“It’s already eight o’clock, and I noticed you haven’t come downstairs for breakfast. Alice, are you alright?”Alice habitually supported her protruding belly with one hand and smiled. “I’m fine, just been having some restless nights lately, so I decided to stay in bed. When Clive got up, I was already awake, but I didn’t feel like getting up. Haven’t you gone to the office yet?”“I'll go in a bit. There’s not much going on lately, so I’ll check in and then go to the bookstore. Jasmine is looking after the bookstore, and Seren is still on her honeymoon. She won’t be back at the company for this whole month.”After their wedding, although the newlyweds had not gone on a honeymoon or returned to work, they spent almost every day at Wildridge Manor, living a slow-paced and leisurely life, as happy as a pair of larks.Occasionally, Elisa visited the manor and saw the newlyweds enjoying their relaxed life, which made her envious.“Seren is still in her honeymoon period. Let her enjoy the ha
As they were talking, Alice furrowed her brows while cradling her stomach. She said to Elisa, “Elisa, I might actually be going into labor early. The pain is becoming more noticeable.”“I’ll take you to the hospital immediately.”Elisa started to get nervous.She helped Alice get up, but Alice stopped her and said, “First, go to my closet and get the pre-packed maternity bag I prepared a while ago. We need to take it with us to the hospital. Also, my prenatal checkup records are in the drawer of my dressing table, we should bring those too.”“Alright, you stay seated for now. I’ll go get them. Don't worry, don't be nervous, I won’t be long.”Elisa rushed out to get the maternity bag. She grabbed that along with the prenatal records, and in no time, she dashed down the stairs.Alice was still waiting for her, but to her surprise, once Elisa grabbed the maternity bag and her prenatal records, she dashed off without waiting for Alice or even asking her along.Alice was bewildered.
“Mom.”Elisa rolled down her car window and said to them, “Alice might be going into labor. She mentioned having some abdominal pain. We need to get her to the hospital quickly.”Audrey asked, “Who are you taking to the hospital?”“Alice, of course. She’s about to give birth.”Darrell asked, “Where is she?”Elisa turned her head and did not see Alice in the back seat, only the maternity bag.She was stunned for a moment.Realizing the situation, she slapped her thigh and said to Remy, “Remy, turn around now. Alice is still at home.”Remy was speechless.Audrey burst into laughter. She would have expected such a blunder from her son, not her daughter.Elisa blushed and said apologetically, “Alice asked me to take some things to the hospital, so I grabbed them and rushed out, thinking she had already left…”Remy laughed as he turned the car around, “Elisa, are you kidding me? You got me all worked up, and I followed you hastily without even thinking about the situation.”Af
Elisa laughed and said, “Alice, please don’t laugh at me. I’m just so nervous. I bet Clive is panicking right now.”“Okay, I’ll stop laughing at you. Though laughing lessens the pain.”Elisa said, “Then go ahead and laugh! If your stomach doesn’t hurt from laughing, you should laugh more. I really don’t mind since I’m quite thick-skinned.”Alice hugged her belly and laughed, but then she soon frowned and said, “Now it hurts. The pain is getting more intense.”Hearing this, Audrey immediately instructed her daughter, “Bring Alice to the hospital now!”Most women would experience contractions for at least a day or two before giving birth for the first time. Some women would even have to endure the pain for three days. However, some women only had contractions for a few hours before delivery.Maybe Alice would not have to struggle for long.Thus, the Stones rushed Alice to the hospital.On the way to the hospital, Alice called Clive. When he answered the phone, she said, “Clive, m
“I’ll call your mother!” Audrey offered.Alice did not get to call her mother. Audrey felt that Alice’s family should be present when Alice was giving birth, so she took the initiative to call Alice’s family, telling them to meet up at the hospital.Soon after, the Stones and Lafayettes gathered outside the delivery room, waiting anxiously for Alice to give birth.Just as Audrey had guessed, Alice did an examination and was sent to the delivery room immediately upon arrival.Elisa posted a message on Facebook, notifying the Hunt sisters of Alice’s labor.Zachary immediately accompanied Serenity and Grandma May to the hospital while Liberty arrived before Serenity.Seeing the large group of people waiting outside, Liberty walked to Audrey and called out softly.“Liberty, why are you here?”“I saw Elisa’s post that Alice was about to give birth, so I came to see how everything was going. How long has she been in there?”Audrey said, “It felt like she went in a long time ago. But
The door to the delivery room opened and everyone waiting gathered around.A nurse held the baby and asked Clive with a smile, “Are you Alice Lafayette’s family member?”“I am her husband. Has she given birth? How is my wife? Can I go in and see her? When can she come out?”Clive asked multiple questions regarding his wife.Liberty was standing behind the crowd. Seeing how much Clive cared about Alice, she sighed in relief, knowing that Alice had married the right person.The nurse answered Clive. “Your wife is in good condition. She gave birth to a boy. Both mother and child are safe. The baby is 7.3 pounds. Your wife will be out shortly. Here’s the baby.”Clive was relieved to hear that Alice and the baby were safe.Everyone had smiles on their faces when they heard what the nurse said. They were also excited to see the little one.Clive took his son from the nurse’s arms. He looked at his newborn son and handed the baby to his mother-in-law, Felicity. He said, “Mom, you can
Fortunately, Alice did not keep her husband waiting for too long as the nurse soon pushed her out of the delivery room.“Babe!”Clive ran to Alice.Alice’s hair was messy, and her lips were cracked.Even so, Alice was in good spirits when she saw that everyone was waiting for her. She said to her husband, “Clive, we have a son! They said the baby looks like me.”Felicity said, “Yeah, your son resembles you. The baby is very healthy.”Clive leaned down and kissed his beloved wife on the forehead. He said in distress, “Thanks for your hard work, babe. Let’s not have any more children. One is enough.”Alice’s family hoped that she would give birth to a boy.The Stones had a big business empire, and Clive said that they would only have one child. Alice’s family felt that their daughter’s position in the Stone family was secure because she had given birth to an heir.After giving birth, Alice was also glad that she had a son. That way, her son would not have to endure the pain of c
Alice held her son and kissed him several times, smiling. “Of course, he looks like me. I gave birth to him! His mouth looks like Clive’s.”Alice glanced at her husband and said, “He has both our features, but he looks more like me.”Clive said dotingly, “It’s better that way since I’m not as good-looking as you.”Everyone laughed.Alice and Clive were a good-looking couple. The baby was still so small, so it was hard to tell whose looks he would take after. Yet, everyone was sure he would be a handsome little boy in the future.Alice needed more rest after giving birth, so everyone left after a while.Clive and Audrey stayed in the hospital to take care of Alice and the baby.After coming out of the hospital, Serenity and Zachary went to the Stones’ residence.The Stones were beaming with joy because they just welcomed a new baby.The Hunt sisters bought a lot of nutritional supplements for Alice.Audrey said to her nieces, “We don’t lack anything at home. Why did you buy so
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
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve