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
“I know. Wilbur told me as soon as I got here.”Helen continued in a whisper, “That Ms. Doyle doesn’t look simple. We don’t know which company she works at. When Ms. Stone asked her, she didn’t answer. She kept mum when asked where she was from either. Ms. Stone thinks she might be your love rival. You have to be mentally prepared, Ms. Hunt.”Serenity could not help but laugh. “Don’t assume every young lady who comes looking for me is my love rival. If she was, why would Elisa let her in?”Helen replied, “That’s because she doesn’t know for sure, we just suspect so. Either way, be careful, Ms. Hunt.”Mr. Zachary was such an outstanding man that he could attract admirers at any moment. Ms. Hunt might have love rivals popping up from time to time.In Ms. Hunt’s own words, a love rival might pop up even in her old age.“Alright, I’ll be careful, though it doesn’t matter how careful I am if they really want to take Zachary from me. They’ll come looking for me even if I lock Zachary u
Elisa lingered and later excused herself to her office.She was not worried about Serenity getting bullied anyway. Even in the past, Serenity was not one to take things lying down, much less now, and she could defend herself on top of that.When Helen was done serving them each a cup of tea, Serenity dismissed her with a wave.Once Helen left, Serenity looked at Imogen and smiled. “You can tell me why you’re here now.”Imogen pursed her lips before saying, “I just want to meet and get to know you, Ms. Hunt.”Serenity raised an eyebrow. Meet her and get to know her? She was not a celebrity, and neither did she have fans.Imogen blushed a little and Serenity suddenly understood.Tentatively, she asked Imogen, “Are you here for one of the York brothers? Which one? Dylan, Peter, or Austin?”She only listed the eligible ones. Callum was already married and Kevin was on holiday with Hayden at the moment. They were both taken. As for the rest, she had no clue who their other halves
Did Imogen come to Serenity to obtain information on Dylan? “What’s going on between you and Dylan now?” Serenity asked. After a short silence, Imogen answered, “I don’t know either. I think he’s pursuing me after we got to know each other, but he seems distant and insincere at the same time.“Whenever I thought he wasn’t interested in me and when I was about to forget him, he would give me flowers and items I liked, treat me to meals, and even solve my work issues.“However, he would disappear the moment I tried to repay him. He wouldn’t answer his phone or reply to my messages. I don’t even know where he lives.“I only found out he was a young lad of the Yorks after getting someone to investigate his name.”Serenity was speechless. ‘What the hell was Dylan doing?’He did not want to pursue Imogen, yet he forced himself to do so to obey Grandma May’s wishes. Once Imogen started having hints of feelings for him, he would take a step back. Serenity guessed Dylan must have f
Dylan was filial to his nana and respectful of Zachary. Whenever he had a problem, he would consult Zachary instead of his biological brother most of the time. As Zachary was a doting husband, he would most likely share his brothers' concerns with Serenity. That was why Imogen took the risk of coming to Serenity abruptly. Serenity’s employees even suspected she was Serenity’s love rival. Even Serenity must have had her suspicions as well because she only asked her secretary to serve fruits to go with the tea after finding out Imogen’s purpose for visiting.Imogen was not mad about Serenity’s difference in treatment. She would have done the same if she were in Serenity’s shoes. If a love rival came to her, she would serve a cup of tea at most. There was no way she would serve desserts or fruits. After all, meeting a love rival would be infuriating. Therefore, Imogen found Serenity authentic for doing what she did. Imogen had tried to look into the York family. If she
Imogen gave Serenity her name card. She said, “This is my card. There’s my contact on it. Please give me a call if you have news of Dylan. I’ll be in Wiltspoon for a week.”Serenity accepted the card and asked out of concern, “Where are you staying now?”“Wiltspoon Hotel. Your family’s hotel.”Serenity smiled. “Wiltspoon Hotel is one of the best hotels here. You don’t have to worry about a thing throughout your stay. The security is great. “I’ll make a call later. All your expenses during your stay will be on me.”Imogen quickly replied, “Thank you, Ms. Hunt, but there’s no need to do that. I can afford a hotel room.”Having been born into a wealthy family, money was the least of her concerns. “I know, but you’re a guest. Please let me be your host. If you want to visit somewhere, just let me know. I’ll accompany you and be your tour guide if I’m free.“If I’m unavailable, I’ll assign someone to bring you around and taste the best food in Wiltspoon.“There aren’t many touris
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