After Luca took the elevator down to the first floor, her mind went nk as she walked back to her car.
When she tried to start the car engine, she realized that her strength had beenpletely drained. She
leaned against the driver''s seat for a while. The dull pain in her heart still would not go away.
She knew that she could not drive in this condition.
This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.
Luca pursed her pale lips and picked up her phone to request a designated driver through an app.
Ten minutester, the designated driver arrived at the hospital parking lot driving an electric scooter.
After finding Luca based on her car''s license te, he lightly tapped the driver''s side door. He asked,
"Miss, did you request a designated driver?"
"Yes," answered Luca. She still could not recover her strength, and the waves of pain continued to
gue her.
Even though she tried to calm herself down, that unsettling feeling persisted.
Luca took a deep breath and mustered all her strength to push open the car door. She leaned against
the car and opened the back door.
The driver noticed that something was off with Luca. He was concerned that something might happen.
Hence, he asked, "Miss, are you feeling unwell? Should I take you to the emergency room to see a
doctor?"
Luca knew what was wrong with her. She was just having an emotional breakdown, which was why she
ended up like this. She would be fine once she calmed down.
"No need. Just take me home." After Luca declined him, she bit her lip as she sat in the back seat.
Once she stopped worrying about the misunderstandings between Luke, Queenie, and Wanda, she
would feel much better.
The driver saw Luca''s condition and continued to convince her, "But you don''t look good, and I..."
"Just drive, I''m fine," interrupted Luca. Then, she bit her lip. All the worries that had been building up for
the past few days suddenly overwhelmed her, and she could not bear it. The pain in her heart became
too much to endure.
She did not know what to do.
Should she continue to keep her identity a secret? It would make things difficult for Luke, and Queenie
and Wanda would continue to misunderstand him. Or should she be honest with them and make Luke
bear more responsibility and pressure?
The driver decided to record their conversation since Luca refused to see the doctor, just in case any
problems arose on the way. That way, he would not be med if anything happened to her.
He sat in the driver''s seat, fastened his seatbelt, set up the navigation, and said, "Since you insist on
not going to the hospital for a check-up, I will now take you home as per the navigation''s directions.
Please fasten your seatbelt."
Luca clenched her teeth, reluctantly fastening her seatbelt.
The driver, feeling relieved, drove her home following the navigation.
When they arrived at the residential area, the car smoothly entered the area because Luca''s car was
registered with the property management.
Luca slightly opened her eyes. She had calmed down a little while she was on her way back. She
should be able to drive herself from here. She said to the driver, "Just park the car on the side."
"Okay, got it," replied the driver. He had been keeping an eye on the passenger in the back seat
throughout the journey as he was afraid that something might happen.
Fortunately, they arrived safely at their destination.
The driver parked the car to the side, unfastened his seatbelt, and got out of the car. As he left the
vehicle, he took a quick nce at the neighborhood.
The area near the entrance was already quite upscale. It was a high-end residentialmunity.
The driver could not help but shoot another nce at Luca''s car, wondering why someone living in
such an upscale ce was driving a car like that.
Luca pushed open the back door and returned to the driver''s seat. After settling the fare with the driver,
the driver dared not to linger here any longer. Thus, the driver carried his electric scooter and left.
Luca drove carefully back to the vi.
She chose not to let the driver take her back home because aside from starting to feel better, she did
not want to divulge too much about Luke''s predicament.
After Luca parked her car, she let out a slow breath of relief.
Fortunately, she made it back safely.
Luca sat in the car for a while. Nina had heard the sound of the car but did not see anyoneing in
even after a while. Thus, she came out to check. Luca then unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Luca? Are you back?" asked Nina.
"Yes, it''s me," replied Luca as she pushed open the car door. The moment her feet touched the ground,
there was a slight tremor.
"What happened? Why do you sound so weak?" Nina could immediately tell something was off by the
tone of Luca''s voice and immediately came forward.
Luca closed the car door and asked, "Have the kids woken up?"
"Don''t worry. They haven''t woken up. They probably didn''t even realize you had left." Nina stepped
forward to help her. She could not help but wonder why Luca had returned in this condition when she
had been perfectly fine before she left.
Luca let Nina help her.
The two of them slowly made their way into the living room. Nina guided her to the sofa and said,
"Here, have a seat. I''ll get you a ss of water."
The living room was brightly lit. It was only now that Nina noticed how pale Luca''splexion was.
She could not tell if something terrifying had happened to her or if she was feeling unwell.
"Thanks." Luca knew she needed a ss of water to help her recover.
Nina quickly went to the kitchen, poured a ss of warm water, and handed it to Luca.
Luca took it and drank several sips in session. She then ced the ss on the coffee table.
"Nina, thank you for tonight. It''s gettingte, why don''t you tell Mr. Mallory that you''ll spend the night
here? It''s not safe to drive back at this hour," suggested Luca.
Nina initially did not consider spending the night here, but seeing Luca in such a state and with Luke
not at home, she felt uneasy about leaving Luca alone. If something happened, what could the children
do to help?
She nodded and replied, "I''ll talk to him shortly. But what''s wrong with you? You don''t look good."
"I''ve just learned some news that''s been hard to ept.” Luca forced a bitter smile. The people she
cared for the most were suffering because of her hidden identity, and it was something she was
struggling toe to terms with.
She wanted to protect them.
However, was keeping this under wraps now actually a form of protection?
The answer was clearly negative.
Nina frowned slightly. When she saw the bitter smile on Luca''s face, she suddenly realized that the
person before her was not as strong as she thought.
Nina once believed Luca to be an exceptionally strong woman who could not be easily defeated.
However, it seemed that things were not as she had assumed.
"Luca, where is Mr. Crawford?" Nina thought Luca needed somefort.
"He''s probably busy," answered Luca. She did not know how Lukeforted Wanda or if he was
sessful in doing so. She was not sure if he was on his way back.
Nina heard her and understood that she did not want to disturb Luke. Hence, she resolved to stay with
Luca. After briefly exining the situation to Percy and receiving his response, she said, "Come on. Let
me help you upstairs.
"No matter how bad things may be, they''ll eventually pass. Right now, you should go upstairs and rest.
We can figure out how to deal with this tomorrow."
Luca nodded. She really needed to lie down in bed and think through her options.
Regardless of how challenging it might be, she had to make a decision.
Even if the decision was tough to make, this decision must be made.
Nina helped her upstairs and opened the door to the master bedroom. Lucay down on the bed
without changing her clothes. She turned to Nina, who stood beside her, and said, "The guest room
has everything you need.
"If you need anything else, you can find it in the storage room downstairs. Nina, I''m really wiped out
today."