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
Elisa asked, “Dylan? Grandma May’s fourth grandson?”Elisa knew all nine York brothers but was better acquainted with the first three than the rest.She could not even remember their faces if they were not standing before her and could only recognize them in real life. Serenity walked into her office while replying, “That’s right. Dylan flirted with Ms. Doyle but didn’t give her a clear answer. He was being ambiguous. Ms. Doyle came because she wanted an answer.“That rascal. He should’ve continued pursuing her if he liked her. He shouldn’t flirt with her when he has no feelings for her.”Serenity complained about Dylan. The York brothers were outstanding. If they were being serious, no woman could truly resist them. Elisa said playfully, “Maybe Dylan was playing hard to get.”Serenity replied, “If that’s the case, he succeeded. I think Ms. Doyle likes him.”Elisa pouted and said, “Which woman can resist the charm of the York men?”She had the same thought as Serenity. “
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