Sonny had a simple breakfast before he was led out the door by Zachary, carrying his little school bag, while the rain had not stopped yet. The moment they stepped out, the little boy shivered and said, “It really is cold today, Uncle Zak.”“It’s only just starting to cool down.” Zachary bent down to pick him up before carrying him down the steps, holding an umbrella in his other hand. The car was stopped right at the foot of the steps.“Haven’t you seen snow and even been in a snow fight? Why are you shivering at this little bit of cold?”Sonny was silent for a moment before replying, “When I visited Mom, Aunt Ser gave me a really really thick jacket. The one you gave me today isn’t as thick.”The driver was already waiting with an open door. Zachary stuffed Sonny into the car and put away the umbrella before getting in too.“I looked at the weather forecast on my phone and it says it’s not going to be too cold today, so just one extra layer should be enough.” There was heati
Sonny was relieved. “Then, I can tell that kid that Aunt Ser won’t be like her mommy. I love you so much, Uncle Zak.”Zachary smiled. “I love you too.”Sonny was such a sweet talker. Who could not love him?Once they got to the preschool, Zachary did not hand Sonny over to the bodyguard. Instead, he got out of the car and led Sonny into the preschool. When he saw the teacher, he handed Sonny over to the teacher. Even as Sonny waved goodbye to him, he stood there watching until Sonny’s little figure disappeared into the distance, no longer looking back at him, before he turned to walk out.The preschool employees knew Zachary was Sonny’s uncle. They used to think Zachary was a lofty person out of their reach, but once Sonny started attending preschool, they saw him and Duncan often.Considering how these big shots loved and doted on Sonny who was not even their own kid, they must love kids. The depths of their feelings for the Hunt sisters were also evident from this. Who in Wiltsp
Zachary looked in the direction of the voice and saw a strange young woman. He had no impression of her at all. She was followed by two men who looked like bodyguards and was a little overdressed. She was even wearing a hat while her bodyguard held an umbrella for her.Before Zachary could even speak, she introduced herself. “Mr. York, I’m Mrs. Longbottom. I often bump into your wife here at the preschool entrance. How come she isn’t dropping your nephew off today?”It was Carrie. She was too bored staying home to recuperate and had insisted on coming out for some air. Mrs. Douglas had not been able to dissuade her. The two bodyguards did not care either. It was her body, after all. If she was not going to take care of it, who would do it for her?In their eyes, Carrie was just their boss’s mistress and not the real madam of the house. The boss had made all the proper arrangements for her care but Carrie insisted on coming out on such a cold wintry day, so they just let her be. In M
“Thank you for your concern. She’s fine.”“Why isn’t she dropping her nephew off, then?”Zachary said coldly, “It’s raining and the weather’s getting colder. Is there something wrong with letting my wife sleep in? Is there a rule stipulating she has to send Sonny to preschool?”Carrie was struck speechless.“I heard from my wife that you have to send your sister-in-law to preschool every day despite such weather. They don’t care about you at all.” Once Zachary was done, he turned and left, paying Carrie no more attention. He would not have said anything if Carrie did not bring up Serenity.Carrie simply was at a loss for words. Although she was not the real Mrs. Longbottom and did not actually have siblings-in-law who were still studying, she could not help but compare herself to Serenity at Zachary’s words. She was envious of Serenity for having such a good life. Who was Zachary? He would never have done such a thing in the past. He was so busy and time was so precious to him t
Carrie was a bit angry, but she still held it in and said, “I’ve already gotten much better. At least I dared to call out to him. The last time I saw him, I trembled and did not even dare to look at him, let alone talk to him.”This time, she even spoke to Zachary. Although she was not a hundred percent calm, she was calm enough. Was that not an improvement? Was it not enough that she improved so much in just a little over a month? She used to tremble even at the mention of his name, she would have them know.That bodyguard stayed silent.“Stop demanding so much of me. I need time to learn and your boss even said I’m supposed to be resting for these two weeks. I just aborted a baby for him, you know,” Carrie said sullenly. This was her first pregnancy and she had aborted the baby right after she realized she was pregnant, so she had not felt much for the baby, but it was a fact that her body had been badly affected. The pain of the abortion was the worst she had ever felt in her l
After eating a simple meal, Serenity left for her office. Once she got there, she saw a huge pile of gifts.Helen said, “Mr. Dylan said they’re all apology gifts for Ms. Doyle and asked for your help to pass them on to her.”Helen had not heard the gossip about Dylan and was very curious, but if her boss did not talk about it, she would not ask.“Why isn’t he doing it himself?” Serenity looked at the pile of gifts and saw most were WIltspoon’s local specialties. They were exactly what she intended to get for Imogen, so Dylan had saved her some time and effort.“He didn’t say.”“Alright. You can go back to work now.” Serenity walked toward her desk and dug her phone out from her bag to call Dylan.He quickly picked up and began to beg her for help. He truly had decided to give up on Imogen and would not marry her, but would also not be friends with her, lest his future wife get jealous.However, it was a fact that he had led Imogen on and was removing himself from the situation a
“You didn’t tell me you were going back early. If I hadn’t come over, I wouldn’t have known you left,” Serenity grumbled lightly.Imogen laughed. “It’s my bad. I know you're busy and it’s raining, making it colder today. I didn’t want to put you out.”She glanced at Serenity’s stomach. Serenity was wearing a thick coat, making it hard to tell her baby bump was showing.“Plus, you’re pregnant.”“I’ll visit you in Huntington once I’ve given birth.”“Sure! I’ll treat you to all of our local specialties then. They’re on par with Wiltspoon’s.”Serenity laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Are you in a hurry? I’ve brought some things for you. Strictly speaking, they’re not from me. Dylan asked me to send them over. He bought a lot of our local specialties as an apology.”Imogen was silent for a moment before she asked, “Are there a lot?”“Quite a lot. I don’t think you’ll be able to carry them alone. If you’re willing to accept them, I’ll ship them over to you. Just give me an address.”
Sure enough, talent and passion were very important. Austin’s business was sure to do well since he ventured into the food and beverage industry. Fortunately, his business was thousands of miles away in Wiltspoon and could not affect the O'Connors's business. Otherwise, the food and beverage businesses they operated would suffer a complete defeat at the hands of such a formidable competitor.“It’s harder to lose weight than it is to gain it, you know.” Isabella glanced at the time and seeing that it was lunchtime, she turned off her computer. “You’re becoming more of a foodie now,” she remarked.“So what if I can eat the best food in the world every day? Everyone has to eat. Is there anyone who doesn’t like eating? Only a person who doesn’t eat and drink is weird,” Tati retorted before glancing at the time too. “Dominic and Austin must be arriving soon.”Isabella never went home for lunch as it was too much of a rush. Sometimes, she would have lunch at a five-star hotel they owned
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