On New Year's Eve, Luke, Bianca, and the twins sat in front of the television while eating supper. Luke and Bianca did not eat much at Crawford Manor. As they ate, Luke and Bianca's phones did not stop vibrating. They were all messages wishing Happy New year, and most of them were copied and pasted. Bianca's messages were from her good friends, as well as some colleagues and clients. She replied to every message as a form of courtesy. Luke, on the other hand, did not bother. He replied to the messages from several good friends while ignoring those who wanted to flatter him. It was a simple supper, but the family was happy. The twins got tired after supper, and they went to bed early. Luke wanted to carry Bianca to the bedroom. It had been a long day, and Bianca must be tired, not to mention that she was pregnant. However, Bianca insisted that she make a pot pie. According to her family tradition, the first meal of the new year should be a pot pie. It signified toget
The host of the radio show was telling the story of a young daughter of an elderly couple in A City. She was only ten years old, but she was suffering from leukemia. The couple also had a son who was a firefighter, but he had sacrificed himself in a rescue mission. The son was an only child, and the couple was very sad when he lost his life. In an attempt to comfort his wife who was devastated by the tragedy, the husband discussed it with her and eventually got a daughter. They lived a peaceful life, but the daughter was eventually diagnosed with leukemia. The elderly couple incurred huge debts to pay for their daughter's medical fees. They did not have the money to pay for her medical fees for the coming month. It was New Year's Day, but the elderly couple could only afford plain white bread. They had been living such lives for most of the past year. The old lady even had to beg for the bread they ate. "It's fine if we are poor. We don't need much money to survive anyway,
In the cramped house, Bianca said to the uneasy old lady. "Your daughter's health is the most important, and she should get it treated as soon as possible. Shania is still so young, and you shouldn't delay the treatment. It's New Year's Day today, and we hope that we can bring you some joy." The white-haired old lady cried tears of gratitude. "You're the only ones who came. We don't expect anyone to come, and we didn't expect that kind people existed in the world. I pray for your safety, my kind benefactors!" The elderly couple kept on thanking Luke and Bianca while Bianca tried her best to comfort them. Meanwhile, next to the little girl's bed. Rainie put her pocket money and her doll in Shania's hands. The little girl's voice still smelled of milk. "Bis Sis, this is one of my favorite dolls. I hope that you'll treasure it… Also, here's some pocket money that I got from my Great-Grandpa and Aunt today…" Then, she leaned close to Shania's ear. "Don't tell anybody else, but
Mallory Residence. Luke leaned lazily on the couch. His left hand was hugging the quiet Bianca while his right hand swirled a crystal wine glass. Percy loved alcohol, especially red wine. He had a collection from all over the world. Recently, one of his friends, an earl from England, had given him a crate of high-quality red wine. Percy had invited Luke, Johann, and other good friends to come and have a taste. Luke was not fond of alcohol. He thought that alcohol would impair his judgment. He was willing to entertain Percy and visit him at his house because they were old friends. He had sent the children back home because he would be drinking. Only he and Bianca went to meet Percy. Johann sat on the other couch. He watched Luke put down his wine glass and carefully peel a grape for Bianca. After peeling the grape, Luke fed the grape into Bianca's mouth. Bianca wanted to decline awkwardly, but it was no use. Johann was shocked and even horrified by Luke's display of af
Bianca looked at Luke with her mouth agape. She had thought that Pierre's car crash was purely an accident. She did not expect that it was deliberate. More than that, she had never expected that the man who had a gentle demeanor could be so ruthless. Bianca thought that Luke would use his connections to make sure that Pierre received his due justice under the law. She did not expect that Luke would get a car to crash into him. She could not believe that the man could be chatting so calmly with Percy. Pierre was Percy's younger brother, and Luke could talk to Percy as though nothing happened. Bianca was impressed by Luke's composure. If it were her, Percy's penetrating gaze would have seen through her! Bianca licked her lips and asked worriedly, "Pierre and Percy are brothers. If one day he finds out that you were the one who caused the car crash, won't he become your enemy?" When Luke heard that, he glanced at her supple lips, and his eyes flashed with lust. He kissed
Pierre’s despair turned into delight by the unexpected news. His attitude towards Johann improved slightly, but he still had some doubts about the young man in front of him. He asked, "You are a doctor?" Pierre has always been a playboy. All he had ever cared about were luxury cars, yachts, nightclubs, and girls. He had never paid attention to anything else. He was not aware that Johann was well-known among the medical community. Johann crossed his hands in front of his chest and looked at Pierre condescendingly. "As real as it gets." Pierre's nostrils flared, and he said arrogantly, "I'll give you whatever you want if you can cure me!" "Wow, look at you talking big! If it were Master Percy who said this, I would believe it because he holds a certain degree of credibility. Why should I take you seriously?" "You..." Pierre was so infuriated by what Johann had said that he could no longer keep it in. His face turned ghastly pale. Johann was right. Pierr
Mavis stared at Bianca with a chilly expression. When she saw Bianca's pure and soft face looking at her, she clenched her fists, and a pang of jealousy appeared on her arrogant face. "What can I do for you, Ms. Laviere?" Bianca smiled softly as she greeted her. Mavis was impassive, but her tipped chin showed her arrogance. She did not speak and kept staring at Bianca calmly. The woman in front of her had made her feel threatened. She had no care for the skanks who surrounded Luke. That was because she knew that Luke had a wall up, and those who tried to conquer him all failed shamefully!She had been beside Luke for so many years and had never seen him affectionate towards any woman. He repelled all women, except Bianca... Her intuition told her that Bianca was a formidable rival. The feeling was so terrible that she felt afraid. It was a kind of deep fear of Luke's heart being occupied by other women. Bella, the design department lead, was her spy in
Bianca had been fully occupied since the urban reconstruction project with Vivi Group started. With consideration of Bianca's pregnancy, Luke worried that she would overwork herself, so he gave her the easiest tasks. However, Bianca insisted on doing her part and completing the backlog of work she had at hand. Although they kept a low profile, the employees of the design department were tacitly aware of Luke and Bianca’s relationship. Bianca might have proven herself time and time again since she joined the company half a year ago, but many thought that she had nothing remarkable except for her looks. She worked hard to prove her ability. In the morning, Bianca and her colleagues met with the upper management of A City's Bureau of Housing and Urban Development, Bureau of Land and Resources, Bureau of Planning, and so on. She took advice from the Urban Construction Department on how to upgrade and renovate the old town, discussed the work structure and flow, ana
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.