s any important work that needs my attention, I’ll head to the office to handle it.] Nina replied. She had always asked for leave too when she was together with Percy.However, she had never delayed her work at the company because of her absence. Sue replied: [Alright. Take good care of yourself. You can come over to my place if you’re struggling with anything. I can take care of you.][Don’t worry. I’ve asked Luca to come here to keep me company.] Nina replied. She had always been sick and weak in Sue’s impression. Still, she used to be healthy and was nothing like this now. Now, she had to take pills to make her sleep. She would often catch a cold if she was unlucky.The reason why she ended up like this today was that she met the two brothers of the Mallory family. Nina pondered and picked up the concealer to t
“What happened? What did Luke say?” Nina asked caringly. Ever since she had addressed him impolitely as Luke in front of Luca, she took it casually after that."The cleaning lady couldn’t find me and she didn't know what ingredients she should buy. That's why she tried to reach me through him," Luca explained without mentioning that there was something wrong with his tone.Nina remembered that her fridge was empty and there were no ingredients. Naturally, there was also no cleaning lady who helped her to buy ingredients. She suddenly felt embarrassed. Nina stood up and said, "That reminds me of my empty fridge. Wait for me. Let me get some ingredients now." “Nina, there’s no need to. Let’s dine somewhere else.” Luca grabbed her hand. She could feel Nina’s condition after having been medically trained for a long time.For example, she could feel that Nina’s legs could hardly walk now. Nina nodded when she said that. "Alright. If you're too lazy to go out, we can order takeaway.
Nina chose an Italian restaurant nearby, added some dishes to her cart, and showed it to Luca.Luca added another dish.Nina saw it and said, "How is this enough? I'm treating you to this meal, so please order a few more dishes.""I’ll leave the decision to you," Luca said.Nina ordered several dishes before she submitted the order. "I always eat alone. Now that you’re with me, I finally have the opportunity to eat more dishes.""You ordered so many. I doubt we can finish everything," Luca said. The dishes they ordered were enough for three or four adults."What does that matter? I'm overjoyed that we’re sharing a meal," Nina said. Her phone rang and she pressed to answer. "Hello, who is it?""Ms. Langdon, I’m calling from your property management. There’s a man at the door who claims to be your brother. We dare not let him go in without your consent. He has been wandering here. Can you kindly deal with it?" the man on the other end of the call said."Don't let him in." Nina’s
“As long as he stays out of your sight, I won’t make a move,” said Ray.If Gordan were not one of Luke’s pals, he would have been long gone.Anyone who dared to mess with someone Ray cherished would not be let off easily. The only reason Gordan was still breathing was thanks to Luke.“Alright, Ray. Just let it go. I’ve moved on and started a new life. Plus, I’m studying at Capital University. We have mutual friends, so running into him is inevitable. If that happens, we’ll just be strangers. There’s no need to step in for me or act impulsively.” Just as Vivian finished speaking, the doorbell rang.“Is it the clothes delivery?” asked Ray.“No, while you were talking with Mr. Crawford, I asked someone to buy some medicinal cream. The ones here work better than the ones in Russia. A little massage with it should help you heal faster,” Vivian said, grabbing a mask and hat before heading to the door.“Miss, is the boss alright?” asked one of Ray’s subordinates.“He’s fine. Did you ge
When Ray heard that there was a 90% chance of success, he could not help but ask, “Can you walk me through your plan?”“The prison where Kassy is being held actually has an underground passage. I’ve already spoken with the prison officials, and we can use that passage to transport her out. It connects to the sewage system, which leads directly to another detention facility. "The only catch is that this facility’s underground pipes don’t connect to the outside world, so the remaining 10% risk lies in moving Kassy onto the main road and securing her at the new location.“This whole operation can be done without anyone noticing, which is why I’m confident it’ll work.” As Luke explained, he pulled out a detailed map of the sewer system. “Here’s the layout I had someone retrieve. This is the starting point, and this is the destination. If we take this route, we can move Kassy without alerting Abel’s people.”Abel’s men were keeping a constant watch outside the prison now. That was prec
Luke had no idea what kind of mindset the person who poisoned Vivian had. However, he found Gordan’s current behavior quite intriguing.“Luke, what’s with that look?” Gordan felt uneasy under his gaze.“You seem pretty concerned about Vivian,” Luke leaned back on the couch and said thoughtfully.Gordan froze for a moment before laughing it off. “What? No way! Why would I care about her? Come on, Luke, don’t say stuff like that. If she hears it, she might start getting ideas.”Luke could not be bothered to expose his act and got straight to the point. “Why are you here?”“Speaking of that, I almost got sidetracked by that woman.” Gordan quickly pulled out his phone, grimacing. “Man, Ray really didn’t hold back. I need to get some treatment for these bruises later.”Luke took the phone and tried to unlock it. It needed a passcode. He handed it back. “Unlock it.”“All set, boss.” Gordan unlocked the phone and went back to pressing an ice pack against his face.Luke scanned the scr
