“It’s on the third floor, huh? There’s a lot of food on the first floor. Do you want to buy something to eat?”Sonny shook his head.Currently, he was not keen on eating or playing.With Aunt Ser around, he had all kinds of good food.Upon noticing that Sonny was not interested in buying things, Duncan took him straight to the third floor of the mall.On the third floor, the kids’ playground occupied one side whereas the other was a fashion store. When some parents came here to buy shoes, they would drop their children off at the playground and leave them to play there. There was an entrance fee with staff members keeping an eye on the kids. The kids would not run out unless they wanted to stop playing.Even if they wanted to run out, the staff members would not allow the kids to do so without the presence of their parents.Therefore, the parents would feel at ease. By placing their children at the playground, they could shop around the mall freely without being annoyed by the
Liberty did not believe that Mrs. Lewis would randomly pass by somewhere near her rented house. Surely, Mrs. Lewis came to meet her on purpose.She took a glimpse of her son who was having fun. Then, she turned her eyes to Duncan and said, “Mrs. Lewis, I’m outside now. It’ll take time for me to return.”“Oh, you’re out? Are you alone?” Mrs. Lewis asked patiently.She did not know Liberty’s number. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis deliberately went to All You Can Eat and jotted down Liberty’s number from the signboard.“I’m on the third floor of Gloria Mall with my son. There’s an indoor playground, and Sonny enjoys playing here. We bumped into Mr. Lewis at the entrance of the mall, so he’s here as well.”When Mrs. Lewis heard that her son pretended to create the encounter to be involved with Liberty, her face turned grim.However, she was not angry at Liberty. After suppressing her anger, she said to Liberty, “Liberty, since Duncan is there, you can have him look after Sonny. We’ll… find a p
Liberty wished she could keep a distance from Duncan all the time. Nevertheless, he always used Sonny as an excuse, which left her feeling helpless.“You deserve it. It serves you right. You rejected Lily who’s interested in you and wants to get into a relationship with you, but you like Liberty instead. You know full well that Liberty has no feelings for you, yet you shamelessly pester her in spite of your status.”Mrs. Lewis did not take pity on his son for going through a hard time pursuing Liberty.She even hoped that Liberty would persist in treating her son the same way so he would eventually give up.“Mom, I have no feelings for Ms. Harmon. I simply like Liberty.”“Tell me in what way Liberty is better than Lily,” Mrs. Lewis asked her son huffily.The kid really made Mrs. Lewis’s blood boil.“Ms. Harmon and Liberty have their own qualities; everyone’s positive traits differ.”Duncan was not averse to Lily, but he knew that she was not his cup of tea.Lily was a career w
By the time Liberty arrived at the destination set by Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Lewis was already waiting for her.She parked her e-bike and removed the helmet. She walked up to Mrs. Lewis and greeted her politely, “Hi, Mrs. Lewis.”Although Mrs. Lewis had a row with her son and was furious at him, she remained well-mannered in front of Liberty and gently acknowledged her greeting.“Let’s go in and take a seat.”Mrs. Lewis invited Liberty in.Liberty nodded and followed behind Mrs. Lewis. Mr. Lewis did not tag along. His wife ordered him to stay in the car, and he was not allowed to leave.Mrs. Lewis found a table in a corner to sit at, which was away from other customers. It was also quiet enough for her to speak to Liberty. She did not have to worry about other people overhearing their conversation.Once Liberty was seated, Mrs. Lewis hailed a waiter over to order a glass of fruit juice for herself. Since it was nighttime, she did not want to drink coffee.“Liberty, what would you l
“Go ahead, Mrs. Lewis.”Mrs. Lewis looked at the beautiful appearance of Liberty who had successfully lost weight, then she praised her by saying, “Liberty, you bear a passing resemblance to Mrs. Stone when she was younger. She was a beautiful career woman back then. Many elders wanted her to be their daughter-in-law. “In the end, Mr. Stone captured her heart, and she became Mrs. Stone. Now, she is the mainstay of the Stones.”Old Mrs. Stone initially disapproved of her son and Audrey’s marriage. However, she could not take control of it. Her husband and son were fond of Audrey, so Old Mrs. Stone had no choice but to accept Audrey.Anyway, the relationship between Old Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Stone was not the most pleasant.When Stone Group got into trouble, Mrs. Stone was the one who went all out to save the company from crisis. It was only then that Old Mrs. Stone accepted Mrs. Stone wholeheartedly.Elisa mentioned that when her mother just married into the Stone family, her grand
