That was why Imogen had not contacted Dylan.When she talked to Serenity yesterday, they had gotten along, so she saw no other option than to come to Serenity’s office.“I don’t usually drink coffee at noon.”The two walked out of the office together.Imogen glanced at Serenity’s stomach and said, “It’s best not to drink coffee or heavily caffeinated teas for now. You’re pregnant and have to avoid caffeine.”Serenity laughed. “I know. I haven’t had coffee, tea, or alcohol in a long time now.”That was precisely why Imogen had to make her own coffee.“Is Ms. Stone not coming in today?” Imogen asked casually because Elisa had not come over to say hi.“She’s gone to the market today and will only be back in the evening.” Both Serenity and Jasmine were pregnant. Even if they thought they could still win a fight against a bull in their current state, Elisa saw them as museum artifacts that had to be carefully taken care of and would not allow them to go to the market themselves.“O
“Serenity, did Old Mrs. York also have her eye on you first before making Mr. York pursue you?”Serenity laughed. “Zachary and I had a marriage of convenience. Neither of us pursued the other, but we did grow feelings for each other later. It was your typical ‘marriage first, love later’ situation, though we can’t say it has nothing to do with Nana.”Imogen knew a little about Serenity and Zachary’s marriage of convenience.Serenity briefly explained how it came to be and how she only found out later on that Zachary had entirely been forced into marrying her, as well as the hilarious reason the old lady had her eye on her in the first place. All because that psychic said that Serenity was Zachary’s fated wife and that he would be single forever if he did not marry her, Grandma May used Zachary’s love and filial piety to force him to marry Serenity. She loved her grandson so much, so how could she just let Zachary be single forever?That was how the couple had a happy life togethe
“Let Dylan be your guide and take you around Wiltspoon. There are a few scenic spots on the outskirts you can visit,” Serenity suggested.Imogen huffed. “He doesn’t even want to talk to me. It’s most important to have fun when I’m traveling and I’m not going to cling to his moody ass when he doesn’t even want me around. It’ll just bring me down. Are you free? Can you go shopping with me? I want to buy something. Tomorrow, I intend to visit Old Mrs. York at Wildridge Manor.”She was not going there to ask her why she had chosen her but to see the revered personage for herself.Serenity smiled. “Sure. I have to take an afternoon nap first, though. It’s a habit of mine. If I don’t, I won’t feel energetic in the afternoon and will be prone to headaches and eye pain.”“Sure, we’ll go after your nap.”“I’ll take you to my bookstore later. Jasmine is there, she’s my other best friend apart from Elisa.” Whenever Serenity met a new sister-in-law and got along well with her, she would intro
Imogen looked at Dylan’s message for a beat before replying. [I’m not sure yet. Why? Do you want to treat me to a meal? Or is it that you can’t bear to see me go?]Dylan replied, [I want to treat you to a meal and talk to you again.]Imogen asked, [About? Our future? Or have you decided to choose her? If you really have a girlfriend, let me meet her. I promise I won’t ever appear in your life again after that.”She did want to fight for it, but if there was no hope, she would just give up. It was rare to find a good family like the Yorks, but Dylan had to like her and be willing to marry her in the first place for her to be a part of the family.A few minutes passed before Dylan replied again. [I do have someone I really like, but we’re not in a relationship yet, so I can’t let you disturb her. We can talk about the issues slowly when we meet. Are you free tonight?][No.][Let me know when you’re free, then. I’ll treat you to a meal.]After a moment of thought, Imogen replied, [
Especially Serenity. Carrie hated Serenity more than she did Camryn.When the Newmans ran into trouble, it was all due to Serenity’s meddling that so much changed and Camryn took power.Carrie dearly wished she had some sort of superpower she could take revenge with.Serenity was currently pregnant and coddled by the Yorks so that her baby could grow healthily, whereas Carrie’s first pregnancy was with a man she did not love. Regardless, she was not allowed to keep the baby because Mr. Longbottom did not allow it.They were both women, but had drastically different lives.The heating in the room made Carrie feel stuffy and she got out of bed to open the window. When the nurse Mrs. Douglas opened the door and saw this, she hurriedly stopped her. “Madam, don’t open the window. You’re still weak and you’ll catch a cold if you let the cold breeze in.”“It’s so sunny outside, it won’t be cold. Wiltspoon winters aren’t cold and snowy like where you’re from. At least let me turn off the
Mrs. Douglas smiled warmly. “You’re so young, so you’ll recover quickly. You won’t go out of shape. I’ve taken care of many rich women after their pregnancies and they all managed to regain their slim figures and lose their pregnancy weight quickly by working out.”She refrained from pointing out that Carrie had only miscarried and could not possibly go out of shape in just two weeks. Even if Carrie ate well every day, she did not eat a huge amount and usually only tried once of whatever additional soups and superfoods Mrs. Douglas brought before asking them to be taken away. Sometimes, she would ask Mrs. Douglas to eat them without trying them herself.Carrie stopped worrying. She said, “I’ll cut down on my food. I don’t want to become a fat whale at the end of my recovery. How long does it usually take? It’s so boring just lying in bed every day.”If she did not appear, would Serenity forget who she was? Would she have to spend even more time trying to form a connection with her t
