What Camryn’s aunts said hurt her deeply. She had low self-esteem, to begin with, and felt unworthy of Callum. After hearing their remarks, she felt more strongly about staying away from him. She was blind! She could not see anything. Nonetheless, Callum warned the two women with a dark face, “I won’t do anything to you since you’re Camryn’s aunts! That said, shut your dirty mouths! I don’t need you to tell me if Camryn is good or bad—I just like her. Your daughters aren’t even worthy of being my servants!” Once Camryn agreed to marry him, she would be the Yorks’ second missus. By then, her aunts’ daughters would not even be worthy of being her servants! “Why are you still standing around? Throw the trash out and clean up now!” Callum raised his voice. The Newmans’ bodyguards were sharp. They chose to follow Camryn’s order. No matter how the two aunts insulted and pushed them, along with the servants, they quickly moved all the things outside and left them at the vi
Their only nephew, Trenton, was still a fledgling. He was not a concern to them at all. The sisters learned from the lawyer that their brother and sister-in-law would be heavily sentenced. Their sister-in-law, in particular, was involved in criminal activities. She could probably be sentenced to jail for ten or twenty years. Their elder brother had killed their younger brother. If the police conducted a thorough investigation, he would be punished gravely to pay for his sins.Since their elder brother and sister-in-law would have to spend the rest of their lives in jail, they could not let the blind Camryn reap all the benefits of the substantial net worth and big businesses raked in by Newman Enterprise. They had to snatch it over and divide it between themselves. Each of them could get 500 million dollars. “Brenda, should we act as witnesses and provide our testimonies when Cain’s trial starts?”Amy thought of Cain’s case and asked about it in a whisper. They did not have evi
Callum accepted the glass of water and took an elegant sip. “Callum.”Camryn faced him and spoke calmly, “I’m not your fiancée!”“Not now, but you’ll be my fiancée and my wife in the future.”Callum said bossily, “Camryn, I’ll marry nobody else but you after setting my mind on you. Whether you escape or accept this, I’ll only take you as my wife.“I know I offended you last time. It was my mistake. It’s understandable that you’re angry at me, but I don’t regret it. I wanted to kiss you because I like you. I wanted to show everyone that you’re my woman.”Camryn was angered by Callum’s bossy tone to the extent she did not want to talk anymore. “Camryn, don’t avoid me anymore.”Callum scooted over and took her bag. “What are you doing, Callum?” Camryn wanted to snatch her bag back. Callum held her down with one hand and raised her bag high with the other. She could not take her bag back because she could not see. “Don’t worry. I just want your phone number.”Callum stood
“From tomorrow onward, I’ll send you flowers daily and officially start courting my fiancée. I’ll let everyone in Wiltspoon know that you, Camryn, are under my protection.”Camryn was speechless.“Let me repeat myself. If you avoid me again, I’ll either move to your flower shop or your house and refuse to leave. Don’t even think about shaking me off unless you don’t want your shop or house anymore.”Camryn had no words. Seeing Camryn being angered to the point she could not talk, Callum was in a good mood. She had made him miserable for more than half a month.He wanted to take his revenge. “It’s late. Go back to your room and rest. I’ll come over and have breakfast with you tomorrow morning. Wait for me to send you to the flower shop. If you don’t…”Callum’s slender finger tapped on her rosy lips again. He really wanted to taste them as he wished. “You’ll face the consequences.”Camryn gritted her teeth. “You’re being a scoundrel, Callum!”“Yes, I’m a scoundrel. You tot
Therefore, Josh pretended to be drunk.“Dear.”With nobody pranking them, they could enjoy their wedding night thoroughly. Josh walked over. He sat at the edge of the bed and embraced Jasmine. His gaze was fiery. “Dear, every minute of the wedding night is precious. Let’s not waste our time.”As Josh spoke, he swooped in for a kiss but was pushed away by Jasmine. “I haven’t removed my makeup or changed my clothes. I still have to shower. You should too.”Jasmine stood up and walked to the dressing table. She removed the pieces of jewelry she wore one by one. “Bejeweled” was the perfect word to describe her that day. The number of jewelry Josh sent her was enough to start a jewelry store. Her family had prepared lots of jewelry for her too. When she showed herself, her neck and hands were adorned with jewelry. The splendor of it was blinding. At that moment, Jasmine felt like she was a mobile jewelry store. “Dear, you look really beautiful today.”Josh approached her
The sun rose. It was a new day. When Serenity woke up, she realized her sister was already awake. After Liberty was discharged, Serenity insisted that Liberty move into her and Zachary’s house to keep an eye on her while she was recuperating. Considering that she had to recuperate and take care of a three-year-old, Liberty agreed to her sister’s request. The mother and son moved into Zachary’s villa on the hilltop temporarily. Liberty brought her son to take a walk in the garden. During that season, Wiltspoon was starting to get hot. Many people could not resist turning on the air conditioner when the sun was up and blazing during the day. However, it was still cooling in the morning. Mornings in the villa were quiet. Liberty liked taking a walk in the garden in the mornings. She could exercise and admire the flowers at the same time. Zachary was not a fan of flowers and plants. In the past, they simply existed to beautify the villa. However, the villa ended up bein
“We won’t be open for a few days because school holidays start today. Liberty, your body hasn’t fully recovered. You should be lying down more.”Serenity put Sonny down. He raced ahead energetically while the sisters strolled behind him. “My bones will grow moldy if I keep lying down. I don’t feel any discomfort now. It’s just some itch and pain from my wound.“I’ll have to return to manage All You Can Eat after Jasmine visits her family.”Serenity and Liberty would be having a meal with the Sox family when Jasmine returned to visit them after their wedding day. After that, Josh would take Jasmine on their honeymoon. He had two months of marriage leave. While the sisters were walking, a maid came over and said respectfully, “Missus, Mr. Lewis is here.”Upon hearing the maid’s words, Serenity looked toward her sister instinctively. Liberty said indifferently, “Seren, whether he comes or not, it has nothing to do with me.”Duncan was holding back when she was still in the
“You didn’t sleep well last night?” Duncan asked his friend out of concern. He saw Zachary coming downstairs with a tense face. Zachary walked over and sat on the single-seated sofa. “Didn’t you get drunk last night?” Zachary returned a question. Duncan smiled. He said, “I only drank two glasses. I didn’t get drunk.”After a pause, he added, “You all have someone taking care of you after getting drunk. I’m single—I have no one to take care of me even if I get wasted, so I didn’t dare to drink so much.”Zachary scoffed. “Ms. Harmon would’ve been happy to take care of you.”With the mention of Lily, the smile on Duncan’s face faded. “Nothing will happen between Lily and I. She has moved out of my house too.”Lily was prepared to leave Wiltspoon. The partnerships she had been negotiating were more or less settled. When Mrs. Lewis started trying harder to get Lily and Duncan together, Lily told her the truth that she had not been wooing Duncan lately. Duncan’s attention was
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