“Don’t worry, it’s only a matter of time before we find Dr. Carden and have your eyes treated.” Callum assured Camryn. “I don’t think you should hold out for the genius doctor though. He’s already pretty old by now and I doubt he’s still practicing anymore even if you find him. Besides, word is that Dr. Carden has taken over. She’s learned from the legendary genius doctor himself and her skills are unmatched in the medical world.” The way Callum saw it, being able to enlist Dr. Carden’s help was a miracle in itself already. He did not see the need to hold out for the genius doctor. His brother had mentioned that Dr. Carden was a brilliant practitioner who was very good at her craft and known for making some otherworldly concoctions. She never used her concoctions for nefarious purposes, she mostly used them to instill fear and respect. She was also said to be a brilliant fighter. She had quite a history with Mr. and Mrs. Lafayette and had saved the life of Mr. Lafayette
Mr. Newman spoke in a concerned tone. When he noticed the state Camryn was in and how she had lost her shoes, he turned to his wife and asked nicely, “Honey, could you take Camryn into the house?” Then, he turned to Callum and made an inviting gesture, “Mr. York, please, come inside.” Callum was planning to leave right after dropping Camryn off, but he promptly changed his mind. He decided to have a quick chat with Mr. Newman as a show of respect. Several minutes later after Callum relayed what happened, Mr. Newman erupted with rage and cursed out loud, “Damned fool! All I did was give him a strong talking-to. I cannot believe he would turn around and do something like this and try to hurt my niece!” He thanked Callum profusely, “Mr. York, you have my most sincere gratitude. If it weren’t for you showing up at the right time, who knows what that nasty excuse of a bodyguard would have done to Camryn?“ The poor bodyguard took the fall. Meanwhile, Mrs. Newman emerged fro
“Do you think Camryn can marry into the Yorks even if we want her to?” Mr. Newman said, “I don’t want her to marry into the Yorks either. Although I dote on her because she’s my brother’s only child, I love our son and daughter more. How could I possibly let her marry into the wealthiest family in Wiltspoon? “Don’t think about getting Carrie to marry into the Yorks either; she doesn’t stand a chance. Putting aside everything else, the mere fact that we have a beef with Mr. and Mrs. York makes it impossible for the other bachelors of the Yorks to like her. Carrie is only twenty, so there’s no hurry for her to get married now. “What we need to do is to get her out first.” Mr. and Mrs. Newman walked to the couch and sat. The latter asked, “How do we save her? We’ve bowed our heads and apologized, but they were all to no avail. We initially found someone who could help mediate the situation, but it was ruined by Mr. Callum. “Darling, will Mr. Callum recognize that man is from the
The headache was coming from a hangover. Serenity endured the headache and reached for her phone to check the time. It was ten in the morning. She muttered, “When he wakes up, he goes off and leaves me alone in the room; when I wake up first, he’ll say I’m leaving him behind and abandoning him.” Knock, knock.There was a knock on the door. Thinking it was the maid, Serenity answered, “Come in.” The door was pushed open, but it was her sister, Liberty, who came in. Her nephew, Sonny, followed behind. “Liberty?” Serenity was surprised to see her sister. After all, her sister’s breakfast place had not closed at this hour. “Liberty, why are you here?” Serenity was about to turn over to get out of bed, but her head ached more due to the sudden huge movement. She had slept all night, so why was her head still aching? She only drank a few glasses of wine. Liberty walked over and sat on the edge of Serenity’s bed. She looked at Serenity and asked, “Does your heart hurt
In fact, Liberty did not use force. Serenity shouted on purpose to make her sister feel sorry for her. “Sonny, quickly save me.” Serenity asked for her little nephew’s help. Sonny put in the extra effort. He immediately climbed on the bed and recused his aunt’s ear from his mom’s hand. He even protected his aunt by staying in front of her and said to his mom, “Mom, Aunt Ser will be in pain.” Serenity hugged the little one and kissed him on the cheek. She said with a smile, “I didn’t love you for nothing.” Liberty poked her sister’s forehead again and said, “Hurry up. Go wash up, change your clothes, and come downstairs to eat.” “Got it, my dear old sister.” “Am I very old?” “No, no. My sister is still very young, like an eighteen-year-old girl.” Serenity had a strong desire to live. Liberty responded amusingly, “I’d like to be eighteen but unfortunately, I’m not Aphrodite, and I can’t stay eighteen every year. I’m going to pick up the car this afternoon. Are you fre
“I was afraid Zachary would say that I’m stingy and cheap such that I’m unwilling to get Sonny a more expensive bicycle,” Duncan added. He pulled Sonny over and pointed at the cardboard box as he said, “Sonny, I bought you a small bicycle. Do you like it? Do you want to ride it?” Sonny thought about the other children with bicycles he saw during his evening walks with his mom downstairs at their place. He nodded and answered, “Dunc, I like bicycles.” Duncan smiled. “Then I’ll unpack it now and assemble it for you. I’ll take you outside to ride it later, okay? I also bought you a windmill. If it’s attached to the head of your bicycle, it’ll spin when you ride. It’ll look great.” Sonny was full of anticipation. He could not hide his happiness at all. When Liberty heard Duncan say that the bicycle was just over a hundred dollars and that he also brought up his friendship with Zachary, she stopped asking him about the bicycle’s cost. She just thought she would let him dine at her
Hank said on the other end of the line, “Sonny is three years old and is my son, so what’s wrong with him being my flower boy? Where are you and Sonny? I’m at the door of your rented unit and have been hitting the door but nobody is answering. You’re not inside, right?” Jessica was standing next to him as she listened to his conversation with Liberty. She rested for a few days after her fight with her sister-in-law the other day, so the bruises on her face were gone. Hank bought two more sets of skin care products for Jessica and reluctantly gave her a jewelry set to coax her. Moreover, Hank told his parents and sister that he and Jessica had gotten their marriage license and that Jessica was set on living the rest of her life with him. Since their wedding was approaching, he asked his parents and sister not to pick on Jessica anymore. He also blamed them for his divorce from Liberty back then. He asked his parents, “Do you want me to divorce again? Think about the cost of my
Hank said, “Even if I buy a small suit for Sonny, I have to take him along. I don’t know what size he is. What if it’s too big or too small?” Liberty immediately told him Sonny’s size and said, “Buy his suit according to this size. It’ll fit him.” “Liberty, are you stopping me from spending time with my son? When we got divorced, we agreed that I can see my son whenever I want to. Now that I miss him and want to buy some clothes for him, you won’t even let me see him.” Liberty hung up the phone right away. Ever since she became suspicious of Jessica, she no longer dared let Hank take Sonny away again. Hank probably listened to Jessica because he did not know that she was being used. When Jessica suggested that Sonny become their flower boy, he agreed without much thought. He also felt that there was no need to find someone else to be the flower boy, so he let Sonny have the role.Sonny could talk well and was sensible. He was slightly taller than his peers, so he would be
Meanwhile, in a private room at Fortress Hotel in Jensburg, Caroline and Liberty stood up together and shook hands with their client, having successfully closed a business deal.The two of them escorted the client downstairs.After the client got into their car and left, Caroline turned to Liberty and said, “Liberty, it's getting late. Mr. Lewis is still waiting for you inside, so go get him and head home early to rest. The weather is really cold.“He still has trouble with his legs and isn’t used to the cold here, after all.”Duncan had caught a cold on his third day here.After seeing a doctor and taking medication, he was still coughing a little.Liberty did not move. Instead, she asked Caroline, “Are they making their move tonight?”“How would I know? They’ll act whenever they want. I’m just waiting. It’s likely to be soon, though. I’ve spread the word that Darren is on a business trip for half a month.”She did not want Liberty to worry, so she did not tell her that her fi
How long had it been since she last truly appreciated the night view of Satbury?Every day, she left home early and returned late, rushing from one place to another, with endless meetings, piles of documents to process, and countless business deals to negotiate.It always felt like there was not enough time.Before she knew it, time had flown by.It seemed just yesterday she had taken over the family business, but in the blink of an eye, several years had passed.Back when she first took over, many people had looked down on her, doubting her ability to manage the O'Connors’ vast empire. Many had wanted to devour the O'Connor family, to carve it up and take a share for themselves.Her parents’ generation was utterly mediocre, and after her grandparents passed away, they could not hold things together.As a result, the O'Connors’ family business declined and they lost a significant amount of money.On top of that, their extended relatives tried to exploit the situation, digging p
Isabella smiled, “Every time I hear you talk about your family, my heart gets restless, and I feel like going to meet them myself.”She even felt the urge to join their family, but she could not bring herself to say that out loud.Austin treated her very well. Tati said that when Austin looked at her, there was a sparkle in his eyes, and she kept saying that Austin had come here for her.Technically, Austin could indeed be considered to have come here for her, but it was really because of her picky palate and because she was hiring a private chef.To put it bluntly, Austin had come for the sake of culinary art.Sometimes, when Isabella locked eyes with Austin and saw him looking at her so intently, she could not help but wonder if he felt something for her.However, such thoughts were always quickly brushed aside.She and Austin were simply employer and employee.Austin treated her well because she was his employer. If there were any issues with the dishes he prepared, she coul
Austin smiled meaningfully, “My entire family will be very happy and warmly welcome you if you come with me to attend my nephew's sip-and-see shower.”In fact, his family would likely treat Isabella as his future wife, extending the kind of hospitality reserved for a daughter-in-law.However, Austin did not voice this thought.He and Isabella had not reached the stage where they could openly flirt like that.In any case, he was not in a hurry. Like a good stew, he would gradually win Isabella’s heart with time, and everything would fall into place naturally.“Your sister-in-law hasn’t given birth yet, so why are you already saying it’s a nephew?” Isabella teased belatedly. “Are you all hoping for a boy?“I heard from Ruth that your family elders are all hoping for a baby girl, though.”At the mention of that, Austin smiled wryly. “Ms. Fuller’s been to Wiltspoon and has heard about my family. She knows that our elders have always wanted a baby girl, so she must have also heard ot
Isabella asked, "When is your sister-in-law due?"She did not have a private chef who could fill in for Austin. If he took a leave of two or three days, she could manage, but if he requested a longer leave, she might not approve it.Zachary York’s wife was pregnant. Isabella had learned about the Yorks’ situation through a friend. Since she was Austin’s sister-in-law, it was natural for him, as the uncle, to want to go back and see his nephew.“I’m not sure. I asked my brother, and he said it might be in about two months. It could be earlier or later, it’s hard to say. I’ll go back when my sister-in-law is hospitalized. Once she’s discharged and returns home for postpartum recovery, it won’t be convenient to visit, so I’ll come back to work.“Then, when the baby is one month old, I’ll definitely go back for another couple of days. After all, he’ll be my first nephew and the eldest in the family’s new generation.”Isabella thought for a moment and said, “If it’s just two or three d
Austin knew she said that because she was afraid he would not agree, but how could he not? Rather, he wished for it.“Alright. If you don’t mind, I’ll eat with you from now on. Ms. Isabella, please go ahead and eat. I’ll quickly prepare some fruits for dessert.”Isabella glanced at him but said nothing and left.In the past, unless it was a social engagement, she would rarely have dessert.Usually, after finishing her meal, she would hurry back to her lounge to catch some rest, never bothering with fruits.Isabella realized belatedly that Austin had subtly influenced some of her small habits into changing.These small changes allowed her a bit more time to rest, which in turn improved her health.Soon, Austin came out.He had sliced some of the fruits and arranged them into the shape of a phoenix spreading its wings, while the smaller fruits were left whole to serve as the finishing touches.“In just this short time, you actually managed to create a phoenix,” Isabella praised.
“Isa has a networking event tonight, so she’ll be working overtime. You should bring her dinner.”“Sure.” Austin was here precisely to do that.Tati entered the elevator. When she turned around, she saw that Austin had already walked off.Tati chuckled to herself, “When will it be my turn to meet a good man who only has eyes for me?”Isabella had Austin now. Even though they had not officially started dating, they were clearly interested in each other. In the near future, they would definitely become a couple, and if both sides’ parents had no objection to it, they would eventually be a loving husband and wife.Though, at the thought of her family circumstances, Tati was still a little worried that Isabella and Austin might not get to that point.Isabella could not move far away after getting married as she still had to manage the family business. Her husband and her in-laws had to be understanding and tolerant of the fact that she would be very, very busy.They had all heard th
Isabella wanted to say something but ultimately decided against it. Tati had a point. She could push the boys too hard. They were still young, and they deserved a carefree and happy childhood. She had already put too much pressure on Louis and Phillip. “Austin accompanies the boys when he’s free. I think he’s great with kids. Maybe he has experience from babysitting in his family.”The York family had nine sons in their youngest generation and no daughters. Austin was the sixth in line with three younger brothers. Rowan was the youngest and still a minor. Thinking about it, he must have been raised by all his older cousins and brothers. No one understood how much pressure Rowan was under as he grew up. His older brothers were outstanding individuals. He would not have been that stressed if any of them were mediocre. He kept chasing after his brothers’ footsteps. He did not know when he could ever catch up to River and Austin. He would have to live with that pressure fo
“Isa, do you know many hotels and restaurants are waiting for you to switch Austin out? That way, they can snatch him away and make him their star chef.”With Austin’s culinary skills, he could be the head chef at any hotel.Isabella smiled. She said, “It depends on how much they can offer him. He already has his own hotels and restaurants. He’s already successful in the F&B industry.“How can they possibly hire him to be their chef? That’s unless Austin buys their hotel.“Besides, I haven’t gotten bored of Austin’s food. They’ll have to wait. “You can make a bet on whether Austin can last a full year as my private chef. I think you might win, but there’s always the possibility of losing.”There would always be wins and losses in a bet. Tati smiled. “Some people already made their bets. However, they betted on whether Austin could last for three months first. I guess those who put their money on him leaving before three months are up will lose.“For the second round, they’re