Chelsea joined her mother in criticizing her brother. She said, “Hank, this time, no matter what, you must get a divorce. You can’t be with that wicked woman Jessica anymore. Do you know what kind of life our two families have been living after your incident?“You can’t only think about yourself and that wicked woman. You should also consider us. I was cut by that wicked woman while trying to save you. We stayed in the hospital for several days. We are siblings, but I haven’t asked you to compensate me for my medical expenses.“But you must listen to us and quickly divorce that wicked woman. And don’t issue some forgiveness statement. She stabbed you almost to death, and you still want to forgive her? What kind of forgiveness is that? Even if you flirted with her first, if she didn’t have any ideas, the two of you wouldn’t have ended up like this. It takes two to tango.“When you flirted with her, why didn’t she quit her job? Why didn’t she keep her distance from you? Instead, she e
Only Lucas, who was still young and spoiled by the family, did not understand the situation. He was the youngest and used to bully Sonny all the time, often taking his belongings.However, since visiting his uncle’s house and not seeing Sonny there, Lucas no longer had anyone to bully or take things from.After a long time without seeing each other, when they finally met, Lucas’s mischievous nature started to emerge again. He found Sonny’s clothes quite cool and wanted them for himself.“The kids are used to calling you Aunt Liberty now,” Chelsea said as she took the bag of apples from Liberty’s hands. “You’ve come all this way, and you even brought gifts. You’re too courteous.”She glanced at the bag and saw only apples.Considering that apples were now several bucks per pound, this bag would only cost tens of bucks. Chelsea felt that Liberty was somewhat stingy compared to her previous visit, but she still appreciated the gesture. Since this meant they had something to eat for
Lucas walked over and tried to touch the flowers.Hank quickly said, “Don’t touch them, Lucas. This bouquet was given to me by Sonny.”“Uncle Hank, the flowers are pretty. I want one too. Please give me one.”Hank could not bear to do so. He placed the bouquet on his other side to prevent his nephew from plucking the flowers. “The bouquet won’t look pretty if you pluck the flowers, Lucas. Chelsea, rinse a few apples for Liberty, Mr. Lewis, and Sonny.”Lucas stopped insisting on the flower once he heard there were apples. Next, he eyed Sonny’s clothes and touched and tugged at them. He asked Sonny, “Sonny, did Aunt Liberty buy you these new clothes? They look good. I want new clothes too.”Lucas turned to Liberty and said, “Aunt Liberty, I want new clothes that look like Sonny’s. Buy me a few sets of them.”In the past, he would have a set of everything Aunt Liberty bought for Sonny. If she did not buy it for him, his mom and grandma would scold her. Since then, Aunt Liber
Although Duncan was laughing heartily, his words embarrassed Hank again. Hank switched his tone and asked concernedly, “How’s the recovery of your legs going?”He was hoping that Duncan could never recover.Hank knew he and Liberty could never remarry because she would never look back after moving on. However, he could not stand seeing her getting married to someone else, especially when that person was Duncan.He would have felt better if Liberty were dating an ordinary man. Unfortunately, Duncan was the one wooing her, and he was better than Hank in every aspect. His only downside was his slightly older age. Nevertheless, he had not been married before. People would still think he was out of Liberty’s league because she divorced and had a child. Even if Duncan were disabled, countless women would still be queuing up to marry him as long as he was willing to get a wife. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Brown. My injury is recovering well. I’m in rehabilitation now. If I perse
“I’ll let you know when I feel uncomfortable, Sonny. I won’t be hesitant to tell you.”After explaining, Duncan told Chelsea, “I’m fine, Chelsea. Sonny’s a child, but he’s very sensible. He would never sit on my lap when my legs were in pain. I’ve long been discharged from the hospital and have done rehabilitation for some time. I’m still able to hold Sonny.“Don’t scare him, Chelsea.”The Brown family did that to prevent Sonny from getting close to Duncan.However, he had spent lots of time with Sonny. It was not something that the Brown family could stop from happening as they wished.Chelsea said, “Don’t dote on Sonny so much, Mr. Lewis. You’ll spoil him rotten.”“Don’t worry. He won’t be spoiled rotten as his mom is strict with him. He knows what he can and can’t do. I like Sonny. He’s sensible and clever. Even with so many people adoring him, he never became unreasonable.”The Brown family did not feel good when they heard Duncan praising Sonny. However, they could not say
“It’s okay. My employees are experienced, and they have good character. I trust them. Besides, I’m still managing the breakfast diner in the meantime. One day when I have my restaurants all over Wiltspoon, I can hire you if I can’t handle everything myself.“There’s really no need to hire more people now. It’s a small business, so I try to save on salaries wherever possible.”Chelsea pouted. She knew Liberty was not going to hire her. Liberty even made excuses, such as not knowing how her business would turn out. However, with her identity as Mr. York’s sister-in-law, how could her business be bad?Chelsea knew how skilled Liberty was at cooking. The business at her restaurant would surely be booming if she managed it well. Chelsea heard that popular food businesses could earn a revenue of tens of thousands of dollars monthly. After subtracting the costs, the monthly profit would be a considerable amount. Chelsea was attracted when she thought of how much Liberty would be ea
After speaking, Liberty called her son, “We’re leaving, Sonny. Say goodbye to Dad.”“It’s a weekend today, Liberty. Sonny doesn’t have to go to school. Can we let him stay in the hospital for a day to accompany his dad and send him back to you tomorrow night?” Mr. Brown asked for Liberty’s permission. He wanted his grandson to stay behind. Mr. Brown did not say much, but he also felt a sense of crisis after seeing Sonny and Duncan’s overly intimate actions. He was worried Duncan would become Sonny’s stepfather. If so, they would definitely have a close relationship based on the affection they showed each other. His son, Sonny’s biological father, would be completely forgotten when that happened.It was fine if they could not get their ex-daughter-in-law back because they had hurt and bullied her in the past. However, Sonny was the Brown family’s child and their only grandson. They could not let their relationship with Sonny be estranged. Liberty said, “I’ll have to ask for So
Mr. Brown scolded his daughter. “Sonny’s going to his aunt’s house. Liberty will be busy with her work and won’t have time to look after Sonny, so she needs Serenity’s help to take care of him. If you want Lucas to go over, who’ll look after your child? Lucas is so naughty. If he were to damage something, would you be able to pay for it?”Wildridge Manor was a vast property that belonged to the wealthiest family. It was a place where ordinary people like them could never enter. They did hear about how beautiful and luxurious the place was. Every decoration in the York family’s house was valuable. Lucas was mischievous and loved to wreck things. If he were to damage something in that house, it would be impossible for them to compensate for it, even if Chelsea’s entire family sold themselves. Chelsea pouted and did not say anything else after getting scolded. Liberty would never bring Lucas to Wildridge Manor either. She still remembered how Lucas and his brother used to bully
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa