“However, the food Celine brought up was problematic. Who do you think was behind this? Is it Celine? Or Hunter himself? No matter who did it, this was a cruel method.”After speaking, Liberty laughed dryly. “Compared to those people, I’m not vicious or cruel.”If reclaiming the position of matriarch required these methods, she would not be able to do it; she would rather let Caroline have it. Hayden gave it some thought and said, “It couldn’t have been Celine or Hunter, nor could it have been Madam Fisher. They can’t suspect us because we’ve been under Madam Fisher’s watchful eye all along. The other Fishers probably didn’t have the guts to do this.“Caroline’s a possibility. She’s bold enough to do it. However, based on my understanding of her, she’s a righteous person. She won’t use such underhanded methods to compete with Celine. Hunter is her biological father as well. Although they didn’t share a close bond, she won’t go that far.”Liberty nodded. “I don’t think it’s Caroli
Liberty said, “I think the wives are the culprit. I don’t know how they executed their plan. However, this is just our guess. We don’t have to care about who’s behind this. It probably won’t be circulated.”Belinda would not let word get out. She may not have been able to cover things up in time as she was outraged. However, she would take action immediately once she regained a clear mind. Those who had gone upstairs may have run off quickly, but they would not be able to escape. Belinda would know who had gone up with some digging around. Liberty dared to bet that Belinda would look for her first thing tomorrow and tell her not to shush her up. As for the culprit, Belinda would find it out herself. They just had to observe if the three women were divorced or chased out of the family to know the outcome. “Celine will have to leave the Fisher family for good this time,” said Hayden. She hated Celine. It had nothing to do with Celine’s love for Hayden or her constant pes
Liberty’s expressions changed. The first thing that came to her mind was that Belinda orchestrated a car accident to kill her. She had guessed that Belinda would not stay still.The banquet was peaceful, and the food was not poisoned. Therefore, Liberty was worried that her car was tampered with to get her into an accident. That was why she chose to sit in Hayden’s car. The Fisher family would not dare to tamper with Hayden’s car or attack Hayden. Hence, Liberty would be safe if she followed her. Six bodyguards were assigned to her; two each from the Yorks, Stones, and Lewises. Since she had brought them to Jensburg, she had to ensure their safety. Therefore, she had hinted at her bodyguards to lie that they had drunk alcohol and were unfit to drive. In the end, all of them squeezed into one vehicle with Hayden’s bodyguards while their cars were being driven back to the hotel by the few Fishers’ bodyguards assigned by their butler.The car that got hit happened to be the on
“Mom, I think this was an accident. Celine wouldn’t seduce Dad,” said Caroline. She was not helping Celine. With these words, Belinda would not suspect her. Of course, she was not the culprit. However, she knew who was behind it all. She was aware of everything her sisters-in-law had done. She simply did not inform Celine and let everything unfold. Even someone dumb would know that Celine or Hunter would never have such intentions. Although Hunter was perverted and had affairs with younger women, he would not touch Celine. After all, he treated her as his daughter. Even if his true daughter had returned to the Fisher family, Hunter still adored Celine the most. On the other hand, he was unable to develop any fatherly love for Caroline and even helped Celine to compete against Caroline. Now that Hunter and Celine were caught having sex by Belinda, things would not end well for them. Belinda shouted with a livid face, “I said, throw Celine out! I never want to see her
Emma asked cautiously, “Are we really doing that? Aren’t we going to wait for Celine to wake up and hear what she has to say?”Belinda glared at her eldest daughter-in-law. “Are my words powerless now? Do what I tell you. Go. Do it right now. If not, pack your things and get lost.”Emma was startled. She quickly replied, “We’ll do it now, Mom. Please don’t be angry. It’s not worth affecting your health.”Emma squinted her eyes at Ava and Ellie, hinting at them to follow her to deal with Celine. The butler arrived upstairs. She dared not make a sound after hearing her boss’s angry voice. After her sisters-in-law left, Caroline spotted the butler.“Calm down, Mom. Have some tea.”Caroline passed a teacup to Belinda. After downing half a cup of tea, Belinda was still as furious as ever. Therefore, Caroline walked toward the butler, Elaine, and asked in a soft voice, “What’s wrong?”“There was a car accident when Ms. Hunt was on her way home, Ms. Caroline. Her car was overturne
