Everyone who had participated in the meeting was thoroughly exhausted, though Luke looked as though he was an emotionless robot. He strode energetically toward his office. "Daddy… mmm…" Rainie was the first to wake up when she heard her father's steady footsteps. She mumbled and rubbed her eyes. Luke nodded at the little girl and tried to smile at her, though his smile was more like a reluctant stretch of the corners of his mouth. Previously, his interactions as a father toward his children were more like formulaic obligations rather than gestures of intimacy. That was the first time that he showed some kindness to his children. Rainie was shocked when she looked at her dad. She thought that he looked better when he was crying. She planned to tell Miss Bea that Daddy was acting weirdly today, as though he was a cunning wolf who wanted to lure an innocent little rabbit into his den and snap its throat… Whoosh! Rainie hid behind the couch. Perhaps Daddy was not himself
Bianca only remembered about the DNA test report when Lanie mentioned it. Now that Lanie had said it, it meant that the DNA test had proved that Bianca was indeed the two children's birth mother. Before that, Bianca was only seventy or eighty percent sure. Now, she was finally at ease. It should have been a joyous occasion when her status was confirmed, but Bianca did not seem as happy or excited as she expected. That was because her father had passed away. Bianca had to accept that painful fact, no matter whether she was awake or in her dreams. All the good news seemed to be shrouded in a thin layer of dust. Lanie kicked away the little boots on his feet and hopped onto the bed. Once on the bed, he realized that there was not enough space for him to sit cross-legged. Instead, he kneeled next to Bianca. Fortunately, the bed was big enough for that. He took the glass of warm milk from Mommy's hands and noticed that there was some sediment inside. Lanie quickly stirred
Leia felt a lot better after she replied to her mother's message. She opened the trailer door and called out gently, "Come over here for a bit, Marie." Her tone of voice sounded like a noble beckoning for their servant or an owner calling for their pet. Marie was not happy when she heard that, though she faked a smile and jogged over obediently. "Do you need me for anything?" 'Of course I need you for something!' Leia thought as she looked at Marie with disdain. 'Can't you be a little smarter as an assistant?' "Why don't you ever address me whenever I talk to you?" Leia said warmly. The surroundings might be dark, but Leia's impeccable features had seemed to brighten the night a little. Members of the production crew passed by while carrying props. "It's like this. You're six years younger than me, and I'm not sure how I should address you," Marie said awkwardly. "Ms. Leia" sounded too formal. She did not feel close enough to Leia to call her by only her name. After
The black Bentley slowly drove out of the hospital. Bianca looked at the two cute children, and her mood brightened instantly. Luke did not look at the children like Bianca did. Instead, he was looking at Bianca's face. Bianca was oblivious to that. The two children clung to their mother and chatted with her ceaselessly. 'Am I not as important as the children?' Luke thought. Suddenly, he was jealous! Rainie pouted and said to Bianca coyly, "When I was three years old, Grand Auntie came over for Christmas and brought her two granddaughters along. They're the same age as me, but they have pretty braids. They told me that their mommy braided their hair for them. Why don't you have a mommy? I was so angry that I cried." Bianca looked at Rainie's aggrieved expression and hugged her tightly. She kissed Rainie's forehead and said, "I'll do your braids for you every day." "Mm, thank you, Mommy!" Rainie snuggled comfortably in her mother's arms. However, the little girl sudd
Leia stirred the coffee in the cup with a spoon. She lifted her head and asked conservatively, "Brother Xavier, what I'm most concerned about are his two children. Where did he get them?" Xavier was surprised. Brother Xavier? That title was too saccharine-sweet. As far as he remembered, the last time Leia called him "Brother Xavier" was when she had recently stepped out of the orphanage and into elite society. She gave everyone appellations such as "Brother" or "Sister." As her social status climbed, she found herself to be equals with Xavier and stopped calling him "Brother." Of course, she could be equals with Xavier because she was Jack Norman and Queenie Zeigler's daughter. In fact, as a Norman, she was of a higher status. Xavier had never considered Leia to be part of his plan in trying to separate Bianca from Luke. However, Xavier quickly thought of something. "To be frank, I don't know where the two children came from, even though my family occasionally talks abo
Bianca lifted her head and looked into his eyes. She was reminded of their carnal relations from five years ago, then at the rekindled passions from a few days ago. Bianca felt that Luke had given her a sense of belonging. It was as though her feelings had been held hostage for five years and were now set free. It was like wandering in a storm for a very long time and finally finding a safe haven that only belonged to oneself. "What are you thinking? Your eyes are red." Luke felt sorry for Bianca when he looked at her frail expression. Luke admitted that he was currently assailed by primal urges for Bianca that were rushing like the incoming tide. He could not calm his heart whenever he looked at her. 'Have I gotten a craving for her? 'Perhaps so.' On one hand, he was someone who had tasted carnal pleasures. He desired the sensations that her body gave him. On the other hand, he was possessive toward her and wished to own her everything. Otherwise, he would not be a
