Chapter 43 Luke Was Frustrated And Upset!
It did not matter if they were the same person or not. Bianca was still going to this gathering.
Not for her classmates, nor for the senior she could barely remember, but solely for the teacher who once gave her so much love and care, Miss Clinton.
It was one thing if she had not heard about Miss Clinton, but now that she had, there was no way she could not go.
That noon, at Crawford Manor.
From the moment Luke walked through the door, the old man had been following behind his oldest grandson, asking, “You're not getting any younger. Maybe you should think about finding a life partner. Tell me, what kind of a woman do you like?”
Luke went upstairs without saying a thing.
The old man followed him upstairs despite his walking stick, but he inwardly cursed his ungrateful grandson as he climbed the stairs. The boy had no love for the young or the elderly.
“Do you like them plump? On the fair side?” the old man pressed. He thought that was his older grandson's type.
Luke walked into his room. As he took off his coat, he also pulled off his tie and tossed it aside.
The old man continued, “I heard that Director Shaw's daughter is in town. Why didn’t you bring her to meet me? If Director Shaw hadn't personally called me, I wouldn't have known a thing. I'm your elder!”
“Why should I bring her home to meet you? Who is she to deserve that?” Luke refuted his grandfather coldly amidst the sound of running water.
The old man’s eye twitched, and he immediately understood. His older grandson did not fancy that Shaw heiress at all.
Old Master Crawford then turned around and went downstairs.
Downstairs, Louis Crawford was holding a blood peach. He was about to take a bite from it when suddenly the old man stabbed him in the back with his cane!
Louis turned around angrily. “Why'd you poke me, Grandfather?”
"Come here. Come sit with me.” The old man beckoned at him, looking quite serious.
Louis glanced toward the stairs and then at his grandfather's unnaturally solemn expression. He had no choice but to sit down and ask, “Did something happen, Grandfather?”
The old man took a deep breath and looked at his younger grandson, saying, “Help me keep an eye on your brother from now on. Find out more about the woman he’s seeing.”
“You want to keep an eye on my brother?” Louis’ eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. “You want me to follow him? Are you implying that I have a death wish? Or are you dying and want to drag me down with you?”
As the two of them were talking, Luke finished his brief shower and walked downstairs.
The old man immediately shut up.
Louis only observed his brother carefully. To tell the truth, he was quite curious to know too. What kind of a woman would make his cold-blooded brother spend so many nights away from home like this?
Luke walked to the dining table and picked up a set of newspapers, opening them.
Ten minutes later, Susan Armstrong came downstairs as well, while Allison Tanner returned home from outside.
It was time for lunch at the Crawfords.
Just then, Luke's phone rang.
He kept his eyes on the newspaper as he picked up the call and asked, “What's the matter?”
Jason was eating his lunch outside. He had put his heart and soul into working for his boss over the years, and today he was doing his same old job as usual.
He had just sat down and checked his to-do list when he noticed that there was a part of Luke's schedule he had to arrange.
“Mr. Crawford, your high school teacher's birthday is next weekend. Are you attending this year? If you aren't, I'll make the arrangements for your trip to America on that day.”
Jason asked carefully.
As he expected, Luke chose not to go.
Luke had only gone once before. Once he found out what they did at the birthday party, he simply found it extremely boring. Everyone there just kept sucking up to him and flattering him non-stop. After he went that first time, he started having his subordinates send his teacher a pre-booked gift instead. He would then personally call his teacher and wish her happy birthday.
Miss Clinton was just his teacher back then. However, when he had no choice but to leave the town he went to high school in all those years ago, he had asked Miss Clinton to take care of someone for him.
She had indeed performed her task admirably too.
That was enough for her to warrant his lifelong gratitude.
Once the call went through, Luke repeated the same things he said every year. He was busy, so he could not personally celebrate her birthday with her, and so on...
Miss Clinton said, “Go do your own thing. Men should always put their careers first anyway.”
They exchanged a few polite words, but before Miss Clinton hung up, she added. “Oh yeah, there's one thing I'm quite happy about that you might not know. Do you remember that girl who used to be bullied by her classmates? Bianca Rayne? My daughter bumped into her today and even invited her to the gathering next weekend. Bianca looked like she’s doing pretty okay, and I think she has you to thank for some of it.”
Luke's hand shook around his phone. He did not seem to expect that Bianca would attend the gathering, so he paused and said, “I'm glad to know she’s doing well.”
“You're a good man, and I'm sure your karma will reward you for it.” With those words, Miss Clinton hung up.
The old man peeked at his older grandson's expression. After the latter hung up, he seemed to grow randomly frustrated and upset! He was perfectly fine three minutes ago!
“It's time to eat now. Everyone, come over to the table,” the old man reminded.
Luke did not seem to hear him, however. Frowning, he held up his phone and found Jason's number. The second he made the call, he instantly hit the red button to end it again.
For a second there, he had called Jason, intending to ask the latter to cancel the trip to America. Luke was somewhat startled by his own actions. She was just a woman, so why did he care about her this much?
Furthermore, she was a crafty woman who never said what she meant and made a habit of keeping him hanging.
Claudia stayed in Bianca's house all morning before she left for home.
Bianca walked her to the subway station entrance.
It was only after she watched Claudua leave that she headed home
At the entrance to the neighborhood.
Jean's mother, Anna O'Reilly, was standing there. She looked around her, clearly searching for someone.
Bianca was almost at the door now, and she had no choice but to approach the older woman.
She could not hide forever.
Anna's eyes finally settled on Bianca, her rage rising from the depths of her heart. She had been ringing on Bianca's door earlier, but no one replied, so she stood downstairs and waited.
Bianca Rayne had to come down sometime!
“Aunt Langdon,” Bianca greeted her politely.
Smack!
Anna slapped Bianca across the face and glared at her, saying, “You have no right to call me that! Every time you do, you might take ten years off my life!”
Bianca held her cheek and felt the stinging pain there for a second before she looked up. “If you have anything to say, please say it now. If you don't, I'll be heading upstairs.”
"What's with your attitude? Is that how you treat me?”
Anna's gaze turned even sharper!
“I'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated,” Bianca said, calmly but resentfully. With that, she turned around and walked back into the neighborhood.
Anna was older than her, so she retained a hint of respect for her.
Just a hint, though.
Bianca's attitude ignited Anna's temper, and she immediately rushed after Bianca.
Once she ran into the neighborhood, she grabbed Bianca's collar from behind. Dragging Bianca toward her, she started to beat Bianca up. “You ebil b*tch! What did my son ever do to you? Tell me honestly! He came here to catch you cheating red-handed, but you! You little hussy, you sent him to jail! Your filthy boyfriend is pretty heartless, huh? Where's the justice?!”