Only after Wanda had called attention to herself did the two old masters who were playing chess realize that Luca was here.Old Master Crawford was all smiles as he watched Luca sit down. He said, “Luca, what brings you here? Did you purposely come over to visit me because you knew I was here?”Old Man Rayne immediately waved his hand and said with a straight face, “I’ve seen my fair share of shameless people, yet I’ve never met anyone as shameless as you. Of course, Luca came here to visit me. Isn’t that right, Luca?”After saying that, he looked at Luca with all smiles as well.Luca did not know whether to laugh or cry when she saw the two old masters behave like mischievous children. She put down the tray in her hands on the coffee table and said, “Old Masters, would you care to try my creations?”The aroma of the cookies on the coffee table smelled amazing. Old Master Crawford could not help but drool a little. “Luca, of course, I know how good your cooking skills are. That bo
“Okay, I’ll be careful. I’m about to drive, so I’ll hang up now,” said Nina as she ended the call with Sue and drove to Jean’s home.While waiting for the traffic light, she thought about what Sue said and reconsidered. She decided to send a voice message to Percy to tell him about what just happened and notify him that she was heading over to Jean’s place.Percy did not reply. Nina assumed that he was busy, so she continued driving to Jean’s home without sending any more messages.She parked her car somewhere nearby as Jean currently lived in the Langdon family’s old house. The parking spaces would be full if she went any farther, so she could only park her car here and walk inside.Several motorcycles were parked in front of the house.Nina frowned. It seemed like not only Jean and Marie were inside but their scoundrel friends too…However, she could not tell whose friends they were.Nina took out her keys and opened the door. The sound of an uproar came from the living room.
Nina looked at Jean, and he subconsciously dodged her eye contact.She could tell what was going on with just one gesture of his.“Jean.” Nina’s voice was low and had a warning tone.Jean could not help but shiver a little and hurriedly said to Jonny, “Jonny.”Jonny lifted his hand and interrupted him, “Shut up.”Jean shut his mouth instantly.Jonny looked at Nina and said with a smile, “So you’re Percy’s girlfriend. Forgive me for the nonsense I said just now. It was ignorant of me to have failed to recognize you.”Nina was disgusted at Jonny’s change of attitude. Before she could give another eviction order, Jean informed him, “Jonny, my sister is now Percy’s fiancée.”Although the engagement was low-key, Percy’s announcement after it happened was very high-profile.Therefore, practically everyone in A City knew that Percy was engaged.“Oh, yes, yes, I forgot. Your sister is already engaged to Percy.” Jonny slapped the back of his head. “Hey, don’t blame me. If you had made
Nina snorted when she saw Marie weeping and sobbing. “If you had gotten together peacefully, then I wouldn’t have bothered. Besides, both of you are just two peas in a pod, hurting each other. I have no problem with that. But Marie, you compelled him to go to the Rayne family’s house today with malicious intentions. That’s why I brought this up. Jean, if you don’t believe me, open your email in an hour.”She uploaded the video the bar owner gave her onto her cloud storage because phones could easily be lost.Marie listened to her tone, and Nina did not sound like she was bluffing. She glared at Nina with bloodshot eyes and snarled at her. “Nina, why are you trying to screw me over?”Nina acted as if she did not hear her. She stared straight at Jean and warned him, “In the future, don’t even think of going to the Rayne family’s house. I’ve already told Aunt Rayne that if you dare cause her trouble again, she can just call the police without informing me.”After saying that, she turn
Jean squinted his eyes and looked at her red and swollen cheeks without a semblance of compassion. Instead, he felt resentment.Marie saw that he did not respond, so she immediately pounced and hugged him. “Jean, I really love you. Don’t give up on our relationship okay?”Jean listened to her weeping with disgust and said, “You can’t lie to me anymore.”“I swear, I’ll never lie to you again! Let’s live a happy life together, okay?” Marie reassured him.It occurred to Jean that Marie still had the Rayne family behind her, and he became gentle. He touched her red and swollen face and asked in a low voice, “Does it hurt?”Marie nodded.“I did this because I got too angry just now. I’m sorry. Don’t be angry at me,” Jean apologized. He knew that Marie wanted to get close to him for a reason, but at the same time, he had an ulterior motive for getting close to her as wellThe reason he overreacted was that he had just found out from Nina that Marie set him up.After Marie explained t
