Before Callum could speak, Camryn continued, “But I can tolerate it because it’ll heal my eyes.”It was a prescription by Dr. Carden, something sought after by many but only few had the opportunity to receive. Camryn was fortunate to have been treated by Dr. Carden, all thanks to Callum. “It’ll get better, Camryn. Everything will get better. You won’t have to take those bitter medicines anymore in the future.”Callum was well aware her medicines tasted bitter. The strong smell would fill the room whenever he prepared it for her, so he could only imagine how it would taste.Every dose, though, would come with a candy for Camryn to neutralize the bitterness.“It’s always darkest before dawn.”Camryn’s words made Callum laugh. His precious girl exuded self-confidence and self-love. He could not love her more than he already had.“You’re here, Callum, Camryn. Why have you come bearing so many gifts again? We have everything. Don’t buy anything next time.”Sasha walked over with
Sasha laughed heartily. She was cheery and less rigid as compared to Tania with no hard and fast rule of appearing overly dignified all the time; that was the luxury of not being the head missus of the Yorks.Tania had to be mature and composed. Though in private settings, Tania was just like Sasha. Most importantly, both of them and Rosella got along well because their personalities were similar.“Were you satisfied with Callum when you first saw him, Camryn?”Camryn blushed. She smiled and said, “I touched his face countless times when I was blind and imagined what he would look like, but I was still surprised when I saw him. He looks different from what I envisioned by touch.“So, of course I’m satisfied. Aunt Evelyn kept telling me to treat Callum well. She said he must’ve been a blessing from my dad in heaven. “Nowadays Callum gets treated better than me by her when I used to be her favorite.”Despite complaining about Aunt Evelyn’s preferential treatment, Camryn was smilin
Callum helped himself and served everyone refreshments. He studied the chessboard and said, “I think this was a deliberate move by Aunt Sasha. With your current skills, you won’t figure out where to place that chess piece even after another day.”Simon was terrible at chess. His face fell. He glared at Callum. No matter how much he sucked at chess, it was no fun to be teased by his nephew as he had some dignity to preserve.Callum chuckled. He looked toward Sasha for help to escape Simon’s deadly stares. He was merely stating facts. Upon receiving Callum’s S.O.S., Sasha told her husband, “Keep it away. We can wrap this game up another day.”“I’d rather not play against you. Callum can do it in your stead. And Callum, stay at the manor this weekend and don’t make other plans. Let’s play a few games together. Otherwise, I’ll nag you to kingdom come.”Callum quickly begged, “Sorry, Uncle Simon. I was wrong. You’re exceptionally good at chess. You’re a chess maestro, the best
“I can’t believe Milky is letting you hold it. It’s an arrogant cat. It doesn’t like me holding it and will even scratch me,” Callum said in surprise when he saw Camryn holding the cat. Sasha said, “You kicked Milky before, so for sure it would hold a grudge against you. But it’s indeed a picky cat. It prefers people who are gentle.”“Am I fierce?”Callum did not find himself so. “Which one of you brothers is gentle? Milky is clever. It can sense if someone is pretending to be nice.”Callum was speechless. “Is the cat called Milky, Aunt Sasha? That’s adorable.”“I named it Milky because it has white fur. Cats are cute. You can ask Callum to get a cat if you like them. They’re very clingy. They’ll either sleep beside you or jump into your arms.”Camryn said happily, “Never mind. I don’t have the time to care for them now.“Zachary once gave Serenity a dog and two cats, but she didn’t have time to take care of them and handed them over to Mrs. Lane. So, they aren’t close to S
Camryn was not afraid of Carrie but the person hiding behind her. They still could not identify the person with the last name Gordon. “Let me know if you need any help.”“There’s no need to trouble all of you to deal with Carrie. I can handle this myself. I just can’t find out the identity of the person she contacted right after coming out of prison.“Callum said he’d ask Zachary to request Mr. Julian’s assistance to investigate that person. We’re just worried about being blindsided if they launch an ambush because we don’t know who they are.”Serenity said, “I’ll let Jasmine know, and she’ll relay the message to Josh. You don’t have to worry about this.”“Thank you.”“Small matter. I hope we all can live in peace.”Camryn smiled. She said, “No one’s life can always be smooth sailing. There are always bound to be challenges.”“You’re right.”Serenity stared at the sky and said softly, “I feel like a change is beckoning.”“Well, it’s late fall now. The seasons are changing.
“Let’s stop talking about her. We should go on with our lives.”“That’s right. The law has already punished them for what they did. By the way, since Carrie is out, she’ll probably look for Trenton. You should call him to inform him of this.”After a short silence, Camryn said, “She and Trenton are siblings by blood. Of course she’ll look for him. Trenton can make his own decisions now that he has come of age. I’ve always told him that I’ll respect all his choices.”Serenity said, “We’ll just let them be then.”Not all siblings had a close relationship like the York brothers or the Hunt sisters. Although Carrie and Camryn had different fathers, they shared the same mother. Moreover, their fathers were brothers. Despite the same Newman blood flowing in them, Carrie and Camryn were like enemies. Grandma May and Lilian returned to Wildridge Manor before the sky turned dark. Remy brought Elisa over too. The York brothers who were in Wiltspoon, save for Rowan still in school, came
At that time, Belinda had no idea that Celine was not her biological child. She simply felt that Celine was still not up to her expectations despite years of nurturing, so there was no hurry to arrange an assistant for Celine.Fortunately, she waited it out.Otherwise, new personnel selection and training would be required for Caroline’s assistant, which could take a long time to train such a specialized assistant.Once a successor was confirmed in the Fisher family, the process of grooming a special assistant for them began. It often took ten to twenty years for the successor to take over. Additionally, it was also challenging to find suitable assistant candidates. To meet the criteria, they had to be exceptionally talented and loyal.“I understand.”Mr. Gordon promptly left the room.He did not stay long and was meeting a man; one would assume he was just going to meet a friend.He did not draw any attention to himself.Once Mr. Gordon had left Wiltspoon Hotel, Belinda’s bod
Belinda furrowed her brows and finally answered Celine’s call.“Mom…”As soon as the call connected, Celine cried out.“What happened, Cece? Who’s bothering you? Tell Mom, and when I get back, I’ll take care of it for you.”Despite her frown, Belinda’s words were filled with affection, as if nothing in the world could harm her adopted daughter with her protection.“Mom, when are you coming back? While you’ve been away, I’ve been tormented by Caroline. She bullies me and constantly infuriates me. She’s wicked. Every time she harms me, she puts on an innocent act.“Not to mention me, even Dad can’t eat or sleep well because of her. He’s lost weight because of her. I feel so sorry for him.“She’s also sowing discord between my brothers and their wives. She made them argue every day to the point where Emma asked Adrian for a divorce.”Belinda sighed. “Does Caroline have that much influence? She’s just a klutz. If she had that kind of ability to drive all of you crazy, I wouldn’t ha
Dylan said, “Go ahead.”He was a bit hungry too and wanted to eat.Imogen called for Wendy and instructed her to make a fresh pot of tea and serve some of the snacks she usually ate.Once Wendy finished preparing the tea, Imogen poured a cup for Dylan and said, “You can start your story now.”“Ms. Doyle, I’m not making up a story, I’m—Ms. Doyle, you are Fox, aren’t you?” Dylan asked again.“Mr. York, I’ve told you, I don’t know who Fox is. I only know a fox is an animal, like in the zoo. If you ask me again if I’m Fox, I’ll think you’re calling me a vixen.”“‘Fox’ is just a nickname, meaning she’s very cunning and deceptive. I call her Chameleon Fox for her ability to shape-shift into many different identities. She changes so much that people mistake her for many different people, but in reality, she’s only one person.”Imogen looked quite interested and said, “Oh, so you think I’m Chameleon Fox, who likes to deceive people? Do you have any evidence for this?”“No, I don’t.”“
Couples always talked about eternal love, but how many could truly last forever?Dylan stammered, unable to say anything. Could he say that he suspected she was Fox? It was just a guess, with no evidence.Under Imogen’s gaze, Dylan steeled himself and spoke honestly, “I came to apologize to you.”Imogen raised an eyebrow. “Apologize? You already apologized to me the last time we spoke. There’s no need to apologize again. I’m not angry at you. When it comes to matters of the heart, it’s all about reciprocation. You can’t force it.“Feelings can’t be pressured into existence, so I won’t pressure you to accept me.“Plus, it’s been so long, and I have no feelings for you anymore. For that, I should thank you for clearing things up for me early on. At that time, I had just started to like you and could give up so quickly because of that.”Dylan, embarrassed, said, “Ms. Doyle, it’s not about that. Recently, I… secretly followed you.”“You followed me? Why?” Imogen pretended to be clue
“Drink it while it’s hot. Only when it’s steaming will it have the best effect to ward off the cold.”Dylan nodded, wiping his nose with a tissue. He threw the tissue into the trash bin, but when he saw that the bin was full of tissues, he felt even more embarrassed.He picked the steaming hot soup up carefully and took a big sip.It was so spicy!The spice almost made him spit it out. Remembering that Imogen was right next to him, he forced himself to swallow it. After just one sip, Dylan put the bowl down.“Ms. Doyle, the soup is too hot. I’ll drink it later,” he said.It was too spicy. He did not want to take a second sip.“I’ll take the medicine first,” he added.Compared to drinking the soup, Dylan would rather take the medicine. The medicine might be bitter, but he could handle it.Imogen immediately called him out. “You’re afraid of the spice and you don’t want to drink the soup, do you?”Dylan sneezed again and then poured himself some water to take the medicine.Hav
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.