“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’
The two had breakfast together before leaving the suite.The hotel butler would tidy the place and put things back in their original places for Zachary’s next visit.Imogen went back to her room to catch up on sleep.Meanwhile, Dylan called Grandma May. When she picked up, he asked, “Where are you, Nana?”“I’m at Wildridge Manor. What’s up? Do you miss me? If you do, come back and have lunch with me,” she said. “My fish is done grilling! It smells so good.”Dylan was speechless for a moment. “It’s early in the morning and you’re grilling fish to eat?”“I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to my friends. And what’s wrong with eating grilled fish in the morning? It’s not that early anyway—it’s past nine. Can’t you see the sun is so high up in the sky?“It’s warmer out today, too, so I went fishing with a few old friends and we are grilling our catches. It feels like we’re having a picnic and it’s pretty nice.”Dylan could imagine the scene. There was a stream at the foot of the hi
“No, Nana. I’m not smart at all. I’m really dumb. You’re the smartest.” Dylan buttered Nana up. It was not empty flattery either because she was amazing.The public thought they were amazing people in their own right, but they still could not escape their nana’s grasp. She was like an immovable mountain while they were like tigers—they could be kings of the mountain but still could not touch her.“I didn’t play any tricks, Nana.”“That’s your business. You can do whatever you like. I’ve already helped you pick a candidate. It’s your choice whether or not you pursue her. A year should be enough time for you to think about it. But let me remind you that Yorks don’t cheat and are loyal. Don’t ruin our good name.”Dylan said sheepishly, “I know, Nana. I’m about to start driving, so I’ll talk to you when I get back.”“Drive carefully,” Nana admonished before hanging up and handing the phone off to Sam. “My fish!” She was worried someone else had eaten her fish.Sam said with a smile
Grandma May said to her friends, “It’s a little cold today. Do you guys want to have a drink to warm yourselves up?”“Madam,” Sam immediately objected when he heard this. “You mustn’t. If Mr. Zachary finds out, he’ll blame me for not taking good care of you.”“How would he know if you don’t tell him? Zack’s beginning to resemble his grandfather by the day, that control freak,” she grumbled.Her friends laughed and said, “He’s just worried about your health. At our age, it’s better to drink less alcohol.”“It’s fine if we have a bit of fruit wine. Sam, get two bottles of fruit wine. It’s not satisfying to have grilled food without alcohol.”Sam did not object further. He called the main residence to have the fruit wine delivered. Apart from the fish they caught themselves, Sam had prepared other foods to grill for the ladies. There were a few kids too young to go to preschool enjoying themselves too. Sam had prepared fruit juice for them.This was the kind of life Grandma May enjo
Grandma May heard Dolly’s words. She waved at Dolly and said, “Come here, Dolly.”Dolly walked over. “Are the drumsticks ready to eat, Old Mrs. York?”She thought Grandma May had called her over to eat the drumsticks. Grandma May pulled Dolly over and hugged her. She smiled. “The drumsticks aren’t done yet. It’ll be ready soon.“Why do you want to take over Sam’s job?”Everyone in the manor knew Grandma May adored Dolly. The Yorks had not had a daughter in their family for generations. Since Grandma May had failed to have a daughter or granddaughter, she was hoping to get a great-granddaughter instead. She did not know if her wish could ever come true. Grandma May often told her employees they could bring their daughters over to Wiltspoon to live and study. If the children had time, they could even use the playground in the manor. Grandma May thought her odds of getting a great-granddaughter might increase if there were more little girls in the manor. “Uncle Sam is incr
Even when Dolly heard a car honk, she only glanced over for a moment before going back to devouring her barbecue. “I’m back, Nana.”It was Dylan’s voice. He got out of his car with a bouquet and called out to Grandma May as he walked over. He said, “It smells great. This weather is perfect for a barbecue.”Winter in Wiltspoon had always been weird. Grandma May did not even want to go outside yesterday as it was too cold. However, the temperature rose that day. It was nearing afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly. It even began to feel a little warm. The Yorks would have barbecues occasionally throughout winter, but only during vacations, of course. On the other hand, Grandma May could have a barbecue whenever she wanted. Dylan thought, ‘When I get married and have a son, I’ll pass my business to him the moment he’s old enough to take over. I want to retire early and enjoy a relaxed life like Nana.’Living a happy life was more important than becoming immortal. “Mr.
Grandma May freed a hand to pass a freshly grilled fish to Dylan. She said, “Small fish tastes best when you eat them fresh from the grill. It won’t taste as good when it’s cold. You should eat it while it’s hot.”“Thank you, Nana.”Dylan took the fish his nana handed to him and dug in. While he ate, he even took a picture and sent it to Austin. Dylan and Austin were of similar age. He liked playing with Austin the most back when they were young. Even after they grew up, they remained close. He loved showing off to Austin. When Austin received the picture from Dylan, he immediately sent a voice message to the family chat, “Did you go fishing, Nana? You even grilled the fish. Are there a lot of them? I want some. I’ll head back right now.”Dylan said on purpose, “They’re all gone. Nana kept it for me. There’s nothing left for you, Besides, are you really coming back just for the fish? You’ll be losing a lot of money.”“Money can be earned anytime, but Nana’s grilled fish is
Dylan barely ate during breakfast as he slept poorly last night. He put all the food in a resealable bag before following Grandma May out. “Have a drumstick, Nana.”Dylan passed a drumstick to her. He turned toward Dolly, who sat before the table and had a greasy mouth from eating, and said, “Who’s that girl, Nana? She’s definitely enjoying her food.”“She’s Dolly. Her parents take care of the garden. I like her a lot.”Dylan ate the fish Grandma May cooked. He said, “You like every little girl you meet. You even tried to steal Chloe back the last time you visited the Johnsons.”Grandma May regretfully said, “Our family is just as good as the Johnsons. Even if Clo-clo were to live with us, it’d be a similar environment. Unfortunately, the Johnsons weren’t willing to let her go. I guess Ben was scared that I’d kidnap his daughter. He was at home every day when I visited and kept staring at me.”“Of course, they wouldn’t be willing. Chloe is their only great-granddaughter. If I
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w
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