Apart from the employees and the bodyguards, Caroline was the only person left at home.Her mother, brothers, and sisters-in-law had all left.Caroline could not be bothered to ask where they had gone either.After showering and putting on a thick jacket, Caroline left her room and headed downstairs as she made a call to Liberty.Liberty soon picked up.“Are you free for lunch, Liberty?” Caroline asked with a bright smile.Without waiting for Liberty’s answer, she continued, “I heard Mr. Lewis came to visit you with Sonny. I kind of miss Sonny too, so I want to treat you guys to lunch. You can’t say no.“I’ve already asked Mr. Fletcher to book a table for us at Fortress Hotel. See you at noon!”Liberty laughed. “Are you even asking? It’s more like you’re notifying me.”“Are you going to say no? I’m your elder, you know. It’s rude to refuse when an elder is buying you lunch.”Liberty was speechless for a moment. “I never said I was going to say no. We were planning to have lun
Liberty sighed, “Right? They’re so carefree. I haven’t gone on holiday in ages.”After she married Hank, she never had the chance to go on holiday. Whenever she went on business trips, she was always in a rush and never had the time to sightsee and relax.“Mr. Hayden’s changed after getting with Mr. Kevin.” Caroline sighed. “She’s starting to seem more womanly after falling in love.”Hayden had a fraternal twin brother. While she was away, he would be substituting her, so she could go on holiday without any worries.Meanwhile, Caroline was still doing her best to learn and get used to the Fishers’ Machiavellian ways. She did not dare to leave for too long even for business trips. At most, she would do an overnight trip.She was afraid that if she went too far and was away for too long, the authority she only managed to earn after much hard work would disappear.Even without Celine as her competition, she still had three older brothers eyeing her position.There were a few stub
Caroline stopped and wound down her car window to poke her head out and asked, “Have you prepared the gifts for Sonny and Mr. Lewis?”Darren smiled. “Are you still not assured about my ability to get things done? They’re ready. Are you driving there yourself?”“Is there a problem with that?”Darren replied, “If you drink alcohol, you won’t be able to drive back. I’d better drive you. That way, you can drink as much as you want.”“I won’t be drinking. I had too much to drink last night and I don’t think Liberty’s drinking either. Sonny’s still a kid, and Mr. Lewis is still recovering. Liberty definitely won’t let him drink.”Darren could not say anything to that.He got into his car and followed after her once her car passed his.Half an hour later, they arrived at Fortress Hotel.Liberty was waiting with Sonny in the lobby for Caroline’s arrival.Duncan did not come downstairs because it was inconvenient.Caroline did not know Liberty was already waiting for her. After she pa
“C’mere, let me give you a hug. I bought lots of toys and new clothes for you.”Liberty commented, “Sonny has so many toys that we’re running out of space, and you’re buying him more? He has so many clothes that he hasn’t even worn them all. Kids grow so quickly that he won’t be able to wear them soon.”“I didn’t buy all those toys for Sonny. He’s my first grandnephew, I have to give him something.“If Sonny has that many clothes, you and Mr. Lewis should get married soon and have a second kid so they can wear them,” Caroline joked. “Kids always get hand-me-downs from their older siblings anyway.”“Sonny’s clothes are all so new they’d still look new on your second kid.”Liberty instantly blushed while Duncan grinned widely.He wanted to have a kid with Liberty too.Of course, Liberty had to be willing. If she did not want a second child, he would not force her.He would just treat Sonny like his own.Since Sonny appeared when he was young and if they stayed on good terms, Son
Liberty took some food for her son and served Duncan while she was at it.Duncan looked at her passionately.Darren, who was next to him, calmly grabbed some food for Caroline in an unaffected manner.Liberty noticed how attentive Darren was to Caroline. He was careful to make sure there were no bones before placing the meat onto Caroline’s plate.He would make sure there was nothing wrong with the food before serving Caroline too. Caroline was occupied with talking to Liberty and Sonny and had not noticed this. All she knew was her plate was always filled with food she liked and she ate with ease. She did not have to pick anything out and could just dig in.Whenever she finished her tea, it would soon be refilled.As someone with experience, just like Belinda, Liberty quickly caught on to Darren’s feelings for Caroline.Caroline might not have noticed and just attributed it to the fact that Darren was her all-rounder personal assistant because she thought it was natural for him t
In Wiltspoon, Liberty’s businesses ran smoothly due to Serenity and Zachary’s influence. Even if she believed in her abilities, Zachary’s contribution could not be eliminated. “It does feel underwhelming when everything goes smoothly, thanks to Serenity and Zachary.“Unlike you, I face multiple challenges despite the company belonging to my family. Even if I achieved something, people would say that I’ve taken someone else’s achievements as my own.”“Ignore what people say. It’s fine as long as you know it was your effort.”Caroline laughed and added, “I don’t care about them. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to hold onto this position firmly.”Liberty patted her shoulder. “Good luck.”“You too.”While they were competitors, they held great admiration for each other. Liberty and Audrey thought that the Fisher family would be much better if Caroline were the matriarch. However, being Tiara’s descendants, they had to determine whether the previous matriarch had passed away due
