“Maybe they think you’re beautiful, so they want to keep looking at you,” Luca comforted her with a joke. “Don’t joke around. I know they’re staring because of that news headline.” Nina was well aware that even if the news was kept under wraps, everyone else still knew of her dark past. Not to mention that she was still together with Percy. This banquet was the perfect time for everyone to gossip about her.“That didn’t affect your relationship with Mr. Mallory, so why does it matter what other people think?” Luca consoled. “Thank you.” Nina smiled at Luca gratefully. It was thanks to Luca’s comforting words that she managed to recover from that incident so quickly. She wanted to live for her own sake and not care about what other people thought. Luca looked around. More people have arrived since she sat down, and most of the seats in the banquet hall were filled. It should be another half an hour before the banquet began. “What a splendid banquet,” Nina exclaimed beside
From afar, Madam Mallory was infuriated by the sight she saw. She gripped the silk table cloth as she tried to suppress her emotions. She thought that Percy was lying. She was so sure that Nina’s attendance today was Percy’s doing. Yet Old Master Crawford’s behavior made it clear that she had assumed wrongly. Today was an important event, and countless people were trying to find a chance to talk to Old Master Crawford. Still, the old man did not even smile at most of them. Instead, he opted to respond superficially and leave Luke to entertain them. Even so, he was smiling at Nina now. Percy naturally deduced what his mother was feeling and said calmly, “So, now do you believe that I say is the truth?” “Even if Old Master Crawford admits her as his god-granddaughter, your grandfather still won’t ever allow your relationship.” Madam Mallory wore a slightly wretched expression on her face. Percy replied calmly, “I don’t need anyone’s allowance. This is my marriage. I’ll ch
Luca could not help but chuckle at the thought. Luke was very busy, so she waited patiently for all the guests to leave. Once he was done, Luke walked over to her. Beside him, Susan was sporting a huge frown on her face. Her expression was filled with distaste when she watched Luke’s retreating figure. “Mother, I’ll go and pay the hotel the rest of the fees.” Louis watched the guests leave and decided to pay the outstanding figure. “All you have in mind is matters like this. You’re really going to infuriate me to death one day.” Susan looked at him with disappointment. Louis had also stood at the door to wave the guests off, but there were considerably fewer people who wanted to talk to Louis than those who wanted to talk to Luke. In fact, Louis’ presence at the door did not seem to make any difference at all, since everyone only wanted to talk to Luke. Her birthday celebration had easily become Luke’s banquet. Louis saw how Old Master Crawford was still within earshot
Luke’s gaze darkened when he heard Susan’s ambiguous tone. Susan felt the strong and angry aura from Luke and took an instinctive small step backward. Only then did she realize that she was afraid of Luke. Luke quirked his lips. From Susan’s ambiguous tone and harsh appearance, Luke knew that Louis must have gotten an earful moments ago. “We’ll be going back first.” “Drive safe, Brother,” Yuri quickly said. After Luke and Luca left with their children, Susan turned to glare at Yuri with displeasure. “Even you’re so ready to chummy up to him, huh?” “Mother, I’m not…” Yuri defended. She did not understand how her act of common courtesy had become chumming up to Luke in her mother’s eyes. After all, an act was only believable when one kept it up. “Cut the attitude in front of children, lest they take after your bad example.” Susan harrumphed. She did not like it when people tried to get in Luke’s good graces. Yuri listened exasperatedly to Susan, unable to defend herself.
Luca’s heart skipped a beat at the sound. If not for the ambiguous and warm atmosphere of the living room, she might have thought that Luke realized something and wanted to question her under the excuse of drinking. The gentle sound of the piano drifted from the speakers, and Luca felt herself relaxing. She did not ask Luke what he wanted to talk about and opted to listen to the music instead. With her emotions calmed, she started drinking more wine without realizing it. The red wine was tasty and quickly made her lightheaded. Luke stared at Luca’s flushed cheeks and decided that she looked much more enchanting like this than she did with the makeup blush. He wanted nothing more than to engrave this enchanting look in his mind forever. Luke’s gaze darkened. His desire for Luca was growing, but he forced himself to rein it in.He did not want this woman to feel afraid of him. Up until this moment, Luke had yet to find out why Luca was so willing to stay under the control
Half an hour later, Susan had already made her selections for which photos she wanted to refine. Excluding the family photo, every other photo was of herself. The photographer could not help but complain internally. He had taken photos of so many guests and business big shots, yet Susan only chose the photos she was in. After her selection, the photographer kept his computer and stood up. “Madam Crawford, now that the photos have already been selected, I should be able to finish editing and refining them within a week. We can decide on a date then for you to come and take a look at the photos. I’ll further refine them if need be.” “Alright. There’s no rush. Just make sure that the photos look great in the end,” Susan replied. “Of course. I’ll make sure to further heighten your looks.” The photographer knew what Susan wanted to hear, so he promised her as he walked down the stairs. “That will be best.” Susan was very pleased with his business attitude and stood to walk him d
Shanks did not say anything more.After all, he would fulfill whatever he had promised Abel. Shanks looked at the microscope on the table that was not far away from him after Abel left. That was the microscope Luca used to do her research. Ever since she left the Island of Despair, the microscope had never been used again. The dust had begun to settle on it. His words just now made it seem like it was only for the sake of his experiment, but he was also giving Luca a chance.Shanks had been to A City before. The people there took New Year’s seriously. They thought it was an important day to reunite with their family members. All the students who went to study abroad and those who were working elsewhere would return to their hometowns and celebrate New Year’s with their families.It was probably Luca’s last chance to celebrate New Year’s with that man.In that photo just now, Luca looked so happy when she was looking at Luke. Shanks looked at the microscope. He could still r
Luke saved the photos and said in a calm voice, “You talked too much today.” “When do I not?” Louis said, “I’ve always been chattering away while following behind you since I was young. You should’ve gotten used to it, right?” Luke was already Louis’ brother when he was born. Although Susan had always told Louis that Luke was his enemy, it did not affect his admiration for Luke. Louis loved following behind Luke since he was young. He was naughty and playful too. Thus, he did not learn much from Luke and his strengths. “That’s true. You’re as talkative as an old woman. Oh, give me the photographer’s contact details. I’d like to print some photos too,” answered Luke. “Nonsense. Don’t you ruin my tall and masculine image,” Louis laughed jokingly. Then, he gave the photographer’s contact number to Luke. Louis glanced at the time, then he rose to his feet and said, “Brother, I’ve sent you his contact number. I shouldn’t be bothering you anymore. I’m leaving now.”“Stay for a w