“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
Adrian, accompanied by his siblings, walked up to Liberty. He politely introduced himself, “Ms. Hunt, I’m Adrian, the eldest in my family. According to the family tree, you should address me as Uncle Adrian.”“These are my brothers. As for Celine, I believe you’ve made an acquaintance.”Adrian introduced his siblings to Liberty.Liberty nodded politely and addressed him as Mr. Clark and not Uncle Adrian.When meeting with Belinda, she did not refer to her as “grandaunt” either, let alone Adrian.Furthermore, Belinda had not publicly acknowledged that Audrey Stone and Lisa Hunt were her nieces.When Belinda visited the Stone family, her attitude was clearly that of an adversary. Family ties did not matter between enemies, especially when there was no affection involved.There were only grudges.Celine commented, “A child without parental upbringing will always lack manners. They don’t even greet their elders properly.”Liberty looked at her and retorted, “Who might you be, in t
Whether Liberty contended or not, Belinda’s position will not fall to them.Unless all the females of the Fisher family perished, only then would they have a chance to succeed Belinda.“Look at how warm Caroline is toward Liberty, it’s like they’re sisters.”Even though they were by right aunt and niece, based on Caroline’s attitude toward Liberty, it genuinely seemed like they were sisters.Liberty also gave face to Caroline, treating her with courtesy.Celine’s jealousy toward Caroline surfaced again. Everything Caroline possessed—power, status, identity—originally belonged to her.Without Caroline, she would still belong in the Fisher family, second only to her mother, capable of controlling everything.Others used to flatter and fawn over her, unlike now where nobody paid attention to her when she walked out.Her close friends had gradually distanced themselves from her due to the change in her status.Celine realized that they had become her friends only because of her st
Jason quickly looked around and whispered, “There shouldn’t be anyone around to hear us, right?”Even in their own home, they dared not speak loudly.It made Jason feel quite uncomfortable. He was becoming increasingly disenchanted with the rules of the Fisher family.Unlike other families where sons were the successors, daughters took over in the Fisher family.Within the Fisher family, daughters held a higher position than sons. Even though they shared the blood of the Fishers, being born as males meant they would not have the opportunity to take charge of household affairs.“Caroline and the others have gone far. They shouldn’t be able to hear us. I’m just reminding you three that if you cherish your side chicks, don’t bring it up openly. Don’t let my sisters-in-law find out. Even if Mom wants to favor you, she will still deal with you if their families come to make a fuss.“Would you agree to a divorce then?”Adrian said, “The women outside are just for fun, not wife materia
Justin urged everyone to enter the house quickly.The four siblings were concerned that Caroline might speak ill of them in front of their mother, so they did not want to chat outside for too long and hurriedly entered the house.After Caroline brought Liberty inside, everyone in the room looked at Liberty, finding her very familiar.Belinda sat in the main seat without moving. The seats beside her were occupied by people of status within the family.“Liberty, you’re here.”Belinda politely said, then instructed the butler, “Bring a chair for Ms. Hunt and let her sit.”Liberty scanned the room. When the butler brought a small stool over, she sarcastically said to Belinda, “If you’re not genuine in hosting a guest, there’s no need to put on a show. I came from afar, and you deliberately sent someone to wait at Fortress Hotel for a long time, to extend the invitation. Yet, there isn’t even a proper seat. Your hospitality is truly eye-opening.”After saying this, Liberty turned and
“Liberty.”Caroline walked over, standing in front of Liberty, and solemnly apologized, “Liberty, my mom is getting old and sometimes acts a bit confused. What she says and does can be a bit excessive. I apologize on behalf of my mom.”Liberty responded, “This matter has nothing to do with you, Ms. Fisher. If Madam Fisher doesn’t consider me a guest, then there’s no need for me to stay any longer. I’ll take my leave.”With that, she led her bodyguards, bypassed Caroline, and headed outside.Belinda was infuriated by Caroline and irritated by Liberty’s assertiveness. When she went to visit the Stones in Wiltspoon, Audrey had requested her to allow Liberty to compete with Caroline and to treat Liberty as the legitimate heir of the Fisher family, providing her with the status and treatment befitting the position. Belinda was not willing, knowing that Liberty’s arrival was part of a scheme to secure her position as the successor. So, Belinda intentionally hosted a family banquet and
Although Callum had started viewing Dalton as a brother after Dalton got married, he still kept his guard up around Dalton. He only let his guard down a little after Melissa got pregnant.It was also because Dalton treated his wife with utmost sincerity and love. Dalton had nothing to worry about and could focus on his life after knowing Camryn was doing well and had the York family supporting her. Not only that, her husband and in-laws adored her. Camryn would come over to handle more important company matters, while Dalton could deal with smaller ones. He rarely attended business engagements at night and chose to accompany his pregnant wife most of the time. Melissa was kinder to Camryn as well. Although they were not sisters-in-law, they shared a close relationship. “Melissa’s baby probably has a sweet tooth. Tell her to be careful and not eat too many sweet things at once.”Camryn wanted to say that Melissa was probably pregnant with a girl. However, she did not say it ou
After her call with Leah ended, Camryn put down her phone and leaned against her office chair. She rotated her chair back and forth. She was at Newman Enterprise.At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Dalton entered soon after.“Dal.”Camryn stood up when she saw him. “Are you daydreaming?”Dalton asked softly, “Are you tired? Go and rest if you are. You should return to Wiltspoon soon. I can handle things here.”“Melissa is pregnant. You should spend more time with her.“I’m not really tired. I was on the phone with an employee of my flower shop earlier and thought of some things that made me feel unhappy.”Dalton and Camryn sat on the sofa in the guest lounge. “Why are you upset? Is the flower shop not doing well?”Camryn had put in a lot of effort in Spring Blossoms. It had accompanied her through her tough times. No matter how her identity had changed, it would always have an important place in her heart.Despite becoming rich, she still kept the store up and
To Louise and Leah, Mrs. Longbottom looked too young.Carrie caressed her stomach. She sighed and said, “I was pregnant before, but it was a high-risk pregnancy and ended up in a miscarriage.“My husband told me to recuperate first before we try for another baby a few years later. We’re still young anyway,” Louise consoled Carrie. She picked two jade plants and two money trees for her. After paying, Carrie got her two bodyguards to carry the plants. Before leaving, she handed Louise and Leah her calling card and said, “Please call me if your boss or Mrs. York comes over. I want to make an appointment with them, but it’s too difficult to do so.”Leah accepted the card. After taking a look at it, one of them replied, “Mrs. York is heavily pregnant, so she rarely drops by. She’s usually resting at home. I can inform you if our boss comes.“You should probably have Ms. Camryn’s number if you wish to make an appointment with her. You can try calling her.”Carrie replied, “I’m not
Since Carrie was approaching Spring Blossoms, she decided to drop by. It was a pity she could not wreck the store as she was heading there as Mrs. Longbottom.When she arrived, Camryn was not in the store. Only Louise and Leah were there. Carrie asked casually, “Where did your boss go?”“Our boss is very busy. Usually, we’re the ones looking after the store. She only comes by when she’s free. Are you looking for her, Mrs. Longbottom?”Louise and Leah recognized Mrs. Longbottom. “No. Your boss is always around whenever I’m here to buy flowers, so I’m just curious since she isn’t here today. Get me two jade plants. The ones I have aren’t growing well. I want to change them,” said Carrie. She really had jade plants at her villa and she was the one who bought them. In fact, they were growing well. It symbolized her having great luck with wealth.Indeed, she was doing well financially. Mr. Longbottom had never mistreated her in terms of living standards.Carrie wanted to get
