It was only the mother and son when they entered the CEO’s elevator, so Mrs. Lewis spoke impolitely.She snapped, “You don’t have to marry Lily. I’ll find you another lady who’s a good match for you. In short, you can only marry a noble lady. You can’t marry Liberty!“I’m serious, Duncan. I’m not joking. Unless hell freezes over, I’ll never agree to you being with Liberty.”Duncan did not get angry at his mother’s stubbornness and said, “Mom, did you come here just to say all that to me again? I think there’s no need for us to talk about this.“You don’t have to care about my business or my marriage. If you want me to give up on Liberty, bring Granny back to life. If Granny also doesn’t approve of me being with Liberty, then I’ll give up on her.”Mrs. Lewis was so angry that she yelled, “Your granny passed away many years ago. If she could come back from the dead, she would definitely scold your ear off. In fact, your granny might actually rise from her grave if you get together w
[There are perks to being single. Cheer up.]Josh comforted his friend.When there was no woman he liked, Duncan also thought that it was good to be single.Now that there was someone he liked, he wanted to be like Josh. He wanted to end his status as a bachelor soon.In the future, he wanted someone to care for him and give him warmth when he came home after work.Liberty would definitely be a good wife!Hank did not know how to cherish her, but if Duncan got together with Liberty, he would certainly treasure her.“Who’s sending you messages, Duncan? Is it Zachary? Duncan, Zachary still feels a sense of novelty with Serenity, so he’ll side with his wife and sister-in-law. You should keep your distance from him until you marry Lily.”Mrs. Lewis was confident that Zachary would stand on his sister-in-law’s side.Josh’s fiancée was Serenity’s best friend. The Sox family was not bad; they were locals of Wiltspoon and owned several buildings and streets of stores for rent. Jasmine
Ring, ring, ring…Duncan’s phone rang. It was Zachary who called. Duncan immediately answered it. “Josh is inviting us to dinner tonight.” Duncan beat Zachary to it as he assumed Zachary was going to ask if he was free. The three of them were the closest of friends. Since Josh was no longer a bachelor and invited them to dinner, Duncan would go even if he was busy. “I know, he sent me a message long ago.” Zachary held his phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He called Duncan while he was drinking coffee. “My wife saw through you.” “Saw through me?” Duncan did not get it at first. He soon understood and responded, “She saw through me? That’s good. I was wondering how I can say it.” Initially, Duncan wanted to act on his feelings after realizing them. It was Zachary who persuaded him to hold back. Zachary told Duncan that it was inappropriate to tell Liberty about his feelings at the moment because she was injured and still weak. He asked Dunca
Zachary went back to work. His wife would pick him up from the office in the afternoon, and they would go and celebrate Josh and Jasmine’s marriage together. Zachary could dive right back into his work, but Duncan could not focus on his. Duncan’s mom asked him right after Zachary ended the call, “Duncan, what did Zachary tell you?” “Mom, do I need to tell you the content of my calls? You didn’t even take me seriously when I was a child. Now that I’m in my thirties, you’re here to control me. Don’t you think it’s too late?” Mrs. Lewis choked. “Mom, you’ve finished what you wanted to say. I have to get back to work.” Duncan wanted his mom to leave. Mrs. Lewis said after a moment of silence, “Since Josh is treating you to dinner tonight, take Lily with you and let her slowly integrate into your circle of friends.” “No!” Duncan directly refused. Mrs. Lewis asked, “Do you hate Lily that much? What about her that is inferior to Liberty? She’s better than Liberty—be it h
If Old Mrs. Lewis were alive, she would not stop Duncan from pursuing Liberty. In Duncan’s words, his granny only wanted him to be happy. If he truly loved Liberty, his granny would definitely support him to pursue Liberty. “Ms. Harmon, you don’t have fantasies about me still, do you?” Lily responded, There’s no such thing. I now know what kind of person you are, Duncan. Since you don’t love me, why should I harbor fantasies about you? You’re not the only outstanding man in this world. “Why should I cling to you when you don’t belong to me? Wouldn’t it be good for me to find someone else? I can also find more than one man. “Alright, then I’ll stop acting too. I’ll have dinner with Mrs. Lewis later and make things clear, then I’ll move out of your house and live in Wiltspoon Hotel. We might not end up as a couple, but we can still be friends.” Lily was well-intentioned. Even so, Duncan was also reasonable. It would be better for Lily to make things clear to Mrs. Lewis an
“Thanks for your concern, Mr. Charles. My sister is doing much better now and is recovering quite well,” Serenity replied. “That’s good, that’s good.” Mr. Charles ate some of the vegetables in his bowl again. “Serenity, I’ll tell you something. Can you give me some advice and tell me if it’s reliable or not? I told Mrs. Charles, and she scolded me.” Serenity chuckled and said, “Mr. Charles, go ahead. What is it? I’ll listen to it and give you some advice.” “You know I can tell fortunes, right? But I didn’t learn it from a teacher and somehow learned from others to get into it. I also read some books and figured it out myself.” Mr. Charles stopped eating and said softly, “But I think I can now set up a fortune-telling stall by the road or in the park. I’ll just do it during my free time so I can get some extra money for my family, though I still have to tend to our grocery store. “It’s just that as our children and elders grow older, middle-aged people like us are under mo
Serenity visited her sister in the hospital first. When she arrived at the hospital, Liberty and Sonny had finished their dinner. “Aunt Ser.” Sonny was delighted to see Serenity. He ran to her asking her to carry him. Serenity picked him up and saw her sister getting ready to wash the insulated lunch boxes. She quickly said, “Liberty, I’ll wash them.” “You don’t need to. I’m also bored now, so I’m just looking for things to do.” Otherwise, Liberty would have let Mrs. Lane wash the lunch boxes long ago. “You closed the bookstore pretty early today.” Serenity stood at the bathroom door with her nephew in her arms. While watching her sister wash the lunch boxes with hot water, she responded, “Jasmine is treating us to dinner. Sonny, you’re full from dinner already. I was going to take you to dinner.” Liberty chuckled and said, “I’m being raised like a pig now. I eat, sleep, and repeat every day. Moreover, the food brought by Sam every day is delicious. If I keep going at t
Everyone imagined Zachary coming to work with a baby in his arms. They could not help but shiver and did not dare imagine it! The senior managers who were talking to Serenity said with a smile, “Mrs. York, Mr. York is here. We’ll be leaving first.” They did not want to be third wheels. Serenity grinned and nodded. After the senior managers left, she walked over to the man and the kid with a smile. “Zachary, you have to hold him tight.” Some people did not hold their children tight when lifting or spinning them, causing them to fall on the ground. The consequences would be serious. Zachary stopped lifting and spinning Sonny in the air. He lowered Sonny and carried him instead as he responded with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll hold him tight. I won’t let him fall no matter what.“Sonny, am I good?” Sonny answered, “Uncle Zak, you’re good—very good.” The little guy thought, ‘As long as you stop calling me a third wheel, you’ll be even better.’ Sonny finished talking and
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
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa