Mavis could not bear to see her crush for ten years becoming someone else's husband. She tried to calm herself down, though her tightly-clenched fists were slightly shaking. "Are you sure you want to marry an unremarkable employee, Mr. Crawford? You deserve a better woman. I think Ms. Rayne isn't experienced enough, no matter how you look at it…" "Oh? In your opinion, what type of woman should I deserve?" Luke's gaze turned cold. Mavis, who was usually observant, did not notice Luke's displeasure because she was overly emotional. She continued speaking, "Mr. Crawford, I think you should look for a woman who can be capable at work as well as being gentle in her personal life. If you can find an equally capable wife, then she could share your workload. You won't have to tire yourself like that." Luke placed his pen down and looked at Mavis with his profound gaze. "You're wrong, Ms. Laviere. I want a wife who can be my spiritual partner and not my work partner. I feel comfortabl
As the phone continued to ring incessantly, Bianca had the urge to smash it into pieces! She dared not do so. The other party possessed incriminating evidence about Luke. Finally, Bianca braced herself and tapped on the answer button. Instantly, she heard someone screaming angrily from the other side. "Did you ignore what I told you, Bianca Rayne? If you want it that way, fine! I'm standing at the entrance of the Public Integrity Committee now. I'll hand in the CD, and that'll be the end of Luke Crawford!" In case Bianca did not believe it, the woman sent a message shortly after saying that. Bianca opened the message. It was a selfie. The woman in the shades was holding a CD in her hand. She was indeed standing in front of the Public Integrity Committee building. On her lips was a smug grin. Bianca's heart beat faster when she saw that, but her blood was thick like glue. Luke would be ruined once the CD fell into the hands of the Public Integrity Committee. Not even L
Luke paused. The man had been through all sorts of hardships, but at that moment, he felt as though his heart was immersed in boiling water. He did not reply to Bianca's question. Instead, he pressed on her lips overbearingly with a kiss and took away Bianca's breath and the rest of the conversation. No one knew for how long he had waited for the marriage. Ever since he was young, he was sure that he wanted Bianca to be his wife. After conquering many obstacles, she was finally in his arms. He could not wait to tell the world that the woman was his. However, she remained uncertain whether she wanted to be Luke's bride. Luke could not accept that! Bianca was struggling to catch her breath after the kiss. Luke hugged her and looked straight into her eyes. "Bianca, if you want to postpone the wedding, I can consider changing it to a later date. However, if you ever think of canceling the wedding, I'd tie you up and bring you to the church if I have to." Bianca's eyes wer
Bianca's body went limp after the kiss. She felt that her headache was becoming more intense. Her eyes and ears took in the bustle of people moving about the hall, the swaying of flowers, the dancing fountains, and the melodic music. The merriment in the hall was a stark contrast to her sorrow. Bianca looked into the crowd. She saw the stern Old Master Crawford smiling and talking to some guests. Louis was overjoyed. Susan was present. She did not smile, but she carried herself like a noblewoman. Even Allison, who objected to their marriage the most, forced a smile on her face as she received the congratulatory greetings for her son's marriage. On another table, Old Master Rayne and Wanda were smiling, happy that Bianca had finally found bliss. Bianca wanted to cry when she looked at them, but she could not allow herself to shed a tear! She forced her tears back and inadvertently saw Luke's friends among the guests: Eugene Hawking, Jim Holston, Percy Mallory, and mo
Bianca's chest nearly jumped out of her chest at that moment. Every cell in her body was burning in agony. Seeing that Jack was about to take the CD from the woman's hand, Bianca suddenly yelled at Luke, "No! I don't want to marry you! I don't want to be engaged with you!" The hall instantly fell silent. It was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Luke was caught in a daze as he kneeled there on one knee. He had always known that Bianca looked forward to the wedding more than he did. He had not expected such an outcome. Old Master Crawford's face turned ashen. His hand that was holding his walking stick was trembling. Jason immediately stepped forward and supported Old Master Crawford. Susan was impassive. She had learned the hard way that marrying into a wealthy family was a trap. She even felt that the young woman had made the right choice. Allison was fuming. If she did not care so much for her reputation, she would have rushed up the stage and ripped Bianc
In the mansion. Luke stood on the spacious balcony. He smoked cigarette after cigarette, and his gaze fell on the blooming cherry blossoms downstairs. The cherry tree was filled with flowers. The petals fell as the wind blew past, and the ground seemed to be covered in a pink carpet. Bianca loved plants, and that was why that mansion had a lush garden. It was Luke's present for her. He wanted to give her a surprise, but unexpectedly… Luke narrowed his eyes as he looked at the falling cherry blossom petals. He stubbed out the cigarette and flicked it into a nearby ashtray. Then, he walked toward the master bedroom. The door opened. In the room were two caretakers that were currently nursing Bianca. They stood up when they saw Luke enter. "Mr. Crawford," they greeted him respectfully. A hint of dearness flashed in Luke's eyes as he looked at Bianca's pale face. "How is the missus?" One of the caretakers replied, "Dr. Sykes had given her an injection an hour ago, and
Charmaine picked out many clothes of the latest designs that still had their tags on, as well as trying on several pairs of shoes that caught her eye. Leia's height, body size, and foot size were almost similar to Charmaine's. Charmaine was overjoyed that those clothes and accessories seemed to be designed for her! As she continued to pick out items, she asked, "What do you want me to do? Just let me know. I'll promise to do my best!" "Bianca might have rejected Luke's proposal, but Luke had warned the media not to spread any negative news about her. Of course, I'm not happy about that. Do this for me, Charmaine, go and buy up the topics and keywords from all the media websites, including Twitter, Yahoo, TMZ, Instagram, and so on. Utterly ruin Bianca's reputation. Make sure that she can't stay in A City anymore! I'll foot the bill. You'll only have to go and talk to the people in charge. "Oh, you should contact those verified influencers with at least a million followers too. T
Wanda was furious when she heard what Allison said. How could she tolerate her respected father and her beloved niece insulted like that? She stood up immediately and said, "What do you mean by that, Mrs. Crawford? Even if you don't forgive Bianca, you don't have to insult her that way! How could you say those words to someone older than you, even though our families aren't related by marriage yet? I respected you because you are Luke's mother, but I didn't expect you to have such poor character. "You saw that we're a poor family, but how about you, Mrs. Crawford? Oh, I don't think that title suits you. The real Mrs. Crawford is Madam Susan Armstrong. She is the woman that is legally married to Luke's father, and you are nothing but a mistress. You're abusing the support that Luke has for you. Do you feel proud that way? How much more noble can you be compared to us?" Wanda was an outstanding woman. With her abilities, she had married her ex-husband and managed a major corporat
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