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
After their marriage, Belinda was stricter with Hunter than their sons. It was not done out of love. She simply did not allow him the chance to cheat on her. “Celine also died because she wanted to get revenge on me. She seduced Adrian. Don’t you think this is enough of a reason?“Emma is asking for a divorce now. Celine didn’t only ruin our marriage but also Adrian’s. She deserved more than just death. I won’t investigate to find out if it was a murder or suicide, nor will I allow anyone to look into it using the Fisher family’s connections.“Anyone who dares to use my family’s connections will face heavy consequences.”Belinda then got up and left with her head high. Hunter watched her leave. He felt a mixture of fear, anger, and helplessness. Ever since he had agreed to marry into the Fisher family, he could never be confident before his wife. His days were better if his wife was in a good mood. Of course, Hunter and Belinda had their honeymoon phase. However, as Beli
Jason consoled his Hunter. He did not dare to look into whether Celine’s death was accidental or if her biological brother had pushed her off. Belinda had made it clear that Celine’s death was what it was and that no one in the family was supposed to mention her ever again. Hunter vented his frustration and sadness to his son. “I’m not going to your place after I’m discharged. I’ll return to the manor. I promise not to offend your mom anymore. I’m already in my seventies. I may be counting down my days, but I’ll be your shelter for as long as I’m alive.“If I’m around, your mom can vent her anger at me whenever she’s in a bad mood. That way, you boys won’t have to face an angry mother.“Jason, you and your brothers must be careful from now on. Although Belinda’s your mom, she prioritizes the Fisher family over you all. She can even sacrifice any of you for the family, anytime.“If you boys don’t want to end up like me or Cece, you must establish a career of your own. If so,
It was Liberty. She did not have a mask on, but she wore sunglasses and a cap too. She removed her cap and stuffed it inside her bag only after entering the cafe. Caroline said, “I didn’t want anyone to recognize me.”“Why? Are you in a bad mood? Shouldn’t you be happy that your competitor is gone?”Caroline took off her sunglasses and mask. After putting them on the table, she said, “I didn’t do anything. She didn’t die by my hands. “Even if I’m happy about it, I can’t express it openly anyway.”Liberty called a waiter over and ordered a cup of coffee. After the waiter left, she took a bite of a dessert and complimented, “The desserts here are absolutely tasty.”“Of course. Just look at which family owns this hotel.”Caroline smiled and added, “I heard the York men are all skilled in cooking.”Liberty replied, “I’m closest to Zachary, Callum, and Kevin. They’re indeed good at cooking.”“If a hotel is managed by someone who knows their food, the food in the hotel will defi
After a pause, Caroline added, “However, I still wish to compete against you in business. You should learn as much as you can. The business world is complicated and ever-changing. You aren’t ruthless as it is.”Liberty smiled. “I’m definitely inferior to you in this. I admit that.”She had worked for several years before becoming a housewife. When she started anew, she ran small businesses. While Audrey had sent her over to Jensburg with the support of several families, she needed to have the ability to manage the situation. Liberty had not been involved in business as long as Caroline was.More importantly, her business in Jensburg had just started. Caroline smiled. “This is the best time to steal your orders and strike you down. I’m sorry, but I’ve taken the deal you’ve been negotiating for a week.”Liberty’s eyes gleamed. “On the other hand, I’ve cinched the business you’ve been trying to secure for a month. I even felt sorry about it because you’re my senior in business a
Whenever she ate out and had leftovers, she always had them to go. She was not scared of others making fun of her. Having grown up in a farming village and was treated badly by her adoptive mother, her habit of avoiding wastage was completely understandable. Ten minutes later, Caroline drove back to Fisher Enterprise. As soon as she arrived at the company’s entrance, she was blocked by a few people. Her adoptive family was here. They must have waited at Fisher Enterprise for quite some time but failed to see her. They did not expect her to be out of office. Her brothers had spotted her in the car first. They notified their mom, who confirmed Caroline’s identity. Carmen brought her sons to Caroline. Caroline stopped her car. She was not afraid of these people when in her territory. She also believed they would not dare touch her on the Fishers’ turf. When they approached her, Caroline lowered her window and asked Carmen coldly, “What are you three doing here?”“Carol.
