For a few seconds there, Bianca's mind went blank!She frowned and inwardly berated herself for being so weak-willed.'Bianca, don't forget, you have Jean!'Jean is the only man you can feel anything for!'"You're with me now. How could you get distracted?!" The man forcefully pushed her white coat aside. There was a moist and warm sensation on her lips.He then lowered his head and kissed her hair. After a long time, his low voice spoke into her ear seductively. Bianca was about to explode when she heard the man’s low voice!Luke had a really nice scent of shower foam on him, just like she did. That meant that this man had just used her shower foam when he took a shower earlier.Bianca knew just how dangerous it would be if she did not put up a desperate fight right now.Just plain struggling was not going to work.All she could do was apologize in advance for disrespecting her boss. At least that would be better than whatever was going on now!Bianca’s eyes grew used to
Bianca went back upstairs.The cleaner lady was tidying up her room.Bianca nodded at the cleaner politely and then walked to her closet, opening it and taking out one set of the clothes she had ironed last night. After that, she went to the bathroom to change into it.The cleaner worked very quickly.By the time Bianca was done washing her face, the room had been wiped more or less clean of every trace of Luke Crawford.She heaved a sigh of relief.Ten minutes ago, Jean had sent her a message. “Bianca, my team is done with the project. I’ll go to H City in the afternoon and visit you at your hotel. We get the day off tomorrow.”Bianca had replied with, “Sounds good. I’ll send you the hotel address.”For some reason, as she looked around the room Luke Crawford had spent the entire night in, she felt a little guilty.When the cleaner was done with her cleaning, she found Bianca staring at the bathroom, frowning and distracted.“I’m done,” the cleaner said with a smile, holding
The two cars left the renowned hotel and headed back to the hotel they were staying in.Once they reached the hotel, Bianca got out of the car.Sue soon followed suit.At the hotel entrance, they saw Jason Doyle waiting, dressed in his smart suit and leather shoes.“Good afternoon, Mr. Doyle.” Just like Sue and the others, Bianca greeted Jason as she went in.Jason nodded at Bianca too, but his gaze changed when he looked at Bianca.After Bianca walked into the hotel lobby, Jason was still frowning slightly as he looked inside.Luke got out of the car and noticed that there was something off about Jason’s expression.As usual, he turned his dark gaze directly at Jason. When Jason realized something amiss, he hurriedly turned around too, looking at his boss perfectly professionally.Standing tall and straight, Luke strode into the hotel, his voice icy cold as he stated, “You were looking at her.”He was addressing Jason, who was behind him.Jason seemed to be deliberating if
By the time they returned to A City, it was already morning.Naturally, Tom drove the company Bentley back to the company.Sue alighted from the car.On the other side, Jean brought Bianca’s luggage down from the trunk as he said, “I’ll send you back home first so you can rest. Sleep well, and I’ll come find you at night.”Bianca nodded.They pushed their luggage along as they said goodbye to Sue and Tom. After that, they walked to the roadside and hailed a cab.Jean was thinking he should go buy a car tomorrow.It was too inconvenient without a car.Bianca was both tired and sleepy. She had slept for slightly over two hours in the car last night, but sleeping in the car was by no means comfortable.Before they could find a cab, Jean’s phone rang.“Let me pick this up.” Jean looked at his phone and gave Bianca’s a heads-up before accepting the call.Bianca looked at him and saw that he was frowning. He said “okay” into the phone a few times before adding, “Alright, I’ll be t
“I don’t know who they’re from,” Bianca repeated.She did not want to see Jean’s hurt gaze. She did not want any more stains in her life.However, there was a fury burning in Jean’s eyes as he said, “You don’t know who they’re from? Are you kidding? Do you take me for a fool? Bianca Rayne, it’s barely been a week since we came back, and you already have another man in your life. If it’s strictly platonic, which man would spend so much money flying in fresh flowers for you?”Bianca could not stand the way Jean was staring daggers at her.She knew she did no wrong. Her conscience was clear.It was true that she did not know who sent her the flowers.“I’m going to work.” Finally, Bianca just said those words to Jean calmly, turning around and throwing the flowers into a rubbish bin nearby without giving them another glance.Jean watched her back as Bianca walked over to the opposite side of the road calmly. Instinctively, his hands clenched into fists.She walked toward the subway
Bianca thought that Rainie would like this Spongebob wrapper.She put the others aside and picked up the Spongebob one before getting up to leave."Ah—"When she stood up, she was fully focused on how she would best maximize the effect of the Spongebob wrapper on the book. As a result, she had completely forgotten about a certain man standing next to her.Bianca wore a brooch on her work clothes, and now it was caught onto the man's leather belt…"S-Sorry, I…" Bianca stared at the two items stuck together, feeling extremely awkward. The man lowered his head. When he looked at her, there was something unreadable deep in his eyes. "Hold on, I'll be done in a second…" Bianca scrambled around, grabbing the man's belt frantically. In all of her years, this was the first time she had grabbed a man's belt of her own accord.On those nights five years ago, Bianca had not touched the man's clothes or anything like that. Nothing like that had happened in the years she had been with J
Jean knew that Bianca loved him, but he also knew that she did not love him as much as he loved her.That was why, in order to make sure the proposal succeeded, once he decided to propose that noon, he asked his parents to invite his grandparents, aunts, and uncles over.All in all, there were more than a dozen of his relatives, young and old.After Bianca followed the Langdons upstairs, she was stunned in place the second they opened the door…Similarly, Nina stared at her relatives crowding the house, looking at them like they were ghosts. "You're here, you're here!" The one who spoke was Jean's father's second sister. When she saw the girl standing at the door, looking just like how she looked in the photo, the older woman immediately grabbed her mother's arm and said excitedly, "That's Jean's girlfriend, Bianca Rayne. She's right there at the door! Oh, what a beauty. Come over here and check her out, Mom…"Bianca was rendered speechless. "Come on in." Jean looked at her te
"We're here to…" Before the boy could finish that sentence, he saw an older lady walking toward them. Was this grandma Miss Bea’s mother?“Hi, Grandma!” Lanie greeted her politely.Grandma…?Bianca followed Lanie’s gaze and looked behind her.There was an older woman in her fifties, wearing a white-and-pink Adidas tracksuit. She was just passing by, but then she suddenly stopped in front of the three of them.Luke knew that she was not Bianca’s mother, so he did not greet her.“Is something the matter, ma’am?” Bianca was confused by the woman’s intense stare.The woman then frowned and began to sincerely advise her, “Once you’re married, girl, you gotta learn how to take care of your family. You can’t let your husband and child go hungry. I mean, look at you! It’s already this late, and you’re only back now?”By “your husband”, she clearly meant that man with the poker face behind her.Bianca felt quite embarrassed and awkward.She was about to explain when the woman looked
“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