Chapter 2968 Everything Has Been Cleared Up, Hasn't It?

"Yes, I know," Luca murmured against his chest, her voice muffled.

She had not made up her mind yet, so she did not plan on saying anything. She just wanted to hug

him and breathe in his familiar scent.

Luke Crawford was the man she loved the most...

Luke waited for a while but did not hear Luca continue. He knew she still had not made up her mind

to speak.

His chest was a tumultuous mix, brimming with warmth but also a profound sense of helplessness

toward Luca.

She still could not bring herself to say it at this moment. Luke had no choice but to give her some

more time.

"Hmm, it's getting late. I need to go to work.” Luca felt her strength returning to her body and

slowly raised her head, looking at the man's resolute jawline.

"Okay, come back early tonight if possible. I promised the kids we'd go out for dinner,” replied Luke.

Luca wanted to agree immediately, but she frowned at the thought of the recent rumors.

This scandal had shaken Wanda and Queenie. She did not have the courage to be seen in public

with Luke at this moment.

If the reporters caught wind of anything, it would be even more distressing for both of them, who

were already in the hospital.

Luca hesitated and felt anxious.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine." Luke reassured her. "It's just a small restaurant. A friend of Mr. Doyle

owns it. He has everything arranged, and it's a private setting. Only the restaurant owner and his

wife will be there, no one else.

“The owner's lips are sealed tight. He won't gossip about anything,” added Luke to assure her. “The

kids haven't dined out for a long time. They know you've been down lately. That's why they

suggested this. We shouldnt disappoint them, right?"

What Luke said at the end left Luca with no room to refuse.

After all that had happened recently, her kids had seen right through her emotions. She thought she

had hidden them well, but they still knew her all too well...

"Okay," Luca agreed. She trusted Luke's choice of location, believing that reporters would not

discover them there.

After she agreed, Luke let her go. "It's getting late. Go to work. I need to prepare for work as well."

"I'll head out to work first," said Luca. Her research group had a lot of work to do today, especially

after yesterday's unfinished experiment.

"Okay." Luke went into the master bedroom to change into his work clothes.

Throughout the day, Luca had consumed several cups of coffee to keep herself focused and prevent

her mind from wandering.

However, her work efficiency still decreased after what had happened yesterday.

As she left the lab at the end of the day, she looked at the experiments she had not completed. She

felt helpless.

She had overestimated her ability to focus on her work.

There was no way she could work properly when she was dealing with personal troubles.

Rhett approached her with some documents in his hands, noticing her absent-minded look. He

asked in a low voice, "Dr. Craw, what's the matter with you?"

"It's nothing." Luca came back to her senses, knowing that there was no way she could share her

personal troubles with her colleagues. She shook her head and glanced at the documents in Rhett's

hands. "Is this the experimental data?”

"Yes, it's the experimental data,” answered Rhett as he handed over the documents.

"Alright. Let's call it a day for now. I'll take the documents home to review. The rest of you can go

home.” Luca did not forget what Luke had said in the morning. She did not want to disappoint her

children.

That was why she decided to leave work at a normal time.

She did not want the other researchers to work overtime as well since she was getting off work.

"Understood, Dr. Craw," replied the other researchers, but they did not leave immediately. They

needed to tidy up their workspaces before leaving.

Luca exited the lab first.

One of the researchers watched her leave and could not help but mutter, "Why does it feel like Dr.

Craw hasn't been herself these past couple of days?"

"I have the same feeling. Maybe something's bothering her," another researcher replied. They were

puzzled because the rumors about Luca and Luke had already been clarified. There were no

reporters bothering them either.

"What else could it be? Everything has been cleared up, hasn't it? Unless..."

The researcher who was speaking stopped and did not continue.

Could it be that Luca was preoccupied due to the recent clarification?

Or was it that the relationship between her and Luke had truly ended after the scandal? Was that

why Luca was in such a state?

The group of researchers made guesses, but they dared not continue discussing it. Such matters

were not suitable to be discussed in the office.

If someone secretly recorded their conversation and shared it with Evan Turner or Luca, they would

risk losing their jobs.

Evan had even held a special meeting in the company to prohibit employees from discussing Luca's

personal matters previously, let alone sharing them with the media.

Any breach of this policy would result in immediate termination, and legal action would be taken

against the person responsible.

After that meeting, the entire company was cautious when it came to Luca's personal affairs. They

dared not to gossip about her, and they avoided discussing it behind her back.

Rhett heard their conversation, cleared his throat, and said, "Let's call it a day for now.”

"Yes, let's go home. Knowing our research schedule, we'll probably have to work day and night in

the future. We should cherish these days when we don't have to work overtime,” said one of the

researchers.

After they tidied up everything, they did not linger in the laboratory. Instead, they left together.

Luca took a ride in Warren's car back to the villa.

Her three children had already finished school and were busy completing their homework as quickly

as possible since they were going out for dinner tonight. When they saw Luca return, they greeted

her briefly before continuing with their work.

Luca entered the kitchen. There was no need to prepare dinner tonight, so Aunt Neile was busy

preparing breakfast for the next day. She had already prepared the ingredients.

This way, she could arrive a bit later when she came over tomorrow and also speed up the breakfast

preparation.

"Aunt Neile, you don't have to prepare dinner tonight. You may leave early," said Luca when she

noticed that Aunt Neile was still working. It was a rare occasion that she did not need to prepare

dinner, so she wanted Aunt Neile to go home early.

"Sure, Ms. Craw. I'll prepare the burger patties first and head home afterward,” Aunt Neile happily

agreed. She held a knife in each hand, manually chopping the patties.

Hand-chopped patties had a better texture than machine-processed patties. After finishing the task,

she placed the minced meat in a large bowl and began seasoning it.

When Aunt Neile noticed that Luca was still watching her, she asked, "Ms. Craw, would you like to

do the seasoning? The kids love your cooking. If you season the patties, they might enjoy the food

even more. Who knows, they might have an extra burger?"

"Sure." Luca did not refuse. After she walked to the sink and washed her hands, she took the large

bowl from Aunt Neile and added the seasonings to the meat.

Aunt Neile usually followed Luca's recipes for the exact measurements, even using a kitchen scale to

weigh the seasonings.

Aunt Neile watched Luca season the meat. Luca did not use the kitchen scale but added the

ingredients one by one in the same order before mixing them in thoroughly. Aunt Neile could not

help but marvel. "Ms. Craw, it's like you've got a scale in your mind..."

"After doing tons of experiments, I can pretty much eyeball how much seasoning I need,” explained

Luca.