Bianca did not want to anger Luke by telling him about her encounter with Queenie, but she would feel uneasy if she did not. It was not easy for her to be where she was now. She was afraid that she would lose this blissful scene. After all, she was too unremarkable. The other women who coveted the man came from powerful and influential families. "Luke, I'll strive to become a world-renowned designer so that I can stand shoulder to shoulder with you. That way, there won't be as many rumors and negative remarks even if we're together." Bianca whispered into his ear. Her warm breath had traces of melancholy. "I believe in your capabilities, and you should believe in yourself more. Success isn't achieved overnight, and there is much room for you to grow. You'll have to take it slow, but I believe that my Bianca will one day stand on the pinnacle of the world, living the life that you want… Perhaps even I might find it difficult to reach that height," Luke said as he carried Bianc
Later, Luke took Bianca back to Crawford Manor in his car. At first, Bianca did not agree to it. With so many negative news reports revolving around her, Old Master Crawford and Allison must not want to see her. However, Luke insisted on bringing her home. He wanted to announce to the rest of his family that Bianca was his woman and that she would soon become Mrs. Crawford. Bianca had no other choice but to follow him back. She gingerly followed behind Luke, afraid that Allison or Old Master Crawford would see her and humiliate her. Fortunately, it was already past midnight, and everyone was fast asleep. No one noticed her going into the house. Bianca first went to Lanie and Rainie's room. The two young children slept in the same room because Rainie was timid. Seeing that her two angelic children were sleeping soundly, she left kisses on their foreheads. Then, she went to take a hot water shower, which comforted her cold and tired body. When she stepped out of the b
The Crawford family had many rules. Old Master Crawford placed a lot of emphasis on having breakfast as a family. One unbreakable rule was that on the 15th of every month, the entire family had to gather for breakfast, no matter how busy or unwilling everyone might be. Today was the 15th of the month, and it was the day of the breakfast gathering. Moreover, the day was extra special because Luke was about to announce to the family that he had brought his future wife home. It was also an indirect challenge from Luke to the family members that did not favor the relationship. On the breakfast table was an array of different breakfast items served on lavish plates. There was something suitable for every taste. The meats were lightly seasoned because it was breakfast. Every dish was exquisitely prepared, as though it was the morning of a festival. Old Master Crawford sat on the lead position at the breakfast table with a stern expression. He might be old, but his bearing was
Meanwhile, Leia woke up from a deep sleep. She opened her eyes and found herself in a luxurious but otherwise vacant hotel suite. Her entire body was in pain as though it had been ripped apart, and her waist was so worn that she could not straighten it. Down there, she felt nothing but searing pain. She pressed on her throbbing temples, and memories of last night's lovemaking surfaced. The bed was a mess, her evening gown had been torn into shreds, and there were signs of intimacy all over her body. Leia could vaguely remember the warmth of the man's body. That man's figure overlapped with Luke's handsome face. Leia's face blushed shyly. Not only the man that she loved had a handsome face, but his prowess in bed made her crave for more. Her desire for claiming Luke became even stronger. 'Why is Luke so rough though? He didn't seem to care that it's my first time!' Leia could not remember how many times he had hugged her the night before. Even after her voice was hoa
Susan pointed a finger at Louis's face. "Look at your brother. He already has two children, so when is your turn to settle down? Quickly go and get yourself married! You'd better stay at home tomorrow. I'll arrange several matchmaking sessions for you so we can get this done as soon as possible." Louis wailed. "That can't be, Mom! I'm still young, and I don't want to get married…" "Enough excuses. If you don't want to get married, be like your brother and give me a baby," Susan said. "I can consider that." Louis rubbed his chin and gave that a serious thought. That seemed to be a good idea. If he gave his mother a baby, she would not bug him anymore about getting married. Old Master Crawford whacked Louis's leg with his walking stick, breaking his train of thought. "Over my dead body, you rascal!" Louis felt aggrieved. "Not fair, Grandpa. Why can Brother do that but not me? The twins…" Luke glared at Louis with a stern gaze. Louis noticed that the twins were looking at
When Bianca hurriedly arrived at the hospital, she saw Nina sitting in a daze at the obstetrics and gynecology department. The other women had their husbands and boyfriends with them. Nina seemed especially lonely. Bianca had not met Nina in a while, and Nina had lost a lot of weight. Her round and plump face was now sharp, and her bangs almost covered her eyes. Her expression could not be clearly seen, though her lips that were tightly pressed together told Bianca that she was in a gloomy mood. Nina clutched several medical reports in her hands. Bianca did not know what she was thinking. Looking at that thin figure, Bianca could not help but feel sorry for her. She sat down next to Nina and gently called out her name, "Nina…" When Nina heard Bianca's voice and saw her, she fell into her arms, and tears started to fall. "I'm… I'm pregnant, Bianca," she sobbed, "I wanted to abort it, but the doctor said that my uterine wall is very thin. If I abort this child, I might not
