Ch. 2311..2320

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2311-Luke's expression darkened when he saw how unwelcoming Susan was.

It was not that Susan disliked Luca as a person but rather showed hostility because he was close with Luca.

As such, Luke refused to let this matter be.

He was about to say something when Louis took the envelope from Luca and placed it with the rest of the gifts. “Thank you, Dr. Craw. Follow me."

"Alright." Luca smiled at Louis with gratitude. She would surely garner the curious gazes of everyone should she hold the red packet for too long.

The man had helped her out of the awkward situation.

"Let's go, Brother." Louis knew that Luke would not stand at the door to welcome other guests, so he showed his brother inside.

"Alright." Luke nodded.

Louis greeted Aunt Neile as well and brought everyone into the banquet hall.

Susan watched them leave and cursed softy, "Vixen."

Yuri heard what Susan called Luca clearly but chose to ignore it.

Susan then turned to Yuri. "Keep a close watch on your husband, lest that vixen manages to steal his heart too."

"Yes, Mother," Yuri acknowledged superficially but paid her no mind. After all, Luca's target was Luke and not Louis, who had decided to open his own small workshop when he could have taken advantage of his family background.

Louis brought Luca to a table and said, "This is your seat, Dr. Craw. Nina will sit with you when she arrives shortly."

"Alright, thank you." Luca sat down elegantly.

Louis then turned to Luke. "Grandfather's waiting for you at the main table, Brother. He said to go over once you're here."

"Alright," Luke replied without averting his gaze from Luca.

Their close distance gathered the curious and guessing gazes of many people around them.

"Go, Mr. Crawford," Luca said. She knew that if Luke stayed any longer, they would only attract even more gazes.

"Are you alright sitting here alone?" Luke asked. They had arrived rather early, so the table was still empty.

"I'll be alright." Luca shook her head to appease him.

Hence, Luke took Rainie's hand and walked over to the main table.

Luca looked around. When she looked up, she realized that there were much fewer people looking at her now.

Still, that did not mean people would stop talking about her.

It was very likely that the crowd would manage to find out about her background information in a moment.

Luca felt lightheaded. She had set off and arrived at the hotel with Luke, so she had already predicted such turns of events.

Not that it made being stared at and guessed about any more comfortable.

Luca picked up her phone. If she could not face the gazes, then the alternative would be to escape. She scrolled through social media to ignore the questioning gazes around her.

Luke brought Rainie over to Old Master Crawford's side. "Grandfather, you were looking for me?"

"Hello, Great-grandfather," Rainie greeted Old Master Crawford with Luke.

"Oh my, let me take a look! Whose little princess is this, hmm?" Old Master Crawford put down the teacup and looked at Rainie. He was elated by what he saw.

"The Crawfords' little princess!" Rainie smiled sweetly and responded according to the cue.

"Oh, it's my little princess! No wonder she's so pretty, hmm?" Old Master Crawford did not hold back as he praised Rainie.

However, his praises stirred jealousy within Thea.

None of the elderly had praised her like this when she arrived, yet Rainie easily gathered the praises of their great-grandfather. It was unfair.

Thea was also wearing an expensive little dress with a small tiara. She was just as pretty as Rainie.

Despite her indignance, Thea did not dare to do anything in front of the elderly.

Rainie smiled and leaned against Old Master Crawford. "Great-grandfather, did you know Ms. Luca was the one who did my hair? It looks nice, right? It's just like her hairstyle!"

"No wonder you're even prettier than you used to be! Luca did it for you, hmm? Where is she, by the way?" Old Master Crawford looked up at Luke and asked.

"Over there," Luke pointed in a direction.

Old Master Crawford narrowed his eyes slightly. "Why isn't she sitting with us?"

"There's no space," Luke replied. A table had 10 seats, and there were nine of them and one butler. "She's sitting there with Nina."

"I see. Still, Luca should've come to say hi." Despite his words, Old Master Crawford showed no displeasure on his face.

"Luca prefers to keep a low profile. She'll come and say hi after dinner," Luke said as he sat on his chair. Not seeing his two sons, he asked, "Where's Lanie and Tommy?"

"There's a children's playground in the banquet hall, so they're there playing. Don't worry, the butler's there with them," Old Master Crawford replied. Boys tended to have more energy to burn, so when he saw how the two boys wanted to play, Old Master Crawford had the butler bring them to the playground.

Luke nodded.

"Oh, right. I heard there's good news with Watson recently?" Old Master Crawford asked.

"Yeah. It's Luca's research. Clinical data for phase three is out and results are better than predicted. We should be able to apply for a patent and have it in the market after the new year," Luke replied. This meant that Watson Pharmaceuticals was formally about to make gains.

"Luca's a smart girl," Old Master Crawford praised.

Luke nodded in agreement.

She had always been this smart. As long as she put her mind to it, she would give it her all and never give up until she achieved her goal.

This was something that persisted from when she was still Bianca.

Over at Luca's table.

Percy sent Nina to her respective table and turned to Luca. "Dr. Craw, I'll be leaving Nina in your care for now."

"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one will get to bully her." Luca smiled and put her phone back in her purse. With Nina here, she no longer needed to busy herself with her phone.

"Oh my God, stop. Go back to your seat already." Nina pushed Percy away. She had already gained the attention of a lot of people by coming with Percy.

She was unused to being stared at by so many people. It reminded her of a wedding ceremony in the church.

If she truly got married, she would openly accept those gazes on herself. However, she was not getting married now and the questioning gazes thrown at her made her feel very uncomfortable.

"Alright. Look for me if anything happens," Percy said.

"Don't worry about me. I have Luca here." Nina then wrapped her arm around Luca's.

Percy shook his head with a smile and left.

Nina let out a sigh of relief. "He's finally gone."

"What's this? Do you dislike Mr. Mallory?" Luca teased her.

"What? No, of course not. But didn't you see the looks everyone was giving me? Everyone's been looking at me from the moment I walked in. It's like they're pointing guns at me. All that staring is giving me goosebumps," Nina complained.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2312-“Maybe they think you're beautiful, so they want to keep looking at you," Luca comforted her with a joke.

