After they were seated, the waiter asked, “Mr. Crawford, should we serve the dishes now?”“Yes.” Luke nodded. He had already placed the order when he was booking the private room.After all, there were a ton of things they needed to buy, so doing this would save some time. He did not want to see Luca being tired.Luca did not say anything after knowing that Luke had placed the order for them. She picked up the glass of lemonade and took a few sips.She was wearing lipstick during the photoshoot. It would trouble the makeup artist to touch up her lipstick whenever she drank some water. That was why she did not drink anything. She was thirsty now.The waiter nodded. When he was about to leave, Luke said, “I’d like to have a glass of grape juice, please.”“Okay, Mr. Crawford. Just a moment,” replied the waiter.After the waiter left, there were only two of them in the private room.Luca sat right opposite Luke. She felt embarrassed. Then, she picked up the glass of lemonade and to
Luca was surprised, then she turned to look at Luke.Couple’s lunch set?Luca glanced at the dishes on the table. They were indeed a couple’s meal set. She noticed that the foie gras was in a heart shape too.The same went with the straw of the grape juice.Luke noticed that Luca was surprised, but he did not make any explanation.There was nothing much to explain. They were on a date, after all. Of course, it had to be romantic. It was normal to order a couple’s meal set.After the waiter left and closed the door, Luke placed the appetizer and main course in front of her. He said, "Try them and see if you like them."Luca nodded. Then, she had a taste of the appetizer. It tasted like authentic French cuisine. She nodded and said, "It tastes good."“Have some more,” said Luke. He picked up the cutleries and tasted the food as well.As expected from a restaurant recommended by a food magazine. The food tasted good. Luke tasted the food while sizing Luca up at the same time.Lu
Luke pouted as he could not wait to tell the world that his beloved Bianca had returned.However, he could only comply with her orders as of right now to keep a low profile and not expose her identity, which made him feel helpless.He liked to be in control of everything, and he felt a sense of accomplishment knowing that everything was going according to his plan.This situation with Luca gave him a sense of frustration.Luke tried his best to grasp more about Luca’s situation, but he still felt powerless in the end.“Mr. Crawford?” When Luca noticed his grim expression, she thought that her previous statement had upset him.The mall belonged to him, so having someone follow them around while carrying their bags was normal. However, they had no choice but to carry their own bags because of her request to keep a low profile. Hence, they lost preferential treatment. “Okay, we can make a few trips so you don’t need to carry so much.” Luke came to his senses and made this decisio
“His actions made me even more annoyed.” Mavis frowned as she felt even more disgust for that person.Molly shook her head and bought two boxes of calcium tablets. “You just hate when people make a move on you first. I think he’s not bad, but you’re disgusted just because he took the initiative. Don’t tell me that after so many years, you’re still hanging onto that cold Mr. Crawford?”Luca was looking at a magazine, but as soon as she heard ‘Mr. Crawford’, her attention was diverted over there.At the mention of Luke, Mavis’ eyes showed emotions of a broken heart as she was bound to be at the mercy of Luke.Although she had not met Luke for a long time, every dream she had was related to him. Her longing and love kept increasing with every news report about him.Many people had pursued her over the years, but none of them were as outstanding as Luke.Mavis would not settle for just anyone, so she regarded all those men as playboys and ignored them.Her heart was already occupied
“Molly, I think that person was him,” said Mavis as she was about to walk out.Molly tugged on her hand and said with a frown, “Did you mistake him for someone else? How could there be such a coincidence? Plus, I think he was with a woman. Isn’t his wife abroad?”“I would’ve mistaken anyone else but not him. Wait here.” Mavis withdrew her hand and ran out.She spotted his figure not far away.Mavis ran in front of them, and tears welled up in her eyes. Although the man in front of her was wearing a cap and mask, she could tell that it was Luke from his physique and voice.“Is it you?” Her voice could not help but tremble.Luca did not expect Mavis to recognize Luke from one single word.Well, they did work together closely in their previous cooperations.Luke frowned when he saw Mavis in front of him. It had been three years since he last saw her. At that time, she used her own company to snatch the opportunity to cooperate with Brilliant Architectural Design LLC. Now, she stil
Luca nodded and said thoughtfully, “I overheard their conversation earlier. She seems to have an unhealthy obsession.”“She’s left her post for many years. When she left, we didn’t have any form of contact at all,” said Luke. After Mavis proposed to resign, he deleted her contact.Besides, there was no reason for them to keep in contact.Luca thought to herself that she was aware that Luke had really cut all ties with Mavis at the time.However, no one expected that even after a few years, the love Mavis had for him still had not died down.Luca said, “I also heard±”“I’m not interested in her affairs.” Luke squeezed her hand tightly. This woman kept bringing Mavis up. “Are you jealous?”Luca blinked and said resignedly, “Of course not…”She trusted Luke, so she would not let such trivial things ruin her mood.“Stop mentioning irrelevant people. What else do you need to buy?” Luke did not notice anything strange in her expression, which made him disappointed. How nice would it
They placed the bags on the coffee table and Luca began to sort the things.She was able to distinguish the items in the bag by the branding on the bags.Luca took out the bag that contained dessert and handed it to Aunt Neile. “Aunt Neile, this is the cake Mr. Crawford bought for you and your family.”“There’s something for me too?” Aunt Neile said in surprise, then looked at Luke to thank him. “Thank you, Mr. Crawford and Ms. Craw.”“You’re welcome,” said Luke. He looked at his phone screen and noticed some unread messages, so he said to Luca, “I need to go take care of some things.”“Okay.” Luca nodded, and after seeing him go upstairs, she picked up a few supermarket bags and unloaded the things.Some were kept at room temperature, whereas some had to be refrigerated.After Luca sorted the ones that had to go in the refrigerator, she said to Aunt Neile, “Aunt Neile, these need to be kept in the refrigerator. Could you please help me store them?”“Okay, Ms. Craw. “ Aunt Neil
"Here are your photos. Pick your favorites." Luke handed him the remote.Lanie took it and started going through his photos.He flipped through all the photos but did not have many thoughts, so he looked at Luke, unsure of which to choose."I think they’re all good," Luca said when she saw his expression.They had looked through all the photos. She did not see much of an issue for Lanie to pick everything.Rainie chimed in, "Yeah, Lanie is so handsome. If you can't choose, let’s have them all?"Lanie looked at Luke. He was unsure of which to choose."Let's take them all." Luke knew that his eldest son was not good at choosing photos, so he stopped embarrassing him and helped him make a decision.Luca smiled, looked at Rainie, and said, "It's Rainie's turn.""I’ll choose carefully!" Rainie gave a victory gesture.Luke started to show Rainie's photos.She loved to look at the details, and each of her photos was selected with special care.Aunt Neile, who was on the side, coul
“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