Caroline was teased while seeing Liberty out. However, she did not even blush and said, “Darren doesn’t look like a romantic person.“I don’t think I am too.“We aren’t in a relationship right now.”Liberty said, “Aren’t you going to consider it since you’re already planning on having his daughter? It’ll be difficult to find a man who treats you well and isn’t like your dad. With your identity and status, finding a capable man willing to marry into your family is rare.“Darren is a perfect match. Regardless of whether you two are dating or not, he’ll always be loyal to you and stay by your side. You have high standards and different views on marriage as well. I think you won’t fancy another man aside from Darren.”Caroline held admiration for Hayden before, but it had been just that. Hayden was a woman, who had also thought of bringing Hugh and her together. Unfortunately, both of them were not interested in each other. She had no choice but to give up. After a moment of sil
The elevator brought them to the first floor. Liberty and Caroline exited and talked about something fun instead. They walked out of the building with smiles. Caroline stood at the entrance and watched Liberty leave before getting into her car. No one knew what they had discussed other than that they were having a pleasant conversation when walking out together. Night befell early during winter. The city was ablaze with lights, while places without lights were already pitch black. Upon returning to the city center, Caroline proceeded to meet a client as scheduled instead of heading home. She did not care about Belinda’s sudden return and pretended to be in the dark about it. Since Belinda liked to spring surprises on them, she could do it as much as she wished. Caroline did nothing wrong anyway. She was not afraid of Belinda’s little ambushes. That would however be different for Adrian, who should be breaking out in cold sweat.Little did he know that Belinda was bac
Adrian answered, “Not yet. I asked Caroline to call Mom and ask her, but she didn’t give us an answer. She probably won’t be back so soon.”Hunter looked noticeably more relaxed when he heard this. Even while living with his son, Belinda was on his mind, worried that the ruthless old woman would come looking for him and disrupt his peace. After all, he was an old man himself now, and in fact a few years older than Belinda was.“It’s none of our business what your mother does. She’ll let us know of her own accord when she’s coming back, if she wants us to know. If she doesn’t, we won’t be able to find out either, so it’s best not to even try, lest she suspects you guys have ulterior motives.”Hunter sighed and continued, “I’ve been married to your mother for decades and still only got off so easily because we had you all. She doesn’t feel much for me, but she still has motherly love and only lets me live out of consideration for you guys. I’m just living for the sake of living now.”
It appeared as if Celine’s biological family were the ones who did it, but in reality, it was Belinda and the other women who were the true culprits. Hunter knew this very well but had no way of seeking justice for Celine. He was at her mercy, merely an ant on Belinda’s chopping board.“Not only did Belinda use Cece, she even drove her to death. Your mother, Caroline, and that Hunt woman from Wiltspoon—and your wives too. None of them could bear to see Cece doing well. All of them drove my daughter to her death…” Hunter choked up.“Dad.” Adrian felt heavy-hearted too. His feelings for Celine were complicated—in the past, he felt for her as an older brother did, but later on, it evolved into feelings a man held for a woman.“Dad, don’t be like that. If someone catches you and whispers to Mom, neither of us will come out of this unscathed.” Although the residence was under Adrian’s name, he could not guarantee there were no watchers, like that time he was photographed taking Celine to
At the mention of giving Hunter money, all three Clark brothers first laughed before changing the subject and gathered around him as they walked into the house. They did not dare secretly give Hunter any money after their last lesson learned.They could give their father whatever he needed but dared not give him money directly. A few hundred dollars or so was acceptable, but they could not give it to him daily. If they did and Hunter saved it up, he could save around ten thousand dollars a month.That was a negligible sum to them, but it was a large enough sum for their strictly controlled and penniless father to do a fair few things. If Hunter used the money they gave him to wrong Belinda in some way again… well, they did not even dare to imagine the consequences.Hunter knew what his sons were thinking and his expression clouded in unhappiness. Once they got in the house, he made a beeline for the sofa and sat down before picking up a pack of cigarettes from the coffee table and l
The man Belinda truly loved was older than her by a decade or two, and he was her older sister Tiara’s all-rounder assistant. The man was entirely devoted to his Tiara. Belinda was just being delusional. She might have killed Tiara out of anger because her love was unrequited.Hunter did not have any evidence to prove Belinda had killed her sisters, but as her husband of a few decades, he knew just how ruthless she was. Plus, he had heard what the other family members said behind her back.After all, where there was smoke, there was fire. It was indeed possible Belinda had taken the position by killing her sisters. What was a person like her not capable of? Moreover, was it even possible that Belinda’s true love was still alive?More likely than not, Belinda had found his grave and was having a hard time dealing with it, which was why she was isolating herself somewhere far out of the way. Adrian, Justin, and Jason looked at each other before Justin and Jason finally fixed their gaz
