“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
If the young ones refused to work, then they deserved to go hungry. It would be better to cancel their living allowance. Only by losing the source of money they were so dependent on would they start looking for jobs and become self-reliant. By doing so, more capable youths would emerge as well. On the other hand, the benefits given to the elderly could stay. “Many useless people in the family rely on us to earn money and provide for them. I want to change this. I want to make this family business belong to us only, but I need your cooperation.“Carol, I’ve sacrificed a lot to become the matriarch and have dedicated decades of effort. Although my abilities are limited, and I couldn’t lead the family back to its prime, I want to centralize our power and benefits so the elders can’t overstep the matriarch’s authority.“We’ll also silence those who dare to oppose us. I’ve done so many evil deeds to achieve what I have today. I’d rather die than hand everything over to Tiara’s descend
She poked Caroline’s forehead with her finger and scolded, “What’s in your head? Why are you so stubborn and uncompromising?“Why do you care about the past? I, your mom, am the one managing the Fisher family now. It’s not your Aunt Tiara who died decades ago. The generations have changed.“Even in the past, there would be a bloodbath whenever a new king ascended the throne.Caroline remained silent.No matter what her mother said, she would never find her mother’s actions acceptable.More importantly, she wanted to withdraw from the battle for the position of matriarch. With her abilities, she felt she could build her own empire.It would also be legitimate; no one could criticize her behind her back. Belinda knew she had been wasting her breath since Caroline was quiet. Her daughter’s principles were set and her mind unchangeable.After taking a few deep breaths, Belinda gave up on persuading Caroline.“If you aren’t willing to do anything, then I’ll do it. If I die one d
“Darren, let’s leave Jensburg after everything ends, okay?“Let’s leave all the mess behind. We don’t have to go too far as long as it’s away from the city center.”Caroline remembered that her company was still in Jensburg but not the city center. She had spent years getting her company going. She had no thoughts of relocating it yet. Resettling the company in a new city and environment meant starting anew, which would hinder its development.Darren replied affectionately, “I’ll leave with you anytime you want. I’ve said that I belong to you in this lifetime.”Whether for personal or official reasons, his body and heart could only belong to Caroline. She raised her head to look at him. She saw his love for her in his eyes. Caroline suddenly found Darren pretty handsome. Although he could not compare to Hayden or the York brothers, he was above average in terms of looks.He was more than enough for her. “Darren, am I marrying into your family? Or will it be the other w
“Don’t sleep just yet. Place an ice pack on your face before you do. It is so red and swollen. I can do it for you while you’re asleep, but it’ll affect your rest.”Darren knew Caroline was embarrassed. He kissed her swollen face lightly and said, “I’m yours forever. Why are you embarrassed by just a kiss?”“Who said I was? I’m thick-skinned. I’m not embarrassed at all. Besides, you said that you’re mine. So what if I kissed you? Even if I decide to have sex with you, you can’t say no.”Caroline refused to admit that she was embarrassed.Darren held the ice pack to her face. He smiled at what she said. “You’re welcome to have sex with me anytime you want. However, it’s best if you can inform me ahead of time so I can bathe and be squeaky clean for you.”Caroline was speechless.“You should’ve tried to dodge Madam Fisher’s blows a little. Both cheeks are swollen.”After a short silence, Caroline said, “I betrayed her first. She has the right to get angry. Even if I think I’ve d
All because she wanted to shorten her business trip. Hence, Isabella worked overtime every day and only returned to the hotel at midnight. She would also go to work at her usual time the next day.Being sleep-deprived, she struggled to stay focused and relied on several cups of coffee to keep herself going.Isabella got up and went to the window. She observed the world outside. The weather was cold. The people walking on the streets seemed to be in a hurry, and there were not many people outside. Austin had mentioned that the streets in Wiltspoon were always crowded regardless of the time of the day. The city was only quiet and less crowded between Christmas and New Year’s Day due to folks from out of town returning homes.Once the week was over, Wiltspoon would be back bustling as city dwellers made their way back.Luckily, Isabella had Austin preparing her three meals every day. No matter how busy she was, she would always be able to eat something when mealtimes came arou
