Belinda raised her head to look at Caroline, and her expression relaxed. She said, “I know you’re good at hiding your true abilities. You have a hint of ruthlessness like me, but you’re still too kind. You have to know that there’s nothing fair in this world. It’s every man for themselves.”Caroline was silent. “You should go back.”Belinda knew Caroline was much stronger than Celine, yet she would not listen to her every time. Caroline had a mind of her own. Belinda feared that everything she had painstakingly gained would return to the hands of Tiara’s lineage. If so, her efforts would have been for naught. Decades of hard work would go to someone else just like that. Even if she were dead, she would be so angry that she would tear her coffin open.Caroline told her mother to take care of her health before leaving the ward. Belinda only withdrew her gaze after Caroline left. Then, she returned to sit by the bed and said, “Carol went back.”Hunter replied, “Okay.”However
“Mom…”“Don’t call me that. I’m not your mom. If I hear you calling me that again, I’ll cut your tongue off too. Your mom is still waiting for you in the countryside.”After speaking, Belinda shut the door again. Tears flowed down Celine’s face, yet she dared not cry out loud anymore. She was the perfect example of someone fallen from grace.Hunter heard Celine’s cries from the bed. Although he felt sorry for her, he stayed quiet. When he heard footsteps approaching, he closed his eyes. He did not look at Belinda as he was scared that she would see the sympathy in his eyes.He knew that he and Celine were done for. Although he was not chased out, his life in the Fisher household would be a living hell. However, he had to tolerate it for the sake of the Clark family. If Hunter wanted his days to get better, his sons had to inherit the head of the family position. Caroline becoming the matriarch would not benefit him at all. He swore to himself that he would help his
“Thanks, but I’m fine,” Duncan said politely. He had stayed in Fortress Hotel before this, albeit seldom. None of the employees remembered him, the young master of the Lewises. Well, even if Zachary was here, they probably could not even recognize the CEO of York Corporation as well. The person in charge of all hotels owned by York Corporation was Kevin. Most employees were familiar with him. Kevin bumped into Duncan while seeing Hayden off as Duncan entered the hotel. “Duncan.”Kevin was somewhat surprised to see him. He had heard from Liberty that Duncan would be coming over. However, Duncan’s arrival was supposed to be around two in the afternoon. Kevin thought he had yet to arrive as Liberty had just returned and had not gone to fetch him from the airport. That was why he was surprised to see Duncan being wheeled into the hotel by his bodyguard. Kevin smiled and went to Duncan, asking, “Here by yourself?”“Yeah. The plane was left in the airport. I rented a car
Duncan said, “It was a last-minute decision, so Sonny doesn’t know. His friend was visiting. He’s having so much fun that he forgets that I exist. There’s no way he’ll care about where I go.”Liberty smiled. “He doesn’t even miss me that much, let alone you.”“Sonny is close to Serenity. That’s why you can leave so easily.”“You’re right. Seren has been helping me take care of Sonny since he was born. She was the one who cared for me and Sonny during my postpartum. Sonny’s father had to work. He only took a few days' leave when I gave birth in the hospital. As for my former in-laws, they disappeared after visiting Sonny in the hospital. “They were even urging me to try for a second baby before my divorce. It was lucky that I got a divorce. Otherwise, my whole life would’ve been ruined by that family.”Liberty pushed Duncan into the elevator. When they reached the third floor, she picked a private room and helped Duncan to sit on a chair. She asked, “What do you want to eat?”“
On the day Liberty left Wiltspoon, Duncan did not follow her to the airport because he was angry at her. He also did not answer her calls or reply to her messages and made her go to Jensburg worried. On the contrary, Liberty was still thinking about Duncan in Jensburg. She even asked Zachary and Serenity to take Sonny to Duncan’s house and console him to help him regain his confidence. Upon thinking of that day’s incident, Duncan’s face flushed. “I’m not angry.”Liberty poured some coffee for him. “Don’t ever have those thoughts again. If I’m tired of you dragging me down, I would’ve distanced myself from you long ago. Why would I get closer to you and have more trust in you?”She had rejected Duncan firmly the last time he confessed to her. Their love was not explosive or intense. Instead, it had built up gradually through their daily interactions and mutual support, and their hearts grew closer. Duncan no longer expressed his love openly, and Liberty did not talk about ac
Duncan turned to look at her and said, “What do you take me for? I’ve even slept on a bench in a park before. Those were my rebellious days.”Liberty knew Duncan was rebellious during his teenage days. He would do all sorts of things with his friends. His turning point came when his grandmother died of sickness. After that, he turned over a new leaf and worked hard to establish Lewis & Co.More than ten years had passed since then. Duncan rarely mentioned his past to Liberty because it reminded him of his grandmother. He was the apple of his grandmother’s eye. He was also the youngest among his brothers, the one whom most people adored most.Sonny used to be afraid of the scar on Duncan’s face. Duncan thought of removing the scar through treatments but decided against it in the end. He mentioned that the scar would serve as a reminder that his disobedience had caused his grandmother to fall ill and pass away. He felt guilty. “I’m not picky about accommodations. Besides, a room
Duncan held Liberty’s hand with a burning gaze. He fell deeper in love with her as he noted her healthy glow and confidence. “Liberty.”Duncan said with a husky voice. His head got closer to hers, and he asked, “I… I want to kiss you. May I?”Liberty was quiet, but her face turned red. She was not a young girl anymore. She had gone through a marriage, divorce, and childbirth. However, she could not stop herself from blushing upon hearing his question. She looked shy, which made her even more irresistible to Duncan. Despite having loved her for quite some time, he had only ever held her hand. They did not do anything beyond that.“Are you okay, Liberty?”Duncan turned her head and forced her to face him. Their gazes met, and she could feel his hot breath as he approached her. Her shyness encouraged Duncan. Since he did not get her answer, he brushed her lips with his lightly. When he saw her closing her eyes, he hugged her tightly and deepened the kiss. The kissing gradu
Duncan did not say anything about being a useless person, so as not to make Liberty worry and start with a bunch of encouraging words.Liberty cleaned the electric kettle provided by the hotel and boiled water for him. She then cleaned the cup, picked up a small packet of rose green tea, brewed a cup of tea for him, and then brought it over. The teacup was placed on the bedside table, and she said to him, “The water is very hot now, wait a moment before drinking.”Ring, ring, ring…Liberty’s phone rang.She took out her phone to check the caller ID and said to Duncan, “It’s Seren.”Liberty quickly answered the call, worried that something might have happened to her sister.“Seren, what’s wrong?”“Mom.”The phone conveyed Sonny’s tender voice.“Sonny, oh, Sonny finally remembers to call Mom.”Liberty smiled teasingly at her son.Sonny pouted, sounding quite aggrieved, and called “Mom” again.Hearing the hint of grievance in her son’s tone, Liberty asked with concern, “What’s
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
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us