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 rtionship." 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 andmentary. 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-inw''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-


    iw 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 nced 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 vorful 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 be 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 nce 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 rtionship 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 suchpulsive


    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 ss 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''spany, 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 hade 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 wee guests earlier.


    RêAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    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.