"I can't go out now!" Nick was sour. The Johnston family had always been a patriarchal family. If Madison did not have some means, she would not have any say in the family.Madison was stunned, and her face was pale. She had just browsed the internet and saw that public opinion had changed drastically.It was only half an hour after Percy's live broadcast.The public had been scolding Nina and Percy but had since shifted to gossip about her. Madison was scared of seeing this change.Her absurd days in the past involved a range of men, some of which were not of quality. If they saw the news, they might use the one night they spent together as bragging rights on the internet."What happened?" Madison wondered, wanting to go out to see.Nick held her and said with a sullen expression, "Thanks to your plan, the place is flooded with reporters. They’re not the ones you arranged either! I’m not the only one who can't get out, no one else can! Why should I contact the chairperson? Even
Luke looked at her deeply. He knew that Luca was smiling like that because Nina was happy.He did not misunderstand. He just nodded slightly and walked out of the office.Percy may seem cold, but he had a romantic side when he was with Nina.If he did not know the details, he would likely have gotten jealous of Percy for making Luca smile like that.Luca watched Luke leave. She touched her chin and wondered why he walked over. ‘Is there work for me to do? If yes, he could’ve easily called me to notify me. But he came in and left without talking about work?’Luca was puzzled.When Luke returned to the office, he remembered why he went to look for Luca just now. He was in a daze thinking about how her smile was not for him, so he was so annoyed that he even forgot that he was there to talk to her about something.He was a little embarrassed to walk back to her office, so he picked up his phone and texted Luca.[Dinner at the Royal Crown Hotel tonight at seven.] He pressed ‘send
Luke was secretly delighted that his small actions would make her react so strongly. He casually put his hands on the steering wheel after he fastened his seat belt.When faced with Luca, he felt as though he was a young schoolboy. He was head over heels for her since back then.Back then, he was not sure how to strike up a conversation with her, so he played on the court to attract her attention.Luke felt like he had gone back in time when he would secretly rejoice because of her small actions.Luca noticed that Luke had not started driving. She turned her head to the side and looked at the man's strong side profile. "Mr. Crawford?"Her voice was soft and gentle, grazing his ears like a gust of soft wind. All of the cells in Luke's body shuddered.He turned his head and looked at her, her gaze softening involuntarily."What's the matter?" he asked.Luca raised his hand slightly, pointed ahead, and asked hesitantly, "Aren't you going to drive?"After being reminded, Luke real
Luca thought Jack was acting a little weird.In the past, Jack had always been polite to her, but today, he was welcoming and kind.That was how he acted toward her when she was still Bianca.Luca nodded and sat on the chair.Jack looked at her delicate facial features. Her looks were significantly different from what she used to look like. ‘In the past few years, she has been controlled by a mysterious organization and was even forced to change her face. She must have suffered a lot…’He was distressed and could not help but blame himself for not protecting Luca well enough.Luke cleared his throat. After Jack found out that Luca was his daughter, his mentality must have changed. However, the change should not be too obvious so as to not arouse Luca’s suspicions."Father-in-law, I’ve already ordered some dishes to share. They’re home-cooked dishes. I also ordered a bottle of wine,” he said. "Did you go over the budget?" Jack came to his senses. He was deep in thought looking
It seemed that if she did not answer his calls or reply to his messages, Enoch would never let it go.Luca frowned. It was not the first time she had faced such a clingy man, but she did not expect Enoch to be like this too. She felt that Enoch, as an educated civil servant, should not be acting like this.Luke walked in front. Luca did not listen to the voice message and wanted to turn her phone on silent when Enoch sent another message.At that moment, Luke stopped and turned around to look at her.Luca used to have a narrow social circle. After she came back to A City as Luca, her circle became even smaller. From what he knew of her, her phone never rang like this during non-working hours."What's wrong?" He noticed that Luca seemed helpless and had a gut feeling that something had happened."It's nothing." Luca did not dare to tell him about Enoch. Although he said that his feelings for her had yet to reach fiery and intense, her intuition told her that if she told him, som
"No worries..." Queenie was slightly stunned when she heard that he had not won over Luca. She thought Luca was quite satisfied with Enoch.After all, Enoch was a good-looking bachelor. Many women were vying for a blind date with him."Have you encountered any difficulties?" Queenie thought about it and understood why he wanted to ask them out."No, I just want to invite the two of you to a meal." Enoch knew that talking on the phone would not give him the best opportunity, so he wanted to seize the opportunity to meet Queenie in person.Queenie thought about it for a while. She agreed, thinking that maybe he had something to talk to her about. "Okay, give me the time and date. Mr. Norman may not have time, so I'm not sure if he’ll attend. As for me, I’ll be there.""Okay, thank you, Mrs. Norman. I'll keep you posted once I’ve confirmed the date and time. I won't disturb you and Mr. Norman’s rest any further. Goodbye." Enoch was so happy that he wanted to jump upon hearing that Qu