“No matter what, I have to meet his family.”“His parents have passed away. He is survived by his younger brother. I’ll contact you when he comes over. My family is a mess now, Liberty. I’ll handle that first, and we can talk next time.”Liberty agreed. Caroline ended the call. “Let me go. I want to meet Mom. I want to meet her. Let me go.”Celine, who had woken up, was dressed appropriately. However, she was being hauled downstairs by two of her sisters-in-law while the other was following them from behind with some clothes. The three Clark brothers dared not utter a word. They simply stared at their father. Hunter’s face was pale. He sat on the ground, having no energy to stand up. His sons had dressed him, yet he still felt as if he was naked in front of them. His mind was blank. He did not know how everything transpired. Looking at Celine being dragged away by his daughters-in-law, he showed fear but still could not say a word. Hunter would not have a good ending h
“Adrian, take me to your mom.”While Hunter felt sorry for Celine, he needed to protect himself first. After snapping back to his senses, he thought of admitting his mistake and explaining the situation to his wife. Adrian and Justin helped Hunter get up and walk out of the room. “Honey.”When Hunter saw Belinda sitting in the study with a stern expression, he immediately broke away from his sons’ hands and walked toward her. He knelt silently and proceeded to slap his mouth continuously. Belinda simply stared at him coldly. The brothers dared not put in any words for their father. They stood aside and watched as their father knelt and slapped himself without any pride left in him. Hunter struck himself hard, and his cheeks soon turned red. There was even a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Belinda held her icy gaze. It was so emotionless that Hunter’s heart beat nervously when he glanced at her. He knew he would have to face a grave punishment. After s
“Mom, have a good talk with Dad, listen to his explanation, and don’t make decisions that you’ll regret,” Caroline gently advised.Belinda waved her hand, signaling her daughter to leave with her siblings.As Caroline passed by her father, she quietly said, “Dad, properly explain things to Mom. You and Mom have been husband and wife for decades.”Hunter nodded. He wanted to speak but did not know what to say.In critical moments, his biological daughter would still speak up for him due to their blood relationship.After all four children left the study, Belinda walked over and checked if the study door was closed. She opened it once more to look outside making sure none of her children were eavesdropping, before closing the door again.She then locked the door.Belinda turned back and stopped in front of her husband, looking down at him.“Honey, I really don’t understand why something like that happened. I’m sure both Celine and I were set up,” Hunter explained sincerely.Afte
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
“You can drink it now. It’ll turn cold if left aside for longer.”Isabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. “I’m drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what I’m doing and saying.“I’ve had enough ginger ale.”She did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. “Which family is your fiancée from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?”Isabella was insistent on getting answers. Austin had never told her when she had asked him about it before. He kept saying he would focus on working and that he was not in a rush to get married. After all, he was only in his twenties; Zachary only got married at thirty years old. If he was unsuccessful in wooing his fiancée that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austin’s fiancée, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austin’s fiancée had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabella’s eyes. He could detect some feelings in her gaze, but it was not obvious enough. What she felt for him was still mostly admiration. It was not the right time for him to confess yet. He would continue to wait. “You’re the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.”Austin added gently, “You give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but you’re always a nice person in my eyes.”Isabella had treated him well ever since he became her private chef. It only got better after she discovered he was a young master of the Yorks. Austin believed her when she said she viewed him as a friend because her actions reflected it as well. However, he was not content with being just friends. He wanted to be her husband. He wanted her to trust him and love him forever. He would also reciprocate her feelings and trust. Isabella smiled. “Even my parents are scared and avoid me when I’m in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, “Don’t worry, Ms. Edith. I’ll take good care of Ms. Isabella.”Edith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousin’s words was not lost on Isabella, but she did not comment on it.She allowed Austin to accompany her into the house. The lights were still on inside, but the first floor was empty. Everyone else had already gone to bed.Since Isabella had not returned yet, the housekeeper had left the lights on for her.The house was warm, so once inside, Isabella took off Austin’s coat and handed it back to him.Austin accepted the coat and followed her to the sofa. After she had sat down, he asked gently, “Ms. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?”Isabella rubbed her temples and said, “Yes, please. I don’t want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.”Austin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austin’s