Serenity tilted her head to look at Zachary and asked him, “Did you guys discuss this long ago? Or did you already know the other party’s plot and deliberately used Sonny to lure them?” “We didn’t!” Zachary hurriedly denied it. “The Buchams only watched Mrs. Newman’s moves and noticed that she was unusual today. They informed me and Duncan, so we increased our efforts to protect Liberty and Sonny.” Zachary explained, “If they snatch Sonny away, we can surely save him. Only, we underestimated Liberty’s determination as a mother to protect her child. She ran so fast at that time and left our bodyguards behind. “They were only a few minutes slower, but she was already harmed.” Serenity looked down at Sonny, who was not even sleeping soundly. She said with red eyes, “Sonny was born to my sister and is her life. Not to mention she didn’t know you had people secretly protecting her and could help her save Sonny. But even if she knew, she would still chase after the bad guys out of
“Seren, how’s Liberty? It hasn’t been long since I followed Kevin on a business trip, and such a big thing has happened.” The person who called Serenity was Grandma May. She followed Kevin to Jensburg on a business trip and had only just received the news of Liberty’s misfortune. “Nana…” Serenity had just stopped crying but wanted to cry again when she heard Grandma May’s voice. She said in a sobbing tone, “Nana, my sister is injured.” “Seren, don’t cry and tell me how she is. I’m on my way back. Don’t worry, I’ll be there even if the sky falls.” When Grandma May heard that Liberty was injured, she could not be bothered about creating opportunities for Kevin and rushed back to Wiltspoon. Kevin’s work was almost finished, and he was worried about letting his nana go home by herself, hence he handed over the remaining work to someone else and returned to Wiltspoon with her. “The doctor said she’s out of the woods for now, but she has to stay in the ICU for a few days. She
“Sonny.” Zachary carried Sonny over. Sonny did not resist his embrace when he was awake. The person he trusted most at the moment besides his Aunt Ser was his Uncle Zak. “Sonny, don’t be scared. I’ve defeated the bad guys, the police have also taken them away, and the doctor saved your mom. Tomorrow or the day after at the latest, your mom will come out and open her eyes to call you.” Sonny looked seriously at Zachary and asked, “Uncle Zak, is what you say true?” “When have I ever lied to you, Sonny? It’s true.” Zachary carried Sonny and walked toward the bathroom. “Sonny, I’ll take you to wash your face and hands, okay?” Sonny nodded because he saw that his hands were dirty. With that, Zachary took Sonny into the bathroom to clean his face and hands before coming out again. His bodyguard happened to have returned with fast food. Serenity had no appetite to eat. She fed Sonny first, but he had also lost his appetite. Zachary advised them again, “Seren, Sonny, ho
Duncan looked worried. He retracted his gaze after a long time and reached out to carry Sonny out of Serenity’s arms, but Sonny did not want to be carried by him. Sonny turned his head and lay on Serenity’s shoulder. Duncan looked gloomy. He felt that even Sonny was blaming him for not protecting Liberty well. “Sonny is frightened and only clings to his Aunt Ser now,” Zachary explained. Duncan pursed his lips and responded, “It’s okay, I don’t blame him. Zachary, I’ll watch over Liberty here. You should take Serenity and Sonny back to rest for a while.” Zachary said after some thought, “Okay.” He persuaded Serenity and Sonny to go rest in the RV with him. He would come back to keep watch over his sister-in-law for the second half of the night. Zachary was at ease now that Duncan was here. Besides, his bodyguards were present as well. “Serenity, you can hold on, but Sonny is a child and won’t be able to do the same, so you should think for him. He’s the child your si
Knock, knock.There was a knock on the door. Mr. Brown went to open the door. As soon as the door opened, Chelsea crashed in and asked nervously, “Dad, how’s Liberty? Is Sonny fine? I rushed over right away after receiving your call.” Mr. Brown answered, “Sonny is fine. He was just very frightened and is only willing to follow his Aunt Ser now. As for Liberty… She’s still in the ICU. The doctor said she’ll be fine if she pulls through the next few days, but if she doesn’t… Ah, pfft, she’ll pull through. She’s a good person, and a good person will also be blessed.” “Yes, yes, yes, Liberty is a good person. She’ll definitely be fine—she’ll be fine.” Chelsea had been nice to Liberty and Serenity ever since Serenity saved her little son. She sincerely hoped that Liberty would get better. When she saw her brother, she pounced over and punched him a few times. She scolded, “Hank, you didn’t listen to us. Look what kind of a vicious woman you married! She made a mess of our famil
Duncan had no idea he cared so much about Liberty. He always thought that he liked Sonny and was nice to Liberty because of the little guy. After knowing that Liberty was stabbed a few times by the bad guy, Duncan was heartbroken, and it was difficult to describe the pain. As slow as he was, he came to understand that he had long developed feelings for Liberty. Why did he like her? He did not know either. No wonder his friends always saw him and Liberty as a pair; outsiders had a better perception.Duncan was not moved even when he faced the outstanding Lily. Instead, he wanted to run away. It was not that Lily was not good enough, but he had unknowingly had his heart set on Liberty. When Chelsea, her husband, and her parents arrived at the hospital, they saw Duncan keeping watch outside the ward. Duncan turned around when he heard footsteps. Seeing that it was Chelsea and her husband, his face turned gloomy, and he looked coldly at the Browns. “Why are you here?” Ch
