“It’s on the third floor, huh? There’s a lot of food on the first floor. Do you want to buy something to eat?”Sonny shook his head.Currently, he was not keen on eating or playing.With Aunt Ser around, he had all kinds of good food.Upon noticing that Sonny was not interested in buying things, Duncan took him straight to the third floor of the mall.On the third floor, the kids’ playground occupied one side whereas the other was a fashion store. When some parents came here to buy shoes, they would drop their children off at the playground and leave them to play there. There was an entrance fee with staff members keeping an eye on the kids. The kids would not run out unless they wanted to stop playing.Even if they wanted to run out, the staff members would not allow the kids to do so without the presence of their parents.Therefore, the parents would feel at ease. By placing their children at the playground, they could shop around the mall freely without being annoyed by the
Liberty did not believe that Mrs. Lewis would randomly pass by somewhere near her rented house. Surely, Mrs. Lewis came to meet her on purpose.She took a glimpse of her son who was having fun. Then, she turned her eyes to Duncan and said, “Mrs. Lewis, I’m outside now. It’ll take time for me to return.”“Oh, you’re out? Are you alone?” Mrs. Lewis asked patiently.She did not know Liberty’s number. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis deliberately went to All You Can Eat and jotted down Liberty’s number from the signboard.“I’m on the third floor of Gloria Mall with my son. There’s an indoor playground, and Sonny enjoys playing here. We bumped into Mr. Lewis at the entrance of the mall, so he’s here as well.”When Mrs. Lewis heard that her son pretended to create the encounter to be involved with Liberty, her face turned grim.However, she was not angry at Liberty. After suppressing her anger, she said to Liberty, “Liberty, since Duncan is there, you can have him look after Sonny. We’ll… find a p
Liberty wished she could keep a distance from Duncan all the time. Nevertheless, he always used Sonny as an excuse, which left her feeling helpless.“You deserve it. It serves you right. You rejected Lily who’s interested in you and wants to get into a relationship with you, but you like Liberty instead. You know full well that Liberty has no feelings for you, yet you shamelessly pester her in spite of your status.”Mrs. Lewis did not take pity on his son for going through a hard time pursuing Liberty.She even hoped that Liberty would persist in treating her son the same way so he would eventually give up.“Mom, I have no feelings for Ms. Harmon. I simply like Liberty.”“Tell me in what way Liberty is better than Lily,” Mrs. Lewis asked her son huffily.The kid really made Mrs. Lewis’s blood boil.“Ms. Harmon and Liberty have their own qualities; everyone’s positive traits differ.”Duncan was not averse to Lily, but he knew that she was not his cup of tea.Lily was a career w
By the time Liberty arrived at the destination set by Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Lewis was already waiting for her.She parked her e-bike and removed the helmet. She walked up to Mrs. Lewis and greeted her politely, “Hi, Mrs. Lewis.”Although Mrs. Lewis had a row with her son and was furious at him, she remained well-mannered in front of Liberty and gently acknowledged her greeting.“Let’s go in and take a seat.”Mrs. Lewis invited Liberty in.Liberty nodded and followed behind Mrs. Lewis. Mr. Lewis did not tag along. His wife ordered him to stay in the car, and he was not allowed to leave.Mrs. Lewis found a table in a corner to sit at, which was away from other customers. It was also quiet enough for her to speak to Liberty. She did not have to worry about other people overhearing their conversation.Once Liberty was seated, Mrs. Lewis hailed a waiter over to order a glass of fruit juice for herself. Since it was nighttime, she did not want to drink coffee.“Liberty, what would you l
“Go ahead, Mrs. Lewis.”Mrs. Lewis looked at the beautiful appearance of Liberty who had successfully lost weight, then she praised her by saying, “Liberty, you bear a passing resemblance to Mrs. Stone when she was younger. She was a beautiful career woman back then. Many elders wanted her to be their daughter-in-law. “In the end, Mr. Stone captured her heart, and she became Mrs. Stone. Now, she is the mainstay of the Stones.”Old Mrs. Stone initially disapproved of her son and Audrey’s marriage. However, she could not take control of it. Her husband and son were fond of Audrey, so Old Mrs. Stone had no choice but to accept Audrey.Anyway, the relationship between Old Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Stone was not the most pleasant.When Stone Group got into trouble, Mrs. Stone was the one who went all out to save the company from crisis. It was only then that Old Mrs. Stone accepted Mrs. Stone wholeheartedly.Elisa mentioned that when her mother just married into the Stone family, her grand
Lily let go of Duncan because she knew that Duncan liked Liberty. Apparently, she did not even try to hold onto Duncan before letting go of him.Duncan had a unique taste. Since Lily could not satisfy Duncan, she might as well give up so that Duncan would not hate her. At least the two of them could still be business partners.“Mrs. Lewis, I’ve helped you advise Mr. Lewis before. I told him that Ms. Harmon is nice. I noticed that he gets along quite well with her too.”Liberty did advise Duncan.Nevertheless, the attempt proved futile.As Mrs. Lewis mentioned, Duncan was an independent and obstinate person. It was almost impossible to change his decision unless he was willing to give up or make changes himself.“Liberty, I won’t blame this matter on you. The problem lies with Duncan, not you.”If Liberty had pestered Duncan, Mrs. Lewis would have forcefully driven her away despite the powerful forces backing Liberty.However, Liberty was not interested in Duncan. There was ac
Liberty might be able to run away, but she could not hide.This would not solve the root problem.“Mrs. Lewis, the best solution is that you talk Mr. Lewis out of it. I hope you can try harder in persuading him.”Mrs. Lewis was speechless.Upon hearing Liberty’s words, Mrs. Lewis felt a slight burning sensation on her face. Mrs. Lewis wanted Liberty to stay away from Duncan, yet Liberty expected Mrs. Lewis to stop Duncan from pestering her.After a while, Mrs. Lewis said to Liberty in a pleading tone, “Liberty, if I had a solution, I wouldn’t have come to meet you. My unfilial son just won’t listen to me, so I had no choice but to ask you for help.“Liberty, I don’t mean to look down on you. In a marriage, families have to be well-matched in social status. I’m sure you understand this. Now, you’re leading a peaceful life and not planning to remarry. Even if you consider remarrying, you’re not going to feel happy in a relationship with Duncan.“Both of you have different social
“Mrs. Lewis, is there anything else? If not, I’ll take my leave. Sonny is still in the mall. I need to pick him up.”Deep down, Liberty was slightly bitter about it.She had never thought of being in a relationship with Duncan. However, in the face of Mrs. Lewis’s request, it was only natural to feel bitter.All Liberty did was rent Duncan’s store. Besides Duncan being good friends with Zachary, Duncan had helped her a lot, which was why she treated him enthusiastically. Even so, she had never thought of being with Duncan, yet she was compelled to leave.She did not do anything wrong, so why must she leave?“You may take your leave. Be careful while riding on the road since there’s heavy traffic,” Mrs. Lewis said with fake gentleness.Liberty took the key to her e-bike before she bade Mrs. Lewis goodbye. Then, she rose to her feet and left.Soon after Liberty left, Derek came in.Seeing his wife seated in a corner, he walked toward her.“How was the talk? It ended so quickly?”
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