Ch. 2281..2290

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2281-Lanie pinched Tommy's face and corrected him, "Daddy was afraid that we would catch a cold."

"Yeah, don't blame it on Daddy," Rainie chimed in.

"Hmph, both of you stood at the door and waited with me yesterday. Why are you siding with Daddy today?" Tommy said, dissatisfied. He liked his Mommy better. After all, their mommy was much more gentle than Daddy.

Luca smiled and looked at the kids with her gleaming eyes.

"Okay, my young masters and young lady, that's enough. Let's go have some breakfast." Aunt Neile looked at Luca and said, "Ms. Craw, you must be hungry. You didn't have much of the oats that I prepared for you yesterday. Do you want to eat oats or noodles today?"

"Oats, please." Luca decided. Her mouth tasted bitter because of the medicine.

"Okay, give me a minute." Aunt Neile walked into the kitchen, brought them breakfast, and placed the specially prepared oats in front of Luca.

"Dr. Park said you need to eat more nutritious food, so I made oats and added some nuts on top so that it would be tastier. Ms. Craw, eat it while it's hot. The nuts taste best when they're a little crispy."

"Thank you." Luca enjoyed the aroma of the oats and realized that she was hungry.

After all, she only had a bowl of oats to eat since the previous day. No matter how much she ate on a daily basis, a bowl of oats was far from enough.

Luca quickly finished the bowl of oats and headed into the kitchen for another.

When she saw that, Aunt Neile said with a smile, "Eat more. When your appetite increases, your body will recover faster."

"Aunt Neile, the oats you made are so fragrant. I'll eat them for lunch as well. I don't feel like eating anything else," Luca said. She did not intend to help Aunt Neile cook.

With her current body, even if Aunt Neile agreed to help her, she would not dare.

She still had germs in her body and did not want the food she cooked for children to be a medium of infection.

"Okay, no problem. I'll make you anything that you want to eat!" Aunt Neile said. She liked Luca from the bottom of her heart.

When she was a maid at Crawford Manor, every mistress had been arrogant to her. If she was a little careless, she risked being fired at any time.

However, Luca had a good personality, high education, good looks, and a great attitude. Luca was always very sympathetic to Aunt Neile. As such, she liked Luca very much.

"I just want oats. Please check what Lanie and the others want to eat and cook them whatever they want," Luca said. She thought of Luke and asked, "Will Mr. Crawford be home for lunch today?"

"Mr. Crawford seems to be very busy. He said he won't be back for dinner, but he left a message." Aunt Neile replied with a smile.

"What did he say?" Luca was a little curious.

"Sir told me to keep an eye on you and make sure that you're eating enough." Aunt Neile cheerfully placed some nuts on her porridge oats bowl and said, "You're the person that Mr. Crawford worries about most."

"Nah. I'm going to have my oats now." Luca blushed, walked out of the kitchen, and sat on a chair.

Tommy was two seats away from her but could see the flush on Luca's face.

He remembered that Luca's face was the same when she was feeling uncomfortable the day prior. He suddenly became worried and asked, "Ms. Luca, your face is so red. Do you have a fever again?"

"Huh?" Luca touched her face only to realize that it was a little warm.

However, the warmth that she was feeling was different from the warmth she felt when she had a fever.

She was blushing because of what Aunt Neile said...

When she had a fever, the skin all over her body was hot. As such, she was sure that she did not have a fever. She shook her head and said, "I'm okay. It's not a fever. The temperature in the kitchen is a little high, so it's a little hot. I'll be fine in a while."

After that, she remembered what Luke told Aunt Neile. She hurriedly lowered her head and ate the oats.

"Is Ms. Luca really all right?" Tommy looked at his brother worriedly.

"She's blushing. She doesn't have a fever." Lanie was a smart little kid. He could tell at a glance that Luca was just blushing and it had nothing to do with her being sick.

Tommy trusted Lanie. At the same time, he said impatiently, "Brother, why do you know everything?!"

"I've told you to read more books. Reading books can increase your knowledge." Lanie glanced at his brother. Although he was younger than them, he and Rainie liked to read books when they were his age.

In stark contrast, Tommy's favorite pastime was playing puzzle games and watching cartoons.

He was completely different from the twins.

He would have thought that Tommy was adopted if their Mommy was not watched by a lot of people and Tommy looked more and more like their daddy the older he got.

"I do read. I'll read later," Tommy said immediately.

"You'd better read the whole book. I'll reward you if you finish it," Lanie looked at his brother, pursed his lips, and said coolly.

"Okay, Brother. Remember what you said. You're a bad guy if I don't get my reward after I finish a book!" Tommy's eyes lit up when he heard the word 'reward'.

Luca listened to their conversation but did not get involved.

It was also a kind of happiness to listen to them talk without saying a word.

After breakfast, Tommy did what he said and took Lanie by the hand before they went upstairs.

New Year's was approaching, and the weather has not been the best. Hence, all the extracurricular activities they signed up for had been suspended.

As such, the kids did not have to go to school.

Tommy was the happiest about not having to go to school. He thought he could enjoy some time off, but Tommy did not dare to make a fuss yesterday because Luca was sick. He took the initiative to read when he was triggered by Lanie.

The three children were reading upstairs, and Luca was left alone.

She sat in the living room watching the news reports.

When it was time for entertainment news, she saw that news that Leia was sick had broken out.

Luca could not help but frown.

'The Normans had always kept a low profile. How did the reporters know that Leia is sick?'

Luca watched the news. Although Leia used to be a star, the TV channels did not seem to be very interested in her being sick. News about her was mentioned in a hurry before they quickly moved on to talk about the latest developments in a pop star and his new girlfriend.

Luca smiled.

Aunt Neile walked to her with a fruit bowl and put it in front of Luca. "Ms. Craw, eat some fruits. They're rich with vitamins."

"Okay, thank you, Aunt Neile." Luca thanked her. She thought of the three children who were reading books upstairs and said, "Aunt Neile, please bring some fruits and other snacks to Lanie and the others so that they would have something to snack on as they read."

"It's all ready. I'll send it to them later," Aunt Neile replied. She praised Luca in her heart for being so kind to the children.

If she had not caught a cold, she would have been upstairs reading with the children.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2282-"Mm, sounds great. Thank you for your hard work." Luca smiled at her.

"No worries, no worries at all," Aunt Neile said as she returned to the kitchen.

After the news broadcast, Luca switched to another channel and wanted to watch international news.

The phone beside her rang.

She picked her phone up and looked at it. It was Tina calling.

Luca looked at the flashing screen, and her mood sank. She did not answer immediately because she knew that it was likely that Tina called to talk about Amur.

'Amur just left. How would Tina know?'

Luca still decided to answer Tina's call.

"Dr. Craw, how's your schedule today?" Tina, who was on the other end of the phone, asked.

Luca could hear that Tina's tone was a little hesitant. She guessed that she must have struggled for a while before she called her.

"I'm not busy. What's the matter?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Why is your voice so hoarse?" Tina noticed that something was wrong with her voice.

"Mm, I accidentally caught a cold yesterday and my throat is a little inflamed. Is everything okay, Tina?" Luca picked up the remote control and turned down the volume of the TV.

"You have a cold? In that case, forget about it. It's nothing important. I'll hang up now. You have a good rest and get well soon." Tina did not dare to disturb her when she learned that Luca was ill.

Both she and Jason knew how important Luca was to Luke.

What Luca needed most was rest. She should not be disturbed.

