“I know, Mom,” replied Louis. The mischievous boys could not sit still. After standing, Louis told Isabella, “I’m going to build snowmen with Phillip outside. Phillip’s snowmen always look amazing. I want to build better ones than his.”Isabella said gently, “Okay. Come back if it gets too cold.”“Got it.”The cold usually would not bother the kids when they were having fun.The two boys ran out of the house giggling. Midway, Louis turned back and went to the kitchen to get Austin to make a few dishes he wanted for lunch.He ran out happily upon receiving an affirmative response. On the other hand, Phillip did not have any special orders. He knew Austin was Isabella’s private chef. Since he was having free meals at Uncle Hadrian’s place, he had to eat what was available and not be picky. Besides, even the vegetables Austin prepared tasted delicious, let alone other dishes. Louis and Phillip started building snowmen outside. Delphine was asking Isabella about her busi
Delphine smiled. She said, “You didn’t gain weight. You just look more filled out and not as skinny as before. It’s a good thing.”Isabella replied, “I didn’t eat a lot. I was busy and even worked out every day. How did that happen?”“It means that you’re satisfied with Austin’s cooking. Your complexion will improve if you eat your meals timely and get sufficient nutrients.”Delphine was most satisfied with Austin among all the private chefs Isabella had hired. Not only could he cook delicious food, but he was also handsome and had good manners. In fact, he did not look like a chef at all. He gave off the feeling of an elite or a young master of a wealthy family. Austin was gentle and polite whenever he spoke as well. If he changed out of his chef’s outfit into a suit, then he would look like a fine gentleman. “Yes. I’m pretty satisfied with him for now. Is Tati still at the office, Mom?”Delphine replied, “Tati has to run the company and attend meetings since you were on a b
“I’ll take a nap after lunch and head to the office before three o’clock. I’ll then have a meeting at half past three so Tati can be home early. Aunt Margaret won’t have any more complaints.”Delphine pouted and said, “Margaret complains too much. Does she think I have a lot of free time? I have more responsibilities as her sister-in-law. I don’t see you often either, despite us living in the same house. Does she see me complaining?”When she woke up, her daughter would already be at the office. When Isabella got home, she was usually fast asleep. Therefore, Isabella and Delphine could hardly meet each other. Who could she complain about it to?After marrying into the family, she and Margaret had no choice but to tolerate such occurrences. It was because they had incompetent husbands but capable daughters. “By the way, the Longbottom family from Havenmill has sent us invitations several times to their banquet that’ll be held a few days later.“Mr. Longbottom came to visit a
Delphine had heard rumors about the Longbottoms. She said, “There are too many conflicts within wealthy families. The family members end up turning against each other.”“Most of the wealthy families experience internal power struggles. Even the closest of families can become enemies for power.”Isabella said, “When I was on my business trip, I heard things have been turbulent for the Fisher family in Jensburg lately. The previous matriarch’s descendants and the current matriarch are fighting for the position of matriarch. There were even rumors that the previous matriarch was killed by the current one.“No one knows the truth, but the situation has escalated. I heard many things about it.”“Regardless of what’s happening to other families, we should remain a peaceful and harmonious family instead of breaking apart like the others.“We must try to be light-hearted and not be too calculative, Isa. The more calculative you are, the easier conflicts will arise. We’re family. Won’t it
There were a few candidates, but Isabella was not interested in any of them. She had high standards too. “Let’s not talk about this, Mom. I’m hungry. I’m going to get some snacks.”Isabella got up. She did not want to discuss that topic with her mother any longer.Delphine said, “The snacks we have now were prepared by the pastry chef because Austin was away with you. You usually dislike his snacks because they’re too sweet.”However, the rest of the O’Connors liked the baked goods made by the pastry chef.Isabella was the only outlier because she was picky.She could eat some of the desserts Austin made. However, he said he was not that good at baking. Delphine had tasted the desserts Austin made. They were not as sweet as those made by the pastry chef and had better texture. Maybe that was why Isabella could stomach Austin’s desserts. Isabella went to the kitchen. Austin glanced at her when she entered but quickly refocused on his work. He said with a smile, “You mus
Isabella said nothing. She exited the kitchen and sat on the sofa. Delphine still brought her some snacks and said, “Have some if you’re hungry, Isa. These aren’t too sweet. The pastry chef modified the receipt and reduced sugar because he knows you don’t like it too sweet.”Isabella did not take it. She said, “The pastry chef must’ve made it according to your tastes since I wasn’t home. I can’t eat it.“Even if it isn’t too sweet, I still don’t like it.”It was not just because of the sweetness. With the pastry chef’s skills, he could not make anything that suited Isabella’s tastes. “What about chips?”Delphine brought some chips over because she did not want Isabella to starve.“You can have some fruits too. We have fruits you can eat all the time. They’re definitely fresh.”“It’s okay, Mom. Just sit. You don’t have to keep bringing me food. Austin said the soup will be ready in half an hour. I can wait.”Isabella did not like eating fruits on an empty stomach. “Austin
Louis smiled. “Okay. I’ll buy new clothes for you.”He had plenty of money. The family’s elders would give him lots of allowance. His mother managed part of his money, while he could keep a portion and buy anything he wanted. Louis could even make an account of what he used his money on. Isabella bent over and pinched her little brother’s face. She grinned. “I’m happy enough if you study well and be a good boy. I was teasing you. You don’t have to buy clothes for me. I have more than enough.”Many of the clothes in her walk-in closet had not even been worn before. On usual days, Isabella wore formal attire. She would only wear casual outfits when she was at home on weekends. Her mother and aunts would also order a few sets of clothing for her whenever they were having clothes tailored for themselves. She could not wear that many clothes, but they still loved getting her clothes. They said she had to dress up pretty. That applied to jewelry too. She never wore accessories
At his words, Isabella chuckled and said, “Since you both are so enthusiastically generous, I’ll call the others to go shopping together and give emptying your bank accounts a good go. “You haven’t gone shopping in a long while, so have a good time buying everything you like.” Both the boys nodded and Louis continued, “You’re always so busy. It’s about time you let loose.”Isabella was the busiest and most hardworking of all the O’Connors. Ever since Louis could remember, he had never seen his sister go shopping or traveling. Every day was filled with work, networking, and business trips. She could not relax even on the weekends because sometimes, she had to schmooze with clients by golfing, swimming, or fishing with them. It had to be said though, the clients who could make her personally make the trip were utterly important clients who could bring profits to their company in the billions.Isabella would not entertain regular clients. In fact, they would not even get to meet her.
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
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve