“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
Serenity brought the fruits into the kitchen to wash them. After offering a seat to Imogen, Jasmine asked, “Do you prefer coffee or tea, Imogen?”Since Imogen had called her Jas, Jasmine decided to call her by her name as well. “Just water will do. Thank you, Jas. I drank a cup of coffee at Seren’s place. I can’t take more caffeine. If I do, I might not be able to sleep tonight.”Jasmine said, “I haven’t drunk coffee in months. I miss the days when I had a cup per day. I’m also the type who can’t fall asleep after drinking too much coffee. I usually have one cup when I arrive at the bookstore, and it’s enough to keep me awake till evening and not affect my sleep at night.”She brought Imogen a glass of water. “How many days are you intending to stay in Wiltspoon?”Jasmine bookmarked her unfinished read with a dog ear and kept it away. She would continue reading it in her free time. “I’m leaving in two days. Things are busy at the company.”“Everyone’s busy at the end of th
Jasmine’s baby bump was showing.Serenity and Imogen laughed. After a moment of confusion, Jasmine finally realized what was going on. She hit her friend lightly and said, “How dare you tease me, Seren.”“Look at 'em thicc thighs. All the better for Imogen to cling to them to ask for your help.”Serenity took a piece of fruit and fed it to Jasmine. Jasmine looked at Imogen and said, “I don’t think Imogen needs my help. Yours is more than enough.”Imogen was Dylan’s future wife and the York family would be her strongest supporters. She would not need to rely on anyone else. Serenity winked at Jasmine. Jasmine noticed it and knew there must have been some development between Imogen and Dylan. She quickly changed the topic. Any questions for Serenity would have to wait until Imogen left. At ten minutes to four, Serenity left to pick Sonny up from preschool. Imogen chose to stay at the bookstore and chatted with Jasmine. Since Jasmine loved reading, Imogen asked her to re
Once Serenity fetched Sonny from school, they did not go to York Corporation to look for Zachary. He was busy that day and did not even have time to have a meal with her. She did not want to distract him. Duncan was busy too, so Serenity brought Sonny back to the bookstore. Imogen was still around. When she saw Serenity entering with Sonny, she smiled and waved at him. “Come here, Sonny. Let me carry you.”Sonny remembered Imogen. When Serenity let him go, he jogged toward Imogen and greeted her before she carried him. Sonny greeted Jasmine as well. Jasmine patted his head and told Serenity, “Has Sonny grown taller? I think he has.”“Yes. He gained some weight too. Zachary said he would not be able to win a fight against Laurence when they meet up during winter break if he did not start eating more.”Jasmine laughed. “He’s right. You should eat more, Sonny. Once you get taller and heavier, you can crush your opponent even if you can’t beat him.”Sonny said, “Laurence is s
Imogen could not relate to the topic of children. She had not even gotten married yet. Although she had a target, the marriage probably would not happen. After they chatted for a while, the school bell rang and the students were off.Sonny played behind the cashier counter while the three adults got busy. When the sky turned dark, and the students had left, Serenity told Jasmine and Imogen, “Let’s go have dinner together.”“I want to have Italian food,” Jasmine suggested. Serenity said, “Italian again? Have you been craving that lately?”“I’ve always liked to eat Italian in this weather.”Serenity looked toward Imogen. Imogen said, “I’m fine with anything.”“I guess the pregnant woman gets priority. Let’s go have Italian.”Jasmine laughed. “You’re speaking as if you aren’t pregnant yourself. Your baby is just a month younger than mine.”“A month still counts. My baby will still be in my stomach when you give birth.”Serenity took Sonny’s bag and called out, “Let’s go, S
On the way to the Italian restaurant, Serenity got a call from Jane. She heard Connor's voice the moment she picked up the call. “What’s Connor doing, Jane?” Serenity asked amid laughter. Jane was holding her son with one arm and her phone in the other hand. “He wants to snatch my phone when he sees me making a call. If I don’t give it to him, he’ll start screaming, demanding that I give him the phone.”Serenity smiled. “You can get a toy phone that can emit sounds for him.”“He has one, and he likes it a lot. He’s just playful and wants to snatch mine the moment he sees it. He probably mistook my phone for his.“Have you eaten, Seren?”After speaking, Jane spoke to someone else, “Take Connor out for a walk. He’s too noisy.”Connor was always crying or screaming. He was truly a crybaby like Tim’s son.A nanny carried Connor away. One of the elders had taken the obedient Chloe away early on. Everyone loved well-behaved babies. More importantly, the Johnson family did not
The legendary doctor missed Oliver a lot. Before he returned, he would get on a video call with his disciple, Dr. Carden, multiple times a day to look at Oliver. Dr. Carden was annoyed and said she could let him raise Oliver in the mountains. He was experienced in raising children anyway. After all, Dr. Carden was brought up by the legendary doctor himself. However, Tim refused to let him take Oliver away. Although Oliver was a crybaby and often caused Tim headaches from his crying, Tim still loved Oliver deeply. He said the place where Laurence and the legendary doctor lived was too cold and that the young Oliver could not stand such harsh weather. Tim was right. The legendary doctor’s home was far from civilization. It was cold in spring, fall, and winter. The weather would only turn slightly warm during summer. Now that it was still snowing, Laurence was forced to clear the snow in the garden every day after waking up. He would train while clearing the snow. Indeed, Oliv
“I’m used to him being by my side. Now that he’s hidden, it just feels weird.”Caroline added, “Even if I want to kiss him, I can only do it in my dreams.”Liberty was speechless. Seeing Liberty being at a loss for words, Caroline smiled. “Did I renew your impression of me?”“Yes. I didn’t know you were this kind of person.”Caroline giggled. “Darren’s too serious and respectful. If I don’t take the lead, we might sleep on opposite ends of the bed after getting married. He probably won’t even dare to turn in bed.”Liberty thought of Darren’s face, which constantly had a stern expression. He only looked normal around Caroline. He indeed treated her respectfully and never dared to offend her. Liberty said, “You’re still his master. It’s only natural that he’s acting that way.“When you two become husband and wife, he’ll change. However, you won’t have to doubt his love and loyalty for you.”The next thing Liberty knew, Caroline asked her private questions regarding married lif
Caroline moved first, exiting the elevator.Adrian blocked her path, refusing to give way.Caroline did not want to argue with her brothers, so she simply sidestepped and continued toward the CEO’s office. The Clark brothers watched her leave.“Let’s go, Adrian.” Justin entered the elevator first.Adrian withdrew his gaze and led Jason into the elevator.“I heard Darren’s out on a business trip and has been sent to another province to handle some matters, so he won’t be back for at least ten days to half a month,” Jason shared in a low voice. “And for the past few days, Caroline’s only been accompanied by those few bodyguards of hers. There really hasn’t been any sign of Darren with her. I’ve asked someone to look into it and verified Darren left Jensburg by flight a few days ago. What do you think, Adrian?”Adrian replied under his breath, “We’re at work. Don’t talk about that here. We’ll talk about it when we get home tonight.”Justin and Jason immediately shut their mouths.
“I’m in charge now, not your mother. If you can’t do the work, then don’t cling to your positions and collect a salary for doing nothing.”Liberty had no intention of tolerating their laziness any longer.The three brothers had tried investing and running their own businesses, but they mostly ended up losing money. The only stable income they had was from renting out the properties and shops they owned.That was why Hunter had advised his sons to return to Ashford, buy more properties and shops, and live off the rental income. It was much more stable than their business ventures.If the properties were hard to rent out, they could always sell them and recover some money, but with their business investments, not only did they lose money, they often ended up in debt by the time the businesses failed.It was a mystery how much of Belinda’s personal wealth had been spent helping her sons pay off their debts while she was alive.However, there were times when they made money. They wou
They had taken a few days of sick leave, but after receiving the news, they miraculously “recovered” and returned to work.However, their behavior did not improve. They continued strutting around the company, acting as if they owned the place, just as they had before.While others completed the tasks Liberty assigned on time, the three Clark brothers always dragged their feet. They only ever barely managed to finish them after repeated urging, and the results were still always far from satisfactory.“Look at the plans and reports you submitted. They’re a complete mess! What kind of work is this? You all sit in the positions of vice president, earning high salaries, and this is how you perform?“Do you think your work justifies your pay?”In the CEO’s office, Liberty sat behind her crescent-shaped desk. The three Clark brothers stood in front of her, having been summoned.Liberty slammed their work results onto the desk in front of them and her face was filled with anger as she be
Darren stopped walking.Caroline stopped as well.“What’s wrong?” Caroline looked at him. “You don’t want to follow my plan?”“I’ll do whatever you ask of me. It’s just, could we delay it for a couple of days? I’m worried…”“Darren.” Caroline’s expression turned serious. “Trust me! And trust yourself. I have the ability to protect myself, and you have the ability to protect me too. I might get hurt, but I won’t be in any life-threatening danger.”She glanced at Liberty and Duncan walking ahead, both had not noticed that the two behind had stopped. The distance between them had widened.Taking advantage of Liberty and Duncan’s oblivion, Caroline quickly cupped Darren’s face, tiptoed, and kissed his warm lips.Darren immediately tightened his arms around her, turning his passiveness into action, and deepening the kiss. The two were clearly in love, but Darren never took the initiative in intimate gestures. It was always Caroline who made the first move.In Darren’s eyes, Caroline
Among the younger generation of the Fisher family, very few could work at the headquarters of Fisher Enterprise. Most of them worked in subsidiaries, no different from ordinary workers.They worked themselves to the bone for a monthly salary of four to five thousand dollars as being part of the Fisher family did not guarantee them high-paying jobs. Those without ability and who were lazy could not even get into the subsidiaries.When Belinda was alive, she had made it clear that the Fisher family’s companies would not support idle people. Those who wanted to slack off and collect a paycheck for doing nothing were dreaming!The biggest benefit of being part of the family was that during holidays, they could receive gifts and a generous bonus from Fisher Enterprise.These holiday gifts and bonuses were distributed uniformly, regardless of age or seniority. Everyone received the same amount—a newborn baby received the same as an eighty-year-old elder.After some thought, Liberty said
Duncan said, “I’m not picky. Whatever you serve me, I’ll eat. Let’s start with a bowl of soup.”He was very cooperative. Indeed, this was how they usually interacted as a couple. He took care of Liberty, and Liberty took care of him.Liberty served him a bowl of soup and then grabbed some food for him. Duncan immediately grabbed some of her favorite dishes and placed them on her plate.Caroline and Darren sat across from them.“How long do you plan to stay this time, Mr. Lewis?” Caroline asked.Although she had said that Fisher Manor was Duncan’s home too, she knew that Duncan’s roots were in Wiltspoon. His career, friends, and family were all there, so he preferred to stay in Wiltspoon.“I’ll go back once Liberty’s work settles down,” Duncan replied.He planned to stay until Liberty had established a firm foothold in the Fisher family.Caroline smiled and looked at Liberty, saying, “Liberty, you’ve chosen the right person this time. From now on, no matter how stormy the road a
“Your company is also very busy. What about your work now that you’re here?”“I have so many managers. If they can’t handle the company affairs, then what’s the point of having them? If worse comes to worst, my three brothers are there too. They’ll help out when they have time.”“Josh and Zachary will also keep an eye on things. Don’t worry, Lewis & Co. won’t collapse just because I’m away.”For Duncan, at this moment, nothing was more important than his wife.Lewis & Co. had his three brothers overseeing things, along with the management team he had trained and promoted. He did not need to worry.After all, he was currently disabled.Whenever his brothers complained about having to manage the company for him, he would just say he was so useless now, even walking was a struggle.Then, his brothers would feel sorry for him and stop complaining, dutifully taking care of the company for him.The group entered the house.“Let’s eat first,” Caroline said.Once inside, the warmth o
The next day, Liberty only woke up at noon. She had barely managed to fall asleep around four o’clock but slept through the morning. Reaching for her phone on the bedside table, she checked the time and was surprised to see it was almost noon.Liberty quickly sat up. She changed her clothes at lightning speed, freshened up, and then hurried downstairs.The first floor was quiet and only the sound of her footsteps echoed through the house.“Caroline. Caroline?” Liberty called out twice, but there was no response.She guessed Caroline might have gone out or was in the yard. The smell of food lingered in the house, indicating that lunch had already been prepared.Liberty walked toward the front door. Just as she reached the doorway, she saw Caroline returning with Darren and a few others.Liberty’s sharp eyes immediately spotted her husband.Duncan was sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed by his bodyguard, while another bodyguard pulled a suitcase.Caroline and Darren were also c