Serenity pretended she could not see the battle between the two happening in front of her.She smiled. “If that’s the case, I’ll order a bottle of whiskey then. I can’t drink right now for the sake of my baby and Zachary doesn’t drink much in the first place, so I can only get Dylan to drink with you.“Dylan, be a good sport. You guys can drink however much you like. You don’t have to worry if you get drunk, Zachary and I are around.” She even winked at Imogen.Imogen secretly gave her an ‘OK’ gesture in return. Serenity was relieved. Imogen’s tolerance would not be bad. She recalled Imogen wanting to ask Dylan what he really wanted, and worried that Imogen would get drunk. Since her guest said it would be fine, Serenity was not going to supervise them.Once the dishes and the bottle of whiskey were served, Imogen poured Dylan a glass of whiskey.“Here, Mr. Dylan. Let’s toast.”Instead of clinking glasses with her, he took her glass and placed it on the table before saying, “Ms.
“You finished eating so quickly, Serenity.”Serenity smiled and said, “The both of us are fast eaters because we’re normally really busy with work, and every second counts.”Imogen smiled in understanding.Serenity took Sonny’s hand and signaled for her husband to follow. The trio slipped out of the presidential suite and closed the door behind them considerately.Zachary informed their bodyguards that they could take their dinner break instead of keeping watch.Dylan and Imogen both understood that Serenity was purposely giving them space.Once the two were alone in the room, Imogen picked up her glass of whiskey and elegantly sipped at it, though her gaze was fixed on Dylan.Dylan inwardly sighed. What was meant to come would come. He asked, “Is there something you’d like to say to me, Ms. Doyle?”Imogen silently drank her whiskey as she looked at him. Dylan was very good-looking. She had heard that the Yorks were all handsome, and now that she had met Zachary, she concurred;
Dylan did not run. It was too late anyway. He had no choice but to sit and stay calm. He turned to look at Imogen with an intense gaze. She could not guess what he was thinking through his eyes. Imogen leaned toward Dylan. They were so close that he could smell her faint fragrance. He wondered what perfume she used. It was not overpowering and had a light and pleasant smell. “Dylan,” Imogen uttered softly. “I’m listening,” he replied. “I have one question. What do you feel for me now? Are you pursuing me? If you are, why are you ignoring me?”After pressing his lips, Dylan answered, “That was more than one question.”He paused before adding, “Will you scold me if I tell you I don’t know? Will you think I’m a jerk?”Dylan did want to pursue Imogen. He thought she was great and Grandma May’s choice was never wrong. If it had not been for that girl, he could have accepted spending the rest of his life with Imogen, even if he did not love her. However, that girl was bo
It was Imogen’s first time hearing an elder doing that for their grandchildren. It was already an era where people could date and marry anyone they wished to. Why were there still elders who interfered with the marriages of the young ones?Imogen thought of her parents at that moment and took back her words. Parents and elders were behind most political marriages between wealthy families. Children of those families did not have much freedom to choose their significant others. Benefits were of utmost priority. It depended on how much of an advantage the marriage would provide to the companies of both families. “Why did your nana choose me? I’ve never met her before,” Imogen asked, puzzled. She had not met Grandma May and even if she did, she had no recollection.However, Grandma May must have observed and investigated her before choosing her as Dylan’s future wife. The old lady had passed a picture of Imogen to Dylan and told him to pursue her. “I don’t know. Although Nana
Dylan was silent. Imogen raised her eyebrow. “What? Are you so protective of her that you won’t even let me know who she is?“Don’t worry. I’ll fight it out with her fair and square. No dirty tricks, and there’s no need just for a man. I’m only willing to compete because this is my first time liking someone this much. If it were any other man, I would’ve just given my blessings to my love rival.”Imogen did not simply have her eyes on Dylan but also his family. The Yorks were famous for their harmony. The elders were open-minded and fully supportive of whatever their young ones wanted to do. Even when they were not fully agreeable, they would object strongly unlike other parents. More importantly, the men of the York family were especially loving toward their wives. They were loyal to marriage as well. Good men were difficult to come by. Any woman would wish to marry a kind man who loved her with all his heart.Therefore, Imogen decided to fight for herself. If she l
Imogen did not move. She was already in a deep sleep.“I told you to stop drinking, yet you didn’t listen to me. Look at you now. You’ll feel the worst of it when you wake up tomorrow.”Dylan poked Imogen’s cheeks. He resigned to his fate and carried her out of the presidential suite. However, he had no idea which room she stayed in. He stopped and put her down, supporting her with one arm. Using his other hand, he fished out his phone and called Serenity. Serenity answered quickly. “Do you know Ms. Doyle’s room number, Serenity?”She replied, “I don’t know either. She just told me that she’s staying at Wiltspoon Hotel. Is she drunk? Wait a minute, I’ll help you.”After speaking, she turned to Zachary and said, “Babe, go find Imogen’s room number. She got drunk, and Dylan is taking her back to her room.”Zachary’s expression tensed. Although he was unwilling, he still walked away with Sonny in tow while muttering under his breath after Serenity urged him. Not long after,
