Luca sighed when she thought that Tommy would have to go home soon. She sat down next to him and watched the cartoon with him.

“Tommy, has your Daddy been very busy recently?” She tried to find out something from Tommy while they watched the cartoon together.

“Daddy is always very busy,” Tommy answered, though his eyes were transfixed on the television. He did not suspect anything.

Luca hugged a pillow in her arms and continued to ask, “What about your Mommy? Does she know that you’re here to have dinner every day?” This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .

“Mommy?” Tommy thought about his mother and shook his head. “I didn’t tell her. Daddy said that she’s traveling overseas and told us not to disturb her while she’s having fun.”

Luca knew that Luke had deceived the children, but they did not seem to miss her.

She could tell that the impostor Bianca did not love or care for the children. If the impostor Bianca had shown them the least bit of care, things would not have turned out this way.

Tommy turned his head and asked Luca, “Ms. Luca, do you think that I should tell Mommy about this?”

Luca shook her head. “No. I was only curious. You ought to listen to your Daddy. I’m just wondering if you and your elder siblings miss your Mommy because she’s gone for so long.”

“We don’t miss her at all,” Tommy answered without thinking. “Mommy doesn’t like any of us, and she won’t take care of us, unlike the Mommies of other kids.”

Luca’s heart wrenched when she heard Tommy answer the question so readily.

A child as young as him should have been cared for and protected by his parents. Abel’s plan had robbed the three children of the motherly love they deserve.

Luke would not be able to make up for it no matter how hard he tried!

Luca stroked the child’s head. “Maybe your Mommy has her reasons.”

Tommy looked at her doubtfully. The adults had never explained anything to them, and he did not know what those reasons were. “Ms. Luca, you’re so much nicer to me than my Mommy is. She always neglects us, and she would often throw scary tantrums. Daddy is the only person she cares for. If Daddy isn’t home, she won’t be home either. It wasn’t like this before. Mommy used to treat us like how you’re treating me now. Whenever Lanie and Rainie came home from school, she would prepare a plate of fruit for them so that they could eat some fruit when they finished their homework. But Daddy said that Mommy got very sick one day, and she didn’t behave like how she used to. I don’t like my Mommy now. I wish that she’d return to what she was before.”

Luca’s heart wrenched when she heard the little boy’s complaints toward the impostor Bianca, but there was nothing she could do.

The child was old enough to have a mind of his own, and he would remember how his mother had treated him. Luca hoped that his experiences with his mother would not affect his self-esteem in the future.

She wanted to say some words of comfort to the child, but she could not make the words come out of her mouth. Before she knew it, tears welled up in her eyes, and she felt a twinge in her nose.

The doorbell rang.

Luca glanced at the clock. It was already nine o’clock. That was so fast…

She put on her slippers and went to answer the door. The person standing outside the door was not Sean but Luke, which surprised Luca. If he was truly holding the impostor Bianca captive, she must be suffering from the effects of the poison by now. How would he have time to come and pick the child up?

“Good evening, Mr. Crawford,” Luca sniffled and said cautiously.

Luke noticed her bloodshot eyes. “Have you been crying?” He asked.

“No. Some dust got into my eyes just now. Are you here to pick Tommy up?” She opened the door fully to let the man in.

“Mm.” Luke had just returned from the mansion in the outskirts. He noticed that it was almost time, so he told Sean that he would pick up the child instead.

Tommy heard his father, so he hopped off the couch and picked up his backpack. “Why are you here instead of Uncle Sean, Daddy?”

“I was working overtime in my office earlier, and I thought Ms. Luca’s house was along the way,” Luke said. He took Tommy’s hand and led him out of the house.

Luke did not speak much today, but that did not make Luca relieved. Instead, she had an ominous premonition exactly because he did not speak much.

She could guess that the impostor Bianca was about to meet her end.

Luca did not have any sympathy for that woman. After all, she did not deserve any sympathy for what she did to the children.

While Tommy was being led away, he turned around and waved to Luca. “Bye-bye, Ms. Luca.”

“Bye-bye.” Luca waved to him.

Luke abruptly stopped walking and turned around to speak to her, “I’ll pay you Tommy’s expenses at the end of every month. Does this arrangement work for you?”

Luca could tell that he was planning to send Tommy over to have dinner every evening. Even if it were not every evening, it would last for at least a month.

She shook her head. After all, she did not intend to collect any money for cooking for the child. “Tommy doesn’t eat much.”

Luke glanced at his son. He knew how much his son ate. “I’ll pay you at the end of the month. Just send me a message with the total amount,” he said insistently.

Luca nodded but said nothing.

If he insisted on giving her something, she had no chance of refusing it.

Tommy did not pout or sulk when he left Luca’s apartment. He knew that he would be coming back every day.

Luca closed the door only after Luke and Tommy entered the elevator.

She was happy that she got to cook dinner for her son every evening, but it also meant that her interactions with Luke would become more frequent…

Luca did not know what she should feel about that.

She loved Luke. Every time she met him, it felt as though she was sinking deeper.

She could not show that she loved him, and she always had to put up an act.

Luca covered her face. Abel’s minions were monitoring her at all times, and he would eventually know about it. The more interactions she had with Luke, the greater the chances Abel would order her to act against Luke.

She would rather not meet Luke at all.

It was hard to mask her feelings for him. It took her a great deal of effort to pretend that she did not care for him whenever they met.

Her heart would begin to beat faster whenever Luke was near. She had to use her willpower to compose herself.

No one could understand the agony she felt.

Luca sighed. The next moment, her phone began to ring.

She walked over to the couch to pick up her phone. When she saw the string of numbers, she could tell that Abel was not letting her off that easily.

Luca answered the call.

Abel’s voice was immediately heard. “Ivana, you’d better explain your message earlier.”