"Don't joke around. I know they're staring because of that news headline." Nina was well aware that even if the news was kept under wraps, everyone else still knew of her dark past.

Not to mention that she was still together with Percy. This banquet was the perfect time for everyone to gossip about her.

"That didn't affect your relationship with Mr. Mallory, so why does it matter what other people think?" Luca consoled.

"Thank you." Nina smiled at Luca gratefully. It was thanks to Luca's comforting words that she managed to recover from that incident so quickly.

She wanted to live for her own sake and not care about what other people thought.

Luca looked around. More people have arrived since she sat down, and most of the seats in the banquet hall were filled.

It should be another half an hour before the banquet began.

"What a splendid banquet," Nina exclaimed beside her.

"Mhmm. It's Young Master Louis' mother, after all. It's only right to have grander decorations," Luca replied.

"Did you see the necklace she was wearing?" Nina's eyes lit up as she started to gossip.

"I did. It's a very pretty set." Luca thought back to the necklace she saw Susan wear. The light reflected off it beautifully. It must have cost a fortune.

"The set was only released last month. It's limited, and there are only three sets worldwide," Nina told her. To improve herself and better match Percy, Nina fostered the habit of reading fashion magazines frequently.

Among the magazines was an article introducing the set of jewelry, and it reported how two duchesses had physically fought each other over it. She was shocked to read such a thing, so she kept in mind the design of the jewelry set.

"Only three worldwide?" Luca frowned.

Sure, Louis was a Crawford and held shares of T Corporation. He also had his own company. However, his own company was more of a workshop than a corporation. Louis might earn more than ordinary salarymen, but he was far from being extremely wealthy.

Since Louis' business was under his own name and not his family's, the money he earned from his own company was about the same as the dividends he earned from T Corporation.

Where did Louis get his hands on so much money to buy this set of jewelry from someone else?

“Yeah, and this incident occurred overseas too. I think Susan put in a lot of effort just to get her hands on this set of jewelry," Nina said. She saw a lot of wealthy housewives surrounding Susan when she arrived, so she looked over and happened to see the jewelry Susan wore.

The fact that she allowed so many people to take a closer look meant Susan was wearing the real deal.

Nina could not help but exclaim how wealthy Susan must be to spend so much money on just a jewelry set.

"Young Master Louis has many connections," Luca replied. She had never heard Luke say anything about the jewelry, so it must have been from Louis.

"Regardless, she's truly become the spotlight of all the wealthy housewives tonight. Thank goodness Luke's mother isn't here, or she might faint from anger." Nina knew a considerable amount about infighting within the Crawford family.

After all, when Susan and Allison used to fight, her best friend Bianca was the one who ended up suffering the most. As Bianca's good friend, it was only normal for Nina to know more about it.

Luca nodded. She was not interested in Susan's matters, but Nina had brought Allison up.

Luca felt uncomfortable.

Susan was holding a banquet happily while Allison was undergoing treatment for her face outside the country. It was certain that any treatment was just a stopgap measure and no amount of treatment could truly fix the issue.

Meanwhile, Luke was alone and silently suffering.

Luca looked over to the man sitting at the main table.

More attendants started to fill the banquet hall, including the other members of the Mallory family.

Madam Mallory had no idea that Nina had arrived too, not when Percy was the only one sitting at their family table.

She only saw Nina when someone at the adjacent table brought it up.

Madam Mallory frowned. Not wanting to cause a scene, she whispered to Percy, "What's going on? This is an important event. How could you bring her here? Are you trying to turn against the whole

Mallory family in public?"

Percy looked up cooly and irony flashed in his eyes. "Nina was invited."

"Why would the Crawford family invite her? Who does she think she is?" Madam Mallory refused to believe him. Then, she recognized Luca who was sitting beside Nina.

In Madam Mallory's eyes, both of them did not have the status to be in the banquet hall. She believed that Luca was only invited because of Luke.

However, she knew that Luca was not the kind to invite Nina, so she assumed that Nina was here because of Percy.

"Nina is Old Master Crawford's god-granddaughter," Percy reminded her coldly.

Madam Mallory glared at him. When they went to ask for an explanation, Old Master Crawford had admitted Nina as his god-granddaughter on a video call. Then, there were no further updates on the matter.

Madam Mallory initially believed that the news was fake and something Luca had asked for from Luke, so she did not pay it any mind.

“What kind of nonsense are you spewing?" Madam Mallory did not believe him.

“If you don't believe me, you can see for yourself later. Old Master Crawford personally invited Nina," Percy stated.

On the other end, the butler walked over to Old Master Crawford and whispered in his ear.

Old Master Crawford stood up with the help of his walking cane. He had been entertaining people of high status from various industries and was rather tired, but there was still something important that he

had yet to do.

"Where are you going, Grandfather?" Luke asked.

"Off to do something good," Old Master Crawford said with a mysterious smile. He waved off the people who approached to greet him and made his way to Luca and Nina's table.

Everyone watched the old man make his way through the hall before stopping at Luca and Nina's table.

Guests who arrived early knew that Luca had arrived with Luke.

"Old Master Crawford!" When Luca saw the man stand by their table, she quickly stood up to support him.

Old Master Crawford waved her off and quickly said, "There's no need to be so nervous. I just decided to come and say hi since I saw that you've arrived. How are you doing, Nina?"

Nina stood up as well and smiled at Old Master Crawford. "I'm doing great, Old Master Crawford. Quick, come sit."

"No need, it's alright. I just came to greet the two of you. You're both extremely beautiful today," Old Master Crawford praised the two of them.

Nina knew that the man was helping her and looked at him with gratitude.

"Nina, you must come more often to the Crawford Manor when you're free. Spend more time with your god-grandfather, hmm?" Old Master Crawford continued.

"I promise," Nina replied. Their conversation was heard by the few tables around them.

"Alright. The banquet's about to begin, so I'll go back first. Eat more tonight, alright? We've got a lot of good food in store." Old Master Crawford winked at them mischievously before he made his way back

to the main table.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2313-From afar, Madam Mallory was infuriated by the sight she saw. She gripped the silk table cloth as she tried to suppress her emotions.

She thought that Percy was lying.

