“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
While Serenity worked in her office, her bodyguards would stay nearby the building, constantly keeping an eye out so they could immediately follow after her when she left to protect her.On the way to the bookstore, Serenity texted Jasmine. When they arrived, Jasmine came out to greet them with a smile.The moment Serenity got out of the car, Jasmine went up to her to affectionately take her arm as she said, “I thought you weren’t coming today, you busy, busy girl.”“I don’t think I’m that busy. Elisa is, though.”Jasmine said a little apologetically, “The work should have been divided among us three, but now a lot of things have ended up on Elisa’s plate.”Imogen got out of the car, carrying the two bags of fruits and snacks as Jasmine happened to ask Serenity, “Didn’t you say you were going to introduce me to a pretty girl?”“There—she just got out of the car.”Jasmine looked at Imogen.Imogen walked up to her and introduced herself confidently. “Hello, Mrs. Bucham. My name’s
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