Serenity chuckled along. “Nana, Zachary is very good to me.”Grandma May said the same thing her sister always nagged her about.The old woman laughed on the other side of the phone.Zachary asked, “When are you coming back?”“I’m still lying in the hospital now. I won’t be back soon.”Zachary and Serenity both asked with concern at the same time, “What happened?”Even after chatting for so long, Grandma May did not mention that she was in the hospital. She acted like everything was fine and talked with a smile, so the couple did not expect her to be hospitalized.“I went out alone and fell when I was startled by Mr. Queen’s car. I just bumped my hip bone a little. Mr. Queen sent me to the hospital and helped me to notify my family. The only family I have in Jensburg is Kevin.”Zachary was speechless. “Nana, can’t you use a different method?”His nana was not young anymore. If she was not careful enough, she might actually hurt herself from the fall.Grandma May appeared aggr
Hayden was dressed in a suit. Her features were handsome, and her figure was tall and straight. She dressed as a man for many years and had deliberately gotten a fake Adam’s apple, so no one except her closest relatives knew that she was a woman.The Queen family was also very protective of their children and would not let the outside world get information about them.Therefore, when Hayden appeared in public in men’s clothes, others thought that Mrs. Queen had two boys and called Hayden “Mr. Queen”.Hayden entered with a bunch of supplements for the elderly in her hands. She placed them on the bedside table and saw that the old woman was the only one in the ward. She asked soberly, “Granny, where is your grandson?”“I just woke up, so I don’t know where Kevin went. Maybe he saw me asleep and went out to buy something. Have a seat, Mr. Queen.”Grandma May was about to sit up.Hayden quickly pressed her down. “You can’t sit up right now. The doctor said you have to lie down for a
Hayden continued, “As far as I know, you’re free to do whatever you want in Wiltspoon. No one will dare say a word against you if you want to go anywhere.”Grandma May was speechless.This trick worked very well with Serenity, but not against Hayden.Hayden would not offer to accompany the old woman.At that moment, Kevin came back.He indeed took advantage of the fact that his nana had not woken up yet to take care of business.It was close to noon now, and he packed lunch from his hotel and sent it over for his nana to eat.From a distance, he saw a few black-clad bodyguards walking around at the entrance of his nana’s ward. He knew that it was Hayden who came to visit.Kevin felt helpless.He knew that his grandmother was looking forward to her grandchildren starting families of their own, but that was no excuse for shoving a tomboy at him.He really did not feel any sparks for Mr. Queen.Seeing Hayden was like looking at a handsome man. Kevin felt that he would be gay if
“Kevin, find a reason to invite her to a meal at one of our hotels.”Kevin paused. “Nana… What excuse am I going to use to invite her? ‘Thank you for scaring my nana until she was hospitalized’?”Grandma May was speechless.Then, she said, “You’re a smart boy, you can think of something. Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re thinking. Mr. Queen is a great person and is a perfect match for you. Your mouth never stops chattering, but Mr. Queen doesn’t talk much. You two won’t be bored together.”“Nana, you’re also calling her Mr. Queen. When I look at her, it’s really as if I’m looking at a man. She won’t admit that she’s a woman either. You keep trying to push us together, but I feel like I’m looking for a brother instead of a wife. It feels like I’m gay.”Grandma May laughed. “She’s very convincing at playing the role of a man, but experienced people will be able to tell by hearing her voice. Her deliberate deep voice is different from your natural baritone. Her voice is still
“Just be happy with what you have. Although I worry about your marriage, I’m not like that old friend of mine. I’ll help you find the right girl according to your character so that you’re free to develop feelings for yourself. I’m showing you more than enough respect.“Your parents are also irresponsible. They only know how to nag you a little but never take any action. That’s why a pack of old bones like me had to get her hands dirty.“I know you guys scold me every day for being overbearing.”Kevin immediately defended, “Nana, we’ve never scolded you, much less for being overbearing. Our nana is the smartest. We all love you very much.”Their parents only nagged them about getting married but never took any action. They simply let the old woman do the heavy lifting instead because they knew the boys respected her the most and would not be angry no matter what she did.Even Zachary and his temper gave in to his nana in the end.Besides, Zachary and Serenity were very happy now,
Lily had a habit of going on a stroll after eating.Mrs. Lewis looked at Duncan.Duncan and his three brothers were talking about the recent trends in the stock market.He did not notice the conversation between Lily and his mother, much less his mother staring at him.It was his second brother who noticed first. He nudged Duncan and whispered, “Mom is looking at you. I think she wants you to do something.”Duncan turned to look at his mother and smiled. “What’s up, Mom?”Why was she looking at him like that?“Lily wants to go on a stroll. Go with her.”Mrs. Lewis did not expect this son of hers to appreciate the pains she was taking, so she spoke bluntly and told him to accompany Lily on a walk.Duncan looked at Lily and said, “Ms. Harmon, you’ve lived in my home for a while now, so you should be familiar with the environment here. You can’t go very far, so you can just walk by yourself. You won’t get lost.”Mrs. Lewis’s expression darkened. She almost wanted to throw someth