“Mom’s health has been deteriorating. She has to see the doctor every month for injections and medications. It requires a lot of money.”Jacob, Celine’s eldest brother, stated the purpose of their visit. “That’s right. Jacob’s and my salaries aren’t that high. We have to pay for our own family’s expenses too. Dad used to pay for all the costs, and you’ve also contributed money when you started earning some. Now that Dad… Mom doesn’t have an income, and you’ve left our family too.“Jacob and I are struggling to support our families. We don’t have extra money to take care of Mom. She has to get injections and medications frequently. It really costs a lot, and we can’t afford it.”Caroline turned toward Carmen. Carmen avoided her gaze and dared not meet her in the eye. Asking Caroline for money was her sons’ idea. Carmen refused to visit at first. The woman knew Caroline hated their family and that they had mistreated her since the daughters’ swap. In the past, no matter how mu
The night passed peacefully.The next morning, Dylan woke up. He had been woken by the heat.The room was heated, and he had bundled himself up tightly before going to sleep. By midnight, he had started sweating, but he continued to sleep, so by morning, he was feeling too hot and woke up.“Imogen…” He instinctively called out her name.His voice was still hoarse, but it was much better than yesterday. When he received no answer, he remembered that Imogen had gone home last night. He was alone in the hospital.Late last night, his mother had called him, but only to laugh at him.Now, all alone, in a strange place, and sick, Dylan felt just a tiny bit homesick. It was much more comfortable at Wildridge Manor, after all. When all the York boys were home, it was lively and warm. There was his nana to fuss over him, and even though his parents liked to make jabs at him, they still cared deeply for him.It felt boring at home, but once he left, he realized how warm home really was.
Sasha chimed in, “Exactly. It’s fine to laugh in front of us, but you laughed so loudly on the call too. Dylan is hurt both physically and emotionally, and no one is comforting him.”Rosella responded, “But Imogen is there to take care of him. She’ll comfort him.”Sasha sighed. “It’s so late now. Imogen needs to go back and rest, doesn’t she? Dylan hasn’t even won her over yet, so how could Imogen stay the entire night in the hospital with him?”Grandma May laughed, “You ladies know it’s late too, so why aren’t you three going back to your rooms to rest? Fortunately, the rooms are big enough that we can all chat here without disturbing anyone.“Remember, we’re guests. We mustn’t disturb the rest of the Johnsons just because we’ve come.”The three sisters-in-law glanced at the clock. It was almost midnight.As the eldest sister-in-law, Tania led the way. She stood up and said to Grandma May, “Mom, we’ll head back to rest now. Tomorrow, let’s go out and walk around.”The scenery a
“Mom, I’m your real son!”“If you weren’t, I wouldn’t even bother with you and don’t even want to make this call.”Rosella added, “Alright, now that I know you’re fine, I can relax. Be good to Imogen, she’s a really good girl. I like her a lot. I hope you can get together this year.“Once you’re finally not single anymore, it should be about time for your younger brother to start dating too. Once all three of you are out of the bachelor’s club, all I have to do is wait for my first grandchild to be born.“I’ve saved up a lot of money for both your weddings, though honestly, I don’t think you’ll need it. You all are capable enough to make your own money to get married, so the money I saved for you can go toward my granddaughter instead.“I don’t even know if I’ll be fortunate enough to have a granddaughter.” Rosella sighed. “After seeing little Clo-clo, I finally understand why your nana is so fixated on her and wants to kidnap her. “That kid is so cute. She’s pretty, adorable,
Imogen had been really worried that Dylan’s reaction to the chili peppers would leave him suffering for several days.“Okay,” Dylan hoarsely replied.Imogen let him eat the porridge by himself. There was nothing else to go with it, but the porridge had a little bit of salt sprinkled in, giving it some flavor.Dylan was hungry, so he quickly finished the bowl of oatmeal porridge. “Do you want more? There’s another bowl’s worth in the thermos.”Dylan shook his head. It was late, and he did not want to eat too much, afraid of gaining weight and ruining his good physique. He still had not won over his future wife, so he had to take care of his figure and maintain his handsome and charming look.Once Dylan finished the IV fluids and took his medicine, Imogen finally left the hospital around ten o’clock. Having slept twice in the day, Dylan was not able to fall asleep again, and Imogen did not let him accompany her downstairs, so he stood by the window and watched her walk out of th
