As Quinn mentioned, it was best to keep up a lie forever once it started. Otherwise, one must come clean as early as possible and ask for forgiveness to prevent the lie from snowballing. Julian could never deceive her for his entire life. After all, he had to manage the Buchams’ business. Quinn would also have to meet his family after getting married to him. There was no way the lie could last forever. Quinn asked curiously, “Did that friend of yours lie to the person he likes or a friend?”“He lied to the woman he fell in love with at first sight. He opened up to me because he didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to tell him. He lied to her, fearing she might leave him after finding out that he would constantly be in danger or targeted.”“My advice is not to lie about feelings. Although I’ve never dated someone, I think I’ll beat my boyfriend up and never contact each other again if he deceives me.”Julian was shocked. Quinn was more ruthless than Serenity. After swal
Upon giving it some thought, Julian agreed with Quinn. He said, “Being honest with the person you love is crucial. Thank you, Ms. Crawford. I’ll talk to my friend and tell him not to keep a secret anymore.”Quinn smiled. “You don’t have to thank me. I was just sharing my thoughts. Everyone has differing opinions. There may be people who think lying is acceptable. Some of them are used to living in a lie.“You can talk to your friend. If he doesn’t accept your suggestion, you don’t have to continue persuading him. You can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.”Julian felt awkward. What would Quinn think of him if he were to tell her the truth?He needed her to discover his true identity in the most natural way possible. He could explain everything to her afterward. Upon finishing his breakfast, Julian felt much better. Quinn asked, “Do you need more rest, Mr. Bucham?”“It’s almost noon. I think I’ll head out for a stroll instead, and only take a nap afterward. My he
Quinn cocked her head to the side. The sharp blade narrowly missed her face. The robber’s wrist trembled, and the blade was turned toward her neck. Suddenly, a hand appeared to grab the robber’s wrist. The robber exclaimed in pain when a strong grip caught his wrist. The knife fell from his hand, and he received a painful kick. However, there was no escaping for him because his wrist was still locked in a grasp. Julian went to the robber’s back and kicked behind his knees. The robber knelt from the pain, and his wrists were confined to his back. Julian pressed his weight onto the robber to make him stay down. The robber’s face rubbed against the floor and bled. He shouted, “Call 911. Help. Call the police.”Julian chuckled. “Right. We should call the police.”He said to Quinn, “Please call the police, Ms. Crawford.”Quinn was stunned by Julian’s moves. Before the police came, Julian held the robber down and restricted him. Despite the many questions in her head, Quinn di
“It was best if I was trained to protect myself, so my parents sent me to martial arts classes when I was only a few years old. I was talented and became highly skilled in it after about ten years.“Of course, I’ll still be at a disadvantage when many people come at me all at once. If it weren’t for you rescuing me the night I ran into the motorcycle gang, I would’ve been in trouble.“No matter what, you saved my life. Although you have a noble character and refused my offer to return the favor, I don’t want to stay indebted to you. I was only trying to repay you by registering as a member at your gym and paying you via fees.“Sorry for lying to you, Ms. Crawford.”Quinn stared at Julian and he grew nervous from her stare. He was scared she would be furious at his deceptions. Besides, his explanation was still a lie. The only truth was that he was skilled in martial arts. “Were you using your friend’s lying story to test my limits about being lied to?”Quinn was a straightforw
“We gather intel for people. My family is huge, and we’re good at collecting information. Since we often help others to gather information, some people get offended.”Quinn blinked and smiled. “So you’re a private investigator?”“Something similar.”“Is it profitable?”Julian said, “Pretty much.”He found her question funny, and his affection for her deepened. Well, he did fall in love with her at first sight, but his love grew deeper with every look at her. She was the only person who could make his heart beat fast. Julian had to hold himself back every time he saw her to prevent himself from making any weird moves. Only the heavens knew how much he wished to hug and kiss her. He had never experienced hugging or kissing a woman despite being over thirty years old. No matter how beautiful or sexy other women looked, his body had never reacted to them. It was only Quinn whom he desired. “You have a huge family… By the way, is Mr. York’s right-hand man, the one I saw dur
Meanwhile at Wildridge Manor, Serenity returned to her room. The wedding decorations were still up. Although it felt as if a long time had passed, returning to the room reminded her that it had only been half a day since her wedding.While chatting with the manor’s employees with Grandma May, she had the opportunity to listen to some gossip. She suddenly knew why Grandma May enjoyed interacting with the employees. The old lady simply wanted to listen to the exciting stories. Grandma May could hang out with the employees every day only due to her retired lifestyle and advanced age, whereas Serenity had to continue working hard as she was still young. Otherwise, she could have found joy in such life too.When she got older, she would retire alongside Zachary and travel the world while they could still walk around. After that, she could learn from Grandma May and initiate conversations with their employees from time to time, as well as get some juicy gossip. Those days would be in
