Liberty said with an impassive face, “If your wife finds out that you ordered flowers for me and she comes yelling at me for seducing her husband, that would be hilarious. If I wanted to seduce a man, I would definitely seduce someone better and more outstanding than you are. Why would I pick up trash I’ve already thrown away? Are there no men left in the world?”Hank flushed in embarrassment. In Liberty’s view, he was a scumbag. Considering her temperament, she would never get back together with an ex.He really did not understand what his mother and sister thought. They treated Liberty so badly in the past and now wanted him to win Liberty back. What did they think she was?Someone who would come and go when beckoned with the wave of a hand.“Liberty, I admit I was wrong, but that’s all in the past now. Now, we… can’t be husband and wife, but we can still be friends. For Sonny’s sake, could you at least give me some leeway?”Liberty looked at her son. He was innocent and pure an
Jessica was not willing, and deep down, neither was Hank. So only by ameliorating his relationship with Liberty could they get Zachary to spare them.If he knew earlier that Serenity was Mr. York’s wife, even if he had to drag it out, he would have done his best to delay divorcing Liberty. Then Serenity would not have allowed Zachary to force him into a corner for her sister.Unfortunately, these were all thoughts in hindsight.At the time, he had suspected that Zachary was “the” Zachary York, but did not believe that Serenity had the luck to marry into a rich family, so he had discarded the thought. Who knew that he really was “the” Zachary York?Hank was at a loss for words.“Mr. Brown, if there’s nothing else, please leave.”Hank hugged his son and sat there, unmoving, but said, “I want to accompany Sonny a little longer. In the past, I was too busy with work and didn’t have the time to play with him, but now that I’m temporarily unemployed, it just so happens I have the time
“But Jessica’s family isn’t good—not as good as Serenity. Back then, Serenity not only would help with the housework and make breakfast but would also help with taking care of Sonny. In the past, no matter what time I got up, Serenity would prepare breakfast for us three and I only had to eat and go to work.“Now, Jessica won’t get up early to make breakfast for us and even wants me to get up and make it for her. Her family only knows how to ask for favors but they don’t help in any way.”Liberty felt furious hearing that. “That was because you treated my sister like a free housekeeper! Do you remember why we argued last year? You said my sister was staying in your house for free and what was the use of paying two to three thousand dollars a month for food?“Now there’s no one being a free housekeeper for you guys, you’re saying my sister was good? Mr. Brown, let me tell you, if it weren’t for me, Seren would have moved out long ago. Do you think she was happy to be a housekeeper fo
As Duncan was driving past after work, he happened to see Hank carry Sonny out from the shop. Thinking that the scumbag was here to kidnap Sonny, he immediately hit the brakes and stopped in front of All You Can Eat.“Sonny.”Duncan swiftly got out of his car and walked over with big strides. Before Hank could react, Duncan had taken his son from his arms.After Duncan took Sonny from Hank, he even gave Hank a kick, which made Hank stumble a few steps backward and finally fall to the ground onto the steps, butt first.Hank looked at Duncan, stunned.What was this Lewis doing?He took his son and even gave him a kick!“Get out of here! If you dare try and kidnap Sonny again and harass Liberty, I’ll make sure you won’t be able to walk before I’m done with you!”Hank was speechless.“Dad!” Sonny cried, struggling to get down.Hank climbed to his feet and explained, “Mr. Lewis, you’ve misunderstood me. I’m not here to kidnap Sonny, and I haven’t harassed Liberty either. I’m just
Sonny looked at his dad and said, “That’s Dunc. Dunc would never bully Mom.”Hank was silent for a moment before he asked, “Do you like Dunc a lot?”Sonny shook his head. “I don’t like Dunc, but he’s not a bad man.”Dunc was a good person, but that did not have anything to do with whether or not he liked him.“Sonny, Dunc is going to take Mom away from you. He’ll become a bad guy in the future. What you need to do is stop Dunc and Mom from being alone together. If Mom wants to go on a date with Dunc, you need to cry and throw a tantrum, get it?”Sonny learned the way his Uncle Zak frowned when he was angry and said loudly, “Dunc likes Sonny! He’s fighting Mom for Sonny, not fighting Sonny for Mom! Dunc looks scary and Sonny doesn’t like it, but Dunc is not a bad guy!“And Mom never goes out with Dunc! Every time Dunc comes over, he gives Sonny a pinwheel. Sonny doesn’t like pinwheels anymore.”Dunc did not even know how to change it up.Hank was speechless.He stopped and look
Liberty did not regret it either.Duncan frowned. “Then why is he constantly here looking for you? That scumbag treated you like that back then. Every time I see him I feel like giving him a beating and venting some anger for you.” “He wants to use Sonny to ease the hostile relationship between us.”Duncan was thoughtful for a moment, and said, “Their main aim is to get Zachary to let them off the hook, right? Don’t forgive them and let them be unemployed forever. Once they’ve spent all their savings, we’ll see if Hank and his wife can still continue being as loving to each other as before.”Poor couples had a hundred things to lose. Hank and Jessica’s bitter days were still ahead of them.“Now that your diner is here, you can’t move and neither do you have to move. Just let them watch how your business gets bigger and better every step of the way. In the future, you can open a big hotel and become a strong independent woman and a billionaire—we’ll see how frustrated they get.”
Duncan too knew that Liberty did not need his help—she had the Stone and York families helping her now.After a moment of silence, he said, “Anyway, go ahead and do your thing. I’ll head back lest my mother calls to urge me again.”“Alright. Have a safe drive, Mr. Lewis.”Liberty walked Duncan out of her shop.Duncan looked at Hank’s car and asked Liberty, “That’s your ex-husband’s car, right?”“I saw him get out of it. It’s probably his new car.”Hank had changed his wife and his car too.If Zachary had not punished Hank, Hank would have been living very comfortably. He would have money, a new wife, and a new car…Duncan wanted to walk over and poke a hole in Hank’s tires, but when he thought of how Hank would likely be unable to leave for a while with his tires punctured and would stay in Liberty’s diner to eat, Duncan gave up on his thoughts.“In the future, if that family comes to try and harass you again, just give me a call and I’ll get someone to come over and help you
“When Lily needs help with her stuff, you should help her out too. Fran and I have been good friends for many years now. Although we haven’t met each other in about twenty years, we’ve never stopped talking to each other.”Mrs. Lewis’s intention to matchmake Lily and Duncan was exceedingly obvious.Lily’s gaze toward Duncan contained no fear either. In her opinion, the scar on Duncan’s face was terrifying, but all he needed was to get some plastic surgery done to remove the scar and recover his good looks.He was an exceptionally handsome man if you look at the side of his face without the scar.Who had never done an impulsive thing or two when they were young?She herself had even gotten a tattoo before.“Mom, I’m very busy,” Duncan said without inflection. “If Ms. Harmon requires my help, I can provide it, but I really don’t have the time to take her around.“You’re bored staying at home every day anyway. You can accompany Ms. Harmon yourself and take her around to help her ge
Zachary, afraid that his wife might refuse to spend time with him at his office in the future, emphasized that he was not busy today.He had already cleared his morning schedule because he needed to accompany his beloved wife for her prenatal checkup.His secretary was well aware of Serenity’s checkup dates. Whenever he saw Serenity turn up at the office with his boss, his secretary would quietly adjust his schedule.Sometimes, on the day of the Serenity’s checkup, his secretary would not schedule any appointments for Zachary at all.Even if appointments were scheduled, Zachary would request they be canceled or rescheduled.Now, in Zachary’s eyes, his wife’s matters were the most important.With Alex now able to share the workload, Zachary felt that he, as the eldest of his generation who had shouldered the bulk of the burden for so many years, deserved a break.Plus, there was the elite team the company had trained; if not now, then when would they be put to use?Everyone was
Tony turned around and left.Only after hearing the door close did Carrie dare to open her eyes.She had woken up while Tony and his son were on the phone, but she did not dare move, fearing that Tony might suspect her of eavesdropping.Just now, when that old lecher stood by the bed looking at her, there was definitely a murderous glint in his eyes. She could feel it.Sooner or later, he would kill her.Carrie was filled with panic. She wanted to escape but was afraid she would not succeed. No one was there to help her.For a moment, Carrie even considered running to Camryn to confess everything, but she quickly dismissed the thought. The reason she ended up in this situation was entirely due to Camryn.She and Camryn were sworn enemies. Their conflict would not end until one of them was dead. However, even if she died, she would drag Camryn down with her.-Meanwhile, in the CEO's office at York Corporation, Zachary, seated at his desk, kept glancing up at his pregnant wife.
“You should have gotten rid of them all back then and cultivated a network of people loyal only to you.” Manny felt that his father should not have spared those people in the first place.Tony said, “There were too many of them, all relatives and friends with the same goal as us. We couldn’t eliminate them all at once.”Back then, he had incited everyone to join him in wiping out the entire main family, sparing neither the elderly nor the children.It was because they were all from the collateral branches, jealous of the main family’s long-standing control, and shared a common goal that his conspiracy succeeded.He had also spent over a decade waiting for the right opportunity.Who would have thought that even after wiping out the main family, he still could not obtain the family seal, token, or totem? Without these, he could not become the true head of the family and could only act as a proxy. Many of the connections loyal to the head remained inaccessible.Moreover, much of the
It was his father. Manny composed himself and picked up Tony’s call as he walked toward his car.“Hey, Pops.”“How’s it going, Manny? Has there been any progress?”Tony was still in Carrie’s room at the moment, but had gotten up and walked to the balcony to call his son.Carrie was still fast asleep, though her face was set in a frown. She was obviously discomfited.Tony had pestered her for the majority of last night, so it would be weird if she did not feel any discomfort.Despite her begging, Tony would not let her go. He even forcefully drugged her to make her mess around with him while out of it. He was simply an old pervert.Before she passed out, she cursed him in her heart. However, she knew that Tony only treated her so roughly because she was just his mistress—a tool for him to vent his frustrations on.If she really was his wife, he definitely would not treat her like this.In the past, she had ambitions of taking Mrs. Longbottom’s place and becoming the real missus
Tati also finished her plate of pastries.She followed Isabella out.“Isa, you’re always so busy and exhausted. If you’re feeling even a little unwell, you should have a good rest. Stay home for the day. I can handle the work you have on hand. It’s the same either way.”Tati wanted Isabella to take the day off so Isabella could spend some time with Austin and nurture their relationship.However, Isabella still declined Tati’s kind offer.She said, “Not today. There’s an important meeting today, and I have two important clients to meet. I’m fine, really. Don’t worry. From now on, I won’t touch alcohol.”Given her current status and position, no one would dare to force her to drink during social engagements.Many people also knew that Isabella would not drink outside her home, fearing that she might fall victim to someone’s schemes.However, Isabella would occasionally make an exception. When she was in a good mood, she would have a couple of drinks.Hearing this, Tati stopped t
Austin still smiled gently and said, “It’s all thanks to Ms. Isabella’s guidance.”He felt that he had indeed improved a lot.Grandma May really understood him well. The wife she picked for him could actually help improve his culinary skills.“After eating the sweets, I feel much better.” Tati picked up another piece of pastry and ate it.Austin quietly retreated, not wanting to disturb their conversation and also to avoid overhearing their private matters.“Just ignore him. Are you really going to skip work because of him?”Isabella added calmly to Tati, “If you let him provoke you, he’ll only cling to you even more. If you act like he doesn’t exist and don’t respond no matter what he does, he’ll naturally give up once he sees that you’re completely unresponsive.”Tati said, “I’m afraid that he’ll go and bother Edith and Eleanor if he doesn’t get anywhere with me. They don’t have the same resolve as we do.”She, therefore, decided to bear the brunt of it.“Every time I see hi
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w