Tati kept trying to match her with Austin.As soon as Austin left, Tati came in. Isabella could tell, just by the timing, that it had to be related to Austin.If she had not known how loyal Austin was to her, Isabella might have suspected her cousin was being bribed by him.Tati smiled. “I happened to see Austin leaving when I came in. He was very polite to me and his smile was gentle, and the way he looked at me was respectful. But it’s completely different from how he looks at you, Isa.“I noticed it long ago. When he looks at you, there’s light in his eyes, there’s affection, and tenderness. He’s utterly devoted to you, or rather, he dotes on you.”Isabella was quiet.“Isa, the first time I saw Austin, I knew he was no ordinary person, and I thought you two made a great match. You know me, I don’t joke around about these things, but when I saw him, I just couldn’t help it.“I really think you two are perfect for each other. Before, we didn’t know his real identity, so you mig
Tati hummed in agreement.After her cousin reviewed the documents, Tati said, “Isa, why don’t you try dating? Neither of us has a boyfriend, so outsiders are always thinking they can take control of us through marriage alliances.“You could just date. There’s no need to get married. Or you could even just pretend to date. Make them give up.”Isabella looked up at her cousin, amused. “What? That’s a crazy idea.“I haven’t been in a relationship until now because they all know I’m hard to deal with. They think I don’t even have feelings. If I start dating, they’ll realize I’m just like any other girl who dates and wants to get married. Then, they’ll get even more ideas.”Unless her boyfriend was someone so powerful that no one would dare to touch him. He would have to come from a family strong enough to protect the O'Connor family, and he would need to love only her and not be after her family’s money.Power, status, wealth, and good character were all essential.There were men
Austin quickly left the CEO’s office. Just as he stepped out, he ran into Tati, who was looking for Isabella.“Ms. Tati,” Austin greeted politely.Tati nodded and waited for Austin to leave before she knocked on the office door and entered.“Austin came early today to cook for you,” Tati said, holding a folder in her hand and opening it as she walked toward Isabelle.She sat down at the desk, handed over the folder, and said, “Isa, this is urgent. Please take a look.”Isabella took the document, glancing through it as she replied, “He comes around this time every day, neither early nor late.”“That Longbottom fellow came by again?” Tati asked.It was only after Mr. Longbottom had directly asked to see Isabella that Tati found out the old lecher had come again.“Yes, but I didn’t meet him. He brought some gifts, claiming they were holiday presents for us. I had them sent back. He’s too ambitious, and he has bad intentions. We’re absolutely on guard against him. Why would we give
Isabella turned her head to look at Austin.Austin stopped the massage and asked in a gentle voice, “Are you feeling any discomfort? I can work on it. I don't give people massages often, so I don’t have much experience. I'll keep giving you more massages as practice so I'll be able to serve you better.”“It's not that,” Isabella smiled. “It's actually very comfortable. It’s just that I really want to meet your grandmother every time you mention her.”In Isabella's mind, Austin's grandmother had already become something of a legendary figure.Austin thought to himself, ‘Nana’s already met you. You probably met her before, you just didn't know it was her.’His nana had surely spent a lot of time observing Isabella, getting to know her, and confirming that her character and abilities were suitable for him before choosing Isabella for him.“When you’re less busy, if you’re willing, you can come visit us in Wiltspoon. Lots of flowers bloom in spring, and there’s beautiful scenery ever
When Isabella first took over the family business, many of her grandparents' and parents' friends and relatives openly tried to sabotage her. They played dirty tricks, schemed, and tried various ways to undermine her.They wanted to take advantage of her, and they also did not want her to take control of the family’s legacy. They tried to prevent her from establishing herself in the company, even going as far as to collaborate with outsiders to trap her.She had suffered countless setbacks, faced numerous conspiracies, and even experienced several so-called accidents, nearly losing her life. It was only after all this that she truly understood the treachery of human nature. From that point on, she learned to arm herself with cold indifference.Though she was taking over her own family’s business, it felt like she had to fight through a bloody battle to secure her place, as if she were a king striving to ascend the throne. It was exhausting and disheartening.However, she endured an