“She has to go back. You can accompany her if you want. Perhaps you can ask the chauffeur to send you back when you need a facial treatment.” Luke insisted and left no room for negotiation.“No way. It’ll be so troublesome for me to go back and forth.” Allison immediately skipped Luke’s first suggestion and rejected the second one. “There are so many guest rooms in Crawford Manor. Why can’t you let Sophian stay here?”Luke’s voice was deep, and the expression on his face was as cold as ice. “Crawford Manor isn’t some kind of shelter. Not just anyone is allowed to come in here.”“What do you mean? Sophian is my personal nurse. She’s not a refugee.” Allison furrowed her brows and slammed the dressing table. “Bringing an unknown person into the house during the new year isn’t allowed. I’ve given you two options. You’d better consider them.” Luke stood up. He was not planning to let her continue with her nonsense. Allison leaped to her feet and said, "How dare you say my subordinate
“What news?” Allison picked up a bottle of cream and started applying it to her face in the mirror.Her skin was losing moisture several times faster than the average person, so she had to apply products like these from time to time.Skincare products like these were costly, yet she applied them generously.Sophian glanced at the maid.Allison got the hint and said to the maid, who was still tidying up, “I’d like to talk to her in private.”“Yes, Madam Allison.” The maid put down Allison’s clothes and walked out hurriedly before closing the door behind her.“My colleague said that the doctor who’s going to operate on you is Dr. Steve, but he returned to his home country a few days ago, so no one can get a hold of him. Thus, no one is aware of the surgery. Dr. Steve returned to the hospital today and my colleague found out that he’ll use new foreign technology to operate on your face. It’ll mainly be to remove the wrinkles on your skin and also to inject some stem cells for your s
“Alright.” Allison was already used to the skincare routine.Sophian placed cotton pads drenched in toner on Allison’s face before slowly asking, “So, Ms. Allison, does Luke have another woman now?”“The others think I don’t know about this, but I do. The fact that he has another woman now means that he and his dad share the same morals. No matter how deeply in love they were before, their true nature will be revealed in the end. Sophian, I brought you here to open a new door for you. It’s up to you to grasp it. You’re pretty, so if other women can approach him, you can too.”“I’ll try, Ms. Allison…” Sophian was outwardly calm, but she was shocked.She had never seen a mother encouraging a woman to seduce her son who was already married with children of his own…However, Allison’s words gave her a boost of confidence.At least when she tried to hook up with Luke, she would not have to worry about Allison being against it.…After Luke left Allison’s bedroom, he went to Old Mast
Luke knew that the old master was curious as to why he favored Luca.However, he still chose to hide it as the fewer people who knew about it, the better. Plus, Old Master Crawford would not be able to help Luca anyway.What happened in the future might only make him worry.Luke shook his head and said, “There are many things I can’t tell you in detail right now, but you’ll know later.”“It’s always this excuse. I feel like Luca isn’t just anyone. Perhaps it’s like what I guessed? Old Master Crawford continued to probe.“Grandpa, you just need to know that Luca won’t hurt you,” said Luke.“Will she hurt you, then?” Old Master Crawford asked him in reply.Luca had done many things to harm the interests of T Corporation, but Luke knew that she was forced to do so.She did not want to, but she was just being controlled.Luke said firmly, “She won’t hurt me.”Deep inside, she was still the same old Bianca.Luke could tell that every time Luca had done something wrong to T Corpor
Allison was not one to be trampled on just like that. She sat down on the chair and said to Susan, “This is my house. I can go wherever I want. Old Master Crawford is still here, yet you wish to dominate the manor yourself?”“The one who wants to take over the manor is you. You brought a stranger into the house and even appeared at the dinner table to disgust people.” Susan shook off Louis’ hand and let herself loose as Allison’s words had angered her.“If you think I’m disgusting, you can go back to your room to eat. Plus, Ms. Sophian is a guest I invited. Is this how you treat a guest?” Allison pulled Sophian’s hand, gesturing her to sit down.Sophian watched their family dispute and forced herself to sit down without saying a word.“My *ss! If anyone has to leave, it should be you. You’re just a mistress. You don’t belong in this family, so scram!” Susan was vicious. Her tone was harsh like she wanted to spit venom on Allison’s face.Every time she saw Allison, she would be rem
