Imogen did not give Dylan a reply. She was still in the office.She did not even have time to look at his messages. She just wanted to finish her work as soon as possible so she could leave and eat.Did Dylan not need to work?He also had a company under his name. Even if he was not involved in managing York Corporation, he still had to manage his own company, right?Imogen was extremely busy.She had been overwhelmed with work since she resumed working yesterday. She would be at a meeting, on her way to see a client, handling documents, or solving issues at a branch company.Imogen barely had time to take a sip of water, let alone reply to Dylan’s messages.Seeing Dylan being so relaxed while she was working so hard put her in a bad mood. Her urge to ignore him gradually increased.As her parents had mentioned, she had other men to choose from. Dylan was not her only option.She could fall in love with someone else.Even if Imogen were to choose Dylan in the end, she would m
If Imogen hated the noise and excitement in the air, she would not have snooped around as Chameleon Fox. That identity allowed her to explore and have fun. Sometimes, she would step up to help someone or be a troublemaker and offend someone.Layla walked over and sat down. She watched Imogen’s charming face and smiled. “That York guy is here again. He’s waiting at the company’s entrance. He has a bouquet in his hands, and his new car is parked behind him.“It looks like he wants to invite you to have a dinner date with him.”Layla asked, “What is he trying to do? Are you still planning to accept him?”Dylan had been living in a hotel since his arrival in Huntington. He was already looking at houses but had not found one he liked yet.Grandma May suggested he learn from Remy and buy a house right beside the Doyle family's. It would make it more convenient for him to pursue Imogen.However, none of the Doyles’ neighbors intended to sell their houses. Those people did not lack money
“Besides, he caught a cold just from standing outside for half an hour without his jacket last time. He was only fine because he drank some spicy soup and took some medicine. Also, he has a strong body, because if it were other people, they would’ve fallen sick.“I just wanted to torture him a little. I don’t want him to die. I still need him so I can marry into the York family.”Layla smiled. “The York family has many young masters. It doesn’t have to be him. His cousins are of similar age as you, right?”“Peter is close to my age, but he already has a fiancée. Austin already has an arranged partner too. River and the rest are too young. Even if they were offered to me, I wouldn’t want them. I don’t like being the older one in a relationship.”Rowan was not even a legal adult yet.Layla said, “Okay. Old Mrs. York is a weird lady, but I can’t deny that she has a good eye for people.“I think Dylan isn’t even good enough for you. He can’t win against you in a fight, and his IQ and
Dylan smiled. “Look, Imogen. It’s dark, and it’s time to have dinner. Aren’t you hungry? Why don’t you come out and have dinner with me? I can take you back to the office to continue working afterward. What do you think?“How much work do you have left? I bought two movie tickets. We can go watch a movie after you’re done working.”Imogen rejected him coldly. “I’m sorry, Mr. Dylan. I’m not free. I’ll be heading home for dinner after work. Since it’s a rare day where I don’t have to attend an event, I want to have a good rest.”She had already made an appointment with a few of her best friends to go shopping at eight o’clock that night.She had no time to accompany Dylan.How could he think of having dinner and watching a movie together? It had only been one day since he decided to pursue her again.Dylan could dream on.Imogen had not even admitted she was Chameleon Fox. How could she possibly accept him?Did he think she was an easy target?In the past, Imogen had loved him s
“We can talk about this next time. By the way, Layla already left.“I still have some work to do. I’ll hang up now. Don’t call me again even if the world is ending. I’ll hate you if you disturb me and make me work till late at night.”Dylan said, “Okay. I won’t disturb you. Go on with your work. Remember not to exhaust yourself.”Imogen hung up without another word.Before Dylan could even put his phone back into his pocket, he saw a luxury car exiting the parking lot.Since it was past working hours, most employees had already left.That luxury car probably belonged to Layla.Dylan had met members of the Doyle family before. However, he did not have a deep impression of them.Layla Doyle was the president of Davidson Group. Although there was still a board of directors above her, she still called the shots for most matters.Therefore, she was extremely busy. Back when Dylan deliberately approached Imogen and treated her well to pursue her, he had only seen Layla once from afa
Layla scoffed. “Who knows if you’re truly sincere?”“I know you all won’t believe me no matter what I say, Ms. Doyle. I’ll prove that I’m serious about Imogen through my actions.”Dylan spoke with honesty, “If there’s a sliver of possibility that I’m playing around with Imogen’s heart again, you don’t have to teach me a lesson. My family will gladly do the honors. Besides, I’m not that kind of person. Back then, I thought of developing a relationship with Imogen because of Nana’s orders.”“That’s right. You listened to your nana and came to pursue Jen for three months. Jen was young and naive. Just when she started getting attracted to you, you ran away and said you realized you couldn’t fall in love with her.“Is Jen’s love worth so little? Would you even have given an explanation if Jen didn’t go to you for one?“It’s been months since then. Just as Jen has moved on, you reappear and disrupt her peaceful life. You came back to pursue her because you couldn’t get the woman you lo
Imogen enjoyed the time she had spent with Grandma May. Therefore, she did not want to trouble the old lady.“I heard Old Mrs. York is a playful old lady. She loves having fun. She’s very healthy as well. I want to invite her to our place. She’ll be able to witness some interesting scenes.”Imogen replied, “You should unleash your dissatisfaction on Dylan, Layla. Don’t disturb Old Mrs. York. While she’s healthy, she’s already eighty. She shouldn’t travel far distances at her age. We won’t be able to bear the consequences if something happens.”Old Mrs. York was the anchor of the York family.Imogen dared not risk her safety.She liked Grandma May and the Yorks.Her teacher had also said he could be at ease if she were to marry into the York family. If it were any other family, he would be worried about her husband or his family mistreating her.“Does Old Mrs. York know how to use WhatsApp?”“Yes. She’s good with electronic devices.”“Okay. Give me her number. That way, I can g
A few minutes later.Imogen wanted to pretend she could not see the “statue” at the entrance of the company, but Dylan rushed out and blocked her way. Fortunately, she was not driving at a high speed and was able to stop the car immediately.She lowered the car window and scolded, “If you want to die, don’t die under my tires, Mr. Dylan. I don’t want to dirty my tires.”“I’m sorry for choosing such a dangerous way to stop your car, Imogen. However, you wouldn’t have stopped if I didn’t do this,” said Dylan apologetically.“What business do you have?”Imogen took a few deep breaths and added coldly, “It’s late and cold. Why are you standing here? Don’t blame me if you fall sick from the cold. I didn’t order you to stand here.“If you catch a cold, it's your problem. I’ve already said I didn’t need you to treat me to a meal.”Dylan smiled. “Considering that I’ve stood here for so long, will you do me the honor of letting me have a meal with you?”He handed her the frozen bouque
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