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
Instead of expanding his business or enjoying life, he chose to be a chef in a city far away from home. Isabella wanted to know the reason. Austin answered honestly, “Because it’s challenging. I’ve liked to cook since I was young and even learned from professionals. I’ve been studying various cuisines and have gained lots of knowledge and skills. Despite the success of my business, I believe there are always better chefs out there.“I want to polish myself continuously. To achieve that, I have to rely on my customers’ mouths.”As a chef, his customers’ feedback would reflect his cooking skills. If he made some changes according to their opinions, he could definitely improve. Getting comments from a customer as picky as Isabella would motivate him even more. Isabella knew that Austin must have applied to be the O’Connor family’s chef because of its challenging nature. After a moment, she said, “Being an employer and an employee is very different. Have you thought this thro
Austin said, “I’ll let my performance speak for itself.”Tati raised an eyebrow and laughed. “You’re brimming with confidence.”Isabella gave Tati a look and asked Austin, “When can you start?”“I came precisely for this position. I can start anytime.”Isabella smiled. “You can officially start tomorrow, then. Dominic must have already arranged your accommodations. Your salary will be counted starting tomorrow and you’ll be on probation for a month, during which your salary will be prorated. We won’t make you work for free.”Every employee got the same treatment.“Dominic had arranged my lodging yesterday. I’m fine with the salary. I came for the challenge, after all, not the pay.” He was short of a wife, not money.“Alright. You can head back and rest now. Dominic will let you know what time we have our meals. Apart from breakfast, they are the same every day.”Everyone woke up at different hours, so breakfast time was flexible.Austin replied, “Sure, I’ll ask Dominic.”He n
Isabella said, “If you really like him, he’s successful enough that your parents would have no objections. The only thing is that he’s a Wiltspoonian. They might not be able to bear letting you move so far away from us.”“Isa!” Tati said exasperatedly. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t like him like that? In fact, I think he’s a good match for you. You’re the oldest of the seven of us so you have to get married first, anyway. I can’t cut in line.”Unsure if it was just an illusion, she felt Austin look at Isabella with a different sparkle in his eyes. He had definitely come for Isabella.Or rather he had come for Isabella’s picky mouth, to be exact. His customers would definitely be satisfied if he could satisfy Isabella. Tati did not think there were many people out there as picky as Isabella was.Isabella lightly pinched Tati’s cheek as she could not help but laugh. “We’re not far apart in age and we’re just cousins. It doesn’t matter if you get married before
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