“I see.”Sophia laughed and said, “Kevin, don’t blame your parents. All parents are like this. I even urge Hay and her brother, but they don’t listen to me. Maybe it’s because we love to nag, and Hay rarely comes home.“As for Hugh, that boy has many female friends, but none of them are serious girlfriends. Sheesh, children really are a liability.”“Mom, didn’t you say we’d have breakfast together when I’m here? I came back on an empty stomach.”Hayden had to interrupt her mother again.“Yes, yes, let’s go have breakfast. You and Kevin had planned to go horseback riding, right? Kevin, there’s a hot spring near our ranch. In this kind of weather, you’ll be covered in sweat after horse riding. You can go get a good soak.”Hayden did not say a word.Her mom almost said it outright, “Kevin, Hay is actually a girl.”Kevin said with a smile, “Great! So there’s actually a hot spring near the ranch. I bet it’ll be comfortable taking a soak in the hot spring after our horse riding sessio
Hayden replied, “Does that mean you can only pursue the person chosen by your grandmother? Can’t you choose someone else?”Kevin nodded and said, “It can only be the person my nana chose.”Mr. and Mrs. Queen’s eagerness dampened completely.All that enthusiasm was for nothing!Hayden looked for her parents’ reaction while questioning Kevin. Seeing their enthusiasm drained, Hayden decided not to pursue the topic any further.Sophia was unwilling to accept this and asked Kevin, “Kevin, you and your brothers are all capable and outstanding individuals. Why should your grandmother make decisions about your marriage?”Donald chimed in, “Young people nowadays should pursue freedom in love and marriage. Unlike in the old society, parents cannot make decisions for their children’s marriages. They can only offer suggestions.“Your parents remained silent, but you let your grandmother decide for you. Marriage is not child’s play, it is a lifelong event and the wife you marry will be wit
Camryn was more envied than Serenity because she was blind.Callum was the eldest child to the second son of the York family and was also very outstanding in various aspects. Countless wealthy ladies had their eyes on him, hoping he would become their son-in-law. However, he was different from others and fell in love with Camryn, a blind woman.Hayden’s parents believed that Kevin would eventually become someone else’s son-in-law, and would not be related to their family. Their attitude towards him remained unchanged on the surface, but they actually lost a bit of intimate affection toward him.Kevin noticed this but he did not mind it.The point was to disappoint them, and then bring them hope and surprise.He could say that the Queens would never have thought that the bride chosen for him by his nana was Hayden.“Kevin, which family’s heiress did your grandmother choose for you?”Hayden’s mother asked curiously, “You said you came to Jensburg to escape the pressure of being fo
Kevin said with a smile, “I haven’t helped match Mr. Hayden with anyone yet, so you don’t need to thank me.” He looked at Hayden and said jokingly, “Mr. Hayden, you must work harder. When you get married one day, you must invite me to your wedding.” Hayden responded calmly, “If that day comes, I’ll surely invite you to the wedding, Mr. Kevin.” She had made up her mind not to marry anyone in her life. After having breakfast, Sophia asked the maid to help pack all kinds of food and drink for them. Although there was now little hope for Kevin to become her son-in-law, she still wanted her daughter to follow him to the ranch to ride horses and exercise instead of staying at home all day. Hayden said rather helplessly, “Mom, I don’t stay at home all day. I only have one day off a week.” Sometimes she would not even get to rest when she needed to attend parties and social events on weekends. It was not easy to be a member of the Queen family. Donald remained the nominal hea
“Bro, the more you’re wary of Kevin, the easier you’ll show your slip,” Hugh said very softly. He knew why Hayden was guarding against Kevin. It was because she was afraid that Kevin would find out about her identity as a woman. “I wonder who Kevin’s wife candidate is.” They enquired, but Kevin did not reveal who that was.Hugh chuckled and said disinterestedly, “Who cares who she is? It has nothing to do with us anyway. He’s from Wiltspoon, so Old Mrs. York must’ve chosen a rich heiress from Wiltspoon. Even if she’s not from a rich family, she must still be from Wiltspoon. “The first missus and the soon-to-be second missus of the Yorks are both from Wiltspoon.” Hugh looked at Hayden, who understood the look in his eyes. In any case, it would not be Hayden, so Hugh did not want her to be suspicious. Hayden would seldom be so wary of a man, much less suspicious of a man. She was behaving more like a man than a man would at the moment. All the old bosses who were acqua
Kevin rode on a high horse. When Hayden and Hugh came forward, he smiled and said to them, “Mr. Hayden, Mr. Hugh, let’s race.” Hugh smiled and said, “We came here just for horse racing.” “Mr. Kevin, we heard that you and your brothers have the brains and brawn. We’re here to learn a thing or two from your riding.” “I hope you’ll go easy on me, Mr. Hugh. I haven’t ridden a horse for a long time. I’m afraid I’ll lose to you brothers.” Hugh responded, “Mr. Kevin, you’re our honored guest, so I’ll give you a one-minute head start.” Kevin looked at Hayden. Hayden said coldly, “I also haven’t ridden a horse for a long time. If I give you a head start too, you’ll have an unfair advantage. Let’s have a fair competition.” “Okay.” With that, Hugh stayed where he was with his horse while Kevin and Hayden went ahead. Hugh was speechless. Why did he agree to it so quickly? Kevin and Hayden had gone far away, but it had not been a minute yet. Moreover, Kevin and Hayden said it
Hugh quickly slapped Kevin’s shoulder and whispered, “Mr. Kevin, you mustn’t let my brother hear this, or he’ll take this up with you. He doesn’t usually talk much and only nags me, his twin brother. “Look at my brother—he doesn’t look like a woman at all.” Kevin smiled and responded softly, “Your brother is just concerned about you.” Hayden did not look like a woman indeed. If she looked like one, Kevin would have taken action long ago. Even if he made a move now, he could not be impressed when he looked at Hayden. He would feel as if he was pursuing a man. When Hayden looked over, their eyes met. Kevin grinned, whereas Hayden’s gaze darkened. She looked away into the distance. When Hugh noticed that Kevin was always looking at his sister, he nudged and teased him, “Mr. Kevin, you haven’t fallen for my brother like those girls, have you?” Right after he said that, a snack was shoved into his mouth. Hayden scolded him, “There’s so much food here, and yet you can’t k
Hugh continued to ask, “Mr. Kevin, can you show me your wife candidate’s photo?” “That won’t do. What if you fancy her? Wouldn’t I be inviting a love rival for myself?” Hugh was speechless. “Once I manage to pursue her, and marry her, I’ll definitely invite you to our wedding. You’ll find out then who she is.” When Kevin married Hayden, Hugh would become his brother-in-law, so Hugh would definitely be present at the wedding. Since Kevin said that, as thick-faced as Hugh was, he could not press Kevin to show him the photo. Hugh could only say with a smile, “You must invite me to the wedding when you get married, Mr. Kevin. If possible, I’d like to be your groomsman so I can take a piece of your luck. I hope I’ll be the next person to get married so my parents will stop saying that I’m unwanted when they see me come home by myself every day.” Kevin grinned and neither promised nor refused him. He had to first find out if a brother-in-law could be a groomsman. If it was al
Lilian often messed with the medicinal herbs her master cultivated, which led to her being chased and scolded by him.It seemed her son had inherited her restless nature.“How’s Sonny been lately?”Liberty had been on edge these past few days because Caroline had been preparing to lure her three brothers into a trap and had not had time to call her son.“Same as usual, but it seems like things have soured again with the Browns.”Serenity added, “Sonny still answers when Hank calls him, but he doesn’t seem happy when his grandparents visit. He doesn’t like going to the Browns’ place, and he doesn’t want to take their calls either.“Hank’s mother and sister are truly incorrigible. They must have been badmouthing you and Duncan in front of Sonny again, which is why he’s upset with them.”During the holidays, Sonny had stayed with the Browns for a few days and started to warm up to them.However, who would have thought that the mother and daughter would start spouting nonsense in f
Once the baby was born, he would apply the knowledge he had learned over the past few months to care for the baby. He was determined to be a competent and responsible father.Serenity released her arms from around him and shifted to her side.Zachary let go, too, allowing her to turn.Then, she planted countless gentle kisses on his face.“Babe, with you here, the baby and I will be just fine. Don’t worry too much,” Serenity comforted softly after kissing him.“You are my rock. If even you are nervous, I’ll start feeling anxious too, and that won’t be good.”Hearing this, Zachary immediately said, “Seren, don’t worry. I’ll protect both of you. Alright, I won’t be so nervous anymore.”He gently touched her rounded belly again. “Lil’ Bun should be a calm kid. He’s not that mischievous.”He felt that the baby’s movements were not too intense.Serenity wanted to tell him that there were times when the baby kicked more vigorously, but she decided against it, knowing it would only m
“Just hit the gym a few more times. Lately, you’ve been spending less time there.”Every day after work, he would come home and orbit around her. As a result, he had less time to work out.It was normal to gain a few pounds eating well and exercising less. Did he really think he could eat anything without gaining weight?The reason he could maintain a model-like physique before was that he exercised daily.“Ow.” Serenity suddenly cried out in pain.This startled Zachary so much that he nearly jumped up, asking anxiously, “Is it stomach pain? Are you going into labor? Let’s go to the hospital right away.”He was about to pick her up, but Serenity stopped him by pressing his hand.“Don’t be so nervous, Zachary. It's not time yet. It’s not happening so soon. It’s just the baby kicking again. His kicks are getting stronger.”As she entered the later stages of pregnancy, the little one inside her was growing stronger. Sometimes, a couple of kicks from the baby could actually hurt.
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