He still felt the cold even if he wore multiple layers of clothes. “Mom, Dunc, and I already went shopping this morning.”That was Sonny’s main reason for declining Caroline’s invitation. Caroline smiled. “Okay. I’ll take you to a theme park next time if the opportunity comes.”“Okay,” Sonny agreed happily. Caroline left Fortress Hotel after a couple of hours.When she was in the car, she told Darren, “Take me to the largest children’s theme park in Jensburg.”Darren looked at her and asked, “Are you going to play?”Caroline pressed her lips together and said, “No, but I want to watch. Only children’s innocent smiles can heal my wounded heart.”“You’re exaggerating. You’re young. Don’t sound so tragic.”“I’ve experienced too much. Even if I’m young, I feel old at heart.”Darren smiled. “You can have as much fun as you want at the theme park. I’ll be with you.”“Okay.”“Please fasten your seatbelt. I’m going to start driving.”Caroline fastened her seatbelt. Then, she l
“We’ll talk about this in the future. If you need me, I’ll be glad to be of service.”Caroline smiled. “Don’t speak of yourself like a male escort.”Darren’s ears turned red. “Mr. Fletcher, do the assistants not talk about relationships at all? Your ears are red just from a question.“You must be inexperienced in romantic relationships.”Darren started driving and said, “We learn everything but love.”Love was instinctive, and not something to be learned. He could be cold-hearted with any other woman. However, his ruthlessness seemed to disappear when it came to Caroline. Perhaps it was because he knew that he could only fall in love with his master. Therefore, he had never held his guard up against her. After spending time with Caroline, he gradually fell for her. Darren did not expect her to reciprocate his feelings. He was satisfied with loving and protecting her secretly. Of course, it would be great if she felt the same about him. “That’s good. Love is beautif
Camryn smiled, “You spoil me too much. You’ll turn me into an absolute sloth who only waits around for you to take care of me, and it might tire you out.”“That won’t happen. I enjoy taking care of you,” Callum assured as he reached to help her with the snacks, but she would not let him feed her anymore. Callum had no choice but to hand her the snacks.“Although Trenton is young, he has mettle. When we put his parents away, it was hard for him to accept, but in the end, he did. As long as he has the right values, even the hardest things can be accepted over time and he won’t resent anyone else for it either.”Camryn pushed the snack box closer to her husband, indicating that he should have some too. “If Trenton didn’t have the right values, I wouldn’t care for him so much. Given the hurt and pain I suffered during the twenty-odd years under his parents, if I hated them, they’d have nothing to say in defense.“Because Trenton has treated me well since he was little, respects me as
Just now, Carrie came here and made a scene, and he had given her fifty thousand dollars. Although he had not spent much time with her, they were siblings. He could at the very least still recognize her. However, when Camryn asked him that, Trenton's heart started to race, not daring to confidently say that the lady really was Carrie.As for the young lady beside her? He had watched the video a few times but had not paid much attention to her. All he could see was a beautiful, young woman dressed in luxurious attire. In the video, he heard Camryn refer to her as Mrs. Longbottom, so her husband’s family name had to be Longbottom.Mrs. Longbottom had a good attitude toward Camryn and even supported her. He was not familiar with Mrs. Longbottom at all, though. Why did Camryn ask him that? Should he know her? Trenton watched the video two more times but could not find anything unusual about her. It was just that he was not acquainted with Mrs. Longbottom. If he had not seen the video,
The young couple looked at Trenton, then exchanged smiles.“How much did you give Carrie?” Camryn asked her brother gently. Camryn could harden her heart to completely ignore Carrie and not give her a single cent, but Trenton could not be as ruthless as she was, mainly because while Carrie had not been particularly kind to Trenton, she also had not bullied him outright. She had treated Camryn very poorly though and had never shown her any respect at all, so their sisterly bond had deteriorated to the extreme. It was already generous of Camryn not to completely destroy Carrie after taking charge, which was probably out of consideration for the fact that they shared a mother.“I-I gave her fifty thousand. She said it was almost Christmas, and she wanted to buy gifts and new clothes, so I-I gave her fifty thousand.” Trenton looked down as he spoke, not daring to look at Camryn, afraid she would scold him.Camryn gave her brother a long look but did not scold him. Instead, she took o