She was so sure that Nina's attendance today was Percy's doing.

Yet Old Master Crawford's behavior made it clear that she had assumed wrongly.

Today was an important event, and countless people were trying to find a chance to talk to Old Master Crawford. Still, the old man did not even smile at most of them. Instead, he opted to respond superficially and leave Luke to entertain them.

Even so, he was smiling at Nina now.

Percy naturally deduced what his mother was feeling and said calmly, “So, now do you believe that I say is the truth?"

"Even if Old Master Crawford admits her as his god-granddaughter, your grandfather still won't ever allow your relationship." Madam Mallory wore a slightly wretched expression on her face.

Percy replied calmly, "I don't need anyone's allowance. This is my marriage. I'll choose who I marry myself. Force me again and what happened to the Johnston family will happen again."

Percy reminded Madam Mallory of what he had done before.

The once powerful Johnston family was now in shambles, unable to even sustain the business of one company under their name. Madison had also gone crazy after what he did.

Percy's actions had caused Madam Mallory to be the target of discussion and commentary. People believed that she suggested a marriage union with the Johnston family just to slowly acquire all the Johnston's assets.

As such, no one else agreed to marry their daughters to Pierre.

Madam Mallory's expression soured greatly.

With Pierre's support, Old Master Mallory returned to his seat.

The old master had wanted to use the bathroom just now, and Pierre saw it as a great opportunity to prove himself. Hence, he volunteered to guide his grandfather there.

As such, neither of them saw the scene regarding Old Master Crawford and Nina.

Old Master Mallory took in his daughter-in-law's sour expression and asked, "What happened?"

"I'll tell you when we get home, Father," Madam Mallory replied. There was no guarantee if her father- inlaw would make a ruckus if he found out now. A ruckus would not reflect well on their family.

Old Master Mallory did not press further and merely glanced at Percy in response.

Ever since what happened with Nina, the grandfather-grandson had stopped talking to each other.

Pierre was curious, though. Hence, he leaned over to his mother's ear and whispered, "What happened, Mother?"

"I'll tell you when we get home. No more asking about this now." Madam Mallory waved her hand in annoyance and moved her chair slightly away.

Pierre was even more curious when he saw his mother's indignant expression.

However, he did not pester her further. The guests had mostly arrived. With the emcee's opening speech, the banquet officially began.

It was as Old Master Crawford said. The dishes were flavorful and rich, though Luca herself could not eat too much.

Nina saw how little Luca ate and asked softly, "Are the dishes not to your liking, Luca?"

"It's not that. My dress is too tight. My stomach will become bloated if I eat too much, and I'll look weird when I leave," Luca replied softly.

The two did not know anyone else at the table, so they did not speak too loudly when they conversed.

"What're you worried about? You're so skinny. Eat more. Don't starve yourself," Nina replied. The situation with the news made her extremely anxious. While her anxiety did not affect her diet, her sleep quality did get affected and she lost some weight because of it.

As such, Nina decided that she would eat more and gain back what she had lost.

"You should be the one eating more. Look, Mr. Mallory's watching you." Luca happened to glance over at Percy's table and saw the man smiling over at them.

"Stop. What are you saying that for? Eat your food." Nina tugged on her sleeve, not daring to look over in Percy's direction.

She was afraid of seeing the facial expressions of the other members of the Mallory family.

The rest of the family was maddeningly against her relationship with Percy. If not for Old Master Crawford, Nina would surely have faced even more of their wrath.

As a result, Nina was afraid of the other members of the Mallory family. She finally understood where Pierre learned his behavior.

It was because everyone else in the Mallory family acted like that, so Pierre grew up in such an environment. It was an environment that nurtured a fearless individual who would do such compulsive things.

From kidnapping to abuse, to even stealing confidential documents.

"You're embarrassed," Luca teased. She did not doubt that Old Master Crawford's visit was his way of helping Nina.

Luca could not help but admire how smart Old Master Crawford's strategy was. He went all out even for a small matter like this.

By visiting their table, the Mallory family naturally would not suspect the truth of whether Nina was Old Master Crawford's god-granddaughter.

“What? No, why would I be? Stop talking nonsense," Nina raised her glass of red wine and took a sip. “Oh, right. Are you staying in the country for the new year?"

"Where else would I go?" Luca asked.

“I was just curious if you'd take the opportunity of the long holiday and go back to visit your parents," Nina replied.

Only then did Luca recall that as far as everyone else was concerned, she came from Russia. It was only natural for her to visit her parents during the holidays.

However, Luca was the only one who knew that everyone on that document was fake.

Her parents were here, so there was nowhere for her to go. Luca shook her head. “I'm not, it's too much of a hassle to travel to and fro."

“Makes sense. They don't make such a big deal out of New Year's there anyway, right? If you're staying for the holiday, then we could probably meet up more often. Percy always has a bunch of dinners to go to by the end of the year, and they're all too boring for me. We can meet up and do something together during the holidays, yeah?" Nina proposed. She did not like going to work dinners with Percy.

She had never liked going to those dinners with Percy, and her dread for them only grew after what had happened recently.

“Sure," Luca agreed.

With Luca's company, Nina spent the rest of the banquet in high spirits and did not face any especially embarrassing situations.

By the time the banquet ended, Percy walked over and left with Nina in tow.

Luca, on the other hand, had to wait for Luke and their children before she could leave.

They had come in the same car and would be leaving in the same one as well.

As the Crawfords were hosting tonight's banquet, decorum insisted that Luke stand by the door and see the guests out even if he had not stood at the entrance to welcome guests earlier.

Not to mention, many people wanted to make connections with Luke. Those who had not had the chance to do so before the banquet took this opportunity to crowd him and leave an impression in hopes to foster a good opportunity for business cooperation.

Thus, Luke ended up busier than Susan and the others.

Luca sat on the chair and watched Luke who was standing outside. He was surrounded by a crowd.

The scene reminded her of die-hard fans swarming their idol for a signature and photo.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2314-Luca could not help but chuckle at the thought.

Luke was very busy, so she waited patiently for all the guests to leave. Once he was done, Luke walked over to her.

Beside him, Susan was sporting a huge frown on her face.

