“I believe you have better prospects in expanding your restaurant chain since you love cooking and want to make delicious and affordable food for people. However, you must be stricter with management and develop your own management style because a good leader is like a glue that holds the team together. Liberty, I believe you will succeed, but don’t be in a hurry. Take things slow. Rome wasn’t built overnight. We will gain more experience as we move forward.” Liberty nodded. “You have a point, Mr. Lewis. I will pace myself. The last thing I want is a costly mistake of losing everything.” Age was still on her side. She could work her way in the industry for another decade before considering diversifying into a five-star hotel. Liberty wheeled Duncan out of the restaurant and stopped to shut and lock the glass door before pulling down the security shutters. “I’ll do it, Ms. Hunt.” The Lewises’ bodyguard came forth and pulled down the shutters for Liberty. Liberty performed the
The other bodyguard had taken personal leave, leaving Duncan with only one bodyguard today. Liberty was concerned that a single bodyguard would have trouble getting Duncan into the car. The bodyguard did not refuse. He and Liberty helped Duncan into the car. Once Duncan was inside, Liberty considerately secured his seat belt while the bodyguard fit the wheelchair into the trunk. Duncan kept his eyes on Liberty as she buckled him up. Since the pair was in such close proximity, he nearly gave in to his urge to hold her tight. In the end, he managed to stop himself. Liberty was becoming more like a family to him. His one-time reckless behavior might cost him all he had worked for. “Mr. Lewis, you don’t have to take us home. The journey isn’t far.” Duncan looked deeply into her eyes. “I can’t rest until I see you and Sonny safely inside the house.” It was difficult for Duncan to let the mother and son out of his sight, let alone a ten-minute driving journey. Liberty locke
Zachary and Serenity gifted Liberty a villa, but she refused the generous gift. The property had yet to be transferred to her name, and she had not moved in either. Liberty was without a word. Faced with Liberty’s silence, the Lewises’ bodyguard knew better than to offer more unsolicited advice. As Liberty opened the door to her home, he said, “Ms. Hunt, don’t forget to lock the door. I got to go.” “Sure, thank you. Drive safely,” Liberty urged. She laid her son down on the sofa before checking the front door. By then, the bodyguard had already left. She quickly locked the door and returned to the sofa to pick her son up and take him to the bedroom. “You’re out like a light. You haven’t even showered.” Liberty gave her son a gentle squeeze on the cheek. She let him sleep instead of waking him up. Sonny could have a nice, hot shower when he wakes up in the morning. “Sonny.” Liberty leaned forward to kiss her son on the cheek. “It must have been hard for you to leave
Serenity was only ten when her parents passed away and since then, Liberty had practically raised her. The bond between the sisters went deep beyond that. Liberty was like a mother to Serenity.Since Serenity became Mrs. York, Liberty was glad to accept help from her sister and Zachary on major matters. However, she firmly refused any handouts when it concerned her everyday life. Zachary and Serenity were at their wit’s end when it came to Liberty’s stubbornness. No one, not even Audrey, could shake her attitude and talk her out of it. “Mr. Lewis, I’ve been living here for a long time. It’s a safe area, and nothing ever happened. I ran into a drunk man tonight, but that’s all. I’ll be careful not to come home late like this again. Today’s incident was an exception. “It’s bad enough I can’t be a safety net my sister can fall back on, but you can’t expect me to mooch off her. A property in The Oasis cost tens of millions, and Zachary bought the biggest villa in the area. I belie
“Mr. Lewis, it’s late. You should get some rest.” “Okay. You should rest soon too. I don’t really have much to do, so I can sleep late and have a lie-in tomorrow.” The pair said their good nights. Duncan needed to exit the car. His bodyguard first removed the wheelchair from the trunk before helping Duncan out of the car. Once Duncan was seated in the wheelchair, the bodyguard wheeled him into the main residence. His parents, Derek and Corey, should be fast asleep at this hour. Nevertheless, the light came on before the bodyguard could reach for the switch after they stepped inside the house. Corey turned on the lights. She just came downstairs. “Mrs. Lewis,” the bodyguard greeted with respect. “It’s late, Mom. Why aren’t you asleep?” Corey drew close and relieved the bodyguard of his duty. She proceeded to push the wheelchair. “I couldn’t rest until I knew you were home safe. I kept my ears peeled for any outside noise and checked the balcony when I heard the g
Now that Liberty was a businesswoman, she upgraded her wardrobe to reflect the change. Liberty was gorgeous, to begin with. She managed to shed the extra pounds and shine through it all like a phoenix rising from the ashes. She was radiant and became the center of attention wherever she went. A beautiful woman always attracted attention. Besides, Liberty was a divorcee who lived alone with her son; a fact those who knew her were aware of. This made her more desirable to many men. One of them might act with ill intent, but there was no way to know for sure.“I advised her to accept Zachary’s gift and move into The Oasis. I have a villa there too, so I can live in the area if she decides to move there. We can look after each other. I can keep her company or have our bodyguard escort her.” “Liberty can be stubborn.” Corey remembered the time she met with Liberty to persuade her to leave Wiltspoon. Liberty refuted her to the point of speechlessness. She knew Liberty was a woma
