Grandma May stared at Dylan in silence. Since the truth was out, he simply spoke his mind and revealed everything. The reason he returned to the manor was to tell her everything. He could not marry the woman she picked for him like his brothers did. He had someone else he wanted to pursue. After Dylan spoke, Grandma May sighed. She said, “You have a point. It’s better to end things earlier. Ms. Doyle’s feelings for you shouldn’t be that deep yet. You should talk to her and make her give up. It’s better that way. “Don’t hold her back.”After a pause, she continued, “Are you really not going to consider Ms. Doyle anymore? You don’t believe in my choice?”Dylan said, “I trust your eye for people, Nana. Ms. Doyle is great, but I don’t have romantic feelings for her. Even if I do marry her, we’ll only be husband and wife who respect one another without any love between us.“She's smart. She definitely doesn’t want a future like that either.“Love can’t be forced, Nana. There’s
Imogen would not even know that Dylan was the one who bought the souvenirs. After thinking about it, Dylan decided to go with Grandma May’s suggestion. If he were to tell Imogen that he bought the gifts, she probably would think that he had some lingering feelings for her and feel hopeful. It would be troublesome if she refused to give up. “Aren’t you heading home to eat, Nana?”Dylan looked at his watch. It was almost mealtime. Grandma May said, “I’m full from eating so much barbecue. I’ll have a simple lunch at their quarters later. She would go for a light lunch after having too much chicken and fish. “You should dine with your parents back home.”“Okay.”Since Grandma May did not want to go home yet, Dylan did not insist. The old lady enjoyed spending time with the ladies. She would not go hungry anyway. He did not have to worry about her not having anything to eat. “I’ll call the ladies over to admire the flowers here.”Grandma May took out her phone. Dylan o
Rosella also came from wealth. She had never lacked jewelry her entire life. When she married into the York family, the amount of jewelry she had received from her family was enough to stock up a jewelry store. They were kept in her safe. After Callum married Camryn, Rosella had given quite a few of her prized jewelry to her daughter-in-law. Dylan answered, “I don’t have a wife yet anyway. I just bought them for you because I saw some new designs.”“Did you buy any for your nana?”Dylan handed the velvet box to his mom and replied, “Nana doesn’t want jewelry from us, so I bought her a bouquet. Even so, she said I was wasting my money and that there’s plenty of flowers in the garden.”Rosella accepted the box. She smiled. “She may look like she doesn’t like it, but she’ll be secretly happy. If she didn’t tell you to bring the flowers back, it meant she liked them a lot. She won’t come home before showing off the flowers to everyone there.”Rosella knew Grandma May well enough
Rosella put the velvet box down. “I didn’t know he was coming back by himself. Mom told me he would be back for lunch. Since Ms. Doyle is in Wiltspoon, I thought he’d let us meet her after eating and drinking with her last night.”She no longer felt happy about the jewelry Dylan gave her.She preferred having a daughter-in-law. Dylan said, “I’ll just go back to work now.”After speaking, he got up and was about to leave. Martin said, “Your mom told the kitchen to prepare extra food. We can’t finish it even if we feed it to the dogs. You should eat before leaving.”Dylan was rendered speechless. His father just implied that they would not have asked him to stay for lunch if their dog could finish the extra food. Just because he did not bring his girlfriend home, he now stood lower than the family dog.“Okay. Let’s go and eat,” Rosella said.Dylan stood and followed his mother. He said, “I thought you really wouldn’t let me eat. I guess I’m less important than our dog now.”
“Nana said she would respect my decision and just told me not to regret it,” Dylan said as he ladled some soup for his mother before ladling another bowl for his father when he saw him enter. “I’ve never done anything I regret.”Although he was conflicted before and did not know if he should choose Imogen or Chameleon Fox, he knew he felt particularly happy with the latter. He also looked forward to their meetings despite arguing every single time they met, which was noticeably absent when it came to Imogen.He had forced himself to approach Imogen because she was Grandma May’s choice, but reality proved that feelings could not be forced.Rosella hummed in acknowledgment. “Just make sure you don’t regret it in the future, then.”She knew it—there was no way Grandma May would have ceded to Dylan so easily. So he was still in the dark about the truth! He had even said he never did anything he would regret. Grandma May never did anything she was unsure of.Even Rosella understood h
That was why Imogen had not contacted Dylan.When she talked to Serenity yesterday, they had gotten along, so she saw no other option than to come to Serenity’s office.“I don’t usually drink coffee at noon.”The two walked out of the office together.Imogen glanced at Serenity’s stomach and said, “It’s best not to drink coffee or heavily caffeinated teas for now. You’re pregnant and have to avoid caffeine.”Serenity laughed. “I know. I haven’t had coffee, tea, or alcohol in a long time now.”That was precisely why Imogen had to make her own coffee.“Is Ms. Stone not coming in today?” Imogen asked casually because Elisa had not come over to say hi.“She’s gone to the market today and will only be back in the evening.” Both Serenity and Jasmine were pregnant. Even if they thought they could still win a fight against a bull in their current state, Elisa saw them as museum artifacts that had to be carefully taken care of and would not allow them to go to the market themselves.“O
“Serenity, did Old Mrs. York also have her eye on you first before making Mr. York pursue you?”Serenity laughed. “Zachary and I had a marriage of convenience. Neither of us pursued the other, but we did grow feelings for each other later. It was your typical ‘marriage first, love later’ situation, though we can’t say it has nothing to do with Nana.”Imogen knew a little about Serenity and Zachary’s marriage of convenience.Serenity briefly explained how it came to be and how she only found out later on that Zachary had entirely been forced into marrying her, as well as the hilarious reason the old lady had her eye on her in the first place. All because that psychic said that Serenity was Zachary’s fated wife and that he would be single forever if he did not marry her, Grandma May used Zachary’s love and filial piety to force him to marry Serenity. She loved her grandson so much, so how could she just let Zachary be single forever?That was how the couple had a happy life togethe
“Let Dylan be your guide and take you around Wiltspoon. There are a few scenic spots on the outskirts you can visit,” Serenity suggested.Imogen huffed. “He doesn’t even want to talk to me. It’s most important to have fun when I’m traveling and I’m not going to cling to his moody ass when he doesn’t even want me around. It’ll just bring me down. Are you free? Can you go shopping with me? I want to buy something. Tomorrow, I intend to visit Old Mrs. York at Wildridge Manor.”She was not going there to ask her why she had chosen her but to see the revered personage for herself.Serenity smiled. “Sure. I have to take an afternoon nap first, though. It’s a habit of mine. If I don’t, I won’t feel energetic in the afternoon and will be prone to headaches and eye pain.”“Sure, we’ll go after your nap.”“I’ll take you to my bookstore later. Jasmine is there, she’s my other best friend apart from Elisa.” Whenever Serenity met a new sister-in-law and got along well with her, she would intro
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