“Let me know if you need my help, Hugh. Don’t hold back. Whatever other people can do for you, I can do the same.”Hugh desperately wished to bury himself in a hole. Kevin’s words felt like bullets hitting his body. Nevertheless, he had to continue smiling. “You two can continue at that side of the room. Don’t disturb me working,” Hayden said after downing half a cup of coffee. She wanted nothing to do with this.“I’ll leave right now. I won’t disturb you any longer.”Hugh quickly sat on the sofa in the lounge area, and Kevin followed suit.They continued flattering each other, which made Hugh utterly awkward. After some time, Hugh hugged Kevin’s shoulders and said with a smile, “I admire you a lot, Kevin. I think you’re great and the only one who’s good enough for my sister. Everything I said just now was out of jealousy.“Hayden and I have been siblings for almost three decades, but she has always been more of a brother to me. She had never worn women’s clothing for me, bu
“However, Hayden is human. She’ll get tired too. Don’t you think it’s time for you to take up heavier responsibilities after having fun for so many years?”Hugh replied, “Do you want Hayden to resign, Kevin?”“No. I just want her to take a holiday and rest. Although we’re a couple, we rarely have time to date, let alone go on a trip together. If we don’t do more things together as a couple, we might regret it whenever we try to recall our dating days after getting married. Don’t you think so?”Hugh understood. Kevin wanted him to manage the company so Hayden could rest well. That was… actually reasonable. Hugh was not incompetent. As Kevin said, he was used to hiding behind Hayden and living a comfortable life. “How long do you need, Kevin?”“At least half a month. A month or two would be better. Your sister might disagree if it’s any longer than that. She’s a workaholic. She’ll get restless if she doesn’t go to work for a long time.”Kevin wanted Hayden to rest, but it
“She’s tired enough from shouldering Queen Enterprise. Why does she have to worry about your marriage? Even if you don’t care about her, I do.“I want Hayden to be happy and carefree.”If she could not be worry-free, Kevin wanted her to be happy at least.Hugh said, “This can’t be rushed, Kevin. I haven’t met someone I like? How can I think of marriage? I can’t just settle for anyone, right?”His parents and sister were already worried about his marriage, and now Kevin was joining the party.Hugh’s head was aching.He was not even thirty years old yet.“You are friends with many girls. There must be one of them who suits your taste. You can choose one among them. If you don’t want to do that, I can keep an eye out and introduce you to anyone I find suitable.”Hugh replied, “Seeing that you need your nana to choose your wife, you probably know, dare I say, less than ten women.”Kevin’s suggestion to introduce someone to him was absurd.It also showed that Kevin had a nice gran
The secretary was stunned.It never crossed her mind that her boss was actually a woman.All the other employees were shocked, but no one dared to ask Hayden about it.Those ladies who had had a crush on Hayden were in despair that they had been in love with a woman all along.No wonder Hayden never accepted a woman’s confession or flirted with them. It turned out that he was a she.They also understood why Kevin had managed to win Hayden’s heart.Kevin did not care about what others thought. It was just great that Hayden admitted to being a woman.After seeing Hugh out, Kevin sat before Hayden’s desk and stared at her charming features.“Why are you looking at me like that? It seems like you’ve successfully kept Hugh under your control.”“I love you so much, Hay. Hugh presented himself to me on a silver platter. Who asked him to say such things to you? If he wasn’t your brother, I would’ve ripped his mouth out for trying to convince you to leave me. Did he think wooing you wa
To be honest, Hayden was too busy and rarely went on vacations.Their honeymoon would be a perfect opportunity for Hayden to visit places she had always wanted to go and relax while enjoying the scenery. “I’ve managed to secure a two-week break for you. During this time, don’t get involved in any business matters. Let Hugh handle everything. I’ll take you around, we haven’t had a proper date yet.”Normally, Hayden was rather cautious about others labeling her as a homosexual, so they often snuck out in the evenings without bodyguards, almost like having a secret affair.They had never dated publicly.They could talk about marriage, but they had not had a proper date yet. It was something they regretted.After some thought, Hayden said, “My schedule for this week is packed with important matters. I probably won’t be able to take a break until next week. I’ll instruct my secretary to cancel all my appointments for next week and leave everything to Hugh.“Hugh is not useless. He’s
Next week, Kevin could take Hayden on vacation for half a month, having proper dates to cultivate their relationship.They could now go on dates without facing criticism.Meanwhile, at Queen Manor, the splendid hall was filled with relatives of the Queen family.Donald and Sophia sat together and had their servants serve drinks, fruits, and snacks.They could turn off their phones and refuse external disturbances, but they could not shut out their relatives.Some were Donald’s uncles, and despite being only one or two generations apart, their relationship was rather distant.“Is Hay really a woman?”Donald’s uncle was still in denial that Hayden was a girl.“Back then, didn’t you two say you had a pair of twins?”When Sophia was pregnant with twins, the family was delighted. Having twins was a rare occurrence. However, as Sophia’s mother once had twins, she probably inherited those genes.When the twins were born, everyone heard that it was a pair of twin boys.Donald clarifi
“We didn’t say it would have any impact on us. It’s just that if Hay is a girl, we can breathe a sigh of relief because we can now go out and meet people. Previously, when they said she and Mr. Kevin were a same-sex couple, you two didn’t care. But when we went out, we would always be bombarded with questions.”“The boys at home have found someone they like, and people still have to pry and ask if it’s a same-sex relationship,” explained Donald’s uncle.He was not here to interrogate and only wanted confirmation.If Hayden was a girl, then so be it. In Donald’s words, it was their family affair, and it was none of the outsiders’ business; as long as Hayden was not in a same-sex relationship.Donald did not expect the rumors about his daughter being in a homosexual relationship with Kevin could affect others in the family. His uncle had never come to talk to him about it, maybe because they had emphasized respecting their children’s decisions and this had been conveyed to the public
However, after Kevin openly professed his love for Hayden, coupled with the time Brianna and some other admirers of Hayden lost a verbal battle against Kevin, she gave up.Adding Kevin to the long list of Hayden’s admirers made her feel that she had no chance of winning. It was better to give up early and find someone else she liked.Now that she had a new partner, her mother still insisted on bringing her here to gather information.Brianna admitted that she was shocked initially, but now it had nothing to do with her.“Gossips, let’s hear what’s going on. We can get some clear information, and when we tell others, it will be more convincing.”Brianna had a wry expression. “Are you seriously here to get a scoop, Mom?”“Enough, the butler is coming,” Camilla whispered to her daughter as the butler approached.Many who came to inquire were indeed interested in gossip, were they not?The butler quickly came over and conveyed Sophia’s intentions with an apologetic tone to Camilla
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