The volunteer did not mind. As long as it meant he could recover, he was willing to endure any pain. “It's okay. I can handle it.”Luca nodded.The door to the vehicle opened, and a man stepped inside. Due to the lack of sterilization, he did not dare approach the inner part of the vehicle. Instead, he placed several bottles of saline on the outside.“This is the saline that Mr. Shanks prepared. He asked you to inject it when you can,” the man relayed Shanks' message.“Got it.” Luca reached out to take the bottles. After thoroughly disinfecting them, she brought them inside.It was more complicated than being in a hospital.Since the volunteer's body was still weak. They had to maintain as sterile an environment as possible.However, it still fell short of the ICU's standard.Luca stayed with the volunteer until evening. Gerald stood outside the medical vehicle and called, “Ms. Craw, it's time for dinner.”Luca took off her protective gear and stepped outside.“Ms. Craw, di
As Luca thought about it, she heard the volunteer exclaim, “With a wife like you, your husband must be so lucky and blessed.”Luca shook her head. To her, being cherished by Luke was a real blessing.“You’ve got it wrong. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”Luca had often wondered what her life would have been like without Luke.Perhaps she would have married Jean, only to watch his true nature slowly reveal itself. She would have struggled, eventually unable to endure it, and maybe even ended up divorced.It could be something worse. She might have been taken advantage of, lost all hope, and spiraled downward...Anything was possible.However, Luca knew that no matter what happened, life would not be as good as it was now without Luke.Though she remained under someone else’s control, and life on the Island of Despair was fraught with hardship, with Luke by her side, she felt an unshakable courage.A light laugh from the volunteer interrupted her thoughts.Luca
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
“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
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
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
“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,
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
Luca also reminded Luke to tell the kids not to contact her during this period. The device could not be removed. If it was, Abel would definitely notice. Rather than making him suspicious or prompting him to install even better devices, it was better to just leave this one in place.Luke quickly replied: [Got it.]Luca put on a faint smile and began narrowing down the search, trying to figure out where that man had installed the device.If it was just for listening, she did not care. It could stay. However, if it was a surveillance camera, she needed to be more cautious. In the end, she found the device under the bed.She did not bother checking whether it was for listening or monitoring. After all, if it was placed there, the only possibility was that it was an audio bug. A camera in that spot would not capture anything useful.Anyone trained on the Island of Despair would not make such a rookie mistake.After a quick wash-up, Luca went to bed.The next morning, she receive
“Babe, don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s just trying to drive a wedge between us,” Hera said gently, hoping to earn Abel's affection.Abel did not take Hera’s words seriously. Instead, he picked up his phone and made a few inquiries.After checking with multiple sources to confirm where Lucius and the others had gone, the person on the other end of the line reported that Lucius had not left home in the past few days.As Luca listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, her expression remained calm.Gerald let out a sigh of relief but was also puzzled. He had always felt there was something going on between Lucius and Luca, yet unexpectedly, Luca’s outing this time had nothing to do with Lucius.Hera’s face turned pale. So, it really was not because of him.In that case, she…Hera instinctively looked at Abel, only to find that he was already staring at her. Their eyes met, and Hera could not help but shudder. Abel’s gaze was terrifyingly cold.Just when she thought he
“Oh? What made you so happy? Spill the tea.” Hera’s curiosity grew. Whatever it was that had Abel smiling like this had to be something big.The last time she was with him, he had closed a billion-dollar deal over the phone, but his expression had remained indifferent. It was like it was just another ordinary day at the office.However, he was currently grinning from ear to ear. Could it be something even bigger than that?Abel set down his unlit cigar. His fingers lightly traced along Hera’s cheek before resting on her eyes.“Your eyes… They’re beautiful,” murmured Abel.It was not the first time he had complimented her eyes.Hera had gone for the perfect foxy-type eyes, and every man she met would gush over how stunning they were.However, Abel was different. Other men would say her eyes were beautiful and then follow it up with praise for her face, her figure… The whole package.Yet Abel? He never mentioned anything else but just her eyes. It was as if her face and other par