Regal Capital. "You can live here for now, Nina. I've paid a year's rent in advance, and the lease won't be up for more than half a year. It's non-refundable, and it'll be vacant anyway," Bianca said as she held Nina's hand. "Thank you, Bianca. Without you, I don't know what I should do if I'm alone." Nina looked around the one-bedroom house with homely furnishings. She was extremely grateful for Bianca. Right now, her mother's full attention was on her brother Jean. Anna was running up and down different prison departments to help Jean and ignored what Nina was doing. Moreover, if her conservative mother found out that she was pregnant, she would be forced to abort the baby. "I'm the one who has to apologize to you." Bianca's gaze was once again suffused with guilt. "Stop saying that. What happened has happened, and there's no use regretting it. You're my best friend, and I don't want to see you living in the guilt. What we should do now is to think positively. I believe w
Bianca made a sumptuous lunch for Nina. After lunch, Bianca did the dishes and thoroughly cleaned the kitchen. Then, she returned to the grocery store and replenished the supplies in the fridge. She had said that the roads were slippery from the snow, and she did not want Nina to step outside. With the fridge stocked full of vegetables and poultry, it would be convenient for Nina to cook for herself. Nina was grateful beyond words for what Bianca did to her. "It's almost the end of the year, so you don't have to go to work. I'll let Luke know, and he can approve your leave until the new year," Bianca discussed with Nina before she left. Nina shook her head. "It's been too long since I've skipped work, and you know that I can't sit still at home. You can let Luke know that I'll go to work when I'm ready. I'm afraid that if I stay for too long at home, I'll start imagining things…" Bianca could only agree. "You should just rest at home, and we'll talk after you're ready to co
The two women froze in surprise at the sound of the commanding voice. Allison realized Luke had returned, and from his tone, he was clearly angry. Panic gripped her, and just as she was not paying attention, Susan scratched her again. The pain on her face was searing, and she let out a loud, pained scream, stumbling back and covering her face.Luca, who stood beside Luke, was equally stunned. They were actually fighting! What on earth was going on?!Allison staggered back a few steps and saw Luke's dark expression. Even though she was afraid, she felt reassured that her support had arrived. She cried out, “Luke, you're finally back! Your mom's getting beaten by an outsider!”Luke looked at the two women, whose ages added up to over a hundred years, in complete disbelief. He exchanged a glance with Luca before speaking again, “Are you two going to keep fighting?”Susan let out a cold sneer. She had been scratched by Allison several times, and her face now burned with pain.
Sophian realized she had made a mistake and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, Madam Allison. I saw it was someone familiar, so I didn’t think too much about it.”Allison shot her a furious glare.Sophian knew full well that Allison and Susan did not get along, yet she still opened the door for her. Was she out of her mind?“Oh my, after all that time in Seoul, you didn’t pick up anything good? Still that same fiery temper.” Then came Susan’s mocking voice.Allison froze for a moment and shifted her gaze toward the doorway.“How did you get in here?” demanded Allison. Did she not just ring the bell outside? How did she get in so quickly and without anyone opening the door to the villa?!Susan gave Sophian a smirking glance. “Your helper let me in.”Allison frowned, still confused. Susan continued, “I’m living right next door now.”“Oh, so I heard you got kicked out by Old Master Crawford. Moved right next door, did you? Sticking around like a ghost that won’t go away, living jus
Sophian stood before her. Her face was a picture of hesitation and discomfort. “Madam Allison, how about you order using your phone?”“What? You can’t even handle this small task?” At this point, Allison had completely shifted her view of Sophian, now seeing her as just another maid. Her previous tone vanished, replaced by a much more domineering attitude.Sophian felt helpless and quickly explained, “It’s just that the food from this place is just too expensive. I don’t have that kind of money.”Once she finished speaking, a flush of embarrassment crossed her face.Sophian had come back with Allison to work off the debt she owed from her cosmetic surgery. Therefore, she had no money to spare.Allison paused for a moment, a thought crossing her mind. After a brief moment, she picked up her phone and said, “It's not like I'm having you pay for it. You can't even temporarily cover it?”Sophian smiled awkwardly. “I just transferred money to the hospital.”Allison let out a faint hu
