The York family bodyguards blocked them from entering the ward.“We heard that Liberty woke up and came to see her,” Olivia said to the bodyguard with a smile.Serenity did not tell Hank that Liberty woke up.However, the kidnapping was too high-profile, and there were too many people involved. News about the incident instantly went viral, so everyone in Wiltspoon knew about it.Naturally, everyone also paid attention to Liberty’s injury.The media found out that her life was no longer in danger and she was released from the ICU.Countless people were moved by her maternal love and prayed for her, hoping that she would recover. The media reported her overcoming the critical period, which was how the Brown family found out.“As our missus said, Ms. Hunt still needs to recuperate. There shouldn’t be noise disturbing her. It’s enough that you know her life is no longer in danger. There’s no need to go in and disturb her.”The one who spoke was Jim.Chelsea said loudly, “We’re jus
“Serenity, this is a little gift from me. Keep it for your sister. When people visit someone at the hospital, it’s customary to bring a gift.” Chelsea brought up the social custom.She insisted that Liberty accept the gift card.Olivia also gave Liberty a gift card.Serenity refused, and in the end, the mother and daughter shoved the gift cards to Sonny and let him hold them. Then, they quickly ran away.Mr. Brown ran along with them, not letting Serenity return the gift cards.Only Hank stood there, watching Liberty awkwardly.Serenity wanted to let Hank take the gift cards away, but Sonny refused to let go. He clung tightly to the cards and said, “Grandmom and Aunt Chelsea gave these to me!”Serenity said gently, “Sonny, you have to return these gift cards to them. We don’t want their money.”“Grandmom and Aunt Chelsea gave them to me!”Sonny refused resolutely. His grandmother and aunt gave him gift cards in the past, but his mother would always exchange them for cash and p
“Thank you,” Camryn said to Serenity.“Serenity,” Callum greeted.Serenity hummed and helped Camryn sit down in a chair.Callum placed the fruit basket and bouquet on the bedside table and said warmly, “Liberty, these are from Ms. Newman. We wish you a speedy recovery.”Liberty thanked them.She did not know Camryn well, but she knew that her sister and Camryn got along with each other. Her sister told her that Camryn was the wife chosen for Callum by his grandmother. Judging by Callum’s attitude toward Camryn, he had accepted his grandmother’s arrangement.“Liberty.”Camryn faced Liberty.“I’m sorry.”She apologized.“Why are you apologizing to me, Ms. Newman?” Liberty’s voice was a little weak. After the anesthesia wore off, her wounds and the surgery incisions hurt so much that her face was pale. She could not even raise her voice to speak louder.Camryn said guiltily, “This all started because of me. In order to save me, Serenity lent me a hand, which was why my mother h
After a moment of silence, Camryn said, “It’ll trouble Mr. Callum.”“You don’t have to call him Mr. Callum. That sounds so distant. Just call him Callum. We’re friends, and he’s my brother-in-law. You two have known each other for a while now, so you’re considered friends too.”Callum cast a grateful look at his sister-in-law.Camryn just smiled and did not answer.Liberty still needed to rest, so Camryn could not stay too long.After Audrey and Elisa arrived, Camryn and Callum left together.“Seren, you take Sonny and Zachary back for lunch and rest at home in the afternoon. Elisa and I will stay here to watch over your sister, then you two can come back at night to take over.”Audrey wanted to watch over Liberty at night too, but she could not win against Serenity.She understood where Serenity was coming from.Her children were also worried that she could not hold on in her old age.Serenity looked at her sister.“Listen to Aunt Audrey, Seren.”Liberty said gently, “My h
Serenity felt that it was her fault for not being by her sister’s side because of the argument she had with him. How would she feel if she found out that her fertility was being talked about online too?“Okay, let’s go back to the manor. Nana said that Sonny was frightened too badly and should be looked at by a psychic. My mom said I was often looked at by psychics when I was a kid too.”After getting in the car, Zachary said, “I don’t know when Nana started being so superstitious. That psychic also looked into our fate and said that we were destined to be husband and wife. That’s why Nana tried her best to get us together.”Serenity was speechless. “That was the reason? I thought it was because Nana liked my character, but it turns out I was wrong—it was a psychic who brought us together.”Zachary held Sonny’s hand in one hand and grabbed hers with the other. “This psychic is pretty good.”He was right to say that Zachary and Serenity were destined to be husband and wife.They w
In the meantime, after leaving the hospital, Callum did not send Camryn back to Spring Blossoms but went to Wiltspoon Hotel instead. He said, “I accompanied you to the hospital, so lunch is your treat.”Camryn, who was thinking about something else, was instantly speechless.He always made her buy him meals!She looked at Callum and asked calmly, “Where do you want to eat?”“I think...”His cell phone rang before he could finish, interrupting what he was about to say.There was no caller ID saved to the number, but he recognized it. It was from Mr. Newman.“Your uncle is calling,” Callum said to Camryn.Camryn frowned and then said calmly, “I think he’s anxious and wants you to help.”Mr. Newman was indeed feeling uneasy. He was also fearful.His wife and he were tied to the same boat. Although most of it was obviously his wife’s doing, he could not escape being scrutinized and investigated. He would not be able to get away if the police investigated deeper.His wife and he
Callum spoke to Camryn. He swiped the answer icon before Camryn could respond and shoved the phone to her.“Hurry up and take the phone unless you want us to die together in an accident.”Camryn had no choice but to take the phone from him.Mr. Newman called out pleasingly from the phone, “Mr. Callum, are you free? I’d like to treat you to lunch.”Camryn brought the phone to her ear. When she heard her stepfather’s question, she said softly, “Mr. Callum is driving now, Uncle. He can’t answer the phone.”“Camryn? You’re with Mr. Callum? Okay, tell him that I’d like to invite him to lunch and ask if he’s available. You can come with him too.” Mr. Newman’s tone was gentle when he heard his niece’s voice and realized that she was with Callum.“Mr. Callum, my uncle said he wants to invite you to lunch. He asked if you’re available.”“Sure, I am. We’re going to lunch right now, aren’t we? Tell Mr. Newman that we’ll wait for him at Wiltspoon Hotel. Tell him to come quickly.”He could
Camryn held back her anger and said, “I don’t know what you look like, Mr. Callum. How could I dislike you for being ugly?“Marriage is an important event, Mr. Callum. We’re not playing house. We’re just friends at best and not even a couple. How can you talk about marriage?”Callum did not answer immediately. Just when Camryn thought that she persuaded him, he said gently, “You don’t have to be a couple to get married. Zachary saw Serenity for the first time when they got their marriage license, and they’re doing great now. They’re so sweet to each other that I’m envious.”Camryn was speechless.Zachary got married to Serenity all of a sudden, but were all the men of the York family going to follow in his footsteps?Or did they want to learn from Zachary because they were too busy and could not be bothered to date?Callum said, “If you want to be a couple first, that’s easy. I’ll be your boyfriend. We’re a couple now.”Camryn was speechless. “Don’t you have to ask for my permis
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