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"Yes, I know," Luca murmured against his chest, her voice muffled.
She had not made up her mind yet, so she did not plan on saying anything. She just
wanted to hug him and breathe in his familiar scent.
Luke Crawford was the man she loved the most...
Luke waited for a while but did not hear Luca continue. He knew she still had not made up
her mind to speak.
His chest was a tumultuous mix, brimming with warmth but also a profound sense of
helplessness toward Luca.
She still could not bring herself to say it at this moment. Luke had no choice but to give
her some more time.
"Hmm, it's getting late. I need to go to work." Luca felt her strength returning to her body
and slowly raised her head, looking at the man's resolute jawline.
"Okay, come back early tonight if possible. I promised the kids we'd go out for dinner,"
replied Luke.
Luca wanted to agree immediately, but she frowned at the thought of the recent rumors.
This scandal had shaken Wanda and Queenie. She did not have the courage to be seen in
public with Luke at this moment.
If the reporters caught wind of anything, it would be even more distressing for both of
them, who were already in the hospital.
Luca hesitated and felt anxious.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine." Luke reassured her. "It's just a small restaurant. A friend of Mr.
Doyle owns it. He has everything arranged, and it's a private setting. Only the restaurant
owner and his wife will be there, no one else.
“The owner’s lips are sealed tight. He won't gossip about anything,” added Luke to assure
her. “The kids haven't dined out for a long time. They know you've been down lately.
That’s why they suggested this. We shouldn’t disappoint them, right?"
What Luke said at the end left Luca with no room to refuse.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAfter all that had happened recently, her kids had seen right through her emotions. She
thought she had hidden them well, but they still knew her all too well...
"Okay," Luca agreed. She trusted Luke's choice of location, believing that reporters would
not discover them there.
After she agreed, Luke let her go. "It's getting late. Go to work. I need to prepare for work
as well."
"I'll head out to work first," said Luca. Her research group had a lot of work to do today,
especially after yesterday's unfinished experiment.
"Okay." Luke went into the master bedroom to change into his work clothes.
Throughout the day, Luca had consumed several cups of coffee to keep herself focused
and prevent her mind from wandering.
However, her work efficiency still decreased after what had happened yesterday.
As she left the lab at the end of the day, she looked at the experiments she had not
completed. She felt helpless.
She had overestimated her ability to focus on her work.
There was no way she could work properly when she was dealing with personal troubles.
Rhett approached her with some documents in his hands, noticing her absent-minded
look. He asked in a low voice, "Dr. Craw, what's the matter with you?"
"It's nothing." Luca came back to her senses, knowing that there was no way she could
share her personal troubles with her colleagues. She shook her head and glanced at the
documents in Rhett's hands. "Is this the experimental data?"
"Yes, it's the experimental data," answered Rhett as he handed over the documents.
"Alright. Let's call it a day for now. I'll take the documents home to review. The rest of you
can go home." Luca did not forget what Luke had said in the morning. She did not want to
disappoint her children.
That was why she decided to leave work at a normal time.
She did not want the other researchers to work overtime as well since she was getting off
work.
"Understood, Dr. Craw," replied the other researchers, but they did not leave immediately.
They needed to tidy up their workspaces before leaving.
Luca exited the lab first.
One of the researchers watched her leave and could not help but mutter, "Why does it feel
like Dr. Craw hasn't been herself these past couple of days?"
"I have the same feeling. Maybe something's bothering her," another researcher replied.
They were puzzled because the rumors about Luca and Luke had already been clarified.
There were no reporters bothering them either.
"What else could it be? Everything has been cleared up, hasn't it? Unless..." The
researcher who was speaking stopped and did not continue.
Could it be that Luca was preoccupied due to the recent clarification?
Or was it that the relationship between her and Luke had truly ended after the scandal?
Was that why Luca was in such a state?
The group of researchers made guesses, but they dared not continue discussing it. Such
matters were not suitable to be discussed in the office.
If someone secretly recorded their conversation and shared it with Evan Turner or Luca,
they would risk losing their jobs.
Evan had even held a special meeting in the company to prohibit employees from
discussing Luca's personal matters previously, let alone sharing them with the media.
Any breach of this policy would result in immediate termination, and legal action would be
taken against the person responsible.
After that meeting, the entire company was cautious when it came to Luca's personal
affairs. They dared not to gossip about her, and they avoided discussing it behind her
back.
Rhett heard their conversation, cleared his throat, and said, "Let's call it a day for now."
"Yes, let's go home. Knowing our research schedule, we'll probably have to work day and
night in the future. We should cherish these days when we don't have to work overtime,"
said one of the researchers.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAfter they tidied up everything, they did not linger in the laboratory. Instead, they left
together.
Luca took a ride in Warren's car back to the villa.
Her three children had already finished school and were busy completing their homework
as quickly as possible since they were going out for dinner tonight. When they saw Luca
return, they greeted her briefly before continuing with their work.
Luca entered the kitchen. There was no need to prepare dinner tonight, so Aunt Neile was
busy preparing breakfast for the next day. She had already prepared the ingredients.
This way, she could arrive a bit later when she came over tomorrow and also speed up the
breakfast preparation.
"Aunt Neile, you don't have to prepare dinner tonight. You may leave early," said Luca
when she noticed that Aunt Neile was still working. It was a rare occasion that she did not
need to prepare dinner, so she wanted Aunt Neile to go home early.
"Sure, Ms. Craw. I'll prepare the burger patties first and head home afterward," Aunt Neile
happily agreed. She held a knife in each hand, manually chopping the patties.
Hand-chopped patties had a better texture than machine-processed patties. After finishing
the task, she placed the minced meat in a large bowl and began seasoning it.
When Aunt Neile noticed that Luca was still watching her, she asked, "Ms. Craw, would you
like to do the seasoning? The kids love your cooking. If you season the patties, they might
enjoy the food even more. Who knows, they might have an extra burger?"
"Sure." Luca did not refuse. After she walked to the sink and washed her hands, she took
the large bowl from Aunt Neile and added the seasonings to the meat.
Aunt Neile usually followed Luca's recipes for the exact measurements, even using a
kitchen scale to weigh the seasonings.
Aunt Neile watched Luca season the meat. Luca did not use the kitchen scale but added
the ingredients one by one in the same order before mixing them in thoroughly. Aunt Neile
could not help but marvel. "Ms. Craw, it's like you've got a scale in your mind..." "After
doing tons of experiments, I can pretty much eyeball how much seasoning I need,"
explained Luca.
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