Luca’s heart warmed up when Tommy’s hand grabbed one of the shopping bags. Sean, who had been waiting next to Tommy, also smiled.

The full shopping bag was quite heavy, and Luca did not want to trouble the child. She shook her head and said, “It’s fine. I can carry it myself. You don’t have to wait for me at the entrance. Just sit in the car next time.”

Tommy grinned childishly and said, “I want to see you as soon as possible, Ms. Luca.”

Sean said, “Master Tommy really likes you. We went upstairs earlier but saw that you’re not home yet, so he insisted on waiting for you at the entrance. I can’t park the car at the entrance, so I parked at the side of the road, and we waited for you.” Text content © .

Luca nodded. The weather was cooling down, but it was not too cold yet, so the child could wait there without suffering any ill effects other than slightly sore legs. However, it would be winter soon, and she did not want the child to wait for her in the cold.

She considered giving him a set of spare keys for the apartment, but she remembered that Luke was keeping a close eye on her. If Tommy had her house keys, Luke would be able to go inside whenever he liked.

She had nothing to hide from Luke, but Luke was a cautious man, and she was worried that he might find something.

After arriving at that thought, she rejected the idea.

She moved both shopping bags to her left hand and held Tommy’s hand with her right. “Alright, let’s go upstairs.”

Tommy held Luca’s hand happily. Sean said, “I’ll be leaving Master Tommy to your care, Dr. Craw. I’ll come back later to pick him up.”

“Alright,” Luca replied and led Tommy into the apartment.

Back at her house, Luca first prepared some cut fruit for Tommy as usual. She saw Tommy taking out several workbooks from his backpack, so she asked him, “Do you have a lot of homework today?”

“It’s not a lot, but I don’t know how to answer some of the questions,” Tommy said with a smile. He actually knew how to do them, but he wanted Luca to guide her.

“Alright, if that’s the case, you can do your homework while I cook dinner. Leave those questions blank, and I’ll come and guide you after I’m done cooking.”

“Okay!” Tommy took his pencil and began to do his homework, and Luca patted his head lovingly.

Lanie and Rainie were already five years old and were in school by the time she married Luke. They inherited Luke’s smart genes, so she did not need to worry about their studies.

Sometimes, she would sit next to them and observe them do their homework, but she did not need to guide them.

She thought that it would be quite fun to guide her children with their homework, and she hoped that she could do it to Tommy. Before he went to school, she was abducted by Abel.

She did not expect that she would get the chance to guide Tommy with his homework.

Luca went into the kitchen, washed her hands, and prepared to cook dinner.

Tommy sat in the living room. Munching on the sliced fruit that Luca prepared for him, he began to do his homework.

Occasionally, Luca would stick her head out and sneak a peek at the child in the living room. She wondered if she should prepare a study desk for Tommy in case Luke continued sending Tommy over to her house.

After cooking dinner, she went to the living room and guided Tommy with her homework. After he completed his homework, she briefly checked each of his workbooks.

Tommy handed a pen to her. “Ms. Luca, now that you’ve watched me complete my homework, you can sign your name at the end of my workbooks.”

Luca took the pen but was immediately taken aback. She shook her head and said, “Shouldn’t your parents sign your workbooks?”

Tommy was also taken aback. What Luca said was correct. Usually, when he finished his homework, either Luke or Old Master Crawford would sign his workbooks. “But you’re the one who guided me, Ms. Luca.”

“How about this? You can put your workbooks away now, and when you get home, you can ask your Great-Grandpa to sign them.” Luca thought that it was not appropriate for her to sign the workbooks.

The teachers at Tommy’s school knew who Luke, Bianca, and Old Master Crawford were. If they saw another name on the workbooks, how was Tommy going to explain it to them?

He could not say that his elder sister guided him. After all, Luca was much too old to be Tommy’s elder sister.

To save the trouble of explaining it to the teacher, she would rather have Old Master Crawford sign the workbooks instead.

Tommy did not argue with her. He put the workbooks in his backpack.

Luca gently pinched his cheeks. “Alright. Are you hungry? Shall we have dinner?”

Tommy nodded and stood up.

Luca pointed at the bathroom. “Go and wash your hands first. I’ll set the table.”

Tommy nodded and went to the bathroom while humming a tune.

Luca smiled when she heard the tune. She had often sung that tune to him while he was a baby. She did not expect him to still remember the tune after three years and would inadvertently hum it.

She went into the kitchen, took the dishes out, and spread them on the dining table. She had prepared an insulated plate for Tommy.

Tommy washed his hands and sat at the dining table. He looked at the pasta on his plate and asked, “Ms. Luca, why does the color of the pasta look different this time?”

“It’s made of organic millet instead of wheat. It’s better for your health,” Luca answered as she handed Tommy his cutlery. She knew that Tommy was a picky eater, and he needed the nourishment so that he could recover from his illness more quickly.

She tried to improve Tommy’s health through food. Even the fruits that she had prepared for Tommy earlier were different.

“You’re so kind, Ms. Luca.” Tommy ate a bite and did not seem to reject it.

The cook at Crawford Manor had also tried to use different grains when preparing the children’s meals, but they did not like it. After that, Old Master Crawford forbade her from using different grains while cooking.

That was why Tommy did not know about other types of grains.

After dinner was cartoon time. Earlier, Luca had only prepared half of the fruit for Tommy. She washed and sliced the rest of the fruit and served them on a plate.

“Time for some more fruit, Tommy,” Luca said.

Tommy clapped his hands excitedly, sat on the couch, and picked up a piece of fruit.

Luca glanced at the clock. “Did Uncle Sean say when he’ll come over to pick you up?”

Tommy nodded and said, “Uncle Sean said that he’ll pick me up at nine o’clock.”

Luca nodded. It was already half-past eight. The child would have to leave in another half an hour.

She noticed that every time Tommy came to her house, he would be very reluctant to leave. Luca tried to compose herself, but she was actually very reluctant too.

However, she was only “Ms. Luca” and not his mother. What right did she have to claim the child as her own?