Still, having a child was Vivian's wish now.Vivian thought that she could wait until after she graduated and had a stable job. Then, she could adopt a child from an orphanage.The thought brought a smile to her face, deepening her anticipation for a bright future.After the kids delivered their gifts, they sat down quietly to read. Around five in the afternoon, the invited guests began to arrive.Luke also wrapped up his work and came downstairs to greet the guests. Even though he was the esteemed Mr. Crawford, the attendees were all his friends and family. Hence, he did not put on airs. Instead, he chatted with a few friends while accompanied by Lanie.The men mainly talked about work. There had been quite a few developments in A City recently. For instance, the bidding for the suburban development was about to start, and they were determined to win this project. Luke had not invited the Norman family to avoid any conflicts of interest because of the bidding project.More
"If you don't know something, no one will help you. Drinking without eating? Watch your stomach. You're already a loner, and if you end up in the hospital, no one will take care of you. It's really pathetic." Gale's words were harsh.Gordan rolled his eyes. "Some friend you are, cursing me like that!"Gale shrugged his shoulders and handed him some grilled beef. "You do look pretty pitiful. Here, have some. This is Dr. Craw's homemade marinated beef. It's better than anything you'd get outside."Gordan knew Luca was a great cook. He raised his eyebrows. Even though he had not eaten all day, he was not particularly interested in food at the moment.As he looked at the beef Gale handed to him, he pondered for a moment before taking it from him.Even though he did not have an appetite, he knew he needed to eat something. Otherwise, his body would suffer, making it difficult to carry out any tasks later.He took a bite.The beef was brought over by Gale from Rain. It was a bit charr
"Why don't you just sit a bit farther away?" Gordan wanted to switch places with Gale. Everyone else had someone helping them with the barbecue except for him and Louis.Even Gale had Rain as a great partner to help him out. However, Louis' situation was different. He was single. Louis’ wife and kids could not come because they had other commitments. That was why he was barbecuing alone.Gale, holding a glass of wine, looked at him cheerfully. "I won't. If you want to switch places with me, why don’t you fight me for it?""Do you think I'm afraid of you?!" Gordan, a bit tipsy, felt unusually frustrated with today's barbecue and had no objections to Gale’s suggestion.Just as Gale was about to stand up, Luke's steady voice interrupted them, "Sit down."Gale immediately sat down and said, "It's a barbecue. No fighting today."Gordan sneered, "You're the one who brought it up."Gale took a sip of his wine, pointed behind him, and reminded him, "There are kids here. Fighting in fr
Luca understood the meaning in Luke's eyes. Even though she did not agree, she continued to grill the meat without saying much.Vivian also witnessed the scene. Although unsure of what was happening, she felt a bit worried. Hence, she asked in a soft voice, "Luca, are they okay?""It's nothing, just a conversation between a mother and son." Luca shook her head, refraining from gossiping to Vivian about Louis and Susan.Vivian was not one to pry. The reason she asked was because she could not shake off her concern seeing that both of their expressions were not quite right. When Luca said that, she did not press further. She simply nodded and passed over her already-cooked food to Luca. "I can't finish all this. Could you help me with some?"She noticed Luca either passed the cooked food to Luke or the kids, hardly eating anything herself.Luca accepted it and replied, "Thank you. You're really good at grilling."Vivian modestly responded, "During the university's anniversary cel
"Invading your privacy? Are you kidding me? You're my son! It's only right that I do this!" Susan did not feel she was in the wrong at all. She let out a cold sneer and added, "Louis, I raised you and let you grow up safely in such a complex family environment. "Now that you've grown up, you can't wait to soar free, huh? Let me tell you, you can't ignore me. No matter what, I'm still your mother, got it? I'm your mother, and you have to listen to me. So, move back here!""I'm not moving back." Louis took a deep breath, restraining the anger inside him.In his eyes, Susan's every move seemed excessively controlling. He used to understand her strong need for control, especially when the heir to the family had not been determined yet. He could understand how difficult it was for Susan to accept his father taking in another woman and even having a child with her. Hence, he would cooperate with her and satisfy her maternal desire for control.Now, he did not feel the need to comply w
"Listen carefully, I'm not going to repeat myself. I'm not going back to work at T Corporation, and I'm not moving back home. You'd better give up on that idea,” repeated Louis.Susan, trembling with anger, replied, "Louis, have you considered that I'm your mother? I'm not young anymore. What if something happens to me in the villa and you're not around—"Louis interrupted her, "You're my mother, so of course, I won't ignore you. As long as you stop frantically trying to find me like before, I'll unblock your phone number. Besides, there's a live-in maid at home. If one isn't enough, I'll hire two more to take care of you. "If anything happens, the maids will inform me immediately,” explained Louis. He never intended to leave Susan alone in the villa.Susan was not young anymore. He would feel more at ease with two more maids looking after her. Plus, his company was doing well, so hiring a couple more maids was no big deal."Fine, if you're not coming back, then don't ever come
As they talked about what Old Master Crawford did, Louis could not help but feel resigned.However, the old master's intentions were good. He just could not bear to see Louis be looked down on by the others, so it was not really his fault. Since Old Master Crawford was the one behind this whole thing, Louis could not say much about it.Louis let out a light sigh.Luke said, "Grandpa is tired of Mother's nagging. If you talk to her, she won't bother Grandpa anymore."Susan's request was simple. She wanted Louis to move back. Whether he moved back or not did not matter much. As long as they had a conversation, Susan would stop returning to Crawford Manor to bother Old Master Crawford and force him to intervene.Louis understood. Even though it was Old Master Crawford's mistake, only he could resolve it at this point. It would be good for Susan to know that he had no intention of selling his company. That way, she would not hold onto such thoughts.After all, he had invested a l
Luke nodded and asked, "How much did they offer?""It's quite a sum. Helping with the kidnapping nets one million while escorting the person onto the plane fetches two million," answered Gordan. He felt a bit regretful thinking about not being able to earn this money himself. "I'm missing out on two million dollars in income.""Are you in need of that two million dollars?" Gale could not help but tease him when he saw the expression on Gordan’s face. "You’re hurting because of women, not money.""You're the one who’s hurting because of women." Gordan rolled his eyes. He accidentally had an embarrassing moment yesterday, and today, Gale could not stop bringing it up.It seemed he should be more cautious about choosing drinking companions next time. Drinking with a stranger was better than drinking with Gale, the unreliable friend.Percy did not tease Gordan but instead asked about the reward offered by the Abaza family, "Is this price reasonable?""It's in US dollars," Gordan adde