Duncan’s three brothers did not dare say more.They were afraid their mother would blame them for spoiling Duncan if they spoke up for him again, causing him to still remain single at the age of thirty-six.Duncan accompanied Lily out of the house. The two strolled casually along the paved path in the courtyard.However, Duncan’s pace was fast.Lily wore high heels, so she struggled to follow him.“Duncan.”Lily was not the type who was willing to suffer for the sake of others. She jogged up and reached out to pull Duncan’s hand.“What is it?”Duncan’s attitude toward Lily was neither good nor bad. He did not hate Lily, but he just did not feel a spark with her.He also did not like how his family was arranging a girlfriend for him without his consent.“Are you running a race with me?”Duncan’s dark eyes flashed. “Didn’t you say you wanted to take a stroll? Even if you wanted to race, you can’t race after just eating. It’ll upset your stomach.”Lily paused before stating, “
Lily agreed. “I’m like that too. I only talk about work while I’m at work, and no talking shop while I’m resting.“Duncan, can I ask you some questions?”Duncan replied, “Go ahead.”“Our parents want us to be a couple, and I’m quite pleased with you. You can say that I like you very much, but it’s definitely too early to say that I love you. However, I believe I will be able to fall in love with you with time.”In Lily’s eyes, Duncan was her target.She liked him and wanted to conquer him, but when it came to love... Even she did not believe she loved him now, let alone Duncan.There was no such thing as love at first sight when it came to them.“However, you keep running away from me. Is it because I’m not good enough? Or do you have another person in your heart?”Duncan did not expect Lily to be so blunt about it.She did not hide anything or beat around the bush. Instead, she asked him directly. This character of hers was quite suitable as a friend.He looked at Lily. For
Austin quickly left the CEO’s office. Just as he stepped out, he ran into Tati, who was looking for Isabella.“Ms. Tati,” Austin greeted politely.Tati nodded and waited for Austin to leave before she knocked on the office door and entered.“Austin came early today to cook for you,” Tati said, holding a folder in her hand and opening it as she walked toward Isabelle.She sat down at the desk, handed over the folder, and said, “Isa, this is urgent. Please take a look.”Isabella took the document, glancing through it as she replied, “He comes around this time every day, neither early nor late.”“That Longbottom fellow came by again?” Tati asked.It was only after Mr. Longbottom had directly asked to see Isabella that Tati found out the old lecher had come again.“Yes, but I didn’t meet him. He brought some gifts, claiming they were holiday presents for us. I had them sent back. He’s too ambitious, and he has bad intentions. We’re absolutely on guard against him. Why would we give
Isabella turned her head to look at Austin.Austin stopped the massage and asked in a gentle voice, “Are you feeling any discomfort? I can work on it. I don't give people massages often, so I don’t have much experience. I'll keep giving you more massages as practice so I'll be able to serve you better.”“It's not that,” Isabella smiled. “It's actually very comfortable. It’s just that I really want to meet your grandmother every time you mention her.”In Isabella's mind, Austin's grandmother had already become something of a legendary figure.Austin thought to himself, ‘Nana’s already met you. You probably met her before, you just didn't know it was her.’His nana had surely spent a lot of time observing Isabella, getting to know her, and confirming that her character and abilities were suitable for him before choosing Isabella for him.“When you’re less busy, if you’re willing, you can come visit us in Wiltspoon. Lots of flowers bloom in spring, and there’s beautiful scenery ever
When Isabella first took over the family business, many of her grandparents' and parents' friends and relatives openly tried to sabotage her. They played dirty tricks, schemed, and tried various ways to undermine her.They wanted to take advantage of her, and they also did not want her to take control of the family’s legacy. They tried to prevent her from establishing herself in the company, even going as far as to collaborate with outsiders to trap her.She had suffered countless setbacks, faced numerous conspiracies, and even experienced several so-called accidents, nearly losing her life. It was only after all this that she truly understood the treachery of human nature. From that point on, she learned to arm herself with cold indifference.Though she was taking over her own family’s business, it felt like she had to fight through a bloody battle to secure her place, as if she were a king striving to ascend the throne. It was exhausting and disheartening.However, she endured an
Austin said, “He’s definitely here to discuss a potential partnership with your company.“He's just the acting head of the Longbottoms. He doesn’t truly control the family. If the real head returns, everything he’s worked for will go to someone else.“The downfall of Belinda Fisher probably gave him a wake-up call and he doesn’t want to end up like that.“He’s definitely seeking to cooperate with you regarding his personal business. He’s just using the Longbottoms’ name, since their influence in Windermere is enormous.”In terms of wealth, the O'Connors and the Longbottoms were on equal footing, but the O'Connors had fewer members and did not have the same level of influence in Windermere as the Longbottoms.Isabella said, “He’s very ambitious. A partnership would only just be the beginning. Once it’s established, he’ll start thinking about how to cheat us and steal our business.“Plus, he’s very lecherous. Nobody can put a number to how many women he’s toyed with. Some even lost
Tony was aware that whenever his wife had to play the villain, it was always to protect him. He said, “You're right, I misspoke. Your mother isn’t that kind of person.”“Manny, I’ll be leaving soon. You stay here, and I’ll leave half of my men with you. If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me. I’ll be waiting to hear good news from you.” Tony decided to fly to Wiltspoon in the afternoon. He would only stay for two or three days before returning to Havenmill to handle business.However, as he thought about how he was working like a horse for Longbottom Corporation when many of the benefits did not even belong to him personally, Tony felt a bit disgruntled.“Got it.” Manny did not reject his father’s arrangement.As the Longbottom father and son were discussing how to deal with the O’Connors, Austin entered Isabella’s office.Isabella was busy, so Austin did not disturb her. He quietly sat at the tea table and made some tea.“It seems you’ve learned the art of tea-
Manny had never been to Wiltspoon, but he knew from his father that several prominent families in Wiltspoon had close ties with the Johnsons from Annenburg. It was possible that the child adopted by the Johnsons’ young missus was Laurence. Unfortunately, he could not meet that child, so he could not be a hundred percent certain. The child was currently out of sight and well-protected, hidden so effectively that even the Longbottoms’ information network could not find anything. The other prominent families in Wiltspoon were also helping to keep the child hidden, so Manny deeply disliked the people from these families. Even though they were thousands of miles away, they were still an obstacle to him and his father in their pursuit of becoming the true head of the family.“That's right. If we can conquer the O’Connors, we’ll have a backup plan,” his father said. “You must put your all into it, son. If you need help, just let me know, though this is also an opportunity for you to ge
Tony Longbottom was the only person who would put on such a parade. The big shots in Satbury usually had entourages of their own, but none would put on a spectacle as big as Tony would.As they departed in their car, Tony’s gracious demeanor utterly shattered.His face twisted into an ugly, cruel expression as he said, “I’ve never been treated like this before, even when the legitimate branch of the family still lived, and those two ignorant little girls actually refused to see me multiple times.”Manny was very angry too and he said, “Pops, since they refuse to go about this the easy way, we’ll have to show them the hard way. We can approach it from other angles, and once they’re completely out of business and they have nowhere else to turn to, they’ll be at our mercy.“Won’t they have to do as we please then? I want to marry them, they’ll have to marry me, and if I don’t, I’ll just make them my mistresses. Don’t the O’Connors have plenty of daughters? I’ll fuck every one of them
“Isabella O’Connor is so outstanding, so why are you asking me to go for Tati O’Connor instead?” Manny said under his breath in puzzlement.He had seen photos of the two ladies and Isabella’s appearance was more striking. She had a cold and aloof aura that easily triggered his desire to conquer her, and after just a few glances, he was captivated.If it were up to him, Manny would choose Isabella.Tony looked at his son, smiled, and said, “You can’t control her. Of course, if you manage to make her fall for you, we can talk about switching. But for now, focus on Tati O’Connor.”Tati was also beautiful. However, she did not have Isabella’s cold demeanor. She seemed much gentler, like she smiled often.“Marrying Tati O’Connor would be a big advantage for both you and our family.”Manny thought for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “Got it, Dad.”Manny’s good looks, wealth, honeyed tongue, and generosity toward girls made him good at winning them over. Pursuing a rich youn
After testing the O’Connor sisters and realizing they were not like other women, Mr. Longbottom thought of having his son marry Tati.He knew that his son would not be able to handle or control Isabella, so he set his sights on Tati. Tati probably did not realize she was considered an easy target. Most people underestimated her because she had always kept a low profile.At that moment, a young man got out from the other side of the Rolls-Royce. He resembled Mr. Longbottom. Indeed, he was Mr. Longbotton’s eldest son, Manny.“Dad.”Manny went to his father’s side and glanced at the building before him. He asked, “Aren’t we driving inside?”In Havenmill, Manny could do whatever he wished because his father was the interim head of the Longbottom family. While he had no respect for ordinary people at all, he was clever enough not to offend people he should not.He never parked his car outside the places he wanted to go and simply drove his car through the gates. However, Manny