Her expression was filled with distaste when she watched Luke's retreating figure.

“Mother, I'll go and pay the hotel the rest of the fees." Louis watched the guests leave and decided to pay the outstanding figure.

"All you have in mind is matters like this. You're really going to infuriate me to death one day." Susan looked at him with disappointment.

Louis had also stood at the door to wave the guests off, but there were considerably fewer people who wanted to talk to Louis than those who wanted to talk to Luke. In fact, Louis' presence at the door did not seem to make any difference at all, since everyone only wanted to talk to Luke.

Her birthday celebration had easily become Luke's banquet.

Louis saw how Old Master Crawford was still within earshot and whispered, "Why are you angry again, Mother?"

He did not understand what his mother was dissatisfied with considering everything had already gone according to her standards.

"Can you not tell why I'm angry? You're both Crawfords, yet Luke's the one being surrounded by everyone else. What about you, hmm? Today is my birthday, not Allison's birthday!" Susan was

disappointed at the fact that Louis did not even show the desire to mingle when the crowd swarmed Luke. Instead, her son continued to wave the other guests off with a smile.

She did not understand why her son was so hopeless in comparison.

Louis was no stranger to comments like this. He usually responded with a smile and some consolation.

However, hearing Susan complain again today ignited and flamed the annoyance within him.

In truth, he knew that there was no comparing himself to Luke.

Louis understood why so many people liked talking to Luke. After all, it was only normal for people to want more profit-making opportunities.

As such, Louis had never gotten envious of Luke.

He knew he could not manage a business as big as T Corporation, especially not when the company was only getting busier each year.

However, Louis was also braver than Luke in the sense that he dared to chase after his dreams. As such, Louis had always seen himself as someone who lived a happier life than Luke since he could do what he wanted to do.

The life he lived was an easy and carefree one. Sure, there were occasionally some obstacles and difficulties, but having the support of the Crawford family made it so that even if his business failed, he would still be the respected second master of the Crawford family instead of a bankrupt man with nothing to his name.

He liked the life he was living.

However, Susan kept seeing his disinterest in the family business as hopelessness. He had already arranged the birthday celebration for her according to her requests, yet she still picked on him.

Louis found himself irked by her harsh words and wanted nothing more than to toss everything down and leave.

Yuri saw the shift in the expression on his face and summed up the courage to defend her husband. “Louis is already doing his best, Mother. Don't get angry at him. Let Louis pay the hotel manager first and then we'll go home, okay?"

Susan harrumphed, still displeased that Luke had stolen her limelight.

It was just further proof to her that Louis was not as competent as Luke.

This comparison only made Susan feel even more at lost. More than once, she had spoken of her desire for Louis to close his business or hire a professional manager to take over so that he could return to work for T Corporation. She wanted her son to work in one of the managerial levels in T Corporation so that Luke would not hold full control over it.

Louis never agreed.

Susan harrumphed again.

Yuri took Thea's hand and turned to Louis. "Go pay first. I'll be right here."

Louis' expression did not brighten, but he nodded and left.

"Mother, today's your birthday. Don't get angry today, alright?" Yuri consoled. She did not want to be the one to console Susan, but they were in public, and Susan's frown would only garner unruly discussions from other people.

"Does it look like I can be happy? Tell your husband to do better. Tell him to work harder or else he won't be able to afford Thea's expenses," Susan started berating when she heard Yuri.

Susan believed that the wife was to blame for her husband's lack of motivation, completely forgetting the fact that Louis had grown up in a carefree environment where he had never experienced any difficulties. Louis had not even experienced starvation or had to worry about not being able to afford his next meal. This was that fostered his personality now.

Not to mention that Susan had already started fighting Allison for her husband's attention back then. As such, she missed out on many opportunities to educate her son. This was why Louis acted the way he did now.

Yuri's expression soured as well when she heard Susan's remarks. "Mother, I'm sure Louis has his own reasonings. He's able to pay for Thea's education too."

It was not that she had never tried to talk to Louis about this, but every time she brought it up, Louis would refute her and his expression would darken.

Their marriage was an arranged one. While she had feelings for him, Louis treated her more as a family member than as a romantic partner. Therefore, with her experience, Yuri no longer dared to bring up the topic. Even if Louis did not appear to be high-achieving, he was still doing his best.

He was no longer as playful as he used to be too. That was enough for her.

Not to mention that the Crawford family was very wealthy and Louis' shares were enough to promise her a comfortable life.

Sure, she would feel regretful sometimes over the fact that her husband was not standing on the top of the power chain, but there was no point fussing over such a matter.

“Children must be spoilt. Look at Thea. She doesn't even have the chance to be admitted to her dream academy by way of connections. Imagine if it was Ranie. All anyone had to say is that she's Luke's daughter and she was admitted into the academy Thea's been wanting to get into for so long. Thea had to go through interviews twice and she still didn't make it. Do you not feel remorseful toward your daughter?" Susan's words were straightforward. She showed no regard for how her words would affect the children's feelings.

Most of the guests had left already, so she did not care if others would hear her. Even Old Master Crawford had long left with the butler.

Yuri was exasperated. Susan was talking about the academy where Ranie was learning dance.

Thea had applied a few times but had not passed or gotten enrolled in the academy.

An indignant look flashed through Thea's eyes.

On the other hand, Luke was slowly walking to the exit with Luca and their children. He saw the frown on Susan's face.

However, out of politeness, he still greeted her. "I'm bringing the children back first, Mother."

"Go. Thank you for helping Louis bid the guests farewell. You sure worked hard today." Despite thanking Luke, Susan's tone was rather ambiguous.

Everyone present could easily understand what she was intending to say.

Luca frowned slightly and glanced at Susan. However, if Luke said nothing, then it was not her place to make any remarks either.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2315-Luke's gaze darkened when he heard Susan's ambiguous tone.

Susan felt the strong and angry aura from Luke and took an instinctive small step backward. Only then did she realize that she was afraid of Luke.

Luke quirked his lips. From Susan's ambiguous tone and harsh appearance, Luke knew that Louis must have gotten an earful moments ago. “We'll be going back first."

“Drive safe, Brother," Yuri quickly said.

