Julian smiled. “That’s true. We shouldn’t compromise when it comes to marriage. I’ve noticed that your mom is worried about your future and your brothers’ life affairs, so I thought I’d help.”Now, Julian was certain that he needed to approach Quinn’s heart carefully, much like walking on a tightrope.He had to gradually integrate himself into her life, making her accustomed to his presence and his absence unbearable. When that time came, it would mean Quinn realized it was love.He had locked onto her, and he had to take it slow; hurrying would not help here.“Quinn, actually, I have a medical condition.”Quinn paused for a moment and then asked with concern, “What condition? I can’t tell. You look healthier than anyone.”“I have hypoactive sexual desire disorder.”“Hypoactive sexual desire disorder? I’ve never heard of such an illness.”Julian explained briefly to Quinn.Quinn responded, “So basically… you can’t get married. No wonder you are so outstanding yet never had a g
Callum coaxed her nervously, “Honey, you go back to sleep. I’ll go downstairs later to prepare breakfast for you, and then I’ll wake you up. Once you’ve had a good meal, you can catch up on your sleep.”Camryn stared at him and said, “Trenton is back today, and we’re going to visit our parents at the prison.”“It’s mainly for Trenton’s sake. You can choose whether to go or not. Stay at home, get more sleep. I promise I won’t bother you tonight and let you rest for a day.”With a shy smile, Callum added, “I’m already thirty, and I’ve only just married my wife. I got a bit too excited last night and went a bit crazy.”It was mainly because he finished prematurely, which left him feeling down for a while, thinking there was something wrong with him.She reassured him that they could see a doctor together but that only made him feel even more depressed.Thinking about himself who was tall, handsome, and accomplished, but having problems in that department, he felt deeply troubled. He
“You’re an adult, a responsible grown-up, and you need the courage to face everything and shoulder the responsibilities that are yours.“I know that you and Camryn are in complete agreement. However, she has never wanted to take advantage of you. Don’t worry; what’s rightfully yours will always be yours. If it’s not meant for you, don’t even think about it, don’t be like Carrie.”Trenton nodded. “Callum, I understand. Camryn and I just want to safeguard everything in the Newman family. Carrie has already started looking for a lawyer, preparing to sue Camryn.”That was the reason he took leave and returned.He wanted to stand by Camryn's side. Even if Carrie won the lawsuit, she would not get much of the family assets.He questioned Carrie’s action of taking Camryn to court while their parents were still alive.Though, by transferring all the family assets to himself with his parents’ consent, would Carrie be able to claim a share via a lawsuit? Apart from Abel’s share, the rest of
Tethered in the backyard, Camryn’s guard dogs were let loose during the night. It was still early, and the servant in charge of them had not tied them up yet. When they heard Carrie’s screams, the four canines rushed out of the backyard and bolted straight for the villa’s entrance.Carrie was tempted to tear down the main gate herself. Seeing the four guard dogs charging toward her, she was scared out of her wits. She kept retreating without a sound, no longer daring to scream, her face was filled with fear.It seemed like she was severely traumatized by these guard dogs, having been bitten by them.Justifiably so, she had sustained a bite, and now she had PTSD. Although the butler compensated for her medical expenses for rabies vaccines and serum, the bitten areas still hurt. Also, she was haunted by nightmares of the dog chase.Carrie resented Camryn greatly.After all, she had never set guard dogs on Camryn during their past confrontations.Furthermore, each time she tried to
“I didn’t come here willingly. This is our home, Trenton. Our home. That blind woman seized our family assets while I wasn't here. She drove me out as soon as I got out and our parents went to jail. She won’t let me come back.“Almost all the workers in the house have been replaced by her. Those who haven’t been replaced are the ones who dared not defy her.”Carrie complained more, “Do you think I wanted to come here and make a fuss early in the morning? That mole rat wouldn’t answer my calls or return my messages. I’ve been infuriated since last night, and as soon as the sun’s up, I came here to settle the score.“Has she not woken up yet?” she asked softly as she walked in after Trenton opened the gate, but stopped after a few steps, afraid to rush in.Trenton replied, “Camryn’s not up yet. Callum is up and making breakfast inside. Carrie, please don’t keep mentioning the fact that she’s blind. She is still our elder sister.”“You consider her your sister, but she wants to take
“Get as much as you can,” Carrie requested.“I don’t have much money on me right now, I’m a brokie.”Trenton replied, “You could find a job, Carrie. As long as you’re willing to work, any job will do. It won’t starve you. Only the lazy ones starve to death.”Carrie said with an angry expression, “Why should I find a job? I'm Ms. Carrie of the prestigious Newman family. My parents never wanted me to work. They said I was born to be an heiress and enjoy a life of luxury.“If it weren’t for Camryn freezing my cards, would I be in this situation, needing a lecture from you?”Trenton's expression turned grim and said, “Carrie, I’m not lecturing you; I’m just telling you that things are different now. We need to rely on our efforts to earn a living. If you’re capable, even if Cam freezes your cards, you won’t be afraid.“It’s because you lack capabilities that you’re obstructed in so many ways.”“Okay, okay, just give me some money. I know you lean toward that mole rat. She and you ha
The situation at home was now fully under Camryn’s control. Every transaction he made, he was certain that Camryn would be aware.If Trenton suddenly transferred a large sum of money, Camryn would surely question him. While she might not reprimand him for sending it to Carrie, Camryn would surely be disappointed in him.Besides, if he gave too much money to Carrie, she might spend it recklessly, refusing to grow up and find a job. Carrie would instead rely on him like a leech.Trenton had taken a leave of absence to visit their parents in prison. He hoped to convince them to transfer all their assets to him so he could control their family finances and prevent Carrie from squandering the Newman’s wealth.With this in mind, he decided to give Carrie only a little over a thousand dollars in cash.He quickly changed his clothes, tucked the money into his pocket, and exited his room. After just a few steps, he saw Camryn standing not far away, quietly watching him.Facing Camryn, T
Callum remained quiet as he stripped his shirt. He was about to throw it into the kitchen’s trash can. “Callum.”Camryn snatched the shirt and asked, “Talk to me. What happened? What did Carrie do to you? I can avenge you.“Did she touch you?”Callum looked sick. He said, “She crept inside, hugged me from behind, and even started touching me everywhere. I thought it was you, but I was utterly shocked when I turned and saw her. I pushed and kicked her away. I even threw things at her.”Camryn was speechless. She did not think Carrie would have dared to make a move on someone else’s man, let alone hug and touch him. Callum must not have expected Carrie to be that bold either. He was furious when he realized the person who embraced him was Carrie instead of Camryn. “Honey, Carrie touched this shirt. Throw it away. I don’t need it anymore. No woman except you is allowed to touch me or my clothes.”As he spoke, he snatched the shirt back and tried to stuff it into the trash can
Austin said, “He’s definitely here to discuss a potential partnership with your company.“He's just the acting head of the Longbottoms. He doesn’t truly control the family. If the real head returns, everything he’s worked for will go to someone else.“The downfall of Belinda Fisher probably gave him a wake-up call and he doesn’t want to end up like that.“He’s definitely seeking to cooperate with you regarding his personal business. He’s just using the Longbottoms’ name, since their influence in Windermere is enormous.”In terms of wealth, the O'Connors and the Longbottoms were on equal footing, but the O'Connors had fewer members and did not have the same level of influence in Windermere as the Longbottoms.Isabella said, “He’s very ambitious. A partnership would only just be the beginning. Once it’s established, he’ll start thinking about how to cheat us and steal our business.“Plus, he’s very lecherous. Nobody can put a number to how many women he’s toyed with. Some even lost
Tony was aware that whenever his wife had to play the villain, it was always to protect him. He said, “You're right, I misspoke. Your mother isn’t that kind of person.”“Manny, I’ll be leaving soon. You stay here, and I’ll leave half of my men with you. If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me. I’ll be waiting to hear good news from you.” Tony decided to fly to Wiltspoon in the afternoon. He would only stay for two or three days before returning to Havenmill to handle business.However, as he thought about how he was working like a horse for Longbottom Corporation when many of the benefits did not even belong to him personally, Tony felt a bit disgruntled.“Got it.” Manny did not reject his father’s arrangement.As the Longbottom father and son were discussing how to deal with the O’Connors, Austin entered Isabella’s office.Isabella was busy, so Austin did not disturb her. He quietly sat at the tea table and made some tea.“It seems you’ve learned the art of tea-
Manny had never been to Wiltspoon, but he knew from his father that several prominent families in Wiltspoon had close ties with the Johnsons from Annenburg. It was possible that the child adopted by the Johnsons’ young missus was Laurence. Unfortunately, he could not meet that child, so he could not be a hundred percent certain. The child was currently out of sight and well-protected, hidden so effectively that even the Longbottoms’ information network could not find anything. The other prominent families in Wiltspoon were also helping to keep the child hidden, so Manny deeply disliked the people from these families. Even though they were thousands of miles away, they were still an obstacle to him and his father in their pursuit of becoming the true head of the family.“That's right. If we can conquer the O’Connors, we’ll have a backup plan,” his father said. “You must put your all into it, son. If you need help, just let me know, though this is also an opportunity for you to ge
