“Take care and goodbye.”Clive and Liberty spoke almost simultaneously. Belinda, who had reached the door, stopped in her tracks and turned to glare at Liberty. She sneered, “Remember that this is Jensburg. The Fisher family is still stronger than you here.”Liberty smiled and admitted. “I didn’t say that the Fisher family is weaker than me. That would hurt your pride too much.“I’ve only been in Jensburg for a few months. If you’re worse than I am, then you probably have to bang your head on the wall. If you’re going to do it, don’t do it in my company and dirty my place.”Belinda had the urge to kill them both right away. However, she held herself back. She was already seventy years old and had enough self-restraint.Belinda opened the office door with her head held high, looking like a rooster that had won a fight. In reality, however, she was a defeated rooster who was simply pretending that everything was fine. “Madam Fisher.”Her bodyguards quickly followed after he
Liberty agreed. “I believe things will only get better for Seren and I.”Herself aside, Serenity had been living a happy life since she got married to Zachary. Serenity treated Liberty well too. “You must be tired after rushing over last night, Clive. Go to the hotel and rest. I don’t think Madam Fisher will do anything to us for now.”Liberty told Clive to head to the hotel for a rest. “Although Madam Fisher wants to kill me, there are still consequences she has to consider. More importantly, she’s probably more ambitious and wants to eliminate all of us at the same time.”Liberty had grasped Belinda’s thoughts well. Clive indeed felt the fatigue from traveling. He said, “Okay. I’ll take a short break at the hotel. Call me if anything happens.”“I will.”Not long after Clive left, Hayden arrived. Liberty’s secretary informed her of Hayden’s arrival. She was about to receive Hayden when a dashing figure was already standing before the office door when she opened it.“
Darren said with a serious face, “Ms. Caroline is your daughter.”Belinda ordered coldly, “Let go, Darren. Don’t forget that I’m still the matriarch. You have to listen to me.”“My only mission has been to protect Ms. Caroline from the moment I was assigned to her. I’ll be loyal to her and follow her instructions for the rest of my life. This is our responsibility as assistants.“We only have one master.“My master is Ms. Caroline, not you. My task is to protect her, and not allow anyone to hurt her, including you.”Belinda was enraged. Indeed, Darren only needed to be loyal to and serve Caroline since he was assigned to her. Even she, the reigning matriarch, was not his master. She had no right to order him to do anything. Of course, he would stop her from hurting Caroline. Caroline told Darren softly, “Let go of my mom, Darren. It’s fine if she wants to vent her anger on me. I’m her daughter.”She was the one who told Darren to share information with Liberty and messed
“I’ve gone through many obstacles throughout my life. My principles and personality are already not going anywhere. I can’t change myself to suit your criteria.”Belinda said icily, “Are you trying to guilt trip me?”Caroline laughed. “I wouldn’t dare. Besides, will you feel guilty even if that was my intention? Do you still have a heart?”After she spoke, Belinda slapped her other cheek. Both sides of Caroline’s face were swollen. More blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.“Ms. Caroline!” Darren exclaimed. He could not hold himself back anymore. If Belinda hit Caroline again, he would probably throw her out of the room. Caroline was the person he had to protect this lifetime. How could he let Belinda hurt her over and over again?Belinda glanced at Darren. “Get out, Darren. This is between Caroline and I. It has nothing to do with you.”She was worried that Darren would chase her out. Darren stayed still. Caroline tried to sit up. Darren quickly helped her u
Caroline knew Darren was worried about her. She told him to go out and even reassured him, “Don’t worry. My mom won’t take my life. She gave birth to me. I ought to be slapped for doing something that ruined her plans.”Caroline felt Belinda did not kill her because they were tied by blood. Darren glanced at Belinda before looking at Caroline’s swollen face. He walked out in silence. He asked a nurse for some ice and told Caroline to apply it on her face. She accepted the ice pack and said, “I’ll use it. You can leave us now.”Darren went out unwillingly. Only Belinda and Caroline were in the room. Caroline put the ice pack on her face and said, “You must be tired from standing. You can grab a chair and sit down.”Belinda glared at her before pulling a chair over. “Can you not slap my face the next time you want to hit me? I’m not pretty to begin with. Now that my face is swollen, I look worse. I don’t even have a boyfriend yet. If I can’t get married and have a daught
Belinda said sternly, “Even if I didn’t obtain my position through legitimate ways, you becoming the next matriarch is justified.“If that position returns to Tiara’s descendants, won’t my efforts for the past decades become a joke? I’ll lose so much.”Belinda touched her daughter’s swollen face and sighed. “Carol, everything I do is for your sake. I want you to inherit everything the family owns.”Caroline stared at Belinda. She believed that her mother wanted to leave everything to her.However, the family did not belong to her mother alone. Belinda wanted to own everything that belonged to the family. She had been trying to remove some of the family rules and her action had garnered dissatisfaction from several family members. Caroline had noticed this since her return.Belinda’s ultimate goal was to take everything the Fishers had for her core family and deny it to the rest of the family. How could the others support her when their rights were being violated?Belinda
If the young ones refused to work, then they deserved to go hungry. It would be better to cancel their living allowance. Only by losing the source of money they were so dependent on would they start looking for jobs and become self-reliant. By doing so, more capable youths would emerge as well. On the other hand, the benefits given to the elderly could stay. “Many useless people in the family rely on us to earn money and provide for them. I want to change this. I want to make this family business belong to us only, but I need your cooperation.“Carol, I’ve sacrificed a lot to become the matriarch and have dedicated decades of effort. Although my abilities are limited, and I couldn’t lead the family back to its prime, I want to centralize our power and benefits so the elders can’t overstep the matriarch’s authority.“We’ll also silence those who dare to oppose us. I’ve done so many evil deeds to achieve what I have today. I’d rather die than hand everything over to Tiara’s descend
She poked Caroline’s forehead with her finger and scolded, “What’s in your head? Why are you so stubborn and uncompromising?“Why do you care about the past? I, your mom, am the one managing the Fisher family now. It’s not your Aunt Tiara who died decades ago. The generations have changed.“Even in the past, there would be a bloodbath whenever a new king ascended the throne.Caroline remained silent.No matter what her mother said, she would never find her mother’s actions acceptable.More importantly, she wanted to withdraw from the battle for the position of matriarch. With her abilities, she felt she could build her own empire.It would also be legitimate; no one could criticize her behind her back. Belinda knew she had been wasting her breath since Caroline was quiet. Her daughter’s principles were set and her mind unchangeable.After taking a few deep breaths, Belinda gave up on persuading Caroline.“If you aren’t willing to do anything, then I’ll do it. If I die one d
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