The butler sighed. Even Mr. Clark did not have such freedom, and he was Madam Fisher’s husband. However, her madam trusted Mr. Gordon. He was her lifelong assistant, after all. On the other hand, Mr. Clark had lost his status because of his affair. If he and Madam Fisher did not have children or grandchildren, they would have gotten a divorce. After Mr. Gordon was upstairs, he went straight for the study and knocked on the door. He only entered after obtaining Belinda’s permission. Belinda was practicing calligraphy. Mr. Gordon went to her side and took a look.“What do you think?”“You aren’t focused, and that’s reflected in your handwriting. You should stop and not waste any more ink.”Mr. Gordon was the only person who dared to speak to Belinda without filters. What he said was the truth. Belinda was feeling uneasy. She could not focus, so how could she be in the mood for calligraphy?Her writing was far from pretty. It was a massive drop in quality compared to w
It was nine o’clock at night in Wiltspoon. After ending the video call with Liberty, Serenity said to Sonny, “Are you all packed? Don’t forget to bring your present for Laurence.”Sonny replied, “Yeah, everything’s packed. I’m just bringing some toys and a gift for Laurence. I might forget to bring myself, but I’d never forget that.”Serenity laughed. “If you forget to bring even yourself, how will you give Laurence his gift?”Sonny laughed sheepishly. Serenity picked him up and placed him on the bed. “Your Uncle Zak is on a work trip, so tonight you’ll sleep with me. First thing tomorrow morning after breakfast, we’ll head to your Uncle Ben’s place. I told you to go with the elders, but you didn’t want to. They like you so much, they’d definitely take good care of you.”Sonny lay back on the bed, resting his head on Serenity’s thigh, and said, “They might like me a lot, but I don’t know them that well and you and Mom always say that I shouldn’t cluelessly follow anyone other than
Memories from before the age of three often disappear, but that scene was so traumatic for Sonny that he could never forget it. After the incident, he also had nightmares for a long time. He had also never forgotten the scene of his mother getting injured and covered in blood because she saved him."I only trust Mom, Aunt Ser, Uncle Zak, and Dunc," Sonny said seriously. "I can't trust my dad and the others."The little boy understood everything clearly.Serenity gently touched his little face, her gaze soft. "You are your mom's treasure. No matter what happens, I’ll never let you two be separated. Sonny, your mom has had a hard time, so when you grow up, you should take good care of her.""I will, Aunt Ser. When I grow up, I want to earn lots and lots of money to buy a big house and a new car for Mom so Mom doesn't have to work so hard, and also buy a big house for you."In Sonny's eyes, his mother worked so hard just to make money. So when he grew up, he wanted to work hard and e
“I’ll answer it.” Sonny chose to answer his father's call in the end. Serenity handed him the phone, letting him take the call. If she could avoid talking to Hank, she would.“Dad,” Sonny greeted.Hank responded with a smile that could be heard through his voice, “Sonny, still awake?”“If I were asleep, I wouldn’t be able to answer Dad’s call. Dad, have you finished work? It still sounds quite noisy over there.”Hank replied, “I’m not done yet, but I could get off work if I want to. Is your Aunt Ser there?”“Yes. Are you looking for her?”“Sonny, do you want to come over and stay for a few days? You’re on winter break now, so why not stay over for a couple of days? Your grandparents miss you.”Hank made this call to discuss with Serenity the possibility of having Sonny stay with the Browns for a few days. It was now the winter holidays and his parents missed their grandson. Chelsea had sent Lucas over, but it was too boring for Lucas as he was alone, so his parents thought it would be
Hank only had one son—Sonny—and it would remain that way in this life. The fact that the child still acknowledged him as his father and though they were not very close, it was some form of comfort.After ending the call, Sonny handed the phone to Serenity and said, “Dad wanted to have me stay with him for a few days, but I refused. We’re going to play with Laurence tomorrow. I really don’t want to go back and play with Lucas. He always bullies me. But I’m not afraid of Lucas anymore because I’ve learned self-defense.”Even though he was not particularly talented at self-defense, with time and practice, he had become stronger. His coach said that if he persisted for several years or even a decade, he would have the ability to protect himself. Sonny was not ambitious; he just wanted to be as capable as his Aunt Ser.Serenity hummed in acknowledgment. “If you don’t want to go back, then don’t.” She patted Sonny’s head and said gently, “It’s late now. Go to sleep. We’re leaving early to
“We’re not biased toward Lucas. Sonny is our only grandson through you, and we love him too. In the past, we were the ones who raised Lucas, so naturally, we were closer to him and ended up favoring him. That won’t happen again,” Olivia quickly assured. She knew Hank harbored grievances against them. He resented them for always favoring Chelsea. One particular incident was when Chelsea tried to make Serenity pay for an expensive dinner for her family, but naturally failed, and she called Olivia and asked for money. Not realizing Chelsea was trying to take advantage of her, she sent the money. It was only later that Sonny revealed what had happened.When Hank found out, he was furious and told them that if they continued to favor Chelsea, they would have to move in with her, and he would stop giving them financial support. He was now making a modest income from driving. It was much less than his previously high salary, and they could no longer afford to keep sending Chelsea money.“
