The actual identity of the "cousin" was actually Luke Crawford? After the sensational news broke out, the comments were split into three camps. The first was Luke's devoted supporters, who defended Luke's reputation with hard-hitting points. A gentle, handsome man who regularly topped the list of wealthiest people could have gotten any woman he wanted. Why would he go after the wife of another man? The second was his detractors. Their common consensus was that no one knew how Luke behaved in private, despite his frank and candid public personality. Perhaps hidden under that gentlemanly guise was his true sadistic and incestuous self! The elite society was full of scandals like these. Not only affairs happened between cousins, but they even happened between father and child. They thought that the post was absolutely true. Those people generally had a negative outlook on life, and they believed that everyone else was as negative as them. The third was those who claimed to
For the first time in Luke's career, he skipped work after the emergency shareholder's meeting. He went to the kindergarten and picked up Lanie and Rainie, fulfilling the responsibilities of a father. Sitting in the car, Lanie asked him curiously, "It's not the weekend today, Daddy. Why do you have time to rest?" As far as the boy knew, his father was a workaholic who even worked on weekends sometimes. Lanie thought that it was abnormal for his father to be out of his office during office hours. "No more classes for the day, Big Bro! I'm so happy…" Rainie rested her cheeks on her hands and said excitedly. She was at the age where she would rather play outdoors than sit in the classroom. Through the rearview mirror, Luke looked at the two children sitting properly in the back seat and said, "I'll bring you two and Mommy to the theme park today. We'll go home and pick Mommy up." The two children opened their mouths in shock, as though they had heard something incredible.
She did not know how much time had passed when a strong hand pulled her and the child in her arms aside. Luke tightly grabbed onto Bianca, and his face was pale. "Are you an idiot, Bianca? Don't you know that what you did was very dangerous?" He said angrily. He counted his lucky stars that the young mother fiddled with a lever or a button and managed to stop the motorboat right before it struck Bianca. The motorboat was only one fist's distance away from Bianca and the child. If she had been a split second slower in stopping the boat, an unimaginable disaster would have happened. When Luke saw that scene, he could feel his world crumbling around him. His leg muscles were pumping as hard as they could as he ran toward Bianca, though his body was shaking. When he saw that Bianca was safe, his face was contorted by the fear and anger in his heart. It was a dangerous scene. "He's… he's still a child, and he doesn't know what to do. If I didn't save him, he would've been badl
Shandra was not bragging. Other than losing to Walter several times, she had never lost a lawsuit against another lawyer. Xavier smiled mockingly when he heard Shandra's answer. "My dear schoolmate, I remember that you're always the top scorer in the law college, and Walter is always second place. I thought that you're more outstanding than him. Why is that not the case now?" Back when they were in college, Shandra's sharp tongue in law debate competitions was a force to be reckoned with. Walter was also an outstanding student, but he was always several points below Shandra. Shandra's indifferent expression wavered slightly when she heard Xavier's words, but she soon resumed her composure. Back in school, Walter had always let her win. He knew that she hated losing, and she would be depressed for a while if she got second place. At first, she did not know that Walter was letting her win. When she stepped into society and was faced with difficulties at work, it was only
Anna, Nina's mother, was currently cooking in the kitchen. When she heard the door open, she peeked out to see who it was. She saw her daughter coming in through the door with a man's coat draped over her body. Then, she saw the bruises on her daughter's neck. Anna flew into a rage and hurled the plate in her hands onto the floor! Her son was still in prison, but her daughter had the mood to flirt with other men! "Mom." Nina was physically and mentally tired. She briefly greeted her temperamental mother and headed to her room to rest. She had not taken two steps when she heard a loud slap! Suddenly, she felt a searing pain on her cheek! Nina covered her face and looked at her mother with disbelief. Anna poked her daughter's forehead with the sharp fingernail of her index finger as though intending to scrape off the skin. "Where have you been, you useless child? Tell me honestly, have you been sleeping with other men? I told you countless times that a woman should kn
After cashing in the check, Anna was on cloud nine. She had expected the check to be a dud, but she did not expect that the bank staff took it respectfully and transferred the amount to her account without a hitch. Anna withdrew 100,000 dollars in cash and kept the rest in her account. On the way back, she took the cab for the first time. Sitting in the cab, Anna thought that she was in a dream. She realized that she was awake after pinching herself several times. The cab driver stole several glances at Anna when she was pinching herself while holding a bulging black handbag. Anna hugged her snakeskin handbag close. "What are you looking at? Focus on your driving!" When she opened her mouth, her shrewish and miserly temperament was laid bare. She was afraid that the cab driver might snatch her handbag. Anna did not know where her daughter had gotten that much money, but that was none of her business. She did not care if her daughter was sleeping with other men for mone
