Although Carrie hated Serenity very much, they rarely crossed paths, so Serenity could not recognize her so easily.The York family bodyguard only returned to report to Serenity after he saw Carrie head to Spring Blossoms.After learning that Carrie had gone to the flower shop to look for Camryn, Serenity told Jasmine, “Maybe Camryn and I were overthinking it and that girl wasn’t Carrie pretending to be someone else?”Jasmine did not have a strong impression of when Carrie played the part of Mrs. Longbottom. She only remembered that she had been a young and pretty lady dressed glamorously, wearing all sorts of jewelry, unlike Carrie; mainly because the current Carrie could not afford to hire bodyguards.She replied, “I think it’s unlikely. Why would Carrie come here disguised as someone else? She hates you and Camryn so blatantly that she would say it to your face, so why would she pretend to be someone else?“Maybe the two of them just have similar body types and voices. They loo
Serenity was elated to hear that her friend was living comfortably.Elsewhere at the same time in Jensburg, Caroline’s car entered Queen Enterprise.Fisher Enterprise had been wanting to collaborate with Queen Enterprise for a while now.As the temporary head of Fisher Enterprise, Caroline often appeared at Queen Enterprise’s office and the employees were now used to seeing her around.Their boss was very gracious and obliging toward the young Fisher heiress. That was why when Caroline came by the office even without making a prior appointment, Caroline was quickly allowed through after the receptionist made a call to Hayden’s secretary.Minutes later, Caroline appeared in the president’s office.When she saw Hayden still dressed as handsomely as always, she joked, “Mr. Hayden, you’re breaking their hearts like this. Everyone knows you’re a woman now. If you dress femininely like the rest of us, they’ll quickly accept reality.“If you keep dressing like a man, they’ll feel sad t
Hayden gestured in an invitation for Caroline to have some tea.Caroline was not reserved about it either and picked up the teacup to take a small sip of tea. “This is good.”“All the things I have here are good,” Hayden said. “Everything Kevin sent me is of top quality.”The tea was one that she kept prepared here though, and was not given by Kevin.“Is there really no room to maneuver regarding what we talked about the last time?”Caroline put down her teacup and asked Hayden gently.Hayden met Caroline’s gaze with an earnest look and said meaningfully, “I’ll only work with you, not Fisher Enterprise. I won’t work with any company related to the Fishers.”The one she valued was Caroline, not the Fisher family. Caroline did not represent the Fishers either.Caroline smiled. “Thank you for thinking so highly of me. Then, I’ll treat you to a meal tonight.”With her other identity.Hayden did not immediately agree, so Caroline teased, “Do you have a date with Kevin?”Hayden ad
Hayden was silent for a moment before she said, “They grew up together and shared a kinship. It’s impossible for them to cut their ties in one go.”“I know.”In the eyes of the three Fisher brothers, their biological sister Caroline was the interloper who had ruined the relationship between the siblings.Her appearance had caused Celine’s status to fall greatly.At first, it was still alright. Belinda was biased toward Celine.Everyone thought that it was unlikely that Caroline would be able to manage all of the family businesses and was all kinds of disdainful toward Caroline.However, two years later, when the Fishers ran into trouble, the one who stepped up to take charge and clean up the company’s messes was the real Fisher daughter, Caroline.Meanwhile, Celine, the fake daughter who had been spoiled by the Fishers all this while had her reputation ruined, was kicked out of the Fisher family, and became penniless.Just like Carrie, Celine was too used to a comfortable life
Hayden had also given Liberty a considerable amount of help both overtly and covertly.The people of Jensburg could clearly see that this Ms. Hunt from Wiltspoon was the offspring of the Fishers’ previous matriarch and that she had returned to compete against the Fishers on their turf.Liberty was setting up her business in the same industry as the Fishers’ most important business, and was obviously trying to steal their share of the pie.Some Fisher family members had secretly begun to defect to Liberty’s side.Caroline smiled and picked up her teacup once more. Gracefully, she savored the fragrant tea.Ring, ring, ring!Caroline’s phone began to ring.She put down her cup and picked up her phone to look at the caller ID before saying to Hayden, “It’s my mother. Maybe she doesn’t want to continue taking care of my father in the hospital anymore.”Belinda had forced her father to be hospitalized.The old couple seemed fine on the surface, but behind closed doors, they were no
“Alright. I’ll head to the hospital in a bit. You should head home and rest.”Caroline did not refuse and instead agreed to go to the hospital to take care of her father.Belinda was silent for a moment before she said, “You can head back after spending just an hour or so with him. There’s no need for you to take care of him personally. He’s not fond of you even though you’re his biological daughter.”At first, she had not felt anything for Caroline either, but Caroline was, after all, the baby she had borne herself. Blood was thicker than water and feelings could quickly be nurtured.However, it was not the same for Hunter.To him, as long as he had not raised her and doted on her, he did not feel any closeness or fondness for her.All because she was not a Clark.Their three sons had taken after his surname. Therefore, they were considered grandchildren of the Clark family.That was why Hunter was unable to truly accept Caroline as his daughter after her return.Belinda knew
“My mother’s tired and wants to rest at home, and my father suggested that I go to the hospital to accompany him and take care of him.”Caroline did not hide anything from Hayden.If she was not the heiress of the Fisher family, she very much wanted to be best friends with Hayden.The two got along very well.Hayden huffed a sarcastic laugh but did not say anything further.Caroline sat for a little while longer and finished her tea before she got up and excused herself.Hayden walked her to the elevator and they bumped into Hugh who happened to come upstairs right then. After exchanging greetings, the siblings stood in the elevator lobby and watched Caroline enter the elevator and its doors close.Once Caroline had left, Hugh asked as they walked back, “What was Caroline here to see you for again this time?”Hayden glanced at her brother and said calmly, “She’s doing her best to fight for Fisher Enterprise. She has to put on enough of a show to prevent people from saying she i
Hayden picked up the brocade box and opened it to take a look before closing it once more and asking Hugh, “You bought this to coax one of your girlfriends with, didn’t you? It’s not my style.”She tossed the box back to him.“I have no shortage of things like these. Kevin has been buying jewelry, women’s clothing, high-heels, and stuff like that for me like mad for the past few days.”She had a lot of things.She had more than enough money of her own. If she liked something, she could afford it even if it was expensive.Her future mother-in-law had also given her a lot of precious jewelry.It was just that she was not used to wearing them.Even Grandma May had given her a few expensive pieces of jewelry as a gift upon their first meeting.Grandma May was born before World War II. Her family was rich but later went through a period of decline before they eventually got back up on their feet.Some of the jewelry in Grandma May’s collection were valuable antiques.She had quite
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