After Luke and Luca left with their children, Susan turned to glare at Yuri with displeasure. “Even you're so ready to chummy up to him, huh?"

“Mother, I'm not..." Yuri defended. She did not understand how her act of common courtesy had become chumming up to Luke in her mother's eyes.

After all, an act was only believable when one kept it up.

“Cut the attitude in front of children, lest they take after your bad example." Susan harrumphed. She did not like it when people tried to get in Luke's good graces.

Yuri listened exasperatedly to Susan, unable to defend herself.

Luke, Luca, and the children took the lift to the lobby on the first floor and happened to stumble into Louis who had just finished paying.

“You're leaving already, Brother?" Louis greeted Luke first.

“Yeah." Luke saw the receipt still in Louis' hand and asked, “Did you just pay?"

“Yeah. I only paid the deposit before, so I came to pay the outstanding amount once the banquet ended." Louis smiled. Despite how harsh Susan's words were, Louis harbored no resentment toward Luke.

“Are you free tomorrow?" Luke asked.

“I am. Why?" Louis assumed that Luke needed his help with something.

“Could you come over to T Corporation?" Luke asked.

“Sure. I'll arrive around 10, then. My mother and Yuri are still upstairs, so I'll be going first." Louis put the bill away. Susan's birthday celebration cost him a lot of money, but he did not dare to tell Susan so.

He was certain that if he did, Susan would only use it as fuel to scold him for being too incompetent to compete with Luke for T Corporation.

“Alright." Luke nodded.

Louis smiled at Luca and said, "I'll be going first, Dr. Craw. By the way, you look truly stunning today.

You're a great match with my brother."

Then, he went to the lift.

"Bye..." Luca waved. The compliment made her feel rather shy.

It was not because she was embarrassed over Louis saying that she looked stunning but because he said she was a great match with Luke.

Beside them stood Tommy who was rubbing his eyes after standing for a while. He turned to tell Luke, "I'm sleepy, Daddy." The little boy had exerted most of his energy playing with the other children.

Luke looked down at his son. Tommy and Lanie had gone wild in the children's playground today, so it was only natural that they were running out of energy. Luke replied, "We're going home right now."

"Up, Daddy. I'm too sleepy to walk." Tommy reached out. He originally wanted to ask Luca to carry him, but she might not agree, so he turned to ask Luke instead.

Luke was not the type to spoil his children too much, but Tommy looked truly pitiful at the moment. Luke glanced at Luca and realized that if he declined Tommy, Luca might end up carrying Tommy instead.

However, Tommy was no longer the same young toddler he used to be and the boy was considerably heavy now.

Luca might suffer if she were to carry their son.

As such, Luke bent down to carry Tommy before turning to look at Lanie and Rainie. "Let's go home."

"Okay, Daddy," the siblings replied.

Luca stepped forward and took both Lanie and Rainie's hands, holding one in each of her hands as they walked out of the hotel.

They looked like a happy family of five.

In the car, Tommy fell asleep where he sat between his siblings.

Luke had drunk tonight, so Luca took over the driver's seat on their way home.

It was late at night and snow was falling, so Luca made sure to drive carefully and slowly.

It was almost ten-thirty by the time they arrived back at the villa.

She let out a sigh of relief once the car was parked.

Tommy was napping, so the interior of the car remained especially quiet throughout the drive. Luke smiled at her before pushing open the car door and getting out.

Then, he opened the backseat door.

Rainie was the first to get off. She whispered, "Tommy's asleep, Daddy. Will you carry him upstairs?"

"I will." Then, Luke crouched into the car and picked Tommy up before walking toward the villa.

Luca entered the villa with the other two in tow as well.

After putting Tommy in his bedroom and closing the door, Luke turned to Lanie and Rainie. "It's getting late. Go wash up and sleep."

"Okay, Daddy," Lanie replied before retiring to his bedroom.

Rainie nodded as well and went to her bedroom.

Thus, Luke and Luca were the only ones left in the second corridor.

"I'm going to open a bottle of red wine. There's something I'd like to discuss with you," Luke said.

“Sure, but let me wash up first," Luca agreed. Her makeup look was exquisite, but wearing makeup for long hours blocked her pores. It did not feel comfortable on her face.

“Alright. I'll sober up as well," Luke replied.

Luca nodded and pushed open the door to her bedroom. She took her makeup off first and then took a shower and washed her hair.

She let out a long sigh of relief when she took off her tight-fitting dress. She much preferred loose clothing.

While she busied herself in the bathroom, Luke opened a bottle of red wine and washed up. After washing off the smell of food from the banquet, he changed into something comfortable and waited downstairs for Luca.

After all, women had more to do than men did.

Luke placed the bottle on the coffee table and took out two wine glasses. Then, he dimmed the living room lights and played some music.

In an instant, the atmosphere turned romantic.

Luca was stunned when she saw the scene after descending the stairs.

Luke sat on the sofa. The two glasses and bottle of red wine were still placed on the coffee table in front of him. It reminded Luca of the past when they would share a drink during their leisure time and chat about what was happening around them lately as they drank.

The children were all asleep by then, and without the disruption of their children, all they heard was music and sweet nothings from each other. The atmosphere also quickly led to them doing something else other than talking.

“What are you doing just standing there?" Luke looked at her and asked.

Luca snapped back to reality and sat on the sofa next to his.

“What did you want to talk about, Mr. Crawford?" She felt rather nervous as the atmosphere was starting to feel like a date to her.

Luke did not respond, instead opting to pick up the wine bottle and pour the two of them a glass of red wine. Then, he handed one to Luca. “Have some."

Luca wanted to decline, but she had already recovered from her cold and had no reason to reject the wine. She took the glass, thanked him, and clinked glasses with him.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2316-Luca's heart skipped a beat at the sound.

If not for the ambiguous and warm atmosphere of the living room, she might have thought that Luke realized something and wanted to question her under the excuse of drinking.

The gentle sound of the piano drifted from the speakers, and Luca felt herself relaxing. She did not ask Luke what he wanted to talk about and opted to listen to the music instead.

With her emotions calmed, she started drinking more wine without realizing it.

