“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
Duncan only fell for Liberty after spending lots of time with her and his affection for her grew.He was not the type to fall in love at first sight and his kind of love took time.As long as Rhea was given a chance, she felt Duncan would realize that she was better than Liberty and he would choose her instead.By the time they were done discussing business, it was time for a meal.Rhea invited Duncan to eat together.He politely declined. “It’s not convenient for me to move around at the moment. I eat all my meals at the company cafeteria unless I’m meeting my friends.”“Alright, then. When you’ve recovered, I’ll treat you to a meal.” Rhea did not press further, afraid that she would seem too deliberate and put him off, but also afraid that Duncan would pick up on her intent and immediately draw the line with her, which might cost her the business deal too.Duncan rarely came into contact with young, unmarried women.Even if there were ladies among the upper ranks of the other
Owen hummed in acknowledgment. “I’m only talking about this to you. When someone who normally wears suits suddenly turns up in a beautiful dress, they’re definitely trying to attract someone’s attention, or they’ve started dating. Women care about appearances, after all.”Duncan turned to give Owen a look, smiling as he said, “You understand women pretty well, don’t you?”“Mr. Lewis, I have a wife and two children. Of course, I understand women. If you want to win Ms. Hunt’s favor, feel free to take lessons from me.”“I didn’t think about that. If I’d thought of it earlier, I’d be married by now,” Duncan joked. “I don’t really understand what makes women happy, but I know I have to accept everything about someone if I love her.“If I’m sincere and true, she’ll feel it. Compared to giving her all sorts of expensive gifts, I think helping her as soon as she needs it and rushing to her side right away when she runs into trouble—companionship—will move her more than gifts will.”Liber
Of course, if anyone stepped on Duncan’s tail, he would bite.They were not that stupid.When they saw Duncan arrive, they greeted him.The cafeteria crew had Duncan’s lunch prepared and set it aside on one of the tables.Duncan ate with a few executives from the upper management. He chatted with them as they ate, without putting on the airs of a boss. It was lunchtime and none of them wanted to talk about work. Duncan said they had to relax when it was not work hours so they would not be overstressed.While Duncan was eating with his employees, Zachary was having lunch with his beloved wife at Wiltspoon Hotel.After lunch, they would nap in the presidential suite before heading back to work at their own offices.Serenity had just arrived at her company when the security guard on duty, Wilbur, walked up to her car and said, “Ms. Hunt, a certain Ms. Doyle is here to see you. Ms. Stone has already invited her in to wait for you.”Ms. Doyle?Once the car came to a stop, Serenit
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
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