Everything served at lunch was home-cooked, but it had a full spread of meats, an assortment of vegetables, and Old Master Rayne's favorite sake. Luke had found out about Old Master Rayne's favorite sake brand from Bianca. He took a long detour on the way and bought it. After serving the rib stew on the table, Bianca sat down next to Luke. She scooped some stew into her grandfather's plate and said, "Grandpa, I've learned how to cook from recipe books. Try them. I hope that you'll like it." Most of the dishes were Old Master Rayne's favorites, while the others were Luke's favorite dishes. Old Master Rayne patted Luke's shoulders and heaped praise on his granddaughter. "My granddaughter is pretty good, right? Look at all the dishes served on the table. Not only do they look good, but they taste good too. I'm already drooling from the smell alone. You're so lucky to marry my Bianca. She's been a good girl since young, but she is too soft. She won't complain even if someone wron
Of course, none of Luke's family members ever gave him extra money, not even when he was a child. His grandfather had been strict with him. Susan treated him with hostility. Meanwhile, his mother Allison was the one asking him for money instead. Luke felt extremely emotional as he held the envelope in his hand. The envelope was light, but he felt that it was so heavy that his hands were trembling. Luke did not want to take money from an old man, but the envelope carried a special meaning. He had to take it. "Luke, Grandpa won't let you leave if you don't accept the money. It's a tradition in our family," Bianca said gently as she held onto his arm. She knew how stubborn her grandfather could be. If Luke did not accept the envelope, Old Master Rayne was not going to let him leave. "Thank you, Grandpa," Luke felt that his throat was dry, but his heart was indescribably warm. "We got envelopes too, Daddy! Great-Grandpa and Great Aunt Wanda gave them to us." The two chi
T Corporation advertising department. The interior shooting location was beautifully decorated, and all the employees were busy at work. The shoot was for a commercial of T Corporation's latest Queen series perfumes which would be launched after the new year. It was fragrant, long-lasting, and epitomized feminine charm and allure. The theme of the commercial this time was "obsession." When Bianca stepped into the location, she could see that everyone was busy in their roles. Leia was in a see-through outfit and smokey eye makeup. She was in the middle of a shoot. The crew members were busy attending to her. They took a short break during which the cosmetician touched up Leia's makeup. After that, she returned to the scene. Josef, the director, sat behind a high shutter speed camera. He was talking through the walkie-talkie, telling the lighting technician to turn up the brightness. After the lighting was adjusted, he got cameras 1 and 2 to change their positions. Then
Leia treated Bianca, the designer, as her assistant. Bianca was tasked to fill Leia's water bottle and help her with her lines. Leia even asked her to get coffee from the cafe nearby. She did not give Bianca any chance to rest. Whenever she gave her orders, she did not speak haughtily. Instead, she would gently "beg" and use "Please" to ask for anything, which meant that the other people did not have the chance to criticize her. The employees of the advertising department thought that it was rare for a famous celebrity to behave so humbly. They thought that Bianca should be happy working for her. Normal people would rarely, if ever, get the chance to be a celebrity's assistant. Bianca knew that Leia was purposely making her life difficult, but she tried not to be angry. She was in no position to cross Leia, and she did not want Leia to complain to her father Jack, which might cause trouble for Luke. When she came back with Leia's coffee, she stood next to the director and
Bianca's height was not remarkable, but she had a lean figure. The pure white tube top skirt looked dominating yet elegant on her. The pair of crystal high heels added four inches to her height. "Very good!" Josef exclaimed and gestured a thumbs-up at Bianca. He noticed that Bianca seemed flustered. He patted Bianca's shoulder and said, "Acting can be very easy or very difficult, Ms. Rayne. It's not just about how you look; it's also about how you feel. You just have to put your soul into it. Don't worry, it's just a short commercial. Just relax and treat it as though you're on vacation." Bianca was slightly comforted by Josef's words. It was her first time appearing in front of the camera. She did not have any experience at all. In fact, she felt as though she was forced to do so… Bianca wanted Luke's commercial to be a success. That would be a major contributing factor to the product's sales. No matter how badly Leia might have performed, she was nonetheless a public
Luke frowned when he imagined Bianca appearing on the silver screen for the other men to see and admire. He rejected the idea without giving it a second thought. "There's no need, Mr. Josef. She's not suited for the entertainment industry." However, Josef insisted. "The young lady has great potential. I can guarantee that she'll be famous around the world in just one movie!" Luke believed that Josef had the ability. The director had created more stars in Hollywood than any other director. However, Luke did not want Bianca to enter the chaotic entertainment industry. He expressed his opinion once more, "Mr. Josef, Bianca's interest is in architectural design. She wants to be a famous designer and not a celebrity." "She can be a designer while she works on her acting career. It's just a change in titles. Ms. Rayne can put her acting first and do design on the side. There's no conflict between the two." Seeing that he could not convince Luke, Josef turned his head and asked fo
Luke had a charm that could steal a woman's soul, but he had always kept a polite distance from Leia. Leia did not understand. She had given her all to him, but why did he treat her so coldly? "Mr. Crawford…" Leia pressed her lips together and said coyly. Her thoughts went back to that night when they were entangled on the bed… She kneaded her hands tightly and asked gently, "That night, at my Grandpa's birthday party, have you forgotten what happened between us?" Luke turned to glance at her blushing cheeks coldly. "What could have possibly happened? I was together with Bianca that night. I don't know what might have given you the idea that I like you, but I'm sorry to tell you that the only woman I love is Bianca. That was true in the past, and that is true now. Right, when you go home, please let your mother know that no one can try to meddle in my relationships. Tell her not to cause Bianca any trouble; come to look for me if there's anything. I'll be going off now, Ms. N
After the private detective left, Leia remained on her seat, staring at the cup of coffee that had long gone cold. She pinched her arm and felt the sharp pain. She turned to look at the stack of documents on the table again and finally believed that what happened earlier was real! She had lived as a Norman for so long, and she had treated herself as the one and only Ms. Norman. She had never expected that the true Ms. Norman was still alive and might return to replace her one day. As she thought of Luke, the man she loved, she closed her eyes in agony. She had loved the man for too long. If only the man showed the least bit of tenderness to her, she would be satisfied. Bianca Rayne! Leia cackled hideously. Luke single-mindedly loved that woman with a humble background. If Bianca were truly Jack and Queenie's birth daughter and the truth was revealed one day, Queenie would divert all the love and attention she gave Leia to Bianca. By then, Leia would be abandoned! When
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.