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
Bianca stepped out of the courtroom. The sky was clear once again. The sun was as bright as usual, and she felt as though a heavy burden was lifted from her heart. Jennifer and Marie had received their just desserts. Luke was hugging Bianca's waist. He saw that her brows were tightly knotted, and he could not guess what she was thinking. "You seem to be lost in thought. What are you thinking?" He asked softly. "I was thinking whether the judgment would be different if Jennifer and Marie appealed." Bianca sighed. Luke's gaze turned cold. "It won't. If they appeal, I can guarantee that their sentence will be even more severe." He had ways to make those despicable characters' lives a living hell. Bianca leaned gently on Luke's shoulder. His strong and rhythmic heartbeat calmed her down. "Thank you for all that you do for me." Bianca understood that without him, putting Jennifer and Marie to justice would be a long and arduous ordeal, if that were even possible in the fir
Louis wanted to cry. He seemed to have dug a hole for himself. He thought that his future sister-in-law was a docile sheep, but she was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing. "I thought I knew you well, Sis. How can you be like that?" Louis said resentfully. "It seems like you don't have enough to do here," Luke said coldly as he walked toward the CEO's office. "If there's nothing else for you to do here, you can head over to South Africa now. I'll get Mr. Doyle to buy the fastest ticket there!" "Ah, Brother, must you drive me away so mercilessly? There aren't that many kind and honest younger brothers in the world like me! I admire you, Brother…" Bianca was speechless. It was the first time that she had seen a childish exchange between the two men. Louis shot a resentful glance at Louis, then returned to his office. He had to continue his boring work so that his elder brother would not transfer him to South Africa. … Bianca returned to the design department. Some c
When Bianca was reading the documents, the department lead brought several people into the office. "Let me introduce everyone. This is the design manager from Vivi Group and the core design team." Bianca observed them carefully. The female design manager was in her late thirties, while the others were a lot younger. "Nice to meet you. I am Sue Carter, the design team lead from T Corporation. It's a pleasure to be working with you," Sue said with a smile as she stretched out her right hand. "Yanis Fuller," The female design manager said briskly and lightly shook Sue's hand. Tom also shook hands with Yanis and introduced himself. When it was Bianca's turn, she stretched out her right hand and said, "I am Bianca Rayne. Nice to meet you." Unexpectedly, Yanis glanced at Bianca coldly and did not shake her hand. Bella was feeling rather smug about it. Earlier, when she had the opportunity, she had slandered Bianca in front of Yanis. She said that Bianca had gotten into th
When Bianca was imagining her children's smiling faces, Sue abruptly patted her shoulder. "Hey, look at the silly grin on your face. Were you talking to the boss earlier? You should've seen how gentle your smile was. I'm so jealous!" Bianca knew that Sue was almost thirty years old but remained single. She guessed that Sue must have experienced some trauma in her previous relationship. Many men tried to court her, but she rejected all their advances. Sue was an intelligent and capable individual. Bianca did not know that Sue had an ulterior motive when she tried to be friends with her. However, when Sue got to know more about Bianca, she found out that Bianca was full of personal charm and design talent. Eventually, they became true friends. "It's not him. I was on the phone with Lanie and Rainie earlier." Bianca had always had a good impression of the carefree Sue. Not only Sue had a good personality, but she had also helped Bianca when she was in a pinch. Bianca was gra
Melissa instantly noticed Bianca. She held onto Xavier's arm tightly and grunted audibly. "Why do I see that woman everywhere? How unlucky!" Not only had she failed to frame Bianca in the luxury fashion store, but she had also lost a diamond necklace worth almost a million dollars. She was scolded when she got home, and her elder brother had docked her allowance. Melissa had been troubled by that incident. Of course, Bianca was not too happy when she saw the capricious and unreasonable Melissa. She was about to hold the children's hands and turn in the other direction when Lanie suddenly looked at the woman and blinked. There was a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. He tugged the hem of Bianca's shirt and said childishly, "Mommy, I've seen that woman before…" Bianca looked at Lanie curiously. She did not understand how the little boy would recognize Melissa. "Where have you seen her, Lanie?" Bianca asked. Melissa was also surprised. She looked at Lanie and racked her
