Caroline had a gossipy and curious look on her face.Emma felt even more anxious at this.Photos?Of whom?“Hurry on in, Emma. Don’t make Mom wait,” Caroline urged in a whisper before leaving.Emma took a few deep breaths. Whatever it was, there was no running from it. She would have to go in.No matter how impressive her mother-in-law was, she was not going to eat her now, was she?Emma went in.The moment she did, she saw photos scattered all over the floor before the desk.Her scary mother-in-law was sitting behind the desk, munching on some fruit dipped in chocolate.Emma was a little surprised to see this.She did not expect her scary mother-in-law to be eating the same snack children fancied. It was probably given to her by Caroline.Belinda did not care what Emma thought of this as she finished the last bit before instructing, “Pick up all the photos on the floor.”“Yes, Mom.”Emma hurriedly walked over to the table and put her bag down on a chair before bending ov
The main issue was that Belinda and Hunter had always doted on that harlot Celine and even treated her much better than they did Caroline.Each one of them who had married into the Fisher family knew they had to follow Belinda’s will.Since Belinda was so good to Celine, even if Emma felt uncomfortable about it, she still had to suck up to Celine on the surface.“That’s enough.”Belinda cut Emma off.“This isn’t your fault. I spoiled Celine too much in the past.”In this manor, everyone had to follow her will.If anyone was to blame, she as the matriarch was to blame.Emma said in a small voice, “You only spoiled her so much because you didn’t know she was a fake. I’m a mother now, too, and I also only have one daughter. I dote on her a lot too.”“Were the kids already dropped back off at school?” Belinda asked about her grandchildren.She treated them quite well.When she had just gotten Caroline back and initially felt that the girl was hopeless, she even thought of nurtur
“I’m going to go settle the score with Adrian. He’s just a leopard that can’t change its spots,” Emma replied to Caroline as she walked.In her fury, she was walking faster than usual and in the blink of an eye, she had already reached the other side of the hall and exited the main house.Caroline soon heard the sound of an engine revving from outside and realized Emma had indeed gone out.After delivering the food upstairs to her mother, she made an excuse to leave and hurriedly left to follow Emma.Caroline was not worried that Emma would do anything impulsive in anger, but rather, she was worried that Adrian and Celine would join hands to make Emma suffer a loss.On the way there, Caroline received a call from Darren.“Where are you headed, miss?” Darren heard Caroline had gone out and called to enquire.“Emma’s gone to confront Adrian and Celine. I’m worried she’ll suffer, so I’m going after her to help.”Darren chuckled. “You’re not going to watch the show?”“I mean, I am
Without a single word, Emma gave Celine a hard slap.There was a loud smack.A bright red handprint immediately appeared on Celine’s face.Even the corner of her mouth was bleeding.This was not enough for Emma. She repeatedly swung her bag at Celine, cursing and calling her a shameless harlot as she did so.Celine did not cower in the least and the two hurled each other and rolled on the floor.The noise of the struggle was loud and because it was a Sunday night, everyone was home.The neighbors all came out to see what was going on.When they saw Emma and Celine fighting, they did not dare to interfere, not knowing the circumstances.In between landing hits, Emma even tore the sexy nightgown Celine was wearing while shouting, “You slut! How dare you seduce my husband? I’m going to destroy you, you shameless harlot!”The crowd finally figured out the situation. It turned out a wife was confronting the mistress.A good Samaritan immediately started filming with their phone.
Whoever Adrian wanted to be with in the future had nothing to do with Emma anymore.Anyone who wanted her position as the eldest Fisher daughter-in-law—be her guest! She wanted to live!“Adrian, do you realize what you’re doing?” Caroline rebuked coldly. “You nearly killed Emma!“Do you think we have no idea of what you and that woman have been doing here?” Caroline bent down to pick up Emma’s bag and retrieved a stack of photos to throw at Adrian forcefully.Then, she pulled Emma up and said, “Let’s go home, Emma. We’ll leave this scummy couple to Mom to handle.”“Caroline—”Adrian picked up one of the photos to look at it and he paled.When he looked up, Caroline was already pulling his wife away.Adrian did not dare to dally. He hurried to the room to change and rushed back out.When he spotted Celine who had fainted from Caroline’s strike, he could not care less and ruthlessly left her there.He did not even close the door behind him.The spectating neighbors were stru
When Belinda received news of Celine’s death, she specially made a trip to the hospital.Hunter, who was supposed to be discharged from the hospital in two more days, appeared as if it was his parents who had passed. Looking haggard and his eyes red and swollen, it was obvious he had cried for a very long time without anybody asking.Last night, Jason stayed with him in the hospital to take care of him.When Jason heard that Celine had died, he rushed straight to Summitview to fight Celine’s biological brothers.When Belinda saw the Clark men acting like this, her gaze was dark and no one could tell what she was thinking.Pinned to the spot by her gaze, the Clark men did not dare to even breathe in anxiety.Hunter gave Jason a look, hoping he would break the silence.Jason did not dare to. He wanted his father to do it.The two kept exchanging looks, but finally, Jason spoke.He brought a chair over to his mother and placed it behind her, saying, “Mom, you should sit.”Belind
Celine’s family members were all parasites.Caroline was not biologically related to them, so it was whatever for them to mistreat Caroline; Celine was their blood, yet they treated her the same. Celine had been spoiled and doted on at the Fishers. How could she withstand such treatment?They were the ones who killed Celine!An accidental fall to her death? Jason absolutely did not believe it.He seriously suspected that Celine had been pushed to her death by her brothers.In the hospital room, Belinda took a sip of water from the glass Jason had given her to quench her thirst before putting it back down and saying to her bedridden husband, “Hunter, you’ve heard that Celine’s dead, haven’t you?”Hunter’s haggardness and swollen eyes could fool no one. Not daring to lie, he answered honestly, “I heard last night. Jason even went to Summitview. Celine cracked her head open and died on the spot.“They said that the paramedics declared her dead at the scene. They didn’t even try to
“It just happened that you and Celine had ended up… Caroline wasn’t involved in that at all.“We may not have raised Caroline, but she’s our biological daughter, Hunter. Our blood flows in her.“You’re always trying to blame her for everything bad that happened. And you call yourself a dad?”Hunter was speechless from Belinda’s scolding. After some time, he said, “Was Celine and I… Was it an accident and not a scheme?”“Yes. If it were a scheme, it would’ve been your beloved eldest son who had set you up. If you can accept that, then you can think whatever of it. I can’t control your thoughts.”Hunter had no words. He did not believe that Adrian would set him and Celine up. Hunter had four children. Before knowing Caroline was his true daughter, his favorite children were Adrian and Celine. Adrian and Hunter were extremely close. How could his son have betrayed him and Celine? It must have been an unfortunate turn of events. “If you knew it was an accident between Ce
“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
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