Camryn uttered with a smile, “I’ll arrange something for you since you trust me.” Putting her cane aside, Camryn began to design a floral bouquet for Serenity. Serenity watched Carmyn handle the task with ease and asked, “Ms. Newman, do you memorize the placing of each type of flower here?” While pairing flowers together, Camryn replied, “I have to since I can’t see. I hired some employees to separate the flowers every time the stock comes in. They’ll tell me where each type of flower is placed. “My flower shop has been around for a few years now, so I had a lot of time to memorize everything. I think I’m on top of it.” Looking into Camryn’s eyes, Serenity probed, “Is there any way you can see again, Ms. Newman?” With her smile fading, Camryn answered, “I lost my sight from an illness. I was lucky to even survive. I’m fine without my sight. I’m just grateful to be alive.” Due to the sudden blindness, she nearly lost her life to depression and insanity. Nevertheless, she
Serenity would not take no for an answer as she put the two hundred bucks in Camryn’s palm. Camryn felt the money with her fingers before pulling one bill and giving it back to Serenity. She said, “If you insist, I’ll take half the money.” Since the girls were not close yet, Serenity relented and took back a hundred-dollar bill from Camryn before replying with a grin, “Thank you, Ms. Newman. Your flowers here are beautiful. I’ll be sure to come back for more.” Camryn beamed. “You’re always welcome. You can call me in advance if you need anything. Just let me know who it is for, and I’ll have the flowers picked out and wrapped up. You can come and collect without waiting.” Turning on her heel, she went to the cash register. Camryn held onto the table as she got behind the cash register and pulled the drawer to get a box of business cards. She retrieved a business card before making her way back to Serenity. “This is my business card, Mrs. York.” Serenity drew close and took th
Callum responded, “I only ran into Serenity on my way out after a discussion with Zachary. She’s my cousin-in-law. I mean, I should at least get to sample when family comes over with food.” Mr. Chaplin laughed in delight. “That was why Mr. Zachary pushed you out of there.” Only Callum would be so bold to pull such a move. Well, he was family with Zachary and Serenity after all, and family would not have a falling out over a tiny matter. Callum pursed her lips. “What’s the big deal? So he has a wife. He acts like none of us can get a wife.” “You can get yourself a wife who delivers food to you every day too. All the other single men like me will be jealous of you.” Callum choked. His nana’s chosen wife for him was someone blind. There was no way she could cook for him. It was more like the other way round. “Mr. Bucham has a glow to him lately with a spring in his step. Love must be beautiful, I guess.” Callum drew close to Mr. Chaplin and tugged on his tie. “Tell me tha
Serenity took the fancy-looking bags from Zachary and asked in glee, “What are these?” Taking his seat on the sofa, Zachary replied with a smile, “Well, why don’t you take a look inside?” He removed the lid of the food container and dug into his wife’s specially-made dinner. Serenity took a look and responded with a grin, “Skincare products. You’re giving me a lot more than Elisa has bought me.” The guy had been jealous. He did not like her using the skincare products given by Elisa and insisted that she should only use the ones he would give her. However, Zachary had not given her any. Taking it as a passing remark, Serenity continued using Elisa’s skincare products. They worked well for her skin and were better than the products she used before anyway. Serenity must admit that women should not skimp in terms of skincare. “I’ll buy all the skincare products for you.” Zachary had no idea about the brands used by women as skincare products were not something he had ever bo
“They are bound to come and beg us for help,” Zachary predicted. Serenity chuckled sarcastically. Zachary was like a brick wall. What could he do if his cousins came to him for help? Zachary was probably only good for taunts and horrible ideas. “You don’t believe me, babe.” “Not at all.” Zachary stared into her eyes and said, “We’ll just have to wait and see. They’ll come to me as the senior male figure in the family when they’re in trouble. Even if I can’t do anything to help, I can lend an ear.” Since Zachary’s cousins had the utmost respect and trust in Zachary, Serenity had confidence in Zachary’s prediction. “Did Ms. Carrie get into a disagreement with you?” Serenity mentioned running into Carrie and the feud between the sisters, but there was nothing further about what happened between Serenity and Carrie. Sure, Carrie was cocky, but Serenity would always put Carrie in her place. Since he asked, Serenity came clean to Zachary about Carrie’s arrogant behavior.