Queenie noticed that Jack was reluctant to continue talking about the subject. Besides, it seemed like Jack had changed his attitude toward Luca. Queenie was worried about it. She was worried that something was going on with Bianca and Jack was choosing to avoid talking about it as he did not want to trigger her emotions. Queenie thought it would be better not to say another word when she saw Jack already lying on the bed.…The following day.Luca followed Luke’s car back to the office. She let out a sigh when there was no one around and pushed the car door open calmly. "Thank you, Mr. Crawford." Luca got out of the car right away after she thanked Luke. Since staying in the same villa as Luke, Luca had no reason to reject his offer to give her a ride to and back from the office as it was indeed convenient. After all, they had to be in the office at the same time. Luca would personally prepare breakfast for the children. She would leave for work after that, but Luke would
“I can tell who sent it without looking at it.” Luca felt annoyed. Giving Enoch the cold shoulder was not working at all. It seemed like she had to find a chance to make things clear with him.“Is it the guy you went on a blind date with?” Tina understood at once. If Luca was not happy to receive flowers from the man, that would only mean Luca was not interested in him.Tina looked at how distressed Luca was. It looked like the man had yet to notice that Luca had no feelings for him. Luca nodded and turned on her laptop. "I'm not planning to date anyone, let alone get married. So, I've been giving him the cold shoulder after we had lunch last time. But it seems like he's not giving up yet."Tina stroked her chin and made a suggestion. “If he’s not planning to give up, then you should just be honest and make it clear to him. If he continues to bother you, you can find someone else to put on a show with you. I’ve done that before to get rid of a nuisance.” Luca knew only too well
Luca walked over to another couch and sat down. “I think I’ll stay here. How about letting Luke come down so that we can all catch up? It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”Gordan’s face fell. “Ms. Craw, are you doing this on purpose?”Luca pretended not to know anything. “Doing what on purpose?”Gordan quickly shook his head. “Nothing. Just go upstairs already. Brother Luke’s been waiting for you.”Luca had intended to tease Gordan a little longer, but after not seeing Luke for the past few days, she found herself missing him deeply. Standing up with a smile, she said, “Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Oh, by the way, Mr. Gale, could you help me pick up a few things? Someone over there asked me to get them, and I couldn’t refuse.”“Sure, no problem. What do you need?” Gale agreed immediately.After handing him the list, Luca turned and headed upstairs.Gale watched Luca leave from behind, nudging Gordan’s arm. “Let’s go. We should leave and give the boss and Ms. Cr
The security guard remained completely unfazed.This was because the village chief was his uncle, and in their tight-knit community, they always stuck together and never favored outsiders.With directions from the people inside the ancestral hall, Hera found the village chief.“You’re the village chief, right?” Hera looked at the man in his fifties in front of her and spoke with an arrogant tone, completely unbothered.“And you are?” The village chief, seeing her attitude, was puzzled. He had no idea whether she was an investor or someone looking to discuss a major partnership to bring development to their quiet village.“It doesn’t matter who I am. I see you have surveillance here, and I need to review your footage,” replied Hera.The village chief was even more confused. “Are you a police officer?”“No.” Hera frowned. She thought reviewing surveillance footage was no big deal. Why was this village chief being so difficult?The village chief gave her a look as if she were a fo
“Wait a little longer. By the way, what kind of ancestral hall is this?” asked Hera.“It's a local family's ancestral hall. I heard it's been designed by the owner of a large company, and now it's also one of the tourist attractions.” The taxi driver was not from around here, so he did not know all the details, but he knew it had become a popular spot. “Now, thanks to the reputation of that boss, many architects come here as one of their reference points.”Hera frowned deeper. What was Luca doing here?The driver suggested, “If you're interested in sightseeing, the attractions inside are pretty good. But for outsiders, they charge an entrance fee. Maintenance costs a lot of money, so they charge tourists from outside.”“I'm not here for sightseeing,” replied Hera, “Don't worry. I'll pay you for however long I stay here. You’ll get your money.”The driver heard that she was paying, and did not press her further and remained quiet.Hera stared at the entrance of the ancestral hall,
