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
Luca instantly understood the situation. It was about Hera.Hera was someone Abel valued, possibly as a future corneal donor for Kassy. While Abel might not love Hera now, he certainly took her health seriously.In a calm tone, Luca explained, “She was hospitalized due to inflammation that caused a fever.”Abel furiously flung his half-smoked cigar at her. The glowing embers singed her clothes, leaving a small burn mark.She instinctively stepped aside.Abel roared, “What kind of care is this?! I told you to look after her! Is this how you handle things?”Luca was perplexed. When did he ever tell her to look after Hera?Besides, she did take care of her.”When Ms. Sanchez fainted last night, she already had a low-grade fever. I diagnosed her condition as inflammation and prescribed anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing medication. I also emphasized that she needed to take oral anti-inflammatory drugs. She didn’t trust me and threw out Mr. Shanks’ medication, which led to her con
Luca placed her hand on Hera’s other wrist, checking her pulse. “Her condition is worsening. The inflammation in her body has intensified.“I prescribed her medication. Those are Mr. Shanks’ formulations, and they're highly effective for reducing inflammation. It shouldn’t be getting worse.” Gerald pursed his lips before finally speaking up. “Luca, when I was cleaning yesterday, I saw that Ms. Sanchez had thrown all the medication you prescribed into the trash. She didn’t take any of it.”Luca was speechless.She had been questioning whether the medicine was ineffective or if she had made an error in diagnosis. It turned out that it was Hera herself who had sabotaged her treatment.“What should we do now?” asked Gerald.“There’s no other option. She needs to go to a hospital,” Luca decided firmly. “Her condition is serious, and since she doesn’t trust my treatment, the hospital is her best choice.”“Can’t you help her just this once?” pleaded Gerald, “I mean, she looks really b
Luke stayed silent, letting the chilled beer cool him down, washing away some of the lingering heat.Gerald glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before leaning in and speaking softly to Luke. “Actually, I’ve seen it.”“Seen what?” Luke could not be bothered.Lowering his voice even further, Gerald whispered just loud enough for the two of them to hear, “I’ve seen you going into Ms. Craw’s room quite often.”Luke’s expression sharpened instantly. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.He had been so cautious. How had Gerald noticed? Was he bluffing?Luke narrowed his eyes and said nothing.His aura grew colder by the second.Gerald, sensing the rising tension, shrank back slightly and quickly added, “Relax, I’m not going to tell anyone. If I wanted to report you, I would’ve done it already.”Luke’s expression eased slightly.Gerald continued to reassure him, “I’m not one to meddle. Look, I haven’t said a word about you, and I even stood up for you during that whole thing
“Sure.” Luca was unsure why he was suddenly interested in the volunteers. She led him into the room where the volunteers were.Luke noticed that the volunteer’s legs were covered in needles.If Johann saw this, he would probably make a big fuss about it.Luke watched as Luca carefully removed each needle, checked some of the volunteer’s nerve functions, and offered a few reassuring words before picking up a tray filled with medical waste and leaving the room.Once they were outside, Luke, not having seen the volunteer's previous condition, asked, “Were his legs completely immobile before?”“Yes. He said it was an injury caused by a machine malfunction at the factory. It hadn’t been treated properly for years. By the time he was sent here, his family didn’t have time to help with massages, and his calves had atrophied. But now, as you can see, the muscles are gradually recovering, and he’s starting to regain sensation. In another week or two, his legs should be able to move.” Luca
“Yes.” Luca nodded. “You have a mild fever and some inflammation in your body.”Hera was surprised. “Inflammation? Where?”She often mingled with men, so every few months, she made sure to get a check-up to avoid picking up any unwanted diseases. Her previous check-ups had all been normal, with no signs of any illness.“You've been getting along well with the boss these days, haven't you?” Luca did not say it outright but hinted at it. She then glanced at the thermometer, seeing that her temperature had returned to normal.Hera understood and widened her eyes. “You're saying I have inflammation there? That's impossible.”“Your body can't handle too much.” Luca did not want to go into too much detail. She looked up and saw that the IV was nearly done. She rose to her feet, removed the needle, and pointed at the medicine on the side. “Your body won't have any major issues. Don't worry. Here are the anti-inflammatory pills for the next three days. Take them, and you should be fine.”
Gerald was relatively strong. However, he tried to avoid touching other parts of Hera's body, making it quite difficult to carry her. By the time they reached the third floor, he was out of breath.Luca, however, seemed to handle it better than he did.“Ms. Craw, aren't you tired?” Gerald could not help but ask as he set Hera down on the bed, panting.Luca glanced at him and replied, “I'm not tired because I'm not worried about touching other parts of her.”Gerald, whose hands were on his hips, was out of breath and muttered, “This is the first time I've realized how exhausting it is to carry a woman upstairs.”After positioning Hera properly, Luca took her pulse and frowned. “Did she mention feeling unwell earlier?”“Yeah, but wasn't she pretending? She was crying, throwing a fit, and making a scene downstairs. It was quite the performance,” Gerald recalled, chuckling at the memory of Hera trying to cling to Luke and failing.Luca switched to her other hand to take Hera's pulse
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