Serenity smiled. “It’s normal for you to feel fetal movements. Even though I can feel them sometimes, it doesn’t feel real. It’s easy to be mistaken.”Although she said so, she still asked to touch Jasmine’s belly.Taking advantage of the fact that nobody else was in the shop, Jasmine sat behind the cashier, generously letting Serenity touch her stomach. However, the baby was asleep. Serenity lightly caressed Jasmine’s belly but did not get a response. “Baby might be sleeping. When I woke up, I said I could feel it moving, so Josh also touched my bump. He was amazed when he felt it and interacted with the baby for quite some time. He might have tired the little one out, so the baby’s sleeping now.”Serenity chuckled and withdrew her hand. She would soon be able to feel fetal movements herself, so there was no need to be jealous of her friend. The sound of heels came from outside the door.Soon, they saw a young woman entering the shop. It was the same woman from yesterday, who
Jasmine said, “Yeah. I’ve said it was good when I took the first bite.”“Let’s split the rest.”Serenity walked into the kitchen and took a ziplock, putting in half of the gingersnaps Mr. Charles gave.Jasmine did not stand on courtesy and accepted it. Carrie hid behind a shelf and observed them, feeling a bit dumbfounded. Have these two women never had cookies before? What was so good about that small and brittle cookie? They even shared it evenly.Carrie was curious and wanted to try it. How good was the cookie to make these two like it? However, she was now disguised as Mrs. Longbottom. She was not close to Serenity yet, so she felt embarrassed to ask her for a piece.“Serenity, Jasmine, are you there?”A familiar voice came from the outside. Hiding behind the shelf, Carrie turned pale, feeling a little nervous. It was Camryn. Camryn walked in while holding an umbrella. Behind her were two bodyguards Callum had assigned to protect her. As long as she was not with Callum,
“It’s not busy in the store now, so I came over to chat with you.”Camryn came because she wanted to chat with Jasmine and Serenity. Serenity instructed the bodyguards to carry the existing plants away, then replace them with the new ones Camryn brought. Jasmine went to pour a cup of hot tea for Camryn and said, “Drink some to warm yourself. It’s cold today.”She asked the bodyguards to help themselves since they were familiar with this place. They knew the three missus were down to earth and not unapproachable. Camryn drank a sip and saw the cookies at the cashier, but she did not ask about it.Serenity still offered her some, and Camryn did not hesitate to take one.Carrie was speechless. That cookie must be delicious.Camryn did not comment on how the cookie tasted. She ate while chatting with her two friends. When the topic came to her attending a banquet with her mother-in-law, she said to Serenity, “Seren, if you weren’t pregnant, we could have gone together. I was c
Unexpectedly, her niece had better luck than her, eventually dating and marrying Josh. The Bucham family was much more well-off than the Sox family. After Jasmine married into the Bucham family, she did not have to endure scrutiny from Josh’s mother, Rebecca. Josh’s family welcomed Jasmine with kindness.When Rachel was young and just married into the Lowe family, she had a hard time as her mother-in-law disliked her. She was only freed from the torment after her mother-in-law passed away.Camryn laughed along. “Since you guys said so, I have nothing to be afraid of.”“Yeah. You used to suffer so much without fear. Now that your life has improved, and with people backing you up, you have no reason to be scared. Camryn, remember that many of us from the York family will have your back.”Serenity boosted Camryn’s confidence. Camryn nodded firmly. She would cross the bridge when she got to it. There was nothing to fear.“Seren, don’t tell Callum about this. I just got nervous for
Carrie hung up after a few words with Mr. Longbottom. He always only asked about her whereabouts and when she would go home.She did not want to stay at the store anymore. Turning around, she saw the three missus sitting at the cashier, with several bodyguards sitting or standing at the entrance. She was burning with jealousy.It was only a small bookstore, but six bodyguards were inside. Serenity, Jasmine, and Camryn each had two bodyguards.Carrie also had two bodyguards following her whenever she went out now, but these bodyguards only acted respectfully when there were others around. They were cold and controlling behind the scenes, dictating her every move. They were totally different from Serenity’s bodyguards. She thought about how Serenity could not recognize her after she changed her face. Although Camryn was her sister, she was blind for ten years. Despite regaining her eyesight, it was only partially recovered, and Camryn could only see things up close. Things with
Serenity felt it too.Only Jasmine had not interacted with Carrie before and only knew of her name, so she felt nothing.“Let’s talk about it in the store. It’s cold out here. The rain is merely a drizzle, but it still feels cold.”Serenity held Camryn’s arm and pulled Jasmine along. The three of them returned to the cashier and sat down.“I’ll pour a cup of water for you two. My mouth feels dry after eating the gingersnaps from Mr. Charles. It tastes good, and I crave it more the more I eat,” Jasmine said as she went to get some water.Serenity smiled and helped Camryn to sit. Camryn said, “Seren, I can see.”Back when she was still blind, she could move around freely in familiar surroundings. Callum knew she needed to be in a familiar place to move freely like the others, so he kept ordering from Spring Blossoms and requested her to deliver the flowers to York Corporation.She thought he was deliberately making things difficult for her. Later, Callum explained that he had
Camryn replied without thinking, “She feels so much like Carrie. They have similar figures and voices. It’s just that their faces are different.”After a pause, she continued, “It shouldn’t be her. Yesterday, she still came to the manor, complaining to Mom that I was too cruel, letting her starve to death. She asked for money and made a fuss there.”“After I reached the manor with Callum, Mom gave me a bag of money and asked me to hand it to Carrie. It was filled with loose change like one or five dollars, but she put a couple of one-hundred-dollar bills on top to trick Carrie.”Once Camryn stated the person she suspected, Serenity immediately echoed, “Yeah! She really feels like Carrie. You reminded me of it. When she came to the store yesterday, I thought her figure looked familiar.”“Camryn, do you think it really is your ‘dearest’ sister? Could it be her disguise?”After thinking about it, Camryn said, “Carrie doesn’t have money now. She can’t afford bodyguards. That bodyguard
Serenity smiled. “I won’t be too concerned. When Zachary comes home tonight, I’ll just bring it up. If it really is Carrie, she must have found a backing. God knows what dirty tricks she has in waiting for Camryn.”“Anyway, Camryn, be careful,” Serenity reminded her.Serenity herself needed to be careful.Although she had peaceful days, she could not afford to be careless, always maintaining a high level of vigilance.It was because of the Fisher family in Jensburg.Belinda was cruel enough to harm her elder sister who had raised her. Naturally, she would be unwilling to let the position of matriarch return to her sister’s descendants.Although Serenity had bodyguards with her all the time and knew a little self-defense, she was still pregnant with Zachary’s child. It was easy for an accident to occur with even a slight collision.“I will. Since Carrie was released, I have been on guard against her.”Camryn looked outside and said, “The rain has stopped. I’ll return to my flowe
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