Jean squinted his eyes and looked at her red and swollen cheeks without a semblance of compassion. Instead, he felt resentment.
Marie saw that he did not respond, so she immediately pounced and hugged him. “Jean, I really love you. Don't give up on our relationship okay?"
Jean listened to her weeping with disgust and said, "You can't lie to me anymore."
"I swear, I'll never lie to you again! Let's live a happy life together, okay?" Marie reassured him.
It occurred to Jean that Marie still had the Rayne family behind her, and he became gentle. He touched her red and swollen face and asked in a low voice, "Does it hurt?"
Marie nodded.
"I did this because I got too angry just now. I'm sorry. Don't be angry at me," Jean apologized. He knew that Marie wanted to get close to him for a reason, but at the same time, he had an ulterior motive for getting close to her as well
The reason he overreacted was that he had just found out from Nina that Marie set him up.
After Marie explained things, he was no longer mad.
"I'm not angry with you. I did do some things that hurt you. Jean, after being through so much together, please don't give up on me." Marie hugged him.
Jean pushed her away and said, "I won't leave you. Sit down. I'll go get you an ice pack."
After saying that, he walked into the kitchen.
Marie's pitiful appearance changed instantly. She looked at a certain corner in the living room with sad yet vicious eyes.
Nina...
Jean...
She must remember what they did to her and make them fall into an abyss of doom!
In the Rayne family's house.
After Old Man Rayne and Old Master Crawford were done enjoying their snacks, they continued playing chess. Luca sat aside and watched with great interest.
She would even talk to the old masters from time to time.
Wanda was doing some work in her little workshop. She was at ease as Luca was there to help look after the old masters.
When it was 4:30 in the afternoon, Luca glanced at the time and realized that it was time for her to go pick up the children.
If she was late, Lanie and Rainie would understand, but Tommy, the little one who did not want to go to calligraphy class in the first place, would have something to say.
Luca saw that the two old masters were still playing chess, so she waited for a while. When the game was over, she said, “Grandpa Rayne, I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving."
Old Man Rayne stopped rearranging the chess pieces and looked at her, "So soon? Aren't you staying for dinner?"
Luca laughed when she heard him persuade her to stay. She wanted to spend more time with the old man too, but now was now the time. "No, I have some things to do, and I've promised some other people."
"It's a pity. I was going to ask Wanda to cook more food tonight." Disappointment could be seen in Old Man Rayne's eyes.
Very few young people could sit here and watch them play for more than an hour. This showed that Luca was patient, and the old man liked patient people.
Old Master Crawford guessed that the people Luca said she had made a promise to were the three children, so he assisted her and said, "The most important thing for young people is to keep their promises. Don't make things difficult for Luca."
"Alright, let Wanda send you off." Old Man Rayne agreed with Old Master Crawford's words that one should keep their promises.
Before Luca could say no, the old master had already called for Wanda, "Wanda, come out for a moment."
His voice was sonorous when he called for her, which made Luca smile. It seemed like his health was getting better every day. He was completely different from back then when he always experienced shortness of breath.
Wanda walked out of the workshop and asked curiously, "Dad, what's wrong?"
"Luca wants to leave. Please send her off," said Old Man Rayne.
Wanda looked at Luca and urged her to stay. "Going back so soon? Why don't you stay for dinner?"
"I can't, Aunt Rayne. I've made an appointment with others, so I have to keep my word," said Luca.
Wanda could only nod and send Luca downstairs.
When they arrived at the entrance, Luca picked up the jacket that had been dried off by the maid. When she saw Wanda put on her jacket as well, she hurriedly said, "Aunt Rayne, you can just see me off here.
I'll go out by myself. It's cold outside."
"It's not a big deal. I'll wear something warm. I won't freeze no matter how cold it is," Wanda insisted on sending her off.
Luca had no choice but to agree as her Aunt Wanda was very stubborn.
They both walked out the door and to the entrance of the neighborhood.
While walking, Wanda asked, "Luca, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," said Luca as she could guess what she was about to ask.
“Do you have a boyfriend?" asked Wanda. Original from .
Luca was stunned as she did not expect her to ask such a question. “No."
“I was just curious. I hope you don't mind." Wanda did not say that she was going to introduce her to someone after Luca said that she did not have a boyfriend like how others would. She just wanted to make sure of something.
“I don't mind. Besides, I don't think I have time for things like dating, mainly because I'm too busy right now. My career is still on the rise, and I don't want to waste time on relationships," Luca said with duplicity.
She used to devote her time to love, and at that time, she constantly put in the effort to become good enough to stand beside Luke.
However, it seemed like now, she could only keep herself busy with work without even thinking about Luke or her love life.
“I heard from Luke that you stayed abroad before this, right?" Wanda smiled.
“Yes, I went abroad with my mother." Luca lowered her gaze and lied.
“The mindset abroad is very different from here, but no matter what, follow your own gut," said Wanda as she mentioned Bianca. “My niece wanted to focus on her studies, but my brother unexpectedly fell sick, so she did a lot of things to take care of him, and her studies got delayed. She went through a lot to go abroad. After she returned, she wanted to focus on her career, but little did she know that she would fall in love and get married. I didn't think that she would be able to juggle both her family and her career. Unfortunately, later..."
“I heard that Brilliant Architectural Design LLC was established by the CEO's wife?" Luca listened to Wanda lamenting her past and got a heartache.
She also felt pity for what could have been. Unfortunately, she was powerless, and she could only watch as the past evolved into the way it was now.
“Yes, it seems like you know a lot too. But after she went abroad to study, the company went under Luke's management," said Wanda.
“I've heard about it," said Luca, and before she knew it, she had arrived at the gate. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Wanda. “Aunt Rayne, you can just see me off here. My car is just parked right outside."