“He always hangs up on me whenever I remind him about things like this. At his age, he still eats so much grilled food and drinks so much alcohol. I’ve told him countless times and he still refuses to listen,” Sugar grumbled, forgetting the fact that every time she and her fellow disciples went back to visit Silver, they always brought him good food and alcohol.He was more like a child than ever. All he liked to do was eat and drink. Anyway, with Lilian and Doc around, there was no need to worry about the old men’s health.The next morning, the Yorks arranged for a cavalcade of luxury cars to pick up the elders. Only Patrick, still not in very good health, stayed behind at the Stones’ residence. After having breakfast with Patrick, Audrey called Serenity. Last night, Audrey called Corey and arranged to meet her today. Audrey had asked Corey to meet to talk about Liberty and Duncan. Although Serenity was Liberty’s younger sister, their parents were dead and she was one of the few f
The common knowledge was that the elders’ disciples were everywhere and they were outstanding experts in their various respective industries. Only a handful of people could say they had met the elders before. Now that these old timers had suddenly come to Wiltspoon, even Old Mrs. York had gotten excited about it and rushed over to the Stones’ residence to invite them to visit, let alone the Buchams.Audrey laughed. “That’s true. I’ll grab you a bowl of porridge first. Once you get here, it’ll be just nice to eat and won’t scald you.”“You’re so considerate, Aunt Audrey. Thank you.” Serenity said sweetly, which coaxed a wide smile from Audrey.Elisa nudged Remy, who was sitting beside her, and whispered, “Ever since my mom reunited with Serenity and Liberty, she’s only ever smiled that gently and radiantly for them.”“Don’t I dote on you? You heartless little—you’re the one I dote on the most, and you’re still jealous of Seren?” After hanging up, Audrey heard Elisa’s comment and gla
Elisa said, “I hope our future children are as cute and well-behaved as your niece is. Let’s have a daughter. I would love to have a daughter like Clo-clo.”She was not the only one. Anyone who saw Chloe and babysat her liked her. She just seemed to keep getting cuter by the day. When she woke up, she would just play by herself in her cot or sit up and look around.Despite just being a seven-month-old baby, she was quiet and did not cause any disturbance at all, unlike Connor, who would cry so the whole house knew he had woken up.Remy took Elisa’s hand with a sheepish smile and said, “Our family’s pretty similar to the Yorks in this sense. We have a history of having boys and the chances of having girls are really low. Ben already has a daughter, so the rest of us will probably only have boys. We pretty much only get one baby girl per generation.”Elisa was silent for a moment before she asked, “Has that record never been broken?”After a moment of thought, Remy replied, “In any
On their way out, they bumped into Serenity, who was on her way to the Stones’ residence, and both parties stopped to greet each other. Remy let Serenity pass first.He then asked as he continued to drive, “The old-timers have all gone over to the Yorks’ place, but Serenity’s come here this early. I heard they’re going to meet Mrs. Lewis. Is Liberty and Mr. Lewis’s wedding on the horizon?”Elisa answered, “No, it has to do with the Fisher succession. Mr. Patrick’s still alive and he and the other old-timers are the best witnesses to prove my grandmother was murdered by Belinda Fisher. “After learning the truth, the other Fisher family members will definitely object to Belinda continuing as the matriarch. She’s been leading them for decades but hasn’t been very kind to them. She’s been overly domineering and forceful, and many family members haven’t received the care they think they should, so they’ve been dissatisfied with her for quite some time now.“Right after Liberty went to
Half an hour later, Audrey and Serenity left the Stones’ residence to head to where they agreed to meet Corey. Both Derek and Corey came and arrived first. They waited for just a few minutes before Audrey and Serenity arrived too.“Audrey.” When Corey spotted Audrey leading Serenity over to them, she got up to greet them with a smile.“Sorry, we’ve made you wait, Corey.”Serenity greeted Corey politely too.Corey laughed it off. “We just arrived and sat down ourselves. You guys got here before we could even have a sip of water, so we really didn’t wait long.”Then, she took Serenity’s hand in a genial manner and asked about how Serenity had been recently. She even looked at Serenity’s stomach and chuckled, “It really is hard to tell that you’re pregnant while you’re wearing a coat.”“Yeah, my belly isn’t showing much.” Serenity rubbed her stomach. Then, she took Corey’s arm and walked her back to Derek with Audrey. Derek stood up to say hi with a smile too.After they all sat do
“I heard from Duncan that he and Liberty plan to register their marriage after Christmas and only hold a wedding once Liberty has more free time. Derek and I’ve been preparing gifts for them and picking a date.” The gifting would have to wait until Liberty was back in Wiltspoon to receive them. Now, she was so busy that even her son had been left to Serenity to help take care of. Ever since she left for Jensburg, she had not been back to Wiltspoon. It was always Duncan bringing Sonny to Jensburg to visit. Naturally, their wedding would not be held that soon.“Liberty was even thinking of not holding a wedding, saying that it doesn’t matter because it’s her second marriage. That won’t do. We can’t deprive her of anything. Not only do we have to hold a wedding, we have to hold an extravagant one for her.” Corey did not want to deprive both Liberty and her son of a celebration.Of her four sons, when the first three got married, they each held grand weddings. Now that it was her youn
Audrey and Serenity exchanged a glance.“If nobody has any objections, Seren and I can rest assured, then. It wasn’t easy for Liberty and Duncan to come this far and we should support them no matter their choices.” Audrey smiled and added, “I heard from Liberty that she’ll be registering her marriage with Duncan first, maybe before Christmas, maybe after. She’s just so busy, she’ll only be able to get back on Christmas Day itself. She’s got no time for anything else when she’s swarmed. Even Sonny isn’t going to visit her for his winter break. He said he wanted to visit FC Manor instead.”Corey laughed. “I know. I was even thinking of Sonny staying with me during the winter break so that Seren could go to work undisturbed. The closer it gets to the holidays, the busier it gets. Seren’s vegetable farms must provide huge amounts of fresh produce every day, don't they?”Serenity hummed in agreement. “We’re almost unable to keep up with the demand.”“That’s a good thing! It means your b
After marrying Zachary, he prepared even more snacks for her, especially after she got pregnant. Zachary always worried that she and their baby were going hungry and would check if there were enough snacks in her car every day.He grew increasingly attentive and considerate toward her, but at the same time, more naggy. Still, she enjoyed having the attention of a handsome man and felt a tingly warmth in her heart. Out of anyone she could have married, she married Zachary. She really had married the right person.“Why don’t we get two boxes to go? It’ll take some time for us to reach Wildridge Manor from the city.” The three of them were worried Serenity would get hungry on the way there.After a moment of thought, she gave in and went with their suggestion, mainly to put them at ease. On their way out, the quartet bumped into Carrie in her guise as Mrs. Longbottom. With her were the two Longbottom family bodyguards, as always.“Mrs. York.” When Carrie spotted Serenity, she greeted
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
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