Belinda never thought the truth of what she had done decades ago would be exposed one day. She also did not expect her nieces to survive and thrive even after getting disconnected from the Fishers’ support. They were able to marry into wealthy families and obtain the support of many other influential families. The fortunate ones would always be blessed. “So why are you here, Madam Fisher?”Clive asked after seeing Belinda remain silent. Belinda met Liberty’s hostile gaze. She thought Liberty had traces of Tiara’s spirit in her. Was she bound to live under Tiara’s shadows her entire life?“Will you be scared if I say that I’m here to kill you, Liberty?”Liberty replied honestly, “Of course. Who isn’t afraid of dying? Don’t you fear death as well?“However, I know you don’t like doing things that aren’t beneficial. Even if you want to kill me now, you’re scared that the people backing me will kill everyone you care about.“You’re trying to eliminate all of us in one go.”
Liberty was furious after listening to Belinda. Clive gave her a comforting glance to calm her fury. Belinda was angering them on purpose. The more riled up they were, the happier she would be. She could only agitate them with words since she had yet to have a flawless plan to eliminate them. “We’re looking forward to seeing if you can put your words into action,” said Clive. “You can’t even handle the mess happening in the Fisher family. I don’t know how you’ve been managing the Fisher family all these years.“Other families have only been growing stronger. The country aside, they can at least maintain their influence in their respective cities. Meanwhile, look at the Fishers’ status in Jensburg now.”Clive was mocking Belinda’s capability on purpose. She may have been able to rile them up, but they could do the same to her. “Look at Serenity’s in-laws. The York family has always been a dominant force in Wiltspoon. While the Stone family can’t surpass them, we mainta
“Take care and goodbye.”Clive and Liberty spoke almost simultaneously. Belinda, who had reached the door, stopped in her tracks and turned to glare at Liberty. She sneered, “Remember that this is Jensburg. The Fisher family is still stronger than you here.”Liberty smiled and admitted. “I didn’t say that the Fisher family is weaker than me. That would hurt your pride too much.“I’ve only been in Jensburg for a few months. If you’re worse than I am, then you probably have to bang your head on the wall. If you’re going to do it, don’t do it in my company and dirty my place.”Belinda had the urge to kill them both right away. However, she held herself back. She was already seventy years old and had enough self-restraint.Belinda opened the office door with her head held high, looking like a rooster that had won a fight. In reality, however, she was a defeated rooster who was simply pretending that everything was fine. “Madam Fisher.”Her bodyguards quickly followed after he
Liberty agreed. “I believe things will only get better for Seren and I.”Herself aside, Serenity had been living a happy life since she got married to Zachary. Serenity treated Liberty well too. “You must be tired after rushing over last night, Clive. Go to the hotel and rest. I don’t think Madam Fisher will do anything to us for now.”Liberty told Clive to head to the hotel for a rest. “Although Madam Fisher wants to kill me, there are still consequences she has to consider. More importantly, she’s probably more ambitious and wants to eliminate all of us at the same time.”Liberty had grasped Belinda’s thoughts well. Clive indeed felt the fatigue from traveling. He said, “Okay. I’ll take a short break at the hotel. Call me if anything happens.”“I will.”Not long after Clive left, Hayden arrived. Liberty’s secretary informed her of Hayden’s arrival. She was about to receive Hayden when a dashing figure was already standing before the office door when she opened it.“
Darren said with a serious face, “Ms. Caroline is your daughter.”Belinda ordered coldly, “Let go, Darren. Don’t forget that I’m still the matriarch. You have to listen to me.”“My only mission has been to protect Ms. Caroline from the moment I was assigned to her. I’ll be loyal to her and follow her instructions for the rest of my life. This is our responsibility as assistants.“We only have one master.“My master is Ms. Caroline, not you. My task is to protect her, and not allow anyone to hurt her, including you.”Belinda was enraged. Indeed, Darren only needed to be loyal to and serve Caroline since he was assigned to her. Even she, the reigning matriarch, was not his master. She had no right to order him to do anything. Of course, he would stop her from hurting Caroline. Caroline told Darren softly, “Let go of my mom, Darren. It’s fine if she wants to vent her anger on me. I’m her daughter.”She was the one who told Darren to share information with Liberty and messed
“I’ve gone through many obstacles throughout my life. My principles and personality are already not going anywhere. I can’t change myself to suit your criteria.”Belinda said icily, “Are you trying to guilt trip me?”Caroline laughed. “I wouldn’t dare. Besides, will you feel guilty even if that was my intention? Do you still have a heart?”After she spoke, Belinda slapped her other cheek. Both sides of Caroline’s face were swollen. More blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.“Ms. Caroline!” Darren exclaimed. He could not hold himself back anymore. If Belinda hit Caroline again, he would probably throw her out of the room. Caroline was the person he had to protect this lifetime. How could he let Belinda hurt her over and over again?Belinda glanced at Darren. “Get out, Darren. This is between Caroline and I. It has nothing to do with you.”She was worried that Darren would chase her out. Darren stayed still. Caroline tried to sit up. Darren quickly helped her u
Caroline knew Darren was worried about her. She told him to go out and even reassured him, “Don’t worry. My mom won’t take my life. She gave birth to me. I ought to be slapped for doing something that ruined her plans.”Caroline felt Belinda did not kill her because they were tied by blood. Darren glanced at Belinda before looking at Caroline’s swollen face. He walked out in silence. He asked a nurse for some ice and told Caroline to apply it on her face. She accepted the ice pack and said, “I’ll use it. You can leave us now.”Darren went out unwillingly. Only Belinda and Caroline were in the room. Caroline put the ice pack on her face and said, “You must be tired from standing. You can grab a chair and sit down.”Belinda glared at her before pulling a chair over. “Can you not slap my face the next time you want to hit me? I’m not pretty to begin with. Now that my face is swollen, I look worse. I don’t even have a boyfriend yet. If I can’t get married and have a daught
Belinda said sternly, “Even if I didn’t obtain my position through legitimate ways, you becoming the next matriarch is justified.“If that position returns to Tiara’s descendants, won’t my efforts for the past decades become a joke? I’ll lose so much.”Belinda touched her daughter’s swollen face and sighed. “Carol, everything I do is for your sake. I want you to inherit everything the family owns.”Caroline stared at Belinda. She believed that her mother wanted to leave everything to her.However, the family did not belong to her mother alone. Belinda wanted to own everything that belonged to the family. She had been trying to remove some of the family rules and her action had garnered dissatisfaction from several family members. Caroline had noticed this since her return.Belinda’s ultimate goal was to take everything the Fishers had for her core family and deny it to the rest of the family. How could the others support her when their rights were being violated?Belinda
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