Luke: [Alright, I'll send you the location.] Luke knew what Luca was thinking. If he really stopped her from coming, she might feel guilty, which could lead to serious consequences.When Luca received the location from Luke, she turned around and said to Rhett, who was busy working behind her, "Mr. Link, could you help me take the afternoon off? Something came up."“Sure, Dr. Craw,” Rhett agreed.None of the other researchers said anything either. After all, Luca handed tasks to them every day. Thus, Luca taking a leave would not affect the progress of their projects. In fact, their research group was known for not being affected by the lead researcher's absence.It was not that Luca was dispensable but her research plans were well-structured, and the team just needed to follow them. Moreover, their current research, like the previous one, was progressing smoothly without any major issues.Luca waited at the company until noon. She headed straight to the hospital without ge
"Really? I didn't notice.” Luca gave a faint smile. She did not pay much attention to these matters. She had confidence in Luke.Other women might be interested in him, but he showed no interest in them. Even when Luke was suspected of 'cheating', it turned out his supposed affair was with his wife. Did that still count as cheating? At least in others' eyes, it did. However, in her heart, Luca did not consider Luke's actions as such. Her true identity was Bianca, and Bianca was her. Luke had always chosen only her. Moreover, he chose her knowing her true identity.Luca had seen the DNA test report the kids had secretly conducted. It was quite early on, before she and Luke had gotten together. It was after seeing this report that Luke gradually began showing unusual behavior toward her.“Rain, have you noticed?” Gale looked at Rain.Rain nodded without hesitation. “Yes, that woman does indeed have some interest in Boss, but he has never responded to her, not even with a
Gordan gave Gale an international gesture and then closed his eyes. Gale felt helpless. If it were not for all the things Gordan had done for him, he would not be willing to take care of him!At the thought of this, Gale let out a cold snort, put down the cup of water, walked over to the couch, and sat down. Then, he said, “You're such a handful. Only I can deal with you! Any caretakers we hired would totally freak out.”Gordan remained silent.Luca felt exasperated as she listened to them.“Gordan, get some good rest,” said Luke as he put away his phone and walked to the bedside.“Boss, I'm fine,” replied Gordan. He felt frustrated. How long had he been lying here? He had lost all sense of time.“Boss, if you have things to do, go ahead. Gale won’t let me die here,” added Gordan.“Yeah, there's still some work at the company. Luca and I will head back first. When you start physical therapy, Luca will help you. Don't worry, you'll recover just like before. Also, some money has
Sunny felt a pang of hurt as she heard Gordan addressing Luca as his sister-in-law. She also remembered Gale and the others referring to Luke as 'Boss' just moments ago.Her eyes reddened as she turned toward Luke. However, he did not even glance at her, completely ignoring her grievances.Sunny suppressed the urge to cry. She knew as a nurse there were things she could not say and people she could not mess with. All she could say was, “I'm saying this for your own good. Besides, I don't know about this lady's ability. You've just had surgery and are still under anesthesia. It really isn't appropriate to perform dry needling on you at this time.”“I’m sorry,” Luca heard her and said indifferently to the nurse before removing the needles.Gordan was puzzled. “Huh?”“It's already been five minutes. That's enough,” replied Luca. She did not remove the needles because of Sunny's words but because the allotted time was up.Initially, Sunny's expression had softened slightly at Luc
Even though they were not holding hands or as intimate as they were in the hospital ward, they were standing side by side. It was clear their relationship was far from ordinary.Sunny could not help but wonder why someone as outstanding as Luca chose to be someone else's mistress?Yet she forgot that she herself also entertained such fantasies.Sunny felt aggrieved. She did not realize how hypocritical she was being by looking down on Luca.She even had some exaggerated fantasies about what would happen if she had Luke's contact information.However, it was just a fantasy.Sunny knew Luke's identity and was aware of the gossip between Luca and Luke, which had even been confirmed as true.Still, what could she do about it?Could she break them up by exposing them to the press? If it were that simple, they would have split the last time.Watching the two of them enter the elevator side by side, Sunny bit her lip until the flesh turned white.She knew falling for a man at first
However, after Sunny realized her mistake, she could not help but feel remorseful. She believed it was all because of Luca that she had been affected. If it were not for Luca, she would not have made such a mistake.With these thoughts in mind, Sunny entered Gordan’s ward.When Gale saw her come in again, he exclaimed in surprise, “Nurse, my boss has already left. Is there something you need?”“What?” Sunny glanced around the ward, only then realizing that the person Gale was referring to was not the person lying in the bed but that man.Yes, she recalled their conversation a moment ago. They all referred to Luke as 'Boss'...Although such a title was quite crude, even a bit vulgar, she did not feel comfortable saying anything about it. After realizing what he meant, Sunny replied, “You must have misunderstood. I'm here to deliver medication.”Then, she walked to the bedside and asked, “Your name.”“Gordan Norton,” Gordan closed his eyes and replied in a cold voice.“Please
"What made you think that?” Gordan asked bluntly.He cared about Vivian?Unless Vivian turned into an absolute beauty one day, he would never care about her. She was just an ugly woman. He was waiting for her at the neighborhood gate only because of the years they had known each other, nothing more.“Really? Are you sure?” Gale raised an eyebrow, not easily fooled by his words. “I'm telling you, women are soft-hearted. If she finds out you're injured, she'll feel sorry for you. By then, won't it be easy for you guys to get back together or whatever it is that you want?"“Who told you I want to get back together with her?” Gordan frowned, almost wanting to throw the lemon in his hand.“Tsk, it seems that pretending not to care isn't just a woman's trait. Men are the same."“Gale…” warned Gordan.Gale shook his head and asked, “Are you going to deny that the woman you mentioned while drinking alone that day wasn't Vivian?”Gordan was stunned for a moment as he recalled what hap
“Yes, he’s really a terrifying man,” Sarah agreed with the maid.The maid, curious about Sarah’s reaction, wondered if she knew him. Otherwise, why would she say something like that?As she looked at Sarah’s Russian features and Matysh on TV, the maid could not help but ask, “Ms. Poplar, do you know him?”“No.” Sarah shook her head immediately. “He’s a big shot in the business world. How could someone like me possibly know him?”As she said that, she did not notice the anger in her own voice. At the same time, Sarah looked down at her hands. While her family was not as wealthy as Matysh's, they were comfortably well-off. Her parents always spoiled her and never made her do housework.Hence, when she married Marcos’ father, her hands remained soft and delicate—not any different from those of the daughters of wealthy families. In the end, the love she pursued destroyed her.As she looked at her hands now, she wondered how could a man like Matysh ever know someone like her.The
“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