The mention of Sonny softened Duncan’s facial muscles. Duncan said to his mother, “I held Sonny to sleep tonight. My heart just melted when I saw him settling down in my arms. The kid is cuter by the day, and I can’t help but grow fonder of him. I don’t expect him to call me Dad. It makes me happy enough when he calls me Dunc.” Hank was still alive. Even though Sonny was not close to his father, it did not change the fact that Hank was his father. In the past, Duncan would comfort Sonny, expressing his desire to be his stepdad. However, Sonny said he already had a father and did not need another one. Sonny mentioned he was not greedy enough to have two dads. Sonny showed Duncan that the boy would never call him dad. That was why Duncan would not ask for more. It was enough for Duncan if he could marry Liberty and raise Sonny together with her. Sonny could call him Dunc since he did steal the boy’s mommy.“Sonny is the most adorable thing. He is such a delight and a ball of sun
“Is Duncan home?” “Yeah, he’s back. He’s resting in his room.” Corey drew near. “Why are you up?” Derek closed the magazine. “You’re worried about our son, and so am I. I can’t get a good night’s rest until Duncan is home. I need to hear the sound of his car to know he’s back before I can sleep.” “I know, right? Neither of us can sleep until he’s home.” “Did he say why he was late home tonight? What did you talk to him about?” Corey sat in bed and pulled the covers while saying, “He was waiting for Liberty. He came home from escorting Liberty home after she was finished with work. Liberty was really busy today, but she won’t work this late anymore. Our son is doing well. Don’t worry. It’s late. Get some sleep. We didn’t talk much, only a little about his future with Liberty.” Derek waited until his wife was down and cozy before killing the lights. “What’s the point of talking about that? Duncan hasn’t fully recovered yet. He won’t be together with Liberty for fear he woul
This was the main reason he insisted on his daily morning runs. Austin did not have much time alone with Isabella because she was always busy. She left for work early and came back late too. He could only see her during mealtimes, but even then, she only had a short time to eat. After finishing her meal, she would try to squeeze in a bit of rest. Austin did not want to disturb her rest, so the only time they could have some quiet moments together and chat was during their morning runs. Fortunately, back in Wiltspoon, he had already gotten into the habit of going for a morning run. “Good morning, Ms. Isabella.”As Isabella approached, Austin smiled and greeted her. Isabella, a bit tired after running for a while, stopped when she saw Austin. She walked over to him and smiled. “Good morning.” Isabella already had a good impression of Austin when she learned that he was a member of the York family, the wealthiest family in Wiltspoon. Now, knowing more about him, her attitud
Zachary had told him that the old pervert from the Longbottom family wanted to take over the O'Connors’ family business and turn it into his own private property because the pervert did not have actual inheritance rights to the Longbottom family headship, nor did he have the family head’s seal, token, or totem.“Dylan, I don’t have much advice for you. As Zachary said, we should trust Nana. As long as you follow what she says, you won’t suffer any losses.”“We’re beyond the age where Nana can make us suffer now anyway.”When they were younger, they often got the short end of the stick, largely because their grandparents would discipline them. They were told that if their abilities and plans were not sufficient, it would make them vulnerable to being taken advantage of.“Dylan, I think I’ll clock in a couple more hours of sleep before my morning run. After that, I have to prepare breakfast for Ms. Isabella.”“Okay, go to bed then. Don’t overwork yourself.”“I’m not. I’m enjoying i
Austin would not admit that he wanted to hear the gossip about Dylan’s love life.Dylan asked, “Are you free to talk right now?”“Sure. I have a whole dormitory unit to myself, and it’s quite spacious. I live quite comfortably. My salary comes on time every month, and I’m well-fed. My cooking skills have improved a lot, too.”Dylan was silent for a moment before he responded with another voice message.“You’ve only been focused on cooking? It’s been several months since you went there, and you didn’t even come back for the Christmas holidays. All you have in your brain is cooking.”“I came here specifically to cook in the first place.”Dylan was speechless.Indeed, Austin had heard that Isabella had an extremely picky palate, which he viewed as a challenge. Their nana had not even urged him once when he had eagerly gone to Satbury of his volition.Occasionally, Dylan heard his family mention Austin, saying that he was always busy researching new recipes and cooking, but seemed
