Duncan had no idea what to say.Sonny was such a stubborn kid.“Sonny.”Having caught sight of Duncan and Sonny, Liberty walked toward them.Still worried, Duncan reminded Sonny once again not to expose their discussion earlier. Sonny seemed to turn a deaf ear to his words and struggled out of his arms. He slid down and ran toward his mother. “Mom.”Once Sonny ran toward Liberty, she held his hand and asked with a smile, “Don’t want to play any longer?”“No. I want to go home.”“Alright. Let’s go home.”Looking at Duncan in front of her, Liberty expressed her gratitude to Duncan calmly. “Mr. Lewis, thank you for looking after Sonny on my behalf.”“You’re welcome. I’m more than ready to help you look after him.”Duncan stretched out his hand to touch the top of Sonny’s head. “Sonny is easy to handle.”Liberty grinned before she said to Duncan, “Mr. Lewis, we’ll leave first since Sonny wants to go home now.”Duncan instantly replied, “Let me send you home.”“It’s fine.”L
Duncan was embarrassed because of Sonny’s words, and so was Liberty.She turned her gaze to Duncan.Duncan grinned at her.Liberty was speechless. She kept quiet, thinking about how to answer her son’s question.“Mom.”Sonny’s childish voice rang out again.“Mommy, do you disagree?”“Sonny.”Liberty said tenderly, “You already have a father. Dunc is your uncle, and he’ll forever be your uncle.”“Liberty.”Duncan called her.“Mr. Lewis, Sonny is still young and immature. Don’t say these things to him. Sonny isn’t the one to decide on my life.”Liberty was solemn when she spoke.Duncan said apologetically, “Liberty, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have said these things to Sonny at this point. But my feelings for you are real, Liberty. I’m genuinely fond of Sonny and will treat him like my biological son.”“Mr. Lewis, as I said, I don’t want to get into a relationship now.”In Duncan’s face, Liberty said composedly, “Mr. Lewis, I hope you can understand. I also hope that you’ll
Sonny was obstinate.When Hank badmouthed Dunc in front of Sonny, Sonny insisted that Dunc was scary. However, Dunc was not a bad guy. No matter what his father told him, Sonny would not change his perception of Dunc.To him, there was a clear boundary between good and bad people. He would not call a bad person good, and vice versa. “I’m not unhappy. Something just crossed my mind.”Liberty smiled. “Look, I’m smiling.”The kid was clever and sensitive.Seeing his mother smile, Sonny believed that his mother did not get angry at what he said.“Mom, Dunc wants to marry you and make you his wife. Is that true?” Sonny asked after feeling relieved from earlier. Liberty was speechless.Duncan actually told Sonny everything.Considering Sonny’s age, would he understand it?Even if Sonny could accept Duncan as his father, his decision would not change Liberty’s mind.“Dunc was just kidding with you. You don’t need to take it seriously.”Sonny hummed in acknowledgment. “So Dunc w
When Zachary came out and saw Sonny kissing Serenity’s face, he was actually jealous of the three-year-old kid.Zachary carried Sonny into the house while speaking to him.“What do you want to tell me?”A look of curiosity washed over Sonny’s face.Then, Zachary gave him a lengthy lecture.Sonny was at a loss for words.He could not understand most of Zachary’s words. However, he managed to grasp one point, namely that he should not always kiss his aunt’s face since he was a boy.However, Serenity was his aunt.Even Serenity could kiss his face.In the end, Sonny thought, ‘The adult world is so complicated.’What Zachary said to Sonny left Serenity feeling speechless. She had no choice but to say to her husband, “Babe, take Sonny upstairs for a shower.”“Okay.”Zachary took Sonny upstairs and said to him, “I’ll help you shower tonight.”“I want to bring along my toys for a shower.”“You can take your water gun.”“Alright.”While heading upstairs, the two of them were ne
“Seren, sure enough, we’re sisters. I refuted Mrs. Lewis this way too. Why should I leave? Why should I make such a sacrifice?”“I think running away from the problem won’t solve it. Liberty, don’t move out of that street now. Your shop has been operating there for quite a while, and you finally have some regular customers. If you relocate, you’ll need to start everything from scratch.“As long as you stick to your decision and don’t be convinced by Mr. Lewis, he can’t do anything to you no matter how hard he tries. If you fulfill Mrs. Lewis’s request and leave Wiltspoon with Sonny, Mr. Lewis might never be able to get over you. He might spend his remaining life searching for you and Sonny.“By then, despite having gone after you for a long time, he still hasn’t won your heart. With his mother’s disapproval and persuasion over time, he’ll give up and leave you alone.”Liberty thought so too.She would not be able to solve the problem by leaving.Serenity’s thinking was the same a
“Alright, I’m going to give Zachary a reply on this.”Serenity did not insist on helping Liberty pay Sonny’s school fees.It was fine that Liberty wanted to enroll Sonny in Wiltspoon Learning Center. Anyway, she could afford the fees.As Liberty said, Sonny was her son. It was right for her to pay the fees.If Liberty was unable to afford the fees, she would not want to enroll Sonny in Wiltspoon Learning Center.Serenity knew her sister very well.Now that Serenity was the young missus of the Yorks, money was what she needed least. However, Liberty was determined to rely on herself. She refused to mention money matters with her sister.Liberty was afraid of discussing money with Serenity as it would affect Serenity’s status in Zachary’s family and hold her back.Also, Serenity was not the kind who would keep asking for money to help her family. She thought it would be better to teach someone to fish than to give them a fish.“Seren, thank you. Because of you and Zachary, Sonny
Sonny hummed in acknowledgment.Serenity placed him down and held him as they went downstairs.Just as Zachary was descending, he saw Serenity and Sonny. He said with a grin, “This kid is such a fast runner. I just only helped him put on his clothes, and he ran even more quickly than a rabbit. Has Liberty left?”“Yes.”Soon, Serenity and Zachary sat on the couch.Sonny was playing in front of the couple.“Babe, Liberty said if you can help Sonny get into WLC, please do help. Just let her know how much it costs and she’ll bear the fees.”“If I weren’t able to help, I wouldn’t have mentioned it to you. I’ll handle it. I’ll make sure my nephew gets into WLC for free. Even if fees are involved, I’ll pay for Liberty.“Regarding the fees—”Before Zachary could finish his sentence, Serenity interjected, “Liberty said Sonny is her son, so she should pay the fees. This is her duty as a mother. It’s only because Liberty can afford to pay the fees that she wants to enroll Sonny in the be
After leaving the hospital, Hank even accompanied Jessica to another mall to get what she wanted.When they got home, he could not stop thinking about the scene of Duncan and Sonny’s close interaction, which exasperated him. His concern was that his son would be snatched away by Duncan and end up calling Duncan “Dad”.As soon as Jessica went to bed, he secretly left the house to buy some snacks and toys. Then, he rushed to his ex-wife’s place.He never thought of saving his relationship with Liberty.There was no turning back. He could not get together with Liberty anymore.However, Sonny was his son. How could his son behave intimately with the man who was pursuing his ex-wife? Duncan had seriously challenged Hank’s identity as Sonny’s father.“Is your wife’s baby fine?” Liberty asked indifferently.Slightly ashamed, Hank answered, “The baby is fine.” “Sonny has been eating and playing a lot. You don’t have to buy him so many things.”“I know he doesn’t need these, but I wan
“If Mom said she would create an opportunity for you to get with the king, would you really believe her? It’s just talk—nothing actually happened.” Trenton could not resist poking Carrie’s forehead a few times. “Carrie, can you please come back to earth? In your current state, forget about finding a great guy like Callum—even a regular, decent guy would be turned off by you.”Carrie swatted away her brother’s fingers, irritated and embarrassed. “Am I really that bad? I’m young, beautiful, have a great figure, and a dignified heiress. If the monarchy still existed, I could marry the king and be his queen without a problem.”“Carrie, you have sky-high ambitions, but be careful, don’t fly too close to the sun and end up like Icarus.”As soon as he said that, Trenton was met with a smack from his sister.“Is there a brother who curses his own sister like that? What do you mean by that? I’m destined to have the princess life. I’ll be fine.”However, deep down, she was still worried bec
Camryn was right—he was just too soft-hearted. If he were as ruthless as her, Carrie would have found a job long ago after running out of money.To encourage Carrie to become independent, Trenton decided that after Christmas, he would stop giving her living expenses. He would also tell their parents during his visit to prison that Carrie was truly hopeless.“Trenton, you keep siding with her, and one day you'll regret it. She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing who has deceived who knows how many people. Do you really think she cares about you? She just wants to win your complete trust to take everything that belongs to you for herself. By driving us out of our home, she’s not only seeking revenge on Mom and Dad but also on us—especially you. She’s just pretending to be nice to you to sow discord between us siblings.”“Carrie!” Trenton said seriously, “Don’t talk about Camryn like that. She’s not that kind of person. I believe in her, one hundred percent.”Carrie was so furious she wanted
“Alright, alright, I can't win with the two of you against one,” Carrie sulked. “Give me money to spend. I'm out of money.”She reached out her hand toward Camryn, wanting her to give her money. Camryn slapped her hand away. “Even Trenton knows to take advantage of the winter break to find a part-time job and earn some pocket money. You’re perfectly capable, yet you don’t look for a job.“To put it bluntly, if you’ve gone to sweep the streets, you'd still have a source of income. I have money, but I won’t give it to you. Don’t think that just because we’re sisters—estranged, too, at that—I have an obligation to support my adult sister. I’ve said it before: if you want money to spend, earn it yourself.” With that, Camryn walked away to tend to her plants.As Christmas approached, the flower market was bustling. Every day, many people came to buy flowers, and all her employees were out delivering flowers to clients. Sometimes, when it got too busy, she even had to ask her two bodyguar