"Tina, wait a minute." Luca glanced in the direction of the dining room. Aunt Neile walked out from there and went upstairs with a tray.

"What's wrong?" Tina asked slowly.

"You want to talk about Amur, right?" Luca probed. Tina rarely bothered her. Every time she talked to her privately, it was about Amur.

"Mm, it's not something important. Dr. Craw, you should get some rest." Tina admitted to it but did not continue to pursue the matter.

There were some things that she wanted to clarify face-to-face, but Luca was clearly not in the best state to head out.

Tina worried that Luke would give her trouble if Luca's condition got worse because of her.

"It's okay. Just ask me what you want to." Luca said, "I'm not sure how Amur managed the situation with you, but if there are some things that he didn't give you an answer for, I'll answer you on his behalf."

"I'm not sure if it's best to discuss this on the phone." Tina sounded a little depressed.

"Why don't you come here, then? I can't go out in my current condition." Luca felt bad when she heard Tina's tone.

"Are you sure that you're okay with that?" Tina hesitated. She did not feel good disturbing Luca's rest for a crush.

It was not like her to do something like that. "Don't worry about it. Dr. Craw, you have a good rest."

"It's okay. Do you know my address?" Luca asked.

"I do..." Tina thought about it for a while and decided to visit Luca.

Amur refused to tell her why he had to leave, so she wanted to try her luck with Luca.

At the very least, she wanted to put an end to her crush.

"I'll wait for you, then." Luca hung up the phone for fear that Tina would continue to hesitate.

Aunt Neile came down after she brought some fruits and snacks upstairs. When Luca saw her, she said, "Aunt Neile, can I trouble you to prepare some refreshments? We'll have a guest later."

"Okay, Ms. Craw. Is it a mister or a miss who would be visiting?" Aunt Neile asked. She was deciding what tea to make based on the gender of the guest.

"It's a lady," Luca said. "However, she doesn't seem to like drinking floral tea, so you can prepare a pot of coffee instead."

"Understood." Aunt Neile walked into the kitchen and began to grind coffee beans.

Luca turned up the volume on the TV and continued to watch the news.

The doorbell rang almost an hour later.

Luca picked up the handset of the videophone and confirmed that Tina had arrived at the gate of the community before she pressed the button to allow her to come in.

Tina had been here before, so she knew which household to head to.

Luca walked to the kitchen door and said to Aunt Neile, "Aunt Neile, the guest is arriving."

"Okay, I'll take the coffee out right away." Aunt Neile glanced back at her before she put the coffee for Tina and the fruit tea for Luca on the tray. She carried it to the living room.

After she placed them on the coffee table, Aunt Neile said, "Ms. Craw, do you need me to prepare some fruits?"

"We can decide later," Luca said. She guessed that Tina would not be in the mood to eat.

She was more curious about how Tina found out that Amur had left.

After a while, the doorbell rang.

This time, Tina had arrived at the door of the villa, so Luca went to open the door and then stood at the entrance to wait for Tina.

After a while, she saw Tina slowly walking in with an umbrella in her hand.

It was not a working day, so Tina did not wear formal clothes but instead wore a black coat that highlighted her exquisite figure.

Her hair was loose. She appeared lazy but noble.

Luca sighed in her heart about what a pity it was that Amur and Tina could not end up together...

Someone like Tina would have many suitors. Unfortunately, Amur was not the lucky man.

"Dr. Craw..." Tina walked into the room to greet her. She had used delicate makeup to cover up her haggardness, but the sorrows in her voice could not be concealed.

"You didn't rest well yesterday?" Luca took a step back to keep her distance.

"How did you know?" Tina's mouth twitched.

Luca could see that her smile was bitter. Tina did not look well. If she did not know her, she would not be able to imagine what she usually looked like in the workplace.

"Although you put on makeup, it can't hide your haggardness." Luca said, "I asked Aunt Neile to prepare some refreshments for you. Let's have your shoes changed."

Tina nodded, took off her high heels, and put on a pair of flat-bottomed disposable slippers.

She followed Luca inside.

Since she had been here, she did not care much for the decorations. She was led by Luca to sit on the sofa.

Luca was sitting a little far away from her. "I have a cold. I won't infect you if I keep some distance."

"It's okay, Dr. Craw." Tina heard her hoarse voice and felt a little guilty.

"Have some coffee. Let me know what you think of Aunt Neile's skills." Luca did not rush Tina to express her thoughts. After all, she had just come in from outside and needed to warm herself up.

Tina took a sip of coffee and looked at Luca.

"You know about Amur?" Luca probed.

"I know he left A City." Tina put down her coffee cup and folded her hands.

"He told you that in person?" Luca asked. She was somewhat surprised that Amur would tell Tina before he left.

If he did that, it meant that Amur likely had feelings for Tina...

"Not really but somewhat..." Tina shook her head.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2283-"Uh..." Luca frowned.

"I received a package sent from A City yesterday. It contained a gift from him and a simple message. He said that he was leaving A City and would never come back. He asked me to take care." Tina told Luca word for word what Amur wrote to her.

It was brief and did not carry a hint of emotion. She read it twice and remembered every single word in her heart.

Luca took a sip of the fruit tea and stared straight at Tina.

Even though she tried her best to conceal it, she could still see the sadness in Tina's eyes.

Tina had caught feelings for him.

Luca sighed, shook her head, and said, "Mm, if there's no special situation, he'll unlikely return ever again."

"Why... is he leaving so suddenly?" Tina's brows furrowed. It all happened so suddenly. Most importantly, Amur left when she was still processing how she felt.

She had been debating with herself on whether she should profess her feelings to him.

Nevertheless, in a blink of an eye, Amur left without even giving her a chance to say goodbye in person.

Tina thought to herself that she should not have hesitated in the first place if she knew that he was leaving. Even if she was rejected, she would have had the chance to tell him about her feelings.

"Something bad happened over in Russia, so he needs to go back..." Luca said as she thought of what excuse to make up.

"Can he come back after he deals with the situation?" Tina asked. 'Hasn't that been the case?'

"It's different this time. He went back to take care of his father's affairs. If nothing extraordinary happens, he'll settle down in Russia and won't come back to A City ever again," Luca lied to her. She was suddenly glad that her voice was hoarse.

Otherwise, it would sound unnatural when she lied and Tina would be able to tell.

"Is that so..." Tina pursed her lips and looked sad.

It seemed that she had no chance to confess to him.

Tina was a rational woman. When she was in college, she decided to break up with her boyfriend whom she dated for four years because they were going on different paths after college. She had never met someone she was romantically interested in since then.

The reason for the breakup was simple. Her ex-boyfriend, who grew up out of town, wanted to go back to his hometown after college.

She did not want to endure the pain of a long-distance relationship, and she also had her parents take care of. As such, even though she was deeply in love, she decided to break things off.

In the following years, she missed him and had not developed a new romantic relationship.

It took some time to find someone who made her heart skip a beat, but it was unfortunate that things did not work out for her.

She did not have the courage like others to follow someone to a foreign country for love.

She did not believe that she could make a long-distance relationship between states work, let alone a long-distance relationship that involved two countries.

Moreover, even though Amur had said goodbye to her in this way, there was no reluctance or emotion in his farewell.

As such, even if she liked him, she did not have the courage to follow Amur to a foreign country.

Luca did not know how to comfort Tina either.

'Should I ask her to wait? That doesn't seem possible either.'

Although she planned to rescue Eler and Amur, she was unsure when it would be realized. Even if it was realized, it was unknown whether they would be able to escape safely.

She could not bring herself to give Tina hope and have her spend her youth waiting for a highly variable possibility.

"I'm sorry, Tina." Luca did not know what else to say.

Tina shook her head and smiled. "Dr. Craw, what are you apologizing for? It's nothing to do with you. It's just a fruitless crush. Things might not always happen your way, and it's not anyone's fault that we're not fated for each other."

"If only one can let go just like that," Luca murmured.

"It'll take some time, but I'll be able to let go eventually. Dr. Craw, since I'm here, can you give me some more sleeping pills? Although I have no man, life still has to go on. I want to start by getting a good rest." Tina sniffed.

She knew that she would not be able to forget about Amur for some time. Nevertheless, she did not want to be so depressed because of Amur.

"Okay, give me a minute. I'll go up and get them for you." Luca stood up and walked upstairs.

Tina sat quietly on the sofa.

At least she found out why Amur left and that he would never return to A City.

It was worth the trip.

She could tell herself to give up on hoping for more.

Tina's hands clenched into fists as she comforted herself. Nevertheless, she was still upset.

Luca took a bottle of medicine, went downstairs to the sofa, and handed it to Tina. "Although there's no dependence or side effects, you shouldn't take too much of this. Take it when you can't sleep. Let me know if you need more." "Thank you, Dr. Craw." Tina took it and thanked Luca.

The medicine that she got from Luca was the only thing that could help her sleep. Otherwise, she would lie in bed all night and spend the entire time thinking about Amur. Her insomnia would lead to her being in bad condition. Subsequently, she would be unable to perform at full capacity.

She could not afford to lose her job.

"Why are you being so polite? By the way, it's almost time for lunch. Do you want to have a meal together?" Luca invited her.

"No, I don't want to be a third wheel." Tina smiled at her. She did not focus the conversation on Amur anymore.

"What are you talking about? Mr. Crawford won't be back today. He'll be in the office working overtime. Don't you know?" Luca blushed slightly when she mentioned Luke.

Her face looked like white snow dyed with peach blossoms in spring. This was what love should look like.

Tina looked at her with admiration and shook her head. "I didn't know. It's been really busy recently. We have a lot of staff in the secretaries' office so we can take turns to rest. Yesterday, I worked overtime. Today, it's Cheryl and another secretary who are working overtime in the office. As such, I don't know where the boss is."

"He said that he won't be home for lunch as he has to work overtime. Why don't you stay? It's almost lunchtime anyway." Luca asked her to stay.

She was not being polite. Luca just thought that if she did not ask Tina to have a meal later, in her current condition, Tina might just skip the meal and sit in a daze after she returned home.

It was because of her that Tina met Amur. She felt like she had to do something considering how the situation turned out.

She would not be able to get over it if she did not at least try.

"Uh..."

"I'll take that as a yes. I'll go tell Aunt Neile." Luca stood up, walked to the kitchen, and asked Aunt Neile to prepare extra food.

Luca came out only after Aunt Neile agreed to her request.

Tina looked at her with a helpless expression.

"Since you're already here, don't be embarrassed. If I hadn't caught a cold, I would have cooked for you myself. I remember that you enjoy my cooking," Luca said.

"Mm, your cooking is delicious." Tina nodded and admitted. She suddenly remembered that Amur had told her that Luca's cooking was delicious.

He liked her cooking so much but he had the heart to go back to Russia...

‘Doesn't that mean he won't be able to eat her food anymore?'

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2284-Tina could not help but complain in her heart that men were truly cruel creatures.

They could just leave without any hesitation.

The more they showed their love for a city, the more heartless they were when they had to leave.

Tina's eyes teared a little when she thought of what Amur had said about A City.

Her infatuation was only from her first impression of him when he saved her. It was only after that she got to know him that she realized how well their values aligned.

That was when she fell in love with that handsome face.

In the end, it was just her alone who was hurting. Oh, the irony...

Tina thought about Amur and was in a trance as she took a sip of coffee. Coffee without a little sugar was bitter, but it was nothing compared to the bitterness she felt in her heart...

She was bitter about not having the chance to express her love.

"Tina?" Luca was worried when she saw her drinking her coffee in a trance.

Tina snapped out of it and forced a smile. "Dr. Craw, what's wrong?"

"Are you okay?" Luca asked softly.

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." Tina smiled and shook her head. "You know that I'm optimistic. These negative emotions will soon pass. There'll be nothing left but a tiny sense of regret."

Luca was stunned. If others had any regrets, they could solve the problem with a phone call.

However, she could not even call Amur to talk about her regrets because Amur had already returned to the Island of Despair, where they were not allowed to bring cell phones.

She could not contact Amur and could only wait for Amur to contact her.

"Dr. Craw, I'm fine..." Tina could not stand the pity in Luca's eyes, so she quickly stood up and took a deep breath as she paced around. "How can a relationship that hasn't even started hurt me? No one will believe it. Don't you think so?"

"Maybe..." Luca shook her head. She had used such methods to numb her feelings.

It still did not relieve her pain effectively.

Tina left in a hurry after lunch.

Luca had a cold and did not want to risk it getting worse, so Aunt Neile sent Tina off.

Tommy looked at Luca and asked softly, "Ms. Luca, why does Aunt Tina look so unhappy?"

"Yeah..." Luca smiled helplessly. Even the child could see that Tina's happiness was a mask that hid her true feelings.

"Why is she upset? Also, why does she force herself to laugh when she's upset? I pout when I'm upset..." Tommy asked another series of questions.

Luca did not know how to explain Tina's situation to him.

'They love each other but can't be together... Or does she regret not being able to express her love?'

Nevertheless, the kids would not understand.

Lanie noticed that she seemed distressed, so he stepped in and said, "Not only do you like to pout, but you're a little crybaby as well."

"I'm not! I just pout. The TV told me that a man should never shed his tears. Why would I cry?" Tommy was distracted by Lanie and waved his hand in protest.

"You're the biggest crybaby in this home." Lanie's tease successfully diverted Tommy's attention.

Aunt Neile returned from outside the house. She could not help but rub her hands because of the cold weather. "It's almost New Year's. The weather is getting colder and colder."

"Yeah, the weather is the coldest during New Year's," Luca agreed.

"Ms. Craw, are you going to prepare New Year's goods?" Aunt Neile asked. In two weeks, it would be New Year's Eve.

Luca was stunned. 'New Year's goods?'

The madam of the family was usually the one who purchased New Year's goods. She was not the madam, so she said, "You should ask Mr. Crawford about this. He should know a little better than me since I've been abroad. We celebrate New Year's differently than in Russia."

Aunt Neile nodded and said nothing more.

After lunch, Luca took another round of medicine under Tommy's watchful eyes.

She felt drowsy almost immediately and kept yawning. She was even tearing a little.

"Ms. Luca, go take a nap if you're sleepy," Rainie, who was sitting on the other sofa, said.

"What about you?" Luca looked at Rainie. Lanie and Tommy went back upstairs to read after lunch, leaving Rainie alone in the living room with her.

"Lanie and Tommy are both reading. They'll go take a nap if they're tired," Rainie said. Although she also liked to read, she was not as addicted to reading as Lanie.

"Okay, let's go take a nap, then." Luca stood up and walked up the stairs.

Rainie followed behind her, and they slowly walked up to the second floor.

Luca did not head to her bedroom immediately. Instead, she walked to Lanie's bedroom, knocked on the door, looked at the two children who were seriously reading books, and reminded them, "It's nap time. Take a break from reading and go to sleep. Give your eyes a rest."

"Okay, Ms. Luca." Lanie put away his book obediently.

Tommy followed suit and looked at Luca. "Ms. Luca, can I take a nap here with Lanie?"

"Of course. Make sure you're tucked in tight so you don't catch a cold." After Luca finished speaking, she watched as the kids climbed into the bed.

They tucked themselves in after they laid down.

Luca smiled, closed the door for them, and looked at Rainie, who was standing not far away.

She intended to keep a distance from the children so she did not think too much of it. She said, "Rainie, you should also take your nap."

"Okay, Ms. Luca." Rainie walked back to her bedroom and closed the door.

Luca let out a sigh of relief and went to her bedroom.

After she caught a cold and fever, she felt that her strength had yet to recover. It seemed like a minor illness could also seriously affect various mechanisms of her body.

Luca slept for almost an afternoon.

When she woke up, she glanced at the time with a blank expression.

She thought that it was a short nap but saw that it was already past four o'clock in the afternoon when she fixed her eyes on the time on the phone.

There were even unread messages.

Luca hurriedly opened them. They were both from Luke.

He was checking in on her.

Luca replied to him. [I'm fine. I took some medicine and slept until now...]

[Mm, I see.] Luke replied almost in seconds.

Luca did not know what to reply to him. After all, it was not suitable for her to bring up topics that were too intimate. She put down the phone, put her hands under her chin, and stared at the snow outside the window in a daze.

She thought of what Aunt Neile said about getting some goods to prepare for New Year's.

In the previous years, she used to take the kids to the department store to buy new clothes and ask Luke to accompany her to buy some goods.

To save Luke's time, she would always prepare a list and buy everything all at once so that Luke had more time to deal with work.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2285-At that time, although there was a maid at home, she insisted on being hands-on during the festivities.

She had not celebrated New Year's since she was kidnapped to the Island of Despair.

As such, she was taken back when Aunt Neile asked her if she wanted to go get some New Year's goods. She had almost forgotten about New Year's after three years.

Moreover, she had nothing to do with getting the New Year's goods ready.

After all, it was not her place to do so.

Luca got up and went downstairs. The children had already gotten up and were playing with each other.

When he saw her come downstairs, Tommy wanted to rush to her side but thought of her warning, so he could only stand there and say, "Ms. Luca, you're awake!"

"Mm, are you playing games?" Luca glanced at the toys they were playing with. They were the educational toys gifted by Old Master Crawford.

They were helpful for the children's intellectual development.

"Yeah, we didn't play with them when the Great-grandpa got it for us, so we thought of playing with them for a bit. This is a four-player game, so Lanie is playing for two players," Rainie said with a smile.

A four-player game...'

If Nyla were here, she would be able to play the game with them. She would even be a little rascal and ask her brothers and sisters to play nice.

Luca's mood turned gloomy when she thought of Little Nyla.

She was fortunate that Amur was now back on the Island of Despair, so there was one more person to help him take care of her.

Aunt Neile came out, saw that Luca had woken up, and said with a smile on her face, "Ms. Craw, you're finally up."

"Mm, the side effects of the drug are a little strong, so I slept for longer," Luca replied with a smile.

"Yeah, you were asleep for too long and didn't reply Mr. Crawford. He got worried and asked me to check on you to see if you were feeling unwell," Aunt Neile replied. Luke did not hear back from Luca, so he called Aunt Neile to check up on her.

Aunt Neile went up to check in on her three times in the few short hours.

"You went into the bedroom?" Luca was surprised that she did not notice.

She had always been a light sleeper, but she was not at all aware that Aunt Neile came in.

"Yeah, you were sound asleep, so you didn't notice that I went. I even took your temperature. Your body temperature was normal and you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't bother you," Aunt Neile said. She took Luca's temperature under Luke's orders.

However, Luca did not wake up.

"It may be because of the medicine that I was dead asleep," Luca said. She did not expect three cold medicines to make her fall asleep for so long.

It seemed to be more powerful than her sleeping pills.

However, she believed that there was nothing better than her sleeping pills. The only reason that she was in deep sleep was that Luke's scent was still in the bedroom.

She felt at ease breathing in his scent, so she slept more soundly.

"You've been working too hard. It's good that you paid off some sleep debt," Aunt Neile said as she placed the afternoon tea in her hand. "Ms. Craw, let's have afternoon tea first. After all, dinner will take place two hours later."

Luke would be back for dinner, so they all had to wait for him to come back before they could eat.

"Thank you." Luca took a bite of the snack. It was sweet, soft, and delicious.

"By the way, did you reply to Mr. Crawford's message? He said you never replied to him," Aunt Neile asked.

"I've already replied to him. I didn't pay attention when the phone rang because I was sleeping so..." Luca explained. She walked away with the snacks in her hands.

"Is that so? Mr. Crawford cares deeply about you." Aunt Neile smiled and said.

Luca bows her head slightly. ‘Yeah, Luke cares about me.'

Nevertheless, now that she had changed her identity, there was no way that she could repay his kindness.

...

T Corporation.

Jason walked into Luke's office and reported, "Boss, Mr. Mallory is here."

"Let him in." Luke closed the file he was attending to.

Jason smiled and looked at Percy, who was behind him. "Mr. Mallory, come with me."

"There's so many SOPs here. I'm already in front of the door. Why do you need to let him know that I'm here? You're afraid that your boss will blame you for not performing as per expectations? You have nothing to worry about. You're welcome in Mallory Corporation anytime." Percy smiled at Jason.

They went to college together.

Jason had always been impressive. Originally, he wanted to recruit Jason to Mallory Corporation after they graduated.

He was surprised that Jason wanted to take up the challenge and choose to work under Luke in T Corporation.

"Mr. Mallory, don't you have something to discuss with the boss?" Jason did not answer him straight. Although he knew Percy was joking, he was still at work, after all.

"You're getting more and more old-fashioned after spending time with Luke." Percy shook his head at him. "I'll have a chat with him. Let's have a drink together when we're free."

"Mr. Mallory, the boss is waiting for you inside." Jason raised a smile and repeated the same sentence.

It seemed that Percy wanted him to be out of a job and go to work at Mallory Corporation.

However, he was not at all interested.

After all, although Percy was in power at the Mallory Corporation, there was Pierre, who had the ambition of a wolf. Since Percy insisted on being with Nina, his path as the future heir would be difficult.

Percy walked into Luke's office smiling.

"Are you here to talk to me or are you here to poach my employees?" Luke said to Percy as he raised his hand to signal Jason to close the door.

Jason nodded and closed the door.

"I wanted to, but he's not interested. If I could have him, it would've happened long ago." Percy sat lazily on the chair.

"What do you want to talk about face-to-face?" Luke asked.

"Okay, I'll get straight to the point. I need your and Jim's help," Percy said.

Luke raised his eyebrows and replied, "What do you need help with?"

"Recently, I found out that someone has been secretly buying Mallory Corporation's shares. I think Pierre is behind it," Percy said. When they tracked the account, they found that the account holder was not Pierre.

Nevertheless, it was easy for him to use someone else's account to buy shares of Mallory Corporation.

"Is he conspiring to usurp the throne?" Luke was sure of the answer but still asked.