The red wine was tasty and quickly made her lightheaded. Luke stared at Luca's flushed cheeks and decided that she looked much more enchanting like this than she did with the makeup blush.

He wanted nothing more than to engrave this enchanting look in his mind forever.

Luke's gaze darkened. His desire for Luca was growing, but he forced himself to rein it in.

He did not want this woman to feel afraid of him.

Up until this moment, Luke had yet to find out why Luca was so willing to stay under the control of the Island of Despair.

He knew that she would not allow herself to be controlled unless the Island of Despair had a very important token in their hands.

As such, Luke did not dare to act rashly, not even if the woman in front was someone he was most familiar and intimate with.

Luca saw the burning desire in his eyes and put down the wine glass, straightening her posture in the process. The music and the wine had her almost forgetting what they were here for in the beginning.

“Mr. Crawford, there was something you wanted to talk about?"

Luke frowned with displeasure when he heard her call him 'Mr. Crawford'. However, upon remembering that she was being forced, he could only sigh and accept her distancing herself from him.

"Are you going back to Russia for New Year's this year?" Luke asked.

"I'm not," Luca replied without much thought. Everyone else could spend New Year's at home with their family, but it was different for her. She was with her family, but she had a completely different identity now.

"That's nice. So you'll be spending the holidays in A City, right?" Luke confirmed.

"Yeah." Luca nodded.

"Let's go buy gifts this weekend, then," Luke suggested.

Luca did not expect such an invitation from Luke, since gift purchasing was usually done by Aunt Neile.

Luca had no choice but to brave on. “Mr. Crawford, I don't believe I'm well versed with the practices of New Year's here."

Luke watched her try to lie with exasperation but knew that he could not expose her. "Then we'll have Aunt Neile come with us."

Luca's lips parted. She originally wanted to offer to leave the preparations to Aunt Neile, but the man's decision had destroyed all chances to raise such an offer.

"Don't you want to experience the Thanksgiving atmosphere?" Luke looked at her. "Lanie and the others look forward to this holiday a lot. Buying gifts is a crucial part of this festivity."

"Alright, then..." Luca wanted to spend New Year's with her children as well.

Luke put down the glass. As they chatted, they managed to drink more than half a bottle of red wine. Luca herself had finished the other half.

He raised his gaze to look at the time. It was already past 11.

They had both drank and were slightly tipsy. To retire to bed now guaranteed the best sleeping quality.

Luke took Luca's hand and stood. "Time to sleep."

"Hmm?" Luca let him pull her up. She was confused since Luke said that there was something he wanted to discuss. 'Was gift purchasing all he wanted to discuss?'

"We've already discussed everything," Luke said as he walked toward the stairs.

Luca followed him to the second floor.

Luke pushed open Luca's bedroom door and walked in. Then, he took off his jacket to reveal sleepwear underneath.

Luca made no comment when she saw his actions. She took her jacket off to reveal her sleepwear as well. Then, the two of them climbed into bed.

Luke shuffled around until he found a comfortable position and wrapped his arms around her to sleep.

Luca was used to sleeping in his arms as well, so she did not move around and fell asleep too.

The following day at Crawford Manor.

Susan sat on the sofa as she scrolled through the photos sent to her by the photographer.

It was the photographer Louis had employed to take photos of the banquet the night before. The photographer was rather famous in A City, and Susan scrolled through the photos projected on the TV

screen with satisfaction.

The photographer was skilled, and she looked beautiful in his photos.

The photographer continued to show her the photos seeing as Susan made no comments about them.

That was until Susan saw a photo of Luca and Luke entering the venue. She frowned. "Why'd you take photos of them?"

The photographer looked at the photo and explained, "I take photos of essentially every guest, but because they're candid pictures, I can't guarantee that every photo is of good quality. So I usually save photos that are relatively well taken."

He was an experienced photographer and knew that many hosts liked to have photos of their guests taken for reference.

Not to mention that the photographer recognized Luke. Besides, a good-looking couple was always nice to take photos of, so he snapped a few more shots of them.

He did not expect the photos to garner Susan's displeasure.

“I was the main character of the night. Why were you taking photos of unrelated people?" They were on the second floor, so Susan had no fear that Old Master Crawford would hear what she was saying. As such, Susan's choice of words was harsh and implied that Luke was not part of her family.

"Unrelated..." The photographer was confused. Luke was a Crawford too, so he did not understand why Luke was suddenly 'someone unrelated'.

"Every photo that contains Luke is to be deleted. I don't want to see any photos I'm not in," Susan said as she scrolled through them, only to realize that the next few photos were all of Luke.

Three of them had Luca too.

The woman was dressed simply that night. When Susan saw the necklace Luca was wearing yesterday, she found it rather plain and did not understand why the photographer took photos of her.

"Alright. I'll delete them right away." The photographer did not understand what Susan was thinking, but since the customer was always right, he immediately deleted the pictures on his computer.

Susan was still displeased. She felt insulted to know that Luke's photos were taken along with hers.

After all, Luke was Allison's son, and Allison was a mistress her husband cheated on her with. Susan had never been able to throw either of them out of the Crawford family. She took it as a personal attack on her status as her husband's legal wife.

She had endured the humiliation for years, and it built resentment deep within her.

The photographer arrived at the next photo after deleting the photos of Luke. It was a family photo, so he decided to ask Susan first before deleting it. "Do you want this deleted too, Madam Crawford?"

It was a family photo, meaning Luke was in it too.

Susan glared at the photo and was about to tell the photographer to delete it when she suddenly thought about Old Master Crawford.

Old Master Crawford was the one who asked for a family photo as he said that it had been years since the one at home was last updated. Hence, he wanted to take the chance to update it.

If she deleted this photo, she did not know how she should explain it to Old Master Crawford.

"Leave it." Susan finally decided after much thought.

Old Master Crawford was still the head of the family, so it was not her place to decide whether to delete the photo or not.

The photographer nodded and continued to scroll through the photos.

Since Louis had selected the most expensive photo-taking service, many photos ended up being saved and left for Susan to decide whether to refine the photos or leave them be.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2319-Luke saved the photos and said in a calm voice, “You talked too much today."

“When do I not?" Louis said, "I've always been chattering away while following behind you since I was young. You should've gotten used to it, right?"

