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
Isabella laughed when she saw Tati’s speechless expression. “Alright, you might not like him now, but you can’t say for sure in the future.“You can come over and eat at my place every day. Spend some time with him and get to know him. If he’s really a sincere, nice guy, it’s fine if he’s from a bit further away. I’m sure Uncle Harold and Aunt Margaret will approve, albeit reluctantly. Or we can get him to settle here.”Tati was well and truly speechless now. Since Isabella put it like that, she did not dare to freeload meals off her anymore, lest she was misunderstood for fancying Austin.All the little misunderstandings between his future wife and sister-in-law were unbeknownst to Austin as he followed Dominic back to his quarters.Dominic congratulated him with a smile. “We’ll be colleagues from now on, Austin. I hope we can work together for a long time.”All the O’Connors lived on the same estate but in different buildings with their own families.The turnover rate for chefs
“I’ll adjust my cooking to Ms. Isabella’s preferences. That way, I can improve. Once she’s satisfied with every dish I make, I’ll be ready to graduate.”Dominic laughed. “Ms. Isabella probably can’t do without you at that point.”Austin wanted to say he would be happy to cook for Isabella for the rest of his life, but he held back because it would easily give the wrong impression. Even if his secondary objective was to woo Isabella, he could not reveal any such inclination.Isabella was managing her family company and was obviously a sharp and capable woman. An iron lady like her was not easy to woo.It was evident from Kevin taking such a long time to finally win Hayden over despite taking a shortcut with Serenity’s help.Dominic belatedly realized his statement could easily give someone the wrong impression and hurriedly changed the subject.“Austin, you were busy the whole afternoon, so you should turn in early today. Tomorrow, you have to wake up early to prepare breakfast fo
Dylan, who was at the hotel taking care of Imogen, replied privately to Austin.He sent Austin a voice note asking, “You traveled so far just to become a chef?”Austin sat on the sofa as he replied, “Am I not allowed to? It’s a very challenging role to be the O’Connors’ private chef. I just wanted to see if I could pass the test. Luckily, I beat all my competitors. I’ve pretty much achieved the impossible.”Dylan was speechless for a moment before he replied, “It feels more like you ran for president than a chef. How long do you plan on staying there? Christmas is around the corner. Aren’t you coming home?”“I might not this year. I’ll go back when my boss gives me the boot.”“With your ability, I don’t think your boss can fire you. You firing her is more like it. I just don’t understand why you had to go that far. You have your restaurant and can cook anywhere, but you just had to go miles away. It’s cold there, no? Can you stand it?”Austin retorted, “It’s not like we’ve never
Dylan hurriedly supported her. An ache pounding in his head, he asked, “What’s up with you now?”“I… need to go…” Imogen slurred with her eyes closed.“You need to go to the bathroom?” Dylan was in a bad mood now.Imogen could not walk steadily and if she went to the bathroom alone, he was afraid she would fall. He could not help her into the bathroom though. He was a man!Imogen nodded and started walking again.Dylan asked as he supported her, “Can you go by yourself?”Imogen did not reply. She was so drunk she did not even know who was with her.Seeing the state she was in, Dylan could only help her to the bathroom, muttering under his breath all the while. Once he got her inside, he hurriedly retreated to let her handle her business.However, Imogen did not appear even after ten minutes. Dylan knocked on the door only to be answered with silence.Opening the door to just a crack, he peeked in but did not see Imogen. Where was she? He opened the door wider in confusion and
“This is the hotel, but of course, this isn’t the room you were staying in. I brought you back to your room after you got drunk, but not long after you lay down, you puked everywhere and even got it on the bed, so I had to move you.” Dylan sat back down and commented, “You’re really hard to handle when you’re drunk. I think you better refrain from drinking so much in the future.”Imogen was silent for a moment. “I don’t have any recollection of that at all. All I remember is I drank quite a lot with you and it was really delicious. When I return to Huntington, give me a case of the same whiskey. I want to have some on my own at home when I’m in a bad mood.”“You still need more?” Dylan did not believe she needed more. She definitely had lots of good alcohol at home too.“I don’t need more whiskey, but I don’t have whiskey from you.”After a pause, Dylan conceded again. “Fine. When you leave Wiltspoon, I’ll give you a case of the same whiskey we had last night and some of Wiltspoon’
