The day ended peacefully. The following day, Zachary ate breakfast and had Kevin drive him and his bodyguards to the airport. They were taking an airplane to Annenburg. Before boarding, Zachary texted Serenity to tell her he would soon arrive in Annenburg. Serenity would be returning from the Murphysâ place. On the other hand, Liberty brought Duncan to Queen Manor to visit Mr. Donald. They would soon become related to each other. Since Duncan was in the city, it was only proper that he visited the Queens. Meanwhile, in Wiltspoon, Jasmine had returned to the bookstore despite it being the winter holidays. She found it rather dull being at home all the time. At the bookstore, even when there were no customers, she could chat with the owners of the nearby stores. While some had closed their stores to celebrate the festive season, many chose to stay open. Jasmine was a month further into her pregnancy than Serenity. Her bump was huge. Luckily, it did not restrict her moveme
Mr. Longbottom had been surprised by her question. He told her coldly that she should refrain from asking unnecessary questions.One who knew too much would not live long. Carrie got intimidated and dared not ask another question. Although she got more curious, she did not try to gather more information for fear Mr. Longbottom would choke her again if he found out. âNothing. I just asked because I havenât seen her in a while.âOf course, Carrie could not reveal that she was looking for Serenity. Jasmine would get suspicious if she did. No one around Serenity was a fool. âSeren is busy with work. I rarely see her these days,â Jasmine said.Carrie knew it was a lie. She was aware that Serenity's closest friends did not trust her yet. It made her feel defeated. It had been months since Mr. Longbottom found her and asked her to approach Serenity. Despite her efforts, she still had not obtained Serenityâs trust, let alone become her friend.However, Jasmine and Serenity go
Carrie thought she had matured since she could figure out that much. In the past, she would not have understood a thing. Love was about accepting everything about someone. Most people could tolerate their partnerâs shortcomings when they were deeply in love. However, without love, even a personâs strength would seem like a fault. Carrie smiled. âMr. York is a workaholic. Serenity mustâve gotten the habit from him and turned into one herself. I canât believe sheâs working so hard even though sheâs pregnant.ââSheâs still in the early stages of pregnancy. Going to work is fine.ââDo you need anything else, Mrs. Longbottom?â Jasmine asked.âNo. I shall take my leave now, Mrs. Bucham.âJasmine was on guard and unwilling to reveal much about Serenity. Therefore, it would be better for Carrie to leave. She was not close to Serenity and her friends yet. âBye, Mrs. Longbottom.âJasmine saw Carrie out and watched as she got into her car.Once Carrie got far enough from the booksto
Mr. Longbottom thought he was not so inferior to men younger than him.More accurately, he was far superior. He had status, money, and power.Which of the younger men could be on par with him unless they came from a wealthy family?Many sons of wealthy families could not compete with him.âI canât go over because Iâm busy these days. But I do miss you too.âItâs more difficult because of the festive season. There are many events, and I have to accompany my family. My wife doesn't care about me, but her request is that I be with her during the holidays because we have to meet our friends and families. Do you understand?âMr. Longbottom had a wife and children. Carrie knew about it. He had never hid that fact.Carrie did not know if he was close to his wife. Although he said they no longer had feelings for each other, Carrie dared not believe him because he had never let other women take his wifeâs place.He also never allowed other women to become pregnant with his children.Mr
âI want to go to Spring Blossoms as Carrie,â she told the bodyguard who was driving. âYour sisterâs people are keeping an eye on your apartment. Sheâll get suspicious again if you head over in your outfit. Everything Mr. Longbottom arranged will go to waste,â the bodyguard reminded her.Carrie thought it over. âOkay. Letâs head home first. Iâll change my clothes and remove my makeup before heading over.âShe would also check if her stand-in had damaged any of her stuff.If she did, Carrie would tell the stand-in to compensate her.The bodyguard remained silent.Once they arrived at Longbottom Villa, Carrie took off her hyper-realistic mask and removed her makeup. After changing her clothes, she returned to being Carrie and went out with her bag.Her two bodyguards did not stop her from leaving.She could do anything as long as it would not rouse Camryn and other peopleâs suspicions.Besides, Carrie had just gotten scolded by their boss on the phone. Although Mr. Longbottom
Camryn said, âSheâs just using her lack of money as an excuse to start a fight with me.âDo you really think she has no money?âCarrie had somehow become Mrs. Longbottom yet she was still hiding her identity. Camryn had not understood the entire situation yet.Nevertheless, she was certain that Carrie did not need money.After she spoke, a familiar car arrived.It was the car Carrie had always used in the past.When she returned to the Newman familyâs villa after getting out of prison, she only drove that car. She could not take other cars. The cars were still parked in the garage. âCome out, Camryn.âCarrie had gotten out of the car and started shouting for Camryn.When the York familyâs bodyguards saw her, they simply glanced at her and did not stop her from entering the store. They knew Camryn had always been lenient with her younger sister.Since Camryn did not give any orders to stop Carrie from entering, the bodyguards simply kept an eye on Carrie to ensure that sh