“If Mom said she would create an opportunity for you to get with the king, would you really believe her? It’s just talk—nothing actually happened.” Trenton could not resist poking Carrie’s forehead a few times. “Carrie, can you please come back to earth? In your current state, forget about finding a great guy like Callum—even a regular, decent guy would be turned off by you.”Carrie swatted away her brother’s fingers, irritated and embarrassed. “Am I really that bad? I’m young, beautiful, have a great figure, and a dignified heiress. If the monarchy still existed, I could marry the king and be his queen without a problem.”“Carrie, you have sky-high ambitions, but be careful, don’t fly too close to the sun and end up like Icarus.”As soon as he said that, Trenton was met with a smack from his sister.“Is there a brother who curses his own sister like that? What do you mean by that? I’m destined to have the princess life. I’ll be fine.”However, deep down, she was still worried bec
Camryn was right—he was just too soft-hearted. If he were as ruthless as her, Carrie would have found a job long ago after running out of money.To encourage Carrie to become independent, Trenton decided that after Christmas, he would stop giving her living expenses. He would also tell their parents during his visit to prison that Carrie was truly hopeless.“Trenton, you keep siding with her, and one day you'll regret it. She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing who has deceived who knows how many people. Do you really think she cares about you? She just wants to win your complete trust to take everything that belongs to you for herself. By driving us out of our home, she’s not only seeking revenge on Mom and Dad but also on us—especially you. She’s just pretending to be nice to you to sow discord between us siblings.”“Carrie!” Trenton said seriously, “Don’t talk about Camryn like that. She’s not that kind of person. I believe in her, one hundred percent.”Carrie was so furious she wanted
“Alright, alright, I can't win with the two of you against one,” Carrie sulked. “Give me money to spend. I'm out of money.”She reached out her hand toward Camryn, wanting her to give her money. Camryn slapped her hand away. “Even Trenton knows to take advantage of the winter break to find a part-time job and earn some pocket money. You’re perfectly capable, yet you don’t look for a job.“To put it bluntly, if you’ve gone to sweep the streets, you'd still have a source of income. I have money, but I won’t give it to you. Don’t think that just because we’re sisters—estranged, too, at that—I have an obligation to support my adult sister. I’ve said it before: if you want money to spend, earn it yourself.” With that, Camryn walked away to tend to her plants.As Christmas approached, the flower market was bustling. Every day, many people came to buy flowers, and all her employees were out delivering flowers to clients. Sometimes, when it got too busy, she even had to ask her two bodyguar
Trenton was relieved that Dalton was indebted to Camryn. That was why Dalton had been loyal to Newman Enterprise.If Newman Enterprise did not fall into Camryn’s hands, there was no doubt that Dalton would leave the company. If that happened, the company was doomed.When his parents went to prison, he was merely 18, and Carrie only knew how to spend money. Not only that, their relatives were hungry to get a share of the Newman family’s assets. He and Carrie could not have protected their family’s wealth alone.After Camryn regained her sight, she still could not strain her eyes for long hours. Therefore, Dalton remained in charge of the company.Luckily, they had Callum as well. Even if anything were to happen, Callum would not leave Newman Enterprise to fall because many of the Newman family’s assets belonged to Camryn.He would not let Camryn lose anything.“You’ve been brainwashed by Dalton after working with him. Our dad treated him well and trusted him, yet Dalton betrayed
Camryn said, “She’s just using her lack of money as an excuse to start a fight with me.“Do you really think she has no money?”Carrie had somehow become Mrs. Longbottom yet she was still hiding her identity. Camryn had not understood the entire situation yet.Nevertheless, she was certain that Carrie did not need money.After she spoke, a familiar car arrived.It was the car Carrie had always used in the past.When she returned to the Newman family’s villa after getting out of prison, she only drove that car. She could not take other cars. The cars were still parked in the garage. “Come out, Camryn.”Carrie had gotten out of the car and started shouting for Camryn.When the York family’s bodyguards saw her, they simply glanced at her and did not stop her from entering the store. They knew Camryn had always been lenient with her younger sister.Since Camryn did not give any orders to stop Carrie from entering, the bodyguards simply kept an eye on Carrie to ensure that sh
“I want to go to Spring Blossoms as Carrie,” she told the bodyguard who was driving. “Your sister’s people are keeping an eye on your apartment. She’ll get suspicious again if you head over in your outfit. Everything Mr. Longbottom arranged will go to waste,” the bodyguard reminded her.Carrie thought it over. “Okay. Let’s head home first. I’ll change my clothes and remove my makeup before heading over.”She would also check if her stand-in had damaged any of her stuff.If she did, Carrie would tell the stand-in to compensate her.The bodyguard remained silent.Once they arrived at Longbottom Villa, Carrie took off her hyper-realistic mask and removed her makeup. After changing her clothes, she returned to being Carrie and went out with her bag.Her two bodyguards did not stop her from leaving.She could do anything as long as it would not rouse Camryn and other people’s suspicions.Besides, Carrie had just gotten scolded by their boss on the phone. Although Mr. Longbottom
Mr. Longbottom thought he was not so inferior to men younger than him.More accurately, he was far superior. He had status, money, and power.Which of the younger men could be on par with him unless they came from a wealthy family?Many sons of wealthy families could not compete with him.“I can’t go over because I’m busy these days. But I do miss you too.“It’s more difficult because of the festive season. There are many events, and I have to accompany my family. My wife doesn't care about me, but her request is that I be with her during the holidays because we have to meet our friends and families. Do you understand?”Mr. Longbottom had a wife and children. Carrie knew about it. He had never hid that fact.Carrie did not know if he was close to his wife. Although he said they no longer had feelings for each other, Carrie dared not believe him because he had never let other women take his wife’s place.He also never allowed other women to become pregnant with his children.Mr
Carrie thought she had matured since she could figure out that much. In the past, she would not have understood a thing. Love was about accepting everything about someone. Most people could tolerate their partner’s shortcomings when they were deeply in love. However, without love, even a person’s strength would seem like a fault. Carrie smiled. “Mr. York is a workaholic. Serenity must’ve gotten the habit from him and turned into one herself. I can’t believe she’s working so hard even though she’s pregnant.”“She’s still in the early stages of pregnancy. Going to work is fine.”“Do you need anything else, Mrs. Longbottom?” Jasmine asked.“No. I shall take my leave now, Mrs. Bucham.”Jasmine was on guard and unwilling to reveal much about Serenity. Therefore, it would be better for Carrie to leave. She was not close to Serenity and her friends yet. “Bye, Mrs. Longbottom.”Jasmine saw Carrie out and watched as she got into her car.Once Carrie got far enough from the booksto
Mr. Longbottom had been surprised by her question. He told her coldly that she should refrain from asking unnecessary questions.One who knew too much would not live long. Carrie got intimidated and dared not ask another question. Although she got more curious, she did not try to gather more information for fear Mr. Longbottom would choke her again if he found out. “Nothing. I just asked because I haven’t seen her in a while.”Of course, Carrie could not reveal that she was looking for Serenity. Jasmine would get suspicious if she did. No one around Serenity was a fool. “Seren is busy with work. I rarely see her these days,” Jasmine said.Carrie knew it was a lie. She was aware that Serenity's closest friends did not trust her yet. It made her feel defeated. It had been months since Mr. Longbottom found her and asked her to approach Serenity. Despite her efforts, she still had not obtained Serenity’s trust, let alone become her friend.However, Jasmine and Serenity go