“What’s wrong with me being here to watch over Liberty? How does it affect you? Who are you to Liberty? Is it your place to influence my decision? You don’t need to care about how Liberty is doing. It’s your family—your awesome sister-in-law—that caused her to be lying there now!” Duncan said to Chelsea.“Jessica is a spiteful woman. I never considered her as my sister-in-law, and I only recognize Liberty as that.” “Hah!” Duncan said sarcastically, “Have you forgotten what you did to Liberty back then, Mrs. Repton? Liberty needs rest, and your family isn’t welcome here, so please leave now!” Duncan gestured to the Yorks’ bodyguards to shoo Chelsea, her parents, and George. The Browns were the most bizarre and outrageous people he had ever met. Chelsea did not get to see Liberty. Duncan was standing in the doorway, so she did not even have a chance to get close. The York’s bodyguards came to shoo her, so her parents pulled her away. In Duncan’s words, Liberty was lying th
How Liberty had hoped that everything bad was a dream and that when she woke up, her parents were still around and their family of four was fine. Nobody knew how much she had endured. Her sister could cry on her when she was sad, but who could she cry on when she had a hard time? “Mom, I don’t want to go. I want to be with you and Dad.” Liberty shook her head in her mother’s arms, not wanting to leave her parents. Lisa pushed her away. “Lib, think about Seren and your son, Sonny. They need you and are waiting for you to go back. Listen to me and quickly return. This isn’t the place for you. Go now!” said Lisa as she pushed her daughter away again. Liberty thought of her sister and her son. Yes, she still had to raise her son, and her sister was still there. What would happen to Sonny if she stayed with her parents? Also, if Serenity found herself in occasional quarrels with Zachary and wanted to go back to her maiden home, nobody would be there. “Lib, go back,” Sc
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
Knowledge of Mr. Longbottom’s philandering was not restricted to Havenmill. Even people in Annenburg knew about it. He switched lovers as quickly as he changed clothes. Many of his mistresses accidentally got pregnant and thought they could replace Mrs. Longbottom because of their children. However, Mr. Longbottom was a heartless man outside of bed. While most of his mistresses had gotten pregnant, only those who were honest and without ambitions were allowed to give birth. Even if those women gave birth, the child would not bear the Longbottom surname and only take their mother’s surname. However, Mr. Longbottom would buy that mistress and her children a townhouse and hire two nannies to look after them. There would also be a sum of money deposited into their account monthly to provide for the child. On the other hand, most of Mr. Longbottom’s mistresses who were not allowed to give birth were ordered to get an abortion. If they refused, Mrs. Longbottom would intervene and f
Tati did not care what Manny would do. She had no feelings for him. Not only did she know he was ambitious, but he also wanted her family’s wealth. Only a few men deserved Tati’s praise in her entire life. Austin was one of them. Even so, she simply admired him and did not view him as a romantic partner. Tati could sense that Austin’s eyes were always on Isabella. It had nothing to do with him being her private chef. He was dedicated to Isabella. When Isabella and Tati were unaware of Austin’s true identity, they admired him a lot. Isabella even teased Tati about it. Later, they discovered he was a young master of the wealthiest family in Wiltspoon.His family background and qualifications made Austin worthy of being the partner of an elite daughter of the O’Connors. Although Isabella refused to admit it, Tati knew Austin would eventually be her brother-in-law. However, he probably had to sacrifice a lot to be with Isabella. After all, Isabella was the head of the
Once Manny left, Costa Corporation entrance resumed its peace. Manny had bought a villa in Satbury. He was determined to woo Tati and would not leave until he succeeded. Besides, he would be doing business in Satbury and needed a place to live. He did not want to stay at a hotel every day. The villa he bought was only a ten-minute drive away from Dunboy Manor. On his way back, he received a call from his momma asking about his situation in Satbury. After speaking about business, his momma said, “Don’t be like your dad, Manny. If you really like Ms. Tati, you should treat her well.“Your dad is too flirty. Marrying him was the unluckiest thing in my life. I had no choice. I’ve been his wife for decades and even gave birth to you all. He got me involved in too many things.“He forced me to be in the same boat as him. I’m forced to stick with him for your sake and our family’s benefit. However, if I could turn back time, I’d rather stay single than get married to your dad.“Y