After a brief silence, Belinda said to her daughter, “Darren is your person, and he will be your man for life. I’ve never said I wanted to transfer him, nor have the authority to do so.”Once an all-around assistant was assigned to the head of the family or successor, only his master could order him around for the rest of his life.“I want to have a chat with Darren. Have him come to the office. I’m still here.”Caroline asked warily, “What do you need to talk to Darren about? Why can’t you tell me first, and then I’ll relay the message to Darren?”“Caroline, don’t you trust me? I’m your mother. Do you think I’d harm you? If I say Darren is your person for life, then he is your person for life. I don’t have the power nor intention to take him away from you. You don’t have to let him come to see me. I can go to the hospital myself and talk to him privately there. But if that’s the case, I’ll be in a bad mood and might do things that will upset you. You have two options. Your call.”
Still, Emma was unwilling to give up what she was entitled to. She insisted on an equal division of marital assets, while Adrian wanted her to leave with nothing. As the one at fault, he still expected his wife to part with nothing, but Emma disagreed and her family opposed it too. As a result, their divorce had not been finalized yet.Caroline speculated that the couple might finalize their divorce before Christmas. Belinda would advise Adrian to get divorced for two reasons. Firstly, to give Emma her freedom and avoid turning their in-laws into enemies, and secondly, if they divorce, their children could stay with Emma, which might preserve Adrian’s line in case of future troubles for the Fishers.Both her parents were currently focused on protecting their grandchildren. Caroline had only been in the hospital for a few days and knew about the situation on the outside. Before she was admitted, Emma had visited her and said that the divorce would definitely happen. She also apologize
After Belinda hung up, Caroline looked at Hunter and her brothers to say, “I’ve spoken with Mom. You can go now.”The four Clark men had overheard the conversation between Caroline and Belinda. They felt awkward and guessed Belinda wanted Caroline to treat her brothers better. However, Caroline was unyielding.Adrian and his brothers already had little sibling affection for Caroline, and their resentment toward her grew even more. If the Fishers were not facing a crisis, they would have found a way to deal with Caroline. However, taking action against Caroline now would mean helping the forces from Wiltspoon. That was the only reason they had not acted. Well, alright, they also lacked the capability. All they could do was hide behind Belinda, take advantage of Fisher Enterprise, and satisfy their own desires.“Caroline, since you’re doing much better now and don’t need us to take care of you, you should take good care of yourself. Your brothers and I will head back. If you need anyt
Caroline asked Darren to go to Fisher Enterprise.Darren expressed his concern. “I’m worried about leaving you here alone if I go.”“What’s there to worry about? The only person who might try to kill me is my mother. My father and brothers might want me dead, but they don’t dare to act on it. If they openly tried, they wouldn’t survive either. Liberty and the others definitely wouldn’t do that and my mother won’t kill me right now either.” Caroline was confident about this. If her mother did want her dead, she would have been dead many times over by now.Darren pressed his lips together. “I’ll go see what she wants then. Call me if anything happens.”“Got it. Go on—get going.”Under Caroline’s urging, Darren headed to Fisher Enterprise. Since Belinda had returned to the office and was in a bad mood, many people were still working overtime even though it was the weekend. Although the office building was brightly lit, it felt oppressive just walking into it.As Darren entered the b
After a moment of silence, Belinda continued, “She’s the successor, the next head of the Fisher family. She’s supposed to bear the responsibility of producing the next generation of heirs. If she doesn’t find a man, how is she going to have a child?“That girl actually said she could just find a man to sleep with a few times, get pregnant, and have a daughter to be the heir. She thinks she doesn’t need to marry or bring a man into the family.”Basically, Caroline only wanted a sperm donor. The younger generation had very different views compared to Belinda’s generation. Although she was the head of the family, her thoughts were still bound by the old belief that a woman must marry or bring a husband into the family. She had not adopted Caroline’s progressive views and was troubled about her marriage. Darren was not sure how to respond and just listened silently.“Darren, after you left the center, did you ever look for your own family or investigate your origins?” Belinda suddenly s
It seemed to Darren that Belinda had called him over for a chat, but it felt like she was trying to arrange a marriage between him and Caroline. However, could Belinda really dictate Caroline’s decisions? And Caroline preferred to have a man marry into the family rather than marry out of it herself. She might only be open to marriage if she was no longer the successor of the Fisher family and would not lead the family in the future.Darren guessed Belinda’s intentions from recent events, though he did not show it on his face. Both he and Caroline were watching, and Liberty’s side was also keeping an eye on things. In the end, who would come out on top?Darren was unconcerned about that. He only followed Caroline’s instructions. Whatever Caroline told him to do, he would do it. Was Belinda preparing for failure so soon? Darren did believe Belinda was likely to lose, but he certainly would not say that out loud.He was loyal to Caroline, but Belinda was still Caroline’s mother and Car
Belinda had arranged for an all-round assistant to be by her daughter’s side early on, originally believing that Caroline was a useless fool and that without a capable person, her daughter would struggle to establish authority.She never imagined that one day, she would entrust her daughter to Darren, and for life, too. If Caroline left the Fisher family, married Darren, and lived a simple life together, it would not be a bad outcome either. Both were capable individuals and as a couple, they could support each other. Their life together might even be better than it was now.Having been in the position for decades, Belinda knew well the current state of Fisher Enterprise and the family’s remaining influence. She entrusted Caroline to Darren because he came from the training center, and those who came from there had never betrayed their masters. They were loyal for life and carried out any tasks assigned, whether good or bad. Even if the family head were to die, their hearts would rem
Belinda continued, “She made me more and more disappointed with Celine, bit by bit. At work, she gradually revealed her skills and decisiveness. I realized that she had already awakened her bloodline long ago—being a Fisher by direct lineage, she was truly, naturally born to excel in business and was a strong-willed woman by nature.“Once I knew what kind of person she was, I continued scolding her for a while at work to maintain appearances and cover for her. When she had gained enough understanding of Fisher Enterprise’s operations, I began to delegate power to her. By the time everyone realized, it was already too late for them to control her.“No matter what, she is my biological daughter. I owe her. I never nursed her, never held her even once. I need to make amends. No matter how she treats me, her biological mother, I will endure it. If it were someone else, I would have taken her life the moment she betrayed me.”Darren remained silent. He could tell Belinda was speaking fro
However, Remy felt that his niece, Chloe, seemed even more outstanding than her brother. Perhaps in the future, it would be Chloe who would take charge of the family.“I miss Clo-clo so much. I don’t know why, but lately, whenever I see little babies, I feel especially fond of them. Maybe it’s because as I get older, I’m becoming more maternal.”“You’re not old at all. I’m older than you, so don’t talk about being old in front of me.”Remy did not like hearing her say she was getting old. If she was old, then he was even older. Remy felt that he was still in his prime, especially since he had not even married Elisa yet.“I’m older than Seren, and her baby is due in two months.“Oh, by the way, earlier, besides complaining that I was making you cook and worrying that I was tiring you out, my mom also suggested that we start preparing for pregnancy. She said that by the time we hold the wedding in the fall, it could be a double celebration.”Remy turned to look at her, his eyes bur
“Just like how Grandma May taught Zachary and the others, being able to cook isn’t just about earning points when looking for a wife—it’s also about rewarding your own stomach.” His own grandmother had not said anything like that. All she said was that flowers did not stay in bloom forever. Although the Johnsons were currently at their peak and were wealthy beyond measure, the world was unpredictable. Who knew in which generation the family might decline?Having more skills never hurt. Learning an extra skill meant that if the family ever fell on hard times, they would at least have the ability to support themselves.That was why their family elders encouraged them to develop a wide range of skills. They did not need to master everything, but they should at least have a basic understanding of many things. In truth, his cooking skills used to be quite average.It was only after he developed feelings for Elisa and learned that she had once had a crush on Zachary, who was skille
Audrey heard the cry of her precious grandson and immediately forgot about her daughter. She called out loudly, “You two enjoy your time together then. My grandson is crying, so I’m heading back inside.“You and Remy can start preparing for pregnancy too. When it’s time for the wedding, it’ll be a double celebration.”Hearing someone else’s daughter had given birth, Audrey was eager for her daughter to do so too. Though she was already a grandmother, she wanted to be a grandmother to her daughter’s child too. That was simply how elderly people with both sons and daughters were.Elisa was speechless. She heard the hurried footsteps of her mother heading back into the house, calling out before even entering, “Darling, don’t cry. Grandma’s back.”Elisa muttered, “Now that she has a grandson, even I, this precious daughter of hers, have been pushed aside. When I give her a grandson, I doubt there’ll be any room left for me.”She and Remy would definitely have children, but they were n
