Celine stopped crying after a while. She stood up and counted the money. It was precisely two thousand dollars.In the past, she would have scoffed at that amount of money.Fast forward to the present, two thousand dollars had become her accommodation and meal allowance for the month.Celine was in an even worse state than Carrie, who was in Wiltspoon.Even if Carrie did not have Mr. Longbottom’s aid, she still had a brother giving her some living expenses monthly. She would never go hungry.On the other hand, Celine had no one to rely on.However, she refused to leave Jensburg just like that.She wanted revenge against her sisters-in-law.The three Fisher brothers had taken after Hunter’s flirtatiousness and took a fancy to have affairs.Celine knew their preferences and personalities well. More importantly, they still loved her. They would definitely grovel at her feet once she tried seducing them.She would make them enamored with her to make their wives angry.She was no
Caroline suddenly turned to look at Darren. She whispered to him, “Do you have someone you like, Mr. Fletcher?”Belinda had assigned Darren to be with Caroline earlier than scheduled and told her she could trust Darren forever and that he would never betray her.Even if she were to fail to become the next matriarch, Darren’s allegiance would never change.After testing him several times, Caroline finally chose to trust Darren.Darren was an all-rounder, as expected of an assistant trained to serve the matriarch or heir of the Fishers.He was competent.Caroline thought, ‘Although the Fisher family has been getting weaker, the training base that their predecessors built is remarkable. I wonder how the person in charge of the base manages to find so many talented children to train them into capable assistants.’The assistants even had beauty, brains, and brawn.Although Darren could not compare to the young men of York, he was relatively handsome.Caroline had been back with the
Caroline was clueless about Darren’s feelings for her. There was no need for her to know unless she revealed that she had fallen in love with him first. Only then would he expose a trickle of his love to show her that he felt the same. The education Darren had received since he was young had made him unable to express his feelings. Therefore, he simply cared for Caroline secretly. If she were to marry another man, he would sincerely wish for her happiness and remain by her side as a competent and trustworthy assistant. When Caroline bore a child, he could even help take care of the child. In this life, Darren belonged to Caroline; never leaving her until his time in the world was up. At that moment, someone knocked on the door. “Come in.”Caroline guessed it would be Adrian. She did not open the door for him but let him enter the ward himself. Indeed, it was Adrian. He had a bouquet and fruit basket in his hands. When he spotted Caroline and Darren in the guest area
Hunter looked toward Caroline and said, “Since Adrian is here, you can go home, Carol. Your mom hasn’t been in a good mood lately. She isn’t going to the office or managing family matters. You must be tired. Go get some rest.”Adrian added, “That’s right, Carol. I’ll stay here with Dad. You can go home.”Caroline did not want to linger there any longer either. She was not close to Hunter in the first place.She would not even spare him a glance if they were not true father and daughter.“I’ll head back then. Call me if you need any help, Adrian.”“Okay. Drive carefully,” said Adrian.He saw Caroline and Darren out.After they left, Adrian returned and told Hunter, “Caroline and Mr. Fletcher have left, Dad.”Hunter replied, “Take a look outside again two minutes later. We’ll talk again after confirming that they’ve left.”Adrian knew that Hunter wanted to ask about Celine. He agreed.A few minutes later, Adrian took a stroll outside the ward. He only returned to the ward aft
Liberty and Hayden did not go upstairs, but Kevin did. He would surely tell them about everything that happened upstairs.Hunter said, “Liberty is a descendant of your eldest aunt. She came here for the position of matriarch. She’ll definitely expose the incident to embarrass us. That’ll eliminate one of her competitors as well.“Cece may not be my biological daughter, but she grew up in our family. We didn’t even know she wasn’t our daughter until two years ago. With over twenty years of love bond, your mom might still let her inherit the position.”“But… I think Cece doesn’t stand a chance now.”Adrian added, “Do you think my brothers and I have a chance, Dad? Ever since our affairs were exposed, Mom has been prioritizing Caroline. With Mr. Fletcher’s help, Caroline’s position is now stable. On the contrary, we’re gradually becoming insignificant to the company.“Caroline isn’t close to us. She has never treated me as her brother. I admit that I’ve never accepted her as my siste
“Dad, what if Cece refuses to leave?”Adrian knew very well what Celine was like, having been siblings for close to thirty years now.He did not think she would leave. She still hoped that Belinda would forgive her.Besides, now that she had no source of income, how would she survive if they made her leave Jensburg?Yes, Celine could get a job of her own to support herself, but she was used to being pampered and had developed an arrogant personality. It was very hard for her to humble herself to work for someone else.Hunter was silent for a moment before he said, “Do your best to persuade her to leave and not to stay in Jensburg.” “Alright. I’ll have someone look for her. Once she’s found, I’ll discreetly pass her some money, and get her to leave.“Dad, you should get some sleep. I’m feeling sleepy too, so I’ll take a nap here,” Adrian said.“Alright. You can nap on the sofa outside.”Hunter felt sorry for his son. When he heard his son was sleepy and saw that he indeed look
Carrie smiled and nodded. “Yes, we’re quite close and my in-laws are busy with work, and so is my husband. I’m the only one who has free time on my hands, so naturally, the responsibility for her care has fallen to me. She’s really clingy and is closer to me than to my mother-in-law.”“That’s why I have to drop her off and pick her up every day. She refuses to let the driver or the nanny do it.”Carrie realized she was getting better at making things up.Besides, all she needed to do was turn up here and occasionally bump into Serenity. It was not like she needed to actually pick up a kid and leave with one.Serenity said, “Kids are like that. She’ll feel closer to whoever’s there for her all the time. My nephew’s really close to me too. He doesn’t even make a fuss crying for his mother whenever she goes on business trips.”“Right? My sister-in-law’s the same.”Carrie very patiently discussed the difficulties of raising a kid with Serenity. Serenity had been helping Liberty to
“Why don’t I take you to Dunc’s office and you can accompany him there while I go to your grandaunt’s place to visit the baby?”Serenity teased Sonny.Sonny immediately rejected this idea. “I want to go with you to Grandaunt Audrey’s house to see the baby.”Following that, he asked, “Aunt Ser, when can the baby play with me? Every time we go to see him, he’s sleeping or crying. When he cries, I can’t get him to stop. Why is he always crying?”Serenity led Sonny by the hand to the car. The bodyguard pulled the car door open and she carried Sonny into the car.Once she was in the car too, she answered, “Babies are all like that. He still doesn’t know how to speak, so he doesn’t know how to tell us when he’s hungry, or thirsty, or when he has pooped. All he can do is cry, and the adults will pay attention to him then and try to find out why he’s crying.“You were like that too when you were little. When you were his age, you were even harder to take care of than he was.”Serenity l
However, Remy felt that his niece, Chloe, seemed even more outstanding than her brother. Perhaps in the future, it would be Chloe who would take charge of the family.“I miss Clo-clo so much. I don’t know why, but lately, whenever I see little babies, I feel especially fond of them. Maybe it’s because as I get older, I’m becoming more maternal.”“You’re not old at all. I’m older than you, so don’t talk about being old in front of me.”Remy did not like hearing her say she was getting old. If she was old, then he was even older. Remy felt that he was still in his prime, especially since he had not even married Elisa yet.“I’m older than Seren, and her baby is due in two months.“Oh, by the way, earlier, besides complaining that I was making you cook and worrying that I was tiring you out, my mom also suggested that we start preparing for pregnancy. She said that by the time we hold the wedding in the fall, it could be a double celebration.”Remy turned to look at her, his eyes bur
“Just like how Grandma May taught Zachary and the others, being able to cook isn’t just about earning points when looking for a wife—it’s also about rewarding your own stomach.” His own grandmother had not said anything like that. All she said was that flowers did not stay in bloom forever. Although the Johnsons were currently at their peak and were wealthy beyond measure, the world was unpredictable. Who knew in which generation the family might decline?Having more skills never hurt. Learning an extra skill meant that if the family ever fell on hard times, they would at least have the ability to support themselves.That was why their family elders encouraged them to develop a wide range of skills. They did not need to master everything, but they should at least have a basic understanding of many things. In truth, his cooking skills used to be quite average.It was only after he developed feelings for Elisa and learned that she had once had a crush on Zachary, who was skille
Audrey heard the cry of her precious grandson and immediately forgot about her daughter. She called out loudly, “You two enjoy your time together then. My grandson is crying, so I’m heading back inside.“You and Remy can start preparing for pregnancy too. When it’s time for the wedding, it’ll be a double celebration.”Hearing someone else’s daughter had given birth, Audrey was eager for her daughter to do so too. Though she was already a grandmother, she wanted to be a grandmother to her daughter’s child too. That was simply how elderly people with both sons and daughters were.Elisa was speechless. She heard the hurried footsteps of her mother heading back into the house, calling out before even entering, “Darling, don’t cry. Grandma’s back.”Elisa muttered, “Now that she has a grandson, even I, this precious daughter of hers, have been pushed aside. When I give her a grandson, I doubt there’ll be any room left for me.”She and Remy would definitely have children, but they were n
