Night fell, and a sky of stars shone over the earth. The outdoors might be thick with snow, but Millennia Hotel was brightly lit. Old Mr. Norman's 70th birthday party was held there. All the important figures from the business, political, and military circles were there. The hotel was decorated grandly with a gigantic crystal chandelier, a warm fireplace, and an extravagant mural. Old Mr. Norman sat straight, dressed in a classic suit. He carried the authority of a politician in each of his movements. He remained spirited even though he was old. Currently, the guests were offering their birthday wishes to him. Every guest in attendance was a socialite. Old Mr. Norman might have retired, but he was nonetheless influential in the political circle. Furthermore, his son Jack was also an important figure, and the guests were eager to suck up to him. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Norman were in the lobby greeting the guests. Queenie was in her element, while Jack was not very fond of suc
The woman who stood next to Luke was beautiful. Bianca was dressed in a purple evening gown. When she moved, she was as graceful as a flower. The shape of her eyes was like crescent moons whenever she smiled, and those eyes were sparkling like stars. Queenie had seen many outstanding young women, but the young woman in front of her felt somewhat familiar. What made Queenie most surprised was that the young woman's facial features looked similar to her when she was young… When Bianca saw Queenie, she also thought that the elegant middle-aged woman seemed somewhat familiar too. Queenie had gentle features. At the dinner party, her makeup and clothes hid her true age. Everyone thought that she was noble and friendly. "Welcome to Old Mr. Norman's 70th birthday party. This way, please…" Queenie greeted the young couple. Queenie was fond of Bianca because she thought that the young woman looked familiar. However, when her eyes fell on Luke, she was entirely captivated. The
Leia clenched her fists. How could Bianca be a match with the outstanding Luke? Old Mr. Norman's eyes sparkled when he heard Luke's introduction of the woman. "Bianca Rayne? Is she the same person that designed my new house?" "Yes, Old Mr. Norman, I am the one who designed your house. If you have any feedback or suggestions about the design, you can contact me about anything." Bianca's tone was gentle and soft, which satisfied Old Mr. Norman greatly. 'Mm, this young woman is not bad. Not only is she courteous, but she's also modest about her talents.' Old Mr. Norman thought that Bianca was an extraordinary match for Luke. At the same time, Old Mrs. Norman noticed her granddaughter's unpleasant expression. From observing how Leia had never once looked away from the man, she knew that her granddaughter had a crush on Luke. However, when Luke said that the woman next to her was his girlfriend… Leia's expression darkened instantly, and that had made Old Mrs. Norman feel sor
Bianca's eyes looked at Queenie, who was daintily sipping her tea! She no longer had any positive impressions of that woman. Bianca knew that many people opposed her relationship with Luke because of their mismatched statuses, but she did not expect that the woman whom she had met for the first time was already asking her to leave Luke on her own accord. "Whatever your motives might be, Mrs. Norman, I will not leave him," Bianca said coldly. She did not have any respect for Queenie. Queenie fiddled elegantly with her teacup, but her words were harsh. "Bianca, you are newly in love with Luke, and you might find that everything is romantic. However, you should know that falling in love is different from marriage. It's not a matter between two individuals but two families. "Luke is Allison Tanner's son, and I am good friends with Allison. I know her very well. She wouldn't agree to an unremarkable woman like you being introduced into the household. Without your parents' blessing
"You're overthinking it. There are so many people in the world who look like each other. Look at Leia. She has two stunt doubles at work that look like her… It's nothing out of the ordinary. If people who look alike are related to each other by blood, then there are so many pairs of long-lost parents and children in the world," Queenie said carelessly. Even when she said so, her gaze fell on the red wine in the glass. The bright red liquid seemed to reflect the defiant figure on the observation deck. The young woman named Bianca Rayne might look frail, but she was not easy to handle. Queenie's gaze returned to calmness. Bianca was an obstacle in her daughter's path to pursue happiness. Queenie would do anything so that her daughter was happy. She had owed too much to her birth daughter, who had left the world prematurely, and she would spend all her love and care on Leia. … After greeting several important guests, Leia sat next to the bar counter with her friend and ate
Leia saw her reflection in the glass panel. The pure white evening gown with an oblique shoulder had a plunging V neckline that revealed her fair cleavage. The pleats behind revealed a large portion of her back. The gown also had a high side slit that caused her long and slender legs to move in and out of sight as she walked. With her pure looks and seductive gown, Leia believed that she was beautiful and bewitching. She nodded at herself, satisfied. She might look down on Charmaine's sexual habits, but she had to admit that Charmaine had great fashion sense. After many years of friendship, her fashion sense was influenced by Charmaine. The guests offered praise to Leia as she walked by. Some men even asked her for her number, which greatly satisfied Leia's pride. However, she was feeling extremely nervous, even more so than her shooting her first movie. Her heart thumped wildly as she looked at Luke, who was talking to some other people… She frowned. She needed a
In the event hall. "Cheers!" Three equally outstanding men with different appearances clinked their wine glasses together. They attracted the attention of many women around them. It could be said that the three individuals amassed the wealth of the entire A City. The first was Luke Crawford, the CEO of T Corporation, the second was Percy Mallory, CEO of Mallory Corporation, and the third was Jim Holston, the chairman of Holston Corporation. Not many people knew that the three people with different personalities were good friends in college. The three of them have maintained a close relationship since then. Luke's facial features were impeccable, and his temperament was calm and mature. His profound gaze was dangerous and penetrating, which caused men to tremble and women to be flustered. Even though the man was famous in the business circles inside and outside of the country, he had kept a clean-living image and was the top target of admiration for female socialites in A City
It was the first time that Jim and Percy had met Bianca. Bianca was beautiful like a pearl, and her femininity was unique. She exuded a motherly charm when she was patiently comforting the naughty Simon. Luke's eyes had been eagerly transfixed on Bianca's pure face the moment she appeared. That made Leia extremely jealous. "Daddy!" Simon held Bianca's hand, walked up to his father, and hugged his leg. "Daddy, I found this beautiful lady at the observation deck. She's Lanie and Rainie's mommy, and she's very nice. Can you find me a mommy as nice as her?" He happily introduced Bianca to his father. Jim pulled his son's ear and pretended to be angry. "You brat, I've found so many mommies for you, but they've all ran away because you keep pranking them. What makes you think that I'll find another one?" Simon pouted, covered his eyes, and pretended to cry. "Daddy, those women are ugly and stinky. They don't smell as nice as this lady. And, and… they're all wicked witches. They
“'ll contact someone in A City to investigate,” said Gale.“Let Percy know while you're at it,” added Luke. “He needs to be aware of this.”“Got it.” Gale hurried off to handle the matter.…After taking Gale's call, Percy hung up and stared icily at the middle-aged man standing before him.Under Percy's chilling gaze, the man nervously dabbed at the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.“Mr. Mallory, my sincerest apologies…” The man, the director of the psychiatric hospital, had come to personally apologize to Percy today.Karen had escaped.Two days ago, Percy admitted Karen to the psychiatric hospital. After an evaluation, the doctors determined her condition warranted hospitalization, so she was admitted.Even though Karen was against it, given her mental state and with the consent of an immediate family member, the hospital was legally authorized to proceed.Percy had even informed the hospital to take special care of Karen. He had explicitly instructed them not to
When she opened her eyes again, the sky outside had already darkened slightly.Luca mumbled, feeling the warmth beside her. She instinctively curled closer. “What time is it?”“It's a little past five.” Luke gently rubbed her back, offering a quiet comfort to help her feel at ease.Since he could not be there beside her, he could only make these small gestures to bring her some peace of mind.“An entire afternoon just passed like that…” Luca was reluctant to leave at the moment. Her slender fingers lightly pressed against his chest.Luke took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss, holding it as if it were something precious and tenderly stroking it.Luca's hands had once been delicate and smooth, but during their time in the small villa, they had become much rougher.“You've got calluses.” Luke felt sorry for her.Luca gently traced her finger over his lips, leaning in to plant a soft kiss on him. “It’s just from the needlework and the experiments I’ve been d
Luca walked over to another couch and sat down. “I think I’ll stay here. How about letting Luke come down so that we can all catch up? It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”Gordan’s face fell. “Ms. Craw, are you doing this on purpose?”Luca pretended not to know anything. “Doing what on purpose?”Gordan quickly shook his head. “Nothing. Just go upstairs already. Brother Luke’s been waiting for you.”Luca had intended to tease Gordan a little longer, but after not seeing Luke for the past few days, she found herself missing him deeply. Standing up with a smile, she said, “Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Oh, by the way, Mr. Gale, could you help me pick up a few things? Someone over there asked me to get them, and I couldn’t refuse.”“Sure, no problem. What do you need?” Gale agreed immediately.After handing him the list, Luca turned and headed upstairs.Gale watched Luca leave from behind, nudging Gordan’s arm. “Let’s go. We should leave and give the boss and Ms. Cr
The security guard remained completely unfazed.This was because the village chief was his uncle, and in their tight-knit community, they always stuck together and never favored outsiders.With directions from the people inside the ancestral hall, Hera found the village chief.“You’re the village chief, right?” Hera looked at the man in his fifties in front of her and spoke with an arrogant tone, completely unbothered.“And you are?” The village chief, seeing her attitude, was puzzled. He had no idea whether she was an investor or someone looking to discuss a major partnership to bring development to their quiet village.“It doesn’t matter who I am. I see you have surveillance here, and I need to review your footage,” replied Hera.The village chief was even more confused. “Are you a police officer?”“No.” Hera frowned. She thought reviewing surveillance footage was no big deal. Why was this village chief being so difficult?The village chief gave her a look as if she were a fo
“Wait a little longer. By the way, what kind of ancestral hall is this?” asked Hera.“It's a local family's ancestral hall. I heard it's been designed by the owner of a large company, and now it's also one of the tourist attractions.” The taxi driver was not from around here, so he did not know all the details, but he knew it had become a popular spot. “Now, thanks to the reputation of that boss, many architects come here as one of their reference points.”Hera frowned deeper. What was Luca doing here?The driver suggested, “If you're interested in sightseeing, the attractions inside are pretty good. But for outsiders, they charge an entrance fee. Maintenance costs a lot of money, so they charge tourists from outside.”“I'm not here for sightseeing,” replied Hera, “Don't worry. I'll pay you for however long I stay here. You’ll get your money.”The driver heard that she was paying, and did not press her further and remained quiet.Hera stared at the entrance of the ancestral hall,
Hera let out a cold sneer, feeling that Gerald's apology was not sincere.Hera did not want to press the issue at the moment. She gave him a sharp look. “Come with me.”Gerald knew that Hera was up to something again. If it were a normal order, she would have just said it in the living room. Whenever she called him aside, it meant whatever she had to say could not be overheard by others.Reluctantly, Gerald followed her out.It was midday, and as soon as Hera stepped out of the living room, a wave of heat hit her face.The intense warmth made her feel uncomfortable.Hera got straight to the point, turning to Gerald. “What did Luca say to you just now?”“She just asked me to help keep an eye on the volunteer,” Gerald answered honestly. This was not something that needed to be kept secret.Hera frowned. “Is she going out”Gerald hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to say anything.“I’m talking to you, not the wall. Are you mute?” Hera threatened. “If you lie to me, I’ll te
Gordan was puzzled. At most, it was just brotherly camaraderie. After all, they had been through thick and thin together. Their bond might be stronger than usual, but falling in love? That was a bit of a stretch.Luke said, “The way you acted just now, doesn't really seem 'straight' to me. Also, if you're into women, maybe you should consider finding one. Otherwise, if you're always single, people might start misinterpreting your feelings for me.”“Luke, actually, you're not bad at all. In fact, you're probably better than a lot of women,” Gordan replied with a sly grin.As a man himself, he honestly thought Luke was a great guy. If he were a woman, he would be utterly captivated by him.“Shut up!” Luke knew he was joking, but he still felt a chill run down his spine. He seriously worried that Gordan might do something inappropriate when he turned his back on him.Shivering from the thought, Luke put down his glass and headed upstairs.Gordan let out a deep sigh.The night w
“Anyway, I'm saying it here—I'm not going to Russia because of that ugly woman, Vivian. If I go to Russia, it's for you. I've already divorced her. Besides, I’m already trying to avoid her, how could I possibly go to Russia for her?” Gordan took a sip of red wine, then continued his rant. “And, Ray is still in Russia. I really can't go. His men are all brutal, and I've had enough of being beaten all these years.”“Then why did you buy an apartment in Vivian's neighborhood?” Luke continued to tease him. His sharp eyes glinted with intelligence.Gordan denied it, but whether he believed it or not was his own business.“It was just a coincidence!” Gordan raised his voice, trying to convince Luke.Or maybe himself.“Coincidence?” Luke sipped his wine, every gesture as graceful as a nobleman.“Of course, it’s a coincidence, Brother Luke. You wouldn’t know, but that apartment is in a school district, surrounded by college towns. There are a ton of hotties there, I picked the place just
As Luca listened to his tone that was full of regret, she felt a slight pang in her heart. She recalled when she had a child and continued pursuing her education. If she had given up on herself back then, perhaps she and Luke would not find themselves here today.Luca felt she was much more fortunate than the volunteer. Even though she loved her father, she also understood the importance of education and did not let her father’s illness cause her to give up. She was also fortunate to have a father who supported her education.At the thought of this, Luca could not help but ask, “Do you regret it?”“No, I don’t regret it,” the volunteer smiled. “Actually, I always look at it in a positive light. Back then, several boys in my class liked her. If I hadn’t confessed, she might have become someone else’s girlfriend. If there’s anything I regret over the years, it’s that I was too selfish and it affected her studies.“I never thought that being in a relationship at a young age would