“Bring your husband along. Don’t let him misunderstand and think you’re coming to my house for an affair.”“Fine… I’ll bring him. I just want to see if a man with such a nice voice is also good-looking,” Ruth reluctantly replied.After a moment of silence, Isabella said wryly, “Maybe you shouldn’t come after all. I’m worried you might regret getting married once you see him, since you can’t pursue handsome men anymore.”“Wow, he must be a hottie then! Now I definitely want to go see him. If you’re saying that about him, it must mean he’s exceptionally good-looking. O'Connor, remember to let me know if you get tired of him. I’d love to scoop up a handsome chef for myself. J just looking at him would be a delight, and I wouldn’t even feel hungry!”Isabella could not help but laugh. “As of now, I’m still enjoying the food he makes, so I’m not tired of him yet. He’s a natural at cooking—he must have been a royal chef in his past life. He’s young, but very skilled.“I’ve tried his dish
After finishing her call with her friend, Isabella entered the dining room. The two little ones and her mother were already seated at the table, each with a bowl of soup and savoring it. A bowl of soup was also waiting for Isabella at her usual spot, served by Austin.After calling out to her, Austin returned to the kitchen to finish preparing two more dishes before they could eat. After Isabella had lunch and a short rest, she would need to head back to the office. Austin felt a bit tired too, but he wanted to take care of Isabella first. Only after she left for work could he finally have a good rest. If she did not come back for dinner that evening, he could either work or continue resting as the O'Connors had other chefs.His primary responsibility was to Isabella and he was allowed to refuse cooking for the rest of the family if he did not feel like it. They would not say anything if he chose not to. However, Austin regarded the O'Connor family as his future in-laws, so he was ha
Phillip felt aggrieved after being kicked by Louis but remained silent. It was not that he wanted to study, but Isabella was just that much stricter than their teachers, so much so the elders in the family did not dare to protest, much less them.Louis, feeling frustrated, channeled his emotions into his appetite, eating an unusually large lunch. It was a good thing that Isabella stopped him from overeating as she worried he would get indigestion. Otherwise, he really might have eaten in excess. If he had indigestion, he could avoid doing his homework.After lunch, Isabella said, “Austin, after your afternoon break, could you make some snacks for Louis and the others? Leave some for Tati, she loves your snacks. I won’t be home for dinner tonight, so you can manage your time freely. By the way, about Christmas—do you mind working during the holidays? I can offer you five times your usual salary, plus a Christmas gift and bonus.”Considering that her few days off during Christmas time
Austin said, “Thank you for your consideration, Ms. Isabella. My nana is over eighty but still in good health and she can still fly. I do have a large family though, and it would be difficult for everyone to come over. It’s better to forget it. I’ll tell my family that I won’t be going back for Christmas this year. They’ll understand.”He had thought about this before coming here. His family was already mentally prepared for his absence during the holiday. Plus, next year, he planned to take Isabella home for Christmas and finalize their engagement. His nana had only given them a year to cement their relationship with their bride candidates and as long as they treated them with care, a year was enough to win their hearts.“As for the Christmas holiday wages, Ms. Isabella, just give me whatever you think is appropriate. My job is to be your chef and provide your daily meals, so it’s normal not to have time off during the holidays in this line of work.” The service industry was usual
Elaine replied, “Weren't you the one who invited the reporters, Madam?”Without an invitation from the head of the family, why would these reporters come to Fisher Manor? There was no major news about the Fishers either. Belinda quickly realized who had done it. She had not invited the reporters, Caroline had been knocked out and escorted out of Jensburg, and neither her husband nor three sons would dare to do so. The only one capable of this was Audrey, her charming niece.“Go tell the reporters that tonight’s gathering is a family dinner and that we did not invite them. Ask them to leave and give each of them a small gift as well.”It was best to sweeten them up a bit to prevent them from fabricating stories. Nowadays, some reporters exaggerated for the sake of clicks or wrote whatever came to mind without proper understanding. The Fishers’ reputation had already suffered recently. If they offended the media, they could face severe backlash.Elaine left to carry out the orders, b
As long as Mr. Gordon helped her bring her daughter back and secured her daughter's position, he could have his freedom. It was a way to ensure a good outcome for those around her.“As for Hunter, if I’m going to die, I'll take him down with me. Otherwise, he'll abuse his status. After all, Caroline is his daughter, and I fear he’ll use his status to pressure her. As for my three sons… I’ll leave it to fate.”Belinda closed her eyes. She could only protect the most important one. Hunter had already reminded all three of her useless sons, who still clung to their luck and ignored his advice. Who could they blame then? While Hunter cared most about his sons and grandchildren because they all carried the Clark surname, she cared most about her daughter who bore her surname.“Someone's coming. I have to go.” Belinda hung up before casually placing her phone back on the coffee table.The person who entered was Caroline’s stand-in. She resembled Caroline closely enough that with a little
“Ignore it. She can bring whoever she wants. I’m not afraid.”Belinda added coldly, “She just wants to tarnish my name. However, other people have been discussing me behind my back for decades. Do I even have a reputation left?”Two years ago, the revelation of Caroline and Celine’s switch at birth had made her and the Fisher family the laughingstock of Jensburg. Thinking closely, Belinda felt her reputation was already down the drain. Since that was the case, she did not care if someone sullied her name further. They did not have evidence anyway. She could simply deny everything. Belinda would kill them all that very night. Adrian nodded. The Clark brothers exchanged glances. Just like Hunter, they thought their mother was confident in succeeding. “Belinda, Belinda.”Hunter suddenly ran in while yelling. Belinda frowned. She glared at him and scolded, “Why do you still get so panicked when you’re already in your seventies?”Hunter pointed at Caroline, then outsid
There would be hope as long as Caroline lived. If Caroline was safe, Belinda’s bloodline could continue being in charge of the Fisher family. Belinda’s body swayed. Hunter pointed at Caroline, who was walking over, and told his wife, “Look! Isn’t that our daughter? The person behind her is Mr. Fletcher, the assistant you assigned to her.“The one inside the house is a fake. She doesn’t have Mr. Fletcher with her. I thought it was weird that I hadn’t seen him today.”It turned out the Caroline he had been seeing all day was an imposter. Even he was deceived. That imposter looked precisely like the real thing. As Caroline’s father, he did not even realize his daughter was fake. “Mom.”Caroline walked up the stairs and stood before Belinda. She said, “I’ve told you I’m your daughter. I’ll brave every hardship with you. No matter the outcome, I’ll stay by your side.“Stop thinking about how to send me away. I won’t go. The word ‘escape’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary.”B
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