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?"
She felt a twinge in her nose and an indescribable feeling in her chest. No one had unconditionally treated her so well like Luke did. Bianca's long eyelashes fluttered. She picked up the limited edition black credit card. She had read about it in a finance magazine before. The morning sun shone through the wide floor-to-ceiling, into the kitchen, and onto Luke's sculpted, angular side profile. The man was unbelievably perfect! She was only a plain, unremarkable woman, but she was lucky enough to gain his love and pampering. "Thank you…" Bianca was starting to sob when she spoke. The man had given her warmth and companionship at her lowest point. Her father's passing had left her clueless and helpless. That was a huge blow. Fortunately, Luke was by her side. There were her children too. Lanie and Rainie were like angels. They were the proof of her relationship with him. She was unlucky, but at the same time, she was the luckiest woman. Fate had been kind to her. L
Now that she was not living alone, Bianca prepared more food for breakfast. However, she had limited experience in preparing a meal for a family. She prepared many different items so that the children could eat what they wanted. On the big breakfast table were ham sandwiches and scrambled eggs. Next to them was French toast and fresh milk, and also oatmeal seasoned with vanilla and cinnamon. In the middle of the table was a grilled salmon steak. Luke was already dressed neatly in his business suit. He sat cross-legged on the chair, his casual posture giving him a natural air of nobility. His sculpted features were perfect yet distant. Bianca thoroughly appreciated the elegant way Luke ate his breakfast. Lanie and Rainie were well-trained to take their meals without speaking. They sat next to Bianca and operated clumsily with their utensils. When Bianca saw that, her motherly instincts were triggered, and she started to feed them. She picked up a slice of ham with a
Luke let out a gentle sigh. Now that he had successfully cowed the two little ones, he had to take care of the big one. He failed as a father. He stood up helplessly, went to Bianca's side, and gently hugged her delicate body into his steel-like arms. He gently stroked her back and said, "Alright, it's all my fault. Don't be angry, OK? I'm afraid that they might grow up to be picky eaters, and that won't be good for their health. I won't be so harsh on them the next time." Seeing that he was apologizing earnestly, Bianca decided to let the matter rest. "You've made your promise that you won't ever do what you did today. They're children after all." Luke could breathe easier, seeing how Bianca became less angry. God knows how much he cared for her feelings. "…" Lanie and Rainie rested their cheeks on their hands. They could not believe what they saw. Daddy changed a lot ever since Mommy was here. They had nothing but admiration for Mommy for being able to tame the tyrant
Xavier was Bianca's legal husband. He should have been in Luke's position, doing what Luke was doing. That was more than a joke! Xavier walked to Kevin's casket, his heart filled with indignation and grievances. "I'm sorry that you've never met me while you're still alive. I'm Xavier, your son-in-law. It's a pity that Bianca and I didn't hold a grand wedding ceremony before you left. Don't worry. I'll hold the biggest wedding ceremony that the world has ever seen. Bianca shall be my wife and only my wife. I swear that I'll take good care of your two grandchildren too." Xavier turned to look at Luke with an instigative gaze. As expected, the man's eyes flashed with hostility and curiosity. 'It's fine. He can have the upper hand for now.' Xavier felt a little better when he saw that Luke was angry but could not release it. However, fires of anger started burning once again in Xavier's heart when he saw Bianca, in her sorrow, being hugged and comforted by Luke. 'Bear with it.'
In the evening, the mourners who had come to pay Kevin their last respects had left. Only several people remained in the house. The two children were hungry. Wanda brought them away for dinner. Luke received an urgent call. He informed Bianca about it and hurriedly left. Bianca was currently cleaning up the house. The Rayne family house was a simple house with two rooms. She looked around her, finding her surroundings familiar yet foreign. After all, she was only brought there when she was a teenager. Memories of her father surfaced, though they were of somewhere else. That was the time when Jennifer and her daughter had not moved in. Whenever Kevin visited Bianca in the small town, he would carry her on his shoulders and call her "my dearest darling." She remembered that she had a high fever when she was six years old, and she had faded in and out of consciousness. Even the doctor was helpless. She vaguely saw her father kneeling in front of the doctor and beggin
Even the usually docile Rainie was angry when she saw her Mommy bullied. She grabbed a mop that was conveniently nearby and smacked it on Xavier. "Bad Uncle Xavier! You're a bully! I'll kill you!" She screamed out. "Hiss!" Xavier felt the intense pain in his leg and let go of Bianca. Bianca frantically ran away. Her eyes were brimming with hatred, and her lips were swollen and red with hints of blood on them. She looked as though she was more than willing to murder Xavier. Xavier licked his lips. His tongue was hurting. If he did not let go of the woman, she might even have bitten off his tongue. He looked down, and upon seeing that Lanie was still biting him, dragged the little boy away. He rolled up his pants. Lanie seemed to have almost bitten off a piece of flesh from his leg. 'That savage whelp. He's indeed Luke's son!' Xavier glanced at Rainie. She was trembling with fear, but she continued to stand in front of Bianca holding the mop and baring her teeth as th
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