Back then, Evelyn kept advising Camryn not to let Callum slip by.Even Trenton admired Callum and told her that Callum was utterly smitten with her. Trenton and Evelyn had persuaded her to accept Callum’s love. They also told her not to discount herself when Callum did not mind her blindness at all. Camryn was perfectly fine and there was no need to feel inferior. She knew Callum’s feelings for her were sincere but she was still blind then. An outstanding man like him could find a better girl, and he did not need to waste his efforts on a blind person. Later, Camryn discovered that he had traveled to FC Manor several times to get Dr. Carden to treat her eyes. He even received complaints from Tim for disturbing his wife, who had just given birth. Callum chuckled. “No one can snatch me away. I belong to you, and you are mine.“Nana chose you for me too.“To be honest, I thought Nana was biased for picking someone blind as my wife. I was a little narcissistic, thinking that
The following day, Camryn stirred from her sleep because of Callum’s piercing stare. She woke up because she felt someone staring at her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Callum’s dark eyes. After blinking, she covered his eyes with her hand and closed her own. She said, “Why are you looking at me like that, darling?“It’s great that you’re not into cannibalism. I’m worried because you look like you want to gobble me up.”It was not the first time Callum did that. There had been a few times when he would just stare at her after waking up. Even if she were asleep, her instincts would alert her to wake up. Camryn was startled by his intense gaze when they first shared a bed after being legally married and had thought a burglar entered her house.She was not used to sharing a bed with Callum yet and had forgotten they were now husband and wife. When she finally recognized him, her reflex was to wrap herself with the blanket tightly and kick him off the bed. Callum was
Camryn rolled her eyes at Callum. “Dal and Melissa are a loving couple now. Stop overthinking. Don’t affect their relationship.”Callum chuckled. “Okay.”Dalton was married and enjoying marital bliss with his wife. Callum was relieved and needed not to worry about Camryn being snatched away. The way Dalton looked at Camryn was no longer as heated as before. It turned calmer, showing that he truly thought of Camryn as a sister. Callum kissed her cheek. He said softly, “Sleep. I’m going out for a run. I’ll make you breakfast when I get back.”“Austin’s cooking is better. By the time you’re back, he might have already finished making breakfast for everyone.”Callum smiled. “Sure, you can have breakfast at Aunt Tania and Uncle Liam’s place. I’ll check if Austin is awake and tell him to prepare extra servings. We can head there for breakfast later.“I think Austin will be heading to Satbury on Monday. It’s pretty far, so Aunt Tania is sad that he’s leaving. That’s why Austin ha
Soon, Callum laughed and said, “Who cares what he’s there for? Everyone has things they want to do. He’s not a three-year-old kid anymore. He doesn’t need his cousins to worry about him.“Honey, you should sleep a little while longer. I’m heading out.”Callum changed into sportswear and out he went for his morning run.Wildridge Manor was large enough that he only needed to run half a lap to get enough exercise.More often than not, Callum would just run two laps around his own yard instead of the entire manor because it was too time-consuming.Although it was his day off, he did not want to waste so much time because he wanted to spend time with his wife.Camryn continued catching up on sleep after Callum left for his run.Sometimes, she was envious of her husband. They got the same amount of rest but he was always more energetic than she was.After Callum went downstairs, he figured his parents were probably still asleep when he did not see them.It was cold in the morning a
As expected, Callum saw Austin bustling around in the kitchen alone.“Austin, we’re coming over to eat breakfast with Nana. Don’t forget our portions.”Callum was deathly afraid that he had come too late and that Austin was done preparing breakfast, leaving them with nothing to eat and his beloved wife’s stomach empty.Austin did not even turn around or spare Callum a glance as he said, “Can’t you see I’m still getting breakfast ready? Since you’re up early, help me out here.”Zachary and Callum are both back at the Manor, as well as Josh and Jasmine. Austin had the sense to prepare breakfast for everyone without them telling him to do so.As long as Grandma May was home, everyone tacitly understood to gather at the main house to eat together.Callum hurriedly replied, “I have yet to finish my run. I don’t have time to help you right now. Besides, everyone prefers your cooking, especially breakfast. Yours is just tastier.“But tell me, Austin. We were all taught by Nana, so why
“I told you, we’re fine. Camryn isn’t unreasonable.“I’m someone who walks the talk, too. I’ve never done anything wrong to Camryn. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Once you’re married in the future, you should learn from us. Wives are to be doted on and you should know how to dote on her and coax her.“There should be mutual trust between husband and wife. Don’t stray from us York men’s fine tradition.”Doting on one’s wife and having a healthy fear of her was the York men’s fine tradition.When they were young, they asked their nana why they had to be a man who doted on his wife.She told them that as long as their wives were sensible and had good characters, doting on their wives could make them prosperous.Plus, a sensible wife would bring less trouble to her husband.As the saying went, having a good wife could bless the next three generations.Austin laughed. “God forbids me to forget what Nana taught me for even a single moment.“I’m still young and I’m not in a rush to get
Grandma May replied, “Some are azaleas, some are magnolias, and some are crepe myrtles. The magnolias will bloom in March, but the crepe myrtle will only bloom in the summer. They were planted to bloom in intervals so that we’ll always see blooming flowers all year round.“After the New Year, once the plum blossoms have bloomed, you guys should come back and go with me for a flower viewing. We have cherry blossoms too—they’re all grown here on the manor grounds.“In June, you can enjoy the lotuses. We have that the most.”Grandma May smiled. “I just love flowers and plants, and having them on my own land. When fresh flowers take turns blooming during their season, they just look so vibrant and lively. It makes people feel much better.”Because of the old lady’s interest, that was how Wildridge Manor came into existence. The ladies who married into the York family afterward could enjoy it too.“Nana.”Callum jogged over to her.After greeting his nana as well as Serenity and Jasm
Camryn said, “I would be more than happy to have a child earlier rather than later, but my body’s not in the condition to do so. I’m afraid you guys will have to bear the heavy burden of giving Nana a great-granddaughter.”Grandma May laughed. “It’s no big deal. I have nine grandsons and will have nine granddaughters-in-law. There has to be one who can give me a great-granddaughter to hug. Let’s go see the flowers. Callum, let us know once breakfast is ready.”Camryn was not allowed to have children for the next few years. Grandma May was afraid that Camryn would feel sad, so she hurriedly changed the subject.She even said, “Camryn, there’s no rush for you and Callum. Take good care of your body.”Camryn smiled, “Nana, we’re not in a hurry, and we can’t be in a hurry either.”Even if they stopped her medication now, it would take another year and a half to be safe enough to conceive.She was worried that the effects of the medication would last for a long time and thought that i
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa