After the meal, apart from Patrick, the rest of the old gentlemen took their leave. The Stones warmly urged them to stay.Audrey said, “Old Mrs. York will be coming over later. She called me and told me to make sure you guys stay back because she wants to have a meal with you.”At this, Silver and the rest looked around at each other. Finally, Doc conceded, “Old Pat hasn’t woken up yet. If we leave like this, he’ll definitely complain about us abandoning him without a word when he wakes up. Why don’t we stay in Wiltspoon for a little longer and head back tomorrow or the day after?”He added, “Even I’m not in a rush to go back and see my grandson. You guys don’t even have any grandchildren, so why are you in a rush to head back? To stare at each other? How boring.”Audrey chimed in, “That’s right. Since you’re already here, just stay a few more days so that I can thank you gentlemen properly for taking such good care of Uncle True all these years. You’re the reason I could see him a
“Isn’t Suzy married?”“She’s married, but you’re still single.”Sugar smiled. “I can earn a lot of money and take care of myself when I’m old in the future. I’m really busy. Besides, I haven’t found someone suitable. Men who are too capable might not even want me.”After speaking, Silver tugged on her sleeve and said, “Where has the money you earned gone? You can’t even bear to wear better clothes. Are you trying to depend on me even when you’re old by showing me such plain clothes?”Elisa laughed. “Sugar’s clothes may look plain, but they’re branded. Her whole outfit is expensive.”“That’s right. Elisa has a sharp eye. My teachers know nothing about women’s clothing. That’s because they don’t have a wife themselves.”The old gentlemen looked as if they wanted to give her a beating. Sugar quickly escaped, making everyone laugh. “We’re old men, yet our disciples keep urging us to get a partner. Whenever we urged them to get married, they’d target us instead and ask us to find
“It makes us feel like failures when none of our disciples are getting married. It’s embarrassing to say that the ones we taught cannot get a wife or husband.”The old gentlemen nodded in agreement. Sugar quickly grabbed Elisa’s arm and said, “Let’s go, Elisa. I’m tired of listening to them bugging me to get married.“I’m only twenty-six, not thirty-six or forty-six. Do they have to bug me? They’re even older than me. Why didn’t they get a wife when we were urging them?”Elisa exited the house with her. As they walked, she smiled. “You’ll get used to it.”The girls left. The old bunch also said they wished to go on a stroll without Audrey and Darrell’s company. Audrey arranged for Clive and Remy to accompany them instead. Remy was a young master of the Johnsons, who were in-laws to Doc. He could definitely engage in conversations with the old gentlemen. Meanwhile, at Wiltspoon Hotel, Dylan leaned against his chair after eating and called Zachary. When Zachary picked up,
Dylan was speechless. “Zachary…”“Since she doesn’t want to meet you, it’s useless to find her. You should wait until she comes to you. Give her back her stuff. The more shameless you are, the less likely she’ll fall for you.“Be an honest person and a responsible man. Don’t cheat or deceive her. Serenity almost wanted a divorce because I lied to her back then. “Haven’t you learned anything from my experience?”Zachary refused to help Dylan. He wished Dylan would take a long time to court his future wife. Who asked him to choose the difficult path instead?Grandma May’s choice of women would never go wrong. She even gave Dylan hints multiple times. He was too dumb to decipher her words. He was asked several times if he would regret his choice. He was also told that he should not beg her for help if he were to change his mind. However, Dylan did not take the hint. Who could he blame?Zachary did not tell Dylan that Imogen and Chameleon Fox were most likely the same person.
Dylan immediately sat up straight. He said, “I don’t regret it.“It’s fine, Zachary. I’ll think of something myself.”Dylan thought of how he had rejected his nana’s arrangement. He feared being laughed at by his brothers and getting scolded by Grandma May. Therefore, he decided not to get Zachary’s help and figure something out by himself.“Remember to return the item to the lady when you find her. Otherwise, it will only make her impression of you worse.“You should attract her with sincerity and honesty. That way, you will have a happy future with her.”Zachary shared his experience with Dylan as someone who had gone through it before. Dylan replied, “I know, Zachary. I will give it back to her when she looks for me next time. Are you guys coming back to the city now? I hear cars in the background.”“Yeah, we’re on the way back to the city.”“I shall not take up more of your time. I’ll return to the company and get some rest. I have two meetings in the evening.”“Take care
“Dylan’s the only one who didn’t listen. Since he likes taking the long way, let him do it until he starts questioning life.”Grandma May sounded happy to see Dylan suffer.Consequences would befall those who refused to take their elders’ advice. Many of her grandsons were obedient. Having one of them acting stubborn occasionally spiced things up.Zachary and Serenity exchanged glances. He silently held her hand. He was glad that he eventually gave in and obeyed his nana’s arrangement to marry Serenity. Otherwise, who knew what she would have done to make him regret his decision?“Nana.”There were only three of them in the car, besides the driver. Serenity wanted to confirm something. “Is Ms. Doyle the girl Dylan likes?”Grandma May smiled. “Why are you asking when you’ve guessed it? Don’t tell anyone about it. Dylan is a little dense. I told him not to regret his choice or ask for our help if he ever decided to pursue Imogen again, yet he didn’t take the hint.“He dese
“You’ll live a long life, Nana. Since Doc is here, he can check on you. If there are any issues, we can get him to prescribe some medicine for you.”They were the closest people to Grandma May. Although they knew death was inevitable, Zachary felt anxious whenever he thought of her eventual departure. They were depressed for a long time after their grandfather’s passing. Whenever the York lads gathered, their eyes would turn red if their gramps was mentioned. Grandma May said, “I’m fine now. Our family doctor visits and does regular checkups on me from time to time. Dr. Carden also examined me the last time she came. There are no problems. I’ve been paying extra attention to my health.“Anyway, I can still help to take care of your baby. I hope I get a great-granddaughter. I don’t want to meet your gramps in heaven without hugging a great-granddaughter or taking her to school. “Your gramps couldn’t meet his great-granddaughter. I have to look at her in his stead, so I can tell
Serenity lowered the volume of her phone before sending a message to Liberty, telling her that they had found Mr. Patrick. Technically, it was Mr. Patrick who found them. She also told Liberty to continue texting instead of calling because Grandma May was resting in the car and did not want to wake the old lady. When Liberty received the message, she immediately replied: [Where has Mr. Patrick been all these years? Are you sure he’s Tiara’s assistant? Could it be an imposter?]Serenity: [Mr. Patrick was rescued by the legendary doctor and his friends. He’s been living with them while hiding his identity all these years. There are some issues with his health as well. He has been looking for our mom and Aunt Audrey all this while. Mr. Patrick came to look for Aunt Audrey after only confirming her identity recently.]Although Aunt Audrey could not remember much, she still had vague memories of Mr. Patrick. Besides, Doc was accompanying him. Even if they did not trust Mr. Patrick, th
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa