“Dunc.” Sonny pulled the kite string and walked toward Duncan. Duncan smiled and pulled Sonny into his arms. He reached out to hold the kite string for Sonny and asked, “Are you happy?” “Yeah. Row said he’d bring me to play in the children’s playground later.” This was Sonny’s second time in Wildridge Manor. He remembered that his uncle’s house had a big children’s playground and that it was fun. Duncan said dotingly, “I can also bring you there.” “Dunc, you’re an adult, but Row isn’t one yet. I’ll be happier if he goes with me.” Adults were not as playful as children. The little one knew the difference very well. Duncan caressed Sonny’s head and asked with a smile, “Sonny, you don’t want me anymore now that you have Row, huh?” Sonny complained, “You only know how to stack blocks, Dunc.” Duncan was speechless. He liked Sonny, but he admitted that he was not doing a good enough job at pleasing Sonny, mainly because he had never liked a child like this before he k
Zachary said, “You don’t have to put too much pressure on yourself. Nana told you that, but the handover will be at least a few years later. Even the smartest and greatest missus in charge will take a few years to fully take over everything. “Look at the account books when you have time so you can learn where the properties are and what businesses are in operation. You can take your time with the rest.” Serenity nodded and responded, “That’s what Mom said. She said I’ll be able to take over after two or three years.” “It’s thanks to the missus in charge every term that the number of stores and properties grew. If the money earned isn’t fully spent, it can be used to repurchase stores and houses, or it can also be invested in other financial products. In any case, money is used to generate more money.” Serenity replied, “I’m still under a lot of pressure after hearing what you said. I dare not say that I have an eye for investment.” “It’s not difficult. You just need to purcha
Serenity left Zachary’s shoulder and looked at him. She seemed gossipy. “What did the psychic say? Can Julian be treated? Or did he lie about it?” “According to Mr. Bucham’s investigation, Julian didn’t lie about it. I don’t think he’d have the guts to come up with such a lie. As powerful as he is, his dad is still the head of the family. Since Mr. Bucham still hasn’t completely let go of everything, Julian won’t be able to get away.” Serenity asked, “So he really has hypoactive sexual desire disorder?” Zachary nodded. Julian’s update came from Zachary pestering and asking his nana. “Then… What did the psychic say?” Julian was also an excellent man, but it was unfortunate that he had hypoactive sexual desire disorder. A person with such a disorder could only depend on fate to find a partner and live a normal life. Otherwise, Julian would be someone who was only living in the shell of a man. He was normal in all aspects but did not react to women. Zachary answered, “Th
Serenity thought of her main task at the moment, which was to first figure out all of her in-laws’ family properties. This was to prepare her to become the head missus in the future. With her attention distracted, she would not dwell on the matter of being pregnant or not. Zachary embraced her again and whispered a few words in her ear. Serenity blushed right away and pinched his thigh. Zachary played along and shouted, “Honey, are you trying to kill your husband?” “Come on, I didn’t even use force. You screamed like a little girl,” Serenity commented. Zachary laughed out loud. Meanwhile, at the Stones, Mrs. Stone was helped into the house by the housekeeper and a strange man. When Elisa, who was about to go out, saw this, she threw her bag onto the sofa and quickly went forward. She asked anxiously, “Mom, what happened to you?” She remembered that her mom mentioned going out for a walk to get some fresh air. Mrs. Stone was assisted to the sofa. She sat and answer
Along the way, Elisa kept thanking Mr. Reading. Mr. Reading smiled and said, “It was no trouble at all. Our families are considered relatives, so you don’t need to be so courteous, Ms. Stone.” He stopped at the villa entrance and looked at Elisa. Afterward, he reached into the hidden pocket of his suit and retrieved a small box of business cards he carried with him before pulling one of the cards out for her. “Ms. Stone, this is my business card.” Elisa took the card and looked at it. Mr. Reading’s name was Andrew Reading. He was the COO of Reading Group, and the CEO was his elder brother. After accepting Andrew’s business card, Elisa said, “Thanks for sending my mom home, Mr. Reading. I’ll treat you to a meal someday when you’re free.” Andrew grinned. “Okay. I’ll be leaving first, Ms. Stone.” Elisa walked him to his car and waved him goodbye. She stood at the same spot to watch him drive away. Remy, who just came out of the villa next door, happened to see this. He
Elisa answered, “I think so, but I’ve never met him by chance. The Readings are too low-key.” Remy hummed. He had never paid attention to the Readings either. The Readings’ business was not in Wiltspoon, and there was no collaboration between them and FC & Co. Their whole family kept a low profile, so Remy would not pay attention to them. Now, Remy had to watch out for Mr. Reading. For some reason, he felt that Mr. Reading would become his love rival. Elisa did not know that Remy was already on guard, preventing Mr. Reading from becoming his love rival. She asked Remy, “Are you not going home this holiday?” Remy answered, “It’s just for a few days, so I’m too lazy to go back and forth. Besides, I have to keep an eye on the renovation here.” He looked deeply at Elisa and added, “I’d prefer to go back with you.” Elisa smiled and did not answer. Nothing had happened between the two of them yet. It was still early for them to meet each other’s parents. “I’ll go back
Nevertheless, Alice knew her in-laws would be reluctant to have Elisa married far away. As excellent as Remy was, he was from Annenburg, which was far from Wiltspoon. It would take about three hours one-way by plane. If the Johnsons lived in Wiltspoon, and Remy liked Elisa, everyone in the Stones would be extremely satisfied. There would not have been such an incident. Clive pinched his wife’s hand, suggesting that she should not expose their mom even if she saw through her. They should wait and see what would happen. Clive loved his sister the most. He felt that Remy was a great man but was also reluctant for his sister to be married off far. If his sister had another option in Wiltspoon, he would not support Remy in pursuing her no matter what. As for Remy, he was very pressured. Even if he and Elisa loved each other, it would not be easy for him to win her over. Elisa did not have other thoughts. She thought that her whole family should be grateful to Andrew for send
Remy was not bothered by Mrs. Stone’s attitude. He was pursuing his future wife, so he had to be thick-skinned. He still asked with concern, “Mrs. Stone, have you applied ointment to your sprained foot? I also bought a few types of ointments for you. They’re meant for treating sprains and bruises.” After hearing what he said, Elisa opened the few big bags and found a small bag from the pharmacy in one of them. Inside were several bottles of ointments for sprains and bruises. “Remy, we have common ointments for families. My mom’s foot has been treated with it,” Elisa noted. Even so, she was moved by the fact that Remy brought ointments for her mom. Remy valued her family, which meant that he valued her. It turned out that being valued by the opposite sex could give such a warm feeling. When Elisa used to pursue Zachary, he did not even want to see her, let alone value her. Remy said, “As long as some ointment has been used. If it doesn’t help, remember to go to the hospita
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