"I'll go to the kitchen to help." Luke kissed Bianca's cheek lightly and walked to the kitchen with two bottles of wine. "Okay." Bianca smiled slightly, her gaze following him to the kitchen before she withdrew it. Queenie was initially a little frustrated at Luke because of Bianca’s injury but seeing this tender scene, her dissatisfaction gradually subsided. Sometimes, hits and bumps were inevitable. As long as Luke treated Bianca well and she was happy, she could feel assured as her mother. "Bea, come and help me arrange the flowers?" Queenie put a black porcelain vase in front of her. Bianca nodded, trimmed a perfume lily, put it into the porcelain vase. She gave it some nutrients. She had not gone for any flower arrangement classes but she was so talented that it looked good even when she just intuitively arranged them. Bianca put in a bunch of gypsophila as an embellishment. She glanced at Queenie and slowly said, "Mom, was there anything specifi
"Luke, this incident has damaged Bea's reputation. It can't drag on. After Bea married you, there have been many misfortunes. If you can't protect her, let me protect her." Jack was distressed when he thought about his darling daughter. Since he found out about the kind of person Leia was, he had paid more attention to Bianca. He could not accept that his favorite daughter was constantly hurt and wronged. After all, Bianca was his flesh and blood. Jack felt bad that she had to grow up without him and go through so many hardships alone. He was comforted that she still had good conduct and a kind heart. Luke thought to himself that Jack was here to warn him. It seemed that he was dissatisfied with how the matter was being handled. He then told Jack everything. After Luke was done talking, Jack’s stern expression finally turned into a smile. "Not bad, you’re quite far-sighted." He thought it was a simple accident that Bianca was unintentionally involved
"Shut up!" Grandma Hilton was fed up with Leia’s crying and weeping. Her gaze was cold as she played with the bangle around her wrist. "I'm talking to Brody, who are you to jump into the conversation like that? How rude! You call yourself Mr. Norman’s adopted daughter?" Brody coaxed, "Grandma, please don't be angry. Leia can’t control her emotions, she’s just trying to be nice." Grandma Hilton looked at the herbs on the coffee table, then at Leia's slightly bulging belly. She snorted coldly and said, "Brody, I love you, but do you think I’m old and confused? I know why she chose to visit today. Today is the day when your parents are coming back. She’s thinking that if your parents agree to it, she can then marry into the Hilton family. You’re blinded by love, don’t you see?" Leia wanted to marry into the Hilton family just because she was pregnant? Never! Grandma Hilton's attitude was unwavering. As long as she lived, she would never allow it. "Grandma, Leia is
Tania looked at Leia indifferently and said, "Leia Norman, right? I‘ve heard about you. You’re an actress who used to be fairly popular." When she heard that, Leia knew that Tania was not a fan of hers… Maybe it was because she did not like that she was in the entertainment industry. Leia explained herself, "I chose to enter the entertainment industry to fulfill my mother's wishes. When she was young, she wanted to be a star." Tania's gaze was sharp. She walked over and sat down on the velvet sofa laced with gold thread. The caretaker poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her. She picked up the teacup and took a sip. "This needs more tea leaves."The nanny said immediately, "I'll make you another cup." Brody gave Leia a look, sat down, and massaged Tania's shoulders while praising Leia. "Mom, although Leia is an actress, she’s also a kind and wonderful girl. She’s not what you’d expect for someone who’s an actress." Tania watched her son rant about Le
Leia desperately squeezed her tears and wiped them on Brody's clothes. "Brody, I don't want to make things awkward for you. It’s okay that your family doesn't like me, let’s not force it. Our baby is a mistake!" Brody touched her belly and was upset. He promised her, "Okay, don't cry. My parents will stay for a while. I’ll convince them. Head back first, okay?" "Brody, I'm scared. Can you promise me one thing?" Leia's eyes were red and swollen from crying. She looked sad. Brody wiped her tears with his sleeves and asked, "What's the matter?" "I don't want to force you, but if we want to get married, we have to do it before the child is born. I don't want him to be called an illegitimate child. I was adopted. I don’t want our child to be bullied like I was when I was growing up. If… If you can’t marry me, let me know. I'll be considerate and go to the hospital..." Leia leaned on his chest and could not continue her sentence. Brody squeezed her hand tightly and r