Hunter glared at Adrian and said, “If you tell Belinda and she disallows you to give me an allowance, are you guys really going to listen to her?”“Of course not. We’ll definitely fight for you to get a certain amount, as long as you promise not to—” Adrian remembered that Hunter had been castrated and trailed off.Hunter’s expression was dark, but he knew Adrian was just being honest. He collected himself before saying, “It’s up to you. If you want to tell her, go ahead. I’m your father. I’m old and have no income of my own. Isn’t it natural for you to provide me with an allowance? Will that woman have the nerve to stop you?”Angry at Belinda, Hunter even stopped calling Belinda by her name.“Dad, I’m sure Mom won’t stop us. Let’s not talk about this anymore, alright? Let’s go and have some barbecue. Tonight, we have to have at least a few good drinks.” Adrian changed the subject.Hunter had managed to get money out of them today, so he was soon cheered up by his sons. The four m
The little Audrey in Patrick’s memory had only been a few years old, but now, she was already a grandmother. Oh, how old he had gotten. Ms. Tiara’s grandchildren were already old enough to get married and have kids. If she were still alive, she would definitely be very happy that she had three outstanding granddaughters and would not have to worry about choosing her successor. She could randomly pick one to bear the heavy burden and still not have to worry. It was just a shame that Tiara was unable to witness her offspring’s achievements herself. After Patrick woke up and realized he was not dreaming and that he really had met Audrey, he cried at the thought of Tiara and felt bitter on her behalf. She had raised Belinda like she was her own daughter, but fell at her hands in the end.Tiara had loved, cared for, and trusted Belinda wholeheartedly, so indeed, Belinda was the only possible person who could harm her. Alivia had not had such ambition and was also a very kind and gentle
Lilian often messed with the medicinal herbs her master cultivated, which led to her being chased and scolded by him.It seemed her son had inherited her restless nature.“How’s Sonny been lately?”Liberty had been on edge these past few days because Caroline had been preparing to lure her three brothers into a trap and had not had time to call her son.“Same as usual, but it seems like things have soured again with the Browns.”Serenity added, “Sonny still answers when Hank calls him, but he doesn’t seem happy when his grandparents visit. He doesn’t like going to the Browns’ place, and he doesn’t want to take their calls either.“Hank’s mother and sister are truly incorrigible. They must have been badmouthing you and Duncan in front of Sonny again, which is why he’s upset with them.”During the holidays, Sonny had stayed with the Browns for a few days and started to warm up to them.However, who would have thought that the mother and daughter would start spouting nonsense in f
Once the baby was born, he would apply the knowledge he had learned over the past few months to care for the baby. He was determined to be a competent and responsible father.Serenity released her arms from around him and shifted to her side.Zachary let go, too, allowing her to turn.Then, she planted countless gentle kisses on his face.“Babe, with you here, the baby and I will be just fine. Don’t worry too much,” Serenity comforted softly after kissing him.“You are my rock. If even you are nervous, I’ll start feeling anxious too, and that won’t be good.”Hearing this, Zachary immediately said, “Seren, don’t worry. I’ll protect both of you. Alright, I won’t be so nervous anymore.”He gently touched her rounded belly again. “Lil’ Bun should be a calm kid. He’s not that mischievous.”He felt that the baby’s movements were not too intense.Serenity wanted to tell him that there were times when the baby kicked more vigorously, but she decided against it, knowing it would only m
“Just hit the gym a few more times. Lately, you’ve been spending less time there.”Every day after work, he would come home and orbit around her. As a result, he had less time to work out.It was normal to gain a few pounds eating well and exercising less. Did he really think he could eat anything without gaining weight?The reason he could maintain a model-like physique before was that he exercised daily.“Ow.” Serenity suddenly cried out in pain.This startled Zachary so much that he nearly jumped up, asking anxiously, “Is it stomach pain? Are you going into labor? Let’s go to the hospital right away.”He was about to pick her up, but Serenity stopped him by pressing his hand.“Don’t be so nervous, Zachary. It's not time yet. It’s not happening so soon. It’s just the baby kicking again. His kicks are getting stronger.”As she entered the later stages of pregnancy, the little one inside her was growing stronger. Sometimes, a couple of kicks from the baby could actually hurt.
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