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
In Satbury, Austin was sitting in the kitchen and reading the news on his phone after serving all his dishes.He was waiting for the outcome. He had been busy for the entire evening. To be precise, he had been preparing for dinner since early morning. Isabella was finally back when evening rolled around. After a moment’s wait, the food Austin made was served one after another. He did not need to head out. Isabella would only call for him if she was satisfied with all the dishes and wanted to meet him. In the meantime, Austin was to wait in the kitchen and only leave after all the members of the O’Connor family retired for the day. He was confident in his cooking, but Isabella did not ask to meet him even after the sky had turned dark. Although he was still reading the news calmly, he was also feeling a little nervous. Austin did not want to do the interview three times as Mr. Abbot did. Mr. Abbot was unable to achieve a satisfactory result even after so many years.
Louis’s face broke into a wide grin. “Do you think the food tonight was tasty, Louis?” Isabella asked. “Yes. It’s very delicious.”Philip agreed. “It was really good. Can I come to your house to eat every day, Isa?”Isabella smiled. “You can come over whenever you want, but you and Louis must focus on eating instead of playing.”The two rascals were like chaotic monkeys whenever they were together. As they were the only two boys of their generation, they were the apples of everyone’s eye. They could be real troublemakers when their sisters were not at home. The adults had no way of controlling them. If the boys wanted to climb onto the roof, the adults might even hold a ladder for them. “Okay. Louis and I will be good.”“That’s great. You two can go out to play now. Wear a jacket because it’s cold outside.”The two boys ran off happily, hand in hand. Once they were gone, Isabella told Dominic, “I want to meet Austin York.”Dominic replied respectfully, “I’ll call hi
Dominic smiled. “Based on my experience, you’ve definitely passed.“Go and meet Ms. O’Connor. Don’t be nervous. Although she’s stern, she’s a nice person.”“Thanks, Dominic. I’ll go to her now.”Austin was not afraid of stern people. No matter how scary Isabella was, she could never top Zachary. Austin was immune to stern people after having seen Zachary’s face all the time. He followed Dominic out of the kitchen. Based on Dominic’s observation, Austin did not look around and was not shocked by the extravagance of the house after stepping out of the kitchen. He was unlike other candidates, who were always surprised by the lavishness of the house and could not help gawking. Dominic thought, ‘Austin must be a sophisticated person.’Otherwise, he must be good at maintaining his composure.Anyway, Dominic had a good impression of Austin. They would most likely become colleagues tomorrow. Dominic brought Austin to a spot a few yards away from Isabella’s chair and stoppe
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