Chameleon Fox turned to look at Dylan.After some time, she said, “Thanks for returning the token to me.”It was the end between him and Fox.Dylan stared at her and said, “Don’t be outside at midnight this often in the future. You should have a good rest.”It would make her fatigued in the morning. She would have to drink a few cups of coffee to stay alert.Fox smiled. “I like going out at midnight. It’s become a habit. Goodbye, Dylan.”She waved at him and opened the door. Soon, she disappeared from his sight.Since Imogen knew her token was in Wildridge Manor, she was no longer in a rush to get it back.It was because Dylan was still in Huntington. If she were to go to Wiltspoon and Dylan could not find her at the company, he would link her to Chameleon Fox. He already had suspicions that they were the same person.Wildridge Manor was a safe place anyway. She was not worried that the token would go missing.Dylan had hidden the token at the manor to keep it safe and preven
“Whether it’s Imogen, Chameleon Fox, or Sugar—aren’t they all you?”“I said I’m not Ms. Doyle.”Chameleon Fox’s expression hardened. “You’re a bastard, Dylan York. You flirted with me and Ms. Doyle before figuring everything out. This is two-timing. I won’t accept you, and neither would Ms. Doyle.”Dylan’s heated gaze focused on her face. He said, “You’re saying that you aren’t Imogen. Do you dare to remove your makeup, tear off your hyper-realistic mask, and show me your true face?”“Do you know what happens to those who have seen my true appearance? Death.“Everyone who has seen my face is already dead. If you wish to die, I can fulfill that wish for you. However, I don’t want to offend the York family and be their enemies. Don’t make me kill you.”She had only put on a layer of hyper-realistic mask that night. If she tore it off, it would reveal her true appearance.Dylan smiled. “That’s because you feel guilty. You dare not show me your true face because you’re Imogen and Su
Both Sugar and Chameleon Fox were not her true identity—her true self was Imogen Doyle. Dylan had to love her as Imogen. Imogen could not handle Dylan’s intense stare. She stood and asked, “When are you going to return my item? Give it back to me now. We should cut ties and never cross paths again.”“I don’t have it with me. I used to bring it along with me wherever I went, but you never came to get it. I left it at home. I didn’t bring it over.“Are you that desperate to cut off all communication with me? We’ve known each other for over half a year. Although we didn’t start on a good note, didn’t we get along afterward?”Dylan thought Imogen was trying to remove Fox from his life so he could get used to her being Imogen.“Do you have some misunderstanding toward the concept of ‘getting along’? We’ve only been quarreling or fighting whenever we met. Is that considered ‘getting along’? If it were not for you taking my thing and not returning it to me, I wouldn’t have had to chas
Dylan walked over and stood by the table. He did not stand beside her as he feared she would toss him over her shoulder.She did not like him being too close to her.“Are you still not admitting that you’re Imogen? I got the answer from my Nana. You’re Imogen. You’re also Sugar.”Imogen closed the book. She raised her head to look at Dylan. Her eyes were bright, and she had a smile on her face. “Are you sure your Nana said so? Do you have evidence that I’m Imogen Doyle?“Do I resemble her a lot?“Are our voices similar? What about our figures?”After a moment of silence, Dylan said, “Your face and voice aren’t like Imogen’s, but you two do have similar body shapes.“You’re called Chameleon Fox. It means you’re cunning and a master at disguising your looks. The only group of people who can disguise themselves perfectly in this world are the students of the legendary masters in the Imperial Force.“Sugar is Silver’s student, and Chameleon Fox is one of your fake identities. I don
Leticia knocked on the door of Imogen’s room but did not receive a response.“Jen is probably asleep. Stop knocking on the door. Look at the time now.”Winston reminded his wife that she should not wake their daughter as it was already late at night. Leticia stopped knocking and said, “I just wanted to talk to Jen because I haven’t seen her lately. I guess I’ll have to wait till her next day off if she’s asleep.”Although the Doyle family lived in the same mansion, the youngsters were always busy with company matters.They would always head out early in the morning and only be back late at night. Even during holidays, they barely had time to themselves because they had to meet clients.While Davidson Group was one of the best megacorporations in Huntington, the clients who worked with them were equally strong. There were also many competitors who would like to snatch business deals from Davidson Group.Therefore, Davidson Group had to maintain good relationships with their clie
However, Zachary was punished the least among the York brothers.He already started behaving like the eldest since he was young. He was calm and composed, unlike his naughty younger brothers. Gramps and Grandma May punished them often. Nevertheless, the York brothers liked being with their grandparents.“Enough of that. Let’s talk about you and Ms. Doyle. Have you wondered why she isn’t admitting that she’s Chameleon Fox? That’s just another alias of hers. Her true identity is Imogen Doyle, a young lady of the Doyle family.“She wants you to fall in love with Imogen instead of treating her as Fox. Although she’s also Fox, that isn’t her original self but simply an identity created through makeup.“If you two were to get married, you’d have to spend the rest of your lives as husband and wife. Ms. Doyle can’t possibly live with you as Chameleon Fox forever. She has already returned to her family. She’s no longer going on adventures with her teacher as Sugar either.“Everyone knows h