“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,
“I’ll keep up with my rehab and get back to how I used to be. I won’t become a burden to you, though I can’t promise when I’ll get better. Now that I’ve changed to an electric wheelchair, I can operate it myself to get around and reduce the burden on my caretaker.“I’ve thought about it and I think we’d better get our marriage license first and hold the wedding after I’ve recovered fully.” Duncan remembered what Zachary said about Liberty being possibly traumatized from her last marriage and worrying that he would be stolen by someone else.Then they would just get married. He would be her man. Who could take him away?He was a very single-minded person. Otherwise, he would not still be unmarried at thirty-six.Once he fell in love, it was for a lifetime.There was very little room in his heart and he only had just enough for Liberty.If anyone wanted to get in—well, there was not even enough space to stand in there.For some time, Liberty wanted to get married to Duncan, but
“Registering the marriage won’t take much time. You can just make some time to come back.” Duncan insisted on them getting their marriage license first.Once they were husband and wife in the eyes of the law, Liberty could relax.He would officially be taken and any interested ladies would stay away from him.“Duncan, let’s have a good chat about this when I have time. You should consider it carefully during this time too. Marriage is a big life event and you shouldn’t be impulsive about it. As a divorcee, I have to be very careful about my second.”Duncan could tell that Liberty did not want to get married to him right now. Perhaps she was too busy, or perhaps that dream had worried her, but she had changed her mind again.Her last sentence made it clear that the trauma from her last marriage had cut deep.He had not done enough. In reality, there were no such contenders for his love, but just a dream could make Liberty worry that he would turn his back on her, and change her mi
If Duncan was not free, his three elder brothers would make some time to help him handle the company matters so he could focus on his rehabilitation and pursuit of Liberty.“Alright, let’s talk tonight.” Liberty hung up first. Her secretary had knocked on the door to tell her a client had arrived.She had to personally receive that client. If she could close a deal with them, she needed not to worry about having no orders for the first half of next year.After Liberty hung up, Duncan pulled his phone away from his ear, but held it in his hand, spacing out.Zachary leisurely drank his coffee as he looked at Duncan. When Duncan came back to his senses, he met Zachary’s gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, bemused.“What are you thinking about?” Zachary asked in return. “You went off into outer space.”“Before the car accident, I was always running after Liberty, but no matter how I promised my sincerity, she had always rejected me, saying she only thought of me
“Don’t think too much about it either. You two just have to go through more than others, but you’ll definitely see the rainbow after the storm. You know Liberty’s really busy right now and under a lot of pressure.“Although she was performing well at her job before she got married, she became a housewife afterward and dissociated from society for a few years. After her divorce, she set up her own business but did not do it for long before she was expected to start her own company just to go up against Fisher Enterprise.“She doesn’t have enough experience and is under a lot of pressure. The Fisher heir isn’t a pushover either. Liberty isn’t in a rush to get married probably because she doesn’t want to be distracted from the fight at hand.”Duncan replied, “That’s true. Liberty is under a lot of pressure now and is very busy too. I shouldn’t overthink it and should focus on supporting her. I’ll rush to her side right away when she needs me.“But when she doesn’t, I should silently s
Rhea naturally took Owen’s place, pushing Duncan into his office.Their secretaries silently followed after them.“Mrs. Torres, I can do it myself. You don’t have to push me.” Duncan did not want Rhea pushing him along. He already said that the current wheelchair was electric and he could easily move it forward by himself.Rhea smiled. “I’m not using much strength either. It’s mostly you moving yourself.”She was wearing regular clothes instead of a suit today. The bun she usually donned was let loose for once. Ever since her husband passed, she put away her flashy accessories too, but today, she had taken them out and put them on. With her delicate makeup, she looked like a young woman in her early twenties.It was hard to tell she was a mother in her thirties to a nine-year-old son.When she left this morning, her son complimented her on how beautiful she looked today.When her in-laws saw how she was dressed, they wanted to say something but stopped themselves.Rhea knew wha
When Victor was alive, she drank coffee for enjoyment.Now, she drank it to keep her awake for work. It was no longer a pleasure for her.Duncan got Owen to make some coffee for Rhea as he said, “I don’t want any. Just get me some water. I had coffee at Zachary’s.”He usually only took coffee in the mornings and very rarely would have some in the afternoon, afraid that he would be unable to sleep at night.“You were at York Corporation earlier?” Rhea asked with a faint smile, which made her look less stern and more gentle.“Yeah, I had something urgent to talk to Zachary about.” Duncan did not seem like he was going to elaborate, and wisely, Rhea did not ask further.Duncan, Josh, and Zachary were brothers-in-arms. All of Wiltspoon’s upper class knew this.Their families had excellent relationships with one another too. Duncan only gradually fell for Liberty after Zachary married Serenity and their chances of meeting increased.Duncan and Zachary’s friendship only grew strong
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us
“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