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
“I’m sorry. I have a business appointment tonight.”Tati rejected Manny’s invitation without hesitation. Manny had been pursuing her relentlessly. If she were to have a meal with him, the paparazzi stalking them would take pictures and she would be on the local entertainment headlines the next day. She would not give Manny any chances to advertise false information about their relationship. Manny looked disappointed. “Another day then.“By the way, you’ll be attending a banquet two days later, right? Can I be your escort?”Tati and Isabella would not attend just any banquet. Families who could invite them were wealthy and close to the O’Connors. Ordinary banquets could never have Tati and Isabella as guests. Manny had gathered information for two days. He heard that one of the wealthy families in Satbury would be holding a banquet to celebrate their old missus’s eightieth birthday, and many guests were invited to liven up the celebration. A missus of that family was clos
“My family isn’t inferior to yours, sweet Tati. The Longbottoms even surpass the O’Connors. As a young master of the Longbottoms, why will I go after your family’s money?“Money has never been a problem for the Longbottom family. In fact, you and I are the best match for each other. Our families are equally rich. If we get together, it’ll be a joining of two strong forces.”Tati wanted to say that while the Longbottom family surpassed the O’Connors, Manny was not the true person in power within his family. Even his father was not the legitimate head. The power and wealth of the Longbottom family belonged to the true head of the family. Tony and Manny Longbottom were simply managing the family in the interim. Did they think the family had become theirs?If the son of the previous Longbottom family head grew up and returned to take charge of the family, Tony and Manny would no longer have any influence. They would only receive some compensation for their hard work. Without the L
Tati looked toward Manny and said in a serious tone, “If you love someone, you’d be considerate of her and do what’s best for her.“Meanwhile, you’re disregarding any inconvenience this might cause me just to appear romantic. You know I’m busy, yet you put flowers here and blocked my way, wasting my time.“Do your actions truly reflect your love for me? Are you being considerate of me?”Tati would not have said a word if Manny had asked his people to place the flowers in an empty spot. However, he just had to do it at the entrance of the company, attracting many people. Her company security team could not even chase them away. They knew Manny’s identity and that he was pursuing her. If the security chased him away, the Longbottom and O’Connor families could end up enemies. Secondly, they were worried about getting fired if Tati were to accept Manny’s feelings one day and decide to punish them. Tati would not blame the security for failing to execute their duty. After Manny s
“It’s okay if you don’t want my bouquets. Can you feel my sincere love for you through these letters?“I fell in love with you at first sight, and I fell even harder the second time I saw you.”Manny’s gaze was affectionate as if he truly loved Tati. To be honest, Tati was outstanding in various aspects. She was good enough for him, a young master of the Longbottoms. They were also close in age and definitely had common topics to talk about. However, Tati refused to give him a chance and rejected his confession. That did not matter. After all, it had not been long since he started pursuing Tati. As the O’Connors had more daughters than sons, he could understand that their daughters would be especially cautious regarding romantic relationships. They did not want men dating them solely for the O’Connor family’s money. Although that had been Manny’s initial intention, he was satisfied with Tati after meeting her in person. He was willing to marry her. Besides, Tati was com
Meanwhile, in Satbury, Tati returned to the company but was forced to stop her car at the entrance. Some people were decorating the entrance with flowers. Security tried to chase them away, but they did not even budge. The security guards seemed wary of something and did not force those people to leave. A few cars were parked nearby, including a truck that still carried fresh flowers.Tati did not honk. There were people and flowers on the road before her and honking was useless anyway, or she could simply drive past without a care. She got out of the car to have a look. “Sweet Tati.”An unfamiliar voice rang. Tati looked toward the person who called her and frowned. She recognized that person. He was Manny Longbottom, the eldest son of the interim head of the family.Mr. Longbottom had come over several times for business negotiations. However, it was not yet his scheduled timing. Even if he were the Longbottom family’s interim head, there would be no special treatmen
First, Adrian poured himself a glass of water. He then sat down at his desk, pulled out his phone, and made a call to Jacob while sipping his water.When the call connected, he spoke in a low voice, “We’re going ahead with the plan. Caroline will be heading to Fortress Hotel later to meet with a client. After the meeting, she’ll have dinner there.“The discussion and dinner will take a long time. By the time she leaves the hotel, it’ll already be nighttime. She probably won’t go anywhere else after that.“Wait for her on the route she usually takes home. Her license plate is CA 201. Got it?”Adrian made sure Jacob remembered Caroline’s license plate number. He had also sent the information via text, so unless the person had an exceptionally bad memory, they should be able to recall it.Jacob replied, “Got it. We’ll have to start preparing, then. Try to get Caroline to drink some alcohol. If she’s drunk, it’ll be easier to handle her.”After all, they could not guarantee that the
Adrian snapped, “Are you saying that I don’t do real work? Caroline, I was working at Fisher Enterprise long before we even knew you existed.”Caroline said neutrally, “Yes, yes, Adrian, you’ve been at Fisher Enterprise for a long time, but what achievements have you made? I mean, achievements that you accomplished on your own.“The results credited to you in the past weren’t actually your doing. You know better than anyone how they came about, so I won’t spell it out. I may have joined Fisher Enterprise only recently, but look at the position I’m in now.“Adrian, I’ve made it very clear. If you want to keep your job, do it well and take it seriously. Stop trying to take credit for other people’s work.”Adrian’s expression darkened. “I only said a couple of things, and you fired back with dozens. Can’t you give me some grace? I have pride, too.”“Adrian, go back to work. I need to get ready to head out soon.” Caroline was done talking to her brother.Adrian fell silent for a mo
Adrian was sullenly quiet. Was he really that incompetent? He thought he had done a pretty good job.Back when their mother was still around, he had not even needed to lift a finger. He just had to vaguely outline the requirements, and the elite team under him would come up with a proposal that satisfied everyone upstairs.All he had to do was wait for the praise and the compliments about how capable he was.After doing this for so long, Adrian had started to believe that he truly was talented.Then, he found out that Celine was not his biological sister and that Caroline was, but the latter had grown up in the countryside, appearing weak and timid, and seemed useless to the company—a good-for-nothing. Thus, Adrian began to harbor ambitions. He wanted to replace his sister and become the successor of the Fisher family.He had repeatedly expressed to his mother his desire to take over, to become the first male successor in the Fisher family’s history. He even said he was willing
Adrian tried several times to interrupt his sister, but Caroline’s barrage came at him like a machine gun, rapid and relentless. All he could do was glare at her, his face flush with anger. If looks could kill, Caroline would have been torn to pieces long ago.After finishing her lecture, Caroline picked up her cup and took a few sips of her coffee. She then said, “Adrian, look at me, I’m parched from all this talking. I’ve really gone out of my way to persuade you for your own good, just like how you tried to persuade me not to hand over control of the Fisher family. “To be honest, even if I didn’t give it back to Audrey and the rest, do you think I could hold onto the position of the matriarch?“The rest of the family doesn’t support us. They might not necessarily side with the Wiltspoonians either, but they definitely won’t side with us. They’ve long been dissatisfied with Mom and us.“Without their support and unable to win against Audrey, the Fisher legacy would eventually be