After Luca left the bedroom, she headed downstairs and got ready to leave. She would be late if she did not set off now.Tommy immediately kept up with Luca when he saw her going out. “Ms. Luca, are you going out?”"Yes. I'm going shopping with Vivian," replied Luca. She picked up the scarf beside her and put it on her while looking at herself in the mirror."Ms. Vivian!" Tommy's eyes lit up and clung to Luca, "Ms. Luca, I miss Ms. Vivian too. Take me with you, please.""Be good. I'm going to accompany Ms. Vivian to get the stuff she needs for her next semester. It's inconvenient for us to have kids come along with us. Can you stay at home? I'll make something good for you when I come back." It was not that Luca refused to take the kids along with her, but it was inconvenient to do so.“But I wanted to meet Ms. Vivian too.” Tommy tugged on Luca’s sleeve while acting cute. He tried to convince her to take him along with her.“What about inviting Ms. Vivian over to be our guest?”
“And then what?” Luca was not surprised to know Gordan was here.Gordan was well-connected all over the world. Was there anyone who could stop him if he wanted to travel to another country? After all, she had seen Gordan swapping faces to help Luke solve his problem before.“And then…” Vivian smiled bitterly. If Gordan pestered her just because he could not let her go, she might have been moved by him, and she would probably forgive him.However, Gordan pestered her only because he thought Vivian had deliberately humiliated him and he wanted an explanation. It was not his obsession for her or that he could not get over her, but it was the anger he felt after being humiliated. Vivian felt helpless and anxious. At the same time, she realized even though she appeared as if everything was fine, she knew she had not gotten over him yet. She felt worthless.That was why she had been losing sleep for the past few days. She was not feeling herself lately. Luca immediately understoo
“I only remembered when you mentioned it. Online shopping is way more convenient here in A City.” Vivian smiled and massaged her forehead.All this while, she had fully integrated herself into life here. However, she had no one to guide her, so she missed out on many conveniences.Vivian took the several sets of clothes that Luca had picked out for her and walked into the fitting room to try all of them on.On the other hand, Luca sat on the sofa in the store and waited for Vivian to finish changing.While waiting, she glanced toward the door, and her eyes flicked upward when a figure passed by it.The figure seemed familiar.Luca put the magazine aside and kept looking at the door to see how long the person would stay at the door.“Luca, does this look good on me?” Only when Vivian’s voice sounded did she slowly withdraw her gaze.After looking her up and down, Luca gave an affirmative answer, “Youthful and beautiful. It looks great on you.”Vivian smiled bashfully. “I’m old
“I’ve already told him, and Mr. Crawford has asked Aunt Neile to tidy up the guest room, so you can go rest when we get there if you want,” said Luca, indicating that she did not have to ask Luke.“Luca…” Vivan was touched by her planning. She leaned her head on her shoulder and said, “Teach me how to speak the local language.”“I can only communicate with you in the local language. I can’t teach you because I don’t have the complete syllabus for teaching, so I’ll just leave it to the language teacher in your school.” Luca patted Vivian’s hand to reassure her.“Alright.” Vivian was reassured by her words.Both she and Luke had the same magic power to make her feel at peace.Luca let Vivian lean on her, and when she adjusted herself to a comfortable position, she purposely glanced back to see that there was a black BMW trailing them.Although she had forgotten to look at the car plate, the car model was the exact same.She guessed that the people in that car would not make any mo
Lanie’s face remained cool as he looked at the entire set of stationery in front of him, but he was reminded of the past.Before their mother was kidnapped, she would prepare all their stationery for them before each school year. All the colors and designs were chosen to their liking.Tommy had yet to start school at the time.Every time he saw them receive a full set of stationery, his round eyes would be filled with envy, and he would make noise about wanting to grow up quickly so he could go to school.Since that incident, even with the fake Bianca, they never received a full set of stationery again.“Thank you, Ms. Luca. I love it.” Lanie’s little heart was overwhelmed.“Good that you like it. I saw the complete set and thought of buying it. There’s also a light green one for Tommy.” Luca took out the last gift box from the bag, which was a gift for Tommy.“Tommy will love it,” said Lanie. Tommy had always wanted to receive a full set of stationery for school, but even after
The room was getting hotter and hotter, and the two were about to sink into one another when they heard a knock on the door. Luca broke away from Luke’s embrace as if she had come to her senses.“Mr. Crawford, someone’s at the door.” Luca’s face was scarlet red when she turned to look at Luke, who seemed cross.He had a look of discontent on his face.“I heard.” Luke could not wait to chase away the person at the door who interrupted them. “Who is it?”“Mr. Crawford, Mr. Mallory is here. Would you like to meet him?” Aunt Neile’s voice came from outside. Luca listened carefully and could hear the anxiousness in her voice.She reckoned that it was because she heard Luke’s annoyed tone.The man was usually calm and steady, but when he could not get what he wanted, he simply could not hide it.Luca thought that this side of Luke was funny and kind of adorable at the same time.“What’s he here for?” Luke asked. Ultimately, Percy was the one who interrupted his time with Luca, not Au
Luke nodded as Percy’s hypothesis seemed possible.Otherwise, there would not be ships going in and out there.Winter had just passed, so it was still freezing over there. The weeds on the island had withered and leaves had fallen off the trees. That was how his people discovered them.As for the new materials Percy mentioned, there may not be a lot in the market right now and the technology may not be particularly advanced, but they could tell from Luca’s medical skills that the level of technology on the Island of Despair was much higher than the technology available to them, so it might be possible…Besides, Johann had mentioned before that the person who taught Luca medicine must be a medical guru, and that even he was no match for him in certain aspects.“We’ve found the place, so what are you going to do now?” Percy crossed his hands in front of his chest enthusiastically.If Luke asked him to sweep the Island of Despair, he would be able to do so, even if the stronghold wa
Nina had deliberately ignored it when Madam Mallory rang the doorbell earlier.‘Did she think she could stop me? How foolish of her! The Mallories’ influence is far beyond what this b*tch can imagine!’Nina lowered her head. She was well aware of the wide gap between her and Percy.Nevertheless, she did not intend to let go just like that. She only acknowledged and accepted her feelings for him after so many years. Although their relationship came with hardships, she still wanted to give it her best shot.After all, she had no other attachments to this world, nor any worries or burdens. Falling in love with Percy was the only way she could save herself.‘Since there’s no way out and nothing to lose, why should I let go of my soul mate?’Percy held Nina's hand tightly as they faced Madam Mallory’s imposing manner. He was calm."You’re right on something you just said. We should indeed refer to others with the appropriate title. I called Nina that because we’re already legally mar
“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