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
Liberty only said she had a dream and because of that, Duncan abandoned his work and came here to take up his friend’s precious time.He was afraid Zachary would laugh at him.He, however, simply felt uneasy. He did not think Liberty would have a dream like that for no reason.It was said that your worries tended to surface in your dreams, after all.Did Liberty have a dream like that because someone said something to her and she started overthinking it?“Just say whatever it is that you want to say. We’ve been friends for so many years. What is there that can’t be said?” Zachary got up and walked around his desk as he asked Duncan, “Do you want coffee, tea, or water?”“Coffee, please.”“There should still be some in the pantry—let me see. If not, I’ll just get you some water.” Zachary entered his pantry.A few moments later, he walked out, carrying two steaming cups of coffee.“There was enough for two cups.” Zachary placed one of the cups before Duncan and sat back in his
“I’m not Hank Brown. I am definitely not him! No matter how many better women than Liberty there are out there, I won’t even be interested in them, because I’ve set my heart on her and won’t marry anyone but her for the rest of my life.” After a pause, Duncan asked, “Zack, tell me—do you think I should get married to Liberty sooner rather than later? In the past, she didn’t want to marry me, but later on, it was me who didn’t want to burden her with my disability. I don’t want to get married before making a full recovery.“Is that why she doesn’t believe in me? I was really scared that I wouldn’t be able to recover fully and would be stuck in a wheelchair forever. And that I would drag her down.“It was hard for her after she divorced, raising Sonny on her own too. If she was burdened with a cripple like me on top of that, she would’ve had an even harder life. I love her—I just want to make her happy, not burden her,” Duncan said all of this from his heart.Zachary slowly took a s
After a moment of silence, Duncan admitted, “Yeah. Everyone has dreams, but you’ve never told me about having a dream like this before. Did you dream about that last night because you were worrying about our relationship before falling asleep?“Or did someone say something to you to make you anxious?”Liberty dismissed with a laugh, “No way. Who would say anything to me? I’m not in Wiltspoon, anyway. Even if you do have admirers, they’d have to wait for me to get back to get to me.“I just inexplicably had a dream and told you. What I want to know is if you’ve unconsciously stolen someone’s heart.”Zachary had not told Duncan that Serenity suspected Rhea Torres was interested in him. Liberty was even less likely to tell him.How could she say that without proof and cause trouble for her sister?However, she trusted Serenity’s intuition. Rhea might really be interested in Duncan and he had no clue.Serenity told her that Rhea’s husband, Victor Torres, passed away a long time ago,