Elisa sat on the bench. “That’s great. I can’t stand the provocation from seeing you people being lovey-dovey now. I feel jealous every time I see Serenity and Jasmine.”“Elisa, you don’t have to be envious of them. You’ll be as happy as they are in the future.”“Who can be certain about the future? However, if I were to be unhappy, I wouldn’t compromise. If my future husband doesn’t treat me well, I’ll divorce him and return to my family. My two brothers can support me for the rest of my life.”The confidence of a married woman came from her family’s support. Elisa felt that her family was very supportive. “That won’t happen. Your in-laws will be great people.”Remy felt the elders in his family were nice. No one would make things difficult for their daughter-in-law.“Let’s stop talking about me. Tell me. Who’s the lady on your mind? It must be someone from Wiltspoon, right? Did you buy a house here because of her?”Remy nodded and admitted it honestly. “Yes. I did it for
“Remy, allow me to consider this.”Neither did Elisa reject nor accept him immediately—she wanted to think about it. Remy said understandingly, “I know. You can take your time. I’m not in a rush. Even if you reject me, I’m willing to wait for the day you can accept me.”Elisa smiled. “I just find it too sudden.”“I was abrupt,” Remy said apologetically. He thought that since everyone could already sense his feelings for Elisa, it would not be suitable to keep delaying his confession. Since Elisa asked about it, he immediately confessed. He loved her, so he had to let her know his feelings for her. Not everyone could feel others’ love for them. Silence fell between them. After sitting for a while, Elisa stood up and said, “Let’s go back.”“Okay.”When they headed out, they chatted and laughed. However, both of them did not talk much on the way back. It was Elisa who did not wish to speak. After returning to the Stones’ house, Remy did not linger too long and retur
Elisa laughed. She said, “I’m only a nice girl to you guys. Others say I’m the wild daughter of a rich family. Those madames never considered having me as their daughter-in-law. They think they can’t control a daughter-in-law like me.”She would not be suppressed. Her family was strong. The usual wealthy families truly did not consider having Elisa as a daughter-in-law. Men of equal social standing to her were married or younger than her. She would never consider dating a younger man. “That’s because they have bad eyes and blindly follow other people’s opinions. They believed the rumors without trying to understand you. When Serenity and I first met you, we thought you were an honest, straightforward person.”Jasmine returned to the kitchen to prepare the juice. “Elisa, you’re really great. We’re not deceiving you with sweet words just because we’re friends.”Elisa entered the kitchen.She watched as Jasmine blended the juice. “Can you tell me who confessed to you? Is it
Elisa said with a grin, “Speak of the devil.“Jasmine made pear juice. She said she’ll make you a cup because she thinks you’ll be back soon. You came in just after she spoke. Luckily, we were not talking about you behind your back.”Serenity laughed. “Jasmine must’ve heard my footsteps.”Jasmine passed the blended juice to the girls. Serenity held the juice and went to the cashier counter. After putting the juice down, she moved the small dining table she and Jasmine usually used for meals over. The three of them sat around the table with their glass of juice. “Seren, did you go to Spring Blossoms to look for Ms. Newman?”Elisa asked, “How’s she now? She’s amazing. She managed to sue her stepfather and mother even though she’s blind.”“I went to get flowers for Zachary. I didn’t see Camryn. She was gone for the entire day. The store employee said she would tell Camryn to call me after she returned. Camryn hasn’t been contacting me, and she switched phone numbers.”After ta
As long as Elisa did not get married, Serenity would always feel that she had stolen Elisa’s happiness. Elisa liked Zachary so much, yet it was Serenity who got married to him. Therefore, Serenity sincerely hoped Elisa could quickly find her significant other. She would only feel better if Elisa found her happiness. Elisa had never blamed Serenity. She did not think Serenity had snatched Zachary away from her. Elisa said she and Zachary were destined to meet but not fated to be together. It had nothing to do with Serenity. It was a fact that Zachary did not love her. Even without Serenity, other women would still appear. Elisa would rather Serenity than other people. She had said smugly before that Zachary even had to acknowledge her as his cousin after being with Serenity. She was secretly happy that she could make that arrogant cold man bow down and call her his cousin. “Seren.”Elisa held Serenity’s hand. “Don’t feel guilty for me. You didn’t do me any wrong.”