Tony Longbottom was the only person who would put on such a parade. The big shots in Satbury usually had entourages of their own, but none would put on a spectacle as big as Tony would.As they departed in their car, Tony’s gracious demeanor utterly shattered.His face twisted into an ugly, cruel expression as he said, “I’ve never been treated like this before, even when the legitimate branch of the family still lived, and those two ignorant little girls actually refused to see me multiple times.”Manny was very angry too and he said, “Pops, since they refuse to go about this the easy way, we’ll have to show them the hard way. We can approach it from other angles, and once they’re completely out of business and they have nowhere else to turn to, they’ll be at our mercy.“Won’t they have to do as we please then? I want to marry them, they’ll have to marry me, and if I don’t, I’ll just make them my mistresses. Don’t the O’Connors have plenty of daughters? I’ll fuck every one of them
“Isabella O’Connor is so outstanding, so why are you asking me to go for Tati O’Connor instead?” Manny said under his breath in puzzlement.He had seen photos of the two ladies and Isabella’s appearance was more striking. She had a cold and aloof aura that easily triggered his desire to conquer her, and after just a few glances, he was captivated.If it were up to him, Manny would choose Isabella.Tony looked at his son, smiled, and said, “You can’t control her. Of course, if you manage to make her fall for you, we can talk about switching. But for now, focus on Tati O’Connor.”Tati was also beautiful. However, she did not have Isabella’s cold demeanor. She seemed much gentler, like she smiled often.“Marrying Tati O’Connor would be a big advantage for both you and our family.”Manny thought for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “Got it, Dad.”Manny’s good looks, wealth, honeyed tongue, and generosity toward girls made him good at winning them over. Pursuing a rich youn
After testing the O’Connor sisters and realizing they were not like other women, Mr. Longbottom thought of having his son marry Tati.He knew that his son would not be able to handle or control Isabella, so he set his sights on Tati. Tati probably did not realize she was considered an easy target. Most people underestimated her because she had always kept a low profile.At that moment, a young man got out from the other side of the Rolls-Royce. He resembled Mr. Longbottom. Indeed, he was Mr. Longbotton’s eldest son, Manny.“Dad.”Manny went to his father’s side and glanced at the building before him. He asked, “Aren’t we driving inside?”In Havenmill, Manny could do whatever he wished because his father was the interim head of the Longbottom family. While he had no respect for ordinary people at all, he was clever enough not to offend people he should not.He never parked his car outside the places he wanted to go and simply drove his car through the gates. However, Manny
Meanwhile in Satbury, a few luxury cars stopped at the entrance of Costa Corporation. The door of the first car, a Rolls-Royce, opened. A bodyguard came out of the car.He waited for his boss, who was sitting in the backseat to exit.Mr. Longbottom got out of the car. Although he was over fifty years old, he looked like he was in his forties as he maintained his appearance well.He wore a white tailored suit with a tie, which made him look more youthful.The bodyguards in the other cars alighted as well.They quickly stood behind Mr. Longbottom to protect him. It was also his display of power.A few bodyguards grabbed many gift boxes from the trunks. Mr. Longbottom stood in front of the company and raised his head to look at the sixty-eight-storey office building. It was a symbol of the O’Connor family’s abilities.Costa Corporation was not the family’s only business. They were involved in many industries and were successful in all of them.The O’Connors were wealthy and powe
Jasmine added, “In some cases, the divorced women can get married to a better man, while the divorced men can’t even find a new wife. There are many single men now.“Isn’t there a saying nowadays that men who have wives are extremely lucky?”When Jasmine was at the bookstore, she would also visit the neighboring stores to listen to juicy gossip. Many of the store owners were not locals and they had many stories to tell. Someone said there was an evil mother-in-law in a rural area who looked down on her daughter-in-law. She would egg her son on to abuse his wife and get a divorce. She would also tell her son that she could find a better and younger wife for him. However, once the divorce went through, news of the mother-in-law’s evil deeds and the son’s domestic abuse spread far and wide. Who would dare marry off their daughters to a man like that?Besides, holding another wedding would require a lot of money. The cost of a wedding had increased a lot compared to the past.Whe
“Sonny’s fine. He has recovered. You want to get Sonny from school?”After thinking about it, Serenity agreed and said, “Okay. I’ll message Sonny’s teacher later to tell her you’ll be taking him.”“Okay, Serenity. Thank you.”Hank was thankful that Serenity did not make things difficult for him. Serenity and Liberty had great character. Liberty had a new relationship and already let go of her resentment for Hank. She could coexist with him peacefully. On the other hand, Serenity still held grudges against Hank. However, since he and Liberty had divorced, he could no longer hurt her. He was also Sonny’s father. Serenity was willing to tolerate him for Sonny’s sake. Therefore, she always said yes whenever Hank requested to meet his son. “You’ll be taking Sonny out to eat after picking him up, right? Remember not to let him eat too much fried food, especially fried chicken and fries. He’ll get a sore throat.“He got a fever that day due to a throat inflammation.”“Got it. I’ll