It was the sound of a body slamming onto the ground.Gordan’s furious curses rang out. “Damn it! You're really going all out, huh? Do you think I'm scared of you?”Another loud thud followed.Vivian frowned. What the hell were they doing? Were they really going to fight until one of them won?Both of them were skilled fighters. If they kept this up, neither would walk away unscathed.“Enough!” shouted Vivian.The two men locked in the fight froze for a moment.“Vivian, stay out of this. I’m beating him to a pulp today,” growled Ray, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He was not in great shape, but neither was Gordan.“Ray, I don’t want to see him,” said Vivian. She did not want Ray fighting him. It was not to protect Gordan but because she did not want Ray getting hurt.Also, she definitely did not want Gordan to see her like this. She could already picture his smug face, his sarcastic remarks and his gloating.“Fine. If you don’t want to see him, I’ll just beat
After returning to the hotel from the hospital, Vivian felt much better.To her, the fact that Ray had taken her to the hospital meant there was hope for the future, which lifted her spirits. She picked up an apple from the fruit platter the hotel had provided and took a bite.“Ray, this apple is really good. Want to try one?” asked Vivian.Ray shook his head. “You go ahead. By the way, can I take a look at the luggage you brought from Russia?”Vivian nodded. “I only hung up my clothes. Everything else is still in the suitcase. You can just take the things out.”Ray walked into the bedroom, pulled out her suitcase, and opened it. Inside were just books and a few other small items, nothing unusual.“You didn't bring any food with you?” asked Ray.“I haven’t really been in the mood, but the food here is way better than Russian food, so I didn't feel the need to bring anything.” Vivian’s tone was lighthearted now that she was in a better mood.“That's true.” Ray agreed, then asked
Ray's tone turned serious. “Alright, I'll make the arrangements immediately. Dr. Craw, once the toxicology report is out, we’ll still need your help.”“For toxicology cases like this, I recommend combining both modern medicine and traditional herbal medicine. Don’t worry, if I can help, I definitely will,” Luca assured him.“Alright, thank you.” Ray expressed his gratitude and ended the call before updating Luke on the situation.Luke reassured him, saying, “If Vivian was really poisoned, don’t worry. Previously, Luca discovered that her biological mother had been poisoned with a slow-acting toxin. She prescribed herbal medicine and used purely traditional herbal medicine to detoxify her. It didn’t take long for all the toxins to be expelled, and her health fully recovered. So, rest assured. If it’s something she can fix, she’ll do everything she can.“Besides, once we identify the exact problem, the doctors will be able to step in and help, right?”“Yes. Thank you both in advance
Gerald walked over. “Ms. Sanchez, what's wrong?”He was eager to get back upstairs and stash his cigarettes before someone noticed and took them.Hera yanked open his bag, glanced at the cigarette brand, and scoffed. “I thought it was some expensive brand. But it's just this? And you’re acting all deferential to her over this?”Gerald was rendered speechless. “I knew Ms. Craw was going out, so I asked her to bring these back for me. This is the brand I’m used to. Maybe it’s not expensive to you, but for me, it’s what I can afford.”Realizing she had misspoken, Hera felt a bit awkward. She quickly changed the topic. “Still, is a pack of cigarettes really worth you being so grateful to Luca? How much could it have cost?”“It’s not about the money,” replied Gerald. “It's just a nice surprise. I never expected to get anything out of helping Ms. Craw, and this kind of unexpected gift has nothing to do with the price. Besides, I'm not being overly grateful. I'm just happy.”He was ba
Luca’s lips were already swollen and flushed from Luke's kisses.That deep shade of red, reflected in Luke’s eyes, was utterly captivating. It tugged at his nerves, stirring an uncontrollable desire within him.At that moment, he had only one thought, and it was to completely lose himself in her.…The two of them stepped out of the bedroom.Vivian quickly turned her back and greeted Luke when he saw him coming out, “Hello, Mr. Crawford.”“Vivian, don’t worry. Everything will get better,” replied Luke.Vivian simply hummed in response.Ray gave them a grateful nod as Luke took Luca’s hand and led her away.It was only after hearing the door close that Vivian finally turned back around.Ray glanced at her and said, “Vivian, they’re your friends. You don’t have to act this way around them. They won’t judge you.”“I know they won’t…” Vivian let out a soft sigh. “I just feel like I look terrifying right now. I didn’t want to scare them, so I avoided facing them directly. But it’
“I once treated someone who had been slowly poisoned over a long period of time. Their pulse was similar to Vivian’s. Given that your family has good genetics, yet Vivian is different from the rest of you, and her skin improved after leaving her original environment, all of this confirms my suspicion.“Could it be that someone in your family has been poisoning Vivian? That would explain why her skin ended up like this.”“If she really has been poisoned, then would staying away from that environment or identifying the person responsible help her get better?” asked Ray.Luca shook her head.“The poison I’ve encountered before was a slow-acting toxin that kept the victim’s skin dark. I don’t know exactly what it was, but long-term exposure to any poison has an effect on the body. It's just a suspicion now. I need to consult someone I know. And honestly, I can’t be sure what’s really causing Vivian’s condition.“Is her skin deteriorating so quickly because she was poisoned once more a