“I’ll be back for Christmas with Aunt Ser. Uncle Zak said he’ll pick us up when he gets back from his business trip,” Sonny said.Tania smiled and said, “So we won’t see each other for more than ten days.”She drew Sonny close again, hugged him, and then kissed him on the cheek. “Have fun and when you come back, tell Grandma all about the games you played with Laurence, where you went, and what delicious food you had. And bring some souvenirs back from Annenburg for us.”If not for her worry that Serenity might discover they were hiding the situation in Jensburg, Tania would be reluctant to let Sonny leave for FC Manor so soon. Usually, Sonny would only come over for a day or two on weekends, and weekdays, he had to attend preschool, so they missed him a lot. Now it was the winter holidays, but he wanted to see his friend instead.“Seren, since you’re going out to have fun, just enjoy yourself and don’t worry about us at home,” Tania advised her daughter-in-law.Grandma May agreed
After Serenity and Sonny left, Tania called Audrey, who quickly answered.“Has Seren left?” Audrey asked.“She just did. I watched her and Sonny board the private helicopter, and I saw the helicopter take off and fly away before I called you. She won’t be able to hear our conversation unless she has super-hearing,” Tania replied.“Alright, thank you for letting me know.”“No need to be so formal—we’re family now. We all have the same goal,” Tania said politely.Audrey laughed, “You’re very polite too. Once this matter is settled, let’s have a meal together. My treat.”Although both were among the most esteemed ladies in Wiltspoon, they had not shared a meal yet. Even after Serenity married into the York family and they became in-laws, the two leading ladies had never grabbed a meal together. They were not as close as Tania’s ties with Mrs. Bucham and Mrs. Lewis. However, the Buchams and the Lewises had always been friendly with the Yorks, so it was natural that Tania was close to
Tony Longbottom was the only person who would put on such a parade. The big shots in Satbury usually had entourages of their own, but none would put on a spectacle as big as Tony would.As they departed in their car, Tony’s gracious demeanor utterly shattered.His face twisted into an ugly, cruel expression as he said, “I’ve never been treated like this before, even when the legitimate branch of the family still lived, and those two ignorant little girls actually refused to see me multiple times.”Manny was very angry too and he said, “Pops, since they refuse to go about this the easy way, we’ll have to show them the hard way. We can approach it from other angles, and once they’re completely out of business and they have nowhere else to turn to, they’ll be at our mercy.“Won’t they have to do as we please then? I want to marry them, they’ll have to marry me, and if I don’t, I’ll just make them my mistresses. Don’t the O’Connors have plenty of daughters? I’ll fuck every one of them
“Isabella O’Connor is so outstanding, so why are you asking me to go for Tati O’Connor instead?” Manny said under his breath in puzzlement.He had seen photos of the two ladies and Isabella’s appearance was more striking. She had a cold and aloof aura that easily triggered his desire to conquer her, and after just a few glances, he was captivated.If it were up to him, Manny would choose Isabella.Tony looked at his son, smiled, and said, “You can’t control her. Of course, if you manage to make her fall for you, we can talk about switching. But for now, focus on Tati O’Connor.”Tati was also beautiful. However, she did not have Isabella’s cold demeanor. She seemed much gentler, like she smiled often.“Marrying Tati O’Connor would be a big advantage for both you and our family.”Manny thought for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “Got it, Dad.”Manny’s good looks, wealth, honeyed tongue, and generosity toward girls made him good at winning them over. Pursuing a rich youn
After testing the O’Connor sisters and realizing they were not like other women, Mr. Longbottom thought of having his son marry Tati.He knew that his son would not be able to handle or control Isabella, so he set his sights on Tati. Tati probably did not realize she was considered an easy target. Most people underestimated her because she had always kept a low profile.At that moment, a young man got out from the other side of the Rolls-Royce. He resembled Mr. Longbottom. Indeed, he was Mr. Longbotton’s eldest son, Manny.“Dad.”Manny went to his father’s side and glanced at the building before him. He asked, “Aren’t we driving inside?”In Havenmill, Manny could do whatever he wished because his father was the interim head of the Longbottom family. While he had no respect for ordinary people at all, he was clever enough not to offend people he should not.He never parked his car outside the places he wanted to go and simply drove his car through the gates. However, Manny