“I couldn’t sleep and was bored, so I strolled around the block. There are quite a lot of shops nearby. It’s really convenient to buy whatever you need.” Imogen was about to help Serenity sit down, but Serenity smiled and waved her off. “It’s fine. I can sit on my own. I’m not yet at the stage where it’s difficult to move around.”They both sat down. Imogen pulled the bags over to her and said, “I bought some fruits and a few types of snacks. I’ve tried all of them and made sure they tasted fine before buying them.”“I’m not picky.” Serenity put her glass down and scooted closer to see what Imogen had bought.Imogen laughed. “I’m not picky either, but I still prefer eating good food.”“Everyone’s the same. If there’s something good to eat, of course we’ll have that, but otherwise, anything edible will do.” Serenity had lived a hard life. Even if she was filthy rich now that she was the eldest Mrs. York in her generation, she still maintained some habits.She picked up one of the
“Since we’re going to the bookstore, let’s not eat these yet. We’ll bring them to share with Jasmine. She likes the same things as I do and can eat more than I can at the moment. She’s already showing. It’s exactly the time she needs more nutrients and has to eat more than three meals a day.”Imogen asked, “Has she put on a lot of weight? The pregnant ladies at my company gained weight super fast after they got pregnant. They said that if you get morning sickness, you won’t be able to eat much, if at all, but once it’s gone, their appetites increase tremendously and they gain weight because they can’t control themselves. They said many ladies end up with big babies.”Serenity hurriedly asked her, “Do I look fat?” She had quite the appetite too.“You’re not obviously showing right now. You look a bit round, but not fat.”Serenity sighed in relief and said, “Luckily, I still work. If I stayed home all day, I’d definitely be as round as a watermelon right now.”She insisted on workin
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
Trenton was relieved that Dalton was indebted to Camryn. That was why Dalton had been loyal to Newman Enterprise.If Newman Enterprise did not fall into Camryn’s hands, there was no doubt that Dalton would leave the company. If that happened, the company was doomed.When his parents went to prison, he was merely 18, and Carrie only knew how to spend money. Not only that, their relatives were hungry to get a share of the Newman family’s assets. He and Carrie could not have protected their family’s wealth alone.After Camryn regained her sight, she still could not strain her eyes for long hours. Therefore, Dalton remained in charge of the company.Luckily, they had Callum as well. Even if anything were to happen, Callum would not leave Newman Enterprise to fall because many of the Newman family’s assets belonged to Camryn.He would not let Camryn lose anything.“You’ve been brainwashed by Dalton after working with him. Our dad treated him well and trusted him, yet Dalton betrayed
Camryn said, “She’s just using her lack of money as an excuse to start a fight with me.“Do you really think she has no money?”Carrie had somehow become Mrs. Longbottom yet she was still hiding her identity. Camryn had not understood the entire situation yet.Nevertheless, she was certain that Carrie did not need money.After she spoke, a familiar car arrived.It was the car Carrie had always used in the past.When she returned to the Newman family’s villa after getting out of prison, she only drove that car. She could not take other cars. The cars were still parked in the garage. “Come out, Camryn.”Carrie had gotten out of the car and started shouting for Camryn.When the York family’s bodyguards saw her, they simply glanced at her and did not stop her from entering the store. They knew Camryn had always been lenient with her younger sister.Since Camryn did not give any orders to stop Carrie from entering, the bodyguards simply kept an eye on Carrie to ensure that sh
“I want to go to Spring Blossoms as Carrie,” she told the bodyguard who was driving. “Your sister’s people are keeping an eye on your apartment. She’ll get suspicious again if you head over in your outfit. Everything Mr. Longbottom arranged will go to waste,” the bodyguard reminded her.Carrie thought it over. “Okay. Let’s head home first. I’ll change my clothes and remove my makeup before heading over.”She would also check if her stand-in had damaged any of her stuff.If she did, Carrie would tell the stand-in to compensate her.The bodyguard remained silent.Once they arrived at Longbottom Villa, Carrie took off her hyper-realistic mask and removed her makeup. After changing her clothes, she returned to being Carrie and went out with her bag.Her two bodyguards did not stop her from leaving.She could do anything as long as it would not rouse Camryn and other people’s suspicions.Besides, Carrie had just gotten scolded by their boss on the phone. Although Mr. Longbottom