“Caroline wants to leave Jensburg, so she wants to finish the handover as soon as possible. She’ll leave once my sister is more familiar with everything. Since Fisher Enterprise resumes operations earlier than most, Liberty had to go to Jensburg earlier.“She’s about to be the Fisher’s matriarch, so she has to communicate with the family’s elders and show concern for them. There are just too many things to handle.”Serenity caressed her bump. “I could’ve helped Liberty if I wasn’t pregnant. She’s on her own now.”Audrey was getting older. While she would go over to Jensburg to see how things were going from time to time, she thought it was best for Liberty, the incoming matriarch, to handle everything herself. It was a test and a chance to establish her influence.Since Duncan was still in recovery, he could not go over with Liberty. It was to prevent her from being distracted. Liberty was truly single-handedly doing everything.Lilian said, “Even if you aren’t pregnant, you can
Serenity walked over and sat down. “I asked Duncan about it. He said Sonny’s grandparents brought him to eat fried chicken, fries, and chips when he was with them last Saturday. Eating too much of those makes the throat inflamed easily.”Before getting married, Serenity would eat some fried chicken occasionally. Her favorite was chicken wings. However, she would always drink lots of hot tea with honey and lemon afterward. Otherwise, she would get a sore throat within two days. That was why most people in Wiltspoon maintained a light diet; it could not be helped.“Is Camryn’s condition improving?”Serenity was concerned about Camryn. Camryn was nursing her body back to health. She had to do it so she could conceive and be a mother.Lilian lifted the cup of hot tea before her and took a few sips. She said, “It’s getting better. She can stop her medications at the end of this year and start trying for a baby six months after that.”By the time Camryn could get pregnant, she wou
After a moment of silence, Serenity said, “I’ll inform Mr. Brown and the rest not to let Sonny eat too much fried food the next time they pick Sonny up. Sonny can’t take it because he is susceptible to sore throats.”It would be better if she did it because she was Sonny’s aunt. She was also familiar with the Browns. Luke and Olivia would not feel offended because they would know she was simply concerned about Sonny. If it were to come from Duncan, the Browns would think he was trying to sour Sonny’s relationship with the Browns. Sonny joining the Lewis family, following Liberty’s marriage, had already become a thorn in the Browns’ hearts. However, they could not say anything for the sake of Sonny’s future. Olivia had talked to Hank about getting Sonny’s custody back.Hank rejected the idea. The Brown couple did not insist after Hank explained the pros and cons of Sonny living with either him or Serenity. Based on living conditions, Serenity was definitely the better choice
“He will get better soon now that he’s taken the medicine. Don’t worry too much. When you're taking care of him, make sure you wear a mask so you don’t catch it from him. You’re pregnant, and if you catch a cold, it’ll be more troublesome.” Liberty was relieved, but she then reminded Serenity to take extra care of herself, worried that her son’s cold might spread to her.Pregnant women had limited options for medication, and many pregnant women endured mild colds without taking medicine out of caution.“I'm fine, really,” Serenity reassured her.“When Sonny is sick, he's especially vulnerable and relies on me. If I don't take care of him, I won’t feel at ease, and neither will he.”Zachary was busier than she was, so Serenity did not want to trouble him with such minor matters.“Don’t you worry, Liberty. Once Sonny is better, I'll send you a message. Even if Sonny begs me, I won’t let him eat anything too greasy from now on, to avoid aggravating his condition.”“Children are bo
Sonny weakly protested, “The medicine will be really bitter.”“Yes, but good medicine tastes bitter because it helps cure the illness,” Serenity comforted him.Under her coaxing, Sonny took the medicine, drank a glass of water, and went to the bathroom. He came back and fell into a deep sleep in his aunt's arms.Serenity wanted to carry him upstairs.“Let me carry him—you’re pregnant,” Lilian said considerately.Sam immediately interjected, “Dr. Carden, Missus, allow me to carry Mr. Sonny upstairs.”Dr. Carden was a distinguished guest of the family. How could he allow her to carry Sonny upstairs? Sam stepped forward and carefully took Sonny from Serenity's arms before carrying him back to his room.Serenity followed them upstairs.Lilian did not follow.To her, Sonny's common cold was not serious. She only personally took care of him because she quite liked Sonny.Serenity sat down on the edge of the bed and told Sam, “I can’t do it myself right now, so please make sure to t
After New Year’s celebration, Liberty left for Jensburg and told the teachers that if anything happened to Sonny, they should contact Serenity, which explained the teacher's call coming through to Serenity.“I’ll go pick him up right away. Thank you, Ms. Penny.”Sonny’s teacher Ms. Penny replied, "Alright, please come and take him to see a doctor. Recently, a lot of kids have been catching colds."After hanging up, Serenity said, “Jas, I can't stay here and chat with you. I need to go fetch Sonny from preschool. He's got a fever. Lately, he keeps kicking his blanket off at night.” Though she and Zachary often helped cover Sonny back up, they could not always catch it every time he kicked off the blanket, so he had probably caught a cold.“The temperature has been rising these days, so it's a bit hot sometimes. Look, I don’t even need to wear a coat now.” The temperature was around 68°F during the day. When the sun was out, it was really warm, and there was no need for a coat.
Serenity agreed empathetically, “You can offend anyone, but don't ever offend Nana. Luckily, she's my nana.”Out of all her in-laws, Grandma May was Serenity’s favorite because the old lady treated her the best. Whenever she had conflicts with Zachary, Grandma May would always stand by her side first. Only when she was ready to listen would Grandma May try to reason with her and speak up for Zachary. Even though Grandma May was Zachary’s grandmother, she treated Serenity like her own granddaughter; more so than Serenity's biological grandmother.“Are you going to help Dylan?” Jasmine asked.“How? He’s wooing his future wife. No one can help with that,” Serenity replied. “Zachary never meddles in his brothers' private matters. As long as they don’t ask him for help, he doesn’t care about anything.”In Zachary's words, he only wanted to take care of her. In his world, she was his priority.“True. Let’s just watch for now, unless Dylan comes to you asking you to speak well of him
“Now he's suddenly trying to pursue Imogen again? Did something happen to him? Or was it that his beloved turned him down, and then when he saw everyone else all coupled up, plus Grandma May’s pressuring him to get married, he decided to try to win Imogen back?“Who does he think Imogen is? Does he think he can just have her when he wants to, and throw her aside when he doesn't?”Even though Dylan was Serenity's cousin-in-law, Jasmine could not bring herself to take his side. Back then, when Imogen followed him from Huntington to Wiltspoon and even asked Serenity for help, all she ended up getting was an apology from Dylan that he could never love her. He even mentioned that he was in love with someone else, a woman he called Fox. How could a vixen be any good? Was she better than Imogen?Jasmine thought Dylan was out of his mind, but that was someone else's business. She was just a bystander. Even Serenity did not interfere much since she was only a cousin-in-law. After all,
Without a second thought, Leticia replied to her daughter.[Of course you should. As long as you can win that boy over, you'll be happy in the future. I’ve met so many young men, but I still think he’s the most suitable for you.]Despite her earlier anger, Leticia still hoped her daughter could win Dylan’s heart. She had always regarded him as a potential son-in-law, after all.Imogen smiled and left it at that. She had already made up her mind.In truth, when Dylan rejected her, she was not all that upset because the person he loved was still her. It was just that she had kept Dylan in the dark. One could say that he had been made to dance in her palm.However, when he realized that he could not love Imogen, he was honest with her and decisively left without bothering her further, not wanting her to fall even deeper when the situation was hopeless. In this aspect, she appreciated him.Now that she knew she was the one Dylan’s grandmother had chosen for him, Imogen was curious ab