Meanwhile in Satbury, a few luxury cars stopped at the entrance of Costa Corporation. The door of the first car, a Rolls-Royce, opened. A bodyguard came out of the car.He waited for his boss, who was sitting in the backseat to exit.Mr. Longbottom got out of the car. Although he was over fifty years old, he looked like he was in his forties as he maintained his appearance well.He wore a white tailored suit with a tie, which made him look more youthful.The bodyguards in the other cars alighted as well.They quickly stood behind Mr. Longbottom to protect him. It was also his display of power.A few bodyguards grabbed many gift boxes from the trunks. Mr. Longbottom stood in front of the company and raised his head to look at the sixty-eight-storey office building. It was a symbol of the O’Connor family’s abilities.Costa Corporation was not the family’s only business. They were involved in many industries and were successful in all of them.The O’Connors were wealthy and powe
Jasmine added, “In some cases, the divorced women can get married to a better man, while the divorced men can’t even find a new wife. There are many single men now.“Isn’t there a saying nowadays that men who have wives are extremely lucky?”When Jasmine was at the bookstore, she would also visit the neighboring stores to listen to juicy gossip. Many of the store owners were not locals and they had many stories to tell. Someone said there was an evil mother-in-law in a rural area who looked down on her daughter-in-law. She would egg her son on to abuse his wife and get a divorce. She would also tell her son that she could find a better and younger wife for him. However, once the divorce went through, news of the mother-in-law’s evil deeds and the son’s domestic abuse spread far and wide. Who would dare marry off their daughters to a man like that?Besides, holding another wedding would require a lot of money. The cost of a wedding had increased a lot compared to the past.Whe
“Sonny’s fine. He has recovered. You want to get Sonny from school?”After thinking about it, Serenity agreed and said, “Okay. I’ll message Sonny’s teacher later to tell her you’ll be taking him.”“Okay, Serenity. Thank you.”Hank was thankful that Serenity did not make things difficult for him. Serenity and Liberty had great character. Liberty had a new relationship and already let go of her resentment for Hank. She could coexist with him peacefully. On the other hand, Serenity still held grudges against Hank. However, since he and Liberty had divorced, he could no longer hurt her. He was also Sonny’s father. Serenity was willing to tolerate him for Sonny’s sake. Therefore, she always said yes whenever Hank requested to meet his son. “You’ll be taking Sonny out to eat after picking him up, right? Remember not to let him eat too much fried food, especially fried chicken and fries. He’ll get a sore throat.“He got a fever that day due to a throat inflammation.”“Got it. I’ll
“Josh was very mischievous when he was young. I’d never think he could be that naughty until I heard my mother-in-law telling me stories from his younger days.”Jasmine had always been under the impression that Josh was gentlemanly and more approachable than Zachary.After their marriage, he treated her well and doted on her a lot.Jasmine did not have to worry about a thing because she could always turn to Josh for help.However, such a man used to be a troublemaker when he was younger. He would climb every wall he saw and give his parents terrible headaches.“Nana brought her daughters-in-law out to gallivant,” Serenity said as she stared at her phone.She just saw Grandma May’s post on Instagram. It was a video of her with Rosella and Sasha. “Nana didn’t even tell me that she was heading out,” Serenity muttered and caressed her bump. She sighed. “I can only travel after this baby is born. Zachary and I haven’t even gone on our honeymoon. He’ll make it up to me after I give
Meanwhile, Serenity, Elisa, and Jasmine were in the office of their fresh produce company.However, the only person working was Elisa.The two pregnant women were simply there to watch her and pass the time.“Has Dylan’s livestream of him eating chili peppers ended?”Jasmine had just returned from the bathroom. She got curious when she saw her two friends no longer watching their phones.“It ended long ago. Imogen stopped him before it even got to fifteen minutes. She got soft-hearted too quickly.”Serenity was eating a plate of fruits. She said, “The person who falls in love first will always give in quickly.”“Dylan can’t eat spicy food. Eating chili peppers for more than ten minutes is enough. He might really die from the heat if he continues.”Elisa smiled and said, “Well, it’s not as if Dylan isn’t in love too. At least he was willing to eat hot chili peppers for Imogen. He even ate them for over ten minutes. From the livestream, it seemed like the chili peppers Layla had
Grandma May had the next two months all planned out.She would gallivant to other places for two months.Half a month after her return, she would become a great-grandmother. Rosella had no opinions. She would simply follow her mother-in-law’s plans.She left and returned to her place to pack her luggage. However, she met Sasha on the way back. When Sasha asked what she was up to, she told Sasha about the plan. Sasha ended up wanting to tag along.Just as Grandma May was ready to leave with Rosella and Sasha, Tania returned home. Upon seeing her mother-in-law taking her two sisters-in-law to roam, Tania held Grandma May’s hand and insisted on going with them.Grandma May was speechless. She glanced at Rosella, who smiled sheepishly.Ultimately, Grandma May and her three daughters-in-law left Wildridge Manor together.When her sons returned home and realized their wives had been “kidnapped” by their mother, they were utterly dumbfounded.Liam immediately called Zachary and co