Sophia was shocked. She anxiously followed up with questions, “Kevin knows you’re a woman? How did he find out?” It was the first time anybody ever doubted that her daughter was not a man. Once the shock subsided, Sophia was hit with a wave of a pleasant surprise. For Kevin to suspect her daughter’s gender, it could only mean that Kevin believed Hayden was a woman. It was probably why Kevin was wooing Hayden now. In that case, Sophia’s daughter had a chance to marry into the York family so long as Kevin had no interest in the wife candidate Old Mrs. York picked for him. Sophia was on a roller coaster of emotions. Getting a headache, Hayden replied, “I don’t know what started the suspicion, but I’m certain that I gave away nothing.” The longest time she ever spent with Kevin was over the weekend. Oftentimes, it was only an occasional encounter that was kept brief. They had not hung out a lot. Other people who had been in Hayden’s company daily never suspected she w
Sophia said, “Yeah. The Yorks raised outstanding children.” Since Kevin was wooing her daughter and had his doubts about her daughter’s gender, Sophia finally saw hope again. Sophia had always admired Kevin. “Donald, what’s your take about Kevin seeing through Hay’s disguise? She’s been playing a man for over two decades. I wouldn’t believe she’s a woman if she didn’t come from my womb. Hay puts on a convincing show.” “What did Hay say?” “Apparently, Kevin had a gut feeling that she wasn’t a man.” Donald gleefully praised Kevin once more. “The boy has a discerning eye and a keen intuition. He’s definitely raised well.” Sophia had no words. “Honey, it doesn’t matter how Kevin saw through Hay’s disguise. The only thing that matters is that Kevin doesn’t swing the other way, and he’s pursuing our daughter. I’m in favor of this son-in-law.” “Me too.” Sophia grew certain that Kevin would make a good son-in-law. Although nothing concrete had happened between Kevin and H
Hayden callously turned down the offer. “I don’t want to drink with you, Ms. Celine. Excuse me.”Surrounded by her security detail, Hayden walked past Celine. As Hayden brushed past, Celine cried out to Hayden, but Hayden refused to give her the time of the day. Hayden simply walked on. Celine stamped her foot in rage. Although the Fishers were not the wealthiest in Jensburg, the family was in the circle of the rich and powerful. People would always suck up to her every time she attended social events. Celine was no short of suitors, but these men were merely on their parents’ bankroll and had nothing to show for it. Her privileged life with the Fishers gave Celine her arrogance, so Celine believed she deserved better than these men who were living off their parents. Still, all the good and remarkable men out there steered clear of Celine because they knew they would have to take the Fishers’ last name rather than vice versa. Only these incapable trust babies would go for
“Kevin York has no shame. Mr. Hayden is giving him the cold shoulder, but he just clings to Mr. Hayden to no end.” Emma looked over at Kevin and commented, “Kevin has advantages over you all. He’s a guy, and I mean, a guy of power and wealth. The Queen Enterprise would think twice before making York Corporation their enemy. Mr. Hayden’s bodyguards couldn’t even stop Kevin.” It only fueled Celine’s jealousy further. After taking another large gulp of red wine, Celine asked Emma, “Where’s Caroline?” “I don’t know where she’s hiding. I didn’t see her.” Emma did not take to Caroline. For starters, Caroline grew up in a rural area. Sure, Caroline had a natural grace to her. It did not take much dressing up for Caroline to outshine Celine now that the former was back in her rightful place with the Fisher family. Still, Emma could not stand Caroline, getting the idea that Caroline was sly. Caroline behaved discreetly and meekly in the Fishers’ residence, but she quietly chippe
Many women became upset as Hayden approached Caroline. Celine jumped out of nowhere and came in Hayden’s way. With a dazzling smile, Celine asked, “Mr. Hayden, can I have this dance with you?” Hayden solemnly refused, “I’m sorry, Ms. Celine. I have a dance partner.” She then brushed past Celine and reached Caroline’s table in no time. Caroline was in food heaven when she realized a lot of people were staring at her. She picked her head up and met the gaze of Hayden who was standing before her. Dumbstruck at first, Caroline then flashed her pearly whites at Hayden. “How can I help you, Mr. Hayden?” Kevin tagged along. While Kevin sauntered past Celine, Celine tried to put her foot out to trip Kevin. In Celine’s mind, Kevin was her strongest rival, and his gender did not matter. She wanted her rival to trip and embarrass himself in public. Alas, Celine underestimated her opponent and was too full of herself. To think she would try to outsmart Kevin. Picking up on
Hayden very righteously testified for Caroline, “Madam Fisher, I can testify for Ms. Caroline. She had been sitting here eating and only stood up when I asked her for a dance.” “I didn’t say it was you who made Celine fall. It’s just that you were so close to her, and yet you didn’t come and help her up when you saw her fall.” It was no secret in Jensburg that Madam Fisher favored her adopted daughter. As soon as she said that, everyone criticized her internally for being a foolish and inconsiderate old woman. Her adopted daughter fell, and she blamed her biological daughter for not going to help. Did Celine not know how to get up herself? What the hell did her fall have to do with Caroline? “Yeah. Celine fell so embarrassedly, but you just stood there watching, Caroline. Where’s the sisterly love? You didn’t help her up at all. Are you happy seeing Celine being in a sorry state?” The person who spoke was Emma. It was not Caroline’s fault, but she also wanted Celine to
“Mom, my head hurts a little, and I also twisted my foot.” Celine said pitifully, “Mom, I fell because I accidentally bumped into Mr. Kevin. It has nothing to do with Caroline, so you and Emma shouldn’t blame her anymore.” She looked at Kevin again and blamed him resentfully, “Mr. Kevin, why did you trip me? I know you like Mr. Hayden too and are openly pursuing him, so we’re love rivals, but you can’t treat me like this.” Madam Fisher frowned and asked her daughter, “It was Mr. Kevin who tripped you?” Kevin shouted, “Ms. Celine, you can spew what you eat, but don’t talk nonsense. It was you who tried to trip me but didn’t have enough strength, so you made me jump, but I didn’t fall. Instead, you lost your footing and fell. You reap what you sow—you deserve it!” One could not distort the truth in front of Kevin. He alone could have heated disputes against ten-plus love rivals and would still remain undefeated. There was no way Celine could blame him. Kevin also did not
Celine wanted to argue for herself, but she just lowered her head and apologized to her mom when she saw her serious face. “Mom, I’m sorry. It was my fault this time.” She took two steps forward and affectionately took Madam Fisher’s arm as she said coquettishly, “Mom, I know I was wrong, so don’t be mad. I just really adore Mr. Hayden. It was competitive, to begin with, and Mr. Kevin is in the picture now. We can’t get close to Mr. Hayden because we’re women. “On the other hand, Mr. Kevin can get close to Mr. Hayden such that Mr. Hayden’s bodyguards can’t do anything to him. He’s even openly pursuing Mr. Hayden and arranged a sea of flowers in front of Queen Enterprise. “I was jealous of Mr. Kevin, so I couldn’t help but do that at that moment. I didn’t expect him to react so quickly. Instead of tripping him, I tripped over him. The fall was so painful, and I also embarrassed myself.” Celine gritted her teeth again at the thought of her fall earlier. She had never been so
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