There was a hint of awkwardness on Gordan’s face.There was no way he could argue against what Lanie said. The more he thought about it, the more he realized those words could really distract the kids from their homework.Luke glanced at his son. Then, he turned to Gale and asked, “Feel like having a drink?”“From your wine cellar?” Gale’s eyes lit up.“Yes.” Luke nodded.“Of course! Count me in!” Gale replied enthusiastically. He then remembered Gordan could not drink and teased him, “We’ll be enjoying ourselves, but someone here won’t be so lucky. No drinking for him!”Gordan rolled his eyes but remained silent.“Go pick a bottle, Gordan. You can have it once you’ve recovered,” added Luke. He knew Gordan was not exactly great at controlling himself around alcohol.“Thanks.” Gordan’s eyes lit up as well, the thought of good wine brightening his mood a little.The three of them headed to the wine cellar.After Gordan left, Vivian visibly relaxed. She was still trying to get u
For the first time, Gordan realized that being the center of attention was not all it was cracked up to be. Like now, in front of him sat a mug of bitter medicine. He hated bitter stuff, including herbal medicine. However, everyone was watching him now.He knew if he did not drink it, there would be no getting out of this. Worse still, people might think he was disrespecting Luca’s effort.Gordon braced himself and picked up the mug, only to feel the heat burning his fingers. With an awkward chuckle, he said, “This stuff’s a bit hot. How about I let it cool for a few minutes?” Really, he just needed a few minutes to mentally prepare himself.Luca slightly frowned and gently reminded him, “Mr. Norton, this medicine has to be taken while it's hot. The ingredients are too valuable to waste the effects.”Gordan furrowed his brows together. Was she telling him to drink it now?However, it was not just bitter. It was burning hot!Tommy, noticing his hesitation, flashed an innocen
As soon as Gale finished speaking, Rainie’s expression changed. “Uncle Gale.”“Yes, Rainie?” Gale looked at her with all the love in the world.“I'm on a call with Ms. Rain.” Rainie held out her phone for him to see, showing that they were on a call.“Oh no,” Gale muttered just as Rain’s voice boomed from the other end of the line. “Gale!”He jumped back at the shout. “Rain, let me explain!”“You don’t need to explain. Don’t even think about eating my cooking again!” Rain snapped before hanging up.Everyone’s eyes were now on Gale.“Am I in deep trouble now?” asked Gale. An hour ago, he had been enjoying the show. Now, he was the one being watched.Tommy nodded and replied, “Uncle Gale, you’re in big trouble! Are you gonna get body-slammed when you go home?”“Getting body-slammed is one thing, but I’m more worried she’ll come at me with a knife,” muttered Gale, shivering at the thought of it. He glanced at Luke.“You have to own up to what you say.” Luke sat there, not pl
“No, the credit is yours for figuring it out." Luca felt a bit relieved. Now that Vivian had seen through some things, it meant Luca's earlier words to her had not been in vain. After putting fresh sheets on the bed, Luca walked into the master bedroom, pulled out a brand-new nightgown, and handed it to Vivian. “This nightgown has never been worn. It might be a little short, but it should fit.”Ever since she came clean about her identity, Luke had gone back to spoiling her like before, buying her all kinds of things without holding back. This included clothes. The store managers from high-end boutiques would personally bring them straight to her doorstep.Now, she had way more clothes than she could ever wear.Vivian held the nightgown up and compared it to herself. She was a bit taller than Luca, so it would definitely be shorter on her, but it was still wearable.“Thanks, Luca.” Vivan thanked her.“Don’t mention it,” replied Luca with a smile. “Why don’t you grab anothe
When Rain saw Gale walk into the living room, she immediately caught a whiff of alcohol and frowned.“Didn’t you go out for dinner? Why did you drink?” asked Rain.Gale grinned at her, “I’m in a good mood, so I had a little.”“A little? You probably nearly drowned yourself in it!" Rain frowned and sat down across from him. “You just said my cooking is bad. Was it really necessary to get this drunk? I’m not going to do anything to you.”“You’d hit me,” replied Gale. His charming, slightly tipsy eyes sparkled more than usual.“Yes, I’m mad,” replied Rain. “It’s because I went out of my way to cook for you, and you had the nerve to complain. That’s not the point. If you think it’s bad, you could have told me to my face instead of talking behind my back. "Do you know how embarrassing that is for me? But hitting you? That’s a bit much.”“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” apologized Gale. Sometimes, he just could not help himself.What he really meant was to brag to Gordan that someone had
“Gale!” Rain felt like she was about to tear him apart. Why did he always have to press her sore spots?She shoved his hand away from her face, itching to slap him and swell that cocky, handsome face of his. “Even if no one likes me, I’m perfectly happy being on my own. Do I need you to remind me?”“Rain, don’t be so harsh on me.” Gale struggled to keep his eyes open. The alcohol hit him harder now. He felt uneasy, and her shouting shook him to his core.“Ugh! You drunk idiot! You should’ve stayed passed out somewhere. If I have to deal with you again, I'm the one who's asking for trouble,” replied Rain as she stood up to leave.However, his next words froze her in place.“Rain, no other man likes you, so can you not like anyone else either?”Rain frowned and turned around. Her heart suddenly leaped with joy, even though she quickly pushed the feeling down as she was unsure about it.“What do you mean by that, Gale?”“I...” Gale opened his mouth wide but could only manage to sa
“I do like someone, but he’s not just some random guy,” said Rain.Before Gale could process what she meant, he burst into tears. “So, you really have fallen for someone else!”Rain was rendered speechless. How could he not catch what she was trying to say even when she was trying to be sentimental for once? “Gale, I swear, if you get this drunk again, I’ll chop you into pieces!” Rain threatened harshly. “You’re such a mess right now. If I recorded you and posted the video online, you’d go viral.”His crying stopped abruptly. He looked at her with widened eyes. “What did you just say?”Rain was at a loss for words. How could someone be so clear-headed one moment and so out of it the next?“Rain, I’m drunk, so my hearing’s a bit off and my memory’s not great either. Could you repeat what you said?” Gale continued to mumble.Rain had no choice but to say, “Fine, listen carefully. I do like someone, but he’s not some random guy.”Gale blinked. Not some random guy. He suddenly sat
Luca had just dropped Tommy off at the competition and was planning to wait at a nearby café until it was over when she got a call from Gale.“Dr. Craw, do you have time now?” His voice sounded a little rushed, like he was out of breath. Luca was puzzled. Gale rarely contacted her out of the blue. Could there be something wrong with the plans she drew up yesterday?“Yes, I’m available. Is something wrong?” asked Luca.“I have some personal stuff I wanted to ask you about, but I’m…” Gale paused for a moment, clearly hesitant to continue.Normally, he and Rain were seen as nothing more than close friends. They were always hanging out with their arms around each other, and no one ever read into it. Gale thought Luca saw them that way too, which made it awkward to bring up his feelings for Rain.“You’re too embarrassed to ask, right?” Luca chuckled. She pointed at Blue Mountain coffee on the menu for the waiter to get her order and continued, “Is this about you and Rain?”Gale
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’
“If Abel finds out that Hera's body isn't suitable for organ donation to Kassy, what do you think he'll do?” asked Shanks.He already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Luca’s thoughts.“He has invested a lot of time and money in Hera. If he gets nothing out of it, he won’t let her off easily,” Luca said bluntly.Luca and Shanks were on the same page.They did not have a good relationship with Hera, but they had no intention of ruining her either.Hera’s personality was unpleasant, but that was not enough for them to hate her so much that they wanted to see her suffer.“What methods do you think he’ll use?” Shanks asked again.Luca was silent for a long moment.Shanks already knew the answer, yet he still wanted her to say it out loud.After thinking it over, she finally said, “There are plenty of ways he could go about it, but no matter what he chooses, Hera’s fate is sealed. She’s as good as dead…”She lowered her gaze, her tone firm and certain.Shanks nodded.
Hera heard that Luca had returned and immediately went to find Shanks. She narrowed her eyes.That woman went to see Shanks. Could she be talking about her?The thought made Hera uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with her medical report.However, when they left the medical center earlier, Abel asked Luca when the report would be ready, and she said it would be available tomorrow.Hera turned to Gerald and said, “Take these back for me first.”“Alright.” Gerald carried the bags as he walked away. He could not help but wonder what exactly Hera bought. These bags were really heavy!Only after Gerald went upstairs did Hera slowly make her way up as well. Her room was on the third floor, but she stopped when she reached the second floor. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading toward the laboratory.The door was closed.Instead of knocking, Hera pressed her ear against it, trying to eavesdrop.However, the laboratory was special