“Remy, Remy!” a voice called from outside. It sounded like Audrey. Remy came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron.“You keep at it, I’ll go out. My mom must have seen the lights and knew you were back, so she’s calling you over for dinner at our house.”At this time, her family was probably halfway through their meal.Elisa put down the remote control and walked out of the house with a packet of snacks in hand, munching as she went.“Mom.” Elisa walked to the fence and responded to her mother.“Elisa? You’re back too? You came back and didn’t even come home for dinner? We’re eating right now. Hurry up and bring Remy over. Grandpa True was just saying that Remy hasn’t come over for dinner in a few days.”Remy had been busy entertaining clients lately, so he had not had time to join his in-laws for meals.Elisa replied, “Mom, I feel like eating Remy’s cooking tonight, so we won’t be coming over. You guys go ahead.”“Oh, you. It’s so late already, and you’re still making Remy c
Elisa said, “Although cousins can be as close as siblings, it’s still better to have another child. After all, we won’t be living at your family home permanently, and our children might not have much time to bond with their cousins in the future.“I have two older brothers, and the three of us have always been close. My brothers have always doted on me, and I can always talk about things with them. My sister-in-law has been very kind to me even after they got married too.“I’m used to having siblings around. It’s lively, and no matter what happens, we can always talk things through. It’s nice not having to face everything alone. I don’t want my children to feel lonely in the future.”Elisa continued, “Most importantly, I love children. If you could be the one to carry and give birth, sparing me the exhaustion of pregnancy, I’d even consider having three kids. But unfortunately, you can’t.“If I have to carry the baby myself, even though I love children, I’d only have two—preferably
Jasmine smiled. “I can’t tell. He’s so tiny. I’m scared when I have to carry him. I’m afraid of hurting him. What if he slips from my arms?”As a first-time mother, Jasmine was inexperienced. She was not like Serenity, who had raised a baby before. Josh and Zachary had secretly taken classes on how to look after a baby. The way Josh held the baby was more accurate than hers. “You’ll get better at it after learning slowly. I didn’t dare to carry my nephew either because I was scared of hurting him, but I’m an expert now.”Elisa could not resist touching the baby’s face again. She really liked babies.“Has the baby been fed?”Camila replied, “He was fed an hour ago.”The baby had been ravenous. Everyone was relieved when they saw the baby could feed normally. The doctor said the baby might experience jaundice a few days later and that premature babies should be monitored closely. Jaundice usually appeared when the baby was a few days old. It would reach its peak after
Remy gave it some thought. If he were to become a father, he would also be extremely happy, to the point that he would forget about posting on social media.They were usually busy people and did not have the habit of posting regularly anyway. Josh only started sharing a lot on Facebook after he got married. He simply wanted to show off his life after marriage and irritate his friends who were still single. Even Zachary would post about his love life on Facebook occasionally. Remy suddenly felt he had to keep up with the trend and post something on Facebook during his free time. Remy and Elisa went to buy some supplements before heading to the hospital. There were still many people in Jasmine’s ward. Most of the men were sitting in the small living area while the women were chatting with Jasmine or looking at the baby in the room. The baby boy was already fed and in fresh diapers. He was sleeping soundly. “Jasmine.”Elisa walked over with the supplements she had brought.
The secretary wished she could skip work and visit Jasmine at the hospital with Elisa. However, that could never happen. She was simply an employee, while Elisa was her boss. The only alternative was if Elisa invited her along. Nevertheless, the employees could meet Jasmine during their break or visit her at her house. Elisa left excitedly. A Maybach was parked at the entrance of the company. When Remy spotted Elisa exiting, he stuck his head out and waved at her. Upon seeing him, she was no longer in a hurry to get to her car. She quickly walked over. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you go inside?”Elisa was beaming. As she had received good news, she had a smiling face regardless of who she met.“I just arrived. I didn’t drive inside when I saw you coming out. Where are you going?”Remy got out of the car.“Jasmine gave birth. I want to go to the hospital to visit her and her baby. You came at the right time. We can head over together, but let’s get some supplemen
“Yes. Health is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. With the York family’s wealth and numbers, they won’t have to worry about not having a successor even if your child is slightly more ordinary.”Of course, Elisa personally hoped the next successor of the York family would be her nephew.The Stones and the Yorks could be considered relatives because Elisa and Serenity were cousins.The successor of the Stone family was most likely Clive’s son. If the York family’s heir was not Serenity’s child, would the two families’ relationship that was finally mended become strained again?After all, the head of the York family would no longer be a relative of the Stones if that were the case. However, Elisa did not voice her thoughts. She did not want Serenity to feel pressured. As an aunt, she also thought her nephew’s health was more important than anything else.“You must be busy, Elisa. You should go on with your work. I shall not disturb you. I appreciate your