Luke was already Louis' brother when he was born.

Although Susan had always told Louis that Luke was his enemy, it did not affect his admiration for Luke.

Louis loved following behind Luke since he was young. He was naughty and playful too. Thus, he did not learn much from Luke and his strengths.

"That's true. You're as talkative as an old woman. Oh, give me the photographer's contact details. I'd like to print some photos too," answered Luke.

"Nonsense. Don't you ruin my tall and masculine image," Louis laughed jokingly. Then, he gave the photographer's contact number to Luke. Louis glanced at the time, then he rose to his feet and said, "Brother, I've sent you his contact number. I shouldn't be bothering you anymore. I'm leaving now."

"Stay for a while more. Let's have lunch later," Luke invited him.

"No, thanks. I have a meeting to attend at 11. I'll be just in time if I go back and prepare for it now," replied Louis. Although the crisis had been overcome at the moment, that incident also showed that his company was not strong enough to handle the crisis.

Louis had to come up with a plan and prepare himself so that he would not be at his wit's end when he met such clients in the future.

Luke did not make him stay when he sensed that Louis was preoccupied with his work.

After Louis left, Luke picked up his phone and stared at the photos. A warm smile appeared on his cold and expressionless face.

Luke looked at the photos of Luca and himself. A thought came into his mind, 'We're made for each other.'

Luca looked stunning in that dress that night.

One of the photos was taken from behind them.

Luca's face could not be seen, but he could see that she was just like before just by looking at her silhouette.

She was still Bianca.

Luke missed the old days, but at the same time, he knew it was useless to reminisce.

He had to investigate the background of the Island of Despair as soon as possible.

However, it was easier said than done.

Back then, it only took him a while to wipe out the Island of Despair because he had been taken there. He kept his mind clear when they tried to brainwash him, and he was able to figure things out quickly.

Now, it seemed that other than Luca and the people from the Island of Despair, no one else was familiar with the organization.

Many forces in Russia were currently looking for the stronghold of the Island of Despair. The comeback of the Island of Despair had caused them to be taken advantage of. That was why they were working together to find out where their stronghold was. They hoped to turn the tide.

However, they had yet to find anything until today.

Luke's brows furrowed.

He felt helpless about Luca's matter this time.

He had spent a long time looking for the Island of Despair, but he had no idea where their hideout was.

His computer screen lit up, notifying him that he had received an email.

Luke clicked on it. It was an email in Russian. He quickly opened the email.

It was an email from Ray.

Ray stated in the email that his men had not found the stronghold of the Island of Despair. At the same time, he would bring Vivian to his country for a vacation during New Year's. He wanted Vivian to get familiar with the environment there.

Vivian was offered admission to the Capital University in A City.

There was a slight trace of disappointment in Luke's eyes. There was still no sign of the stronghold. He replied to Ray in Russian: [You're always welcome here.]

The moment Luke sent the email, Ray sent another email to him and reminded him not to tell Gordan about their schedule.

Luke frowned. What did this have anything to do with Gordan?

He had been investigating the Island of Despair and instructing people to keep an eye on Matysh after he returned.

That was why he did not pay attention to what had been going on with Gordan and Vivian after they divorced.

However, Vivian seemed to have moved on. Was Gordan unable to let go? Luke did not think Gordan would be looking for Vivian, so he just replied: [Don't worry. I won't mention anything about it.]

Aunt Neile delivered the lunchbox to the office when it was noontime.

Luke headed downstairs carrying the lunchbox in his hands. Jason called him when he walked out of his office, “Boss, are you going to have lunch now?"

"Yes." Luke turned around and looked at him.

"There's an unscheduled international video conference around 1:30 p.m. Will you be able to make it? The branch office in New York requested it," Jason discussed with him.

"Yes," Luke agreed to attend the meeting. He should have finished eating lunch with Luca by then.

"Okay. Then let me have it arranged," said Jason.

Luke arrived at the laboratory downstairs with the lunchbox in his hands, and he directly walked into Luca's office.

Zoey saw him passing by when she was in her office. She did not stop him. After all, who would have the guts to stop their boss?

Zoey shot a glance and lowered her head to continue her work.

Rhett got out of the laboratory and returned to the office. He noticed that Zoey was still working and asked, “Aren't you going out for lunch today?"

“I've ordered takeout. It's too cold out there. I don't feel like moving at all," answered Zoey.

Rhett nodded. He picked up the document on his table and glanced at it. Then, he asked, "Is this for Dr. Craw to sign?"

"I think so. Let me see," Zoey took the document from him and glanced at it. She confirmed and said, "Yes, Dr. Craw has to sign on the last page of the document."

"Let me take this to her office," said Rhett. He was about to walk out of the office.

Zoey quickly stopped him, "Mr. Link, it's not urgent. Why don't you wait until after lunch break..."

"Why? Dr. Craw has just returned to her office. She hasn't left yet," Rhett asked with confusion.

Zoey shook her head and replied, "You're too busy to notice that Boss has been bringing lunch boxes into Dr. Craw's office every day. Won't you be the third wheel if you head there now?"

"Boss. Mr. Crawford? He's in Dr. Craw's office?" Rhett widened his eyes. He was a little lost as he had never seen him here.

"Yes. This has been going on for the past few days. Just wait until lunch break is over. You can ask Dr. Craw to sign the document after that. It's not urgent anyway," Zoey returned to her seat calmly.

Would they not be getting themselves into trouble if they knocked on Luca's office door now?

Everyone knew Luke's character. Usually, they would not bother him if it had nothing to do with work. Sometimes, they even had to be careful when they needed to see him to discuss work. They had to be careful around him if they wanted to avoid getting into trouble.

"Okay," Rhett put the document back on the table and left a note to remind himself that he must bring the document to Luca and have her sign it.

"Has Mr. Crawford been having lunch with Dr. Craw these days?" he asked.

"Yes. Every day. And it seems like his maid is the one who delivers the lunchboxes," Zoey answered. She happened to see his housemaid delivering the lunch boxes when she was buying lunch downstairs.

"Fortunately, you told me earlier. Otherwise, I could have gotten myself in trouble," Rhett said calmly. He seldom stayed in the office. That was why he did not see who came in.