Despite Zachary’s yearning for Serenity to stay, Serenity still left the office in the end and went back to watch her shop. By the time of her return, the shop was still bustling with students. Since Josh had not arrived, Serenity and Jasmine dove right into work. The crowd of students was slowly dispersing when Josh made it to the shop. By then, Serenity could handle the work all on her own. Josh would always drop in with flowers for Jasmine. Jasmine would also prepare little gifts for him. The couple looked out for one another and always had each other’s best interests at heart. They were a pair made in heaven. “Seren, we’re leaving for our date now.” Jasmine held her purse and bouquet given by Josh before announcing her leave to Serenity with a smile. Once Serenity acknowledged her, Jasmine took off with Josh. Serenity was kept occupied for a while until the last swarm of students left. She then went into the kitchen to heat her food up and enjoyed her dinner behind
Mr. Charles replied, “That’s true… It’s a good thing I didn’t tell my wife.” “Mrs. Charles doesn’t give you much allowance, but she doesn’t let you pay for the other stuff. You don’t have to worry about expenses for your parents and parents-in-law, social favors, and expenses for raising your children. You are lucky, Mr. Charles. “It’s not easy to manage money.” While munching, Mr. Charles remarked, “I agree, and that’s why I left the finances to my wife since she’s good at it. I used to be the one to take care of the finances, but our savings never made it past twenty thousand dollars by the end of the year despite our business doing well. Since my wife took over, we have saved close to a hundred thousand dollars a year.“I’m happy with the load off my shoulders and the surplus of money in the family account. My wife is a very fair person. She won’t favor her own family. She gives equal amounts to my parents and her parents. My parents cannot be happier with their daughter-in-l
“Alright. We got it.” These thugs had no idea who Serenity was. Carrie was not that dumb to let them in on it. No amount of money could buy these people to do her dirty work if Carrie let out that Serenity was Mrs. York. “Delete my number when you get the final payment. I can guarantee your safety so long as you do as I say.“Don’t blame me for what’s to come if I catch you blabbering about it.” “Don’t worry, Ms. Jones. We won’t breathe a word to anyone. We’re in this together since you pay us to do the job.” Truth be told, Carrie did not even tell the thugs her real family name.She intended to dump the SIM card after the deed was done and she was through with contacting the thugs. The number was not registered to her name anyway. Carrie hung up the call. Thinking that Serenity was about to get it, she burst out laughing. Serenity should have minded her own business instead of helping Camryn. It was time Serenity got a taste of her own medicine. Knock, knock.Pulling
Zachary only had eyes for Serenity. He did not fancy any woman other than her. While Zachary did scold Austin badly, he would not actually distance himself from his brother.After all, he only had one biological brother.However, Zachary decided that he would never say another word about Austin’s love life. If Austin were to look for him to talk again, Zachary would only lend an ear to his issues.It had been exasperating.“Alright. You’re twenty-seven. You can think for yourself. You shouldn’t tell me about your love journey in the future though. What do you take me for? You all come looking for me whenever you face problems. Am I a love advisor?“None of you can replicate my love story with Seren, so don’t tell me anything from now on.”Austin smiled sheepishly. He knew Zachary’s anger had not completely subsided.He quickly asked after Serenity and the unborn baby to change the topic, which softened Zachary’s tone. After some time, their call finally ended.Austin si
On the other hand, Austin closed and locked his door as soon as he returned to his room to prevent anyone from peeking. Then, he called Zachary.When Zachary picked up, Austin whispered, “My identity is exposed, Zachary.”“Exposed? What did you do?”Zachary’s voice was deep without betraying his emotions. “Isabella knows that I’m a young master of the Yorks. Her previous classmate had been to Wiltspoon with her husband who was there on a business trip and lived there for half a month. She knows about York Corporation and started asking questions once she heard my surname.“Isabella asked me why I hid my identity from her after I admitted to it. I replied that she never asked about my family tree. Besides, she already did a background check on me twice.”Zachary said, “You didn’t hide it from her on purpose anyway. You simply didn’t go about announcing that you’re from the York family. That doesn’t count as lying.“You were hired by the O’Connors based on your true abilities. Yo
“I think Austin gives you special treatment, Isa. His gaze and smile are different when it comes to you. You’re a clever person. I’m sure you felt something.“Have you ever thought that the person his nana has chosen for him is you?”Isabella frowned. “I don’t even know what his nana looks like, nor have I met her before. How could she possibly choose me? Besides, he said he’d be resigning to pursue that woman.“Anyway, I’m glad that you’re not sad. Just stay away from him and enjoy the food he cooks. Don’t think about anything else.”Tati was speechless.Isabella never believed her when she said she was not interested in Austin at all.However, when Tati thought of the way she acted around Austin, she could not blame Isabella for the misunderstanding. She had been expressing her admiration for Austin too outwardly. Since Isabella was giving her advice, she would do as Isabella said to reassure her.Tati decided not to go over to Isabella’s place for meals and keep a distance
