Finally, Jasmine mustered the courage to shamelessly ask Elisa about Josh. She found out that if Josh truly wanted to mess with someone, that person’s fate would be worse than death.His play was to let that particular person lose everything bit by bit and taste despair one drop at a time. It was a slow torture to the mind.Therefore, Jasmine was a little worried she would offend him if she rejected him, and he would unleash his anger on Zachary instead.“I’ll give it a try. Don’t worry, I won’t force myself.”Although she was worried, she would not actually force herself when it came down to it.“Seren, did you not go to the Stone residence last night? I was shocked by your sister’s face when she brought Sonny over.”Serenity’s expression turned resentful at the mention of that incident. She cursed the entire Brown family in her heart.If not for Olivia and Chelsea picking a fight with Liberty, she would not have gotten into a fight with Zachary again.Well, with a character l
Turning around, Liberty went back into the office. That colleague was still chatting away happily with the others.Liberty went straight to that person’s desk and only then did the colleague realize that Liberty had come back.The woman was a bit overwhelmed by the embarrassment of being caught red-handed while speaking badly behind someone’s back.“Do you have a crush on Mr. Lewis?”Liberty’s words instantly made the girl’s face turn red.“Of course not.”She denied it.“Then is it fascinating for you to spread rumors that Mr. Lewis and I have a secret affair? I heard the bitterness in your tone, so it’s clear that you have a crush on Mr. Lewis. That’s why you’re always targeting me.“Whether you believe me or not, I don’t have any interest in Mr. Lewis. I’m indeed divorced, but that’s because my husband cheated on me. Was I supposed to keep him until the new year before divorcing him? Now that I’m divorced, do I have to be subjected to rumors by you saying that I’m seducing M
Duncan spoke up. “I know I made things hard for you in the company because I personally hired you, but you don’t have to worry about what others say. Just do your own thing.”“Mr. Lewis, I want to resign.”Duncan’s eyes deepened as he asked, “Why do you want to resign?”Liberty was silent, then she raised her head to look at Duncan and said, “Back then, I was told that I came in through the back door, and I was secretly targeted by everyone. However, I put up with it in order to get a divorce and win custody of my son.“It was because I needed a job to fight for Sonny’s custody.”“So now that you’re divorced and you’ve won the custody of your son, you want to resign?” Duncan picked up from where she left off. “You haven’t even completed your probation period.”He added, “You’re a capable person, and you’re good at your job. I believe that you know this too, but whatever they say about you, you don’t have to listen to them as long as you have a clear conscience.”“They’re also sa
“What do you think? Do you want to rent it? If you do, I’ll give you a discount since you’re Zachary’s sister-in-law. Your rent will be a little cheaper than others, but don’t tell anyone else. If they find out, they’ll come to me asking for a discount as well. That would be a huge loss.”Liberty was immensely touched. She had to cross that street every day to and from work, so she knew very well how much traffic that street held.Snack bars, restaurants, and even dessert stores over there had a remarkable business.She had been incredibly envious of those who could rent a shop lot and open a business on that street. Unexpectedly, those shopfronts belonged to Duncan.“How much is the monthly rent?”“All stores in downtown Wiltspoon are much more expensive than other places. Among the stores I have there, the smallest is about forty square feet, and the larger ones are more than a hundred square feet. What kind of eatery are you planning to open?”“A breakfast store.”“Then you d
“Tell me, Hank. Did you offend all your clients? What did you do?”Hank managed to secure plenty of business and made a lot of money for the company. He entered Waltham Electronics as soon as he graduated and worked here for many years, so he was considered a tenured employee. The boss trusted and relied heavily on him.There were numerous managers in the company, but Hank was the youngest.He was promoted to the position of a manager because he brought great profits to the company. Although the management was jealous, they could not say anything about it.The boss attached great importance to Hank. If he was invited to a business reception but was unavailable to attend, he would ask Hank to go in his stead to see the world and attract more customers for the company.Hank did not let him down either. After attending the business reception, he indeed got to sign many more orders for the company.However, now, all the orders that Hank signed were either canceled or had their cooper
Olivia was in deep remorse after she found out that Liberty had an aunt who married into a wealthy family.She should not have let her son divorce.If her son did not divorce, he could rely on nepotism to work in Stone Group, and his income would grow even higher.Maybe he could even earn tens of millions a year.She advised her son to pursue Liberty again and remarry Liberty but was sternly rejected. Jessica was downright displeased.Olivia stopped proposing the idea explicitly and thought of using her grandson instead.She thought of making her son pick up Sonny often, and then send Sonny back to Liberty. That way, Hank would be able to meet Liberty frequently. They had known each other for twelve years and had a son connecting them, so maybe they would be able to remarry after they calmed down.“Mom, tell Chelsea to drive you to Serenity’s store if you miss Sonny. There’s no need to pick Sonny up. You guys can’t coax him anyway. What if you scare him again?”Hank knew what h
Serenity did not want her sister to worry.Liberty saw that Serenity looked normal, so she was relieved and said, “Zachary treats you very well. I think he won’t quarrel with you over something trivial. I’m relieved that you two didn’t get into a fight.”Serenity thought in her heart, ‘As it turned out, he actually did quarrel with me over something trivial.’He ignored her the whole day.She refused to take the initiative to be friendly with him again.She did not feel like she was at fault.The first time they fought, she did not have feelings for him. The second time, when he saw Shawn confess to her, she did not think it through and panicked, chasing him all the way to his office to offer him an explanation.Now, she felt incredibly upset.Maybe it was because she had grown some feelings for him.“Seren, I’ll take Sonny home. I’ve decided to open a store. I have to start planning.”“Okay, take Mrs. Lane with you so that Sonny doesn’t bother you.”Liberty accepted her sis
“Don’t go out, Seren. I’ll deal with him,” Jasmine said before rushing to the entrance of the bookshop to stop Shawn. Grabbing him by the arm, Jasmine yanked him away. “Jas.” Forced to keep up with his cousin’s footsteps, Shawn tried to put a brake on the pulling, but Jasmine dragged him all the way to his car with all her might. “Unlock the car door!” Jasmine ordered with a stern face. Shawn gave her a rather disgruntled look.“Jas.” “I said, unlock the car door!” Jasmine sternly commanded. Although she was shorter than Shawn, she stood her ground against the man. Her chilly eyes were fixated on Shawn until the latter unlocked the door. Jasmine opened the door and stuffed him into the car. “Jas, I’m here for you, not Serenity.” Forced to take the passenger seat, Shawn watched as his cousin buckled him up. “Sit tight and don’t get out of the car!” Jasmine ordered and shut the car door before getting into the car from the other side. She moved quickly and decisi
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