Serenity sat up and hugged Zachary. “It must’ve been tough on you, babe.”“Anything for you. I hope you can leave all the hard work to me. I want you to have a happy life without worries.”“Do you think I’m Sonny, who has nothing to worry about? Alright, go wash up. We’ll be having lunch soon. Everyone’s up already. Aren’t you hungry after sleeping for the entire morning?”Serenity nudged and urged him to get ready. Zachary got off the bed reluctantly and walked toward the bathroom. He said, “You’ve become less clingy, Seren. In the past, you’ve always wanted to spend an hour in the room with me. Now you’re urging me to leave just after a few minutes.”Serenity was speechless and embarrassed. Whenever she woke him up in the past, they would spend up to an hour in the room before heading out because he would convince her to make babies with him. Despite his serious appearance, he was passionate in bed. She was unable to resist him and would end up begging him to let her go.“
Looking into his beloved wife’s lustrous eyes as she scrutinized his physique from head to toe, Zachary felt a bit uneasy.Just as he was about to speak, Serenity spoke first. He listened as she said, “With your physique and face, Zachary, if you were to dress as a woman, you might just be a stunning beauty.“However, your stature is too tall, and though your features are gorgeous, they are also rugged and sharply defined. Dressing as a woman might not suit you, unlike Kevin, whose features are a bit softer. When he puts on women’s clothing and makeup, he can easily pass as a woman.”Zachary had already guessed that this was what his wife was thinking. He straightened up and said, “I’m a big guy with a strong build. How would I fit in as a woman, Seren? Let’s not compare to Kevin. He leaves no room for us men. He can do things like dressing as a woman to please Hayden. It’s astonishing.”Serenity smiled and replied, “I have to admit that what he did truly moved Hayden. Hayden told
The security guard brought out a basket and handed it to Dylan.Dylan took the basket and poured the bag of chili peppers into it. Next, following the live broadcast team’s instructions, he walked in front of the camera and said, “Last year, I unintentionally hurt Imogen’s pride. It was my fault, and I apologize to her.“Imogen doesn’t have time to deal with me, but Ms. Layla Doyle said that as long as I eat chili peppers on this livestream, she’ll allow me to come here every day to wait for Imogen. I’m afraid of spicy food and usually don’t eat anything spicy at all.“But for the sake of seeing Imogen and having a chance to get her forgiveness, I’m willing to accept Ms. Layla’s challenge and eat these chili peppers.”The live broadcast team was at a loss for words.Layla had not prepared a script for Dylan, but he went ahead and explained the backstory. Was that okay?Someone secretly messaged Layla to ask for her opinion. Her reply was to allow Dylan to say whatever he wanted a
Isabella had invited him to sit at the dining table and eat with them, but Austin refused. He said he was the chef, so he could just have his breakfast in the kitchen.He always remembered his position as Isabella's personal chef and did not let the fact that the others saw him in a more favorable light now go to his head and cross the line. His adherence to his principles and awareness of his position only made Isabella respect him more.Though he was one of the extremely affluent Yorks, after accepting the job as her private chef, he completely discarded his identity as a rich heir and earnestly took on the role of her personal chef.By the time Austin finished his breakfast, Isabella and the two young boys had also finished eating. He came out to clear the table.Phillip slid off his chair and said to Louis, “Isa’s passing by my preschool today. She said she’ll take me there.”He was showing off. Sure enough, Louis looked enviously at his sister. Isabella did not even glance
Austin placed the two breakfast portions on the dining table and then walked over to Isabella, who was still reading the newspaper. “Ms. Isabella, breakfast is ready.”“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Louis’s voice came from the stairs. Then, they saw him quickly running down the stairs with his schoolbag in one hand.“Louis!” Isabella called out.Louis immediately stopped, then picked up his schoolbag to carry it on his back before slowly descending the stairs step-by-step, no longer daring to run.The two boys really did have very similar personalities.“Good morning, Isa. Good morning, Austin.”Louis walked over to Isabella’s side and respectfully greeted them.“If I ever see you running down the stairs again, I’ll punish you by making you miss a week of eating Austin’s meals.”“Isa, a week is too long!” Louis instinctively tried to negotiate.“You still dare to bargain with me, huh? That shows you don’t want to change. In that case, I’ll make it a whole month.”Louis was speec
