With an irritated expression, Hayden said helplessly, “Mom, I only get to rest on weekends, and I want to sleep in until I wake up naturally. Besides, I usually only take one day off and go out to play, which is more tiring than working.“Moreover, Mr. York is also busy. How can I bother him all the time?”Donald took over the conversation and said, “It’s not that Kevin should take Hay out to play, it should be the other way round. This is Jensburg, Hay is more familiar with it than Kevin, no?”Hayden kept a straight face and did not say a word.Kevin laughed and said, “When there is a need, I’ll have to trouble Mr. Hayden to be my guide.”“Kevin, just tell Hay wherever you want to go. He may seem cold, but he knows everything about Jensburg, where the good places and the best food are in town.”“If that’s the case, Mrs. Queen, don’t mind if I do.”Sophia smilingly said, “Of course, go ahead. I like you the most.”Both of her children could not compare to Kevin’s eloquence. He
“I see.”Sophia laughed and said, “Kevin, don’t blame your parents. All parents are like this. I even urge Hay and her brother, but they don’t listen to me. Maybe it’s because we love to nag, and Hay rarely comes home.“As for Hugh, that boy has many female friends, but none of them are serious girlfriends. Sheesh, children really are a liability.”“Mom, didn’t you say we’d have breakfast together when I’m here? I came back on an empty stomach.”Hayden had to interrupt her mother again.“Yes, yes, let’s go have breakfast. You and Kevin had planned to go horseback riding, right? Kevin, there’s a hot spring near our ranch. In this kind of weather, you’ll be covered in sweat after horse riding. You can go get a good soak.”Hayden did not say a word.Her mom almost said it outright, “Kevin, Hay is actually a girl.”Kevin said with a smile, “Great! So there’s actually a hot spring near the ranch. I bet it’ll be comfortable taking a soak in the hot spring after our horse riding sessio
Hayden replied, “Does that mean you can only pursue the person chosen by your grandmother? Can’t you choose someone else?”Kevin nodded and said, “It can only be the person my nana chose.”Mr. and Mrs. Queen’s eagerness dampened completely.All that enthusiasm was for nothing!Hayden looked for her parents’ reaction while questioning Kevin. Seeing their enthusiasm drained, Hayden decided not to pursue the topic any further.Sophia was unwilling to accept this and asked Kevin, “Kevin, you and your brothers are all capable and outstanding individuals. Why should your grandmother make decisions about your marriage?”Donald chimed in, “Young people nowadays should pursue freedom in love and marriage. Unlike in the old society, parents cannot make decisions for their children’s marriages. They can only offer suggestions.“Your parents remained silent, but you let your grandmother decide for you. Marriage is not child’s play, it is a lifelong event and the wife you marry will be wit
Camryn was more envied than Serenity because she was blind.Callum was the eldest child to the second son of the York family and was also very outstanding in various aspects. Countless wealthy ladies had their eyes on him, hoping he would become their son-in-law. However, he was different from others and fell in love with Camryn, a blind woman.Hayden’s parents believed that Kevin would eventually become someone else’s son-in-law, and would not be related to their family. Their attitude towards him remained unchanged on the surface, but they actually lost a bit of intimate affection toward him.Kevin noticed this but he did not mind it.The point was to disappoint them, and then bring them hope and surprise.He could say that the Queens would never have thought that the bride chosen for him by his nana was Hayden.“Kevin, which family’s heiress did your grandmother choose for you?”Hayden’s mother asked curiously, “You said you came to Jensburg to escape the pressure of being fo
Kevin said with a smile, “I haven’t helped match Mr. Hayden with anyone yet, so you don’t need to thank me.” He looked at Hayden and said jokingly, “Mr. Hayden, you must work harder. When you get married one day, you must invite me to your wedding.” Hayden responded calmly, “If that day comes, I’ll surely invite you to the wedding, Mr. Kevin.” She had made up her mind not to marry anyone in her life. After having breakfast, Sophia asked the maid to help pack all kinds of food and drink for them. Although there was now little hope for Kevin to become her son-in-law, she still wanted her daughter to follow him to the ranch to ride horses and exercise instead of staying at home all day. Hayden said rather helplessly, “Mom, I don’t stay at home all day. I only have one day off a week.” Sometimes she would not even get to rest when she needed to attend parties and social events on weekends. It was not easy to be a member of the Queen family. Donald remained the nominal hea
“Bro, the more you’re wary of Kevin, the easier you’ll show your slip,” Hugh said very softly. He knew why Hayden was guarding against Kevin. It was because she was afraid that Kevin would find out about her identity as a woman. “I wonder who Kevin’s wife candidate is.” They enquired, but Kevin did not reveal who that was.Hugh chuckled and said disinterestedly, “Who cares who she is? It has nothing to do with us anyway. He’s from Wiltspoon, so Old Mrs. York must’ve chosen a rich heiress from Wiltspoon. Even if she’s not from a rich family, she must still be from Wiltspoon. “The first missus and the soon-to-be second missus of the Yorks are both from Wiltspoon.” Hugh looked at Hayden, who understood the look in his eyes. In any case, it would not be Hayden, so Hugh did not want her to be suspicious. Hayden would seldom be so wary of a man, much less suspicious of a man. She was behaving more like a man than a man would at the moment. All the old bosses who were acqua
Kevin rode on a high horse. When Hayden and Hugh came forward, he smiled and said to them, “Mr. Hayden, Mr. Hugh, let’s race.” Hugh smiled and said, “We came here just for horse racing.” “Mr. Kevin, we heard that you and your brothers have the brains and brawn. We’re here to learn a thing or two from your riding.” “I hope you’ll go easy on me, Mr. Hugh. I haven’t ridden a horse for a long time. I’m afraid I’ll lose to you brothers.” Hugh responded, “Mr. Kevin, you’re our honored guest, so I’ll give you a one-minute head start.” Kevin looked at Hayden. Hayden said coldly, “I also haven’t ridden a horse for a long time. If I give you a head start too, you’ll have an unfair advantage. Let’s have a fair competition.” “Okay.” With that, Hugh stayed where he was with his horse while Kevin and Hayden went ahead. Hugh was speechless. Why did he agree to it so quickly? Kevin and Hayden had gone far away, but it had not been a minute yet. Moreover, Kevin and Hayden said it
Hugh quickly slapped Kevin’s shoulder and whispered, “Mr. Kevin, you mustn’t let my brother hear this, or he’ll take this up with you. He doesn’t usually talk much and only nags me, his twin brother. “Look at my brother—he doesn’t look like a woman at all.” Kevin smiled and responded softly, “Your brother is just concerned about you.” Hayden did not look like a woman indeed. If she looked like one, Kevin would have taken action long ago. Even if he made a move now, he could not be impressed when he looked at Hayden. He would feel as if he was pursuing a man. When Hayden looked over, their eyes met. Kevin grinned, whereas Hayden’s gaze darkened. She looked away into the distance. When Hugh noticed that Kevin was always looking at his sister, he nudged and teased him, “Mr. Kevin, you haven’t fallen for my brother like those girls, have you?” Right after he said that, a snack was shoved into his mouth. Hayden scolded him, “There’s so much food here, and yet you can’t k
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