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
Nina glared at Jean. She did not expect him to use such a despicable method to sneak in. "Jean, you’re so shameless.""You brat! What are you talking about? I'm your brother!" Jean narrowed his eyes, his deep gaze focusing on the two of them who were guarding the door. He was thinking about how to get in.He would not get in if he could not figure something out. He decided to force his way in. As soon as he got in, she would not be able to drive him off!After Jean made up his mind, he insisted on barging inside.Nina knew what he was up to and warned loudly, saying, "Jean, if you dare to barge in, I’ll call the police!""Why? This is my home!" Jean stopped. He was a regular at the police station and was a little afraid of the men in blue."I didn't buy this place, I’m renting it. Also, you don't have a lease contract so how can you say it's your home?" Nina was worried that Jean would bump into Luca if he dashed in so she stood in front of Luca to protect her.Luca held Nina's
When Bianca did not hear any sounds coming from the front, she raised her head despite her horrible mood and cramps. It was then that she saw the man walking over to her.He was tall and his legs were long. He looked very serious. When he was wearing a suit, he looked like a god.The boss was still a boss at the end of the day. No matter where he was, be it a forum on the financial street in New York or the meeting room in the office, or even the countryside where they would sometimes hold events, he was still able to maintain a serious face.It was as if nothing or no one in this world was able to make him change his expression. His face and eyes were always filled with heartlessness.Even if he had driven all the way to the countryside, he was still wearing his usual and tastefully chosen suit. He was always giving everyone a feeling of sophistication and extreme fussiness.Bianca would never expect Luke to walk over to her.Why was he here?He had his back against the setting
“What did you see? Tell us.”The few female colleagues from the finance department who were watching from one side asked their colleague who was holding the binoculars.The girl with the binoculars was a newbie in the finance department, so she was more naive. She told everyone what she saw.However, when everyone heard that, they all shared looks of confusion at the same time.“I’m telling the truth,” the female colleague holding the binoculars said innocently.Her colleague turned around and looked at her. “Child, you have such a mouth for making up stories. You can even submit your manuscript to romance magazines. If you say you saw that woman sitting on the boss’ lap, kissing him furiously while seducing him and maybe grabbing his belt to force herself onto him, then I might believe you.”The boss was drying that woman’s hair and wrapping the towel on her? Plus, he even massaged her calf? What a colossal joke!Another colleague carried her items. “That woman is pretty good-l
Percy heard him and sighed. Both of them were pursuing the woman they loved but unfortunately, they could not make any moves because of their women.He said, "If you want to eat home-cooked food, take her away quickly."Percy could only be brazen-faced if Luca left Nina’s home."What reason do I have to do that? What in the world did you do to make Nina run away again?" Luke said. He was upset that he could not see Luca as well.Even when she was Bianca, she was still equally concerned about Nina. Although Percy had a poker face that scared everyone, Bianca would somehow summon the courage to defend Nina.She would naturally act the same even though she was Luca now."Okay, that’s enough. Ugh, you can't take your woman with you?" Percy mocked him impatiently and hung up the phone.He did not intend to mock Luke. He was just a little upset.He was overjoyed in the morning but in a blink of an eye, Nina had closed herself off from him and asked Luca to accompany her instead.For
Luca planned to do some light makeup and tie her hair casually, but Nina expressed her disapproval. She insisted on helping Luca get ready.Over the years, to maintain her appearance despite her deteriorating mental state, she had acquired a certain level of skill in makeup.After half an hour or so, Nina gave Luca a simple yet classic look. Luca looked gentle and virtuous. The makeup look was subtle and paired well with the gown."Nina, you’re amazing at this." Luca praised Nina as she looked at herself in the mirror.Nina proudly said, "That's right! This makeup look makes your charming facial features softer and more elegant. It matches your gown well."Luca nodded in agreement.Nina took out Luca’s gown and urged her. "Come on, go and change."Luca took the gown and was pushed out of the bedroom by Nina. Her eyes met Luke’s while he was sitting on the sofa. She retracted her gaze and walked into the bathroom.Nina stood there and waited for her to change.Luke asked, "Did
Nina shook her head. She thought that they would make a cute couple but she was in a dilemma when she was reminded of Bianca, who was still abroad.Nina looked at the closed door, then sat on the sofa. Before long, the doorbell rang again."Did you forget something?" She thought it was Luca, so she opened the door without looking into the peephole.When she saw that the person standing outside the door was Percy, Nina subconsciously wanted to slam the door shut.However, Percy moved fast and pressed himself against the door. The strength between them was so disparate that Nina could not close the door."What are you doing here?!" Nina stared at the person in front of her.Percy lifted the bag in his hand and said, "I bought you some fruits.""I don't want them." Nina refused angrily. ‘Isn’t Mallory Corporation about to go bankrupt? Why has he appeared in front of me three times in the last two days…’Percy leaned against the door with a relaxed expression as if it did not take
"A gift? I've prepared something on your behalf." Luke went to the trunk and took out a nicely packaged gift.The gift was handed to her but Luca did not take it. "Is there only one? If you give me yours, what are you going to give to Old Master Crawford?""My gift has been passed to Grandpa. I prepared this for you. Take it," Luke said. He guessed that Luca might have forgotten to prepare a gift so he prepared one for her in advance.In the past, she was not as forgetful and was always the one who reminded him about things as such. He was somewhat not used to it now that the tables were turned.Luca took it. The gift was heavy and looked expensive. "Mr. Crawford, how much is this? I'll pass you the money for it later.""We'll talk about it later." Luke helped her prepare the gift but had no intention of asking her to pay him back.Luca felt impotent. Luke then took out an envelope from the pocket inside his suit and handed it over."I assume you didn't prepare any birthday mone
“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