Olivia thought about it and said, “I’ll talk to her again tomorrow and see if I can talk her out of going to work, but you should give her a little more living expenses in the future. Also, stop going Dutch with her.“I thought that going Dutch would benefit you, but now it seems like there’s no advantage. Now, you have to do everything yourself when you come back. When your sister and I come over, we have to pay Liberty to cook for us too.“You don’t seem to be saving a lot of money either. It’ll be much easier on you if you stop going Dutch with her. It’ll be worth it even if it means having to give her an extra two thousand per month for living expenses.”Hank was silent for a moment and said, “Even if we stop going Dutch, Liberty and I can’t go back to how we were before. I... I really have no interest in her anymore. If not for Sonny and Chelsea, I wouldn’t have lowered myself to speak to her so humbly.”As soon as he finished speaking, Olivia slapped him.She scolded him in
Serenity phoned Jasmine with a smile.Jasmine laughed on the phone. “Seren, you two finally made up. Mr. York is willing to even treat me to breakfast? I’m relieved. I was so worried he thought I was trying to matchmake you.”Shawn was her cousin, but she did not want her best friend and him to become a couple. That was because the Lowe family was not suitable for her best friend.Even though her aunt usually treated Serenity well, if she found out that Shawn had feelings for Serenity, she would instantly turn hostile.Serenity would not have a good life with someone like Jasmine’s aunt as her mother-in-law, so Jasmine would not help her cousin.When there was an opportunity to be alone with Shawn, she intended to have a proper talk with him. She would tell him to give up on Serenity and stop coming to the shop frequently, lest Zachary misunderstood again.After marriage, both men and women had to consider the feelings of their other halves. Regardless if they did nothing wrong,
Serenity would be returning to the store after breakfast while Zachary would be heading to the office. Since their routes were different, the couple drove their own cars separately.They first went to Bright Boulevard to pick Liberty up.They saw Liberty pushing her son out to the entrance of the neighborhood.“Liberty.”Serenity quickly got out and walked toward her sister after pulling the car over by the curb.“Ant Swer.”Sonny stretched his arms out for Serenity to carry him.Serenity bent over and picked him up, rewarding him with two little kisses and that made the little one giggle.When Zachary saw this, he wanted to shrink himself to become a two-year-old toddler so Serenity would kiss him too.“Why is Sonny up so early today?”“I woke him up and fed him milk before coming out.”Liberty nodded at her brother-in-law and greeted him, “Zachary.”“Let’s get in the car, Liberty.” As Zachary spoke, he stepped forward and loaded the child’s stroller into Serenity’s car.
Serenity remembered the brand of the suit she spent over ten thousand dollars to buy. There was no mistake.She laughed to herself.‘Zachary must have wanted to wear the new clothes. That’s the reason for all those little actions.‘It’s no wonder Nana said his still waters run deep. He won’t throw away the clothes I bought for him.‘Sure enough, Nana knows her grandson best. She has a complete grasp over his personality.’When they arrived at Wiltspoon Hotel, Jasmine was already waiting there.The group entered the hotel.The hotel’s lobby manager recognized Zachary and put a smile on his face, about to greet him. However, Zachary glared eerily at the manager, who was struck speechless.‘Did I do something wrong?’The manager did not dare to greet or follow Zachary, so he stood still and watched as Zachary and his party walked away.After an indefinite amount of time, he finally came back to his senses when he was tapped on the shoulder.“Mr. Callum?”The manager looked at
After Jasmine left, Zachary called his bodyguards and informed them to fetch him from the hotel.His bodyguards would always be following in his shadows. After receiving his call, they quickly arrived at the hotel to meet him.“Go to the jewelry store first,” Zachary said to the driver when he got into the car.The driver replied respectfully, “Yes, sir.”There were many jewelry stores in a bustling metropolis like Wiltspoon. There was a jewelry store on the way from the hotel to the office.The driver stopped at the entrance of the store.“You don’t need to follow me in.”Zachary commanded in a low voice, got out of the car alone, and went into the jewelry store.He was very quick when it came to buying things. He selected a pair of gold rings, paid for them, and waited for a clerk to put the rings in two red brocade boxes and then into a bag. Zachary then took the bag before he simply turned and left.The clerk watched him go. When Zachary got into the car, the clerk withdre
Elisa was overjoyed to see Zachary getting out of the car.She felt that her persistence had led to some progress. Zachary went from ignoring her to getting out of the car to see her. That was progress indeed.“Zachary, I prepared breakfast for you.”Elisa quickly brought the breakfast she made with love to him while handing him the bouquet of flowers. She smiled brightly and said, “I personally snipped these flowers from my garden, trimmed the thorns, and arranged them into a bouquet. It’s for you.”Zachary looked at Elisa without any expression on his face.‘She’s sending flowers to a grown man. How exactly did Serenity teach her to pursue me?‘Is she treating me as a woman?’He extended his right arm to receive the bouquet while the left arm took the insulated lunch box.Elisa was immediately feeling ecstatic. ‘Is Zachary accepting me?’The next moment, she saw Zachary wearing a gold ring on his left hand. The gold ring was large and worn on his ring finger. Even if there w
Clive received the news of his sister’s arrival a long time ago, so he did not admonish his sister for barging into his office like this.“Why are you running so fast? Is there a ghost chasing after you?”Clive put down his fountain pen. Since his sister was here, he would not be able to work for the time being.“Didn’t you go to York Corporation to wait for Zachary today? How many times have I said this? Zachary isn’t suitable for you, nor will he fall in love with you, but you don’t believe me and refuse to give up. Did you get hurt by him again?Clive got up and walked around his desk. When his sister came closer, he looked at her pale face with distress. “What did Zachary do to you?”He was not in favor of his sister’s pursuit of Zachary, but he would never allow Zachary to hurt her.“Clive.”Elisa grabbed her brother’s arm and asked anxiously, “Clive, tell me quickly. Is Zachary single or married?”Clive was stunned and said, “Why are you asking this question? Everyone in
“Why are you so stubborn?”“Yeah, I’m just that stubborn.”Clive was exasperated.“Zachary won’t develop feelings for you, and the York family won’t pick you either.”He analyzed for his sister. “Old Mrs. York is an adult child. Out of her nine grandchildren, except for the youngest two who aren’t at marriageable age yet, the remaining seven are ready to get married. She’s looking forward to her grandchildren getting married.“It’s been some time since you publicly professed to Zachary, but what did Old Mrs. York do? She did nothing. It’s as if she doesn’t know that you’re pursuing Zachary. Do you know why? It’s because she doesn’t want you as her eldest granddaughter-in-law.“Otherwise, with her personality, she’ll definitely encourage Zachary if she knows that someone is openly pursuing him. She might even do something excessive like wrapping him up and sending him to your bed so you two can do the deed. That way, she’ll be able to have a great-grandchild as soon as possible.
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