“Please make way. Otherwise, I’ll have to get the security to haul you away,” said Caroline sternly. There was no way she would let the Dotts take advantage of her. She was not even part of their family. Even if she was, she refused to let them suck her dry. “Carol, don’t be so heartless. I’m still your adoptive mother who has raised you. You and the Fishers should pay us for the effort.”Caroline retorted, “Did your family pay us? The Fishers raised Celine too, until she was a full-grown woman, but with more money and effort. If we must compare the amount spent on raising each of us, your family will have to pay the Fishers a larger sum.“Let’s not forget Marc Dott was the one who switched Celine and I at birth. Who else can you blame but your father for making such a grave mistake? You should blame your own family for being too ambitious.”The Dotts had planned to make their daughter the heir of the Fishers. Once she took over the family, they would then reveal the truth and
Belinda would also pass on some stuff for Marc to bring home to Caroline. In the past, Marc was deeply trusted by the Fisher family. If the Dotts claimed their child was sick, Belinda would lend a helping hand. With such consideration, the Dotts finally decided against killing Caroline. However, they treated her badly. Caroline survived her childhood purely due to luck. It was also thanks to her neighbors’ concern that saved her from starving to death. When Caroline returned to the Fisher family, an elderly woman who used to look after her when she was young had passed away. However, the woman’s daughter was still alive. Caroline gave that family a huge sum of money. She even arranged stable jobs for them in her own company to repay her gratitude to the elderly woman for protecting and feeding her back when she was young. “Even so, you raised her. You’re old and poor now. She should be repaying you with money since she’s so rich,” Jacob complained. His younger brother,
Caroline looked out to the streets the moment she got to her office. After confirming that her adoptive mother and brothers had left, only then did she turn around and sit behind her table. She first sent a message to Darren, telling him not to do anything when Belinda left for her trip. Liberty’s word of caution made Caroline realize that she had almost fallen into her mother’s trap. Usually, her mother would never tell the family about her destination or itinerary. The last time Belinda went to Wiltspoon, Caroline was tasked to manage the company. However, that was because everyone knew about the invitation from the Yorks. The fact that Belinda was going to attend Zachary’s wedding was publicly known. Since there was no need to hide it, Belinda had handed over some work to Caroline before she left. However, this time, Belinda revealed to Caroline that she was leaving to meet an old acquaintance. Caroline simply thought she had gained her mother’s trust. Belinda had al
Caroline’s voice traveled from the pantry. “I haven’t started on my work yet, so I decided to just do it myself.”Adrian commented, “You’re afraid that someone will poison your coffee.”“I’m not afraid that my secretary will poison me, but I am quite worried that my big brother will.”Adrian’s expression darkened and he said heatedly, “I’m your biological brother! How could I poison you?!”Although he disliked Caroline very much, he dared not touch even a single strand of hair on her head, at least while their mother was still alive. Once Belinda passed away and Caroline succeeded her as the matriarch, it would be even harder for him to move against Caroline then. It would be a miracle if she let him go.Caroline laughed drily but stayed silent.After a moment of waiting, Caroline came out of the pantry.She brought with her two cups of coffee and walked over to the sofa. She placed one cup in front of Adrian before sitting opposite him and sizing him up.Adrian was irked by
“Adrian!” Caroline said seriously. “If you hadn’t messed around with Celine and done those things, why would Emma call Celine’s family to take her away?“And Mom was the one who told Emma to do that. You should look for Mom to settle the score if you have the balls. Why are you blaming Emma?“You’re heartbroken because Celine’s dead, aren’t you? It’s obvious that you guys have always only cared about her. In your hearts, Celine is your real sister. Who the hell am I, right? “But Celine isn’t your sister! Adrian, Emma’s your wife, the person you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with. You even have children together. Do you think it’s right to treat Emma like this? What about your children?“Mom even helped you by hiding the fact that you caused Celine’s death from the public.“All you know is to blame others. Why don’t you reflect on your mistakes?“If you hadn’t cheated and messed around with Celine, would Emma have gone looking for you to confront you? Celine wouldn’t
“Caroline, I’m your true brother. Are there any little sisters out there like you?“Instead of taking your brother’s side, you’re taking an outsider’s side. Even if she’s your sister-in-law, she’s not family by blood.” Adrian was angry that Caroline was not in his corner.He actually came looking for Caroline because he wanted her to persuade his wife.Their children were already so big—what was the point of getting divorced?He would just go out less in the future.“Do you want your nieces and nephews to have a broken family? You should help me persuade Emma not to get divorced. Does she think she’s still young? Does she think she can remarry after the divorce? Even if she can, she’ll only be able to marry an old geezer.“None of the young men would want her. Unlike me—I’m a rich, accomplished man. I could get an eighteen-year-old hottie even after I’m divorced. Can she though?“Besides, our kids are already grown up. What’s the point of divorcing? Isn’t she afraid of hurting a
Caroline said coldly, “I told you, I have no time for your nonsense.”Adrian glared at her fiercely for another moment before leaving in a huff.So much for siblinghood!Caroline did not care about him at all!Adrian’s visit affected Caroline’s mood badly.She sat on the sofa for a while before getting up to pace around the office.Then, she poured herself a glass of water and chugged it. It still took a moment before she could suppress her anger and calm herself.“That bastard!” Caroline cursed Adrian. “I would look down on Emma if she didn’t divorce a scumbag like that.”What was the point in keeping him around?It was a mystery how Belinda raised her children—every single one was a rotten apple.Maybe it was because the tree was rotten on the inside in the first place.Emma did not come to see Caroline.She had returned to her parents’ home and told them everything, including her divorcing Adrian.Not a single thing was hidden from them as she told them all the despicab
Belinda was silent for a moment before she gave Elaine a reply. “Let her in.”With Belinda’s permission, Emma entered the study.Now that Emma was thoroughly disappointed with Adrian and determined to divorce him, her mindset was totally different now. She was no longer as glamorously dressed as usual.A cheater would still cheat no matter how well you made yourself up.Why should she bother to please him then?She should just live as she wished.Emma walked up to Belinda and quietly watched her practice her calligraphy instead of greeting her right away.After a moment, she said, “Mom, your calligraphy looks very messy right now. Don’t force yourself to write in a bad mood.“Everyone has bad days.”Belinda finished her last word before putting her pen down. Appraising her calligraphy for a bit, she had to admit that she was in too bad a mood to write nicely. It was incomparable to her usual standard.She grabbed that piece of paper and crumpled it into a ball before trashing
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