Trenton was relieved that Dalton was indebted to Camryn. That was why Dalton had been loyal to Newman Enterprise.If Newman Enterprise did not fall into Camryn’s hands, there was no doubt that Dalton would leave the company. If that happened, the company was doomed.When his parents went to prison, he was merely 18, and Carrie only knew how to spend money. Not only that, their relatives were hungry to get a share of the Newman family’s assets. He and Carrie could not have protected their family’s wealth alone.After Camryn regained her sight, she still could not strain her eyes for long hours. Therefore, Dalton remained in charge of the company.Luckily, they had Callum as well. Even if anything were to happen, Callum would not leave Newman Enterprise to fall because many of the Newman family’s assets belonged to Camryn.He would not let Camryn lose anything.“You’ve been brainwashed by Dalton after working with him. Our dad treated him well and trusted him, yet Dalton betrayed
Camryn said, “She’s just using her lack of money as an excuse to start a fight with me.“Do you really think she has no money?”Carrie had somehow become Mrs. Longbottom yet she was still hiding her identity. Camryn had not understood the entire situation yet.Nevertheless, she was certain that Carrie did not need money.After she spoke, a familiar car arrived.It was the car Carrie had always used in the past.When she returned to the Newman family’s villa after getting out of prison, she only drove that car. She could not take other cars. The cars were still parked in the garage. “Come out, Camryn.”Carrie had gotten out of the car and started shouting for Camryn.When the York family’s bodyguards saw her, they simply glanced at her and did not stop her from entering the store. They knew Camryn had always been lenient with her younger sister.Since Camryn did not give any orders to stop Carrie from entering, the bodyguards simply kept an eye on Carrie to ensure that sh
“I want to go to Spring Blossoms as Carrie,” she told the bodyguard who was driving. “Your sister’s people are keeping an eye on your apartment. She’ll get suspicious again if you head over in your outfit. Everything Mr. Longbottom arranged will go to waste,” the bodyguard reminded her.Carrie thought it over. “Okay. Let’s head home first. I’ll change my clothes and remove my makeup before heading over.”She would also check if her stand-in had damaged any of her stuff.If she did, Carrie would tell the stand-in to compensate her.The bodyguard remained silent.Once they arrived at Longbottom Villa, Carrie took off her hyper-realistic mask and removed her makeup. After changing her clothes, she returned to being Carrie and went out with her bag.Her two bodyguards did not stop her from leaving.She could do anything as long as it would not rouse Camryn and other people’s suspicions.Besides, Carrie had just gotten scolded by their boss on the phone. Although Mr. Longbottom
Mr. Longbottom thought he was not so inferior to men younger than him.More accurately, he was far superior. He had status, money, and power.Which of the younger men could be on par with him unless they came from a wealthy family?Many sons of wealthy families could not compete with him.“I can’t go over because I’m busy these days. But I do miss you too.“It’s more difficult because of the festive season. There are many events, and I have to accompany my family. My wife doesn't care about me, but her request is that I be with her during the holidays because we have to meet our friends and families. Do you understand?”Mr. Longbottom had a wife and children. Carrie knew about it. He had never hid that fact.Carrie did not know if he was close to his wife. Although he said they no longer had feelings for each other, Carrie dared not believe him because he had never let other women take his wife’s place.He also never allowed other women to become pregnant with his children.Mr
Carrie thought she had matured since she could figure out that much. In the past, she would not have understood a thing. Love was about accepting everything about someone. Most people could tolerate their partner’s shortcomings when they were deeply in love. However, without love, even a person’s strength would seem like a fault. Carrie smiled. “Mr. York is a workaholic. Serenity must’ve gotten the habit from him and turned into one herself. I can’t believe she’s working so hard even though she’s pregnant.”“She’s still in the early stages of pregnancy. Going to work is fine.”“Do you need anything else, Mrs. Longbottom?” Jasmine asked.“No. I shall take my leave now, Mrs. Bucham.”Jasmine was on guard and unwilling to reveal much about Serenity. Therefore, it would be better for Carrie to leave. She was not close to Serenity and her friends yet. “Bye, Mrs. Longbottom.”Jasmine saw Carrie out and watched as she got into her car.Once Carrie got far enough from the booksto
Mr. Longbottom had been surprised by her question. He told her coldly that she should refrain from asking unnecessary questions.One who knew too much would not live long. Carrie got intimidated and dared not ask another question. Although she got more curious, she did not try to gather more information for fear Mr. Longbottom would choke her again if he found out. “Nothing. I just asked because I haven’t seen her in a while.”Of course, Carrie could not reveal that she was looking for Serenity. Jasmine would get suspicious if she did. No one around Serenity was a fool. “Seren is busy with work. I rarely see her these days,” Jasmine said.Carrie knew it was a lie. She was aware that Serenity's closest friends did not trust her yet. It made her feel defeated. It had been months since Mr. Longbottom found her and asked her to approach Serenity. Despite her efforts, she still had not obtained Serenity’s trust, let alone become her friend.However, Jasmine and Serenity go