Josh said, “Don’t you have a business dinner tonight?”He changed the topic. It was to prevent Zachary from talking about the flowers again. Zachary made it look as if Josh had never received flowers. “I’m going to pick my wife up. She’s accompanying me tonight.”Josh hummed in acknowledgment. “I’m going to take a break after working for another week.”It would be his and Jasmine’s wedding soon. Zachary said, “Isn’t there still half a month until the wedding day?”As Josh walked outside with Zachary, he said, “Half a month is only two weeks. Can’t I take a break a week in advance?” He could not possibly work up till the day of his wedding, right?Zachary had nothing to say about that. “Mr. York, Mr, Bucham.”Everyone greeted them respectfully as they walked out. “Shall we leave together?”Josh was walking toward Zachary’s car. Zachary asked him that question with raised eyebrows. “I have to bring my wife home to have dinner and then visit the house we’ll live i
Zachary’s cell phone started ringing.Before Zachary even looked at his phone, he told Josh, “It must be my wife that's calling. Maybe she wants to pick me up after work.”Josh pouted. “Hey, I am doing pretty well myself. Heck, I even had my wedding before you. You don’t have to show off, I'm not provoked at all.”With a wide grin on his face, Zachary replied, “I’m not showing off. That’s just how my wife and I get along every day.” It became the daily routine for the couple that Zachary would pick up Serenity or the other way round.The moment Zachary took out his phone and realized that it was Remy calling, his ever-handsome face twitched.Zachary thought it was Serenity who called. He did not expect it to be Remy.With eyes as sharp as a hawk, Josh saw that it was Remy’s name on Zachary’s screen.Josh busted out laughing.Zachary shot him a mean glare, and Josh turned away to continue his gleeful laughter.Despite the humiliating circumstance, Zachary answered Remy’s call
“The Yorks have so many men. Even if you and I aren’t around, they’ll be able to hold up. Besides, I’m just going to be away for a few days. York Corp is a big group with mature management. Even if we’re not available for a month, the company will be fine,” Zachary said to Josh. The mid-level and senior managers in the company were not raised for nothing. Josh breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled as he said, “As long as you’re not asking me to stay in the office to work my butt off for you.” Zachary said with amusement, “I’m not an exploiter. Look how nervous you are. I’ve never ordered you around, have I?” “No, no, I’ve always volunteered to be ordered about by you.” Zachary was lost for words. Josh chuckled and said, “I should be glad to have worked hard for you. After finding your happiness, you didn’t forget about me and matched Jasmine to me. We’re good friends and brothers.” “You're as sweet as ever with your words. No wonder Ms. Sox fell for you and agreed to mar
Since Carrie was approaching Spring Blossoms, she decided to drop by. It was a pity she could not wreck the store as she was heading there as Mrs. Longbottom.When she arrived, Camryn was not in the store. Only Louise and Leah were there. Carrie asked casually, “Where did your boss go?”“Our boss is very busy. Usually, we’re the ones looking after the store. She only comes by when she’s free. Are you looking for her, Mrs. Longbottom?”Louise and Leah recognized Mrs. Longbottom. “No. Your boss is always around whenever I’m here to buy flowers, so I’m just curious since she isn’t here today. Get me two jade plants. The ones I have aren’t growing well. I want to change them,” said Carrie. She really had jade plants at her villa and she was the one who bought them. In fact, they were growing well. It symbolized her having great luck with wealth.Indeed, she was doing well financially. Mr. Longbottom had never mistreated her in terms of living standards.Carrie wanted to get
Tati kept trying to match her with Austin.As soon as Austin left, Tati came in. Isabella could tell, just by the timing, that it had to be related to Austin.If she had not known how loyal Austin was to her, Isabella might have suspected her cousin was being bribed by him.Tati smiled. “I happened to see Austin leaving when I came in. He was very polite to me and his smile was gentle, and the way he looked at me was respectful. But it’s completely different from how he looks at you, Isa.“I noticed it long ago. When he looks at you, there’s light in his eyes, there’s affection, and tenderness. He’s utterly devoted to you, or rather, he dotes on you.”Isabella was quiet.“Isa, the first time I saw Austin, I knew he was no ordinary person, and I thought you two made a great match. You know me, I don’t joke around about these things, but when I saw him, I just couldn’t help it.“I really think you two are perfect for each other. Before, we didn’t know his real identity, so you mig
Tati hummed in agreement.After her cousin reviewed the documents, Tati said, “Isa, why don’t you try dating? Neither of us has a boyfriend, so outsiders are always thinking they can take control of us through marriage alliances.“You could just date. There’s no need to get married. Or you could even just pretend to date. Make them give up.”Isabella looked up at her cousin, amused. “What? That’s a crazy idea.“I haven’t been in a relationship until now because they all know I’m hard to deal with. They think I don’t even have feelings. If I start dating, they’ll realize I’m just like any other girl who dates and wants to get married. Then, they’ll get even more ideas.”Unless her boyfriend was someone so powerful that no one would dare to touch him. He would have to come from a family strong enough to protect the O'Connor family, and he would need to love only her and not be after her family’s money.Power, status, wealth, and good character were all essential.There were men
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