Luca could not help but chuckle at the thought.
Luke was very busy, so she waited patiently for all the guests to leave. Once he was done, Luke walked over to her.
Beside him, Susan was sporting a huge frown on her face.
Her expression was filled with distaste when she watched Luke's retreating figure.
“Mother, I'll go and pay the hotel the rest of the fees." Louis watched the guests leave and decided to pay the outstanding figure.
"All you have in mind is matters like this. You're really going to infuriate me to death one day." Susan looked at him with
disappointment.
Louis had also stood at the door to wave the guests off, but there were considerably fewer people who wanted to talk to Louis
than those who wanted to talk to Luke. In fact, Louis' presence at the door did not seem to make any difference at all, since
everyone only wanted to talk to Luke.
Her birthday celebration had easily become Luke's banquet.
Louis saw how Old Master Crawford was still within earshot and whispered, "Why are you angry again, Mother?"
He did not understand what his mother was dissatisfied with considering everything had already gone according to her
standards.
"Can you not tell why I'm angry? You're both Crawfords, yet Luke's the one being surrounded by everyone else. What about you,
hmm? Today is my birthday, not Allison's birthday!" Susan was disappointed at the fact that Louis did not even show the desire to
mingle when the crowd swarmed Luke. Instead, her son continued to wave the other guests off with a smile.
She did not understand why her son was so hopeless in comparison.
Louis was no stranger to comments like this. He usually responded with a smile and some consolation.
However, hearing Susan complain again today ignited and flamed the annoyance within him.
In truth, he knew that there was no comparing himself to Luke.
Louis understood why so many people liked talking to Luke. After all, it was only normal for people to want more profit-making
opportunities.
As such, Louis had never gotten envious of Luke.
He knew he could not manage a business as big as T Corporation, especially not when the company was only getting busier
each year.
However, Louis was also braver than Luke in the sense that he dared to chase after his dreams. As such, Louis had always seen
himself as someone who lived a happier life than Luke since he could do what he wanted to do.
The life he lived was an easy and carefree one. Sure, there were occasionally some obstacles and difficulties, but having the
support of the Crawford family made it so that even if his business failed, he would still be the respected second master of the
Crawford family instead of a bankrupt man with nothing to his name.
He liked the life he was living.
However, Susan kept seeing his disinterest in the family business as hopelessness. He had already arranged the birthday
celebration for her according to her requests, yet she still picked on him.
Louis found himself irked by her harsh words and wanted nothing more than to toss everything down and leave.
Yuri saw the shift in the expression on his face and summed up the courage to defend her husband. “Louis is already doing his
best, Mother. Don't get angry at him. Let Louis pay the hotel manager first and then we'll go home, okay?"
Susan harrumphed, still displeased that Luke had stolen her limelight.
It was just further proof to her that Louis was not as competent as Luke.
This comparison only made Susan feel even more at lost. More than once, she had spoken of her desire for Louis to close his
business or hire a professional manager to take over so that he could return to work for T Corporation. She wanted her son to
work in one of the managerial levels in T Corporation so that Luke would not hold full control over it.
Louis never agreed.
Susan harrumphed again.
Yuri took Thea's hand and turned to Louis. "Go pay first. I'll be right here."
Louis' expression did not brighten, but he nodded and left.
"Mother, today's your birthday. Don't get angry today, alright?" Yuri consoled. She did not want to be the one to console Susan,
but they were in public, and Susan's frown would only garner unruly discussions from other people.
"Does it look like I can be happy? Tell your husband to do better. Tell him to work harder or else he won't be able to afford Thea's
expenses," Susan started berating when she heard Yuri.
Susan believed that the wife was to blame for her husband's lack of motivation, completely forgetting the fact that Louis had
grown up in a carefree environment where he had never experienced any difficulties. Louis had not even experienced starvation
or had to worry about not being able to afford his next meal. This was that fostered his personality now.
Not to mention that Susan had already started fighting Allison for her husband's attention back then. As such, she missed out on
many opportunities to educate her son. This was why Louis acted the way he did now.
Yuri's expression soured as well when she heard Susan's remarks. "Mother, I'm sure Louis has his own reasonings. He's able to
pay for Thea's education too."
It was not that she had never tried to talk to Louis about this, but every time she brought it up, Louis would refute her and his
expression would darken.
Their marriage was an arranged one. While she had feelings for him, Louis treated her more as a family member than as a
romantic partner. Therefore, with her experience, Yuri no longer dared to bring up the topic. Even if Louis did not appear to be
high-achieving, he was still doing his best.
He was no longer as playful as he used to be too. That was enough for her.
Not to mention that the Crawford family was very wealthy and Louis' shares were enough to promise her a comfortable life.
Sure, she would feel regretful sometimes over the fact that her husband was not standing on the top of the power chain, but
there was no point fussing over such a matter.
“Children must be spoilt. Look at Thea. She doesn't even have the chance to be admitted to her dream academy by way of
connections. Imagine if it was Ranie. All anyone had to say is that she's Luke's daughter and she was admitted into the academy
Thea's been wanting to get into for so long. Thea had to go through interviews twice and she still didn't make it. Do you not feel
remorseful toward your daughter?" Susan's words were straightforward. She showed no regard for how her words would affect
the children's feelings.
Most of the guests had left already, so she did not care if others would hear her. Even Old Master Crawford had long left with the
butler.
Yuri was exasperated. Susan was talking about the academy where Ranie was learning dance.
Thea had applied a few times but had not passed or gotten enrolled in the academy.
An indignant look flashed through Thea's eyes.
On the other hand, Luke was slowly walking to the exit with Luca and their children. He saw the frown on Susan's face.
However, out of politeness, he still greeted her. "I'm bringing the children back first, Mother."
"Go. Thank you for helping Louis bid the guests farewell. You sure worked hard today." Despite thanking Luke, Susan's tone was
rather ambiguous.
Everyone present could easily understand what she was intending to say.
Luca frowned slightly and glanced at Susan. However, if Luke said nothing, then it was not her place to make any remarks either.