The host of the clubhouse glared at Melissa coldly. His tone of voice was like Arctic ice. "Miss, we do not tolerate such behavior here. This is a high-end place, and we do not welcome any guests who do not behave themselves. No one can insult any of my honored guests. You keep saying that my guest is a thief, but what you have lost is only a 900,000 dollar item. Anything of Mr. Crawford's presents to his woman would have cost at least millions. Would she be bothered about your diamond necklace? What nonsense!" The other guests in the clubhouse exclaimed in surprise. Indeed, Luke Crawford was richer than some countries. Any of his woman's accessories would have cost millions. Would she be bothered about stealing a 900,000-dollar necklace?The woman had been yelling that Mr. Crawford's woman was a thief, but she did not have any evidence. She must have lost her mind for accusing Mr. Crawford's woman in public. Melissa had been slapped first by Xavier, then by Luke. She was like
Abel did not have much of an impression of Lucius. However, he believed he would not lie to him. If Lucius had actually done something to betray him, he would not have been foolish enough to admit that Hera had tried to seduce him.Abel studied his face. Lucius was not handsome, and his physique was not any different from the other people in the organization. His gaze then shifted to Hera. “You didn’t do anything?” Hera could feel the chilling intensity in his eyes, and she could not help but shiver.“A man had to step forward to file a complaint because you were harassing him, Hera. Have I been too lenient with you?” Abel continued, his voice light, almost indifferent. Still, the underlying menace was unmistakable. Despair filled Hera as she shot a resentful look at Luke. How could he be so ruthless, pushing her toward the brink of destruction?“Hera, look at me,” Abel commanded coldly, his hand suddenly gripping her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.Hera knew she had no
Luke stood still, waiting as Hera had instructed.Hera, on the other hand, walked toward the door with a look of eager anticipation on her face.Gerald stepped forward. “Are you crazy? She told you to wait, and you’re just standing there? Hurry up and go upstairs.”"Isn't she trying to cause trouble? Do you think I can just walk away from that?" Luke suddenly asked.Gerald was rendered speechless. What Luke said made sense, so he patted his shoulder. “I heard everything Hera said to you in the garden. Pal, I respect you for being a man, but this time, you’re on your own.”Luke remained expressionless. His gaze was fixed on Hera, who was now smiling brightly as she linked arms with Abel. Even so, his face betrayed no emotion.Hera noticed that Luke, just as she had instructed, was standing there without moving. Her irritation flared up.If he was too stubborn to bow his head and beg for mercy, then she would not hold back!“Darling, I’ve been so upset today without you around."
Sensing the looming danger fading away, Hera furiously demanded, “What is wrong with that man?”Gerald let out a sigh of relief. He had been truly worried that Shanks might take a few swipes at Hera.It was common knowledge that medical professionals could be terrifyingly skilled. They could cut with precision, avoiding vital organs, leaving you in excruciating pain but far from death.Gerald had witnessed Luca’s expertise in this field and knew Shanks likely had the same skills. That was why he would not dare provoke him.If Hera ended up hurt and miserable, Abel would hold them accountable for failing to protect her. Shanks, however, would walk away unscathed. The blame would fall squarely on them.“Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Shanks doesn’t like people entering his lab without permission. Everything in there is extremely valuable to him.” Even though Gerald did not understand why, it was what the others told him, and he dutifully passed on the message.“I knocked, and he told me to come
Not only did Luke not give in, but he wasn't intimidated by Hera's threats either. Instead, he turned the tables and intimidated her right back.Gerald could not help but feel a sense of admiration for Luke. If it had been him in that situation, he would not have had the guts to refuse Hera outright. Even if he did not want to comply, who would dare offend the boss’ future wife?Even though her position was not set in stone, for now, Hera’s status remained unshakable. Yet Luke did not try to curry favor with her. Faced with threats and temptation, he stood his ground, even flipping the situation to intimidate her instead.Gerald quietly gave a thumbs-up.“This guy’s the real deal,” he muttered to himself.After venting her frustration on the tree, Hera stormed back. Her eyes were red and swollen.When she came to the second floor, she caught sight of Luca stepping out of the lab with a tray in hand. She quickly approached.“Stop right there!” Hera snapped sharply.Luca frow
A flash of disgust flickered in Luke's eyes. He was completely fed up with Hera's relentless pestering.“If you have something to say, just say it here.” Unlike other men, he did not address her politely as 'Ms. Sanchez'.His tone was so indifferent, and he did not even bother to call her by name.Hera’s smile did not falter. She thought he was only acting this distance because there were so many people around, and he could not openly show his affection for her.Hera replied in a soft voice, “It’s something important, and they won’t be able to help. Come with me.”Luke frowned and remained motionless.People around them grew envious.Even if Luke did not actually have a romantic interest in her, just helping Hera would be enough to earn points in their boss’ eyes. Their jealousy turned into playful teasing.“The boss’ girlfriend’s asking for help. Just go already. What’s with the cold act? It’s no fun,” teased one of them.Others chimed in, “Yeah, seriously. Just go. Who are y
“I know you’re not interested in her, but still, we should be cautious,” Luca joked, trying to lighten the mood.She was actually worried that Hera’s feelings for Luke might interfere with their plans.Luca looked at him with concern. “You weren’t in your room last night. If she really went to your room, she must've noticed your absence. How will you explain that?”“There are plenty of reasons I could give.” Luke already had an explanation in mind.However, if Hera really had feelings for him and stayed here, it would definitely cause him some trouble.“Just be careful.” Luca felt helpless. Abel’s sudden appearance had already messed up a lot of their plans.There was no way for her to leave this little villa now.With Abel bringing Hera here and her developing feelings for Luke, it was bound to cause more trouble for him later.Luca felt frustrated. She had enough trouble on her own. She did not want Luke to get caught up in trouble too. She had never intended for him to be
The man remained cautious. When he heard Hera was looking for Luke’s room, he immediately asked, “What do you need with Lucius?”Hera felt like her intentions had been seen through, and a sense of unease washed over her. However, when she thought about her status and position, she confidently replied, “Your boss said that Lucius is to serve me from now on. I'm hungry now, so I need him to go get me some late-night snacks. What's the matter? Is that not allowed?”The man remained silent, thinking that Hera could just order delivery.Why go to another man's room in the middle of the night?He thought about a possible reason and could not help feeling a little jealous, thinking that he was definitely more handsome than Luke. His feelings of imbalance grew. Why go to Lucius and not him?Hera, noticing his hesitation, snapped, “What are you zoning out for? Are you going to go for him?”If it had been any other task, the man would have been happy to step in. Still, something like g
“Alright, I'm really tired. How about we rest for a bit?” After kissing him, Luca snuggled against his waist and playfully whined. “The medication I took has some strong side effects. I've been feeling drowsy for hours. Can we sleep now?”A flash of concern appeared in Luke's deep eyes. His voice was hoarse as he replied, “Okay.”After lying down, Luca suddenly remembered Hera. She asked, “Have you met Hera?”“Hera? That woman?” Luke pulled her closer into his embrace.“Yeah.” Luca could tell from his tone that he did not remember who Hera was, so she explained, “Hera was a classmate of ours in high school, the popular girl. She was interested in you back then. We even ran into her once when we were abroad.”Her memory was sharp, and she remembered clearly all the details about people and events that did not seem important.Luke only caught one detail—she was a former classmate.“I don’t remember,” replied Luke.Luca continued, “Back then, Hera had a crush on you, but... I didn
“It's nothing. I just think you and our boss make a perfect match.” Luca decided not to say anything more. She was unwilling to risk causing trouble for herself.Hera felt that there was something mocking in her tone. It was meant to be a compliment, yet it felt like mockery, leaving her with the sense that something was off.Hera let out a cold snort. “Of course, we’re a perfect match. No need for you to say it.”Even though she knew there was an undertone of sarcasm, she still acknowledged it. She sized Luca up with a look of disdain. “You’re a doctor, right?”Luca shook her head. “Not exactly.”Gerald explained, “Ms. Sanchez, she’s skilled in medicine, but she wouldn’t call herself a doctor.”Hera shot him an annoyed glance and then turned back to Luca. “It’s fine as long as you know medicine. I’m not feeling well. Come help me with some treatment.”Gerald had no choice but to awkwardly suggest, “Ms. Sanchez, if you're not feeling unwell, perhaps I could ask Mr. Shanks to che