Josh was considerate not to smoke because his wife was pregnant.“What happened, Mr. Lewis? Why did Mrs. Lewis say that it was her fault for what happened to Duncan?” Zachary asked in a low voice.Josh also looked at Mr. Lewis, waiting for him to tell them the truth.“Sigh… It’s our fault. Duncan went out drinking yesterday. After you sent him home, Duncan didn’t answer Corey’s call, so she called the housekeeper only to find out that Duncan was drunk. This morning, Corey insisted on going to his house, so I went with her.“Duncan only woke up at noon. He saw us at his place and quarreled with Corey again shortly after. Duncan didn’t want to get into a row with his mother, so he got up and left.”Derek recalled the scene at that time. If he knew that it would cause Duncan’s accident, he would have dragged Corey back with every ounce of his strength.As Duncan’s father, he felt he did not do well in persuading Corey to be more open-minded, which caused the conflict between the mot
Zachary supported Duncan after finding out about his feelings for Liberty. However, Liberty was not interested in remarrying anyone, and she did not have any romantic feelings for Duncan. In addition, Mrs. Lewis was strongly against Liberty and Duncan together, so Zachary wanted to persuade Duncan to give up.He felt that even if Liberty agreed to be with Duncan, they would not be happy in the future because of Mrs. Lewis’s objection.Duncan was Zachary’s best friend, and Liberty was his sister-in-law, which put Zachary in a tough position. If he persuaded Duncan to give up, Duncan would think that he was not a good friend. On the other hand, if he persuaded Liberty to accept Duncan, he would feel like he was pushing his sister-in-law into a fire pit.Zachary felt that his relationship with Serenity was not as difficult as Liberty and Duncan’s.Duncan discovered his feelings for Liberty when she was injured. Liberty fully recovered after around three months. This was the duration t
Liberty put Sonny down.Sonny walked to the hospital bed and said to Duncan, “Dunc, you’ll be fine. You’ll get better, just like my mom.”Duncan smiled weakly and did not speak.After the doctors and nurses came to check on Duncan, the doctor suggested not crowding the ward because the patient needed to rest well. Since the patient was awake, everyone should go home and rest too.It was not necessary to cram up the ward because it would affect the patient’s recovery.In the end, only Duncan’s parents insisted on staying with him. The others left the hospital one by one after making sure that Duncan was alright.The sky was getting darker.Everyone was in a heavy mood because of Duncan’s car accident.Under Serenity’s insistence, Liberty took Sonny back to Serenity’s hilltop villa with Zachary and Serenity.Along the way, Serenity silently held Liberty’s hand. The two sisters did not speak, but they understood each other’s feelings.The next day, Wiltspoonians learned that the
Mrs. Lewis sat by the hospital bed like she did yesterday. When she saw Liberty coming in, she quickly got up and said softly, “Liberty, you’re here.”“I came to see Mr. Lewis.”Liberty also spoke in a soft voice for fear of waking Duncan, who was lying on the hospital bed.She handed the bouquet to Mrs. Lewis, who took it and put it beside her son. This was so Duncan could see the bouquet from Liberty as soon as he woke up, and it would definitely cheer him up. That way, Duncan would have the confidence to go through rehab.As soon as Mrs. Lewis put the bouquet next to Duncan, he woke up.When Duncan opened his eyes and saw Liberty standing in front of the bed, he was silent at first. Shortly after, he turned cold and said some harsh words.“Mom, kick her out! I don’t want to see her!”All three standing in front of the bed were stunned when they heard this.Mrs. Lewis looked at her son and then at Liberty. She suspected that her son did not see Liberty clearly.She carefully
Mrs. Lewis had not revealed her intentions yet, but Duncan knew that the moment he was discharged from the hospital and did not persist in continuing his rehabilitation, his mother would definitely look for Liberty.Thus, Duncan wanted to stop that possibility ahead of time.As the ward door closed, Mrs. Lewis let go of Liberty’s hand, turned around, and cried as she leaned against the wall and covered her face.Liberty was silent, took two steps forward, patted Mrs. Lewis on the back, and comforted her. “Mr. Lewis will get better. Don’t worry too much.”She took out a napkin and handed it to Mrs. Lewis.Mrs. Lewis accepted it, turned around, and apologized to Liberty while wiping her tears.“Liberty, this accident has nothing to do with you. It’s all my fault that Duncan got into a car accident. I stopped him from going to see you. It’s all my fault…“After Duncan found out about the severity of his injuries last night, he looked dead inside. I think he just can’t accept this f
Liberty left the hospital and went to her breakfast diner.“Boss, you’re back!”The two shop assistants saw Liberty and greeted her. They looked at her and hesitated to speak.Liberty was distracted and did not notice their expressions.The diner was busy at this hour, so the two assistants went back to work thinking that they could talk about it with their boss later.Seeing their boss’s absent-minded expression, they figured Liberty was aware of the trending topic.Their boss’s sister was the young missus of Wiltspoon’s richest family, so the news would travel much faster to her than to them.Liberty sat down in front of the cash register, thinking about what Duncan said to her.Duncan got into a car accident, so Liberty was worried about him. However, he blamed her for his accident. Liberty thought, ‘I didn’t ask him to come over then. Why did he blame me?’“Liberty.”A familiar voice brought Liberty out of her thoughts.Liberty looked up and saw her sister sitting down
“I’m relieved that’s how you think now. Just know that Mr. Lewis doesn’t mean what he said to you, no matter how bad his attitude was. Don’t take it to heart.”Serenity and Zachary went to the hospital earlier, and Duncan’s father told the couple everything.She felt that Duncan did not mean to say whatever he said.Duncan was just worried that he would be crippled and wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life, so he did not want everyone to pity him.Liberty was silent for a while before saying, “I hope Mr. Lewis won’t give up on himself. I hope he’ll continue his rehabilitation after he gets discharged from the hospital. That way, he’ll recover soon.”“I’m sure he will.”Serenity looked at her sister.“Is there anything else you want to say to me?” Liberty asked.“Mr. Lewis’s car accident made headlines in Wiltspoon. Those people’s imaginations ran wild and dragged you into it.”Liberty was stunned for a moment. She then took out her phone and looked at the local news. She s
Grandma May stared at Duncan. “What? Did you lose all your confidence now that you’re lying here, so you’re pushing Liberty away?”Before Duncan could answer, Grandma May said, “Who do you think you are to Liberty that you can make arrangements for her? You should at least bring her into your world first before you have a chance to push her away.“I bet you haven’t even held her hands. You haven’t even started a relationship with her, so what makes you think you can arrange her life for her?“Does it hurt here?”Grandma May pressed on Duncan’s injured leg with a little force.“Ouch! Nana, it hurts!”Duncan was a tough guy, but he was now in so much pain that he broke out in cold sweat.He had been enduring the pain and did not make a sound.However, he could let down his guard in front of Grandma May.“It’s good that you can feel the pain. It proves that the nerves in your legs aren’t dead, so you won’t be paralyzed. Of course, it’ll take a long time for you to get back to nor
“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