If it were not for Zoey reminding him, it would not be as simple as becoming the third wheel.

Twins In Her Womb: Sir President Please Be Gentle Chapter 2320-Zoey gave a snort of laughter and said nothing more.

Luca's office.

After Luca watched Luke fill up her plate for her, she took it from him and thanked him, “Thank you."

“My pleasure," replied Luke. He was not in a hurry to have lunch. Instead, he picked up his phone and sent their photos to Luca. "I've attached three photos in the message and sent it to you. Take a look at them."

Luca put down her plate, picked up her phone, and saw the message.

The photos of Luke and her came into sight.

Luca looked at him with surprise and said, "The photos..."

"They were taken by the photographer last night," replied Luke, "Louis thought they looked good, so he sent them to me."

"They do," Luca gently touched the photos on her phone screen as though she was caressing the people in the photos.

The photos were just of the two of them.

They were candid shots.

Their truest moments were captured in every photo.

One of the photos was taken from behind them. Luca could see that her silhouette was still the same as before, and there were hardly any changes.

Although she did not put her hand on Luke's arm, the distance between them was very close.

Anyone would have known that Luke and Luca came to the dinner together with just a glance. They stood close to each other like they were a loving couple.

The photographer had captured the other two photos well too. One of them was of Luca looking at Luke, while the other one was of Luke staring at her.

Although they were only photos, she could feel the sweet sentiments between them in the photos.

Luca could not help but feel surprised. Before seeing the photos, she never knew that the way she looked at Luke was so tender.

Luke was smart. He must have noticed that too.

"They're great photos," she mumbled. "It's a pity that we didn't get to take a photo with the kids."

Luca had promised Rainie that they would take a photo together after she came back. They did not get the chance to take one as Tommy had already fallen asleep.

"I've already contacted the photo studio the photographer is working at. Let's bring the kids to the photo studio for a photoshoot session after we get some stuff this Saturday," said Luke. He had already made the appointment with the photographer.

"Photoshoot session?" Luca clicked her tongue. She had promised Rainie to take a photo yesterday, but was there a need to head to the photo studio?

Besides, Luca had a tripod stand and a camera.

"Lanie and the others have grown up a lot this year. It's almost New Year's, and I think we should take some photos of them so we can look back on this time. That's why I got them a portrait photography

package," said Luke. He even booked a portrait photography package for Luca.

Also, he did not tell Luca that he had already contacted the person who did her makeup last night. The makeup artist would head to the photo studio and doll her up this Saturday. After all, Luke liked how she dressed Luca up for the birthday dinner.

"Okay," Luca nodded. She thought Luke's idea was great.

The children were still young, but they would grow up soon. If they could take some portrait photos every year when they were growing up, they would be able to look back at the photos when they grew up in the future.

It was meaningful.

Luca picked up her plate and spoon while saying, "Let's go to the photo studio this Saturday, then."

"Okay," Luke picked up his plate as well and began eating.

Luke left Luca's office after lunch. Then, Luca sat on her office chair while holding her phone. She had been looking at the three photos.

When lunch break was over, someone knocked on the door. Only then did Luca put down her phone and say, "Come in."

Rhett pushed the door open. Even though he saw Luke leaving Luca's office when he was in the assistant's office, he still acted carefully as he was scared by the thought of getting into trouble.

"Dr. Craw, this is a document that you need to sign," Rhett looked around the office to make sure that there was no one else there. Only then did he hand the document to Luca.

"Okay." Luca took it from him, glanced at the contents, and said, "I'll have to read through the document first. I'll hand it to you after I sign it."

"Take your time. Just inform me to come over and take the document from you after you sign it," Rhett quickly got out of Luca's office and closed the door behind him after that.

Luca was dumbfounded. Were there any monsters in her office?

Why did Luca feel that Rhett was not as comfortable as usual when he was facing her just now?

Luca stopped thinking about it. She opened the file and read the document.

Her phone rang when she was about to finish reading the document.

Luca picked it up and glanced at her phone. It was an international call, and the calling code seemed to be from Russia.

Could it be Amur who was calling her?

Luca immediately answered the call and spoke in Russian fluently, "Hello."

“Is this Luca?" Vivian's voice came from the other end of the line.

Luca recognized her voice. She was a little disappointed as she thought it was Amur. Although he had returned to the island, he would be assigned to carry out missions anytime. Hence, she thought it was Amur who called.

“Yes, it's Luca. Vivian, how are you doing these days?" Luca asked.

“I'm fine. Thank you," Vivian sounded gentle.

Luca was listening to her from the other end of the line. She had always thought that if she had never seen Vivian in person, she would imagine her to be a gentle and beautiful woman through her voice alone.

"Luca, there's something I'd like to tell you. I've been officially accepted by Capital University. I'll be heading there for my studies in February," said Vivian. She was admitted to the university as a transferred student.

Capital University had made an exception to take Vivian in. It was not only because Vivian's application report was well-written but also because Ray had talked to a senior executive working at Capital University about sponsoring a library.

Hence, one of the slots for transfer students was reserved for her.

"Congratulations, Vivian! You're one step closer to your dreams," Luca knew applying for Capital University was Vivian's first step toward her dreams.

“Thank you. Oh, Ray told me that we'll be going there for a holiday around New Year's so that I can get familiar with the culture and weather in A City as soon as possible. Luca, you should be around during New Year's, right?" Vivian confirmed with her.

Luca had left quite an impression on Vivian after she came to Russia for a short business trip.

“Yes, I'll be here. We can celebrate New Year's together if you're coming here together with Mr. Lacroix," replied Luca.

“That's great. I love the culture there. We'll celebrate New Year's together, then," replied Vivian.

“Sure," Luca agreed with it.

“Luca, I'd still like to thank you." Vivian paused for a moment and expressed her gratitude. If it were not for Luca who ran into her on the street and comforted her in the hotel, Vivian would not have made her decision so soon.

Crying was not the best choice to say goodbye to her past. It would be better if she could start to live the life she had always wanted. The dreams she had never achieved were her motivation to start a new life.

Luca was the one who told her all this.