Bianca had thought that the oil paintings in the living room of Crawford Manor and Luke's bedroom were antiques. She never thought that Luke was the one who drew everything. Bianca loved to paint too. She possessed talents in painting. She had studied oil painting when she was abroad, and her teacher had always praised her. However, painting was an expensive pursuit. Moreover, she was working while she studied, and she did not have the time and effort to paint. She gave up after a while. Whenever she walked past the art room and saw other boys and girls focusing on filling their canvases with colorful paints, she would nonetheless feel envious. Luke's imposing demeanor translated into unrestrained brush strokes in his vibrant and moving paintings. Just like him, the paintings were noble, elegant, and carried a hint of mystery… "If you like to paint, I can teach you when we're free." Luke opened a box of paints, mixed several colors, and placed a brush in Bianca's hand.
The soup sent Leia's taste buds into overdrive! The sour, bitter, spicy, and salty taste of her soup assaulted her sinuses. It felt as though a thin needle was poking on her nostrils and caused beads of sweat to form on her nose. She wanted to cough, and there was even an urge to vomit coming from the back of her throat! However, Leia had to maintain her graceful demeanor in front of the two Crawford elders and the two children looking at her with delighted anticipation. She tried her best to suppress the urge to throw up, and her smile froze on her face. "How does the soup taste, Aunt Norman? Don't you like it? Big Bro said that it's very tasty! The chef even added truffles in it. It's not only delicious but also healthy! You're so pretty, Aunt Norman. You'll be even prettier after you finish the soup!" Rainie's fingers kneaded her princess dress, and she smiled sweetly. She looked very adorable. Allison was overjoyed when she saw that her two grandchildren were kind towar
Leia's expression turned unpleasant when she heard Bianca's laughter. 'Did I say something wrong?' Ever since she was adopted into the Norman family, she had gone to an elite school and even studied abroad for two years. She did not believe that Bianca was anything more than a philistine! Leia was not interested in art since she was young, but her mother was a big fan. She forced herself to read up on art history so that she could humor her mother. However, she would begin to fall asleep as soon as she opened a book and read about the boring theories and the lives of famous artists. Eventually, she gave up and instead tried to please her mother with other activities she was good at. Leia stole a glance at Luke. The man sat on his chair elegantly. He was straight like a pine tree, and his silence was imposing. However, his demeanor changed as he filled up Bianca's plate. His penetrating gaze would turn gentle, and the corners of his lips would inadvertently curl up with
Queenie was very protective of Leia. After losing her birth daughter, she had considered Leia to be her only daughter. She felt very sorry for Leia when she saw the aggrieved tears in her daughter's eyes. She hugged Leia and said gently, "Can you tell me what happened, my daughter?" Leia wanted to complain to her mother about how heartless Luke had been. However, she was afraid that her complaints would cause her mother to be prejudiced against Luke. She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. Her gaze flashed, and she started sobbing. "Mom, I think Luke… doesn't like me. That Bianca isn't a pushover either. She embarrassed me in Crawford Manor earlier. She thinks that she's smarter than me, and she showed off her knowledge in front of Old Master Crawford. Even Old Master Crawford is favoring her more than me now… I really like Luke, Mom. He's the first man that I like. What should I do?" Leia rested her head on Queenie's shoulder, and warm tears slid down h
Johann arrived, examined Luke, gave him a prescription, and fed him liquids. After that, Luke's high fever subsided a little. Bianca breathed a sigh of relief. She was busy the entire day. Earlier, they sent their children to the hospital. As they recovered, Luke fell sick. She had to take care of the big one as well as the little ones. When she prepared the liquid medicine for Luke, she took a whiff of the pungent smell of medicine, which instantly caused intense discomfort in her stomach… Bianca hastily ran to the bathroom and dry-heaved into the hand basin, but nothing came out of her mouth. The nausea subsided a while later. Bianca seemed to have realized something. She remembered how Sue had dry-heaved in the washroom at the office, as well as her reactions when she was pregnant with the twins. She abruptly covered her mouth and tried to recall when was the last time her period came. Her period should have been one week ago, but it had never come. Luke had always
After Luke calmed down from the joy, he asked Johann about taking care of a pregnant woman. Johann told him a lot of things. Luke listened to him attentively. He also used a recording pen in case he forgot what Johann told him. He even asked Johann to email him the relevant information after Johann returned home. Johann recommended to him several famous books about pregnancy. They contained detailed information about taking care of a woman during and after pregnancy, as well as the solutions to any problems that may arise. Bianca wanted to fall asleep as she listened to that. Luke, however, continued to take notes. That was not their first child. Bianca did not expect that Luke would be so concerned… Before Johann left, he said jokingly to the couple, "There's something else I should remind you, Sis. You don't have to be embarrassed after hearing it." Bianca did not know what he was talking about. 'Embarrassed? What is he going to say?' Then, Johann turned to face L
Susan did not expect that Louis was standing at the door. She instantly came to her senses and remembered what she said at the peak of her rage. She had to admit that the twisted marriage to Zachary Crawford had caused irreparable psychological damage, but undeniably, she was a doting and caring mother to her son Louis. Her position in the household was precarious, and she only had her son to rely on. She could not afford any cracks in her relationship with Louis. "What are you saying, my son? I don't understand," Susan said sheepishly. "See, Luke already has a pair of twins, and now Bianca is pregnant with a third child. You'll have to buck up and get your mother a grandchild soon. That way, the Crawford family business wouldn't fall entirely into the hands of Allison and her son!" "Tell me honestly, Mom, did you hire someone to cause Luke's car crash?" Louis was not beating around the bush. Louis's gaze was like Zachary's. Susan felt an inexplicable panic when looking int
At the study. Louis opened the door and looked at his brother Luke, sitting at the desk and carefully perusing some documents. The heater was turned on, and the man was only dressed in a black shirt, which accentuated his mature demeanor. From the door, Louis could see that his brother's legs were crossed. Even he had to admit that his brother was very charming when serious. Louis sighed again. He would also have been attracted to his brother if he were not a straight man. His brother was a workaholic, even working when it was the holiday period. Louis, though, would find sitting in front of a desk even for half an hour unbearable torture. Indeed, his brother Luke was his idol. Luke seemed to have noticed that someone was looking at him. He lifted his head, saw that it was Louis, lowered his head, and continued his work. It was noon, and the sunlight was comfortable. The gentle rays shone through the floor-to-ceiling window and around Luke, enhancing the handsomeness of
“As long as he stays out of your sight, I won’t make a move,” said Ray.If Gordan were not one of Luke’s pals, he would have been long gone.Anyone who dared to mess with someone Ray cherished would not be let off easily. The only reason Gordan was still breathing was thanks to Luke.“Alright, Ray. Just let it go. I’ve moved on and started a new life. Plus, I’m studying at Capital University. We have mutual friends, so running into him is inevitable. If that happens, we’ll just be strangers. There’s no need to step in for me or act impulsively.” Just as Vivian finished speaking, the doorbell rang.“Is it the clothes delivery?” asked Ray.“No, while you were talking with Mr. Crawford, I asked someone to buy some medicinal cream. The ones here work better than the ones in Russia. A little massage with it should help you heal faster,” Vivian said, grabbing a mask and hat before heading to the door.“Miss, is the boss alright?” asked one of Ray’s subordinates.“He’s fine. Did you ge
When Ray heard that there was a 90% chance of success, he could not help but ask, “Can you walk me through your plan?”“The prison where Kassy is being held actually has an underground passage. I’ve already spoken with the prison officials, and we can use that passage to transport her out. It connects to the sewage system, which leads directly to another detention facility. "The only catch is that this facility’s underground pipes don’t connect to the outside world, so the remaining 10% risk lies in moving Kassy onto the main road and securing her at the new location.“This whole operation can be done without anyone noticing, which is why I’m confident it’ll work.” As Luke explained, he pulled out a detailed map of the sewer system. “Here’s the layout I had someone retrieve. This is the starting point, and this is the destination. If we take this route, we can move Kassy without alerting Abel’s people.”Abel’s men were keeping a constant watch outside the prison now. That was prec
Luke had no idea what kind of mindset the person who poisoned Vivian had. However, he found Gordan’s current behavior quite intriguing.“Luke, what’s with that look?” Gordan felt uneasy under his gaze.“You seem pretty concerned about Vivian,” Luke leaned back on the couch and said thoughtfully.Gordan froze for a moment before laughing it off. “What? No way! Why would I care about her? Come on, Luke, don’t say stuff like that. If she hears it, she might start getting ideas.”Luke could not be bothered to expose his act and got straight to the point. “Why are you here?”“Speaking of that, I almost got sidetracked by that woman.” Gordan quickly pulled out his phone, grimacing. “Man, Ray really didn’t hold back. I need to get some treatment for these bruises later.”Luke took the phone and tried to unlock it. It needed a passcode. He handed it back. “Unlock it.”“All set, boss.” Gordan unlocked the phone and went back to pressing an ice pack against his face.Luke scanned the scr
