Nina held her arms and shook her head.

The TV in the VIP room was turned on. The TV was broadcasting the news that the Johnston family had made bad investments and lost a lot of money.

Whenever they mentioned the Johnston family, they would definitely mention the Mallory family too. Nina's expression changed when she was watching the news about the union between the Johnston family and the Mallory family through marriage. She changed the TV channel without listening to what the news was broadcasting.

Luca watched everything she did. She picked up the business magazine in front of her. It was today's issue, and it reported about the Johnston family's matter. It even analyzed the current situation of the Mallory family. She handed the magazine to Nina.

Nina took it from her. She closed the magazine when she saw the words 'Mallory family.' "What's so great about it?"

Luca looked at Nina, who ignored every piece of news that was related to Percy. She asked curiously, “Nina, you came out today to avoid Percy, right?”

Nina put the magazine on the coffee table and looked at her helplessly.

"You can't avoid some people forever. I heard that the reason why the Johnston family made bad investments was that someone plotted against them behind their backs. Nina, who do you think set the Johnston family up?" Luca asked. She was smart, so she knew what Luca meant.

Nina shook her head, pretending to be confused. "I'm just an ordinary person. How can I possibly know so much about this?"

The shop assistant served two cups of coffee. After Luca took one and thanked her, she stirred her cup of coffee slowly. She did not continue to talk to Nina.

The sudden silence made Nina feel uneasy. She stirred her coffee as well and waited for Luca's reply.

However, Luca never spoke.

In the end, Nina could no longer stand it and asked, "Umm, what's this all about?"

"I'm also just an ordinary person," Luca repeated the same thing Nina said to her. She took a sip of the bitter-tasting coffee and looked at Nina.

Nina felt uncomfortable and was struck dumb at Luca's response. She tucked her loose hair behind her ears and blinked her eyes. "But you're much better than me."

Luca smiled and said, "No, I just listen more. If you'd like to know more about some matters, it's best to ask the party involved. Give him a chance to make things clear. By doing so, you're also giving yourself another chance. Nina, running away is not an option. Even though he's giving you the chance to escape now, you can't run away from him forever.”

Nina fell silent listening to her words of advice.

Running away from Percy was easier said than done.

Luca was right. She could run away from him now because he had yet to back her into a corner. However, once he made his move, she would not even have the chance to escape.

After a while, the manager brought the altered gown in. “Ms. Craw, the gown has been altered. Do you want to try it on?"

"There's no need to. I'm in a rush. Wrap it up for me please," answered Luca. She did not intend to put it on. She did not plan to go to the birthday party after all.

Just like what Nina said, she was merely an ordinary person. Who was she to attend the birthday party?

The manager was startled for a moment. Usually, the people who came to pick their gowns were very meticulous. They would try on the gowns after the gowns were altered.

After all, they were only responsible for after-sales service once the customers brought the goods out of the store. They were not responsible for any refunds on goods.

When the manager noticed that Luca could not even be bothered to try the gown, she did not think too much about it anymore as well. It was not like she would be getting paid extra for this. Hence, she went to pack the gown.

After wrapping up the gown, the shop assistant also carried the jewelry that had been wrapped up over to them. "This is the jewelry set that Ms. Craw picked."

The manager was slightly startled when she saw that the jewelry set was the representative piece of their collection. Luca, who looked reluctant just now, had chosen the most expensive jewelry.

Luca was a tough customer. The manager did not notice it just now. She was in awe when she looked at Luca now.

After everything was packed, the manager carried the things and placed them in front of Luca respectfully.

Luca stood up and asked, "How much in total?"

The manager was startled for a moment. She was the one paying?

When she saw Luca taking her card out of her purse, she quickly said, "Mr. Crawford told us that these are for you. You only have to bring them home. We'll settle the bill with Mr. Crawford."

Of course, Luca knew Luke was giving them to her as a gift. However, she dared not to accept these things, especially when she was with Nina.

"Let me pay for it." Luca handed her bank card to the manager.

The manager smiled and shook her head. It was her first time encountering such a situation. "Ms. Craw, you only have to bring these home. You don't have to do anything else."

Nina grabbed the bank card Luca was holding in her hand and put it back into her purse. "Since Luke is giving these to you, you should just accept them."

"That's not good..." Luca frowned. When she was about to stand her ground, Nina carried the bags and said, "Let's go. It's getting late. Time for dinner."

Luca had no choice but to let Nina take her hand and leave.

Both of them left the store and chose to dine in at a restaurant nearby.

After they placed their order, Luca glanced at the two wrapped boxes in the bags and let out a sigh.

"Why are you sighing?" Nina asked.

"I've done nothing to deserve these. The gown and jewelry are so expensive. I'd like to pay for them," Luca said. She was not short of money either.

She was surprised by Luke's arrangement.

It would still make sense if she were Bianca, but she was using another identity now. It made her think a lot when Luke treated her this way.

Did he have feelings for her?

However, it did not seem like that to her when she thought of how he usually behaved. She felt exhausted to constantly guess what was on Luke's mind.

"He's doing it on purpose. Stop putting the shop assistants in a difficult spot." Nina could see through everything clearly and said calmly.

Luca nodded her head.

The waiter served them two glasses of juice and placed them in front of them. Nina took a sip of the juice. Her face suddenly turned pale white when she looked around. owns all content.

Luca was attentive enough to notice that something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Nina came back to her senses and said, "Percy's mother is looking at us."

Luca turned around with some confusion. She saw a middle-aged woman who was well-dressed walking toward them. She took a closer look and noticed that Percy had eyes like hers.

It was her first time seeing Percy's mother. She had a noble aura. She was elegant and graceful, but she did not look friendly.

"Should we leave?" Luca asked.

"We can't run away from this." Nina shook her head and took another sip of the juice. She still could not face Percy's mother calmly.

Even though she had nothing to do with that man anymore, she was like a mouse when she was facing his family. Meanwhile, they were the cats who wanted the mouse dead.

Nina could not accept this. She did not do anything wrong but was treated in such a way. It felt.

Horrible.

Madam Mallory came forward and looked at them. She noticed the bags that Luca had put on the chair. A hint of disdain flashed across her eyes.

She had never seen Luca before. Hence, she knew that Luca was not a socialite in A City.