Liberty sat on the bed. She no longer needed to be hooked on IV drips all day, with only two bags every morning. When the IV therapy finished around noon, she was free to walk around.However, her injured hand had not regained her usual strength. She could not even hold her son.She was a little worried that it would affect her business in the future.The doctor said that she would recover fully as long as she recuperated well, so she was relieved.“Jasmine and I have been friends for many years. Of course, I’ll attend her engagement party.”Serenity peeled the apple and sliced it into four. She handed one to her sister, one to Sonny, and the remaining two to Mrs. Lane and the other maid.“You go ahead, Missus.”Mrs. Lane declined the apple.Serenity smiled and said, “Take it, Mrs. Lane. I don’t really like apples.”Liberty chimed in, “It’s true, Mrs. Lane. Seren doesn’t like to eat apples. If you don’t eat them, they’ll just end up getting tossed out.”At the sisters’ words,
After Zachary talked to Duncan, Duncan did not dare visit Liberty on a daily basis. He only visited her twice that week. The first time was the night he had a heart-to-heart talk with Zachary. The second time was that day itself. “Mr. Lewis, Ms. Harmon.”Liberty got up in a hurry when she saw them enter. Duncan put the fruit basket down and handed the bouquet to Liberty. He gazed at her gently and said, “These flowers are for you, Liberty.”“Thank you, Mr. Lewis. You’re too kind.”Liberty accepted the flowers and thanked Duncan. She had been receiving many fruit baskets and bouquets every day. She was a person of minor importance, but she was still the biological sister of Mrs. York and Mrs. Stone’s niece. Therefore, she received many visitors every day. Duncan smiled. His gaze lingered on Liberty for a long time before saying worriedly, “Did the doctor say when you can be discharged?”“I can only leave the hospital after another week.”Duncan nodded. Lily also asked
Hank could not even enter the room even though he had come. However, laughter could be heard coming from the room when Duncan was inside. The stark contrast made Hank disappointed. “Hank,” Mrs. Brown said in dissatisfaction. “Mr. Lewis is in Liberty’s room, Hank!” Chelsea glared at her brother and reminded him. “That’s their freedom. What does it have to do with us? Let’s go.”After speaking, Hank left his parents and sister and walked away. He did not even pass the flowers he bought to the bodyguard to be brought inside. Instead, he threw the bouquet away in a nearby trash can. “Hank, Hank.”Mrs. Brown went after him. She glanced at the flowers when she passed by. Ah, the flowers were worth hundreds of dollars. It was wasted just like that by her wasteful son. Mr. Brown sighed and left as well. Only Chelsea remained at the ward’s door. She said to the York family’s bodyguards, “I won’t disturb Liberty as she has to entertain her guests. I’ll visit her after the g
Lily held her cup and took a sip of coffee elegantly. After that, she smiled at Duncan and said, “You’re such an honest person. Your words do hurt my pride.“Can you tell me why you fell in love with Liberty? She’s divorced and has a three-year-old son. She isn’t even on equal social status as you. I just wish to know how I lost so I can overcome my shortcomings…”“To be honest, I have no idea either. I didn’t even know I had romantic feelings for Liberty. I only realized I had unconsciously developed those feelings after the panic, fear, and heartache I felt after she got hurt.“I don’t care that she’s divorced. I don’t mind that she has a son too. I like Sonny. As for social status… I don’t care about it. However, I won’t confess for now to not make her feel pressured. I’m willing to wait for her for two to three years and confess to her after her career takes off.”Duncan thought he would have higher chances of succeeding if he confessed to Liberty after her business flourished.
Duncan stared at Lily in silence. After some time, he said calmly, “This is your decision, Ms. Harmon. You can do as you wish, but I won’t reciprocate or accept your feelings just because of this.”He knew that Lily’s feelings for him had not extended to one of love. Therefore, she could remain alert and rational when facing his reply. She even accepted the fact that she lost to Liberty calmly. However, he still made things clear beforehand. No matter what Lily did, Duncan would never accept her. He did not have a big heart. It was only enough for one person. The woman who entered his heart first would be kept there forever. Duncan would feel happy if he could marry the person he loved. If he could not marry her, he would not forget her and store his feelings for her in the depths of his heart. Lily smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Duncan. I won’t expect you to repay me or accept my feelings for this. We’re all adults. We have to face the consequences of all the decisions we
‘How did Serenity conquer such a cold, arrogant man?’ Chelsea criticized inwardly. She would not be able to bear spending time with a man like that. He was too cold!She did not dare look at Zachary anymore. Instead, she smiled and said to Serenity, “Serenity, can I have a few words with you in private?”Serenity asked Chelsea, “What is it that you can’t say right now?”Chelsea took a quick glance at Zachary, then Serenity. Indeed, Serenity was more pleasing to the eye. Chelsea used to treat Serenity meanly and instigate her brother to quarrel with Liberty. It was an indirect way of forcing Serenity to move out. Firstly, it was because she wanted to make space for her children. She had planned to send her children to the middle school in the city. Secondly, Chelsea was jealous of Serenity’s youth and beauty. Liberty was beautiful before she married too. However, she did not bother maintaining it and bloated up like a ball. Her beauty before her marriage was gone. Serenity was
Chelsea did not know what was good about Jessica that bewitched her brother. His son almost got into an accident because of Jessica. His ex-wife was injured too. However, he was still partial to Jessica. Chelsea was greatly dissatisfied with her brother. She felt guilty too.It would have been nice if her brother and Liberty were not divorced. Chelsea made mistakes in the past and was trying to correct them for her brother and Liberty to remarry. “Just be straightforward, Chelsea. There’s no need to beat around the bush. I don’t like talking to people who go in circles, wanting me to guess their thoughts.”Serenity could more or less guess Chelsea’s intentions from her expression. The Browns simply wanted Hank and her sister to remarry. It was ridiculous. What did they take her sister for to be at their beck and call?The Browns would never have regretted it if Hank had not been in a dire situation.“Serenity, I like your frankness. I’ll be honest. Is Mr. Lewis pursui
“Hank’s still thinking of begging for mercy for Jessica’s sake, and his heart is on Jessica. He might’ve felt regret, but he would never mourn divorcing my sister. My sister doesn’t regret divorcing him too. Chelsea, I advise you not to look for my sister or me for this matter anymore.”After speaking, Serenity did not give Chelsea a chance to talk and left her behind. She walked toward Zachary, who was waiting for her at the door of the ward, without turning her head back. Zachary could not hear their conversation. When he saw his beloved wife’s dark expression, he knew that the chat did not go well. “Seren, should we make her leave?”“Not this time,” Serenity replied. Then, she told the bodyguards, “If the Browns come again in the future, chase them away. Don’t let them see my sister or Sonny before my sister recovers.”After recovering, Liberty would continue running All You Can Eat and be back in business. She would not be able to keep the Browns out. That family was shamele
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