“Isa, Austin promised me that he would make cartoon-shaped snacks for us this Saturday. You won’t mind, right? I’ve already told my classmates, and they’re all coming to our house!”The little boy was also concerned about his image. He was afraid his serious eldest cousin would refuse, and if that happened, he would be so embarrassed. After all, after Austin promised him, the other kids at preschool treated him so well. They all wanted to try the cartoon-shaped snacks Austin made. However, since Austin was Isabella’s private chef, if Isabella did not agree, there would be nothing even Austin could do about it.Isabella lightly pinched Phillip’s cheek. “Since Austin’s promised, he’ll keep his word. I’ll be resting at home this weekend and won’t stop you, but don’t make a racket here. Go do it at your own house. I need to rest.”“Thanks, Isa! I’ll tell my friends not to disturb your rest. Isa, has Louis not woken up yet?”With Isa’s promise, Phillip’s little face lit up with a smil
Upon hearing that Phillip might be coming, Louis moved much faster.Isabella did not wait for her brother. She said, “Head downstairs by yourself later, and make sure to check your schoolbag to see if you’ve packed your books and water bottle.”She would not help her brother check those things. Every day, she made sure her brother checked everything himself because it was his responsibility. If their parents or employees tried to help, she would scold them.Now, their parents no longer dared to help Louis with things he could do himself. They let her take charge of him. Her parents had Louis when they were in their forties, and he was their only son. If they were the ones raising him, Isabella was sure her brother would have been spoiled beyond reason.“I know, Isa,” Louis replied, already starting to brush his teeth.After leaving her brother’s room, Isabella headed downstairs. As soon as she reached the first floor, she saw Phillip running in with his little schoolbag on his
Isabella patiently said, “No, you can’t. If you sleep for ten more minutes, time will be too tight, and we’ll hit the worst of rush hour when everyone’s heading to school or work. There’ll be too much traffic and you’ll be late. You mustn’t be late.” If her brother was constantly late, he would get used to it and start liking to sleep in. Isabella would not let him develop such a bad habit.“Isa, I won’t be late. Every day when I arrive at school, there are still plenty of classmates who haven’t arrived. I can just tell the driver to speed up.”“Absolutely not! It’s not safe to drive too fast. It doesn’t matter if the other students are late, but you can’t be late. Get up now, or I’m going to get angry.”Louis pouted.Amused, Isabella pinched his lips, saying, “Come on, get up. In two more days, it will be the weekend, and you’ll get another two days off.”“This holiday was too short.”Under his sister’s urging, Louis reluctantly sat up. “It feels like we just got let out for w
The O'Connor family, due to a predominance of daughters rather than sons, was extremely cautious about their sons-in-law.Even though they did not have a son-in-law yet, it was clear from the way Isabella’s uncles were not allowed to interfere in the family business that they were worried about a son-in-law taking control of the O'Connor family’s wealth.Even Isabella’s aunts were forbidden from involving themselves in the family business. This was to protect their love-obsessed selves from being easily manipulated or influenced by their in-laws.At twenty-seven, Isabella had not even considered dating, as she knew once she had a partner, her elders would put their guard up against her and her partner.It was not just the elders who would be cautious, Isabella herself would be wary of her own husband.Too many men had used their wives’ family wealth to rise to power, only to later swap their wives out for younger and more beautiful women. Some even swallowed the entire family fort
“If the woman’s side minds her moving so far away and wants us to go to her family, except for Zack, who can’t move because he’s the head of the family, the elders in our family don’t really care. As long as we’re happy, they’re fine with it.”They had the powerful York Corporation backing them, and each of them was highly capable. Even if one of them married into another family, they would not be bullied by the woman’s family. If the woman wanted to push them around, she would have to think twice, with the York family’s influence behind them.However, so far, none of his brothers had done so.Austin thought to himself that he might just set a precedent.Isabella now bore a heavy burden. Her brother was too young, and it would take at least a decade before he could take over. Isabella would have to manage the family business for many more years.Isabella’s eyes sparkled. “Your family’s so open-minded. With your family’s wealth and standing, there’s really no need for you guys to l
“Zack is much more at ease now, but honestly, the person who was the biggest help to him wasn’t any of us—it was Josh. He and Zack are really good friends, and after graduation, Zack brought him into York Corporation.“He’s Zack’s right-hand man, and he’s really impressive.“Zack is incredibly efficient too. Back then, no one in the company could keep up with his work speed. He slowed down a bit after marrying my sister-in-law and starting a family. Now, he likes to stick close to her, and he’s not as crazy about work as he used to be.“He also goes to fewer networking events now. He used to attend these events and work late into the night, but now he’s home before ten at night. No one can stop him.“Those CEOs who work with our family know this too. If they have a business to discuss with him, they try to get it done during the day. They don’t want to drag it into the night.”Isabella laughed softly, her eyes showing a hint of envy. “Before, I didn’t know you were a York. But aft