Black in the face, Duncan asked, “What’s going on here?” Chelsea got up from the ground and tried to charge at Liberty, but Duncan pushed her away. It took a few steps before Chelsea could steady her balance. Chelsea looked up and saw a towering man with a scowl standing by Liberty. The scar on the man’s face was terrifying. She might have nightmares if she stared at the scar long enough. Shaking in her boots, Chelsea lost the will to pounce on Liberty. Mrs. Brown hurried to her daughter’s side. The mother and daughter were a hot mess, but so was Liberty. The few security guards and female employees who tried intervening in the fight looked disheveled. It never crossed their minds that the fight between two parties involving three women could get so wild. It was impossible to tear them apart. “Who are you?” After catching her breath, Chelsea questioned Duncan. “I’m the boss of this company, and who are you? Who are you to come to my place of business and kick my
The Browns pair tried to flee. Alas, the cops arrived.“Stop them!” Seeing that the mother and daughter were going to make a run for it, Duncan commanded the people to swoop in on them. “Mr. Lewis, did you call the cops? What happened here? There seems to be a commotion.” The cops recognized Duncan. It was mainly because Duncan was a familiar face among the police force but not for a good reason. After turning over a new leaf, Duncan took an honest path and went into business. He grew Lewis & Co. into one of the major corporations in Wiltspoon in the span of a few years and had a net worth of billions. Everybody around here knew who Duncan was. Well, it would be more accurate to say that everybody doing business in Wiltspoon knew Duncan. “They came here to beat up my employee. Look at what they did to her.” Duncan pulled Liberty out from the crowd and showed the train wreck Liberty was. The cops were speechless. A catfight!Their gaze shifted from Liberty to t
The group had only elbowed their way into the crowd when Serenity cried, “Liberty.” Sonny called for his mother. It was not hard to take stock of the situation when Serenity saw Chelsea and her mom as well as the disheveled state her sister was in. Boy, she was riled up. Putting Sonny in her sister’s arms, Serenity rolled up her sleeve and was ready to get into a fight. “Seren.” Mrs. Stone worked fast and swiftly stopped Serenity from trying to stick up for her sister. “Seren, leave it to the cops to handle this.” The cops had been called. It would not look good on Serenity to fight in front of the cops. “Mr. Stone. Mrs. Stone.” Duncan was surprised to see the Stones. Out of respect, he approached them and said hello. Mr. and Mrs. Stone exchanged greetings with Duncan. Mrs. Stone asked, “What’s going on here, Mr. Lewis?” Duncan replied, “Let the cops take their statements at the station, Mrs. Stone.” He then said to the cops, “Officer, my employee has suffere
Mrs. Stone snapped, “Do you think an apology would cut it after you beat my niece up? We don’t accept your apology. You’ve pushed one too far.” She then told the police officers. “We won’t settle with an apology. Do what you need to do, officers. But I think compensation should be in order.” The Browns’ mother and daughter were detained, fined, and ordered to pay Liberty’s medical bills and emotional distress. Since they beat Liberty up and insulted her in public, Liberty could claim emotional distress due to reputation loss. Hearing that Liberty was Mrs. Stone’s niece, Duncan looked at Mrs. Stone in surprise. Mrs. Brown asked Mrs. Stone blankly, “Are you Liberty’s aunt? When did you come into the picture?” Liberty was not related to her mom’s side of the family. The family had not been in touch with Liberty and her sister for the last fifteen years. Serenity was the only family who attended Liberty’s wedding. Their extended families from both their parents’ sides did n
“Mom.” Hank entered the station, only to find his mother falling off the chair. Taking quick paces, he went up to pick his mother up. However, his mother could not stand still and was weak in her knees. “What happened to you, Mom?” Hank picked the chair up and helped his mother to sit down. His mother stared at Liberty with a complicated look on her face. Hank took a glance at her sister and found her with her jaw dropped while color drained from her face. “Are you alright, Mrs. Brown?” Having tagged along Hank, Jessica asked Mrs. Brown with concern. She then turned her attention to Liberty with the intention to rip one into her. Even if Liberty was divorced, she should not have scared her former mother-in-law. Nevertheless, Jessica was taken aback by Elisa’s presence. Jessica thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Mrs. Stone and the others were not public figures, but Elisa was famous and went viral for courting Zachary. Without a doubt, Jessica knew who she wa
Hank had only pulled his mother up when his sister went weak at the knees once more. Hank was in a dilemma as he had to hold his sister up too. He told them not to mess with Liberty, but his family refused to listen and went against his wishes anyway. Hank simply could not get a moment of peace. Hank had been taking a lot of heat at the office, and work had been hanging over his head. His boss did not look too pleased when Hank ditched work to come here. He believed that at this rate, his family would cost him the over one million bucks he gave to Liberty to keep his job. Likely spooked by the drama, Sonny clung to his mother’s neck without staring at his grandmother and aunt. Duncan happened to stand in his line of vision. As Duncan stood behind Liberty, Sonny’s eyes met Duncan with his head resting over his mother’s shoulder. Sonny left quite an impression on Duncan. Although Duncan was a crude burly man, he loved children. The boy was as cute as a button. Duncan r
Serenity left her sister’s rented place and arrived home at half-past ten at night. She opened the door to the pitch-dark house. Was Nana not at home? Was she asleep? Serenity stepped into the house and turned on the light. She then closed and locked the door behind her. After much thought, she opened the door and grabbed a pair of Zachary’s loafers to put at the front door. It was to show others that there was a man in the house. It was a safety measure. “You’re back, Ms. Hunt.” Hearing the noise, Mrs. Lane came out of her bedroom. “Yeah.” Serenity asked, “Is Nana asleep?” “Old Mrs. York went back. Your brother-in-law picked her up. She thought you wouldn’t be home tonight, so she told me to inform you when you return tomorrow.”Serenity was surprised. “Nana went home?” Mrs. Lane replied, “Old Mrs. York said she moved in with you because she got into a fight with your husband. Now that they made up, she moved back to her house.”She believed Old Mrs. York was a
Mrs. Lane stood up for her boss. “Ms. Hunt, I haven’t been working with you for long, but I’m a good judge of character. Mr. York and your former brother-in-law are not the same type of people. Mr. York has a strong sense of responsibility. He won’t shrink away from his duty to care for you, his wife.“The way I see it, Mr. York doesn’t know how to talk to women and doesn’t like it when young women get close to him. He rarely talks to Ms. Sox. He keeps his distance but acknowledges her presence. He’s a brilliant man, but he’s also the kind that won’t look at another woman. Ms. Hunt, don’t be scared because of your sister’s failed marriage.“Love is beautiful, and there are happy endings to marriages. Not everyone’s marriage is like your sister’s. I was a nanny to Mr. York’s youngest cousin for many years. They are a good family. “Mr. York’s parents, uncles, and aunts are committed to their relationship and marriage. The men in the house are responsible and loyal to their wives. “
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