Isabella smiled. “I can give a set of jewelry to you if you want it. The jewelry Louis got me is made of gold. They aren’t that expensive, just tens of thousands of dollars. They’re still not as expensive as yours.”A set of her mother’s jewelry could cost up to hundreds of millions. Delphine took the jewelry box from Isabella and opened it. She smiled. “Maybe Louis bought these for you because they're gold and shiny. He’s still young.”“I never said I didn’t like what he bought.”Isabella loved Louis’s gift. “Since this is Louis’s present to you, I shall not take it. Seeing you two having a close relationship is the best thing I can ever ask for.”Delphine did not say that out of jealousy. She was glad to see that her children were getting along well. “Louis said they used Austin’s money to buy everything. He asked us to return the money to Austin.”Isabella said, “I’ll have Dominic transfer the money to Austin tomorrow.”“Louis and Phillip must’ve spent a few months’ wo
Delphine would get a headache whenever she thought of her daughter being picky about food. She was worried that no one would apply to be their private chef in the future. What would they do if Isabella got bored of Austin’s cooking?After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “Let’s not think too far into the future. For now, I’m satisfied with Austin. I haven’t gotten bored of the dishes he makes.”“He has only been here for a month. You might get bored as time passes.“Why don’t you extend Austin’s contract, Isa?”Isabella thought about it and said, “Austin is ambitious and capable, Mom. He shouldn’t be restricted to our kitchen. He hopes more people can taste the food he makes.“It’s good enough if he works an entire year. There’s no need to extend his contract.“If one year has passed and I have no intentions of hiring someone else, I’ll have to seek his opinion about extending his contract. I won’t force him to stay if he wants to leave and continue running his businesses.”
Austin waited till Isabella finished eating and he cleaned up before returning to his room. Dominic had already gotten off work. If any of the O’Connors required the staff members’ assistance, they simply had to speak into the intercom. The summoned staff would have to work overtime, but they would be paid accordingly.Isabella sat in the house for a while before heading to the garden for a walk. She had not strolled in the garden of her house for a long time.She was too busy. Even during some weekends, she would have to work to handle a few matters. Her mother often nagged at her for not resting during weekends and told her not to bring any work home. However, Isabella’s responsibility was heavy. She had too many things to deal with. She would usually bring urgent documents back home. Nevertheless, she was used to her busy life to the point she would feel bored and not know what to do whenever she had free weekends. Isabella preferred having busy yet fulfilling
The adults were just bullying him for being young. Sonny was determined to eat more and grow up fast. Once he became an adult, he would be able to understand Uncle Zak’s words. “Didn’t you fly here in your plane, Uncle Zak?” Sonny asked. Zachary put him in the car and helped Serenity get inside as well. Serenity smiled. “Do you think flying a private plane is that easy? You have to file a flight plan first.”Besides, picking her and Sonny up was not an urgent matter. There was no need to use a private plane. “Are we going back by car?”“Your Uncle Ben arranged a car to drive us to the airport. Taking an airplane will be faster. We’ll arrive in about an hour.”Serenity was heavily pregnant. Long car rides would make her uncomfortable. Therefore, Zachary bought plane tickets. Heading to the airport from FC Manor would take less than an hour. Therefore, it was a quicker way to get back to Wiltspoon. Sonny asked happily, “That’s awesome. I like traveling in airplanes. Ca
The elders at home did not restrict Rowan. His mother, well, really had never monitored him, because he had eight older brothers and cousins looking after him, and he bore a lot of academic pressure on himself. Many of his teachers had also taught the eight of them, so whenever he scored a little lower, his teachers would compare him to them. He was under tremendous pressure.Among his classmates, he ranked at the top. Even in the city rankings, he was among the top ten. Compared to his brothers and cousins, however, he still fell short. They had skipped grades in both elementary and middle schools, but by the time Rowan reached middle school, he could only take things one step at a time. Having one outstanding older brother was already a lot of pressure for a younger sibling, let alone having eight particularly excellent older brothers.“Nana said you would be back today, so she arranged for the driver to pick you up. I came home yesterday for the holidays, so I tagged along.”Rowa
Rowan was speechless.Serenity chuckled, “It’ll be the same no matter when you see him. Affection is something that’s cultivated. After the baby is born, you’ll have time to hold him, play with him, and the bond will grow—then it’ll feel like you’re close to him.”She could already foresee that after her baby was born, he would become the family’s little darling. The members of the York family were numerous but hers would be the only baby, so everyone would dote on him immensely.Rowan pitifully said, “Nothing good ever makes its way to me because I’m the youngest.”Zachary responded, “Once you get married and have your own kids, you’ll be able to make sure that your child sees you first when he’s born, but you can forget about that for your nephew.”Rowan said, “I’m still so young—it’ll be at least another eleven or twelve years before I get married and have kids. In fact, it might take a little longer, like fourteen or fifteen years. Aren’t you only just becoming a father at thi
Serenity replied mildly, “Nana’s arranged for a driver to pick us up, so we didn’t need to call a cab. Sonny fell asleep on the plane. Are you here to pick up a customer?”She glanced at the car Hank had parked not far away.“Yes, my customer is returning from out of town for Christmas. They pre-booked a cab, and I picked up the order. I’ve been waiting here for quite a while to meet them.”“Sonny, Sonny,” Hank softly called out to his son.After the winter break started, Sonny went with Serenity to stay with the Johnsons. Hank had originally wanted to bring his son home to stay for a while so that his parents could enjoy some family time, but in the end, Sonny went with Serenity instead.Unable to bring his son back for a visit, his parents complained about it, saying that he did not visit Sonny and did not bring him home to stay often enough. Then, Sonny would forget all about his real father and paternal grandparents if he did not spend more time with them. After all, Liberty a
After, he added, “Dunc went to see Mom. He didn’t wait for me to come back and went ahead, but luckily, they’re coming back soon. He said he bought me a lot of new clothes and toys. Dad, Mom and Dunc are getting married, I heard it from Aunt Ser. He’s going to be my new dad. Dad, I’ll have two dads from now on,” Sonny said with a happy smile. He even held up two fingers to Hank and added, “Other kids only have one dad, but I have two dads.”When Hank heard that Duncan had gone to visit Liberty and that the two were getting married soon, he felt bitterness in his heart, but he could not say anything.Back then, he was the one who let go of Liberty first. He was the one who had gone back on his vows and turned his back on their marriage first.No matter how bitter he felt, he could only wish Liberty and Duncan happiness and joy. Even though he did not want to admit it, Hank knew that Duncan was a much better man than he was, and not just career-wise because even in relationships, Du
“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