Bianca was not able to meet Nina. She was not relieved. However, she was helpless against Anna. Anna bore a deep-seated grudge against Bianca, and there was no way she was reasonable enough to listen to Bianca. However, Anna was nevertheless Nina's mother, and she could not do anything to her. Bianca thought of Sue. If Sue went to visit Nina, Anna would have no excuse to drive her daughter's colleague away, as unreasonable as she might be. Bianca gave a call to Sue, tactfully saying that Nina had fallen sick. Bianca also explained that Nina's mother bore a grudge against her, and it was not convenient for her to go and visit, which was why she asked Sue to visit Nina on her behalf. She did not tell Sue about what actually happened to Nina. After all, no woman would want other people to know that they were abducted and violated. Sue agreed to it immediately and promised that she would visit Nina after work. She also asked Bianca to send her Nina's address. Bianca was phy
Old Master Crawford was furious when he heard Luke say that he would not marry anyone except Bianca. He knocked his walking stick on his grandson's body. "You ingrate! Do you really intend to marry that disreputable woman? Have you ever considered what that would do to the reputation of the Crawford family? Do you want us to be the joke of A City?" Luke stood straight. The words that came from his mouth made Old Master Crawford angrier than ever. "What reputation do we currently have, Grandfather?" He glanced at his mother and Susan sitting on the couch, and his implications were clear. The atmosphere became tense. Was there any other man in modern society that married two concurrent wives? Old Master Crawford struggled to catch his breath when he heard what Luke said. Louis, sitting beside him, gently patted his grandfather's back. "Grandpa, the doctor says that you shouldn't get angry. You'll have to control your temper. Otherwise, you'll have to stay in the hospital for a
Sophian realized she had made a mistake and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, Madam Allison. I saw it was someone familiar, so I didn’t think too much about it.”Allison shot her a furious glare.Sophian knew full well that Allison and Susan did not get along, yet she still opened the door for her. Was she out of her mind?“Oh my, after all that time in Seoul, you didn’t pick up anything good? Still that same fiery temper.” Then came Susan’s mocking voice.Allison froze for a moment and shifted her gaze toward the doorway.“How did you get in here?” demanded Allison. Did she not just ring the bell outside? How did she get in so quickly and without anyone opening the door to the villa?!Susan gave Sophian a smirking glance. “Your helper let me in.”Allison frowned, still confused. Susan continued, “I’m living right next door now.”“Oh, so I heard you got kicked out by Old Master Crawford. Moved right next door, did you? Sticking around like a ghost that won’t go away, living jus
Sophian stood before her. Her face was a picture of hesitation and discomfort. “Madam Allison, how about you order using your phone?”“What? You can’t even handle this small task?” At this point, Allison had completely shifted her view of Sophian, now seeing her as just another maid. Her previous tone vanished, replaced by a much more domineering attitude.Sophian felt helpless and quickly explained, “It’s just that the food from this place is just too expensive. I don’t have that kind of money.”Once she finished speaking, a flush of embarrassment crossed her face.Sophian had come back with Allison to work off the debt she owed from her cosmetic surgery. Therefore, she had no money to spare.Allison paused for a moment, a thought crossing her mind. After a brief moment, she picked up her phone and said, “It's not like I'm having you pay for it. You can't even temporarily cover it?”Sophian smiled awkwardly. “I just transferred money to the hospital.”Allison let out a faint hu
“You don’t like eating outside food, do you?” Luca thought that preparing breakfast and dinner for him was not a big deal.Besides, the main point was that Luke did not like eating out. He always felt the taste was off and lacked nutrition.“Actually, it’s not that I don’t like eating out. It's just that all the food outside tastes the same to me.” Luke gently squeezed her hand.“Hey, focus on driving.” Luca chuckled.Luke withdrew his hand and returned it to the steering wheel. “With that woman around, it wouldn’t be convenient for you to cook. Are you really going to make breakfast for them too?”If that happened, it would defeat the purpose of his plan.Luca thought for a moment. She did not mind ignoring Sophian, but if she cooked for Luke and not for Allison, that might not sit well with her. Allison could easily make a fuss over even the smallest details. “So, should we just eat out for breakfast and dinner from now on?”“Yes.” Luke did not mind.It did not matter where t
