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
Duncan saw the calmness in Liberty’s eyes. She truly was not interested in him at all. That knowledge made Duncan feel defeated, but he soon got over it. Liberty had experienced a failed marriage before. Her ex-husband’s family was also pestering her at that moment. She was repulsed by love and marriage as a result. Duncan would need a long time to melt Liberty’s heart and make her believe in love and marriage again. He also gave himself a few years to pursue her and wait for her reply. He was not in a rush anyway. He was willing to keep waiting unless Liberty got married to someone else. “Good morning, Liberty.”Duncan returned Liberty a greeting. Zachary left with Serenity with Sonny in his arms. As he walked, he complained to his wife, “Honey, I was drunk last night and woke up with a headache this morning. I think my headache worsened because I couldn’t see you after opening my eyes.”Serenity hooked his arm and said softly, “I didn’t wake you up because you w
Duncan stood still. He silently watched as Liberty walked past him. He only left after some time. He had preempted what would happen after he confessed to Liberty. He was also mentally prepared to wait several years for Liberty to develop feelings for him. Upon entering the house, Duncan received a concerned gaze from his friend. Zachary did not ask any questions as Duncan seemed alright. He just called him over to have breakfast together. He patted Duncan’s shoulder and whispered, “It’s okay. Take it slow.”Duncan smiled and said, “I’m not in a rush. I have a lifetime to spend on her.”He would not give up as long as Liberty did not get married to someone else. “Sonny is an important piece,” Zachary whispered. Duncan hummed in agreement. “I know. I like Sonny from the bottom of my heart.”He had liked Sonny even before he fell in love with Liberty, let alone now. “Let’s go and have breakfast.”Zachary invited his friend to eat together. Serenity and Liberty had
Serenity’s embarrassed look made Zachary’s desire burn stronger. However, he still held himself back.After taking a few deep breaths, Zachary released her and said gently, “I’ll run the bath for you. You should wash up and rest early.”After speaking, he went to the bathroom to prepare the bath for her.Serenity watched him walk away. He reappeared a moment later and took her pajamas. He asked, “Do you want to wash your hair? I can help you with it.”It was inconvenient for Serenity to wash her hair with her big bump.“I washed my hair yesterday. I’ll pass tonight. When I was young, my mom often told me not to wash it daily. She believed the old wives’ tale that it’d cause frequent headaches when I got older. So, I always wash my hair on alternate days.”Like any old wives’ tale, Serenity did not know whether what her mother said was true but she had heard it from other adults in the past.She had long hair anyway. Even if her mom did not say such a thing, she did not like wash
Zachary smiled. “Everyone grows old. No matter how well we maintain our appearance, we’ll still get wrinkles and gray hair, and lose our teeth at a certain age.”“Even if you lose all your teeth, I’ll still love you. You’ll always be the best man to me.“To think that the best man in the world is my husband, who loves and spoils only me.“You can spare some of your love for the baby when the baby is born, but I must be your priority.”Serenity thought about how her children would be sharing Zachary’s love with her. Therefore, she requested him to continue loving her the most.Zachary kissed her and said lovingly, “You’re my wife and the only one I’ll dote on. My son will receive love from his wife in the future. I won’t be sharing my wife’s love with him.”Little did he know that he would be eating his words half a year later.As Grandma May had always mentioned, Zachary loved eating his words.“Don’t be angry, okay?”“Okay. Since you’re asking on behalf of Austin, I’m not mad
Who dared to offend Zachary York? Did that person not want to celebrate the new year?“Do you believe in my love for you, Seren?” Zachary asked instead of replying to her right away. Serenity laughed and said, “Why not? We’ve talked things out after I discovered your identity. Since then, I’ve never doubted your feelings for me.“Although I was mad at you for deceiving me back then, I didn’t question your love for me. I was just angry that you kept a secret from me. There were many opportunities to come clean, but you never did. You even made your family members cooperate with you to deceive me. That made me upset.“We’ve been married for quite some time, and our baby will be born in a few months. Did something happen for you to ask me this question all of a sudden? Tell me about it. Did someone spout nonsense to you?“Who’s the person with the big mouth? Reveal his name. I’ll scold him.”Serenity could not believe the person said something to offend Zachary right before the yea
