Mrs. Lewis said, “I wonder what’s wrong with Liberty’s taste. My son is outstanding, yet she’s not interested in him. What kind of man does she want to marry?”“Is it a must for divorced women to remarry? I guess Liberty is frustrated. It’s not easy for her to accept a new relationship. If Duncan doesn't give up, he might spend several years trying to move Liberty. Perhaps you won’t be stopping them from getting together. Instead, you might be the one begging Liberty to be with Duncan.” Mrs. Lewis’s face darkened.“It’s impossible for me to beg Liberty to be with Duncan unless pigs can fly.”Derek was teasing her inwardly, ‘Don't jinx it. It might be a slap to your face. You might beg Liberty to marry your son in the future, and pigs can actually fly.’…Duncan, who was keeping an eye on Sonny in the mall, was absent-minded. He wanted to meet his mother and Liberty very badly. He wanted to hear about the conversation between the two of them. Would Liberty be more reluctant to
“Your mom has something to deal with. She’ll be back soon,” Duncan lied.“We’ll wait outside for your mom to come back.”Sonny acknowledged it.After carrying Sonny to the first floor, Duncan asked him, “Sonny, is there any snack you want to eat? I’ll buy it for you.”“Thanks, Dunc. But there are a lot of snacks at Aunt Ser’s house. I don’t need it.”Nowadays, Sonny stayed the nights at Aunt Ser’s house. Jim would send Sonny to class in the morning. It was only when Sonny did not need to go to class that he would stay with his mother.Aunt Ser and Uncle Zak loved him dearly. They always bought him a lot of tasty snacks.“That’s Aunt Ser’s business. I simply want to buy it for you to express my kindness. Sonny, give me a chance to do this.”Sonny stared at Duncan.He did not quite catch Duncan’s meaning.Duncan did not explain further but asked Sonny, “Sonny, have you thought of allowing me to be your father?”“I have a father.”Duncan choked before he replied, “I know you h
Duncan had no idea what to say.Sonny was such a stubborn kid.“Sonny.”Having caught sight of Duncan and Sonny, Liberty walked toward them.Still worried, Duncan reminded Sonny once again not to expose their discussion earlier. Sonny seemed to turn a deaf ear to his words and struggled out of his arms. He slid down and ran toward his mother. “Mom.”Once Sonny ran toward Liberty, she held his hand and asked with a smile, “Don’t want to play any longer?”“No. I want to go home.”“Alright. Let’s go home.”Looking at Duncan in front of her, Liberty expressed her gratitude to Duncan calmly. “Mr. Lewis, thank you for looking after Sonny on my behalf.”“You’re welcome. I’m more than ready to help you look after him.”Duncan stretched out his hand to touch the top of Sonny’s head. “Sonny is easy to handle.”Liberty grinned before she said to Duncan, “Mr. Lewis, we’ll leave first since Sonny wants to go home now.”Duncan instantly replied, “Let me send you home.”“It’s fine.”L
Duncan was embarrassed because of Sonny’s words, and so was Liberty.She turned her gaze to Duncan.Duncan grinned at her.Liberty was speechless. She kept quiet, thinking about how to answer her son’s question.“Mom.”Sonny’s childish voice rang out again.“Mommy, do you disagree?”“Sonny.”Liberty said tenderly, “You already have a father. Dunc is your uncle, and he’ll forever be your uncle.”“Liberty.”Duncan called her.“Mr. Lewis, Sonny is still young and immature. Don’t say these things to him. Sonny isn’t the one to decide on my life.”Liberty was solemn when she spoke.Duncan said apologetically, “Liberty, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have said these things to Sonny at this point. But my feelings for you are real, Liberty. I’m genuinely fond of Sonny and will treat him like my biological son.”“Mr. Lewis, as I said, I don’t want to get into a relationship now.”In Duncan’s face, Liberty said composedly, “Mr. Lewis, I hope you can understand. I also hope that you’ll
Sonny was obstinate.When Hank badmouthed Dunc in front of Sonny, Sonny insisted that Dunc was scary. However, Dunc was not a bad guy. No matter what his father told him, Sonny would not change his perception of Dunc.To him, there was a clear boundary between good and bad people. He would not call a bad person good, and vice versa. “I’m not unhappy. Something just crossed my mind.”Liberty smiled. “Look, I’m smiling.”The kid was clever and sensitive.Seeing his mother smile, Sonny believed that his mother did not get angry at what he said.“Mom, Dunc wants to marry you and make you his wife. Is that true?” Sonny asked after feeling relieved from earlier. Liberty was speechless.Duncan actually told Sonny everything.Considering Sonny’s age, would he understand it?Even if Sonny could accept Duncan as his father, his decision would not change Liberty’s mind.“Dunc was just kidding with you. You don’t need to take it seriously.”Sonny hummed in acknowledgment. “So Dunc w
When Zachary came out and saw Sonny kissing Serenity’s face, he was actually jealous of the three-year-old kid.Zachary carried Sonny into the house while speaking to him.“What do you want to tell me?”A look of curiosity washed over Sonny’s face.Then, Zachary gave him a lengthy lecture.Sonny was at a loss for words.He could not understand most of Zachary’s words. However, he managed to grasp one point, namely that he should not always kiss his aunt’s face since he was a boy.However, Serenity was his aunt.Even Serenity could kiss his face.In the end, Sonny thought, ‘The adult world is so complicated.’What Zachary said to Sonny left Serenity feeling speechless. She had no choice but to say to her husband, “Babe, take Sonny upstairs for a shower.”“Okay.”Zachary took Sonny upstairs and said to him, “I’ll help you shower tonight.”“I want to bring along my toys for a shower.”“You can take your water gun.”“Alright.”While heading upstairs, the two of them were ne
“Seren, sure enough, we’re sisters. I refuted Mrs. Lewis this way too. Why should I leave? Why should I make such a sacrifice?”“I think running away from the problem won’t solve it. Liberty, don’t move out of that street now. Your shop has been operating there for quite a while, and you finally have some regular customers. If you relocate, you’ll need to start everything from scratch.“As long as you stick to your decision and don’t be convinced by Mr. Lewis, he can’t do anything to you no matter how hard he tries. If you fulfill Mrs. Lewis’s request and leave Wiltspoon with Sonny, Mr. Lewis might never be able to get over you. He might spend his remaining life searching for you and Sonny.“By then, despite having gone after you for a long time, he still hasn’t won your heart. With his mother’s disapproval and persuasion over time, he’ll give up and leave you alone.”Liberty thought so too.She would not be able to solve the problem by leaving.Serenity’s thinking was the same a
“Alright, I’m going to give Zachary a reply on this.”Serenity did not insist on helping Liberty pay Sonny’s school fees.It was fine that Liberty wanted to enroll Sonny in Wiltspoon Learning Center. Anyway, she could afford the fees.As Liberty said, Sonny was her son. It was right for her to pay the fees.If Liberty was unable to afford the fees, she would not want to enroll Sonny in Wiltspoon Learning Center.Serenity knew her sister very well.Now that Serenity was the young missus of the Yorks, money was what she needed least. However, Liberty was determined to rely on herself. She refused to mention money matters with her sister.Liberty was afraid of discussing money with Serenity as it would affect Serenity’s status in Zachary’s family and hold her back.Also, Serenity was not the kind who would keep asking for money to help her family. She thought it would be better to teach someone to fish than to give them a fish.“Seren, thank you. Because of you and Zachary, Sonny
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