Meanwhile, at Stone Manor, Duncan had arrived a long time ago. The same went for Remy. His future in-laws were about to head to Jensburg. Elisa had wanted to follow them, but Audrey did not allow it. She said Elisa would not be of help even if she went to Jensburg and that her showy personality would make things worse. In truth, Audrey was afraid that they all would die if anything were to happen. Therefore, Elisa and Anthony were prohibited from going to Jensburg, let alone Alice with her young baby. Duncan kept reminding Audrey about things to look out for. He seemed depressed. Audrey knew what he was thinking. She consoled him, saying, “Liberty knows how you feel. She won’t blame you. If you stay home, she won’t have to worry about a thing and can focus on what she has to do.“You can wait for her return in Wiltspoon. Didn’t she say she’d head to the city hall to get a marriage license with you if it wasn’t closed when she’s back? Although you two won’t have a wedding
Lilian said, “Who was the one who started hibernating whenever winter came around? You wouldn’t even leave the house and only eat hot soup every day.“We were the ones who cleared the snow in your garden.”Patrick said, “You should continue eating your nuts in silence.”Lilian chuckled. Audrey said, “Okay. Let’s depart now.”She told Anthony, Elisa, and Remy, “Look after the house when Clive and I are away. Take care of Alice and her baby too.“I’m counting on you, Remy.”Audrey felt Remy had an important role. Having her future son-in-law at home made her feel at ease as she would be away with Darrell and Clive.Remy lived right beside them. Since he lived next door, he could come over with just a call from the courtyard if anything happened. Indeed, Remy was a dependable son-in-law.Remy said, “Don’t worry. Anthony, Elisa, and I will be home. We’ll look after Alice and her baby too.”“It’s reassuring to know that you’ll be here.”Audrey told Duncan, “Prepare your di
It was convenient for Tiara’s in-laws to visit Fisher Manor if they lived in the villa. After Belinda killed them, she buried them in the cemetery next to the Fishers to keep up appearances. She also made an excuse, saying that it would be more convenient for her nieces to pay their respects if they happened to be found in the future. Audrey did not allow anyone to fetch them from the airport. Once she and the rest landed, they got into a few cars and notified the drivers to head to the Fishers’ cemetery by navigation.Initially, the drivers hesitated to drive them when they heard the destination. Although it was in the afternoon, it was gloomy as the sun rarely shone during winter. It felt eerie to go to the cemetery. Ultimately, the drivers only agreed to drive them after they paid double the original price.Two hours later, once the cars were parked at the Fisher family’s cemetery, Audrey told the drivers, “Can you gentlemen wait for us here for a moment? We’re just goin
There was security on duty at the Fisher family’s cemetery. When they saw Audrey’s group, the security shouted, “Who are you? What are you doing here? This is a private cemetery. Not just anyone can… Ms. Audrey?”When they noticed it was Audrey, they were stunned. The head of security said sheepishly, “We didn’t know it was you, Ms. Audrey. We thought someone was trespassing.”Audrey had visited her parents’ graves before. The security knew her. She said gently, “I found Uncle True and brought him here, Uncle Ricky. He said he wanted to visit Mom.”The cemetery’s head of security was Audrey’s distant uncle. Since he was older and she had not been in Jensburg for long, she addressed him politely. “Uncle True?”The security guards in charge of the cemetery were in their forties. They did not recognize Patrick at all. They looked toward Patrick, who was supported by Darrell and Audrey. Uncle Ricky asked, “Who’s this Uncle True, Ms. Audrey? We’ve never seen him before. How’s he r
Ms. Audrey’s identity would have been noble if Madam Tiara had been alive since she was Tiara’s eldest daughter. Unfortunately, Madam Tiara was already dead for decades. Ms. Audrey had also been missing all this while and only appeared a few months ago. So what if Madam Fisher confirmed she was the previous matriarch’s daughter?The one sitting in that position was Madam Fisher. Employees were changed whenever a new matriarch took over. Madam Fisher had been the matriarch for four or five decades. The employees did not think Ms. Audrey could replace Madam Fisher as the matriarch. Things looked hopeless for Ms. Liberty too. How long had she been in Jensburg?She could never surpass the influence Madam Fisher and Ms. Caroline had built over the years. Ms. Caroline would be the next matriarch unless Madam Fisher willingly returned the position to Ms. Audrey’s family line. Therefore, the cemetery’s security suggested Audrey and the rest not head up the hill while Belinda wa
Patrick could knock the cemetery’s guards out when he was young. Now that he was old, he had lost the strength to do so, even if he had been an expert at it in the past. “I want to meet Madam Tiara as soon as possible.”He had not been back for decades.“This has been the only thing keeping me going all these years.”Patrick started panting as he walked. Darrell and Audrey were worried that he would tire himself out. They suggested stopping and taking a break. However, Patrick refused to rest. He said, “It’s just a few more steps away. I can see Belinda’s bodyguards from here. We’ll arrive in a few minutes.”Although he was tired, he did not want to stop. Stopping would make him feel more exhausted and reluctant to move. Audrey looked forward and indeed they could spot Belinda’s bodyguards. Belinda had brought ten bodyguards with her. Two of them had followed her to Tiara’s grave to protect her. Two of the remaining eight were standing guard by the road, while the o
Belinda’s bodyguards blocked Audrey and her group’s path. Audrey got furious and scolded, “Don’t you know who I am? How dare you block my way when I’m here to visit my mother? Get lost.”The bodyguards felt guilty. Audrey was the previous matriarch’s daughter. If Tiara had not passed away, the current matriarch would have been the noble-looking middle-aged woman before them. Although she was close to sixty years old, she had maintained her appearance well and looked like she was only in her forties. Besides, she used to manage Stone Group and had a commanding presence in the business world. The bodyguards thought Audrey was more fearful than Belinda. Nevertheless, they remembered Belinda’s orders and said, “We apologize, Ms. Audrey. Madam Fisher is paying her respects to her sister now. She told us not to let anyone disturb her without her permission.”“I don’t wish to hurt you. Do you all prefer leaving yourselves or me knocking you all out?” Audrey said coldly. She wa
Lilian rushed forward. The rest of the bodyguards saw their comrades defeated by a young woman. They had also been watching earlier. However, everything happened in a flash, and they next saw their comrades lying on the ground. Was that woman a master in martial arts?When they saw Lilian charging at them, they approached her as a group without hesitation. However, before they could even get near her, they fell to the ground after feeling a tinge of pain and numbness in a few areas of their body. Just like the earlier two, their bodies convulsed. The only ones left were Belinda and her two personal bodyguards. Lilian did not hold back. When the remaining bodyguards charged at her, she unleashed her poisoned needles. Even Belinda crumpled to the ground and started twitching. It seemed like Lilian had used her poisoned needles on Belinda as well. She had used up all the needles she had brought. Later, she would have to collect the needles back and lace them with poison
“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
“A baby’s face changes almost every day. We’ll only know who he takes after when he’s a little older.”Serenity agreed. “I should call Elisa and share this news with her.”Jasmine probably did not have time to tell her friends about her newborn. Serenity also forgot to inform Elisa because she was too worried about Jasmine. Zachary told her to call Elisa only after they were inside the car. There were too many people in the hospital. Serenity held back her excitement and immediately called Elisa when she got in the car. Elisa was extremely busy at the company. She was the only one who could manage their joint company at that moment because Serenity and Jasmine were pregnant. Even if they wanted to return to the company to work, Elisa would not allow them. Rest was of utmost importance for pregnant women. Elisa was unmarried and not pregnant. She did not mind being busier. She only picked up Serenity’s call after some time.“Seren.”Elisa held the phone in her left h
“All that matters is that you’re okay, honey. Let’s not have more children. We’ll just have this one son.”Josh spoke while holding Jasmine’s hand.Women had to experience immense pain when giving birth. It came with many risks as well. Josh had heard other people saying that a woman usually had one foot in the grave during childbirth.He was genuinely shocked after accompanying Jasmine through her labor. He had been terrified and worried that something would happen to Jasmine.Luckily, everything ended well. Jasmine and their son were safe. However, Josh did not want to experience something like that again. Having one child was enough. There was no need for a second or third child. The Buchams were a big family anyway. He did not have to bear the responsibility of expanding the family alone.“Okay. We shall not have another baby.”Although Jasmine was brimming with motherly love and recovery from a vaginal delivery was quicker, she still thought childbirth was too
It was not just Camila. The rest of the people there also had the same thought. Josh and Jasmine had a great relationship. If something happened to Jasmine, Josh would be devastated and lose all hope of living.“Congratulations. The mother has given birth to a boy safely. The baby boy is six pounds and three ounces.”The people who brought Josh out were the anesthetist and nurse.The nurse instinctively reported the good news when she saw the crowd.Then, she explained, “The father probably fainted from shock after the baby was born. Come over and help bring him to the side to rest. The mother won’t be out that quickly.”Upon hearing her words, everyone’s mood brightened up.Camila, whose legs felt weak just now, was immediately filled with strength and stood up. Without Drake's help, she went to the nurse and asked, “Does the baby need to be in the incubator since he was born prematurely?”The nurse replied, “We’ll put the baby in the incubator and observe him for a while. If