Lily let go of Duncan because she knew that Duncan liked Liberty. Apparently, she did not even try to hold onto Duncan before letting go of him.Duncan had a unique taste. Since Lily could not satisfy Duncan, she might as well give up so that Duncan would not hate her. At least the two of them could still be business partners.“Mrs. Lewis, I’ve helped you advise Mr. Lewis before. I told him that Ms. Harmon is nice. I noticed that he gets along quite well with her too.”Liberty did advise Duncan.Nevertheless, the attempt proved futile.As Mrs. Lewis mentioned, Duncan was an independent and obstinate person. It was almost impossible to change his decision unless he was willing to give up or make changes himself.“Liberty, I won’t blame this matter on you. The problem lies with Duncan, not you.”If Liberty had pestered Duncan, Mrs. Lewis would have forcefully driven her away despite the powerful forces backing Liberty.However, Liberty was not interested in Duncan. There was ac
Liberty might be able to run away, but she could not hide.This would not solve the root problem.“Mrs. Lewis, the best solution is that you talk Mr. Lewis out of it. I hope you can try harder in persuading him.”Mrs. Lewis was speechless.Upon hearing Liberty’s words, Mrs. Lewis felt a slight burning sensation on her face. Mrs. Lewis wanted Liberty to stay away from Duncan, yet Liberty expected Mrs. Lewis to stop Duncan from pestering her.After a while, Mrs. Lewis said to Liberty in a pleading tone, “Liberty, if I had a solution, I wouldn’t have come to meet you. My unfilial son just won’t listen to me, so I had no choice but to ask you for help.“Liberty, I don’t mean to look down on you. In a marriage, families have to be well-matched in social status. I’m sure you understand this. Now, you’re leading a peaceful life and not planning to remarry. Even if you consider remarrying, you’re not going to feel happy in a relationship with Duncan.“Both of you have different social
“Mrs. Lewis, is there anything else? If not, I’ll take my leave. Sonny is still in the mall. I need to pick him up.”Deep down, Liberty was slightly bitter about it.She had never thought of being in a relationship with Duncan. However, in the face of Mrs. Lewis’s request, it was only natural to feel bitter.All Liberty did was rent Duncan’s store. Besides Duncan being good friends with Zachary, Duncan had helped her a lot, which was why she treated him enthusiastically. Even so, she had never thought of being with Duncan, yet she was compelled to leave.She did not do anything wrong, so why must she leave?“You may take your leave. Be careful while riding on the road since there’s heavy traffic,” Mrs. Lewis said with fake gentleness.Liberty took the key to her e-bike before she bade Mrs. Lewis goodbye. Then, she rose to her feet and left.Soon after Liberty left, Derek came in.Seeing his wife seated in a corner, he walked toward her.“How was the talk? It ended so quickly?”
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us
“You can drink it now. It’ll turn cold if left aside for longer.”Isabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. “I’m drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what I’m doing and saying.“I’ve had enough ginger ale.”She did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. “Which family is your fiancée from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?”Isabella was insistent on getting answers. Austin had never told her when she had asked him about it before. He kept saying he would focus on working and that he was not in a rush to get married. After all, he was only in his twenties; Zachary only got married at thirty years old. If he was unsuccessful in wooing his fiancée that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austin’s fiancée, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austin’s fiancée had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabella’s eyes. He could detect some feelings in her gaze, but it was not obvious enough. What she felt for him was still mostly admiration. It was not the right time for him to confess yet. He would continue to wait. “You’re the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.”Austin added gently, “You give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but you’re always a nice person in my eyes.”Isabella had treated him well ever since he became her private chef. It only got better after she discovered he was a young master of the Yorks. Austin believed her when she said she viewed him as a friend because her actions reflected it as well. However, he was not content with being just friends. He wanted to be her husband. He wanted her to trust him and love him forever. He would also reciprocate her feelings and trust. Isabella smiled. “Even my parents are scared and avoid me when I’m in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, “Don’t worry, Ms. Edith. I’ll take good care of Ms. Isabella.”Edith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousin’s words was not lost on Isabella, but she did not comment on it.She allowed Austin to accompany her into the house. The lights were still on inside, but the first floor was empty. Everyone else had already gone to bed.Since Isabella had not returned yet, the housekeeper had left the lights on for her.The house was warm, so once inside, Isabella took off Austin’s coat and handed it back to him.Austin accepted the coat and followed her to the sofa. After she had sat down, he asked gently, “Ms. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?”Isabella rubbed her temples and said, “Yes, please. I don’t want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.”Austin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austin’s