It was the sound of a body slamming onto the ground.Gordan’s furious curses rang out. “Damn it! You're really going all out, huh? Do you think I'm scared of you?”Another loud thud followed.Vivian frowned. What the hell were they doing? Were they really going to fight until one of them won?Both of them were skilled fighters. If they kept this up, neither would walk away unscathed.“Enough!” shouted Vivian.The two men locked in the fight froze for a moment.“Vivian, stay out of this. I’m beating him to a pulp today,” growled Ray, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He was not in great shape, but neither was Gordan.“Ray, I don’t want to see him,” said Vivian. She did not want Ray fighting him. It was not to protect Gordan but because she did not want Ray getting hurt.Also, she definitely did not want Gordan to see her like this. She could already picture his smug face, his sarcastic remarks and his gloating.“Fine. If you don’t want to see him, I’ll just beat
After returning to the hotel from the hospital, Vivian felt much better.To her, the fact that Ray had taken her to the hospital meant there was hope for the future, which lifted her spirits. She picked up an apple from the fruit platter the hotel had provided and took a bite.“Ray, this apple is really good. Want to try one?” asked Vivian.Ray shook his head. “You go ahead. By the way, can I take a look at the luggage you brought from Russia?”Vivian nodded. “I only hung up my clothes. Everything else is still in the suitcase. You can just take the things out.”Ray walked into the bedroom, pulled out her suitcase, and opened it. Inside were just books and a few other small items, nothing unusual.“You didn't bring any food with you?” asked Ray.“I haven’t really been in the mood, but the food here is way better than Russian food, so I didn't feel the need to bring anything.” Vivian’s tone was lighthearted now that she was in a better mood.“That's true.” Ray agreed, then asked
Ray's tone turned serious. “Alright, I'll make the arrangements immediately. Dr. Craw, once the toxicology report is out, we’ll still need your help.”“For toxicology cases like this, I recommend combining both modern medicine and traditional herbal medicine. Don’t worry, if I can help, I definitely will,” Luca assured him.“Alright, thank you.” Ray expressed his gratitude and ended the call before updating Luke on the situation.Luke reassured him, saying, “If Vivian was really poisoned, don’t worry. Previously, Luca discovered that her biological mother had been poisoned with a slow-acting toxin. She prescribed herbal medicine and used purely traditional herbal medicine to detoxify her. It didn’t take long for all the toxins to be expelled, and her health fully recovered. So, rest assured. If it’s something she can fix, she’ll do everything she can.“Besides, once we identify the exact problem, the doctors will be able to step in and help, right?”“Yes. Thank you both in advance
Gerald walked over. “Ms. Sanchez, what's wrong?”He was eager to get back upstairs and stash his cigarettes before someone noticed and took them.Hera yanked open his bag, glanced at the cigarette brand, and scoffed. “I thought it was some expensive brand. But it's just this? And you’re acting all deferential to her over this?”Gerald was rendered speechless. “I knew Ms. Craw was going out, so I asked her to bring these back for me. This is the brand I’m used to. Maybe it’s not expensive to you, but for me, it’s what I can afford.”Realizing she had misspoken, Hera felt a bit awkward. She quickly changed the topic. “Still, is a pack of cigarettes really worth you being so grateful to Luca? How much could it have cost?”“It’s not about the money,” replied Gerald. “It's just a nice surprise. I never expected to get anything out of helping Ms. Craw, and this kind of unexpected gift has nothing to do with the price. Besides, I'm not being overly grateful. I'm just happy.”He was ba
Luca’s lips were already swollen and flushed from Luke's kisses.That deep shade of red, reflected in Luke’s eyes, was utterly captivating. It tugged at his nerves, stirring an uncontrollable desire within him.At that moment, he had only one thought, and it was to completely lose himself in her.…The two of them stepped out of the bedroom.Vivian quickly turned her back and greeted Luke when he saw him coming out, “Hello, Mr. Crawford.”“Vivian, don’t worry. Everything will get better,” replied Luke.Vivian simply hummed in response.Ray gave them a grateful nod as Luke took Luca’s hand and led her away.It was only after hearing the door close that Vivian finally turned back around.Ray glanced at her and said, “Vivian, they’re your friends. You don’t have to act this way around them. They won’t judge you.”“I know they won’t…” Vivian let out a soft sigh. “I just feel like I look terrifying right now. I didn’t want to scare them, so I avoided facing them directly. But it’
“I once treated someone who had been slowly poisoned over a long period of time. Their pulse was similar to Vivian’s. Given that your family has good genetics, yet Vivian is different from the rest of you, and her skin improved after leaving her original environment, all of this confirms my suspicion.“Could it be that someone in your family has been poisoning Vivian? That would explain why her skin ended up like this.”“If she really has been poisoned, then would staying away from that environment or identifying the person responsible help her get better?” asked Ray.Luca shook her head.“The poison I’ve encountered before was a slow-acting toxin that kept the victim’s skin dark. I don’t know exactly what it was, but long-term exposure to any poison has an effect on the body. It's just a suspicion now. I need to consult someone I know. And honestly, I can’t be sure what’s really causing Vivian’s condition.“Is her skin deteriorating so quickly because she was poisoned once more a