Zachary only had eyes for Serenity. He did not fancy any woman other than her. While Zachary did scold Austin badly, he would not actually distance himself from his brother.After all, he only had one biological brother.However, Zachary decided that he would never say another word about Austin’s love life. If Austin were to look for him to talk again, Zachary would only lend an ear to his issues.It had been exasperating.“Alright. You’re twenty-seven. You can think for yourself. You shouldn’t tell me about your love journey in the future though. What do you take me for? You all come looking for me whenever you face problems. Am I a love advisor?“None of you can replicate my love story with Seren, so don’t tell me anything from now on.”Austin smiled sheepishly. He knew Zachary’s anger had not completely subsided.He quickly asked after Serenity and the unborn baby to change the topic, which softened Zachary’s tone. After some time, their call finally ended.Austin si
On the other hand, Austin closed and locked his door as soon as he returned to his room to prevent anyone from peeking. Then, he called Zachary.When Zachary picked up, Austin whispered, “My identity is exposed, Zachary.”“Exposed? What did you do?”Zachary’s voice was deep without betraying his emotions. “Isabella knows that I’m a young master of the Yorks. Her previous classmate had been to Wiltspoon with her husband who was there on a business trip and lived there for half a month. She knows about York Corporation and started asking questions once she heard my surname.“Isabella asked me why I hid my identity from her after I admitted to it. I replied that she never asked about my family tree. Besides, she already did a background check on me twice.”Zachary said, “You didn’t hide it from her on purpose anyway. You simply didn’t go about announcing that you’re from the York family. That doesn’t count as lying.“You were hired by the O’Connors based on your true abilities. Yo
“I think Austin gives you special treatment, Isa. His gaze and smile are different when it comes to you. You’re a clever person. I’m sure you felt something.“Have you ever thought that the person his nana has chosen for him is you?”Isabella frowned. “I don’t even know what his nana looks like, nor have I met her before. How could she possibly choose me? Besides, he said he’d be resigning to pursue that woman.“Anyway, I’m glad that you’re not sad. Just stay away from him and enjoy the food he cooks. Don’t think about anything else.”Tati was speechless.Isabella never believed her when she said she was not interested in Austin at all.However, when Tati thought of the way she acted around Austin, she could not blame Isabella for the misunderstanding. She had been expressing her admiration for Austin too outwardly. Since Isabella was giving her advice, she would do as Isabella said to reassure her.Tati decided not to go over to Isabella’s place for meals and keep a distance
Tati had made it clear that she did not love Austin, and purely admired him. Why was Isabella looking at her like that? Austin’s fiancée would never be her. If it were, Austin would have treated her differently. So who on earth was Austin’s fiancee?Why would Old Mrs. York choose someone from Windermere for him?Austin came to be a chef before pursuing his future wife. Which city in Windermere was his fiancée from? Was it Satbury?If it were Satbury, which elite daughter could it be?There were many elite daughters in Satbury, but not many were superior to the O’Connor daughters. Tati recalled Austin’s special treatment toward Isabella. A thought crossed her mind, ‘Is Isabella the lady Old Mrs. York has chosen for Austin?’“Tati, I want to discuss something work-related with you.”Isabella thought Tati remained silent because of Austin’s news. Therefore, she used work as an excuse and brought Tati to the study on the second floor. After closing the door, Isabella poured
Louis and Phillip were not the only ones worried. Even Delphine and the rest were anxious too. While they did think it was inappropriate for someone of Austin’s status to be their chef, the food he made was truly delicious. They had already gotten used to his cooking. If he were to leave, they would have to adjust their tastes to another chef’s cooking. Tati had even more concerns. Isabella admired capable people. Austin was highly skilled in cooking and had a head for business too. Moreover, he was a young master of a wealthy family. That made him more suitable for Isabella. Would Isabella be attracted?Isabella probably could feel how differently he treated her, right?“Did you chase Austin away, Isa? Why didn’t he come back with you?”Louis continued asking questions. He was worried that Isabella might have fired Austin. Not only could Austin make delicious food, but he would also play with the boys. Louis and Phillip really liked Austin. They thought he was fun,
Austin knew her question was related to Tati.He was aware of Tati’s admiration for him.Nevertheless, he recognized Tati’s feelings as pure admiration. On the contrary, Tati must have noticed that he treated Isabella differently. She probably told Isabella about it in private, but Isabella simply did not have plans for marriage due to her heavy responsibilities. Austin said with certainty, “No. Although I haven’t succeeded in pursuing her, I’ve set my heart on her. She’s my fiancée, and she’ll become my wife in the future. The York family doesn’t allow divorce unless our wives cheat on us. However, that definitely won’t happen.“Every woman Nana chose has a good character and values.“I’ll be loyal to my marriage and family. I’ll only love my only wife for my entire life. How outstanding other women are is none of my business.”Austin did not want to be like Dylan. He would rather spend more time inventing recipes. Isabella said with a hint of regret, “Okay.”She had to te