“Alright, I won’t see you off, then. It’s snowing, so be careful of your safety when driving,” Wanda reminded.Luca’s nose started to feel tingly. Wanda took care of her before she got married in Japan, and she did a better job taking care of her than anyone else. She realized that time and tide waited for no man as she saw the gray hair on her temples. The young ones were starting to grow old too.She had no way of repaying Wanda for all that she did for her in the past.“Okay, it’s cold. You should go in,” said Luca as she looked down and walked out of the gate.When she returned to her car, she did not have the time to get all sentimental as the three little children were waiting for her to pick them up.Luca drove off to pick up Lanie and the others.The classes that Old Master Crawford enrolled them in were the best in A City, so the three children had classes in separate locations.Luca would first pick up Lanie and Rainie, then she would go pick up Tommy.The moment Tomm
Rainie puffed her cheeks out and explained, “I’m the leading role, so the teacher said that my costume should be different from the other students.”The teacher also knew that she had plenty of dance costumes at home, so she did not prepare one for her.Lanie frowned. “But I don’t know how to pick one.”“Brother, aren’t you the smartest?” Rainie looked at the tutus. These few were the best-looking ones, but she somehow could not pick a favorite among them.Lanie raised his hand and flicked her forehead.“Ouch, what are you doing?” Rainie touched her head and looked at him in confusion.“I’m just a few minutes older than you. You should let mommy help you pick,” said Lanie. How could she let him pick when he knew nothing about tutus?“Shh.” Rainie immediately covered his mouth when he referred to Luca as Mommy. She looked back. Thank goodness no one was there.They had agreed to not address Luca as Mommy even behind her back to avoid Luca finding out.Instead, they should get u
Tommy could not help but exclaim, “I’m so full.”Aunt Neile was cleaning up the dishes and chuckled when she heard the child’s words. “With Ms. Craw here, Ms. Rainie and the young masters are not picky eaters at all.”Luca patted Tommy’s head. “Go walk around the living room okay? Aunt Neile will cut fruit for you later.”“Okay, Ms. Luca.” Tommy had always been hyperactive, so walking around was not a difficult task for him.Luca looked toward Lanie, who also ate a lot today.Lanie took the initiative to say, “Don’t worry, Ms. Luca. I’ll walk around to digest the food too.”“Ms. Luca, I don’t need to, right?” said Rainie as she was a girl, and her appetite was not very big. Although the meal Luca made was delicious, she did not eat as much as her brothers.The food on the table was mostly eaten by Lanie and Tommy.Luca shook her head. Girls were more concerned about their bodies and diet, so Rainie did not eat much.Rainie stood up and said, “Ms. Luca, help me pick out the tut
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
“Don’t worry, it won’t affect you in the slightest,” said Abel.The villa was bought under Shanks’ name.So while it appeared to be the Island of Despair’s property, it was, in fact, Shanks’ personal asset.Abel shot a glance at his subordinates, who stood beside him. Without hesitation, they grabbed the doctor and hauled him away.As Hera watched the scene unfold, she felt a sudden pang of unease. She was well aware of Abel's methods. Punishment was never off the table. However, seeing the way things were unfolding, Hera could not shake the feeling that Abel might actually take the doctor’s life.Still, they were in A City, a country with strict laws. Would Abel really go that far?As Abel turned to leave, Hera said almost nervously, “Darling…”“I have some matters to take care of. Be good and stay here. Don’t wander around, okay?” Abel’s mood was apparently lifted by the successful surgery. His voice was unexpectedly gentle.Hera’s unease only deepened. She grabbed the slee