“Remy, Remy!” a voice called from outside. It sounded like Audrey. Remy came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron.“You keep at it, I’ll go out. My mom must have seen the lights and knew you were back, so she’s calling you over for dinner at our house.”At this time, her family was probably halfway through their meal.Elisa put down the remote control and walked out of the house with a packet of snacks in hand, munching as she went.“Mom.” Elisa walked to the fence and responded to her mother.“Elisa? You’re back too? You came back and didn’t even come home for dinner? We’re eating right now. Hurry up and bring Remy over. Grandpa True was just saying that Remy hasn’t come over for dinner in a few days.”Remy had been busy entertaining clients lately, so he had not had time to join his in-laws for meals.Elisa replied, “Mom, I feel like eating Remy’s cooking tonight, so we won’t be coming over. You guys go ahead.”“Oh, you. It’s so late already, and you’re still making Remy c
Elisa said, “Although cousins can be as close as siblings, it’s still better to have another child. After all, we won’t be living at your family home permanently, and our children might not have much time to bond with their cousins in the future.“I have two older brothers, and the three of us have always been close. My brothers have always doted on me, and I can always talk about things with them. My sister-in-law has been very kind to me even after they got married too.“I’m used to having siblings around. It’s lively, and no matter what happens, we can always talk things through. It’s nice not having to face everything alone. I don’t want my children to feel lonely in the future.”Elisa continued, “Most importantly, I love children. If you could be the one to carry and give birth, sparing me the exhaustion of pregnancy, I’d even consider having three kids. But unfortunately, you can’t.“If I have to carry the baby myself, even though I love children, I’d only have two—preferably
Jasmine smiled. “I can’t tell. He’s so tiny. I’m scared when I have to carry him. I’m afraid of hurting him. What if he slips from my arms?”As a first-time mother, Jasmine was inexperienced. She was not like Serenity, who had raised a baby before. Josh and Zachary had secretly taken classes on how to look after a baby. The way Josh held the baby was more accurate than hers. “You’ll get better at it after learning slowly. I didn’t dare to carry my nephew either because I was scared of hurting him, but I’m an expert now.”Elisa could not resist touching the baby’s face again. She really liked babies.“Has the baby been fed?”Camila replied, “He was fed an hour ago.”The baby had been ravenous. Everyone was relieved when they saw the baby could feed normally. The doctor said the baby might experience jaundice a few days later and that premature babies should be monitored closely. Jaundice usually appeared when the baby was a few days old. It would reach its peak after
Remy gave it some thought. If he were to become a father, he would also be extremely happy, to the point that he would forget about posting on social media.They were usually busy people and did not have the habit of posting regularly anyway. Josh only started sharing a lot on Facebook after he got married. He simply wanted to show off his life after marriage and irritate his friends who were still single. Even Zachary would post about his love life on Facebook occasionally. Remy suddenly felt he had to keep up with the trend and post something on Facebook during his free time. Remy and Elisa went to buy some supplements before heading to the hospital. There were still many people in Jasmine’s ward. Most of the men were sitting in the small living area while the women were chatting with Jasmine or looking at the baby in the room. The baby boy was already fed and in fresh diapers. He was sleeping soundly. “Jasmine.”Elisa walked over with the supplements she had brought.
The secretary wished she could skip work and visit Jasmine at the hospital with Elisa. However, that could never happen. She was simply an employee, while Elisa was her boss. The only alternative was if Elisa invited her along. Nevertheless, the employees could meet Jasmine during their break or visit her at her house. Elisa left excitedly. A Maybach was parked at the entrance of the company. When Remy spotted Elisa exiting, he stuck his head out and waved at her. Upon seeing him, she was no longer in a hurry to get to her car. She quickly walked over. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you go inside?”Elisa was beaming. As she had received good news, she had a smiling face regardless of who she met.“I just arrived. I didn’t drive inside when I saw you coming out. Where are you going?”Remy got out of the car.“Jasmine gave birth. I want to go to the hospital to visit her and her baby. You came at the right time. We can head over together, but let’s get some supplemen
“Yes. Health is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. With the York family’s wealth and numbers, they won’t have to worry about not having a successor even if your child is slightly more ordinary.”Of course, Elisa personally hoped the next successor of the York family would be her nephew.The Stones and the Yorks could be considered relatives because Elisa and Serenity were cousins.The successor of the Stone family was most likely Clive’s son. If the York family’s heir was not Serenity’s child, would the two families’ relationship that was finally mended become strained again?After all, the head of the York family would no longer be a relative of the Stones if that were the case. However, Elisa did not voice her thoughts. She did not want Serenity to feel pressured. As an aunt, she also thought her nephew’s health was more important than anything else.“You must be busy, Elisa. You should go on with your work. I shall not disturb you. I appreciate your