“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
Hank said with a solemn expression, “Sonny is my son and will always be my son. If Liberty won’t let me see him, I can go to court with her again to fight for his custody.” Jessica could not let Hank fight for Sonny’s custody. She immediately comforted him, “You’re an Uber driver now without a regular income. We’re having our wedding soon and will go on a honeymoon after that, so it won’t be wise for you to fight for his custody.” She only wanted to use Sonny and not take care of him. Jessica would still have a child in the future. If they were to take Sonny with them, Hank’s love would be split between them. “Liberty closed her store early today to go to her sister’s place. Let’s go to her diner earlier tomorrow and pick up Sonny to try on his suit. It doesn’t matter if we do it tomorrow.” Hank said angrily, “If not for Liberty, we wouldn’t have lost our jobs. After Liberty took a share of my property worth more than a million dollars, I thought we could earn the money back
Jessica was not able to complete the task given to her by the unknown woman. She was worried that the other party would act on her family again, so she wanted Hank to send her home. Her family was also in the countryside. Hank was not too fond of visiting his mother-in-law. Every time he went, his mother-in-law would say that she was feeling unwell and that she lacked some things at home. Whenever he heard her, he would give her some money as he felt sorry for her. Although he did not give much, this happened every time he visited. He felt uncomfortable about it as if his mother-in-law was taking him as an ATM. Luckily, Jessica truly liked Hank and wanted to spend her life with him. When his mother-in-law demanded a high amount for bride price, Jessica stood by his side and went ahead to get their marriage license behind her parents’ backs. There was nothing his mother-in-law could do. In the end, the bride price was reduced to tens of thousands of dollars. Even so, it was
“You can drink it now. It’ll turn cold if left aside for longer.”Isabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. “I’m drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what I’m doing and saying.“I’ve had enough ginger ale.”She did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. “Which family is your fiancée from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?”Isabella was insistent on getting answers. Austin had never told her when she had asked him about it before. He kept saying he would focus on working and that he was not in a rush to get married. After all, he was only in his twenties; Zachary only got married at thirty years old. If he was unsuccessful in wooing his fiancée that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austin’s fiancée, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austin’s fiancée had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabella’s eyes. He could detect some feelings in her gaze, but it was not obvious enough. What she felt for him was still mostly admiration. It was not the right time for him to confess yet. He would continue to wait. “You’re the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.”Austin added gently, “You give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but you’re always a nice person in my eyes.”Isabella had treated him well ever since he became her private chef. It only got better after she discovered he was a young master of the Yorks. Austin believed her when she said she viewed him as a friend because her actions reflected it as well. However, he was not content with being just friends. He wanted to be her husband. He wanted her to trust him and love him forever. He would also reciprocate her feelings and trust. Isabella smiled. “Even my parents are scared and avoid me when I’m in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, “Don’t worry, Ms. Edith. I’ll take good care of Ms. Isabella.”Edith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousin’s words was not lost on Isabella, but she did not comment on it.She allowed Austin to accompany her into the house. The lights were still on inside, but the first floor was empty. Everyone else had already gone to bed.Since Isabella had not returned yet, the housekeeper had left the lights on for her.The house was warm, so once inside, Isabella took off Austin’s coat and handed it back to him.Austin accepted the coat and followed her to the sofa. After she had sat down, he asked gently, “Ms. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?”Isabella rubbed her temples and said, “Yes, please. I don’t want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.”Austin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austin’s
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w