Sonny believed Zachary, but the little one still asked, “Where’s the insect?”Zachary opened his palm and showed him. There were no insects. “It flew away. I didn’t manage to kill it because I was slow.”Sonny fell for it again. Serenity found it hilarious. A child could never win against an adult. “Uncle Zak has to work, Sonny. We’ll be heading home first. Say goodbye to him.”Sonny immediately waved his hand and said, “Bye, Uncle Zak.”“Rest early and listen to Aunt Ser. Don’t bring her trouble, and be a good boy. Winter break is coming soon. We’ll take you to meet Laurence at FC Manor.”Sonny quickly promised, “I won’t trouble Aunt Ser and I’ll be a good boy.”“Go to work, babe. We’ll leave now.”Serenity told Zachary to go back to the office and asked the driver to start the car. Zachary stood and watched as Serenity’s car left before heading to his car. He did not follow up on Dylan and Imogen at all. Imogen was drunk, and Dylan would just escort her back to
Dylan was the reason Imogen came to Wiltspoon by herself. Her safety was his responsibility. Regardless of whether he would marry her or not, Grandma May chose her to be his wife. If something happened to her, the Doyle family and his nana would beat him up. Dylan called Zachary. When Zachary answered, Dylan said, “Can I stay the night at your suite?”“You can take any room aside from the master bedroom.”Zachary approved Dylan’s request with that condition as the master bedroom was his usual chamber during his stay at the suite. “Okay. Thanks, Zack.”“How’s Ms. Doyle?”“She’s drunk. She vomited and said she was thirsty. I can’t leave, so I decided to stay the night at the hotel. I’ll take her back to her room in the morning and leave. I don’t want her to find out that we spent the night in the same room and cling to me afterward.”After a moment of silence, Zachary said, “If you’ve decided not to marry her, you better keep to your word. Don’t ruin her reputation.”Dyla
She loved Dylan, not Kade. “You, Maria, and I are best friends. In my heart, you two will always be my older brother and sister.”Imogen emphasized the words “older brother and sister.”She truly viewed them as siblings. She had never had a crush on Kade, nor would she have feelings for him in the future. Their families were only thinking about their own benefits. However, her parents knew the man she truly loved was Dylan. The York family was better than the Butchers and more suited for her.To be honest, if Imogen and Kade were to be together, she would be used by the Butchers. The Doyles would also have to aid the Butchers financially. If she were with Dylan, she would not have to worry about being used or giving away money. York Corporation was slightly superior to Davidson Group. Even Leticia wanted Dylan as her son-in-law. Kade understood Imogen’s words. She did not want to follow her family’s arrangements. She liked another man, and that man was more capable
“It’s lunchtime, Kade. Let’s find a restaurant and have some food.“It’ll take an hour or two to return to the city center, and there’s also the weekend traffic. If we head back without eating, you might get very hungry.”Imogen was already hungry. Kade smiled. “Okay. Let’s go with that.”Imogen led the way. Kade pushed his luggage to Dylan and said, “Please help me with my luggage, Dylan.”Without giving Dylan a chance to refuse, Kade quickly went after Imogen with a small bag, probably a laptop bag.Dylan had the urge to kick the luggage away. However, he held it in to maintain a good image before Imogen.Imogen’s attitude toward Kade was likened to that between siblings and friends. There were no romantic feelings involved as her gaze was too calm. It made Dylan feel reassured. Although Kade and Imogen looked intimate, Dylan could sense their intimacy was due to them reuniting after a long time. After Kade caught up to Imogen, she turned back and saw Dylan pulling
Kade did not know if what he felt for Maria was love or friendship. There were two reasons behind his return to Huntington—his career and the time for himself to analyze his feelings. He had been friends with Maria for over two decades. They had a close relationship. In the past, when their families had similar social status, they wished Kade and Maria could get married. However, Kade and Maria seemed to be just friends and had no romantic feelings for each other. He had never even confessed to Maria. As Maria’s family business declined and they went bankrupt, the Butcher family’s attitude changed. They no longer allowed Kade and Maria to hang out because they were worried about Maria’s family dragging them down. Kade had helped the Sprearings a lot in private. Despite having a successful career, Kade was poor. Maria’s father had borrowed all of Kade’s money to salvage his company. If the company made a profit on the borrowed money, Kade could get his money back. The