Tati had made it clear that she did not love Austin, and purely admired him. Why was Isabella looking at her like that? Austin’s fiancée would never be her. If it were, Austin would have treated her differently. So who on earth was Austin’s fiancee?Why would Old Mrs. York choose someone from Windermere for him?Austin came to be a chef before pursuing his future wife. Which city in Windermere was his fiancée from? Was it Satbury?If it were Satbury, which elite daughter could it be?There were many elite daughters in Satbury, but not many were superior to the O’Connor daughters. Tati recalled Austin’s special treatment toward Isabella. A thought crossed her mind, ‘Is Isabella the lady Old Mrs. York has chosen for Austin?’“Tati, I want to discuss something work-related with you.”Isabella thought Tati remained silent because of Austin’s news. Therefore, she used work as an excuse and brought Tati to the study on the second floor. After closing the door, Isabella poured
Louis and Phillip were not the only ones worried. Even Delphine and the rest were anxious too. While they did think it was inappropriate for someone of Austin’s status to be their chef, the food he made was truly delicious. They had already gotten used to his cooking. If he were to leave, they would have to adjust their tastes to another chef’s cooking. Tati had even more concerns. Isabella admired capable people. Austin was highly skilled in cooking and had a head for business too. Moreover, he was a young master of a wealthy family. That made him more suitable for Isabella. Would Isabella be attracted?Isabella probably could feel how differently he treated her, right?“Did you chase Austin away, Isa? Why didn’t he come back with you?”Louis continued asking questions. He was worried that Isabella might have fired Austin. Not only could Austin make delicious food, but he would also play with the boys. Louis and Phillip really liked Austin. They thought he was fun,
Austin knew her question was related to Tati.He was aware of Tati’s admiration for him.Nevertheless, he recognized Tati’s feelings as pure admiration. On the contrary, Tati must have noticed that he treated Isabella differently. She probably told Isabella about it in private, but Isabella simply did not have plans for marriage due to her heavy responsibilities. Austin said with certainty, “No. Although I haven’t succeeded in pursuing her, I’ve set my heart on her. She’s my fiancée, and she’ll become my wife in the future. The York family doesn’t allow divorce unless our wives cheat on us. However, that definitely won’t happen.“Every woman Nana chose has a good character and values.“I’ll be loyal to my marriage and family. I’ll only love my only wife for my entire life. How outstanding other women are is none of my business.”Austin did not want to be like Dylan. He would rather spend more time inventing recipes. Isabella said with a hint of regret, “Okay.”She had to te
Isabella could not find anyone who suited her tastes in Satbury. She knew the city was filled with talented young men, but none made her heart race. Their goal was usually the O’Connor family business. The men knew Louis was young and that Isabella was the head of the family. If they could win her heart, it would be equivalent to conquering the O’Connor family. From there, they could gradually swallow the family whole. Isabella dared not date anyone. She was scared of falling into someone’s trap. She would not let her feelings show, even if she had a crush on someone.“Many people are aiming for my family’s status and wealth. I dare not date or get married for fear that I’d destroy the family once and for all. Those people will go to great lengths for money and power.”Isabella was even wary of young masters of wealthy families, let alone ambitious men from inferior backgrounds. “I know Nana is doing this for us. She had chosen our wives. Our parents didn’t need to worry
Isabella knew it would not be that quick. By the time Louis could take over, which would be twenty years later, she would already be close to fifty years old. If she got married and had children within the next two years, her children could inherit her businesses a few years after Louis took over the family business. That way, she could finally retire for good. “Austin, you’re aware that I sent someone to Wiltspoon to investigate your background, right? There was no information about you being a young master of the Yorks. Was it because you didn’t want me to know about it?”“No.”Austin said honestly, “I wasn’t aware. Zachary was the one who told me that you investigated me twice. You couldn’t find the connection between me and York Corporation because Zachary covered it up for me.“He knew that I was here to cook and improve my skills. If you knew I was a young master of the wealthiest family in Wiltspoon, you might not have hired me as your private chef. If so, I wouldn’t be
Isabella smiled and said, “If the person taking over the family business doesn’t have true ability, they won’t be able to bear the responsibility. In this way, they can still prove themselves. Of course, starting a business from scratch and inheriting from a generation or two back is different.“For those who are supported by their family, no matter how many achievements they have, others will say they relied on their family’s support. If they fail, people will call them useless and a waste, and that family wealth will never last more than three generations. They’ll just wait for your family to go bankrupt.“So, without real ability, no one can take over the family business.”Austin was silent for a moment before responding, “What you say is true. My eldest brother, for example, is very capable. Although we could all take on the responsibility, none of us is as steady as he is. He’s the real anchor of our family. With him around, we don’t have to worry even if the sky falls.“Becau