"Leia..." Queenie was getting anxious. Leia was forced to share her issues under the gaze of four pairs of eyes. "Mom, it's the Hilton family. They’re bullying me." ‘Hilton? Brody Hilton?’ Bianca thought of the name in an instant, and her brows wrinkled slightly. ‘Leia got involved with Brody?’ Queenie was not sure what she was going on about, so she looked at her husband and then at Leia. "Which Hilton family?" "The Hilton family in the west of the city. They’re involved in foreign trade," Luke, who had been silent, said. Bianca was surprised that Luke knew who Leia was referring to. Leia kept silent. "Leia, how did they bully you? Tell me everything, I’ll make sure that you’re treated right." Queenie was gentle and chose to blindly believe in Leia. Although Leia was adopted, she shared a deep bond with her and would never allow anyone to mistreat her darling daughter. Leia cried and recounted what had happened at Hilton Residence. Of cour
Luke and Johann walked out of the bedroom. The two were sitting on the sofa and smoking cigarettes. Johann suddenly remembered something. He smiled and asked, "Does your family have any great news?” Luke frowned suspiciously. "What's the great news?" Johann was not someone who gossiped regularly. He only randomly mentioned it because he was bored. He took a puff and said, "I saw that movie star, your wife's sister, going for an appointment with an obstetrics and gynecology specialist in our hospital. A man accompanied her for the examination. I heard that she’s been coming to the hospital for several months." Bianca walked out and heard what he said, so she asked, "Who’s pregnant?" "The second daughter of the Norman family, your sister," Johann replied and was curious why both of them seemed to know nothing about it. Although Bianca and Leia were not related by blood and had a little conflict because of Luke, their relationship should not be so
"… Stuffed pancakes." Luke had never felt so defeated in his life. As he took his hand out of the mixing bowl, pancake batter dripped from his gloves. He furrowed his brows, feeling slightly disgusted. Bianca tried hard not to laugh when she removed the gloves from his hands and washed her hands. "Let me do it." Luke knew that he was not going to succeed, so he stepped aside. Bianca put on the gloves and mixed the pancake batter. Luke had added too much water, so Bianca had to add more flour. Luke wanted to do something instead of just standing there. He cleaned up the chopping board and prepared the stuffing. Soon, the bowl of thin pancake batter was at the right consistency. Luke could not help but be impressed. After that, Bianca chopped up some chives. "Why do you want to make stuffed pancakes instead of normal pancakes early in the morning?" "I heard Tommy talking in his sleep last night." Luke was a light sleeper, and he would easily wake up if he heard any no
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’
“If Abel finds out that Hera's body isn't suitable for organ donation to Kassy, what do you think he'll do?” asked Shanks.He already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Luca’s thoughts.“He has invested a lot of time and money in Hera. If he gets nothing out of it, he won’t let her off easily,” Luca said bluntly.Luca and Shanks were on the same page.They did not have a good relationship with Hera, but they had no intention of ruining her either.Hera’s personality was unpleasant, but that was not enough for them to hate her so much that they wanted to see her suffer.“What methods do you think he’ll use?” Shanks asked again.Luca was silent for a long moment.Shanks already knew the answer, yet he still wanted her to say it out loud.After thinking it over, she finally said, “There are plenty of ways he could go about it, but no matter what he chooses, Hera’s fate is sealed. She’s as good as dead…”She lowered her gaze, her tone firm and certain.Shanks nodded.
Hera heard that Luca had returned and immediately went to find Shanks. She narrowed her eyes.That woman went to see Shanks. Could she be talking about her?The thought made Hera uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with her medical report.However, when they left the medical center earlier, Abel asked Luca when the report would be ready, and she said it would be available tomorrow.Hera turned to Gerald and said, “Take these back for me first.”“Alright.” Gerald carried the bags as he walked away. He could not help but wonder what exactly Hera bought. These bags were really heavy!Only after Gerald went upstairs did Hera slowly make her way up as well. Her room was on the third floor, but she stopped when she reached the second floor. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading toward the laboratory.The door was closed.Instead of knocking, Hera pressed her ear against it, trying to eavesdrop.However, the laboratory was special