“Something I like?” Luca laughed. “What could that be?”“You’ll find out when we get there.” Luke kept it mysterious.“Alright then, I’ll wait for your surprise, Mr. Crawford.” Luca was in good spirits without letting family issues dampen her mood. Therefore, she video-called the kids.Luca dialed Mr. Griffin’s number.After Mr. Griffin answered the call, he handed the phone to Lanie. “Young Master Lanie, Ms. Craw wants to talk to you.”“Thank you, Mr. Griffin.” Lanie took the phone and pressed ‘accept’.Luca positioned the camera to include both her and Luke. She waved at the screen. “Lanie, Rainie, Tommy, what are you all doing?”“Lanie! Lanie, I want to talk to Ms. Luca!” Tommy waved excitedly at the camera, eager to take the phone.Lanie handed it to him. “Go on, tell Daddy and Ms. Luca about your good news.”Luca smiled and asked with curiosity. “Good news?”“Daddy, Ms. Luca, I made it to the next level in the math competition! The finals are this Saturday!” Tommy said e
“Why are you being so slow?” Allison was irritated. She shoved the products into Sophian’s hands.“I told you to use them, so just use them.” Allison ran out of patience. After urging Sophian, she lay back down.Sophian had no choice but to follow her instructions and poured out some product. The texture of the product in her palm made her pause for a moment. It was incredibly moisturizing!She gently patted it onto Allison's face and noticed the area she touched felt just as smooth.Allison let out a content sigh. “This essence is really soothing.”Even though Sophian was still worried about potential side effects, she could not help but admire the instant hydrating effect. She asked in a low voice, “Madam Allison, is this really developed by that woman?”She could not believe that Luca had such skills and wondered if the essence had just been repackaged into another bottle and sold as her own creation.“That's what she says,” replied Allison. “But she's into pharmaceuticals, s
After agreeing to become the maid, Sophian’s excitement gradually turned into anxiety.The villa was so large. Could she really handle all the tasks a maid was supposed to do?As she thought about it, she accidentally left the bread in the toaster for too long. After serving it to Allison, she was scolded.“What’s this? It’s just a slice of toast. How could you burn it like this? How am I supposed to eat it?” Allison was clearly displeased.Sophian awkwardly explained, “Madam Allison, this is my first time using this toaster. I didn’t quite get the temperature right...”Allison was about to keep complaining but paused for a moment, remembering that Sophian was the one she had brought in to be the maid. Now, she was the only one who could make breakfast for her. She disdainfully tore off the burnt part and took a bite. “Where’s the soy milk?”“It’ll bring it out,” replied Sophian, heading back to the kitchen. She brought out two glasses of soy milk and another slice of toast tha
“Are you planning to tell me that Madam Allison brought someone back?” Luca had a feeling she knew what was going on. Luca had been wondering why Allison had taken such a big risk by going out during the day, but it all made sense now.“Yes, she brought someone back and said she'll be taking over my job,” Aunt Neile replied helplessly. She was worried she had lost her competitive edge, which made her feel anxious.“I got it, Aunt Neile.” As soon as Luca spoke, there was a cheer from inside the lab. She glanced back and saw that there seemed to be progress in the research. Rhett gave her a thumbs-up to signal success.She slightly smiled and nodded before hearing Aunt Neile's voice again on the phone. “Ms. Craw, there’s something I’d like to say, though I’m not sure if I should. I’ve thought about it, and I feel like I should. Even though Mr. Crawford isn’t the type to fool around, you have to be careful. He has no interest in that woman, but she’s clearly interested in him. You sh
Allison watched the two of them go upstairs, and instantly, her temper flared.Not allowed, huh?Allison refused to believe it. She would find a way to turn things around and reclaim her position in this family!…The next morning, as Luke and Luca came downstairs, they noticed Aunt Neile looking at them with red, puffy eyes.“Aunt Neile, what happened?” Luca was puzzled. What happened?“Mr. Crawford, Ms. Craw, Madam Allison just told me that I’m fired.” Aunt Neile looked distraught. She thought Allison’s words yesterday were just a joke, but first thing in the morning, she was told to settle her wages and leave. She was completely stunned.“Mr. Crawford, did I do something wrong?”Luke’s brows furrowed. Allison’s behavior was truly astonishing.“You’re not fired,” replied Luke. “Is breakfast ready?”Relieved to hear she still had her job, Aunt Neile quickly wiped away her tears and let out a sigh of relief. “Yes. Mr. Crawford, Ms. Craw, please have a seat. I’ll bring it out.
Luke was driving back home with Luca. It was already 9:00 pm when they arrived at the villa.Just as they reached the foyer and had not taken more than a few steps, Allison's voice rang out.“Oh, so you're finally willing to come back from Crawford Manor?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.Luca did not know how to respond to Allison and looked over at Luke.Luke let go of Luca's waist and whispered, “Go upstairs first.”“Okay.” Luca nodded, changed her shoes, and was about to head upstairs when Allison said again, “Stop. Who told you to go upstairs?”“Madam Allison, is there something you need?” Luca's tone was cold, carefully masking the helplessness inside her.Since she learned that Allison would be returning to the country and moving here, Luca had mentally prepared herself to be put in a difficult position. She loved Luke, so she was willing to tolerate whatever troubles came with it.Luca believed that as long as she and Luke faced things together, there was nothing th