A few minutes later, Imogen took the thermometer from under Dylan’s arm and looked at it. She said to him, “It’s 100.4. Your fever hasn’t completely gone down yet, but compared to when you were admitted at 103.64, it’s come down quite a bit.“What time did you take your medicine? It should be time for your next dose.”Dylan shook his head, indicating that he did not remember when he had taken the medicine.Imogen thought for a moment and said, “I think it’s about time. Take your medicine first, then sleep for a while. I’ll have dinner brought over for you. In your condition, you can only have something light, maybe some oatmeal porridge.”Considering Dylan’s sore throat, Imogen knew he would not be able to eat much, so she called home and asked the housekeeper to bring over dinner, specifically requesting a bowl of oatmeal porridge for Dylan.Dylan could only nod in response.After giving instructions to her housekeeper, Imogen looked at Dylan, who could only nod, and said, “The
Kade had once been so gentle and kind. Was he really that kind of person?Imogen did not believe so.It was possible that the Butcher elders were simply being too pragmatic. Seeing that Maria’s family was on the verge of decline, they thought that Maria was not worthy of Kade and tried to stop them from being together.But wait—Maria said that Kade had never told her he loved her or anything of the sort. Maria had basically been secretly in love with Kade, waiting for him to confess, but she had waited in vain all this time.Imogen internally sighed. What a mess. She could not understand what was the problem between them. She would just have to wait until Kade came back, and then she would find a chance to get some answers from him. “Imogen…” A hoarse voice called out from within the room. It was not very loud; he could not speak loudly. Though it was better than this morning when all he could get out were moans.He had received several bags of IV fluids, which had had some eff
Imogen did not know that Dylan had woken up. She was still on the phone with Maria outside.Maria felt reassured when Imogen mentioned that the person she liked was a member of the richest family in Wiltspoon. All was good as long as he was not a social climber. Imogen asked, “Maria, when are you coming back? It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. Kade will be back soon. Are you really not coming back?“Maria, Kade and I are like siblings. Please don’t misunderstand or overthink it. Actually, you should know this—the person Kade likes is you. You two are the real childhood sweethearts, you grew up together.”Imogen and her mother’s godchildren had known each other since they were young, but the three of them had not actually spent much time together as she had always stayed with her master while she learned the trade, only returning home during the summer and winter holidays.Once the holidays ended, she would leave again. Even her formal education was completed in th
There were so many other possible choices. Why were they so fixated on him?Leticia sighed. “Alright, just pretend I never said that. You youngsters will decide for yourselves anyway, we don’t have a say in it. Remember to fetch Kade from the airport on Saturday.“I’ve already told him and he knows you’re supposed to be picking him up. And remember to get some flowers too. You two haven’t met in ages and you should give flowers at a reunion.” She reminded Imogen.“Mom, I can pick him up, fine, but I’m not giving him flowers. Who said you’re supposed to give flowers at a reunion?” Imogen refused to give Kade flowers when fetching him from the airport. “Oh, Mom, I gotta go. Bye!”Imogen quickly hung up, not allowing her mother the chance to speak further. Then, after a moment of thought, she texted Kade to ask when he was expected to arrive at Huntington Airport.It took a while before Kade replied that he would arrive around eleven in the morning on Saturday.Imogen replied wi
“I know you only view Kade as a brother, but who knows, if you nurture the relationship, those feelings might turn romantic? Jen, before you agree to be with Dylan, give yourself another option.“Make Dylan nervous. He’ll get jealous. He was jealous when he overheard our conversation that day.“You need to make him realize that even without him, you can still marry well. The Butchers like you a lot, and our families have a close relationship. You and Kade have known each other since you were young, so you guys could be considered childhood sweethearts.”Imogen said weakly, “Mom, I’m worried that if I get too close to Kade, not only will Dylan misunderstand, but even Maria might misunderstand. Kade and she are a thing, after all.“I really don’t understand what’s going on with Kade. He and Maria clearly have feelings for each other, they just haven’t made it official yet. Don’t their families see this?”She did not have any romantic feelings for Kade, but both families were trying