“I remember that the National University is one of the top five universities in architectural design,” Luca recalled. Then, the expression on her face changed. Only after she finished saying that did she realize what she had said. Luca turned to look at Luke. He was calm, and he was not as surprised as she thought.Normally, a ‘foreigner’ like her should not know so much about the local universities. She thought it was unbelievable when there was no surprised expression on Luke’s face.Brian's face reddened as he was embarrassed to hear Luca complimenting his university. He shook his head and replied, "Even though it's in the top five, the faculty of architecture in our college is incomparable to Mr. Crawford's college. I'm planning to sit for the entrance exam for that college and see if I can take my master's there in my fourth year." Luca withdrew her gaze. She smiled and replied, “Good luck to you.”Brian nodded. Then, he changed the subject of the conversation, "Ms. Cra
“He’s completed most of the designs, so you wouldn’t be much of a help anyway. Plus, he would need to credit you if you partake in the designing. He wouldn’t be that stupid,” said Austin“I just want to learn. I never expected him to credit me in the first place, so don’t jump to conclusions.” Brian was filled with disgust for him.He left without looking back.Austin watched him leave as he spat on the floor. “What is he putting on an act for? He didn’t even gain anything from pretending to be polite to Luke for the whole day. Serves him right.”He turned to leave after finishing his words as well…Luke drove back to the Crawford Ancestral Home.The Crawford Ancestral Home was still brightly lit up, and when they both walked in, Tommy went over to hold their hands. “Daddy, Ms. Luca, you’re back!”“Yeah, have you eaten?” Luca took off her jacket and hung it before patting his head.Tommy nodded and said, “I’ve eaten. Have Daddy and Ms. Luca ate yet?”“Not yet.” Luke put the
“Forget it, then. It’ll be hard for them to learn if they don’t have the basic knowledge.” Percy did not expect to hit a wall while practicing with Luke’s children.“Mr. Percy, I understand it,” Lanie tilted his head up and said.Percy blinked and could not believe what he had just heard. “Didn’t you say you haven’t learned it yet?”“I just learned it,” Lanie said frankly.“Mr. Percy, don’t underestimate Lanie. He’s really smart. Rainie’s math is very good too,” Tommy said proudly as he recalled Percy’s words, saying that they could not learn it because the problems were too hard.Rainie put down the pencil and said, “Mr. Percy, I’ve solved it too.”“You too…” Percy looked at Luke.Luke said boastfully, “They’re my children.”“Pfft, let me take a look.” Percy picked up the children’s books and looked at their solutions.Lanie’s solution was relatively straightforward like the one in the textbook, but without prior knowledge of the topic, there was no way he could solve the pro
He liked Luca’s cooking despite being an adult.Tommy was just a child, so of course, he would like it too.Luca saw how much he liked it, so she picked up a new spoon and scooped some more into his bowl.“That’s enough for me,” said Luke.“These are the leftovers.” Luca considered Luke’s large appetite and made a bigger portion specially for him.A smile appeared on his face while he ate contentedly.After having two small bowls of pasta, she could not finish the rest.Luke made sure that she could not eat anymore before he took the bowl and cleaned it off.Only then did he take a satisfying sip of water from the cup at the side. “This pasta is even better than the meal this afternoon.”“Some of the dishes in the restaurant this afternoon were not bad. We should bring the kids there when we have the chance.” Luca suggested. Brian‘s recommendation was great, but Luke missed out on a number of dishes because of his mysophobia.“Sure,” Luke agreed.He could not miss out on goo
Luca was filled with disgust after hearing Allison’s words.Luke despised her to this extent, yet words like this could still come out of her mouth.What lover…If she had not been kidnapped, she would still be Luke’s wife.Allison noticed that she did not say anything, so she shouted, “Where’s Luke? Put him on the phone.”“Ms. Tanner, Mr. Crawford is busy right now.” Luca did not mention that Luke was in the shower as that would be too ambiguous.“It’s the holidays. What could he possibly be busy with? Tell him to answer the phone.” Allison was rather aggressive. She might be a little afraid of Luke, but she was not afraid of Luca at all.She reckoned that Luca would want to get on her good side after becoming Luke’s lover.Luca could not do anything with Allison. She knew that she would call non-stop if she hung up, so she had no choice but to say, “Mr. Crawford is really not available right now. I’ll let him know when he’s done and have him call you back, okay?”Allison did
“Luca…” Luke whispered in her ear, and an enchanting melody circled in the air.Luca felt like she was going to melt from his passion.“Mr. Crawford, I…” Her voice was hoarse, and her mind went blank. She had completely forgotten what she wanted to say, and she could only feel her legs go limp. Then, she and Luke both fell onto the bed.The mattress was soft, so it did not hurt. The surrounding temperature kept rising as Luke’s kiss grew deeper and deeper.Luca gave up struggling and sank in with him…The night grew darker.Some were in love, and some were exasperated.Allison threw her phone onto the sofa and paced back and forth in front of the coffee table.“Ms. Allison, if the call can’t go through, then stop calling. Mr. Crawford may be busy right now,” Sophian advised her kindly after seeing the state she was in.Allison crossed both her arms in front of her, and the wrinkles on her face deepened with anger. It made her look even more terrifying. “He hung up on me for th
Jason felt a tingling feeling on his scalp when he heard what Allison said.Her commanding tone was the same as before.He did not agree to her request right away but instead asked her, "Ms. Tanner, is there any reason you’re looking for the boss so urgently?"Allison did not want to tell him that someone scammed her out of all of her money. After all, Jason had a decent relationship with Luke. She said with a firm tone, "It's none of your business. It’s something important, so tell him to give me a call now."Jason was not that stupid to ask her why she needed him to relay the message.From what he knew of Luke's temperament, he would not be bothered to talk to Allison if he could block her number.What was more, Allison would never reach out to Luke through him. She would only reach out to him every time she could not get in contact with Luke.Jason glanced at Sue, who was next to him. She rolled over as if their conversation miffed her.He lifted the blanket, got out of bed,
Luke got out of bed lightly to not wake Luca.However, while he was washing up in the bathroom, Luca opened her eyes when she heard the sound of water.She picked up the phone on the bedside table, glanced at the time, and then put the phone down.It was still early.Luca remembered that she had promised to prepare breakfast for the children, so she immediately sat up.The discomfort came instantly.Even the previous time when Luke was drugged, he seemed to have restrained himself and did not go too far.However, this time, Luke was in a sober state but acted recklessly with her. She could not say no and eventually fell asleep.She did not know when she fell asleep, but when she opened her eyes, the sun had already risen.Luca looked out the window. Although there was a day curtain to block it, the faint sunlight that shone into the room showed that the weather was great.After a few days of snow, they finally got a day of good weather. Luke came out of the bathroom. He ste
“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