“Laurence will be leaving in two days. He’ll only be back again next year. Let’s just let him enjoy himself while he’s here.”Zachary and Josh nodded. They promised to keep the secret. Laurence was still young. He knew nothing about the responsibility of avenging his family. He did not understand why his teachers were particularly strict with him too. No one expected him to kill, but they had to make sure that he did not get killed. Laurence needed the ability to protect himself. As for his revenge, the law would take care of that. Once Laurence grew up and gathered enough evidence, all of his enemies would be brought to justice. After the Lafayettes’ case, they learned how to use the law to seek justice. They get their revenge while keeping their hands clean, otherwise it could affect the rest of their lives. The Lafayettes had been doing well since. Those who had hurt them had received their punishment. Perhaps death would have been a better choice for them, as l
Liberty planned to walk around for market research. However, she was not surprised at Belinda’s men blocking her way.She knew Belinda would send someone to her, but she did not expect it to happen that fast. “What do you need?”Belinda’s bodyguard said respectfully, “Madam Fisher is hosting a banquet at her manor tonight, and she extends her invitation to you, Ms. Hunt. She hopes you don’t decline since you’re relatives anyway.“Madam Fisher has also prepared a room for you to stay in. She feels bad for letting you stay in a hotel.”Even if the said hotel belonged to York Corporation. Liberty said, “Please tell Madam Fisher that I’ll be there for dinner tonight, but I’ll kindly refuse the offer to stay in her house. I’m fine with living in a hotel. I don’t want to impose.”Fisher Manor was Belinda’s territory and she had absolute power at that place. It would be easy for her to commit a crime against Liberty. If Liberty moved into Fisher Manor, she could lose her life.
Kevin said, “I’m meeting Hayden at her office later. I’ll ask her if she has time tonight. We won’t have to worry about Madam Fisher attacking you if we’re there with you. We’re letting her know that even if you came here alone, you have people backing you.“She’ll have to think twice before murdering you in Jensburg. She has to be wary of Hayden’s influence in Jensburg, if not ours.”“Is it a good idea to get Hayden involved? The Queens and Fishers have been coexisting peacefully. We can’t drag her into this because of our grudge against the Fishers.”Getting Kevin involved was inevitable as Serenity was Kevin’s sister-in-law. Even if Kevin did nothing, Belinda would still consider him as Liberty’s ally. Kevin said, “Don’t say that. Hayden’s my future wife. She’ll be the York family’s young missus and Serenity’s sister-in-law. People will know that she’s on our side without her doing anything.”Liberty laughed at him. “You’re declaring her as your wife even though you haven’t wo
Kevin waited outside a conference room at Queen Enterprise with a money bouquet.Hayden was still in a meeting. The woman was truly busier than he was. She managed a huge company and had endless meetings, paperwork, and business negotiations.Although it was time to get off work and the sky had turned dark, Hayden’s meeting went on. The evening wind was strong. Kevin specially picked a larger coat to wear when he was heading out, so Hayden could stick close to him and share his warmth. She probably did not need it though. After about ten minutes, the conference room door opened. The senior executives who attended the meeting filed out of the room. When they saw Kevin with the huge bouquet, they stopped their discussions and greeted him politely. “Mr. Kevin.”“Mr. York.”They addressed him differently, but he returned each greeting with a smile. Since Zachary was not around, those who said “Mr. York” were addressing Kevin. When the crowd was far enough, they whis
Hugh smiled but returned after taking a few steps. He approached Kevin and asked cautiously, “You won’t tattle to my parents about me, right?”“I won’t as long as you promise to do the same.”They had some control over one another. Kevin was afraid of Hayden getting mad, while Hugh feared his parents urging him to marry. Even if Donald and Sophia did not urge Hugh to marry, they would give him a good scolding. Kevin had become their new favorite person. He was more adored than Hugh, the couple’s real son. Hugh often complained to Hayden that he probably was not their parents’ biological son. Donald and Sophia liked Kevin too much. He and Kevin might have been switched at birth. Hayden’s reply was an ashtray flying toward him. Hugh felt he was at the bottom of the food chain within the family. Sigh. It was because he was never in a serious relationship. If he were to bring a girl home, his place in his parents’ hearts would rise. However, upon thinking about how much
“Hugh is too laid-back. You should give him more work to do.”“I’m aware of his capabilities. I already assigned him everything he could handle and withheld those that were beyond him. He shouldn’t bite off more than he could chew.”Hugh was great, but he was slightly lacking compared to his sister. Besides, Hayden had been managing Queen Enterprise for several years. She had accumulated more experience than Hugh. Suddenly, Hayden smiled. She said, “Hugh will be angry if he finds out that you’re asking me to increase his workload.”“I’m not scared of him. I’m sad to see you working so hard every day. On the other hand, Hugh has so much time to accompany different women and go shopping or to parties every day. He’s living his life.”Hayden said, “I’m used to this kind of life. I can’t get used to being idle even for a day. Maybe I’m born to work.”“Where’s Liberty?” Hayden asked. “She’s waiting at Fortress Hotel. Should we meet her there or head to Fisher Manor separately?”
At Fisher Manor, Belinda was hosting a banquet and had invited Liberty over. The manor’s employees had been busy since afternoon. Many family members had come over to help out as well. As it was supposed to be a family banquet, only the Fishers would be attending it. Everyone who had some sort of status in the family was allowed to attend whereas those with lower ranks or were distant relatives were not allowed to attend.Many of the Fishers were unsatisfied. Since it was a family banquet, everyone in the family should have been invited. Even if they were distant relatives, they still bore the Fisher surname and were part of the family. Why could they not attend a family banquet?Their dissatisfaction with Belinda grew. Nevertheless, they dared not voice out their unhappiness for fear of Belinda’s revenge upon her discovery. She treated the lower-ranked family members worse than she would a stranger. Therefore, many of them missed Tiara, who used to view everyone as equal
Tiara had the loyalty of her assistant and the sincere love of her husband, unlike Belinda and Hunter, who prioritized their personal needs more. Their love was not genuine. As expected, men who looked too pretty could not be trusted. “Hunter is unwell? I see. He should rest.”The man knew Belinda was lying, but he let the matter slide and asked no more questions about Hunter. Other people quickly switched the topic and continued their conversation with Belinda. At that moment, the butler rushed in and went to Belinda. She said respectfully, “Ms. Hunt is here, Madam Fisher.”The crowd went quiet. Belinda turned and talked to Celine and her sons, “Go and welcome Liberty. Even if you’re her senior, she’s a guest who traveled here from afar. We should be wonderful hosts.”Going by the family tree, her sons were Liberty’s uncles. “We know, Mom,” Adrian replied. He led his siblings to the gates. Before they arrived at the gates, they saw Caroline’s car entering with sever
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us