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
“Your parents treat me as a dupe. Do they think I’m rich? I’m just an Uber driver now!” Hank said to Jessica. He had been in a bad mood since Liberty hung up on him. As such, he took it out on the Yateses. Jessica agreed that her parents were covertly asking for money. Her mom used to do the same when she went home to visit in the past. In any case, Jessica had always given half of her salary to her family. No matter what her mom said after that, she did not give more. Over time, her mom stopped trying. Even so, Jessica could not stand Hank complaining about her family. As bad as they were, they were her parents, her brothers, and her sisters-in-law. “Don’t complain about my parents. They’re my parents, and it was hard for them to raise me. Now that you’ve married me, you’re their son-in-law. A son-in-law is like half a son. What’s wrong with giving them some money for them to see the doctor? “Have your parents not asked you for money before? Also, your outrageous sister is
Jessica could not help but squat on the ground. She covered her face and cried. After crying for a while, she stood up and took out a piece of tissue to wipe away her tears and snot. She then walked forward. Divorce? She would not divorce for the time being. If she did, what would she do if she could not complete the task given to her by the unknown woman? What would happen to her family? Besides, Jessica had snatched Hank from someone else. If she simply separated from him, she would be laughed at for getting what she deserved. Jessica gritted her teeth and told herself that she could not bow down or retreat. She must teach the Browns a lesson. She definitely would not follow in Liberty’s footsteps! Liberty was clueless about the conflict between Hank and Jessica. She had only hung up rudely because she did not like the tone of Hank’s speech. She did not want to care about her ex-husband anymore. If he truly wanted to buy clothes for Sonny, he should be able to buy
“Mr. Lewis?” With Duncan staring at Liberty without blinking, Liberty skeptically called him back to earth. Snapping out of his thoughts, Duncan said with a smile, “I guess I see you every day, so I don’t see the difference. I’m only realizing now that you’ve lost a lot of weight. You look good. You can give Lily a run for her money.” Duncan was stunned by what came out of his mouth. Why was he comparing Liberty to Lily? Liberty answered with a grin, “Thanks for the compliment, but I’m just an ordinary girl. Ms. Harmon is beautiful.” “Liberty, Lily is… the daughter of my mom’s best friend. She’s staying with me for the time being as she’s here on business. My mom loves her like a daughter. You know, we only have boys in my family. My mom doesn’t have a daughter, so she really likes girls. It’s like how Grandma May looks forward to having a great-granddaughter. That’s how much my mom likes girls too. They’re the same.“Lily is a little younger than me. We met before when w
Duncan was speechless. “Do you really think Lily and I are suited for each other? Don’t you think she’s out for my position and wealth?”“Lily’s family has a huge business. She’s the vice president of her family’s company, so I doubt she’s after your money. You have status, but so does she. It’s hard to believe that she’s out for your position and wealth. You two together will only be a union of power and wealth.” Liberty gave Duncan a look like he was out of his mind. That question was a bolt out of the blue. Mrs. Lewis was such a proud lady with high standards. The girl Mrs. Lewis picked for Duncan must be beyond amazing. “I mean, I might be the better pick out of all the men Lily knows. That’s why she wants to get together with me. It’s not that she likes me. I don’t believe she isn’t scared or disgusted by the scar on my face.”While fixating on his face, Liberty answered with a smile, “Once you fall in love with Ms. Harmon, you’ll wobble your way to get cosmetic surgery
Zachary’s personal car drove into the villa. He could hear Sonny’s crying before even getting out of the car. Once the car was packed, Zachary got out and took large strides to Serenity. Serenity and her sister were trying to settle Sonny down. Seeing that Zachary was back, Serenity said to Sonny, “Sonny, your uncle is here. Your uncle is the best. He can help fix your bike.” Tinkling with the bicycle, Duncan jumped in. “It’s okay, Sonny. I can fix your bike. No need to trouble your uncle.” It was a tiny issue from the bike being overturned. It was an easy repair. As Zachary drew close, Sonny put his hands out to his uncle. With Zachary holding him, he cried and asked, “Uncle Zack, my bicycle is broken. Can you fix it?” Zachary gestured for Serenity to bring him a tissue. Serenity grabbed a tissue and handed it to him. Zachary wiped away Sonny’s tears and tenderly uttered, “Dunc is repairing your bike right now. Don’t worry, your bicycle will be okay. It’s just a small
“You can ride the bicycle better if you pick up the art of self-defense. Do you want to learn to fight?”“I do.” Zachary carried Sonny to a man in black who was standing not too far away. As he was walking, Zachary said, “Sonny, I got you an instructor to teach you to fight. You must listen to him and work hard.” Everybody turned their attention to the stranger. Serenity said to her sister, “Zachary mentioned he’ll get someone to teach Sonny to fight for himself. He can train and learn to protect himself.” “That’s kind of Zachary.” Liberty was grateful. Her brother-in-law did bring it up after what happened at the zoo. Liberty believed boys should pick up a skill for self-defense. Duncan jumped in. “You could’ve told me that Sonny wants to learn to fight. I can teach him.” “Mr. Lewis, you’re busy with work. I wouldn’t want to bother you.” Liberty thought to herself, ‘It must cost a lot to hire Duncan to be my son’s instructor. Sure, I have made some money now, but
The security guard brought out a basket and handed it to Dylan.Dylan took the basket and poured the bag of chili peppers into it. Next, following the live broadcast team’s instructions, he walked in front of the camera and said, “Last year, I unintentionally hurt Imogen’s pride. It was my fault, and I apologize to her.“Imogen doesn’t have time to deal with me, but Ms. Layla Doyle said that as long as I eat chili peppers on this livestream, she’ll allow me to come here every day to wait for Imogen. I’m afraid of spicy food and usually don’t eat anything spicy at all.“But for the sake of seeing Imogen and having a chance to get her forgiveness, I’m willing to accept Ms. Layla’s challenge and eat these chili peppers.”The live broadcast team was at a loss for words.Layla had not prepared a script for Dylan, but he went ahead and explained the backstory. Was that okay?Someone secretly messaged Layla to ask for her opinion. Her reply was to allow Dylan to say whatever he wanted a
Isabella had invited him to sit at the dining table and eat with them, but Austin refused. He said he was the chef, so he could just have his breakfast in the kitchen.He always remembered his position as Isabella's personal chef and did not let the fact that the others saw him in a more favorable light now go to his head and cross the line. His adherence to his principles and awareness of his position only made Isabella respect him more.Though he was one of the extremely affluent Yorks, after accepting the job as her private chef, he completely discarded his identity as a rich heir and earnestly took on the role of her personal chef.By the time Austin finished his breakfast, Isabella and the two young boys had also finished eating. He came out to clear the table.Phillip slid off his chair and said to Louis, “Isa’s passing by my preschool today. She said she’ll take me there.”He was showing off. Sure enough, Louis looked enviously at his sister. Isabella did not even glance
Austin placed the two breakfast portions on the dining table and then walked over to Isabella, who was still reading the newspaper. “Ms. Isabella, breakfast is ready.”“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Louis’s voice came from the stairs. Then, they saw him quickly running down the stairs with his schoolbag in one hand.“Louis!” Isabella called out.Louis immediately stopped, then picked up his schoolbag to carry it on his back before slowly descending the stairs step-by-step, no longer daring to run.The two boys really did have very similar personalities.“Good morning, Isa. Good morning, Austin.”Louis walked over to Isabella’s side and respectfully greeted them.“If I ever see you running down the stairs again, I’ll punish you by making you miss a week of eating Austin’s meals.”“Isa, a week is too long!” Louis instinctively tried to negotiate.“You still dare to bargain with me, huh? That shows you don’t want to change. In that case, I’ll make it a whole month.”Louis was speec
“Isa, Austin promised me that he would make cartoon-shaped snacks for us this Saturday. You won’t mind, right? I’ve already told my classmates, and they’re all coming to our house!”The little boy was also concerned about his image. He was afraid his serious eldest cousin would refuse, and if that happened, he would be so embarrassed. After all, after Austin promised him, the other kids at preschool treated him so well. They all wanted to try the cartoon-shaped snacks Austin made. However, since Austin was Isabella’s private chef, if Isabella did not agree, there would be nothing even Austin could do about it.Isabella lightly pinched Phillip’s cheek. “Since Austin’s promised, he’ll keep his word. I’ll be resting at home this weekend and won’t stop you, but don’t make a racket here. Go do it at your own house. I need to rest.”“Thanks, Isa! I’ll tell my friends not to disturb your rest. Isa, has Louis not woken up yet?”With Isa’s promise, Phillip’s little face lit up with a smil
