The flowers Harvey brought were left on Liberty’s desk. She grabbed the bouquet and ran out to return the flowers to him. However, Harvey left in a rush and was long gone by the time Liberty emerged from the restaurant. Helpless, Liberty held the bouquet and did not know what to do with it. Coincidently, Duncan arrived at the scene. Duncan saw Liberty standing outside the restaurant with flowers in hand. Thinking the bouquet was for him, Duncan smiled broadly as the bodyguards wheeled him over. “Liberty,” Duncan cried. “You’re here, Mr. Lewis.” Liberty carried the flowers down the steps. Duncan waited until Liberty was close before reaching his arms out to take the bouquet. He said, “Why did you get me flowers? My birthday has passed.” Liberty replied awkwardly, “These flowers aren’t for you, Mr. Lewis. Mr. Gray gave them to me as an apology. I didn’t accept it, but he left after putting the flowers down. He was gone by the time I came out of the restaurant to look
Duncan was pleased with Liberty having trust in him. “Are you here to eat? I chose a few dishes that you’d like and asked the kitchen to prepare them. They’ll be served shortly. I have to rush back home now.”She had been out on errands for the entire morning. There were still a bunch of matters awaiting her back home. Serenity could have handled them, but Liberty did not want her sister to get involved. Serenity’s morning sickness was terrible. Liberty would rather her sister not vomit every day than have herself work. Duncan knew Liberty was busy. He said, “I’ll give you a ride and have a meal at your home. Is that okay? I haven’t tasted Mrs. Lane’s cooking in a long time. I miss it a lot.”Liberty did not refuse him. “Wait for me here. I have to grab something inside.”“Okay.”Liberty went into the restaurant to retrieve her stuff. Just then, Duncan told the bodyguard behind him, “Get someone to look into Harvey Gray.”He needed to know his rival thoroughly.“Yes, si
While Hank could walk, he looked weak and spiritless compared to Duncan. “Mr. Lewis,” Hank greeted nicely. Duncan nodded and asked, “When were you discharged?”“Yesterday.”Duncan thought Hank being discharged could have been for the better. Liberty would not need to take Sonny to the hospital for visits on weekends anymore. “You’re here to look for Liberty, right? Why aren’t you going inside?” Chelsea asked Duncan. “Liberty went inside to get some stuff. We’ll go home together in a bit.”Duncan purposely phrased it that way to anger them. Liberty and Hank have been divorced for a year. The Browns should not even dream of pestering her anymore. Some people were brazen enough to think they could get away with anything; Duncan realized the Browns were such people. Hank's gaze darkened upon hearing that Duncan would return home with Liberty. However, he remained silent as he had no right to say anything anyway. Chelsea had been expecting Hank to retort, but she was disa
The Browns were not blessed enough to keep a good daughter-in-law like Liberty. “The doctor said I could be discharged and recuperate at home. Staying in the hospital is expensive.”Hank added, “I almost depleted my family’s assets.”He planned to follow his parents back to their hometown and sell the house they owned in the city. Otherwise, his family would struggle financially. Since he had included Jessica’s name on the title deed, he needed to inform her beforehand that the house would be sold. Jessica had been found guilty in two cases and sentenced to prison for decades.She utterly regretted her wrongdoings. Liberty nodded. She said, “Rest well at home and don’t think about working just yet. You can pay Sonny’s child support for the following year after you resume working.”Chelsea wanted to chime in at that point. She felt Liberty was too cruel for demanding Hank to pay child support despite his weak state. However, Hank said quickly, “Don’t worry. Sonny’s my son.
Chelsea and Hank left. In subsequent days, Hank sold his house after obtaining Jessica’s permission. He initially wanted to split the money with her, but she refused. The house was bought before Hank’s first marriage. Even Liberty could not receive the house as compensation during their divorce, let alone her. Jessica wanted Hank to hand over her share of the sale to Liberty and Sonny. She had wronged them the most. Whether Liberty accepted it or not, Jessica was repenting for her mistakes in her own way. After that, Hank returned to his hometown to recuperate. Aside from visiting Sonny occasionally, he and his family never again appeared before Liberty for any other matters. The Browns eventually faded out of everyone’s lives. …At the Newmans’ villa, Trenton stood outside the gates with a black backpack. However, he did not press the doorbell. It was his home. Well, it was Camryn’s home, to be exact. Trenton’s grandparents had given the villa to Abel, whom his own pa
“I see.”Trenton was deep in thought.After discovering what his parents had done, he had been suspicious whether the doctor in charge of treating Camryn back then had died of natural causes. His parents could have played a part in it. “Why did you return all of a sudden, Mr. Trenton?”The maid found it weird. Was Trenton not supposed to be studying at the university?It would have made sense if he returned during a long break but the break was already over.“I requested a leave of absence because I was worried about Camryn.”Trenton revealed that he had taken some time off his studies to come home. “Camryn’s inside, right? I’ll go meet her.”He was eager to meet Camryn and verify that her eyes were recovering. “Ms. Camryn and Mr. Callum are together.”Trenton seemed to have missed the maid’s last sentence as he had gone inside the house in a hurry. Once he stepped inside, he saw his soon-to-be brother-in-law, Callum, entangled in a steamy kiss with his sister. Trento
Trenton walked over and glared at Callum. Callum smiled. “Why are you back?”Trenton was furious at him for taking advantage of Camryn. Even while blushing, he said angrily, “This is my house. I can come back whenever I want. It’s none of your business.”Callum did not argue with him. He knew Trenton had caught them making out and must have felt Callum was taking advantage of Camryn.“It’s me, Camryn.”Trenton approached Camryn and pushed Callum aside to stand before her in the most ideal position for her to see him clearly.They had been siblings for seventeen years, yet ten years had passed since she last saw her brother’s face. He was merely a second grader when she lost her vision and in a flash, he was now a university student.Instead of being displeased from being pushed aside, Callum smiled. He said, “Trenton, your sister can see in close distances now, albeit slightly blurry. Dr. Carden likened her eyesight to that of a person with severe myopia without their glasses
Camryn hugged Trenton after calming down. Trenton glanced at Callum, worried he would get jealous. He had heard rumors of how overbearing his future brother-in-law was, but Callum could probably tolerate it since he was Camryn’s brother. Trenton recalled that Camryn was cold and often ignored him when he was young. However, when he fell, she would always help him up and soothe him in her arms.Trenton had liked Camryn for as long as he could remember. His aloof sister would only express her concern whenever he fell down. Hence, he liked falling because it was the only way to make Camryn show her concern for him. In his memories, her embrace was frail yet heartwarming. When Trenton was younger, he could never understand why his mother treated Camryn badly or why Camryn always ignored him. As he grew older, he finally discovered that he and Camryn did not share the same father. Although they shared the same mother, Paige never liked Camryn. Whenever Trenton saw Camryn gett
“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
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