Nina could not help but shoot her a grateful look. It was a silent expression of thanks.
Staying in Luke’s villa meant Karen would not come over, and she could spend the next
few days in peace.
Luca held the ice pack and walked into the bathroom. After she placed it in the trash can,
she said, "Let's go. Mr. Crawford will be working late tonight and won't be back for dinner.
Let's have dinner first."
"Isn't it still early?" Nina had been living here for a while. She knew the usual dinner time
for them was later than this.
"The kids are unusually hungry today, so we're eating a bit earlier," explained Luca as she
led her downstairs.
It was not really that the kids were hungry. Luca considered that Nina might not have had
lunch, especially after being slapped by Karen. She probably had no appetite.
"Aunt Neile made some soup today. Have a bit more later," added Luca as they made their
way down the stairs.
"Okay." Even though Nina could not smile, she felt grateful. She knew that Luca had
planned for her to stay here after knowing that Karen slapped her.
Hence, this soup was definitely specially prepared by Aunt Neile.
After they reached the ground floor, Luca went straight into the kitchen and asked Aunt
Neile, "Is dinner ready, Aunt Neile?"
"Ms. Craw, everything is ready. Would you like to have dinner now?" asked Aunt Neile.
Luca had informed her earlier that they would be having soup tonight, which saved her a
lot of trouble.
"Yes, let's eat. The kids are hungry," replied Luca. She did not want Nina to feel burdened,
so she was still using the kids as an excuse.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Okay, please wait a moment. I'll bring the food to the table now." Aunt Neile nodded,
preparing to bring the soup and other foods to the table.
Nina heard them. She entered the kitchen and asked, "Aunt Neile, is there anything I can
help with?"
Nina did not wear a mask after applying the ice pack. Aunt Neile noticed the swelling on
one side of her face but did not comment or stare at her too much.
Even though she thought Nina's face was quite swollen, Luca had told her not to mention
it. Aunt Neile would not say anything that might make Nina uncomfortable. "There's
nothing for you to do, Mrs. Mallory. Please have a seat. Dinner will be ready soon."
"Are these bowls clean?" asked Nina. Even though she would be temporarily staying here
and would not eat that much, it was in her nature to feel the need to contribute.
"Yes." Aunt Neile had no choice but to nod when she saw Nina insisting on helping. If she
did not let Nina do something, she might feel uncomfortable.
Nina carried the bowls out, and Luca served the other foods. Then, she called out to the
three kids in the living room who were doing their homework, "Lanie, Rainie, Tommy, let's
have dinner first and you can continue with your homework later."
Even though the kids usually finished their homework before dinner, they were having
dinner half an hour earlier tonight. Thus, they still had some work left.
However, none of them complained. They put down their pencils, washed their hands, and
joined the dinner table. "Wow, the soup smells so good."
Tommy could not help but express his admiration with a deep inhale.
"Yes, it's your favorite tomato soup." Luca grinned as she set out the bowls that were
brought to the table.
After Aunt Neile brought the soup to the table, she started serving them.
Luca remembered the bread she bought for the kids when she went out to buy things for
Nina. She rose to her feet, took it out of the fridge, and said, "And here's your favorite
bread."
The bread was for the kids, as Luca was concerned that having just soup for dinner might
make them hungry later in the night. Pairing it with bread would keep them satisfied.
"Awesome!" Tommy cheered again, clearly satisfied with tonight's dinner.
Nina let out a sigh of relief when she saw that. She was fully aware that this dinner was
arranged with her convenience in mind, but she was still concerned.
Fortunately, the kids enjoyed such a simple dinner too.
The two adults and three kids calmly enjoyed their dinner. During the meal, the kids did
not ask anything about Nina's face. They were well-behaved.
Nina's heart gradually eased. She had initially been worried about how to explain if the
kids asked about her face.
After all, if she claimed that she accidentally fell which led to the swelling on her face, the
kids were smart enough to not believe her words. It would not be good if they thought she
was lying.
Besides, a fall was not a good excuse.
Luckily, none of them asked.
After dinner, the kids happily went back to finish their homework. Luca and Nina sat on the
living room sofa, waiting for the kids to finish their assignments.
Lanie was the first to complete his homework. After handing his exercise book to Luca, he
picked up an extracurricular book and started reading.
Luca checked his homework and found no errors. Then, she habitually imitated Luke's
signature on the back of the book.
Nina, having dealt with company documents, had seen Luke's signature.
When she saw Luca smoothly imitate Luke's signature, she could not help but exclaim, "Oh
my goodness, that's spot on!"
Luca, unaware of what she was amazed about, looked up at her and noticed her staring at
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmLanie's book. Only then did she realize what Nina was talking about.
Luca explained embarrassedly, "Mr. Crawford is always busy. Sometimes, when the kids
need a signature on their homework and he's not available, I’d imitate his signature. I
didn't expect it to become so similar after doing it a few times."
"This is not just similar. Without professional authentication, no one could tell the
difference. I've handled many of his documents, and I’ve seen his signature tons of times.
Yours is identical," exclaimed Nina.
She did not pay attention to the fact that her face was still swollen and talked animatedly.
After she finished talking, she realized her face was hurting slightly.
When Luca saw Nina unconsciously touch her own face, she shook her head helplessly.
How amazed must she be to say something like that?
"Practice makes perfect," Luca explained with a smile. "If you ask me to deliberately
imitate your signature, I’m sure I can do it, given a little time."
There were courses on the Island of Despair that taught such skills.
After all, in this era, the requirements for a professional killer were high. In addition to
being highly skilled in fighting, proficiency in various methods was also essential.
For instance, they sometimes received assignments that involved mimicking someone
else's signature to accomplish a task and secure a substantial sum of funds for their
employer.
Imitating someone's signature was too easy, especially with simple strokes.
While most people on Island of Despair found some difficulty in doing it, Luca had
mastered the essence of imitating handwriting. It was a simple task for her.
"Imagine if we made you imitate a celebrity's signature and sell it to those young fans.
Wouldn't that be a profit?" After chatting with Luca, Nina discovered another potential
source of income.