When Bianca walked out of her neighborhood, she saw a man standing there. That perfect view of a man, standing right there.Every cell in Luke's body was waiting for her to come over. When she finally came out, he opened the car door for her to get in, and placed a cup of hot drink in her hand.Even in summer, it was slightly breezy at three o'clock in the morning.Bianca felt the warmth in her heart.After she got in the car, she fell asleep.Before she went out, she told herself not to fall asleep and to accompany him by talking to him because if she was sleepy, he was also going to be as sleepy.Luke drove attentively. The sports car drove down the street in the middle of the night which was much quieter than it was during the day. He drove for twenty minutes before reaching the place to watch the sunrise.He glanced at the time on his watch and then looked at her who was asleep. He could not bear to wake her up.If she missed the sunrise, they could try again another day.
On the way to Luke's uncle’s house, Luke, Lanie, and Rainie, the family of three, plus Bianca, found a restaurant to sit down for breakfast.Bianca was very embarrassed because she felt that Luke and she looked out of place.Fortunately, she wore her workwear that day. She was worried that it would be time for work after watching the sunrise and would not have time to go home to change her clothes.If anyone were to look at them, she hoped they would think that she was Luke's secretary.Bianca noticed that Lanie and Rainie seemed afraid of their father.When Daddy went to the bathroom, Rainie ate a mouthful of strawberry jam and complained, "Aunt Bea, Daddy acts like a child who hasn't grown up. He always makes me cry.”"My brother is better than me. He's stronger than me so he’s never cried because of Daddy before.”Lanie nodded in agreement, "Daddy has a bad temper and doesn't like to communicate with others. We really want to take care of this psychological problem of his, bu
Granduncle had his hands behind him as he went to the living room.Grandaunt held the reading glasses in one hand and the watering can in the other as she continued to water the blooming flowers on the windowsill.The living room had an old cabinet with red lacquer and large peony patterns. Every green leaf that was drawn on looked very realistic.He opened the cabinet.There was a stack of newspapers on the left side of the cabinet. Granduncle had a habit of collecting old newspapers.On the top of the stack, there was a thick photo album.Granduncle took out the photo album and flipped through it until he found the photo that was bugging him. There were four people in the photo—granduncle himself when he was young, and three other girls in their 20s.In that photo, Allison stood in the middle with red trousers that were very popular in that era. However, she did not look as happy as the other two girls.On the left of Allison was Grandaunt when she was young.On the right
A crisp slap sound was heard. Anna roared at the same time, "You’re dead, girl! How dare you beat your sister-in-law?! Will you take responsibility if you hurt the child in her stomach?""I would rather die than give birth to this child…”The tears that Marie shed might have been real or perhaps they were fake. After she said that, she left as she clutched her cheek.Anna did not have time to slap her own daughter and hurried toward Marie.As she chased her down, she begged. "Marie, slow down! You’re still pregnant with my grandson! I’ll let you make your own choice! You said that you have no sense of security after getting married and that there’s no guarantee even after giving birth to your child. So tell me, let me know how I can make you feel safe and secure!"Anna, who was anxious to hold her grandson, followed Marie in a hurry."Is this shrew never going to give it a rest? Does she want to destroy our family so badly? Isn’t she making all this noise to make my parents buy h
Bianca suddenly regained her mind after hearing the man's words. She pushed him away and squeezed out from under his body while he was not paying attention.Luke's deep eyes were dark red. A certain part of his body was boiling intensely. His whole body coldly stepped forward and pulled her back again. He hugged her, and they were face to face with his arms around her back. After two staggering steps, he managed to press her on the burgundy armchair."You don't want it anymore?" His bewitching voice made her heartbeat speed up and her face blush as his boundless love for her spread around her body.Bianca admitted to herself that she had secretly liked this man since the beginning of their relationship, but that did not mean that she needed to do those kinds of things right away."Um…"The lips that tried to say no were closed again by the man’s lips. The base of her tongue was starting to get painful from being sucked.In the pantry, the only sound present was that of a love bet
They walked hand in hand through the office area, down the elevator, and out of the building. Luke opened the door for her. After she went inside, he turned around, frowned, and lit a cigarette.The cool night breeze blew against the man's delicate facial features, but the heat from his body persisted.From the first time he met her, his hormones were already raging. He remembered glancing at the basketball court and noticing her small face that aroused a protective desire within him. Not only was her body small, but she was underdeveloped and even seemed malnourished. However, in the days to come, he realized that the only girl who kept flashing in his mind was the little girl who was underdeveloped in the junior high school next door. He did not take any interest in the well-developed girls in high school that were right in front of him.Small towns were much more open-minded about puppy love than in big cities. The teacher would supervise and manage the teenage crushes, but not
Bianca's cheeks that had returned to its normal color turned bright red again."No, I'm fine."She frowned slightly and tried to break away from the embrace. He started to heat up again. She was afraid that he would not be able to stand it and would lose control again. However, her strength was not enough to break away from him. She was pressed against the edge of the bed.The man stretched his hand downward.She looked at him in horror because she had no idea what he was going to do.She felt a breeze between her legs.Something was ripped off by him.She looked cowardly into his bottomless black eyes. Her lips were kissed firmly by the man again. The man pressed his body down against her and started sucking continuously. She was afraid that the familiar pain would come again and instinctively tried to stop it. Luke's next move caused the blood in Bianca's face to almost burst out.He checked her.Bianca was not hurt by his previous actions at all. It was just that it was
At the Crawford Manor.A huge spread of Chinese-style breakfast was laid on the dining table.The old man had not been sleeping these few nights. He woke up easily whenever he heard tiny movements in the middle of the night. That grandson of his seemed to make a good show out of it. Every time he drove back in the middle of the night, there was always a lot of noise when he parked his car in the garage. It was hard for the old man to ignore his grandson when he had a spring in his walk and brought a breeze when he drove. However, the problem lied there. A diligent workaholic who only cared about his company had not been working overtime in the company recently and was not at home either. ‘So where does he go in the afternoon till night time?‘Especially last night when he came back even later than usual!’The old man secretly took his little great-grandson to ask him about it. The honest kid gave him some bad news."Great-grandpa, Daddy tosses and turns in his sleep when he’s
“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