Austin replied, “Okay. I shall do as you ask so long as you don’t judge my table manners.”“You look cultivated and gentlemanly. Although I haven’t dined with you, I guess your table manners aren’t that terrible.”Austin smiled. He thought, ‘As expected of my wife. She has such keen eyes.’“By the way, there’s something I want to ask.”Austin looked toward Isabella and waited for her to continue. “Do you want to go home during the holidays? It’s a long journey back to Wiltspoon from Satbury. I heard the winters in Wiltspoon aren’t cold at all.”Austin replied, “Will someone else take care of your meals if I go home? If so, I do wish to go back. My nana is old. She hopes all her grandchildren will be home for the festive season.“All of us are usually scattered in different places due to work. It’s difficult for us to gather in one place at the same time.”Austin did not lie. Isabella had investigated Austin before. She knew he had a biological brother and many cousins. The
Austin said, “Even if Louis grows up, he might not be capable enough to take over. Although you’re a woman, you’re still in the O’Connor family. Why does gender matter when you’re already competent enough?”The York family never had such thoughts. His nana had said that if all of them were capable, the eldest would be chosen as the successor. If the eldest were incompetent, she would choose the most competent one to take over. The heir did not always have to be the eldest son or grandson. Competency was valued above anything else. If a daughter were capable enough to be the successor and willing to accept the responsibility, she would be more than welcome to do so. Of course, no one would force her if she did not want to take over. Based on how much the York elders yearned for a baby girl, Austin thought that even if he were to have a niece or daughter in the future, they would not let her be the heir. They knew being the head of the family was exhausting and would not bear to
Only a handful of people knew about the younger lads of the Yorks. For example, no one in Rowan’s school knew he came from the York family and hardly anyone in high society had met him either. Grandma May had always protected their privacy before they were of age to join the workforce. She would not let any external factors disturb their lives. She would only start taking them to banquets if they did not want to further their studies and wished to work. At those banquets, they would introduce themselves to everyone as young masters of the Yorks. Whether they could leave an impression on the masses depended on their capabilities and influence in Wiltspoon. If the York brothers wished to work their way up, Grandma May would not take them to banquets and allow them to climb the social ladder themselves. Upon hearing Austin’s words, Isabella was excited. “It seems like there are many business opportunities in Wiltspoon.”“It depends on the industry. Business has been slow for
“Admiration might be the young buds of love.”Tania encouraged her son, “Treat her well and cook good food for her. Once you capture her stomach, she won’t be able to leave you, and you’ll succeed in courting her. “I don’t know how your nana chose such a picky girl for you.“I think all the candidates your nana has chosen for you boys are food lovers because she’s a food lover herself,” said Tania resignedly. Serenity, Camryn, and Hayden were food connoisseurs. Since Dylan had given up on the girl Grandma May had chosen for him, they did not know whether the mysterious girl he liked would also be a food lover. If all the York brothers married women who enjoyed eating, it would be a food haven whenever they gathered for special occasions. Tania could not help but laugh upon imagining a scene where the gourmands were gathered together. The food lovers were skilled at cooking as well. Camryn was an exception because she was blind previously and could not cook. Although she h
After a moment of silence, Austin said, “How would you have your daughter-in-law if Isabella was born into our family? If you feel bad for her, you can shower her with love after she joins the family and treat her as your daughter, just like what you’re doing with Serenity.”Austin felt his parents loved Serenity as if she were their biological daughter. Even if they did not interact much or lived with Serenity, they still got along well with her whenever she and Zachary visited them at the manor. There had been no conflicts between Tania and Serenity at all.Austin thought his parents were great in-laws. They never interfered with their son and daughter-in-law’s lives, nor would they badmouth their daughter-in-law in front of their son. They were also good at keeping their distance when needed. That was a good thing. Tania said, “I only have you and Zachary. I have no hopes of getting a daughter, and I don’t even know if I’ll get a granddaughter. Since I have two daughters-in-
Austin was not stupid. He caught on right away. He said, “Zachary hid my information. That was why Isabella couldn’t get much out of her two investigations on me.”Tania asked, “Do we have to keep a secret for you when we go over?”Austin rejected her offer without hesitation. He answered, “You don’t have to hide or reveal my identity purposely. If she finds out, then so be it. It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t find out either. The cat will be out of the bag sooner or later anyway.”“Okay.”“You mentioned that there are important guests in the manor earlier.”Tania told Austin all about Doc and his fellow masters. Austin felt sad after Tania’s update. “It’s too bad I’m on a business trip with Isabella and can’t rush back. Please put in good words for me with the elders so they have a good impression of me.”Tania smiled. “They know my sons are outstanding. They know your grandparents too. Although they don’t have a close relationship with us and are old, they were willing to hav
“Let them be, then. They’ll only be able to enjoy themselves this much today.”The old-timers would be leaving Wiltspoon tomorrow. Doc would head to FC Manor to spend the holidays with his disciple, while Patrick would remain with the Stones. On the other hand, Silver and the rest would return to their homes. After being away from home for a few days, they still concluded that nothing could beat the comfort of home. They wanted to go back. Since the year was ending, their disciples would be rushing back from different places.Although the ancients were not as lucky as Grandma May, who had many children and grandchildren, they had many disciples. When all their disciples were gathered, the atmosphere in their house would get even livelier than it had been in Wildridge Manor. Tania got up and walked out of the house. She had to welcome Audrey. When she reached the door, she saw Audrey exiting the car. “Audrey,” Tania called out. Although they had not interacted much i
Audrey and Tania were seated in the living room. Audrey asked, “Is Sonny with Old Mrs. York now?”“Yes. He’s attached to her like an accessory now. She brings him along everywhere she goes.“Seren has gone back to the office today as well. She said she had some important matters to attend to. After everything is settled, she and Sonny will head to FC Manor with Doc tomorrow.”Suddenly, Tania looked around before whispering, “Did something happen in Jensburg, Audrey?”Audrey maintained her expression. “Where did that question come from?“What happened in Jensburg? I didn’t see anything in the news.”She tried acting clueless. Tania glared at her and said, “You can fool youngsters like Seren, Audrey, but you don’t have to hide anything from me. Although I’m not as capable as you are, I’m still in charge of the York family’s internal affairs. I have my connections.“I can obtain information on anything I want to know.“Although I didn’t look into it, I find it weird that Zack
“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