“You don’t like eating outside food, do you?” Luca thought that preparing breakfast and dinner for him was not a big deal.Besides, the main point was that Luke did not like eating out. He always felt the taste was off and lacked nutrition.“Actually, it’s not that I don’t like eating out. It's just that all the food outside tastes the same to me.” Luke gently squeezed her hand.“Hey, focus on driving.” Luca chuckled.Luke withdrew his hand and returned it to the steering wheel. “With that woman around, it wouldn’t be convenient for you to cook. Are you really going to make breakfast for them too?”If that happened, it would defeat the purpose of his plan.Luca thought for a moment. She did not mind ignoring Sophian, but if she cooked for Luke and not for Allison, that might not sit well with her. Allison could easily make a fuss over even the smallest details. “So, should we just eat out for breakfast and dinner from now on?”“Yes.” Luke did not mind.It did not matter where t
“Something I like?” Luca laughed. “What could that be?”“You’ll find out when we get there.” Luke kept it mysterious.“Alright then, I’ll wait for your surprise, Mr. Crawford.” Luca was in good spirits without letting family issues dampen her mood. Therefore, she video-called the kids.Luca dialed Mr. Griffin’s number.After Mr. Griffin answered the call, he handed the phone to Lanie. “Young Master Lanie, Ms. Craw wants to talk to you.”“Thank you, Mr. Griffin.” Lanie took the phone and pressed ‘accept’.Luca positioned the camera to include both her and Luke. She waved at the screen. “Lanie, Rainie, Tommy, what are you all doing?”“Lanie! Lanie, I want to talk to Ms. Luca!” Tommy waved excitedly at the camera, eager to take the phone.Lanie handed it to him. “Go on, tell Daddy and Ms. Luca about your good news.”Luca smiled and asked with curiosity. “Good news?”“Daddy, Ms. Luca, I made it to the next level in the math competition! The finals are this Saturday!” Tommy said e
“Why are you being so slow?” Allison was irritated. She shoved the products into Sophian’s hands.“I told you to use them, so just use them.” Allison ran out of patience. After urging Sophian, she lay back down.Sophian had no choice but to follow her instructions and poured out some product. The texture of the product in her palm made her pause for a moment. It was incredibly moisturizing!She gently patted it onto Allison's face and noticed the area she touched felt just as smooth.Allison let out a content sigh. “This essence is really soothing.”Even though Sophian was still worried about potential side effects, she could not help but admire the instant hydrating effect. She asked in a low voice, “Madam Allison, is this really developed by that woman?”She could not believe that Luca had such skills and wondered if the essence had just been repackaged into another bottle and sold as her own creation.“That's what she says,” replied Allison. “But she's into pharmaceuticals, s
After agreeing to become the maid, Sophian’s excitement gradually turned into anxiety.The villa was so large. Could she really handle all the tasks a maid was supposed to do?As she thought about it, she accidentally left the bread in the toaster for too long. After serving it to Allison, she was scolded.“What’s this? It’s just a slice of toast. How could you burn it like this? How am I supposed to eat it?” Allison was clearly displeased.Sophian awkwardly explained, “Madam Allison, this is my first time using this toaster. I didn’t quite get the temperature right...”Allison was about to keep complaining but paused for a moment, remembering that Sophian was the one she had brought in to be the maid. Now, she was the only one who could make breakfast for her. She disdainfully tore off the burnt part and took a bite. “Where’s the soy milk?”“It’ll bring it out,” replied Sophian, heading back to the kitchen. She brought out two glasses of soy milk and another slice of toast tha
“Are you planning to tell me that Madam Allison brought someone back?” Luca had a feeling she knew what was going on. Luca had been wondering why Allison had taken such a big risk by going out during the day, but it all made sense now.“Yes, she brought someone back and said she'll be taking over my job,” Aunt Neile replied helplessly. She was worried she had lost her competitive edge, which made her feel anxious.“I got it, Aunt Neile.” As soon as Luca spoke, there was a cheer from inside the lab. She glanced back and saw that there seemed to be progress in the research. Rhett gave her a thumbs-up to signal success.She slightly smiled and nodded before hearing Aunt Neile's voice again on the phone. “Ms. Craw, there’s something I’d like to say, though I’m not sure if I should. I’ve thought about it, and I feel like I should. Even though Mr. Crawford isn’t the type to fool around, you have to be careful. He has no interest in that woman, but she’s clearly interested in him. You sh
Allison watched the two of them go upstairs, and instantly, her temper flared.Not allowed, huh?Allison refused to believe it. She would find a way to turn things around and reclaim her position in this family!…The next morning, as Luke and Luca came downstairs, they noticed Aunt Neile looking at them with red, puffy eyes.“Aunt Neile, what happened?” Luca was puzzled. What happened?“Mr. Crawford, Ms. Craw, Madam Allison just told me that I’m fired.” Aunt Neile looked distraught. She thought Allison’s words yesterday were just a joke, but first thing in the morning, she was told to settle her wages and leave. She was completely stunned.“Mr. Crawford, did I do something wrong?”Luke’s brows furrowed. Allison’s behavior was truly astonishing.“You’re not fired,” replied Luke. “Is breakfast ready?”Relieved to hear she still had her job, Aunt Neile quickly wiped away her tears and let out a sigh of relief. “Yes. Mr. Crawford, Ms. Craw, please have a seat. I’ll bring it out.