“Okay.”Kade said gently, “I’ll hang up and send you my location. We can talk when we meet.”Soon, Kade ended the call and sent Imogen his location. It took Imogen and Dylan about ten minutes to find him. “Kade.”Imogen was happy when she saw him. She ran toward him elatedly.Dylan saw a man about his age or a few years older than him. The man looked handsome and gentlemanly. He wore a gray suit without a tie, which made him look like a successful person. From Imogen, Dylan knew his love rival was a senior executive of a multinational company. He was competent since he was assigned to return and handle the business in the country. Kade’s mother and Leticia were best friends. Kade was also Leticia’s godson. Imogen had known him since he was young, and the parents of the two families intended to bring their kids together. Upon seeing Kade in the flesh, Dylan felt threatened. If he wanted to win, he had to put effort into pursuing Imogen. If Imogen loved him and was will
“You can decide what we have for dinner, Mom. I don’t have any opinions.”Some of the Doyles were busy during the weekends, while others would take a rest. Either way, they still had time to have dinner together. After ending the call with her mother, Imogen told Dylan, “When we meet Kade at the airport, we can have lunch there first. We’ll only eat with my family during dinner.”Dylan had heard Leticia’s words through the phone. He said, “Will Mr. Butcher be staying with your family?”Dylan found it normal for them to have dinner together. After all, that Kade guy was his future mother-in-law’s godson. Since he was finally back in the country, it was customary for Leticia to invite him over for a meal. However, Dylan could not help but feel jealous about Kade staying at the Doyles’ mansion. When he could not even enter their mansion most of the time, Kade could immediately move in. If Kade got closer to the Doyles, he would be a more significant threat to Dylan. Imogen
“We can head there in my car.”Dylan was delighted that Imogen allowed him to go to the airport with her. “Any car is fine.”Imogen led him out of the house. Dylan quickly followed after her and opened the car door for her. He even hovered his hand above her head to prevent her from hitting the roof of the car.“You’re so attentive.”Imogen complimented him as she fastened her seatbelt in the car. “I’ll only be gentlemanly to you aside from my family members.”Imogen glanced at him but did not say a word. A few minutes later, Dylan drove out of the Doyle residence with Imogen in his car.Not long after they left, Leticia went downstairs.She noticed the gifts on the table but did not see Imogen anywhere. Thinking he had kidnapped her daughter, she quickly called Wendy over and asked, “Did Jen head out?”“Yes. Ms. Imogen had gone out with Mr. Dylan. She said they were heading to the airport to receive someone.”Wendy had overheard Imogen and Dylan’s conversation, so she
She did not expect him to be discharged that soon.“Let him in.”Mr. and Mrs. Doyle were not awake yet. They would not stop Dylan from entering. With Imogen’s orders, Wendy quickly called the security booth and told the security to let Dylan in. Imogen stood at her door a few minutes later and watched his car stop before her. “Why are you discharged?” Imogen asked as soon as Dylan got out of the car. He was still coughing.Imogen frowned. His body belonged to himself. Who would love him if he did not know how to care for himself?“I feel much better after spending two days in the hospital on IV drips. The doctor said I could be discharged and gave me three days’ supply of medication. If I’m not fully recovered after finishing the medicines, I can return to get more.“The doctor said I should be fine after this round of medication. He also said I’m generally healthy and that my condition only got that severe because I ate a lot of chili peppers in one sitting.“I have to e
Imogen smiled. “Stop teasing him, Layla. He doesn’t eat spicy food at all. Eating that much chili peppers can be deadly for him.“I’ll be heading back to work today. I can’t take care of him at the hospital every day. I don’t want to let him think that I’ve accepted him just because he ate chili peppers once.”Layla said, “That’s right. You can’t be tricked by his pity play.”“Dylan didn’t torture himself to gain my pity, Layla. He was hospitalized because he ate the chili peppers. His fever, cough, and sore throat are all real. His voice is still hoarse when he speaks.”Imogen could not help but defend Dylan.Layla replied, “Look at you. I only criticize him a little, yet you’re already defending him.“Jen, the person who falls first will always be at a disadvantage.“Listen to me. Don’t dedicate anything to this relationship before Dylan falls in love with you as who you are. Don’t be manipulated by him.“You’re usually sharp and capable, yet you seem to lose all rationality
“Why do you want to see me? Didn’t you see enough of me yesterday? Besides, I’m not your beloved Miss Fox. You said it yourself—no matter how you tried and put in the effort, you couldn’t love me.“I’m just a good friend to your sisters-in-law, and Grandma May specifically called me to ask me to look after you for a day. That’s the only reason I did it.“Dylan, I’m not going back to you.”It was he who said that he did not love her. She had fallen for him, but when he said he did not love her, she hid her feelings.Now, he had realized that she was Chameleon Fox and the person he truly loved had always been her. Imogen had been more or less jealous of her own self all this time.If he had not fallen for Imogen but proceeded to get together with her, then it would feel like he was treating her as a substitute. Fox was Imogen, and Imogen was Fox—but she had still stubbornly distinguished the two.“I know, Imogen,” Dylan said softly.He did not assume he had won her over just bec