“Alright. Ouch, it hurts when you flick me, Lanie!” Tommy pouted.“Don't cry. You were just saying you’d protect your sister, and now, you’re crying? What’s going on?” Lanie rubbed Tommy’s forehead. “Alright, I’ve rubbed it. Stop crying.”“Heh, Lanie, you're the best to me!” Tommy immediately beamed with happiness.“The whole grandma situation is over. From now on, let’s just behave ourselves and wait for Daddy and Ms. Luca to come back,” Lanie told his younger siblings.Even though their parents were not around, he had taken on the responsibility of being the elder brother. Despite being the same age as Rainie, he was much more mature.“Yes, I’ll listen to Great-Grandpa and you, Lanie!” Tommy nodded eagerly.…After Jason hung up on Allison, he let out a deep sigh.Sue walked over with a plate of fruits and placed it beside him. “What’s with that look? Have some fruits.”Jason picked up a toothpick, speared a piece of fruit, and brought it to her mouth.Sue opened her mouth
“Good evening, Madam Allison.” Jason quickly answered the phone.Allison wasted no time and demanded, “Why did you only send me such a small amount of money?”“It’s Mr. Crawford’s decision,” replied Jason, “If you suspect I’m withholding anything, you may ask him directly…”He reckoned that Allison might not be able to get in touch with Luke, so he added, “Or I could show you the chat records.”By now, Allison could not really doubt him anymore.However, with frustration in her voice, Allison asked, “Why is it so little? How am I supposed to live in A City on this?”“Mr. Crawford said that you have no extra expenses. You’re not shopping, so a hundred thousand dollars should be enough,” Jason relayed Luke’s words.A hundred thousand dollars was an amount that the average working family could not even earn in a month.Allison could not go out shopping right now, and she was not making any other extra purchases while staying at home every day. Why would it not be enough?Sophian, who over
“She's busy, so use something else. I’ve got stuff to do. I’m hanging up now.” Luke did not want to hear her rambling.Allison quickly added, “Wait, there's one more thing.”Luke frowned in annoyance.“I don’t have any money left. Send me some,” continued Allison. She was worried he might refuse. “It’s been over a month, and you still haven’t sent me my living expenses.”“Don’t worry, Jason will transfer it to you in a bit,” replied Luke. It had indeed been a month. However, he had been too busy to remember.“Alright.” Allison was about to say more when Sophian called out sweetly, “Mr. Crawford…”Before she could finish her sentence, Luke hung up the phone.Allison stared at Sophian. “What did you say that for?”Sophian was confused. She had only said a word, and the call was already disconnected. Was it her fault?“I just wanted to talk to him…” replied Sophian.“You didn’t have to say anything. I wasn’t done talking yet, and you made him hang up.” Allison was furious. She k
“As long as what Lanie wants to do isn’t illegal, I’ll support him.” Old Master Crawford rose to his feet with the help of his cane after saying that.He had known all along Allison would not have come here for anything important.This conversation was so dull.If it were not for her pestering Lanie with questions, Old Master Crawford would have pretended he did not know she was here and let her do whatever she wanted.The three kids had overheard the whole conversation between their great-grandfather and grandmother around the corner of the stairs.Once they sensed that the discussion was wrapping up, Lanie made a hand gesture to his younger siblings.Rainie and Tommy understood the gesture and nodded, following their brother upstairs.Lanie waited until he was sure no one downstairs could hear them before asking, “Why were you two eavesdropping?”“You were listening in, so why couldn't we?” Tommy grinned. He understood most of what they had talked about. What interested him m
“It looks like you're completely clueless,” scoffed Old Master Crawford. “If it weren’t for your return, do you really think Luke would've sent the kids to Crawford Manor?”Allison was not convinced and was about to argue that it was not because of her.However, before she could speak, Old Master Crawford cut her off with a blunt remark that left her speechless. “Have you looked in the mirror? With the way you look right now, just walking around at night would be enough to scare the kids. And you still think you can help take care of them? If my precious great-grandchildren see you like this, they’ll have nightmares. If it weren’t for the kids’ well-being, Luke wouldn’t have sent them here in the first place.”Allison felt a deep sense of humiliation. Being criticized like this in front of Sophian and Mr. Griffin, she felt as if her dignity had been completely shattered.Yet the worst part was that Old Master Crawford was absolutely right.Her face really was terrifying.“I can
Allison caught the disapproval in Old Master Crawford's gaze and could not help but snap at Sophian, “What are you talking about? What does this have to do with you?”Sophian met her gaze and suddenly realized that the best thing to do now was to stay quiet and lower her presence. In an instant, she regretted her impulsive words. She was so eager to leave a good impression on Old Master Crawford, but instead, she had made things worse.Now, all she could do was apologize. She pressed her lips together and bowed sincerely to Old Master Crawford, saying, “Sorry, Old Master Crawford, I couldn't hold back.”Old Master Crawford, with his strong mental fortitude, did not get angry at the gesture.“You really…” Allison was speechless. What was she even doing? Why was everything Sophian did so laughable?!She turned to Old Master Crawford and said, “Father, this woman hasn't seen much of the world. Please don't blame her.”Old Master Crawford ignored Allison’s comment and stared at S