After parking the car, Rhea changed out of her flats into high heels. She took her bag and got out of the car. “Mom.”Dean hugged her. “I missed you, Mom.”They would only meet each other every morning and night. During the day, Rhea would not be home for lunch as she was busy with work. Her in-laws or housekeepers would take care of Dean. Although Dean was a sensible child, he was unhappy. He felt like he had lost his mother alongside his father because she had not been spending much time with him.Even during weekends when he did not have to go to school, she would still work. It was either eating or golfing with her clients or attending various banquets. Rhea’s heart ached. She hugged her son back. Her nine-year-old son had the body of a seven-year-old. She always thought Dean’s slim figure was a result of her disregard for him because she was preoccupied with her business. Unlike Liberty, Rhea did not have a kind sister who would look after Dean for her. Liberty coul
“I’ll send you abroad after you graduate from middle school. It’s too competitive here.”Rhea could not bear being apart from Dean before he became a high schooler. Even if she did not have time to spend with him at the moment, they could still see each other every morning and night. Besides, her in-laws wanted their grandson around as well. If it were not for Dean, they would not have lived through the news of their son’s death. Dean was their mental support. “Grandpa checked my homework after I was done. I got one wrong. That question was worth two marks in tests. I got everything else correct. I’m improving, Mom. I’ll study hard and not let you down.”Dean knew that his grandparents and mother had high expectations for him. Although Dean was not too bright, he was willing to learn and work harder than others. Therefore, his grades gradually improved. “That’s a great improvement. You deserve a compliment. Have your grandparents slept?” Rhea asked. “Not yet. They were
Rhea entered the house. Her in-laws stood, and Old Mrs. Torres even went up to her. With a kind smile, she said, “You’re back, Rhea.”“I’m home.”No matter how tired Rhea was, she felt a sense of stability whenever she returned home and saw her in-laws and son. Everything was worth it as long as the people she cherished were healthy. “Are you hungry? I made some soup and kept some for you. It’s still warm. I’ll bring it out for you.“Things must be really busy at the company lately. You look tired when you come home every night. You’ve even lost weight. I’m worried. You have to do so much because Victor died young.”Upon mentioning her deceased son, Old Mrs. Torres’s eyes teared up. Although it had been seven years since Victor’s passing, she felt miserable whenever she thought of him. Rhea was also a mother who had a son. She would be anxious when Dean caught a cold or fever and wished she was the sick one instead. She could not imagine losing Dean early. She would g
Rhea had spent her money in moderation despite working tirelessly. On the other hand, her sister-in-law was wasteful and lived a far more comfortable life. How could her parents dote on their son and daughter-in-law but not her?They would rather take her money and give it all to their daughter-in-law… What a family she had. Dean hugged his mother and said softly, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Mom. I know you’re tired. You’re doing this for me to live a better life. I’ll study hard and be a useful person when I grow up. I’ll become someone you can rely on and protect you. You won’t have to be tired ever again.”Rhea embraced her son’s thin figure. She said happily, “My son’s the best. I’m content so long as you’re healthy and safe. As for your grades… You’ve improved a lot. I’m happy.”Not every child was good at studying; some could be clever but simply did not perform well academically. However, not a single child would be deemed stupid. They perhaps excelled in areas other
After finishing the soup, Rhea put the bowl down and wiped her mouth. Then, she told Dean, “Go upstairs and rest. You still have school tomorrow.”Dean was mature. He understood Rhea did not want him to hear what she had to say. He went upstairs after saying goodnight. Rhea watched as Dean walked up the stairs. When he was out of sight, she whispered to her in-laws, “I know you two are concerned about Dean and me, but there are only a few eligible bachelors in Wiltspoon, and they’re younger than me.“Aside from those men, there is one that seems suitable. He’s older than me by a few years and is still unmarried. He’s great, but he has a scar on his face. You might find him a little scary at first.“He has a company and a net worth of tens of billions of dollars. He’s richer than our family and has good character. He won’t think of taking our family’s assets.”Rhea’s in-laws exchanged glances. Old Mrs. Torres asked, “Who is it? Do I know him?”“You two are familiar with him. He
“Duncan doesn’t even mind that Liberty’s a divorced woman with a son. Everyone knows that he treats her son well. His love for Sonny is sincere.“He’ll be a caring father toward his stepson, and he doesn’t mind that his wife is a widow or a divorcee. He’s the most suitable person for me.“Even Liberty, a mediocre divorcee, can find a man who’s a hundred times better than her ex-husband. I’m much more capable than her. Am I not good enough for Duncan?“So what if Duncan and Liberty are lovers? As long as they aren’t legally married, I still stand a chance. I’ve confirmed that Duncan will be able to recover from his injury. The doctor said he could recover fully by next year if he consistently persisted in his physiotherapy.”Rhea thought she was better than Liberty and more suited for Duncan. She wanted to fight for herself and Dean. She would not need to worry about him mistreating Dean if she married Duncan. Rhea felt jealous whenever she witnessed Duncan’s affection for Son
“This isn’t something that takes a day or two. Don’t worry or overthink. I’m no longer an impulsive young girl. If the situation is disadvantageous for me, I’ll retreat immediately. I won’t let it affect our family’s image or Dean.“It’s late. Please rest up. I feel full from the bowl of soup, so I’ll go on a stroll before sleeping to aid digestion.”After speaking, Rhea stood up and walked outside. Old Mrs. Torres said, “You’ve been working the entire day, Rhea. Don’t go too far, and turn in early. You have to head out early again tomorrow.”Rhea had countless meetings and documents to handle every day. Managing a company by herself was exhausting. Old Mr. and Mrs. Torres dared not call her during the day unless it was urgent. She simply had no time to answer calls. Even if Dean called her, she would say she was busy and hung up. “I know. Please go and rest.”Rhea walked out of the house. Old Mr. and Mrs. Torres watched her leave. After exchanging glances, they sighed
No matter how major the deal was, Liberty still had to eat her fill before she went in to discuss.Liberty laughed and replied with a voice note, “I got up late today. I would be late if I only left for the office after breakfast, so I thought I might as well pack my breakfast and have it in the office. By the time I finish eating, it’ll be right about time for my morning meeting. Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’m thinking of coming back this weekend to spend some time with Sonny.”Serenity hummed in interest. Liberty did not send her anything else, so she did not disturb her sister further.Liberty was much busier than she was now. Her business was at least stable now, while Liberty’s was just taking off.Liberty packed breakfast for herself and arrived at the office, eating it as quickly as she could before her morning meeting started.Then, she sent Duncan a voice note saying, “Last night, I dreamed that a faceless woman came and told me that you didn’t want me anymore and told
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