Bianca was silent. From the moment she knew that Mavis had planted a pair of lace panties in Luke's car, she could tell that Mavis was a scheming woman… However, she believed that the love between her and Luke was indestructible. So what if Mavis was a scheming woman? She was the woman that Luke loved. If Luke had any feelings for Mavis, they would have already been a couple. Mavis would not have to wait. Bianca smiled at Sue when she thought of that. "I know, Sue, but I believe that our love can overcome every obstacle. If he belongs to me, then no one can take him from me. If he doesn't belong to me, then there's no point in me retaining him. We've gone through so many ordeals. It won't be that easy to tear us apart." When Sue and Nine saw how confident Bianca was, they did not say anything. They sincerely hoped that Bianca could find bliss. After all, a good woman like Bianca deserved to be loved. Nina decided to change the serious conversation topic. "Hey, Sue, Be
In Jack's spacious study was a ten-tier redwood bookshelf that covered an entire wall. Rows of books were tidily arranged on it. Leia sneaked into the study like a thief and quickly locked the door. She felt a little dizzy when she looked at the close to ten thousand books on the shelf. She knew that her father would lock important documents in a safe, but she did not know where the safe was. Leia took off her high heels, rolled up her sleeves, and tiptoed over the room to search for the safe. She looked through the shelf, the drawers, under the couch, and even the small attic in the room. Half an hour later, Leia's head was drenched in sweat, but she did not manage to find the safe. Dejectedly, she punched the shelf. She struck something, and with a click, she saw the top row of the bookshelf revolve. The silvery-white safe was embedded in a mechanism on the top shelf. Her heart started to beat fast. She nimbly climbed on the ladder and reached the top shelf and trie
The two children, still dressed in cartoon print pajamas, were sitting on the couch in the living room and doing their homework. They did not have to go to school today, but they were used to waking up early. They remembered what their father told them: Mommy needed to sleep in because she was pregnant with a baby, and they could not go into the bedroom to disturb her. That was why they went to the living room to do their homework after they woke up. They did not want to use the study because the living room would be the best place to see their mother after she woke up. Luke saw his children busy doing their work as he stepped down the stairs. Lanie was focused on a book of math problems. He would be entering the first grade after the new school year started, but he was an intelligent boy, and his academic capabilities were that of a child in third or fourth grade Meanwhile, Rainie was painting something with a watercolor brush on a snow-white piece of paper. On the pap
She did not know why she felt so uneasy the night before. Perhaps her pregnancy was affecting her mood. The unease was caused by something unknown. Even though Luke was by her side, that did not alleviate her worries even by a little bit. Now that she saw that the father and his two children were interacting normally, she felt as though she was alive once more. She felt a little guilty when she saw on her watch that it was ten o'clock. She knew that the other three people were waiting for her to make breakfast, but she had overslept… "Mommy, you're awake!" The observant Rainie was the first to notice Bianca. She tossed her brush away, ran next to Bianca, stood on tiptoe, and gently touched her mother's stomach. "Hi, Little Bro! I'm your Big Sis Rainie! Were you behaving when you were sleeping in Mommy's tummy last night?" It was her habit to speak to the unborn child every morning. She did not know whether the baby in Bianca's womb was a boy or a girl, but thanks to Lan
Bianca sighed and placed her phone on the table. She thought that she would visit Old Mr. Norman later. After all, Old Mr. Norman was an important client. Moreover, Queenie had extended the invitation to her. Either way, she felt that she should pay the old man a visit. She turned her head and saw Lanie struggling with a thick book of math problems. Curiously, she glanced over and saw that the book was meant for a fourth-grade student. Bianca took the book away from Lanie and frowned. "Lanie, you'll be going into the first grade soon. Why are you doing fourth-grade problems?" Lanie sat up straight. There was a determination in his childish voice. "I want to skip to the third grade, Mommy. The first grade is too easy for me." Bianca was stunned! As she looked at Lanie saying that in all seriousness, she remembered something that Lanie's teacher said during a parent-teacher meeting. "Lanie is a very intelligent boy. You could even call him a child prodigy. "His intellig
Jack helped Old Mr. Norman get to his feet. The old man looked at Luke appreciatively and said, "You're here, Luke and Bianca. Thank you for coming to visit me. You even brought presents!" Luke greeted the two men courteously and placed the fruit basket on the table. Then, he helped Old Mr. Norman sit down on his chair again. "Please sit down. I heard that you're not feeling well, so Bianca and I are here to visit. How are you feeling?" "I'm fine. There's nothing major…" Old Mr. Norman said tenderly, "You're here too, Bianca. I happen to have several questions to ask you about the design. There are a few parts that I don't understand…" Bianca smiled gently and said, "I will answer any questions that you might have to your satisfaction, Old Mr. Norman." "That's great! Leia, come over here and greet our guests." Old Mr. Norman beckoned to Leia. Leia walked over obediently and said sweetly, "Grandpa." Her smile was gentle and beautiful but superficial. Bianca noticed that Le
Meanwhile, Old Mr. Norman asked Queenie to bring Bianca's design. Old Mr. Norman and Bianca discussed the details of the design excitedly. Even though there was a big age gap between them, there were no obstacles to their conversation. Old Mr. Norman might be a retired politician, but he was well-read in a variety of subjects. He even knew certain technical jargon that inexperienced architects would never have heard of. That had made Bianca impressed. Old Mr. Norman was very impressed with Bianca too. The girl might seem young, but she did not only have pretty looks. He was satisfied with her unique design senses, her modern way of thinking, and her modest attitude. Old Mr. Norman shot a glance at her granddaughter Leia who dressed like a princess, then turned away, dissatisfied. His granddaughter might look kind and considerate, and his wife and his children were fond of her, but he felt that her ladylike attitude was pretentious. Moreover, his granddaughter was fully
Leia came into the washroom. Bianca nodded gently at Leia. "Ms. Norman." Then, she walked toward the washbasin. She squeezed some liquid soap onto her hands and noticed Leia's exquisite but cold face in the mirror. Leia might look gentle, and she was laughing, but Bianca felt unnerved. Bianca knew that Leia was not as innocent as she looked. She did not forget Leia's provocation in the shopping mall and how Leia had tormented her during the commercial shoot at T Corporation. She also remembered how she was hurt by the berserk Persian cat at Blue Honors… Even though all the evidence pointed to Leia's assistant, Bianca was not so stupid to believe that. She knew that Leia was the mastermind, but she did not call her out because of Leia's elevated status. If Leia was not going to speak, Bianca was not going to bother either. However, she could see that Leia had something to say to her. "Is there anything, Ms. Norman?" Bianca opened her mouth first. Leia turned on the
Allison was so thrown off by his commanding presence that she took two steps back.When Luke mentioned Susan, her eyes widened, and she shook with anger. “I'm your real mother! Who does that woman think she is?! You call her 'Mother'? No! Susan’s not your mother. I'm your only mother!”Consumed with jealousy, Allison's eyes turned red. She could not stand Luke calling Susan 'Mother'.Furious, she smashed several items in the living room.“Madam Allison, please calm down.” Sophian was startled by Allison's sudden outburst.Allison shattered another item, casting a hateful, challenging glare at Luke. She was like a child causing trouble. When he still showed no reaction, she picked up a vase and smashed it, creating a louder racket.Luke watched the whole scene with an icy calm.These were genuine art pieces from reputable brands. Even though they were not as costly as his grandfather’s antiques, they were still valuable. One piece could cost a white-collar worker half of thei
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