“I’m not Hank Brown. I am definitely not him! No matter how many better women than Liberty there are out there, I won’t even be interested in them, because I’ve set my heart on her and won’t marry anyone but her for the rest of my life.” After a pause, Duncan asked, “Zack, tell me—do you think I should get married to Liberty sooner rather than later? In the past, she didn’t want to marry me, but later on, it was me who didn’t want to burden her with my disability. I don’t want to get married before making a full recovery.“Is that why she doesn’t believe in me? I was really scared that I wouldn’t be able to recover fully and would be stuck in a wheelchair forever. And that I would drag her down.“It was hard for her after she divorced, raising Sonny on her own too. If she was burdened with a cripple like me on top of that, she would’ve had an even harder life. I love her—I just want to make her happy, not burden her,” Duncan said all of this from his heart.Zachary slowly took a s
After a moment of silence, Duncan admitted, “Yeah. Everyone has dreams, but you’ve never told me about having a dream like this before. Did you dream about that last night because you were worrying about our relationship before falling asleep?“Or did someone say something to you to make you anxious?”Liberty dismissed with a laugh, “No way. Who would say anything to me? I’m not in Wiltspoon, anyway. Even if you do have admirers, they’d have to wait for me to get back to get to me.“I just inexplicably had a dream and told you. What I want to know is if you’ve unconsciously stolen someone’s heart.”Zachary had not told Duncan that Serenity suspected Rhea Torres was interested in him. Liberty was even less likely to tell him.How could she say that without proof and cause trouble for her sister?However, she trusted Serenity’s intuition. Rhea might really be interested in Duncan and he had no clue.Serenity told her that Rhea’s husband, Victor Torres, passed away a long time ago,
“I’ll keep up with my rehab and get back to how I used to be. I won’t become a burden to you, though I can’t promise when I’ll get better. Now that I’ve changed to an electric wheelchair, I can operate it myself to get around and reduce the burden on my caretaker.“I’ve thought about it and I think we’d better get our marriage license first and hold the wedding after I’ve recovered fully.” Duncan remembered what Zachary said about Liberty being possibly traumatized from her last marriage and worrying that he would be stolen by someone else.Then they would just get married. He would be her man. Who could take him away?He was a very single-minded person. Otherwise, he would not still be unmarried at thirty-six.Once he fell in love, it was for a lifetime.There was very little room in his heart and he only had just enough for Liberty.If anyone wanted to get in—well, there was not even enough space to stand in there.For some time, Liberty wanted to get married to Duncan, but
“Registering the marriage won’t take much time. You can just make some time to come back.” Duncan insisted on them getting their marriage license first.Once they were husband and wife in the eyes of the law, Liberty could relax.He would officially be taken and any interested ladies would stay away from him.“Duncan, let’s have a good chat about this when I have time. You should consider it carefully during this time too. Marriage is a big life event and you shouldn’t be impulsive about it. As a divorcee, I have to be very careful about my second.”Duncan could tell that Liberty did not want to get married to him right now. Perhaps she was too busy, or perhaps that dream had worried her, but she had changed her mind again.Her last sentence made it clear that the trauma from her last marriage had cut deep.He had not done enough. In reality, there were no such contenders for his love, but just a dream could make Liberty worry that he would turn his back on her, and change her mi
If Duncan was not free, his three elder brothers would make some time to help him handle the company matters so he could focus on his rehabilitation and pursuit of Liberty.“Alright, let’s talk tonight.” Liberty hung up first. Her secretary had knocked on the door to tell her a client had arrived.She had to personally receive that client. If she could close a deal with them, she needed not to worry about having no orders for the first half of next year.After Liberty hung up, Duncan pulled his phone away from his ear, but held it in his hand, spacing out.Zachary leisurely drank his coffee as he looked at Duncan. When Duncan came back to his senses, he met Zachary’s gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, bemused.“What are you thinking about?” Zachary asked in return. “You went off into outer space.”“Before the car accident, I was always running after Liberty, but no matter how I promised my sincerity, she had always rejected me, saying she only thought of me
“Don’t think too much about it either. You two just have to go through more than others, but you’ll definitely see the rainbow after the storm. You know Liberty’s really busy right now and under a lot of pressure.“Although she was performing well at her job before she got married, she became a housewife afterward and dissociated from society for a few years. After her divorce, she set up her own business but did not do it for long before she was expected to start her own company just to go up against Fisher Enterprise.“She doesn’t have enough experience and is under a lot of pressure. The Fisher heir isn’t a pushover either. Liberty isn’t in a rush to get married probably because she doesn’t want to be distracted from the fight at hand.”Duncan replied, “That’s true. Liberty is under a lot of pressure now and is very busy too. I shouldn’t overthink it and should focus on supporting her. I’ll rush to her side right away when she needs me.“But when she doesn’t, I should silently s
Rhea naturally took Owen’s place, pushing Duncan into his office.Their secretaries silently followed after them.“Mrs. Torres, I can do it myself. You don’t have to push me.” Duncan did not want Rhea pushing him along. He already said that the current wheelchair was electric and he could easily move it forward by himself.Rhea smiled. “I’m not using much strength either. It’s mostly you moving yourself.”She was wearing regular clothes instead of a suit today. The bun she usually donned was let loose for once. Ever since her husband passed, she put away her flashy accessories too, but today, she had taken them out and put them on. With her delicate makeup, she looked like a young woman in her early twenties.It was hard to tell she was a mother in her thirties to a nine-year-old son.When she left this morning, her son complimented her on how beautiful she looked today.When her in-laws saw how she was dressed, they wanted to say something but stopped themselves.Rhea knew wha
When Victor was alive, she drank coffee for enjoyment.Now, she drank it to keep her awake for work. It was no longer a pleasure for her.Duncan got Owen to make some coffee for Rhea as he said, “I don’t want any. Just get me some water. I had coffee at Zachary’s.”He usually only took coffee in the mornings and very rarely would have some in the afternoon, afraid that he would be unable to sleep at night.“You were at York Corporation earlier?” Rhea asked with a faint smile, which made her look less stern and more gentle.“Yeah, I had something urgent to talk to Zachary about.” Duncan did not seem like he was going to elaborate, and wisely, Rhea did not ask further.Duncan, Josh, and Zachary were brothers-in-arms. All of Wiltspoon’s upper class knew this.Their families had excellent relationships with one another too. Duncan only gradually fell for Liberty after Zachary married Serenity and their chances of meeting increased.Duncan and Zachary’s friendship only grew strong
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