Zachary asked softly, “Do you need me to come along?”“No. I’ll go myself. Your work is important.”Serenity rejected his offer. Zachary did not insist. He was not as worried about her going to the Stones’ house. When they got out of the car at the hotel, Serenity spotted Carrie again. Carrie had intended to return to the villa to eat before changing out of her clothes and hyper-realistic mask before going back to her rented house. Then, she would resume her identity as Carrie Newman. However, she changed her mind on the way back and asked the bodyguards to take her to Wiltspoon Hotel for a meal. Zachary and Serenity often showed up there. Carrie wanted to train her nerves. It would be a successful training if she did not fear or go into hiding when she saw the loving couple. The Longbottom bodyguards did not object to Carrie’s decision. That was how Serenity and Zachary met the masked Carrie when they arrived at Wiltspoon Hotel. “Babe, that’s the lady who came to
Carrie dared not talk back and scrambled into the car. Two hours later, now reverted to her identity as a Newman, Carrie was panting as she climbed a flight of stairs. She finally got to the entrance of the unit she rented. When she took her key out and was about to open the door, it opened on its own. Wait, someone had opened it from the inside. Carrie’s first thought was that someone had broken into her house. ‘What the hell? Why would a robber want to break into a broke woman’s house?’Right then, she identified the person who opened the door. It was Brenda. Carrie exclaimed, “Why are you in my house, Aunt Brenda? Do you have my keys?”She did not recall giving her aunt the keys to her house. Brenda was startled. Upon looking clearly, she said, “You scared me, Carrie? You didn’t make a sound. Didn’t you give me your keys when you rented the house and asked me to help you clean up? I forgot to return them to you.“Where have you been? You didn’t return for a few days. I
Brenda breathed a sigh of relief. She said, “You can make a fuss, but don’t do anything extreme. If you go to jail again, you won’t be able to get a cent of the family asset by the time you’re out. It’ll all belong to Camryn and Trenton. You won’t even stand a chance.”She had two nieces and a nephew. However, she did not like Camryn and had a strained relationship with her. Amy and Brenda adored Trenton because he would be the one in charge of the Newman family in the future. Their position in their husbands’ families could only be secure if the Newman family got stronger. Unfortunately, Trenton supported Camryn. Now that the Joyners and Chandlers were bankrupt, they were counting on Carrie to go against Camryn. If Carrie could get some of the Newmans’ assets, they could take advantage of her and rebuild their families. Carrie was young. Her parents had spoiled her, and her arrogance knew no bounds. She was the most gullible person in the family. Therefore, Brenda was worri
Carrie’s eyes lit up at Brenda’s suggestion. She had been feeling timid about approaching Serenity even after changing her identity, worried about being discovered. She was about to create a scene involving Camryn as Carrie Newman to show that she was still in Wiltspoon. “Your idea is great, Aunt Brenda. I’ll head to Wildridge Manor now and get some allowance from our in-laws.”Brenda urged, “Go quickly and get more money. Help Amy and I. We’re flat broke now. It’s better if you can get Rosella to arrange a job for you.“It must be fairly easy to do that with her status.”However, Carrie did not want to work. She wanted to live a comfortable life where she could spend a limitless amount of money without lifting a finger. Mr. Longbottom had given her millions of dollars of allowance. She had also told the bodyguard to tell Mr. Longbottom to provide her with more money to purchase luxury items. In most cases, Mr. Longbottom would agree to Carrie’s requests. He was loaded
“I’m envious of you, Serenity. Your relationship with Zachary is still as sweet as ever despite being married for so long.”Camryn had regained her sight. She was putting a rose bouquet together for Serenity herself. Serenity smiled. “You and Callum are just as close. There’s no need to be envious of us.”She added, “It feels as if Zachary and I had just gotten our marriage license yesterday. Not much time has passed since then.”Camryn smiled. “Indeed. It hasn’t even been ten years. However, you and Zachary will surely stay this way even after decades.”She passed the bouquet to Serenity, who paid for it. Camryn did not want to charge her for the bouquet, but Serenity insisted. She said it would feel as if Camryn was the one giving Zachary the bouquet if she did not pay for it. Upon hearing that, Camryn quickly accepted her money. “I’m going to York Corporation now, Camryn. Drop by my house with Callum this weekend. I’ll cook up something delicious.”Camryn was walking Sere
Of course, Rosella knew that Camryn only appeared gentle. Camryn was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a formidable opponent. “Have you gotten off work, Camryn? Are you still busy? Are you tired?”“I came to the store in the evening and pruned the flowers that just came in recently. It was manageable, so I’m feeling fine.”Camryn smiled. “Did you prepare more nutritious food for me again?”Rosella was heartbroken over everything Camryn had gone through in the past. Whenever Camryn had time, Rosella would prepare healthy food to nourish her body. She would also curse the Newmans’ cruelty every time she saw Camryn. No matter what, Camryn was Paige’s biological daughter. How could she be so ruthless and hurt Camryn that deeply?Rosella thought, ‘If I had a daughter, I would’ve showered her with so much love.’Paige neither treasured nor loved Camryn. Look at how badly she had abused her. Luckily, Dr. Carden was able to cure Camryn’s eyes. It would have been unfortunate for such bea
Rosella said, “I didn’t. She was just here to create a scene and ruin your reputation. I met her but didn’t let her into the manor. I went out to meet her.“How could I give her money? She’ll only come back for more when it runs out.”Rosella was not that stupid. She said, “Your sister had gone too far with her words. I had someone cover her mouth and drag her away after hearing a few sentences. “She’s your sister. Regardless of how things are between you two, I thought I should let you know that she came to the manor to ask for money.“I’m just informing you, Camryn, not blaming you. Don’t take it to heart. I think I was nice enough to not release the dogs on her after what she and your mother did to you.”Rosella explained because she thought Camryn misunderstood she was angry. No matter the circumstances, Carrie was still Camryn’s sister and a young lady of the Newmans. However, she had gone to the manor to ask for money and humiliated Camryn. Although Rosella had stood up
Camryn could also make the Joyners and Chandlers jobless and leave Wiltspoon with a call. Even Carrie, who was not that bright, could probably figure everything out once the two families stopped egging her to do things. Maybe she could be independent once she found a job.She needed to withstand the trials of society to become a mature person. Of course, Camryn did not expect Carrie to turn over a new leaf entirely. Paige had already twisted Carrie’s views. It was difficult to correct it fundamentally. As long as Carrie lay low, Camryn would spare her from the worst. However, if she still did dirty tricks, Camryn would disregard all family ties. They never had sisterly love for each other anyway. Only Trenton treated Camryn with respect and care. He was the reason Camryn held back. Once Camryn’s patience ran out, she would not show mercy to Carrie even if Trenton interfered. “Okay. Let me know if you need my help. There’s no need to worry about asking for help because we’r
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