Belinda would be over the moon if Hayden became her son-in-law. “Mom, Mr. Queen and I are friends. He told me not to fall in love with him and that he would never accept me. If I were to like him as Celine did, I’d get hurt in the end.“We’re better off as friends.”Caroline had a crush on Hayden, experiencing that natural sense of admiration that came with meeting an outstanding individual. Though after Hayden expressed his thoughts honestly, her admiration did not go beyond that. Belinda was silent for a moment before giving a hum. She said, “Mr. Queen doesn’t suit our family. It’s better if you two stay as friends.”Befriending Hayden would benefit Caroline as well. “Did you have someone you liked before you returned to this family?”She was concerned about her daughter’s marriage. “Let me know if you have someone you fancy. You can bring him back and let me meet him. I won’t object if he has a good character. Those who are financially well-off won’t marry into our family.
Belinda’s expression softened. She said, “You don’t have to mind what others say. They don’t want you or Celine to be the next matriarch.“The Fisher family has been around for a century. We’ve been through ups and downs. What else out there that we’ve yet to encounter?“We’ve overshadowed our distant relatives for many years, so of course they’d be dissatisfied and want to move up the hierarchy whenever possible. They must’ve been the ones who spread the rumors too.”Belinda could never tell Caroline that she herself was the one who had caused her sisters' deaths. Those who knew about it were all dead and all evidence was destroyed by her. Thinking about it, did she forget anyone?It had been decades since the incident. She would never admit to her crime if there was no concrete evidence. Her nieces were young back then, so any recollection they had was vague at best. Plus, they were difficult to locate. For decades, she had been keeping an ear to the ground about her nieces
Belinda sighed and said, “She’s indeed different from us, but the multiple DNA tests and results tell us that she’s our daughter.“Caroline’s features do resemble us. It’s just her way of doing things is too soft. She’s too weak for someone with Fisher blood flowing in her veins. I’m getting older, but I don’t know when she’ll be ready to succeed me. Otherwise, I could retire and take care of our grandchildren with you.“I wonder when our daughters-in-law can give us a granddaughter. I hope our first grandchild is a girl. I’ll feel reassured that way. If Carol isn’t capable enough, I can nurture our granddaughter to be the successor while I’m still alive.”Hunter started having ideas upon hearing this. Caroline was a better fit as the matriarch than his granddaughter. However, she did not grow up by his side. Their relationship as a father and daughter was distant.If Caroline were the matriarch, he would have to behave and be cautious.On the other hand, if his granddaughter were
Caroline had no idea what her parents were talking about. She returned to her room and sent a message to Darren to inform him that Belinda found out about her visit to Wiltspoon. Immediately, he replied: [I’m sorry, Ms. Caroline. I was incompetent.]Caroline texted him: [It’s normal that something was discovered since my mom’s assistant was the one investigating. You don’t have to blame yourself. They were just some receipts proving my spending in Wiltspoon. This outcome is good enough.]Darren still felt bad about it and replied: [I made a mistake, Ms. Caroline. Please deduct my salary and bonus for this month.]Knowing his personality, Caroline replied: [I’ll deduct your bonus but not your salary. You still need to survive. I can’t possibly pay for your living expenses, right?]Darren stared at Caroline’s message for a long time before replying: [I accept this punishment.]He did not want Caroline to pay for his expenses. Instead, he wished to become her right-hand man. From
As Grandma May used to say, they rarely had the chance to taste Zachary’s cooking. Only she would dare to request him to cook while the rest would not have the guts to do so.After Serenity joined the family, Zachary became a permanent crew in the kitchen. They got lucky because of her. If they were at Wildridge Manor, Zachary would ensure anything Serenity wished for would be fulfilled to make her happy. He promised he would make every woman envious of Serenity, and he delivered. Zachary entered the kitchen to prepare breakfast.After standing in silence for two minutes, Dylan walked out of the main house to look for Grandma May in the garden. She was dancing to the music played on a speaker instead of exercising. Dylan was speechless. He hated dancing. Once he started working and earned his first salary, he bought a house in a neighborhood near his company. He thought it would be convenient for him to travel to and fro his work but alas, the ladies in the neighborhood w
Dylan’s face twitched. Grandma May returned the drawing to him after taking a look at it.“Nana.”The old lady raised her hand to stop him from talking. She said, “It was your dream. If you have questions, you should be the one looking for answers. What use is there in asking me? I’m not a know-it-all.”With a bitter face, Dylan said, “But you’ve already chosen a wife for me and handed me her picture. I’m going to look for her anytime now, but both she and the woman in my dreams aren’t the same person.“The men of the York family never divorce or have an affair. I don’t want to be the first York to dishonor his wife.”Grandma May still looked uninterested. “I’ve said that it’s your problem. You should investigate it and find the issue. If you’re having those dreams because I’ve chosen someone for you, you should look for her.”“Nana!”Dylan sat beside her and held her arm to whine. “Don’t you love me anymore, Nana? You always say that I’m your favorite. Can you put up with mak
Grandma May did not budge. She said, “Dylan, you can ask Kevin about this and learn from him.”“I’m not running away, Nana. How can I do that when you’re doing all of this for our sake? I have really been having those dreams for some time now, and they have all been about the woman in my drawing.”He could swear that he was telling the truth. The dreams were real while wanting his nana to let him off the hook was also true. “Let me reiterate. I’ve done lots of research before picking someone and finally deciding on your future wife because she matches you. You’ve never met her nor tried to understand her. How could you be sure she’s not suitable for you?“Why not do it this way? If you can find the girl in your dreams, you can give up on the lady I’ve chosen for you. I won’t hold it against you.”Dylan said, “How can I find her from a sea of people?”Initially, his plan was to use this matter to convince Grandma May to withdraw her matchmaking for him. This would grant him the
A moment later, Dylan said, “Are you hungry, Nana? Let’s head back for breakfast. Zack’s making it.“He truly treats Serenity well. Rarely do we have the chance to taste his cooking, but she can have it every day.”Dylan sounded jealous of Serenity. Zachary was really devoted to her. Grandma May stood up with Dylan’s support. She gestured for him to move the speaker back into the house. She said, “Are you jealous of Zack and Seren’s relationship? You can be the object of envy too.”Dylan followed Grandma May back to the main house along with the speaker. He said, “I’ve never seen the woman you picked for me, Nana. How will I know if I can get along with her? Besides, I’m involved with another woman in my dream.“I don’t know who I’ll marry in the end. If I marry the one you chose, I might betray her, because the woman in my dream isn’t her.“This is too hard, Nana.”Grandma May said, “Everything will fall into place eventually. You’ll know how to make your choice when the t
All he could do was hold it in. However, he soon sneezed again.Imogen commented, “My dad told you to stand in the cold without your coat, and you really did it, like an idiot. It’s not like you feel anything for me or you’re trying to win my affection, so there’s really no need for you to listen to my dad.”Luckily, she came out quickly enough. Otherwise, he would have turned into an icicle.“It was my fault before. I hurt you, so it's only natural that Mr. and Mrs. Doyle are angry with me. They didn’t hit me or scold me, and they just made me stand out in the cold for a while; they’re already being very lenient,” said Dylan, sneezing again.He was usually in good health, but this time, he was afraid he might really catch a cold.Imogen glanced at him without saying anything. She led Dylan into the house and asked their housekeeper if the soup was ready.Wendy replied, “Almost.”Imogen nodded and asked Dylan to sit down. Then, she poured him a cup of tea and asked, “Have you ea
Dylan finally put his coat on after Imogen said that. He had only been standing there for half an hour but even in that short time, he had become so cold.Once he put his jacket on, Imogen turned around and began walking inside. “Come with me.”“Okay,” Dylan quickly bent down to grab the gifts before quickening his steps to catch up with Imogen. “Thank you, Ms. Doyle.”Imogen glanced at him for a moment before turning away. “I was just afraid you might freeze to death at my doorstep, and then your family would come after mine. Plus, since your sisters-in-law are my good friends, I couldn't just let you die at my gate.”After leaving Wiltspoon, Imogen had not gone back there under her real name, but she had stayed in touch with Serenity and the others and was still on very good terms with them.Dylan smiled and said, “Serenity will give birth in a few months, and Josh’s wife is also pregnant, but she's a month ahead of Serenity. Liberty and Duncan have already registered their marr
Her daughter’s excellence was all thanks to Silver’s influence.“What I wanted to tell you was that Dylan is standing at our doorstep. He said he wanted to see you. Your dad and I refused and told him to leave, but he’s not budging.”Imogen was not surprised by this, but she still pretended to be surprised, so as not to raise her mother’s suspicion.“Why’s he here?” Imogen asked, feigning ignorance.“Who knows? He didn’t say. He only said he wanted to see you. The way he treated you, playing with your feelings—your dad and I have been holding in a lot of anger for a long time. “But you didn’t want us to confront him, so we couldn’t vent it. Now he’s come knocking, wanting to see you? It won’t be that easy.”Imogen was not planning to meet Dylan either.“Your dad told him to stand outside for two hours with his coat off and that if he doesn’t freeze to death, he’ll let him see you.”Imogen was speechless for a moment. “Mom, it’s freezing outside. Even wearing a thick coat, it’s
“Still not up yet?” Leticia smiled and said as she entered her daughter’s room after the door opened. Imogen’s room was decorated in a warm style, but the furniture was minimal. Aside from the bed, a computer desk, and a set of sofas, she preferred things to be simple. Her room was also the smallest. She said that if the room was too big, it felt empty and she could not sleep well. Leticia thought it was because when her daughter learned self-defense from her master, she lived in a small room with her fellow disciples, so she had gotten used to smaller spaces.Compared to the average person, Imogen's room was actually quite large, but against the rooms of the other family members, hers looked smaller.Leticia sat down on the sofa.“Mom, let me change first.” With her mother here, Imogen could no longer lie in bed. She went to change and wash up, then came out of the bathroom. She poured her mother a cup of water and placed it in front of her before sitting next to her. “Mom, a
Dylan was speechless.Leaving the warm indoors, he felt Huntington's winter was really cold. It was below freezing, and the temperature was as low as 14°F to 32°F. He had never experienced such low temperatures in Wiltspoon.In Wiltspoon, the moment the temperature dropped to 50°F, everyone would start saying it was freezing.Winston and Leticia headed back. Leticia whispered to her husband, “What if he really stands there for two hours without his coat and freezes to death?”They wanted to stand up for their daughter, but they did not want to kill Dylan. That would make them enemies of the Yorks. Even if they could not become in-laws, they definitely did not want to become enemies.Winston replied, “If he really does it, in half an hour, I’ll let Jen come out and call him inside. If he doesn't follow my request, he won’t freeze to death.”At most, he would just catch a cold. If he did not do it, nothing would happen.“I don’t think he’s here for love this time either. I’m not s
Leticia harrumphed as well. “Mr. York, why are you here?” Leticia asked coldly. “We don't welcome you here. Go back to wherever you came from.”Dylan smiled awkwardly, “Mrs. Doyle, I just want to see Ms. Imogen.”“Imogen doesn't want to see you. Hurry up and leave, or we'll let the guard dogs out.” Leticia rejected him outright. “And you’d better stay as far away as possible. Do you think our Imogen is someone you can just toy and flirt with just because you want to, then say you haven't fallen for her and play with her feelings?“What's the matter? Has the Mr. York, whose heart belongs to someone else, still not managed to win his lady love over?” Leticia mocked, though she was actually probing into the reason for Dylan's visit.Dylan just took the insults without getting angry. He knew he had hurt Imogen. Even though she was someone who could take things in stride, the fact remained he had flirted with her and turned to claim he did not like her, which had hurt her feelings.
Otherwise, the Old Mrs. York would not have taken a liking to her in the first place.“I'll go out and have a look.” Leticia could not sit still and stood up to leave. She wanted to mock that York boy. Winston replied, “I'll go with you.”He was worried that his wife might soften her heart because she was quite pleased with Dylan at first. Well, to be honest, he was too.It was mainly because everyone in Huntington knew of the Wiltspoon Yorks’ reputation. The men of the York family were devoted and loyal to their marriages, and once they married, it was for life.For women, the York family was an excellent family for marriage. Who would not want to marry into it? Families with daughters also hoped their daughters would marry York men, or those who were as devoted as them. Leticia hummed in assent and the couple hurried out.Dylan's car was parked in front of the Doyles’ residence. He had switched to a different car, afraid the security guards might recognize his vehicle, eve
“Goodnight, Mom,” Imogen said.As Leticia turned the doorknob to enter her room, Imogen suddenly asked, “Mom, if Dylan comes looking for me again, would you let him in?”“I'd set the guard dog on him.”Imogen chuckled softly, “Mom, you’re all talk. If he really does, you might just smile from ear to ear and think he’s realized he actually loves me.”Leticia was silent for a moment before she said, “Regardless, I have to make him sweat a little.” After saying that, Leticia quickly closed the door, feeling too embarrassed to face her daughter. She internally sighed. Dylan was the son-in-law she had hoped for. If Dylan really did realize that he actually loved Jen and came back for her, Leticia wondered if she should forgive him for the things he had done months ago. Dylan had hurt her daughter, but… never mind. It was between the two young ones. She should let them handle it themselves. There was no way Dylan would come back anyway.Leticia did not expect her daughter’s hypothet
Leticia then heard faint footsteps. When she went out to check, she saw it was her daughter. That was why she asked.“My friend invited me out for a late-night snack.” Imogen lied, not telling her mother that she had gone to meet that thief. She knew that Dylan wanted to break in by climbing the wall, but she kept to herself because she did not want her mother to have a bad impression of him.Leticia had met Dylan back when he was deliberately approaching her and knowing he was one of the Wiltspoon Yorks, she was very pleased with him. Since Leticia thought so highly of Dylan and said a lot of good things about the York family before her, Imogen took this into consideration and saw him as a potential partner. However, when she started to have feelings for him, he told her that after trying for two or three months, he still could not fall for her.“I thought you didn’t like eating late-night snacks? Anyway, you should just eat what you want at home. Why go out? It’s so cold,” Let