As Allison stepped out, she spotted Luke and tugged at the scarf around her neck. Quickly, she walked over with Sophian.“Why did you park so far away? I'm about to be burned by the heat!” Allison complained to him in frustration.Luke replied in a cold voice, “There was no parking over there. If you’re feeling hot, maybe you should wear less.”Allison’s expression soured. She would have liked to dress lighter. However, her skin was not in good shape. If she exposed it, people might get scared. She definitely did not want to return to A City only to have kids pointing at her and calling her a witch.Sophian, hearing the conversation between them, decided to chime in and remind them of her presence. “Mr. Crawford, Ms. Allison's skin is in really bad shape right now. She can’t be exposed to the wind, so she has to bundle up.”It was as though Luke did not hear her at all. He ignored her and opened the trunk to load all the luggage inside.Then, he settled into the driver’s seat.
Luke drove the car into the villa and parked it in the lot.Allison got out and looked at the villa, exclaiming, “This place is a far cry from Crawford Manor.”“A five-star hotel is luxurious enough,” Luke replied nonchalantly.Allison fell silent.A five-star hotel was indeed luxurious and offered more freedom, but Luke would only cover the room cost. She could not afford any additional expenses.When the car came to a stop, Luca walked out with Aunt Neile.“Madam Allison, you’re back,” Aunt Neile greeted Allison with a warm smile, aware that she had undergone a transformation and prepared to keep her surprise in check. Despite Allison’s covered face, it was quite bizarre to see her so bundled up in the sweltering summer heat.Luca also greeted her, “Madam Allison.”Allison let out a cold snort and said to both of them, “Help me carry my luggage.”“Sure.” Aunt Neile walked to the trunk and pulled out Allison's three large suitcases.Seeing the three suitcases, Luca hurried
Allison glared at Luke but dared not to talk back.She followed him into the bedroom and took one look around. She was instantly dissatisfied when she saw the size of the room. “Why is this room so small?”“This is the only bedroom left,” replied Luke.“So, this is the guest room?” Allison shrieked. “I’m your mother, and you’re actually making me sleep in the guest room?”“All the furniture here was bought brand new, specifically from the brand you like. No one else has slept here. If you’re not satisfied, you’re welcome to stay at a hotel.” Luke was not usually a talkative person, but when it came to Allison, he found himself having to say more.Even a couple of words felt insufficient to quell her sharp tongue.Allison inspected the newly arranged furniture. It seemed it had been set up just for her. She even noticed the plastic wrapping on some of the pieces.Allison did like this brand. She thought it was Luke’s arrangement. Figuring Luke must have spent quite a bit on the f
As Aunt Neile listened to Allison's words, she barely dared to breathe. She was afraid that if she said something wrong, she would be fired.However, Luke had the final say in the household. Even if Allison were to fire her, Luke might not necessarily go along with it. Even so, Allison was one of the ladies of the family, and Aunt Neile’s role was to follow orders.As Luca continued to give Aunt Neile a massage, she replied to Allison, “Madam Allison, if you need a massage, I can call a therapist from a wellness center to come and help you.”Allison crossed her arms and stood there, looking down at both of them. “I want you to do it.”“I can’t do that,” replied Luca.“Why not?” Allison snapped. Did Luca think she was even worse than a maid? Did Luca not understand the benefits of trying to please her? If Luca wanted to marry into the Crawford family in the future, she would have to face one less obstacle if she won Allison over now.“You don’t trust my skills. If I were to gi
However, Luke's heart was already churning with emotion. If it were not for his strong self-control and his exposure to far worse horrors back on the Island of Despair, he would have probably lost his composure by now.“This is all because of you! So, everyone else has the right to despise me but not you!” Allison’s voice had turned nearly hysterical.Luca turned off the shower and could clearly hear Allison’s hysterical rant. Her gaze darkened, and there was a trace of sympathy in her eyes. She felt sorry for Luke.He escaped the Island of Despair by the skin of his teeth, yet here was Allison, blaming him for everything as though he had ruined her life.Once one learned to shift the blame, one would become nearly unstoppable. Or rather, one would become especially shameless...Luca put on her nightgown and opened the bathroom door, locking eyes with Allison. Allison glared daggers at her.Treating Allison as though she were invisible, Luca walked over to the vanity, opened he
During that time, whenever there was a chance to pray, Luca would silently pray for Luke to come back safely and for their family to be reunited.“Back then, I was pregnant, remember? If it weren't for Louis, I might not have made it through waiting for you to come back. People are really complicated beings. Even though I was practically part of the family, there was no way to stop them from wanting to hurt me when they set their minds to it. "That’s why I have a pretty open mindset about your mother. As long as she doesn’t cross any fundamental lines with me, I can endure it,” said Luca.It was just a few bottles of skincare products, and she knew that it might not be as simple as that in the future. However, she had to endure, right? It was only because she loved Luke.“I’ll handle this as soon as possible,” said Luke, but he felt a whirlwind of worries in his heart.Handle it? Allison was his mother. Even if he could be ruthless, she could always stand on her moral high gr
The next morning, Luca went downstairs but did not see Allison. She figured Allison might still be adjusting to the time difference, which was normal. After all, Allison loved to sleep in, and Luca recalled her habits from their time at Crawford Manor. Old Master Crawford usually turned a blind eye to Allison’s late mornings. As long as there were no major issues at home, he would not worry about how late Allison got up. Everyone usually had breakfast at their own pace.“Good morning, Ms. Craw!” Aunt Neile greeted her cheerfully as she came down.“Good morning, Aunt Neile.” Luca rubbed her eyes. “How’s your back today?”“Thanks to your massage yesterday, I feel much better,” Aunt Neile answered with a smile. Previously, if she had injured herself, she would often be unable to sleep at night due to the pain. She expected last night to be the same, even with Luca's help. To her surprise, however, she fell asleep almost as soon as she lay down. She slept very soundly.“My gr
On the other hand, Allison could not sleep, so she got up early. She first checked the master bedroom, noticing that Luke and Luca were already up. Thinking of her own matters, she quickly headed downstairs.When she came to the living room, she found Aunt Neile tidying up and asked, “Aunt Neile, where’s Luca?”“Ms. Craw is already off to work,” replied Aunt Neile. She could not help but flinch slightly when she looked at Allison’s face, but she quickly tried to hide her reaction, not wanting to offend Allison.“Already at work?” Allison’s voice rose a little. “Isn’t that a bit early?”“Madam Allison, it’s almost 9:00 am. It’s not that early,” Aunt Neile pointed out, noting that most people were already at work at this hour. Luca was probably settled in at the company by now.“Isn’t 9:00 am early?” questioned Allison. “Isn’t she working at Luke’s company? Why would she have to clock in on time?” Aunt Neile finally understood what she meant.Allison was clearly expecting that
“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