Hera let out a cold sneer, feeling that Gerald's apology was not sincere.Hera did not want to press the issue at the moment. She gave him a sharp look. “Come with me.”Gerald knew that Hera was up to something again. If it were a normal order, she would have just said it in the living room. Whenever she called him aside, it meant whatever she had to say could not be overheard by others.Reluctantly, Gerald followed her out.It was midday, and as soon as Hera stepped out of the living room, a wave of heat hit her face.The intense warmth made her feel uncomfortable.Hera got straight to the point, turning to Gerald. “What did Luca say to you just now?”“She just asked me to help keep an eye on the volunteer,” Gerald answered honestly. This was not something that needed to be kept secret.Hera frowned. “Is she going out”Gerald hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to say anything.“I’m talking to you, not the wall. Are you mute?” Hera threatened. “If you lie to me, I’ll te
Gordan was puzzled. At most, it was just brotherly camaraderie. After all, they had been through thick and thin together. Their bond might be stronger than usual, but falling in love? That was a bit of a stretch.Luke said, “The way you acted just now, doesn't really seem 'straight' to me. Also, if you're into women, maybe you should consider finding one. Otherwise, if you're always single, people might start misinterpreting your feelings for me.”“Luke, actually, you're not bad at all. In fact, you're probably better than a lot of women,” Gordan replied with a sly grin.As a man himself, he honestly thought Luke was a great guy. If he were a woman, he would be utterly captivated by him.“Shut up!” Luke knew he was joking, but he still felt a chill run down his spine. He seriously worried that Gordan might do something inappropriate when he turned his back on him.Shivering from the thought, Luke put down his glass and headed upstairs.Gordan let out a deep sigh.The night w
“Anyway, I'm saying it here—I'm not going to Russia because of that ugly woman, Vivian. If I go to Russia, it's for you. I've already divorced her. Besides, I’m already trying to avoid her, how could I possibly go to Russia for her?” Gordan took a sip of red wine, then continued his rant. “And, Ray is still in Russia. I really can't go. His men are all brutal, and I've had enough of being beaten all these years.”“Then why did you buy an apartment in Vivian's neighborhood?” Luke continued to tease him. His sharp eyes glinted with intelligence.Gordan denied it, but whether he believed it or not was his own business.“It was just a coincidence!” Gordan raised his voice, trying to convince Luke.Or maybe himself.“Coincidence?” Luke sipped his wine, every gesture as graceful as a nobleman.“Of course, it’s a coincidence, Brother Luke. You wouldn’t know, but that apartment is in a school district, surrounded by college towns. There are a ton of hotties there, I picked the place just
As Luca listened to his tone that was full of regret, she felt a slight pang in her heart. She recalled when she had a child and continued pursuing her education. If she had given up on herself back then, perhaps she and Luke would not find themselves here today.Luca felt she was much more fortunate than the volunteer. Even though she loved her father, she also understood the importance of education and did not let her father’s illness cause her to give up. She was also fortunate to have a father who supported her education.At the thought of this, Luca could not help but ask, “Do you regret it?”“No, I don’t regret it,” the volunteer smiled. “Actually, I always look at it in a positive light. Back then, several boys in my class liked her. If I hadn’t confessed, she might have become someone else’s girlfriend. If there’s anything I regret over the years, it’s that I was too selfish and it affected her studies.“I never thought that being in a relationship at a young age would
As Luca thought about it, she heard the volunteer exclaim, “With a wife like you, your husband must be so lucky and blessed.”Luca shook her head. To her, being cherished by Luke was a real blessing.“You’ve got it wrong. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”Luca had often wondered what her life would have been like without Luke.Perhaps she would have married Jean, only to watch his true nature slowly reveal itself. She would have struggled, eventually unable to endure it, and maybe even ended up divorced.It could be something worse. She might have been taken advantage of, lost all hope, and spiraled downward...Anything was possible.However, Luca knew that no matter what happened, life would not be as good as it was now without Luke.Though she remained under someone else’s control, and life on the Island of Despair was fraught with hardship, with Luke by her side, she felt an unshakable courage.A light laugh from the volunteer interrupted her thoughts.Luca
The volunteer did not mind. As long as it meant he could recover, he was willing to endure any pain. “It's okay. I can handle it.”Luca nodded.The door to the vehicle opened, and a man stepped inside. Due to the lack of sterilization, he did not dare approach the inner part of the vehicle. Instead, he placed several bottles of saline on the outside.“This is the saline that Mr. Shanks prepared. He asked you to inject it when you can,” the man relayed Shanks' message.“Got it.” Luca reached out to take the bottles. After thoroughly disinfecting them, she brought them inside.It was more complicated than being in a hospital.Since the volunteer's body was still weak. They had to maintain as sterile an environment as possible.However, it still fell short of the ICU's standard.Luca stayed with the volunteer until evening. Gerald stood outside the medical vehicle and called, “Ms. Craw, it's time for dinner.”Luca took off her protective gear and stepped outside.“Ms. Craw, di