Corey would be in tears if she was watching her son. After all this time, Corey still blamed herself. She believed she was the reason for Duncan’s car accident. If she had not stopped him from seeing Liberty and threatened him with death, he might not have been driving so fast. If she had not chased after him, he might have braked in time, and he would not have ended up in a car accident that left him wheelchair-bound. It was all her fault. Corey cried when Duncan gave up on himself. She also cried when Duncan struggled and became flustered during rehabilitation. Hence, Duncan did not allow family by his side when he had these sessions. He did not want his mother to cry. It also annoyed him that Corey often cried even though he had accepted reality. “Okay, I’ll take a short break. I’ll stand up in a bit. Do you have water, Liberty? I’m thirsty.” “Rest here. I’ll go inside to fill a bottle of water for you. Do you want anything to eat? Should I bring you something?” He
When Liberty brought the bottle of water out, she saw Duncan falling and getting up from afar. Duncan was still practicing his walking. She stopped and watched him hang on. She did not get close to him so as not to put pressure on him. She had seen him at his worst. However, nobody liked to be seen at their worst. Duncan had his pride. Once Duncan was tired, he wanted to get back to his wheelchair but was too exhausted to get up. Since there was no one around, Duncan crawled back to his wheelchair and propped himself back onto it. After he had done all that, he caught his breath. Liberty immediately hid behind a tree when Duncan looked around. She did not want Duncan to know that she was there. It pained Liberty to see Duncan crawl and climb back to the wheelchair. She had something to do with what happened to him. Duncan was determined to pursue her, and he did not want to give up on her. He went against his mother’s wishes and got into a car accident. It was all beca
Duncan was not involved with Liberty romantically, and neither was she dating anyone. That was a good thing. Oh, the drunkard wanted to pursue Liberty. The man went to Liberty’s restaurant to meet her when Duncan let his guard down once. Now that Duncan knew about his rival, he stopped the drunkard from ever getting close to Liberty again. Duncan had been watching over Liberty for more than a year. There was no way he would allow someone else to swoop in and take her away. “It’s cloudy today. Why is your face burning up?” Liberty asked. Duncan replied, “Really? I might have practiced walking a little too long. I’m exhausted. My face must be red because I need air.” He refused to admit that he blushed because she wiped away his sweat. Duncan was pushing forty. Although he had never been intimate with anyone, he had imagined what it would be like. Besides, he had seen a lot in his rebellious stage, so he was not completely green. He believed he was not an innocent man for h
Meanwhile, Julian, who had never let alcohol get to him, got wasted for once and he did it at Zachary’s wedding. He was now at Wiltspoon Hotel. It was good liquor. Julian was having the time of his life with Quinn by his side, so he drank a lot. He kept talking about how great the alcohol was while drinking. The strong liquor packed a punch, and he ended up intoxicated. He opened his eyes, but he had to close them due to his headache. Julian had not had enough sleep. His head would not hurt if he slept longer. Soon, Julian opened his eyes again. He realized he was lying in an unfamiliar room. Where was he? He was not at his family home or his villa. Julian hoped nobody had picked him up from the streets and had their way with him after he passed out drunk. The scenario was unlikely. He was drinking at Wildridge Manor. Nobody would have the guts to do that even if he was drunk unless they wanted to cross him. Ignoring his throbbing head, Julian jolted up fro
Thank goodness Josh was married and Jasmine was pregnant, so Julian had nothing to worry about. Besides, Quinn only admired the strong, and Josh was a strong character in everybody’s eyes. It was normal that Quinn would admire and praise Josh. Julian’s headache did not feel so bad when he saw that Quinn was calling. He quickly picked up the call. “Ms. Crawford.” “You’re up, Mr. Bucham. Did I wake you? You’ve been asleep for long. It’s almost ten o’clock now. I called to check whether you were awake.” Quinn did not drink, so she got up early. She was out because she could not work out in her room after waking up. She went jogging along the streets bright early, then returned to the hotel for a shower. Feeling refreshed, she went to the restaurant on the first floor to enjoy a buffet. She did not disturb Julian and went to have breakfast alone since he passed out drunk. The restaurant on the first floor of the hotel was the best in all of Wiltspoon. People from everywhe
Quinn smiled. “I don’t come often. Do you have a headache? Do you want something to eat?”She already had her fill. “My head hurts. It’s my first time getting drunk and hungover. It feels like my head is being torn apart.”Julian rubbed his temples as he spoke. At the same time, he thought, ‘The alcohol Zachary prepared was so good that it actually got all of us drunk.’Zachary would have felt accused. Clearly, Julian’s alcohol tolerance was the issue.“I don’t have an appetite because of the headache, but I still feel hungry.”Julian made himself sound pitiful to gain Quinn’s sympathy. Naturally, Quinn did not feel bad for him because she had no feelings for him. However, she still showed concern out of courtesy. “I’ll ask the receptionist if they have anything that can relieve your headache. If it doesn’t work, we can go to the hospital to get some medication from the doctor.”Quinn added, “You should eat something despite the headache. It’s bad to leave your stomach em
Quinn headed out to get Julian breakfast. He mentioned that he wanted something light, so she went to the bakery and got sandwiches for him. Afraid that the sandwiches would not suffice, she bought a banana and orange juice before returning to the hotel. Ten minutes later, Quinn stood in front of Julian’s room and knocked on the door. “Mr. Bucham.”Julian opened the door. Quinn handed him the breakfast and asked out of concern, “I requested the receptionist to send you some meds. Have you taken them?”Julian accepted the food and allowed her inside. Quinn did not want to enter the room. However, seeing that Julian had already made way for her and was in proper clothes, she entered after some hesitation. She was the one who brought him back to his room last night anyway. Fortunately, she had been strong enough to support him all the way back to his room because of her training. If it were any other ordinary girls, they would not have been able to keep Julian upright. H
Julian suddenly understood why Zachary fell in love with Serenity after their marriage. He must have experienced a simple life that he never did before, and the fresh excitement soon turned into addiction. That was probably why he kept his identity a secret from Serenity. Julian pondered on when he should tell Quinn the truth. He could not possibly follow Zachary’s footsteps. Even Serenity, who was mild-tempered, got so furious that she wanted to get a divorce after discovering Zachary’s lie. He had a nasty shock. Quinn always had a clear stand on her likes and dislikes. Although she looked easygoing, she could be destructive if someone offended her. Deception was definitely not an option. Zachary’s brothers and cousins dared not hide their identities like he did when pursuing their future brides. They were honest from the get-go out of fear of ending up like Zachary. “Mr. Bucham?” Quinn called Julian, puzzled, as he was staring straight at her without even blinking.
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