The atmosphere instantly became tense. Bella felt her life flashing before her eyes the instant she saw Luke appear. However, there was no turning back for her. She braced herself and said, "Mr. Crawford, I really saw Bianca cheating. I was sitting behind her, and I saw everything…" "Is that so?" His icy gaze fell on Bella's face. Bella was stricken by panic when she saw that bloodshot gaze. Bella thought that Mr. Crawford had given up on Bianca after the humiliation she put him through at the engagement ceremony! After that, Mr. Crawford was rumored to be dating Leia Norman, and they were even one step away from being engaged… That was why Bella thought that Bianca had left A City. She had never seen Bianca appear next to Mr. Crawford for a long time… The woman next to Mr. Crawford during that period had always been Mavis. She had even seen her boss going out to dinner with Mavis on several separate occasions. That was why she thought that Mavis had replaced Bianca as
Late at night. Bianca was dreaming of being framed for cheating on the test. In the dream, Bella was pointing condescendingly at herself and shouting at her that she was a shameless cheater! The crowd around her were looking at her impassively. Some of them were even laughing and insulting her together with Bella! No one believed that she was innocent! "No, I'm not…" Bianca was flustered. She tried to explain to the people around her, but no one believed her. "Bianca, you cheater, you've ruined your future. Don't ever think of becoming an architect ever again. I say, people like you don't deserve to live!" Bella in the dream was laughing maliciously. Suddenly, she opened her bloody mouth and morphed into a fanged beast. It pounced toward Bianca and reached for her neck. "No! I didn't cheat! Why doesn't anyone believe me?" Bianca screamed in panic and suddenly opened her eyes. The scenes in the nightmare were still fresh in her mind. Her heart was thumping wildly, an
Luke and the others drove their cars to Misty Mountain. Misty Mountain boasted fantastic scenery. The mountain was shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, as though it was part of a fantasy dreamscape. Every year, it attracted tourists from many countries. Surrounded by several mountain peaks was a waterfall with a lake at the bottom. The water was clear and reflected the blueness of the sky, which was why it was called Azure Waterfall. The group of people went to the Cottage in the Clouds, a popular lodge located next to Azure Waterfall. It was built entirely with logs, though the interior was spacious and comfortable. The owner of the lodge was a young couple. They seemed to be loving toward each other. The male was tall and gentlemanly, while the female was beautiful and diligent. They were dressed in unique ethnic wear. They received Luke, Bianca, and the others with warm smiles. Even though they could see that the guests were dressed in luxurious clothes, they di
When Scarlett saw Jim, her grip on Simon's hand became tighter, and her clear eyes were fraught with unease. She even timidly hid behind the little boy, even though his height only reached her thigh. Jim was angry when he saw how Scarlett was trying to avoid him. However, he was not going to lose his temper in front of everyone, and so he glared at his precious son. Simon grinned at his father and clung to Scarlett's leg as though he was claiming dominance over her. At that moment, Jim had the urge to toss his son into the lake! However, he was also frustrated seeing how Scarlett was not keen to get close to him. His eager gaze was transfixed on her body, as though he was going to strip her clothes away with his eyes! Scarlett averted his hungry gaze and tried to strike up a conversation with Bianca to alleviate the awkward atmosphere. The two women standing together was a charming sight, even though they were pregnant. They were beautiful in different ways. Bianc
The adults were interested when the two little fellows said that they were going to spar. Even Luke and Bianca stayed to watch the show with the others. Soon, the two little boys started to trade blows. Lanie was well-trained in martial arts, and each punch and kick exuded power. Simon was not as well-trained, but he was used to brawling with other kids, and he was a more experienced fighter than Lanie. For a moment, no one knew who would be the winner. If they continued with the fight, they would not gain anything except for new bruises. "Stop fighting, boys. You'll hurt yourselves. Please stop…" At first, Bianca thought that it would be fun watching them play with each other. However, she soon became nervous when she saw that the two meant business. She wanted to go forward and pull them apart. Luke stopped her. He was quite interested in watching the children fight. The two boys had already disliked each other. Lanie thought that Simon was being a pest to his sister an
"You're Shania who was terribly ill last year?" Bianca ventured. The girl nodded happily, and Bianca smiled. "How are you recovering? Are your parents fine?" Bianca remembered that Shania used to be skeletally thin because of her illness. Now, she was spirited and energetic, totally different from what she was before. She should be in good health. "I'm so happy that you remember me, Madam! Thanks to your help, I went for surgery last winter, and my condition has been improving since. Look, I'm very healthy now." Shania twirled around in front of Luke and Bianca. Bianca could not help but laugh at how energetic the little girl looked. She pinched Shania's face and said gently, "Not bad. You look a lot better than before. There's so much color on your face now." "Thank you, Madam." Shania smiled shyly. She became curious when she saw Bianca's bulging stomach. "Are you pregnant, Madam?" "Yes, I'm bearing another life in my womb now." Bianca lovingly caressed her stomach.
Jim did not say a word. His face was scrunched up, and veins bulged on his temples. It seemed that he was trying to hold back intense anger! He continued to drag her deeper up the mountains! Scarlett was very tired. She wanted to suggest taking a rest, but she dared not. Instead, she tried to keep up. Suddenly, Jim pinned her on a thick and sturdy tree, and she shrieked in panic. "Ahh! Let go of me! What do you want?" Angrily, Jim pressed his lips onto Scarlett's lips, not giving her the chance to escape. "Jim, you're… you're hurting me…" Scarlett struggled and shoved timidly. Tears were welling up in his eyes. Jim ignored her protests. He continued kissing her overbearingly, drawing blood from her lips. Scarlett's eyes were filled with tears of humiliation and resentment, and they silently flowed down her cheeks. She stopped struggling. However, her piteous looks only made Jim angrier! Jim gripped so tightly that Scarlett's jaw was almost crushed to pieces. His eyes
Scarlett did not manage to save her baby. When Bianca met her in the hospital ward, she seemed paler and weaker than ever. Her face was ashen with despair, and her gaze was vacant as though her soul had left her body. "Scarlett…" Bianca felt sorry for the young woman. She gently held Scarlett's slender arm. "Don't be too sad. Take care of your body. Your health is more important, and you can still bear children next time…" "No, I won't. I won't ever bear children anymore…" Scarlett shook her head slightly. She was in despair. "He was the one who got rid of the baby. That's fine. That unwelcome life won't experience happiness anyway…" She was not fond of that baby at all. However, she eventually learned to accept the life in her womb and even anticipated its arrival. Scarlett thought that she would not mind losing that baby, but she did not expect it to hurt so much. Bianca was at a loss for words. She could see that Jim cared for Scarlett a lot and cared for the baby
Sophian was also shaken by the events of the day. If Luke had not returned just in time, she did not know how long the fight between the two would have lasted. As Sophian thought about Luke, admiration showed in her eyes. Her heart fluttered at the thought of him, making her lose focus and become careless with what she was doing.“Ouch! Are you trying to kill me?” Allison winced as she clutched her face. Her hand instinctively shot up.Sophian came back to her senses and quickly moved away. “Sorry, Madam Allison, I’m so sorry!”Allison’s slap did not land, but her anger was evident. “What are you doing? Are you trying to hurt me?”“No, Madam Allison, I was just lost in thought and didn’t pay attention…” Sophian stammered, terrified of Allison’s strength.Allison's strength was immense! If Sophian took a slap from her, it would probably hurt for days. What worried her most was that Luke would see it, and it would ruin the impression he had of her.Allison noticed the lingering
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