“It’s so cold here, Aunt Ser. The wind is strong too. I almost got blown away when I got out of the airplane.”Sonny spoke with an exaggerated tone. “You should put on more clothes. Don’t get blown away by the wind. I don’t know where to find you if you do.”Sonny giggled. “I lied, Aunt Ser. The wind is strong, but it can’t blow me away. I’m all grown up.“But it’s really cold. Mom said it’ll snow, but it hasn’t yet.”Jensburg was indeed much colder than Wiltspoon. Serenity was relieved that she had stuffed a few more thicker clothes into Sonny’s luggage. “Dunc and I are in Mom’s new car. The heater is on, so it doesn’t feel as cold now. It even feels warm because Dunc is hugging me.”“Mm. Remember to wear another jacket when you leave the car. I put some thick clothes into your luggage.“Tell your mom to drive slowly because the weather is cold.”“Mom isn’t driving. Jim is.” Sonny was close to Jim, who had been assigned to follow Liberty to Jensburg. When Sonny saw him,
Meanwhile at the Longbottom Villa, which was named as such since Carrie had been staying there under the guise of Mrs. Longbottom. Carrie wandered around and only returned when night fell. When the car entered the property, she saw the villa’s lights were turned on. Carrie knew Mr. Longbottom had come. She was a little nervous and scared. She no longer harbored any expectations for him. At first, she wanted to replace the real Mrs. Longbottom and make Mr. Longbottom obedient to her. However, ever since he almost strangled her to death and looked at her with that hostile gaze, she was scared out of her wits. Carrie knew that if she did not complete the task Mr. Longbottom had assigned her, he would really kill her. If she offended him or thought of betraying him, she would not gain any benefits either. Mr. Longbottom was extremely generous. He would give her nice clothes and countless pieces of jewelry. Even the money he gave her was always more than what they had ag
Mr. Longbottom was sitting on the sofa, holding a glass of alcohol. He looked relaxed, sipping his drink from time to time. He did not look toward Carrie when he heard the sound of footsteps. She walked over and put down her bag. Then, she went to his side and said sweetly, “Mr. Longbottom.”When he finally spared her a glance, it was so hostile that Carrie was startled. Did she do something wrong?“Have you eaten, Mr. Longbottom?”She dared not talk in a cute voice. Instead, she looked at him cautiously. Mr. Longbottom returned a faint hum. He leaned back and said, “You’ll need the invitation on the table for the banquet you’re attending tomorrow.“I bought you a few evening gowns and sets of jewelry. They’re all there. You can wear whichever you prefer.”Mr. Longbottom looked toward a single-seated sofa. Following his gaze, Carrie noticed a few intricate bags and velvet boxes placed on that sofa. She took the invitation card and opened it. Then, she moved over to
After thinking about it, Carrie said, “You’re right. Camryn already heard my voice. I’ll definitely meet her again. She’ll find me suspicious if she notices a change in my voice.“She’s suspecting me now, right? But how did Serenity notice?“I only met her a few times.”Mr. Longbottom glanced at her and said, “She has a good memory.”Carrie went silent. Camryn had a good memory too. That was what she had relied on to survive ten years of blindness. “Your blind sister…”“She’s not blind anymore, Mr. Longbottom. She already regained her sight. Callum hired some legendary doctor’s student to heal her.”She added angrily, “Why is she so lucky?”When Callum started getting closer to Camryn, she was still blind. Yet, he never thought of giving up because of that. Amy and Brenda even went to Wildridge Manor to meet Rosella. They said Camryn was not good enough for Callum because she was blind. Rosella returned an aggressive remark. She said a missus of the Yorks did not have
Mr. Longbottom would not be able to inherit the Longbottom family’s wealth either. He could only be the acting head and manage the family, even if he was competent. When Laurence became an adult and returned with the family head’s seal and totem, Mr. Longbottom would be forced to hand over his position to Laurence. The Longbottom’s forces and connection would only be loyal to Laurence as well. Therefore, Mr. Longbottom had to get the seal and totem and kill Laurence before he turned older. That way, he could become the head of the family and command everyone. However, his trail of intel went cold just as he suspected Laurence was Jane’s adopted son. He could not obtain any information on Laurence anymore. It was as if FC Manor was a fortress. While Mr. Longbottom could penetrate their defenses, he did not want to offend the Johnsons and a powerful international secret organization backing them, the Imperial Force. Longbottoms were strong, but Mr. Longbottom was not its
“I’ll take note of everything you mentioned, Mr. Longbottom.”Carrie knew that Camryn would be wary ever since she saw her. Even if Serenity could not find any clues, Camryn would. They were biological sisters, after all. Camryn knew Carrie well, but the opposite was not true. That was why Camryn was able to trample over Carrie. Carrie feared that Trenton would not help her. She did not know what her younger brother was thinking. Trenton would not take her side. Meanwhile, Amy and Brenda had left Wiltspoon with her cousins. She was clueless as to where they went. Carrie had no one to rely on. That was also why Mr. Longbottom chose her to become his pawn. She even became his mistress. Mr. Longbottom took two pieces of paper from a drawer and handed them to Carrie. He said, “Read these and memorize everything on them. That way, nothing will go wrong during the banquet tomorrow night. You won’t make anyone suspect you.”Carrie accepted the papers. There were unfamiliar n
Having tasted poverty, Carrie had learned to always have a backup plan.She started saving the money Mr. Longbottom gave her.Even if they were to go separate ways in the future, she would have some savings instead of relying on Trenton to give her a few thousand dollars as allowance every month.“Mr. Longbottom, does the host of the banquet know who I am?”“They don’t know your true identity. I’ve arranged for a wife from a wealthy family in Wiltspoon to take you there. Remember, you’re Mrs. Longbottom, not Ms. Carrie Newman. Your husband’s family keeps a low profile, and you don’t know any of them.“If you meet someone you know, you must pretend to be a stranger.”Carrie nodded.Mr. Longbottom released her chin.“Follow me upstairs.”Carrie was momentarily stunned.She knew what he wanted to do, yet she had no way of resisting it or daring to do so. Therefore, she had no choice but to follow him upstairs.…Meanwhile, at Fortress Hotel in Jensburg, Liberty pushed Duncan o
Duncan said, “For you, I’ll keep going. I’m only handling important business now.“My brothers help me too. They won’t let me get exhausted.”Duncan added, “If it weren’t for you, I probably would’ve given up on myself and on recovering. I wouldn’t have been able to stand up for the rest of my life.”“Silly.”“I’m not silly. I just love you and Sonny a lot. Many people keep asking how I got attracted to you when you were a divorced woman who didn’t even look that pretty back then.”Duncan smiled. “Honestly, I don’t know either. I just fell in love with you. I don’t need to find out why.“Maybe your striving to be a better self and transformation brought me to you.“I like Sonny too. I didn’t really like kids because they’re noisy, but I adored Sonny since the first time I saw him.”Liberty grinned. “I know I got lucky because of my son.”Duncan cared about Liberty more because she was Sonny’s mom, and he liked Sonny. They gradually developed feelings for each other after int