After Luke left the dining room, he did not see Old Master Crawford nor the kids, so he went up to the study.Sure enough, they were there.Tommy was telling jokes that were popular among children in an effort to make Old Master Crawford cheer up.Old Master Crawford was grim-faced. When he saw Luke walk in, he asked, “Are they done arguing?”“Not quite.” Luke shook his head as he was the one who forcibly put the war to rest.“So, they’re still arguing?” Old Master Crawford asked. Although he had already foreseen it happening, he was still upset that a nice New Year’s Eve dinner was ruined.“No, I’ll have someone book flight tickets to send her back to Korea tomorrow,” Luke said.Old Master Crawford shook his head. “Luke, you know that she won’t leave so quickly. Don’t waste your money. There’s no need to book the ticket.”It would not be easy for him to send Allison away if she did not want to leave.Luke frowned.It was easier to invite the devil in than to send it away. No
"Ms. Allison, aren't you worried?" Sophian noticed that Allison and Luke did not share a good relationship.Nevertheless, all of Allison's expenses were paid for by Luke.Although it was natural for a son to take care of his mother, Luke seemed to act like whoever was paying was the boss.On top of that, Luke did not care much about his mother."Do you think I've spent all these years having learned nothing? I'm Luke's mother. Although he said that, he won’t do anything to me. He told me not to come back, but I’m back anyway. If I'm not willing to leave, no one can shoo me away." Allison sat on the sofa with her legs folded together. She wanted to act like a lady.Seeing how confident she was, Sophian nodded and felt a little more relieved.She hoped that Allison would not be afraid of Luke's coercion as she claimed.After all, she did not want to return to Korea.She would wake up laughing every day if she could be Luke’s woman and live in such a big mansion.Allison touched
"Yuri, huh… Her husband isn’t all that. How dare she act as such?" Allison hated everyone who was related to Susan.She did not like Yuri although Yuri had not offended or argued with her publicly.After all, Yuri could help Louis compete with Luke with her family's money in the future."Ms. Allison, let’s eat. The food won't taste good if it gets cold." Sophian did not dare to continue on that topic.After all, Allison had the character of a mad woman. If she overstimulated her, she would inadvertently be involved.At that time, if she went to trouble Yuri, it would be exposed that she spoke ill of her behind her back.Allison looked at the dishes on the tray and frowned. "Why are there only these few dishes? You didn't just pick the ones you liked to serve them to me, right?""I would never! Ms. Allison, this is all that was left when I arrived at the kitchen," Sophian explained quickly."This is all that was left? They all took the rest?!" Allison realized what had happened.
Luca’s head was slightly tilted, her cheek burning with pain.Abel had not held back at all. The force of his slap was merciless. A numbness spread across her face at an alarming speed.From the next room, someone peeked out again and asked in a low voice, “You okay?”“I’m fine.” Luca’s expression remained calm. This kind of injury was nothing to her.Back on the Island of Despair, she had endured far worse during training. She survived, did she not?Without another word, Luca pushed open the lab door and stepped inside.The man watching shook his head. Her face was already that swollen, and she still said she was fine… What a tough woman. She took a slap that hard and brushed it off like it was nothing.Shanks lifted his head when he heard the door open. When he saw it was Luca and noticed how swollen the side of her face was, his brows furrowed.“Abel did this?”“Who else?” Luca let out a bitter laugh, only to wince as the movement tugged at the pain. She sucked in a sharp b
“No.” Shanks’ tone was cold and firm with no trace of hesitation.Abel still looked doubtful.Shanks added, “Would you like to see her medical report?”Abel was startled for a moment. How did Shanks know he had been thinking about that report?Now that Shanks brought it up, the idea lost its appeal.Abel shook his head. “Even if you showed it to me, I wouldn’t understand it. Shanks, Kassy’s life is in your hands. If you can give her a second chance, I’ll provide as much research funding as you need."Shanks remained silent. He could save Kassy. In fact, his research had always been for Kassy.However, he did not expect Abel to be so ruthless as to insist on using a living person as a donor for Kassy. That was something he could not accept.Kassy’s condition could be treated with organs from a brain-dead patient. Why destroy a perfectly healthy life?Shanks was not acting out of mercy. He simply refused to go against his medical ethics.He was not someone who had to save lives
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’