Callum was silent for a moment before he said, “I wanted you to get familiar with the route to my office, which is why I asked you to deliver the flowers yourself.”“Did you ever think about how difficult it was for me as a blind person? It was so hard for me to walk all the way to deliver those flowers,” Camryn retorted.Callum pulled her into an embrace and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Camryn. It was my fault for not thinking it through, which put you through a lot.”Camryn pushed him away, “We have customers constantly coming in. Don’t just hug me out of nowhere. You’re as thick-skinned as a rhinoceros, but I’m not. At that time, I was angry and silently cursed you a hundred thousand times, but your insistence actually did help me learn the way to your office and now, I can find my way there even with my eyes closed.”At that moment, Trenton returned. After Carrie left, he felt a bit down and stayed outside for a while to compose himself before coming back in. He did not wan
Just then, a customer came in wanting to buy a bouquet. Camryn first brought over some sample pictures for the customer to choose from. “No need to choose, just help me arrange a bouquet of roses. I’m going to confess my feelings,” said the young boy, a hint of shyness on his face as he spoke.Camryn smiled gently. “Alright, please wait a moment while I prepare it for you.”Callum assisted by inviting the young boy to sit down and poured him a glass of water.The boy glanced between Camryn and Callum and quietly asked, “Are you and the boss married or dating?”“We’re married. She’s my wife.”The boy expressed his envy. “You both seem very happy.”“Yeah, we are very happy. I love my wife very much, and she loves me too.”Thinking about the girl he was pursuing, the boy’s face lit up with anticipation. “I also have someone I like, and I’m going to confess to her, though I just don’t know if she feels the same. I’m a bit nervous.”Callum, drawing from his own experience, advised
“She hasn’t paid. Stop her.” Camryn was not going to let her get away with it. With a command, her two bodyguards stopped Carrie.Carrie said furiously, “Camryn, I only took a few flowers from you! You have so many flowers here. What's the big deal if I take a few? You still want me to pay? I’m your sister! Don’t you know that blood is thicker than water?!”“Blood might be thicker than water, but business is business. Anyone who buys flowers from me has to pay, including you. Besides, you’ve never treated me like an older sister. You always bring up how we’re sisters when you want to take advantage of me, but that won’t work here. My roses are freshly transported, and since you’re my sister, I’ll let you have them for twenty bucks each. You took about five stems, so just give me a hundred. I won’t rip you off.”Carrie’s expression changed in an instant. “Camryn, why don’t you just rob a bank? You’re charging twenty bucks each? You’re just a thief! Here! I don’t want them! I’d rather
“If Mom said she would create an opportunity for you to get with the king, would you really believe her? It’s just talk—nothing actually happened.” Trenton could not resist poking Carrie’s forehead a few times. “Carrie, can you please come back to earth? In your current state, forget about finding a great guy like Callum—even a regular, decent guy would be turned off by you.”Carrie swatted away her brother’s fingers, irritated and embarrassed. “Am I really that bad? I’m young, beautiful, have a great figure, and a dignified heiress. If the monarchy still existed, I could marry the king and be his queen without a problem.”“Carrie, you have sky-high ambitions, but be careful, don’t fly too close to the sun and end up like Icarus.”As soon as he said that, Trenton was met with a smack from his sister.“Is there a brother who curses his own sister like that? What do you mean by that? I’m destined to have the princess life. I’ll be fine.”However, deep down, she was still worried bec
Camryn was right—he was just too soft-hearted. If he were as ruthless as her, Carrie would have found a job long ago after running out of money.To encourage Carrie to become independent, Trenton decided that after Christmas, he would stop giving her living expenses. He would also tell their parents during his visit to prison that Carrie was truly hopeless.“Trenton, you keep siding with her, and one day you'll regret it. She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing who has deceived who knows how many people. Do you really think she cares about you? She just wants to win your complete trust to take everything that belongs to you for herself. By driving us out of our home, she’s not only seeking revenge on Mom and Dad but also on us—especially you. She’s just pretending to be nice to you to sow discord between us siblings.”“Carrie!” Trenton said seriously, “Don’t talk about Camryn like that. She’s not that kind of person. I believe in her, one hundred percent.”Carrie was so furious she wanted
“Alright, alright, I can't win with the two of you against one,” Carrie sulked. “Give me money to spend. I'm out of money.”She reached out her hand toward Camryn, wanting her to give her money. Camryn slapped her hand away. “Even Trenton knows to take advantage of the winter break to find a part-time job and earn some pocket money. You’re perfectly capable, yet you don’t look for a job.“To put it bluntly, if you’ve gone to sweep the streets, you'd still have a source of income. I have money, but I won’t give it to you. Don’t think that just because we’re sisters—estranged, too, at that—I have an obligation to support my adult sister. I’ve said it before: if you want money to spend, earn it yourself.” With that, Camryn walked away to tend to her plants.As Christmas approached, the flower market was bustling. Every day, many people came to buy flowers, and all her employees were out delivering flowers to clients. Sometimes, when it got too busy, she even had to ask her two bodyguar