“Dad, Mom.” Caroline walked in and greeted her parents.Hunter looked at Caroline as if she was his savior when he saw her walk in. He hurriedly said, “Caroline, hurry and persuade your mother. She’s refusing to eat anything. You have to eat to have the strength to deal with whatever the issue is.” He wore a heartbroken expression.“That’s right. Caroline, hurry up and persuade Mom. She doesn’t want to eat anything,” Adrian and the rest echoed.However, Adrian did feel a little guilty upon seeing Caroline because of his scheme to get Liberty into an accident. He worried that she knew and would tattle on him to Belinda.Before Caroline could even sit down and speak, Belinda stood up and said seriously, “Caroline, come upstairs with me. The rest of you aren’t allowed to disturb us in the study without my permission.”Then, Belinda left her concerned husband and sons behind to go upstairs, with Caroline following her. Hunter looked at her hesitatingly, wanting to say something, but C
On the surface, they were on the same side. Belinda looked at her daughter silently. This was her biological daughter, the baby she had carried for nine months. She had four children in total. The first three were all sons. It could not be said that she did not love her sons. After all, they were all her babies. She had carried them in her womb for nine months each—how could she not love them?With the Fisher family rules as they were, however, they made it so that she preferred her daughter and doted on her more. When she was pregnant with Caroline, she just knew she was pregnant with a baby girl because the symptoms of her pregnancy were different compared to her three earlier pregnancies. Later on, her doctor did a scan and proved her right.By the time she gave birth to the daughter she wished for so dearly, she was considered to be of advanced maternal age. She planned to tie her tubes afterward, not wanting to have another child. One daughter was enough. That way, the same trag
“You can be honest, Mom. Regardless of whether we share the same goal, you can confide in me anytime.”Belinda pressed her lips together. She put on a self-deprecating smile and said, “You sound as if it makes you unhappy to be my daughter. Would you not have chosen me to be your mom if you were given a choice?”Caroline said, “We can’t choose our parents.”Belinda replied, “The worst thing I’ve ever done in my life is connected to your aunts’ deaths.“I was dissatisfied and resentful. I was just as competent as they were. Why couldn’t it have been me?“The man I loved wouldn’t even spare me a glance. That’s a regret I’ll carry for the rest of my life. I might even lose my honor soon because of him.“Why is the world so unfair to me?”Belinda did not clearly state that she had killed Tiara and Alivia, but her words served as an indirect confirmation. That was why she said the worst thing she had ever done was related to her sisters’ deaths. Caroline had heard many rumors. In
Patrick would not let Tiara die in vain. He would definitely try to prove that Belinda was the one who murdered her sisters. He would also expose all her wrongdoings and ruin her reputation. Everything she had taken from Tiara by her blood-stained hands would once again return to Tiara’s bloodline.Belinda had been dissatisfied and was unwilling to accept reality. How was she inferior to Tiara? Tiara simply became the matriarch because she was born eighteen years earlier than her. “Did you ever regret your actions, Mom? Aunt Tiara practically raised you, right? She was like a mother figure to you.”Tiara had raised Belinda and Alivia. However, Tiara had lost her life to the sister she had raised and trusted so much.Belinda remained silent. She regretted it, sometimes. However, there were also times when she felt she did nothing wrong. It had always been every woman for herself. Everything Belinda had done was for her own sake. After staying quiet for some time, Beli
“I’m just putting you to sleep, Carol. I won’t take your life. I’m going to do something that you find unacceptable.“I’m sorry for embarrassing you. It must be hard being my daughter. If I didn’t do what I did in the past, everything would’ve gone smoothly for you.”Belinda wiped her tears with a piece of tissue. She sighed as she watched her sleeping daughter. She knew Caroline was outstanding. However, Caroline was torn and suffering from having a mother like her.Due to her identity, she could not do anything or tell Belinda off.She was Belinda’s daughter after all. After staring at Caroline for a few minutes, Belinda composed herself. She took Caroline’s phone and tried to contact Darren. However, a password was required to access the phone. Belinda tried multiple combinations, but they were all wrong. Therefore, she had no choice but to give up on contacting Darren through Caroline’s phone.Luckily, she was the matriarch. Before Darren was assigned to Caroline, he
His mother looked unhappy. She and Caroline might have gotten into a fight during their discussion. Did Caroline fall for one of their mother’s schemes?Adrian, startled, quickly averted his gaze. He cautiously told Belinda, “Mom, although you’re having a discussion with Caroline, you should still have your meals.”“Get lost!” Belinda roared. Adrian turned and ran away. He even fell while trying to run as fast as he could. The tray of food fell to the ground and spilled all over the floor, leaving him in a mess.The door to the study closed with a loud bang. Adrian only dared to raise his head upon hearing the door close. He glanced behind and immediately got up. He did not just leave but stayed to clean up the spilled food. After cleaning the mess, he rushed downstairs. Hunter and his two other sons were anxious after they heard the commotion upstairs. “You two. Go upstairs and see what happened.”Hunter guessed that his wife was having a fit. Since he dared not go ups
Justin and Jason exchanged glances. Their expressions changed. Caroline was their only sister. Although their mother did not treat Caroline well initially, she placed more trust in Caroline than the rest and delegated some of her responsibilities to Caroline for the past six months. They did not expect their mother to attack Caroline. Hunter said calmly, “Carol won’t die. No matter how vicious your mom is, she won’t kill Carol. I think the probability of her killing one of us is higher.”Due to the Fisher family’s rules, the matriarchs would always prioritize daughters over sons.Their successors were more important than their own lives.Since Celine was dead, Belinda would not kill Caroline no matter how angry or evil she was. “Why is Caroline unconscious then?”Adrian did not want Caroline dead. It was not out of love for his sister but more of sympathy. If Belinda were even targeting Caroline, Hunter and his sons would have to live in constant fear. After thinking
“Do you know anything, Dad? Mom didn’t even go to the company after returning from her trip. She has constantly been in a bad mood and doesn’t eat her meals. It’s just been a day, but she’s going to… What on earth happened?”“That’s right, Dad. You should tell us everything you’ve been hiding so we can be prepared for what’s about to come.”Justin agreed with Jason. Even Adrian did not know what was going on. He only knew that his mother was in a foul mood. She also looked like she was in a rush. None of them knew what had happened exactly. Although their father had no power, he could be hiding things from them as he had been married to their mother for decades. After a moment of silence, Hunter said, “It’s better if you don’t know anything. Anyway, I’m the only one who won’t put you all in harm’s way. Just listen to me. Pack all your valuables and take your wives and children to the Clark family as soon as possible.“I built a house back in my hometown. It has five floors
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