The relationship between Percy and Pierre was no more. Pierre must be secretly doing that to win the right to speak in Mallory Corporation.

Whoever owned more shares was eligible to overturn the other party's right to speak in Mallory Corporation.

"What an unfilial brother." Percy was still in the mood to joke around. "If he has the ability, I'm more than happy to give the company to him. It's a pity that he can't handle the weight on his shoulder."

Based on what Pierre has done recently, anyone with a bit of common sense would see that Pierre could not run the company.

He had always been an executor, but the difference in ability was clear when he suddenly became the decision maker.

Although his company seemed like it was doing fine, it was only because he was dumping tons of money into it to put out fires.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2286-Percy knew that Pierre would no longer be able to sustain his company if his cash flow was removed.

Luke's gaze deepened. He knew that Pierre was not as capable as Percy when it came to managing a company.

"Where did his money come from?" He was aware of Pierre's company's current situation, so he wondered where Pierre got so much money to acquire the shares.

"There are many in the Mallory family who are helping him right now," Percy said in a calm tone. "Old Master Mallory, as well as my mother and father, are probably providing him with funds to buy the shares."

The entire Mallory family was supporting Pierre because of the choice that Percy made.

On top of some relatives of his, Old Master Mallory, Madam Mallory, and the others were silently providing funds to Pierre.

They could not take the company back from Percy and hand it over to Pierre. It would cause a lot of public opinion and would be detrimental to the company's development.

As such, they supported Pierre and wanted him to take over Mallory Corporation in the right way.

"You're sidelined," Luke said. The Mallory family was much simpler than the Crawford family.

At least Percy's father did not invite a few more competitors for the family fortune. Percy and Pierre were brothers from the same mother and father. In theory, that kind of power struggle should not happen.

However, it was what it was.

The reason they wanted him out was that Percy had chosen a woman he loved to be with for the rest of his life.

Pierre was still interested in her. He went from helping her at the beginning to becoming what they were now.

The two brothers, although they had not had any direct confrontations, were already not seeing eye to eye behind the scenes.

"That's why I need foreign aid." Percy crossed his arms around his chest and looked at the man in front of him. "Actually, I'm happy to fight with him if he has the capability to take over Mallory Corporation, but I won't let him get it from me so easily."

He did not care about Mallory Corporation. Since everyone in the Mallory family was in favor of allowing Pierre to bring down the company, he was fine with it as well.

Percy knew that his abilities were not reflected by his ownership of Mallory Corporation.

As long as Luke and Jim agreed to help, even if everyone from the Mallory family helped Pierre, he would not lose easily.

Even if he lost, he would not make it easy for Pierre to get what he wanted.

"With your attitude, you're not afraid that Mallory Corporation will eventually fall into his hands and you'll have no money?" Luke could not help but tease him.

As Percy had a stake in Mallory Corporation, he would still get a large sum of dividends even if he did not have decision-making power.

Of course, that was under the premise that Mallory Corporation was operating under the leadership of Percy. The dividends were considerable, so many people were scrambling for them. They wanted to

get the shares of Mallory Corporation to get a piece of the pie.

However, if the person making the business decisions was Pierre...

If the company was run down to the ground by Pierre, his shares would turn into waste paper.

"If he can do it, I'll either sell my shares to start a business, or I'll find a job at T Corporation. I'm capable, right? I'm definitely better than Jason. You can let Jason be my subordinate and I'll be your subordinate," Percy joked.

He did not care much about the future of Mallory Corporation. All he cared about was Nina.

If the price of getting Mallory Corporation was to give up Nina, he would never agree to it.

In the past, Percy did not understand how one could fall head over heels for someone, but now, he did.

Even if the glass of wine that Nina handed to him was poisoned, he would drink it unequivocally.

"T Corporation is too small of a pond for you. Tell me, how can I help?" Luke took a sip of his coffee and looked at Percy's unconcerned attitude. It was as if Percy was not under any pressure.

"I need to open a few stock accounts in your name. They're buying shares. I can too, but I can't buy them in person," Percy said. He did not want to fight against them in person yet.

"You want me to get the shares?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"You can transfer them to me or keep them for yourself. It doesn't matter." Percy nodded. His main priority was to gather more stocks.

He wanted the Mallory Corporation's shares to be owned by him or someone he trusted.

Someone like Luke was perfect.

That was because he would never work with Pierre.

"You're quite smart. I have an investment account. I'll buy the shares for you. Whenever you need them, let me know. I'll transfer as many as I have." Luke agreed. He was not short of money and was more than happy to do this favor for Percy.

Moreover, he also wanted to dim Pierre's spirit.

"Easy! What a great friend you are." Percy smacked the table and smiled.

"Are you still going to ask Jim for help?" Luke asked.

"Yeah." Percy nodded and responded, "He's in the office today. I'm going to visit him later at night."

"Ask him out for drinks tonight," Luke said. He also happened to have something to ask Jim for help.

Percy frowned. "He's enjoying his family life and is happy. Will he say yes to drinks?"

"I also want to ask him for help with something. Tell him that this is about the suburban development project and ask him if he's interested," Luke said.

He believed Jim would be interested in having his entertainment facilities in the suburban development project.

Even if he was enjoying family life, his wife and children had to eat.

"Okay, I'll make an appointment with him." Percy took out his phone and opted to text Jim instead of making a call.

Luke also took out his phone to text Luca, telling her that he had something on for tonight and would not be back for dinner.

Luca replied quickly: [Okay.]

There were no sweet nothings between them.

In the past, when he was going to events on his own, Luca would always tell him to drink less and not drive after drinking.

However, all he could get now was one simple word—okay.

Luke frowned.

"We're on for tonight. He's interested, and I told him to meet us at our usual spot at seven o'clock," Percy said. He saw that Luke was frowning when he looked up.

He guessed that the reason someone like Luke, who always had a stern expression, would frown was not because of work.

"What's the matter? Haven't got Dr. Craw yet?" Percy could not help but tease him.

Luke gave him a cold stare and replied, "You're not doing much better."

"I'm doing much better than you. At least I can tell Nina sweet nothings every day and we can love each other loud and proud. You have to work harder." Percy deliberately triggered him.

Although his relationship with Nina has not been approved by the family, their current situation was indeed better than Luke's.

"You're so long-winded." Luke put his phone down and said, "Aren't you leaving?"

"Nah, you're going to get off work soon, right? It's closer to go from here. Let's head there together. It'll save me some time." Percy shook his head and looked at Luke jokingly. "How's it going? Haven't your men found out more about the situation?"

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2287-"It's not that easy to find out more about the situation. Our best entry point is Pierre," Luke said. However, Pierre wanted nothing to do with him.

He would not tell him anything about the Island of Despair.

"I can't help in this matter although he's my younger brother," Percy said helplessly.

Pierre's whereabouts were erratic. Percy had not paid attention to the people he knew and what he was doing. After all, Pierre's rebelliousness was not obvious at that time.

"He's your brother but even you don't know. It's making it more difficult for me to investigate," Luke said.

All he knew now was that Luca was being controlled by someone from the Island of Despair.

However, he had no idea where the base of the Island of Despair was.

The fake Bianca did not leave any useful clues before she died from the poison. The earth was huge. He was not sure where to even start.

"Don't worry. At least Luca is by your side now. There's still time." Percy did not know what to say, so he could only comfort Luke.

Luke frowned. 'Do we have time?

'No, we don't have much time.'

He felt that their progress was far from enough. He could only save Luca from the hell she was in if he could get rid of the control of the Island of Despair.

As such, he needed to hurry up.

"Let's go." Seeing that it was almost time, Luke turned off his computer and stuffed some documents into the briefcase.

"Okay." Percy stood up lazily.

The two walked out of the office.

Luke went to Jason's office.

"Boss, what can I help you with?" Jason saw him and stood up.

"Let's go for a drink." Luke invited Jason.

Jason glanced at Percy and guessed that they were going for a drink together. He wanted to go home to accompany Sue and the kids, so he said, "Boss, you need me for drinks too?"

"Of course." Luke nodded and presented himself as though Jason could not refuse him.

"Okay, give me a second." Jason could only agree.

Percy leaned on the door frame, watched Jason's neat movement of packing up the documents, and said, "How can you be like this? You want to drink but insist on bringing Mr. Doyle with you. It's obviously because you can't go home and hug your beauty so you want Mr. Doyle to be in the same situation."

"You talk too much." Luke rolled his eyes at Percy.

Jason knew about what Matysh was up to and was fully involved with the suburban development project, which was why Luke asked him along.

"I'm happy." Percy was not a talkative person, but he started sharing more after he met Nina.

After Jason packed up his stuff, he went to Bibbler's Tale with Luke and Percy.

Jim had not arrived yet.

When he arrived, Percy had already booked a VIP private room. It was the one they often used for gatherings.

When the floor manager saw them, his eyes lit up and he took them to the reserved private room.

Percy frowned and said, "Is this the private room I booked?"

"Yes, Mr. Mallory." The floor manager's smile stiffened.

"You think we're a fool just because we haven't been here for a while?" Percy frowned. "The private room I booked with your manager is the VIP room, the same room that we've always booked before. Is this the VIP Room?"

They were not dead set on the VIP room.

However, when they were making the booking, the manager mentioned that the VIP room was available, which was why they ended up booking that room.

As such, he was a little dissatisfied when he was treated like a fool and taken to another private room by the floor manager.

Seeing this, the floor manager quickly explained, "Mr. Mallory, I'm sorry. It's an honest mistake on our part..."

"..." Percy looked at him.

The floor manager felt pressured and continued talking, "We've reserved the VIP room for you, but the other Mr. Mallory showed up. He asked for the VIP room, so our staff thought that you came together

and gave him the room."

"The other Mr. Mallory?" Percy frowned.

"It's your younger brother, Mr. Pierre," the floor manager said. All the servers knew that they were brothers, which was why they gave him the room without questioning it when Pierre insisted that he wanted the VIP room as he had brought his friends over.

It was only after chatting for a bit that they realized he did not come with Percy.

They knew they had made a mistake, but the issue was that Pierre insisted on getting the VIP room. If they refused to give it to him, he threatened to demolish their establishment.

"We'll take this room." Luke was not bothered with making a scene.

The floor manager breathed a sigh of relief. It was the best-case scenario if they were fine with the arrangement. After all, they were not the same group. He could not make them crowd together.

"Okay, come with me, please," he said. They had a room for them and even gave them a fruit bowl.

"Mr. Crawford, Mr. Mallory, Mr. Doyle, it's our fault, so we prepared some drinks and fruits for you. Please enjoy yourselves." the floor manager said.

Percy glanced at what they had prepared. The things were not cheap.

Nevertheless, he and Luke were not at all interested.

"Take them out," he said.

"These are given to you for free. Please consider it as our apology." The floor manager was stunned. He stressed that no payment was expected of them.

"We don't drink such cheap alcohol. Remove these as well. Bring all the bottles I have stored here," Percy said.

When the floor manager heard this, he asked the server to take away all the drinks and food they had prepared for them.

Percy was upset. He sat on the sofa and said to Luke, "Let's finish all the bottles we have here and go to Alumbra from now on."

Alumbra was an up-and-coming upscale nightclub.

"As you wish," Luke said. Since he found out that Luca was Bianca, he once again had something dependable in his life. Hence, he did not enjoy nightclubs and bars very much.

He would sometimes go to these kinds of places just for work. He heard that Alumbra was good, so it was the same wherever he went.

The floor manager stood by and served them. His heart tightened as he had heard every one of Percy's words clearly.

He did not expect that one mistake would cost the establishment big shots like Luke and Percy.

The floor manager quickly stepped forward and said enthusiastically, "Mr. Mallory, Mr. Crawford, some time ago, our bar imported a batch of wines from some French estates. They're of good quality. I can open a bottle for you to taste. "

"No need." Percy's tone was cold.

Luke did not respond either.

The floor manager got nervous and said quickly, "Are you sure you don't want to give it a go? Don't you like to store wine here? The quality of this batch of wine is wonderful. I highly recommend it."

The waiter came in with several bottles of booze that Percy had kept here and put them on the table. "Mr. Mallory, do you want to open all of them?"

"No need. Bring in three A-meals and some snacks." Percy looked at the table full of booze. He did not remember storing so many bottles there.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2288-"Alright, one moment, please." The waiter who brought in the wine went back out to prepare the A- meals and snacks.

Meanwhile, the floor manager was at a loss on how to salvage the situation with a long face.

What else could he do if Percy refused to have any of the food and beverages he served?

It was not like he could vacate the room for them by chasing Percy out while he was in the middle of drinking.

The waiter served all the food Percy wanted in swift motions.

"Alright, you can all go out now." Percy made a gesture, indicating that their service was no longer needed here.

"Mr. Mallory." The floor manager had something to say.

"Get out," Percy ordered once again with an annoyed expression.

The floor manager had no choice but to follow the waiter out of the private room.

Jason frowned at the sight of the amount of alcohol. "Mr. Mallory, will you be able to finish this much wine?"

"Who said anything about finishing everything? I'll open one bottle at a time, and I'll just bring the leftovers back home if I can't finish everything. I have no intention of coming back to Bibbler's Tale anyway," said Percy. Whenever a new batch of high-quality wine was brought into Bibbler's Tale, he was the first to be informed. Hence, he had bought all these wines beforehand and stored them here.

Not only did wine storage come with charges of its own, but the cost of all this wine was expensive too. Percy had no intention of letting them off lightly as he was dissatisfied with the service here.

Jason did not want to drink on an empty stomach, so he picked up the A-meal and started eating. "Mr. Mallory, I know they're at fault, but I don't think it's necessary..."

He noticed that the floor manager had hung his head low and looked as though he was about to cry just now.

"You might not know this, but Mr. Mallory is not someone to be trifled with." Luke picked up another A- meal too. Bianca used to urge him to eat something before drinking so that he would not drink on an empty stomach.

Although Luca would not say anything if she found out he did it again, she would still be angry at him.

"Nonsense." The reason why Percy was upset was that the private room he had reserved was given to Pierre.

He was not one to be petty, but he could not help it when it came to his brother as he hated his guts.

The door of the private room was pushed open, and Jim walked in. He looked at the three people eating and asked, “Why are you in this room? Aren't you supposed to be in the VIP private room?"

When the waiter brought him to this room, he thought that they had made a mistake.

Moreover, the waiter had even confirmed with him whether he was going to Percy's or Pierre's room. He said Percy's name confusedly.

Jim noticed that Percy was not looking too good, so he said with a smile, "Mr. Holston, someone took away the private room that Mr. Mallory booked."

"Are you for real?" Jim laughed. Who in A City would dare disrespect Percy?

"That's enough. Don't bring it up anymore. We can talk about other things." Percy looked mad.

"Who did it?" asked Jim as if he did not hear a word Percy said.

"Pierre," Jason said in a softer voice.

Although the loud music in the room could drown out all the other soft noises, Jim could still read his lips.

"Him? No wonder the waiter asked me if it was Pierre or Percy." Jim sat on the couch and teased Percy, "Haven't you been tolerating your brother all this while? Are you not able to tolerate him any longer?"

"Tolerate? It's the waiter who made a mistake," Percy said with a frown.

"They didn't do it on purpose." Jim understood how he felt. In the past, whenever Pierre was mentioned, everyone would be reminded that he had Percy behind him.

"Enough. Have you eaten? Should I order some food for you too?" Percy asked.

"No, thanks. I had dinner at home before coming here. Home-cooked food is always the best," Jim bragged on purpose.

"You sound as if we don't have home-cooked meals too," Percy muttered. He came out with Luke, so he did not go home for dinner.

"Does Nina know how to cook?" Jim asked as Nina's cooking had left a lasting impression on him.

When he brought Scarlett and Simon to Percy's house as guests, the maid just so happened to be on leave, so Nina had to prepare lunch on a whim.

In the end, they had to order takeout.

"Not being able to cook doesn't mean I can't eat home-cooked meals. I can go to your place or Luke's place. His woman's cooking is delicious too," Percy said like a rascal.

"If he doesn't chase you out, that is." Jim glanced at the wine on the table and said with a frown, "Why did you order so much wine? Are you having trouble with your love life?"

"Bah, watch your mouth! These are the wines I stored here. I'll take them away if I can't finish them, so just open up whichever bottle you'd like to drink." Percy was being generous.

"Well, don't mind if I do," said Jim. Scarlett did not like it when he drank, so he would usually stay away from it unless necessary.

However, which man did not enjoy drinking?

He even informed Scarlett of the name of the bar on purpose. He only came after she agreed.

Otherwise, he would have to talk to them while drinking something else.

Jim chose a foreign wine and picked up the wine opener, but he could not get it to open. Percy said, “This wine requires them to use a professional wine opener. Let them do it." “I'll go out," said Jim as he stood up and walked out with the wine bottle.

Percy looked at him walking away and muttered, “Married men are indeed different. He was even going to open the wine bottle himself."

Jim turned around to make a gesture at him, then he walked out of the private room.

There was no waiter standing at the door, so he had to walk farther away. He decided to ask the bartender at the bar to open it for him.

After the bartender helped him, Jim noticed Jean walking into the VIP private room while he was on his way back.

He was somewhat aware of the things Jean had done to Nina.

Now, he knew that Pierre was in the VIP private room. He raised his eyebrows and walked back to their room.

“Is it open?" Percy asked as he was almost done with his meal.

“It's open, and I just saw that brother-in-law of yours outside, Jean," said Jim while he gathered four wine glasses to pour the wine.

"Jean? Are you sure you're not mistaken? How could he spend money here?" Percy frowned.

“He doesn't have the money to spend here, but he entered the VIP private room, and..." Jim paused for a moment as he recalled. Then, he said, “The way he's dressed is different from before as if he's gotten rich. It can't be that your brother is cooking up a scheme to get your woman again, right?"

“I won't let him get away with it," said Percy as he picked up a glass of wine and took a sip.

“I remember seeing him wear a thousand-dollar watch. Could it be that he has really gotten rich?" Jim knew little about Jean's situation, but how could someone who lived off his parents wear a thousand- dollar watch?

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2289-“Mr. Holston, you're quite observant," Jason mocked him before the other two said anything.

“I was just looking out for Mr. Mallory by spying on them," Jim said joyfully.

"You could recognize a thousand-dollar watch? Has your taste in fashion downgraded after getting married?" Percy seized the opportunity and dealt him a mighty blow to get revenge on him for making fun of Nina for not being able to cook.

Even if Nina did not know how to cook, she was still the best. They could just leave the cooking to the maid. As long as she stayed by his side, that would be way better than mastering any skill.

"The year is ending soon, so I did my research because of employee benefits." Jim noticed his uninterested expression and asked, "Are you really not going over there to take a look?"

"After what happened between him and Pierre, there's no way he would go over there." Luke picked up his wine glass and slowly swirled it unlike the other two who downed theirs.

Percy took a sip of wine and rolled his eyes at Luke.

Why was he such a blabbermouth?

"Did you two really cut ties?" Jim did not know much about it as all his attention was focused on Scarlett.

"Sort of, which is why I called you here today to ask you a favor," Percy said bluntly.

"What favor?" Jim turned serious as Percy was not one to ask someone else for help easily. If those words came out of his mouth, it must be a very serious situation.

"I need your investment account to purchase the rest of Mallory Corporation's odd lots circulating in the stock market. Pierre is also doing the same right now, and if he ends up with more shares than me, there'll be a change of hands in Mallory Corporation."

"That's it? I'd still help you even if you told me this over the phone. No problem. You have my word." Jim agreed immediately without asking about the reasoning behind it.

When the time came, it did not matter whether Percy wanted to take back the shares or let him keep them.

As long as Percy was in charge of Mallory Corporation, a huge crisis would not occur. hence, it would not be a big deal even if Percy decided not to take the shares back as there would be continuous dividends anyway.

"Thank you." Percy expressed his gratitude.

“Mr. Mallory, I want to be a minor shareholder of Mallory Corporation too," said Jason all of a sudden as he had always made investments.

He obtained a lot of information from following Luke around, so he would know about the market dynamics way earlier than others, which was why he had excellent timing in buying stocks.

Over the years, he had earned a hefty sum from his investments.

"Sure, you can buy some shares with your boss and Jim." Percy did not care who bought those shares as long as they were in the hands of people he knew and trusted.

"But do you have a chance of winning? If the Mallory family decides to support Pierre, it won't work even if we've purchased the majority of the shares. Old Master Mallory and your parent's shares combined will definitely surpass yours."

"As of right now, they're just temporarily providing Pierre financial support. It's not yet clear whether they'll support him with the shares in their hands. It's only a test, and if he passes, I'll need to give up Mallory Corporation; but if Pierre fails the test, Mallory Corporation will still be in my hands." Percy understood the consequences.

Although Old Master Mallory was against his relationship with Nina, he did not act rashly by using his power to support Pierre.

Besides, Mallory Corporation was a big deal. If it fell into the hands of someone incompetent, the consequences would be disastrous.

Percy wanted Old Master Mallory to realize that even if he played dirty and the entire Mallory family was on Percy's side, he would never be able to get more shares.

"It seems like Old Master Mallory hasn't completely lost his senses. He's still very shrewd," Jim praised him. If Old Master Mallory was not shrewd, he would have just handed the company over to Pierre. He would not need to go through all of this.

"He's the founder of Mallory Corporation, so of course, he won't take such big risks," said Percy.

Old Master Mallory had gone through blood, sweat, and tears to establish Mallory Corporation, so he would not let it fall that easily.

Even though he had been abdicated, he still followed Mallory Corporation's status closely. If Percy had done a bad job in operating the company in the early years, the company would have been in Pierre's hands right now.

Likewise, if Pierre did a bad job, Old Master Mallory would run it himself.

Therefore, in Old Master Mallory's eyes, Mallory Corporation was as precious as life itself.

"I look forward to cooperating with you all." Jim raised his glass.

The remaining three raised their glasses to clink them too.

Luke added, "Jim, I have something to tell you too."

"Is it about Peace Valley Villa?" Jim guessed it at once.

"Yup." Luke nodded. He had told Jim to inform him immediately if Matysh were to check out of his room there.

"What about it?" Jim asked.

"I want to know who he met at the villa," said Luke as this was not a difficult task for Jim.

"That's not too hard. It just involves breaching the privacy of the guests, so you owe me one after this," Jim said jokingly, when in fact, they would help each other whenever anyone was in trouble.

Their relationship was much better than superficial friends.

"Sure," said Luke. It did not matter how deeply indebted he was to others, as long as Luca was safe.

"Cheers to that, and you have to finish this glass." Jim filled Luke's glass to the brim.

"No problem." After clinking glasses, Luke downed his entire glass.

Percy lit a cigarette and held it in his hand without smoking it. "Now that we're done talking about this, let's talk business."

Luke and Jim looked at him at the same time.

"Mr. Mallory must be talking about the development in the suburbs." Jason understood right away. After being by Luke's side for so long, he could roughly guess what these big bosses were going to say next.

"Only you get me. Are you really not going to consider coming over to Mallory Corporation?" Percy grinned.

"Mr. Mallory, I think it's better for me to stay out of your company's conflict." Jason rejected him outright.

"I guarantee that you won't lose your job. I'll have more confidence to win if you're here," said Percy.

"Don't you mess with my people," warned Luke as he swirled his wineglass. He was deep in thought.

He was not thinking about the development of the suburbs but Luca.

"Luca is your person, and Jason is Ms. Carter's person," Percy said deliberately.

Luke rolled his eyes at him.

Jim brought the conversation back to the main topic. "Has the development of the suburbs been decided for real this time?"

"It's been decided that an announcement will be made after the new year, and it'll be done through bidding," said Luke. If the word came from Jack himself, then it could be confirmed that the development would indeed be carried out.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2290-“If it's not an internal decision, our chances of winning will be greater if we work together with the bidding. We have to secure the bid this time," said Jim after analyzing the situation.

"When the detailed announcement is out, we need to have a meeting to discuss it, and if there are no problems, the company will start working on the bidding document." Luke took a sip of wine.

Once the three of their companies joined forces, got their quotations, and T Corporation put together a proposal, the other participating companies would not stand a chance against them, whether it be in terms of price or quality of the project.

Moreover, the other companies would have greater competition in finding partnering companies after the three of them joined forces.

"Sure." Jim nodded as Luke would always come to him when his company needed entertainment for his development projects.

Vice versa, when he needed construction for his entertainment projects, he would also go to Luke's company to conduct business.

They drank for a while longer, and when it was time to go home, Percy had the waiters bring over a few bags to bring back the rest of the unopened wine.

After paying the bill, they headed out.

They had already called chauffeurs beforehand when they were in the room, and they were about to leave after they got to the door, but they saw Jean hugging a tree on the side of the road while throwing up.

"Look at that guy." Jim patted Percy's shoulder as he was the first to notice Jean.

"Jean?" The street lights were very bright, so Percy recognized at first glance that the guy throwing up was Jean.

"He's vomiting so much. Just how much did he drink?" Percy could not help but wonder as a thug like Jean would definitely be good at drinking, so to be in this shape...

"He's even holding a wad of cash in his hands." Percy was not fond of Jean at all

Without Jean, perhaps it would have been a lot easier for him and Nina.

They fixed their eyes on Jean, who was holding onto the green tree with one hand and a wad of cash in the other.

The wad of cash was estimated to be worth a couple of thousand dollars.

He was drinking with Pierre earlier, so it was very likely that Pierre gave the money to him.

"Let's go." Percy intended to ignore him as he was not finished with Pierre, so he did not want to meddle with other matters.

"I'll be going." After noticing that Percy did not say anything, Jim walked up to his car as he did not enjoy rubbernecking either. Then, he told the chauffeur his address and got into the backseat.

Luke and Jason did the same and left respectively in their chauffeur's cars.

Percy returned to the car, and after the chauffeur confirmed the address with him, Percy slowly said, "Wait a moment."

"Yes, sir." The chauffeur remained silent and waited in the driver's seat.

Percy looked out the window to observe Jean's condition.

After vomiting for quite a while, he stood up straight and leaned against the tree while looking halfdead.

Percy still did not leave after that.

The staff member who stood at the door walked over to hand him a towel and seemingly told him something.

After Jean wiped his face with the towel, he just stood there with no intention of leaving.

After waiting a while, Percy saw Pierre come out and walk toward Jean. It seemed like they were talking about something.

Percy was grim-faced as he watched Pierre smile and return to Bibbler's Tale after he finished talking, whereas Jean left drunkenly.

Although there was a distance between them, Percy could still tell that Jean left with a big smile on his face while gripping the cash in his hands like it was a treasure.

"Let's go." Percy withdrew his gaze and let the chauffeur driver away.

"Yes, sir." The chauffeur drove away.

After Luke returned to the mansion, the lights were still on in the garden and living room.

The pale yellow light added a nice warm color to the blanket of white snow.

It also gave his heart a touch of warmth.

Luke walked into the house and took off his coat. He then walked up to the second floor and took a shower in the other bedroom as he knew that Luca did not like the smell of alcohol. After taking a shower and changing into clean pajamas, he sniffed himself again.

He made sure that he did not reek of alcohol before walking into Luca's bedroom.

Luca had already fallen asleep by now.

Luke's movements were light as he knew that she slept with the help of medication, so he lay down on the bed as gently as possible.

Then, he reached his hand out to wrap Luca around the waist.

"You're back..." Luca murmured.

"I'm back. Go to sleep," Luke gently pressed against her face and whispered. He waited several seconds before confirming that Luca was asleep, but she was not in a deep sleep, so he leaned closer to say those words.

He could not help but smile at how adorable she was.

His warm breath exhaled on Luca's face as she turned around to lie next to him face-to-face.

Her unconscious approach made Luke pleasantly surprised, so he held her in his arms quietly as he listened to their heart beating in between each other.

What a peaceful and beautiful night...

On the other hand.

Jean returned home in a drunken state. The living room lights were still on, and he made a face of disgust.

Marie was still living at his place.

Ever since he made money, he had zero feelings for Marie, and he tried everything to chase her out. However, she kept pestering him by staying here.

He was tired of her.

He kicked the door open and staggered inside.

“You're back." Marie stood up immediately, and in the next second, she looked at the money in his hands.

"Where did you get so much money?" Marie said in surprise. There must be at least a couple thousand dollars there, right?

Did Jean not spend most of the money he got from betraying Nina already? Why was there still so much money left?

"It's none of your business. I earned this money myself. Why, do you want it?" Jean asked with a smile as he did not forget what Pierre said.

He must not let anyone know about the money he gave him.

"Can you give it to me?" Marie's eyes opened wide with greed. She was penniless. If she had left Jean, she might have already starved to death on the streets.

Besides, Jean was just using her as a punching bag. It was not just in bed as she had to endure beatings when he was in a bad mood too.

The injuries on her body still hurt.

"Are you dreaming? You should be thankful that I gave you a place to sleep, yet you still dare ask me for money? If you want money, go ask that rich grandfather of yours. Oh yeah, you and your mother

even stole a house from our family. How could you not have money?"

"I really don't have money!" Marie frowned. It was only the day before yesterday when she found out the reason why Jean got together with her again.

It was for the money she took at that time.