She knew them too well.
Anna knew how to manage her finances. She would make some investments and keep the money in the bank to earn some
interest. That way, it would be enough to support Jean and Anna for the rest of their lives.
However, if the money fell into Jean's hands, it would be easily squandered.
Even though they had signed an agreement, Jean probably felt that he had the Mallory family backing him up after Nina and
Percy announced their marriage to the public. Therefore, he had no idea how to manage his money wisely.
Nina knew them too well.
"Anyway, you're finally living a new life," exclaimed Luca. It had been so many years, and Nina had been through a lot. "By the
way, how's your wedding preparation?"
"I'm still going through the details with the wedding planner, but I also plan to take my wedding photos. Oh, and can I have
Tommy be my ring bearer?" asked Nina. She had friends who had kids, and she planned to choose either Kari or Teri to be her
flower girl. In that case, Tommy could be her ring bearer.
Luca smiled. When she was about to say yes, she suddenly remembered her position. Then, she replied, "You should ask Mr.
Crawford about this."
"I don't think it's necessary. It's just a small matter. It's just that the children might have to take a day off from school on the day of
the wedding." Nina thought Luca could make the decision for them since it was a small matter.
However, she did not expect Luca to ask her to ask Luke.
"Well, should we ask Tommy, then?" suggested Luca. She had no intention of promising Nina on behalf of the child.
"Okay. Where's Tommy?" Nina thought it would be better to ask the child's opinion.
"He's upstairs, reading books. I..." Before Luca could finish her sentence, Tommy's voice sounded in their ears. “Ms. Nina, you're
here!"
Tommy ran down the stairs and trotted to Nina's side. He smiled and greeted her, "Hello, Ms. Nina."
"Hello, Tommy." Nina stroked the child's head and asked, "Tommy, I'm getting married. Can you be the ring bearer on my
wedding day?" "What's a ring bearer?" Tommy blinked his eyes and gave her a confused look. Then, he turned to look at Luca,
searching for an answer.
"Ms. Nina and Mr. Percy are getting married. A ring bearer is the one who carries the rings, and a flower girl is the one who
carries flowers and scatters them at a wedding ceremony," explained Luca with a smile on her face. She turned to look at Nina.
Nina would look beautiful in her wedding dress.
When they were still in their school days, they often imagined how the other would look in a wedding dress. They even joked that
whoever got married first would have the other be their bridesmaid.
She could no longer be Nina's bridesmaid now, but her son could still be Nina's ring bearer.
"Alright! Lanie and Rainie can be Ms. Nina's ring bearer and flower girl too!" Tommy agreed, not forgetting about Lanie and
Rainie.
He always thought of Lanie and Rainie when there was something fun.
"Lanie and Rainie are too old to be the ring bearer and flower girl. You'll be the ring bearer, and one of Ms. Sue's daughters will
be the flower girl," Luca smiled and reminded him.
Time seemed to have slipped away. The little flower girl who had accompanied her and Luke on their wedding day had grown up.
She was too old to be a flower girl now.
"Okay!" Tommy snuggled close to Luca as he promised to be Nina's ring bearer. Sue's daughters, Kari and Teri, were also his
good friends.
"By the way, why did you come downstairs?" Luca stroked his cheek and smiled, wondering why Tommy had come downstairs.
"I'm getting myself a glass of water!" Tommy remembered why he had come downstairs.
Luca picked up the glass of juice that the maid had served her and asked, "Would you like some orange juice?"
"Yes, please! Thank you, Ms. Luca!!" Tommy took the glass and gulped it down.
Luca knew that he was really thirsty when she saw the child chugging the glass of juice. She patted his back and reminded him
to drink slowly so that he would not choke.
Nina sat there, watching how attentive Luca was to the child.
Luca was caring and considerate to the three kids. She treated them as though they were her kids.
It reminded Nina of Bianca.
After Bianca was rescued, she was never close to her children. Despite being their biological mother, she never showed any
maternal love toward them while she remained manic and amnesiac.
She always had endless excuses to feel disgusted when she faced the kids.
It was as though they were not her children.
However, Luca was kind to the children. She was not putting on a show for others. She genuinely treated them well.
As Nina watched Tommy put down his glass and give Luca a smile, Nina knew that the three of them were really fond of Luca.
Perhaps they had already seen her as their mother...
It would be good for the kids with Luca taking care of them. At least they were much happier than when Bianca was around.
"Ms. Luca, I've finished my drink. I'm going upstairs to continue reading my book," said Tommy, feeling happy and satisfied.
"Okay. Go ahead. Bring some snacks and share them with Lanie and Rainie." Luca gave him some cookies as their tea-time
snack.
"Thank you, Ms. Luca. I'm heading upstairs now," Tommy replied with a smile as he made his way up the stairs.
"The kids rely on you so much," Nina said enviously. After getting married to Percy, she planned to have a child with him.
Unfortunately, she still needed to nurse her health before trying to conceive.
Having a child was all about fate. Even though Nina wanted a child, she was not in a hurry. She wanted to ensure that she was
in good health before trying to conceive a healthy baby.
"You have to follow a treatment regimen and tell Mr. Mallory to quit smoking and drinking at the moment. Then, you can have a
child," Luca reminded her.
"Percy doesn't smoke anymore. He only drinks occasionally. If it weren't for what happened to Pierre, he wouldn't have gone out
to drink two days ago," replied Nina.
Pierre's incident had become the Mallory family's trouble.
"Has the Mallory family received any news yet?" asked Luca.
"Not yet. The kidnappers haven't contacted the Mallory family. If they wanted a ransom, they should've contacted the family right
after kidnapping him. It's been so long... I'm starting to suspect that's not what they really want. Otherwise, why would they drag
this out and risk being caught?" Nina lamented. She was not worried about Pierre. Rather, she felt sorry for Percy working so
hard.
Luca had no idea how to respond when she heard what Nina said.
Usually, kidnappers would contact the family as soon as they kidnapped someone to ask for ransom.
The longer they waited, the higher the chance of getting caught.
However, Abel was not an ordinary kidnapper. The Mallory and Crawford families were working together but still could not find
where Pierre was being held.
The reason why Abel was not in a hurry to contact the Mallory family was that he was playing a strategy game with Old Master
Mallory.
After all, Pierre was considered a legitimate heir of the Mallory family. Elders like Old Master Mallory prioritized the passing down
of lineage the most.
The longer Abel dragged things out, the more likely Old Master Mallory was to agree to his demands out of concern for Pierre.