Trenton was relieved that Dalton was indebted to Camryn. That was why Dalton had been loyal to Newman Enterprise.If Newman Enterprise did not fall into Camrynâs hands, there was no doubt that Dalton would leave the company. If that happened, the company was doomed.When his parents went to prison, he was merely 18, and Carrie only knew how to spend money. Not only that, their relatives were hungry to get a share of the Newman familyâs assets. He and Carrie could not have protected their familyâs wealth alone.After Camryn regained her sight, she still could not strain her eyes for long hours. Therefore, Dalton remained in charge of the company.Luckily, they had Callum as well. Even if anything were to happen, Callum would not leave Newman Enterprise to fall because many of the Newman familyâs assets belonged to Camryn.He would not let Camryn lose anything.âYouâve been brainwashed by Dalton after working with him. Our dad treated him well and trusted him, yet Dalton betrayed
âAlright, alright, I can't win with the two of you against one,â Carrie sulked. âGive me money to spend. I'm out of money.âShe reached out her hand toward Camryn, wanting her to give her money. Camryn slapped her hand away. âEven Trenton knows to take advantage of the winter break to find a part-time job and earn some pocket money. Youâre perfectly capable, yet you donât look for a job.âTo put it bluntly, if youâve gone to sweep the streets, you'd still have a source of income. I have money, but I wonât give it to you. Donât think that just because weâre sistersâestranged, too, at thatâI have an obligation to support my adult sister. Iâve said it before: if you want money to spend, earn it yourself.â With that, Camryn walked away to tend to her plants.As Christmas approached, the flower market was bustling. Every day, many people came to buy flowers, and all her employees were out delivering flowers to clients. Sometimes, when it got too busy, she even had to ask her two bodyguar
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 Serenityâs 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 Serenityâs 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 Zacharyâs eyes, his wifeâs 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.
âYou should have gotten rid of them all back then and cultivated a network of people loyal only to you.â Manny felt that his father should not have spared those people in the first place.Tony said, âThere were too many of them, all relatives and friends with the same goal as us. We couldnât eliminate them all at once.âBack 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 familyâs 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 Tonyâs call as he walked toward his car.âHey, Pops.ââHowâs it going, Manny? Has there been any progress?âTony was still in Carrieâs 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 mistressâa 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. Longbottomâs place and becoming the real missus
Tati also finished her plate of pastries.She followed Isabella out.âIsa, youâre always so busy and exhausted. If youâre 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. Itâs the same either way.âTati wanted Isabella to take the day off so Isabella could spend some time with Austin and nurture their relationship.However, Isabella still declined Tatiâs kind offer.She said, âNot today. Thereâs an important meeting today, and I have two important clients to meet. Iâm fine, really. Donât worry. From now on, I wonât touch alcohol.âGiven 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 someoneâs 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, âItâs all thanks to Ms. Isabellaâs guidance.âHe 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.âAfter eating the sweets, I feel much better.â 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.âJust ignore him. Are you really going to skip work because of him?âIsabella added calmly to Tati, âIf you let him provoke you, heâll only cling to you even more. If you act like he doesnât exist and donât respond no matter what he does, heâll naturally give up once he sees that youâre completely unresponsive.âTati said, âIâm afraid that heâll go and bother Edith and Eleanor if he doesnât get anywhere with me. They donât have the same resolve as we do.âShe, therefore, decided to bear the brunt of it.âEvery time I see hi
Austin replied, âBoth Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. Itâs really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.âSometimes, 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, âPhillip is just afraid heâll get here too late and that youâll assume heâs not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.âThe 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 Isabellaâs 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, âAre you up yet, Ms. Isabella? Itâs time to have breakfast.âIsabella w