Bianca closed her eyes and started counting sheep. One, two, three… when she was at twenty-three, she felt the man leaning closer on her back. His warm and rough hands encircled her delicate waist and reached into the elastic band of his pajama pants. Bianca was sleeping on her side. Luke's warm hands rubbed and massaged her abdomen, and her legs instinctively bent… When she bent her legs, her butt was pushed outward… Her butt pressed against the man's body. She could feel something awaken beneath the man's pants and was poking her body. "What are you doing?" Bianca frowned slightly. She was not in the mood tonight. The bedroom was dark, though eventually she got used to the darkness. Luke's arm supported his head, and he was leaning on the bed looking at her. His head moved forward, and he kissed her fair cheek. "The doctor recommends that you should exercise more often. It'll be good for your hypoglycemia," he said. "Exercise…" Bianca's mind turned blank. The doct
After Marie was brought away, Leia took the rest of her break half-heartedly and continued the shoot. The tearful scene had been reshot from morning to night, but the director was not satisfied. "Never mind. Let's wrap up for today. Go home and think through the scene and we'll try again tomorrow," the director said disappointedly to the male and female lead actors. Leia was not in the mood to think about the shoot. She wanted to leave the set as soon as she could. Her acting career was important, but it was not as important as finding an opportunity to meet Luke so that they could get married. When the RV was about to leave the film set, Leia gave Xavier a call. Xavier was at home playing chess with his father. Lacey was pleased when she saw that Xavier and his father were at peace with each other. She kept on serving them fruits and drinks. When Xavier's phone rang, he saw that it was from Leia. He answered the call, though his eyes remained on the chessboard. "Yes?"
After Hera got into the car, Abel turned around. His piercing blue eyes locked onto Luca.“When will the test results be ready?” asked Abel. His primary concern was the results.Luca replied, “It won’t be that fast. She did quite a few tests, so it might take until tomorrow or the day after. But the hospital assured me that as soon as the results are in, they’ll give me a detailed report right away.”Abel looked a little unhappy. “Didn’t I tell you to choose the VIP package?”“Mr. Abel, even with the VIP package, the results won’t be immediate. Getting them by tomorrow is already considered fast,” explained Luca.Abel let out a cold snort.Just then, the car window rolled down.“Baby, I’m still upset.” Hera’s voice dripped with sweetness.Abel turned around, his previously cold expression instantly replaced with warmth and tenderness. “What will make you feel better?”Hera thought for a moment. “How about this? Let her follow me around today and carry my shopping bags. That mi
“You!” Hera was clearly caught off guard that the driver had the nerve to talk back to her.She yanked off her sunglasses, just about ready to snap back at him when the driver got a good look at her through the rearview mirror.“Oh, it’s you?” said the driver.“Who the hell are you? Do I know you?” Hera’s tone was arrogant as though she was naturally above him.The driver reminded her, “Remember yesterday? You had me tail a cab and park outside some ancestral hall for half the day, and you refused to leave. I wasted a ton of gas just idling there with the A/C on because of you.”Hera’s face turned red, then pale. She did not expect Luca to randomly call a cab and end up with the same driver from yesterday.Luca also found it a funny coincidence and glanced back. Hera’s expression was awful.The driver, being a straight shooter, did not hold back. “Huh. Funny how you didn’t complain about my car smelling bad yesterday, but today, all of a sudden, it stinks? After I dropped you of
Luca also reminded Luke to tell the kids not to contact her during this period. The device could not be removed. If it was, Abel would definitely notice. Rather than making him suspicious or prompting him to install even better devices, it was better to just leave this one in place.Luke quickly replied: [Got it.]Luca put on a faint smile and began narrowing down the search, trying to figure out where that man had installed the device.If it was just for listening, she did not care. It could stay. However, if it was a surveillance camera, she needed to be more cautious. In the end, she found the device under the bed.She did not bother checking whether it was for listening or monitoring. After all, if it was placed there, the only possibility was that it was an audio bug. A camera in that spot would not capture anything useful.Anyone trained on the Island of Despair would not make such a rookie mistake.After a quick wash-up, Luca went to bed.The next morning, she receive
“Babe, don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s just trying to drive a wedge between us,” Hera said gently, hoping to earn Abel's affection.Abel did not take Hera’s words seriously. Instead, he picked up his phone and made a few inquiries.After checking with multiple sources to confirm where Lucius and the others had gone, the person on the other end of the line reported that Lucius had not left home in the past few days.As Luca listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, her expression remained calm.Gerald let out a sigh of relief but was also puzzled. He had always felt there was something going on between Lucius and Luca, yet unexpectedly, Luca’s outing this time had nothing to do with Lucius.Hera’s face turned pale. So, it really was not because of him.In that case, she…Hera instinctively looked at Abel, only to find that he was already staring at her. Their eyes met, and Hera could not help but shudder. Abel’s gaze was terrifyingly cold.Just when she thought he
“Oh? What made you so happy? Spill the tea.” Hera’s curiosity grew. Whatever it was that had Abel smiling like this had to be something big.The last time she was with him, he had closed a billion-dollar deal over the phone, but his expression had remained indifferent. It was like it was just another ordinary day at the office.However, he was currently grinning from ear to ear. Could it be something even bigger than that?Abel set down his unlit cigar. His fingers lightly traced along Hera’s cheek before resting on her eyes.“Your eyes… They’re beautiful,” murmured Abel.It was not the first time he had complimented her eyes.Hera had gone for the perfect foxy-type eyes, and every man she met would gush over how stunning they were.However, Abel was different. Other men would say her eyes were beautiful and then follow it up with praise for her face, her figure… The whole package.Yet Abel? He never mentioned anything else but just her eyes. It was as if her face and other par
“Alright. Ouch, it hurts when you flick me, Lanie!” Tommy pouted.“Don't cry. You were just saying you’d protect your sister, and now, you’re crying? What’s going on?” Lanie rubbed Tommy’s forehead. “Alright, I’ve rubbed it. Stop crying.”“Heh, Lanie, you're the best to me!” Tommy immediately beamed with happiness.“The whole grandma situation is over. From now on, let’s just behave ourselves and wait for Daddy and Ms. Luca to come back,” Lanie told his younger siblings.Even though their parents were not around, he had taken on the responsibility of being the elder brother. Despite being the same age as Rainie, he was much more mature.“Yes, I’ll listen to Great-Grandpa and you, Lanie!” Tommy nodded eagerly.…After Jason hung up on Allison, he let out a deep sigh.Sue walked over with a plate of fruits and placed it beside him. “What’s with that look? Have some fruits.”Jason picked up a toothpick, speared a piece of fruit, and brought it to her mouth.Sue opened her mouth
“Good evening, Madam Allison.” Jason quickly answered the phone.Allison wasted no time and demanded, “Why did you only send me such a small amount of money?”“It’s Mr. Crawford’s decision,” replied Jason, “If you suspect I’m withholding anything, you may ask him directly…”He reckoned that Allison might not be able to get in touch with Luke, so he added, “Or I could show you the chat records.”By now, Allison could not really doubt him anymore.However, with frustration in her voice, Allison asked, “Why is it so little? How am I supposed to live in A City on this?”“Mr. Crawford said that you have no extra expenses. You’re not shopping, so a hundred thousand dollars should be enough,” Jason relayed Luke’s words.A hundred thousand dollars was an amount that the average working family could not even earn in a month.Allison could not go out shopping right now, and she was not making any other extra purchases while staying at home every day. Why would it not be enough?Sophian, who over
“She's busy, so use something else. I’ve got stuff to do. I’m hanging up now.” Luke did not want to hear her rambling.Allison quickly added, “Wait, there's one more thing.”Luke frowned in annoyance.“I don’t have any money left. Send me some,” continued Allison. She was worried he might refuse. “It’s been over a month, and you still haven’t sent me my living expenses.”“Don’t worry, Jason will transfer it to you in a bit,” replied Luke. It had indeed been a month. However, he had been too busy to remember.“Alright.” Allison was about to say more when Sophian called out sweetly, “Mr. Crawford…”Before she could finish her sentence, Luke hung up the phone.Allison stared at Sophian. “What did you say that for?”Sophian was confused. She had only said a word, and the call was already disconnected. Was it her fault?“I just wanted to talk to him…” replied Sophian.“You didn’t have to say anything. I wasn’t done talking yet, and you made him hang up.” Allison was furious. She k
“As long as what Lanie wants to do isn’t illegal, I’ll support him.” Old Master Crawford rose to his feet with the help of his cane after saying that.He had known all along Allison would not have come here for anything important.This conversation was so dull.If it were not for her pestering Lanie with questions, Old Master Crawford would have pretended he did not know she was here and let her do whatever she wanted.The three kids had overheard the whole conversation between their great-grandfather and grandmother around the corner of the stairs.Once they sensed that the discussion was wrapping up, Lanie made a hand gesture to his younger siblings.Rainie and Tommy understood the gesture and nodded, following their brother upstairs.Lanie waited until he was sure no one downstairs could hear them before asking, “Why were you two eavesdropping?”“You were listening in, so why couldn't we?” Tommy grinned. He understood most of what they had talked about. What interested him m