Right as Elaine was about to leave, Belinda suddenly stopped her and instructed, “Let him in.”She was not in a good mood, so it would be helpful to have someone she could vent her anger on.“Alright, I’ll let him know.” Elaine was elated when Belinda heeded her advice and hurried to open the door for Hunter.“Has she eaten yet?” Hunter asked Elaine after getting out of the car.“No, not at all. She only had water and cigarettes.” Elaine sighed. “I don’t know what’s troubling her so badly she doesn’t even want to eat.”She had not been their butler for long, but she had been working at Fisher Manor for quite a long time now. Still, this was her first time seeing Belinda in such a state.Hunter was silent for a moment before he said, “Be careful doing things while she’s in a bad mood. Don’t piss her off. I’ll go in and take a look.”After taking a few steps, Hunter turned back and retrieved a bouquet of flowers and a red paper bag from the car. Inside the paper bag was a set of j
“Dad, Mom.” Caroline walked in and greeted her parents.Hunter looked at Caroline as if she was his savior when he saw her walk in. He hurriedly said, “Caroline, hurry and persuade your mother. She’s refusing to eat anything. You have to eat to have the strength to deal with whatever the issue is.” He wore a heartbroken expression.“That’s right. Caroline, hurry up and persuade Mom. She doesn’t want to eat anything,” Adrian and the rest echoed.However, Adrian did feel a little guilty upon seeing Caroline because of his scheme to get Liberty into an accident. He worried that she knew and would tattle on him to Belinda.Before Caroline could even sit down and speak, Belinda stood up and said seriously, “Caroline, come upstairs with me. The rest of you aren’t allowed to disturb us in the study without my permission.”Then, Belinda left her concerned husband and sons behind to go upstairs, with Caroline following her. Hunter looked at her hesitatingly, wanting to say something, but C
On the surface, they were on the same side. Belinda looked at her daughter silently. This was her biological daughter, the baby she had carried for nine months. She had four children in total. The first three were all sons. It could not be said that she did not love her sons. After all, they were all her babies. She had carried them in her womb for nine months each—how could she not love them?With the Fisher family rules as they were, however, they made it so that she preferred her daughter and doted on her more. When she was pregnant with Caroline, she just knew she was pregnant with a baby girl because the symptoms of her pregnancy were different compared to her three earlier pregnancies. Later on, her doctor did a scan and proved her right.By the time she gave birth to the daughter she wished for so dearly, she was considered to be of advanced maternal age. She planned to tie her tubes afterward, not wanting to have another child. One daughter was enough. That way, the same trag
“You can be honest, Mom. Regardless of whether we share the same goal, you can confide in me anytime.”Belinda pressed her lips together. She put on a self-deprecating smile and said, “You sound as if it makes you unhappy to be my daughter. Would you not have chosen me to be your mom if you were given a choice?”Caroline said, “We can’t choose our parents.”Belinda replied, “The worst thing I’ve ever done in my life is connected to your aunts’ deaths.“I was dissatisfied and resentful. I was just as competent as they were. Why couldn’t it have been me?“The man I loved wouldn’t even spare me a glance. That’s a regret I’ll carry for the rest of my life. I might even lose my honor soon because of him.“Why is the world so unfair to me?”Belinda did not clearly state that she had killed Tiara and Alivia, but her words served as an indirect confirmation. That was why she said the worst thing she had ever done was related to her sisters’ deaths. Caroline had heard many rumors. In
Patrick would not let Tiara die in vain. He would definitely try to prove that Belinda was the one who murdered her sisters. He would also expose all her wrongdoings and ruin her reputation. Everything she had taken from Tiara by her blood-stained hands would once again return to Tiara’s bloodline.Belinda had been dissatisfied and was unwilling to accept reality. How was she inferior to Tiara? Tiara simply became the matriarch because she was born eighteen years earlier than her. “Did you ever regret your actions, Mom? Aunt Tiara practically raised you, right? She was like a mother figure to you.”Tiara had raised Belinda and Alivia. However, Tiara had lost her life to the sister she had raised and trusted so much.Belinda remained silent. She regretted it, sometimes. However, there were also times when she felt she did nothing wrong. It had always been every woman for herself. Everything Belinda had done was for her own sake. After staying quiet for some time, Beli
“I’m just putting you to sleep, Carol. I won’t take your life. I’m going to do something that you find unacceptable.“I’m sorry for embarrassing you. It must be hard being my daughter. If I didn’t do what I did in the past, everything would’ve gone smoothly for you.”Belinda wiped her tears with a piece of tissue. She sighed as she watched her sleeping daughter. She knew Caroline was outstanding. However, Caroline was torn and suffering from having a mother like her.Due to her identity, she could not do anything or tell Belinda off.She was Belinda’s daughter after all. After staring at Caroline for a few minutes, Belinda composed herself. She took Caroline’s phone and tried to contact Darren. However, a password was required to access the phone. Belinda tried multiple combinations, but they were all wrong. Therefore, she had no choice but to give up on contacting Darren through Caroline’s phone.Luckily, she was the matriarch. Before Darren was assigned to Caroline, he
His mother looked unhappy. She and Caroline might have gotten into a fight during their discussion. Did Caroline fall for one of their mother’s schemes?Adrian, startled, quickly averted his gaze. He cautiously told Belinda, “Mom, although you’re having a discussion with Caroline, you should still have your meals.”“Get lost!” Belinda roared. Adrian turned and ran away. He even fell while trying to run as fast as he could. The tray of food fell to the ground and spilled all over the floor, leaving him in a mess.The door to the study closed with a loud bang. Adrian only dared to raise his head upon hearing the door close. He glanced behind and immediately got up. He did not just leave but stayed to clean up the spilled food. After cleaning the mess, he rushed downstairs. Hunter and his two other sons were anxious after they heard the commotion upstairs. “You two. Go upstairs and see what happened.”Hunter guessed that his wife was having a fit. Since he dared not go ups
Justin and Jason exchanged glances. Their expressions changed. Caroline was their only sister. Although their mother did not treat Caroline well initially, she placed more trust in Caroline than the rest and delegated some of her responsibilities to Caroline for the past six months. They did not expect their mother to attack Caroline. Hunter said calmly, “Carol won’t die. No matter how vicious your mom is, she won’t kill Carol. I think the probability of her killing one of us is higher.”Due to the Fisher family’s rules, the matriarchs would always prioritize daughters over sons.Their successors were more important than their own lives.Since Celine was dead, Belinda would not kill Caroline no matter how angry or evil she was. “Why is Caroline unconscious then?”Adrian did not want Caroline dead. It was not out of love for his sister but more of sympathy. If Belinda were even targeting Caroline, Hunter and his sons would have to live in constant fear. After thinking
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