Upon hearing that Phillip might be coming, Louis moved much faster.Isabella did not wait for her brother. She said, “Head downstairs by yourself later, and make sure to check your schoolbag to see if you’ve packed your books and water bottle.”She would not help her brother check those things. Every day, she made sure her brother checked everything himself because it was his responsibility. If their parents or employees tried to help, she would scold them.Now, their parents no longer dared to help Louis with things he could do himself. They let her take charge of him. Her parents had Louis when they were in their forties, and he was their only son. If they were the ones raising him, Isabella was sure her brother would have been spoiled beyond reason.“I know, Isa,” Louis replied, already starting to brush his teeth.After leaving her brother’s room, Isabella headed downstairs. As soon as she reached the first floor, she saw Phillip running in with his little schoolbag on his
Isabella patiently said, “No, you can’t. If you sleep for ten more minutes, time will be too tight, and we’ll hit the worst of rush hour when everyone’s heading to school or work. There’ll be too much traffic and you’ll be late. You mustn’t be late.” If her brother was constantly late, he would get used to it and start liking to sleep in. Isabella would not let him develop such a bad habit.“Isa, I won’t be late. Every day when I arrive at school, there are still plenty of classmates who haven’t arrived. I can just tell the driver to speed up.”“Absolutely not! It’s not safe to drive too fast. It doesn’t matter if the other students are late, but you can’t be late. Get up now, or I’m going to get angry.”Louis pouted.Amused, Isabella pinched his lips, saying, “Come on, get up. In two more days, it will be the weekend, and you’ll get another two days off.”“This holiday was too short.”Under his sister’s urging, Louis reluctantly sat up. “It feels like we just got let out for w
The O'Connor family, due to a predominance of daughters rather than sons, was extremely cautious about their sons-in-law.Even though they did not have a son-in-law yet, it was clear from the way Isabella’s uncles were not allowed to interfere in the family business that they were worried about a son-in-law taking control of the O'Connor family’s wealth.Even Isabella’s aunts were forbidden from involving themselves in the family business. This was to protect their love-obsessed selves from being easily manipulated or influenced by their in-laws.At twenty-seven, Isabella had not even considered dating, as she knew once she had a partner, her elders would put their guard up against her and her partner.It was not just the elders who would be cautious, Isabella herself would be wary of her own husband.Too many men had used their wives’ family wealth to rise to power, only to later swap their wives out for younger and more beautiful women. Some even swallowed the entire family fort
“If the woman’s side minds her moving so far away and wants us to go to her family, except for Zack, who can’t move because he’s the head of the family, the elders in our family don’t really care. As long as we’re happy, they’re fine with it.”They had the powerful York Corporation backing them, and each of them was highly capable. Even if one of them married into another family, they would not be bullied by the woman’s family. If the woman wanted to push them around, she would have to think twice, with the York family’s influence behind them.However, so far, none of his brothers had done so.Austin thought to himself that he might just set a precedent.Isabella now bore a heavy burden. Her brother was too young, and it would take at least a decade before he could take over. Isabella would have to manage the family business for many more years.Isabella’s eyes sparkled. “Your family’s so open-minded. With your family’s wealth and standing, there’s really no need for you guys to l
“Zack is much more at ease now, but honestly, the person who was the biggest help to him wasn’t any of us—it was Josh. He and Zack are really good friends, and after graduation, Zack brought him into York Corporation.“He’s Zack’s right-hand man, and he’s really impressive.“Zack is incredibly efficient too. Back then, no one in the company could keep up with his work speed. He slowed down a bit after marrying my sister-in-law and starting a family. Now, he likes to stick close to her, and he’s not as crazy about work as he used to be.“He also goes to fewer networking events now. He used to attend these events and work late into the night, but now he’s home before ten at night. No one can stop him.“Those CEOs who work with our family know this too. If they have a business to discuss with him, they try to get it done during the day. They don’t want to drag it into the night.”Isabella laughed softly, her eyes showing a hint of envy. “Before, I didn’t know you were a York. But aft