“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
Grandma May was not offended by the complaints and said, “Travel is so convenient now with planes and high-speed trains everywhere. You could start the morning in Wiltspoon but be in another country by noon. Why worry about distance? As long as the person is good and suitable for them, that’s what matters.“You guys must be so gleeful, but still have the cheek to complain about how far away the partners I chose for them are. If you had to worry about their marriages, you’d have gray hair all over your head too. There’s no way you would still be as carefree and easygoing as you are now.”Grandma May touched her white hair and added, “It’s precisely because I worry about their marriages that I’ve gotten all this gray hair.”Tania looked at her mother-in-law’s white hair and teased, “Mom, you could totally dye it black. You take such good care of yourself, you look like someone just over sixty. If you dyed it black, you’d look even younger.”“I’m not going to dye it. I need to face re
Tania smiled, “Exactly, Mom, at your age, you shouldn’t be gallivanting everywhere. It makes the rest of us worry.”Grandma May pretended to glare at her daughter-in-law. “What are you butting in for? I’m not gallivanting. Aren’t I staying put at home right now? I didn’t even go with Seren to the Johnsons’ to see Clo-clo.”Tania mercilessly exposed her mother-in-law’s lie. “Isn’t that because every time you go over, you always get tempted to kidnap the kids, so the Johnsons’ have refused to let you visit them?”Grandma May’s face turned red with embarrassment. Camryn could not help but let out a tinkling laugh.“Camryn, come out for a walk with Nana so we can relax. Your Aunt Tania’s upset me. You didn’t give me a granddaughter yourself. How could you complain about me liking others’ granddaughters?”Tania covered her mouth and laughed, “Mom, you didn’t have a daughter yourself. How can you blame me? It’s not that we didn’t want to give you a granddaughter—it's York's luck that’s
It was just a topic to chat about with her granddaughter-in-law.“I think they’re the same person. They even hired a fake to pretend to be Carrie, and had Mrs. Longbottom appear before me right afterward to dispel my doubts. Their target seems to be Serenity, but since I know Carrie the best, they had no choice but to involve me.”Serenity would only dispel her skepticism if Camryn’s suspicions were dispelled seeing that they were biological sisters.“I just wanted to talk to Serenity and analyze things. It feels like they have a huge plot going on behind the scenes, but since they’re not in a hurry, we don’t need to rush either. So, I came over again this morning, but I didn’t expect Serenity had already left.” Camryn was envious. “I want to go on holiday with a kid too, but unfortunately, I don’t have a nephew.”She had a sister, but Carrie was unmarried and childless, so she did not have a nephew yet. However, even if Carrie married and had children in the future, she probably
“Let’s have a seat there and a nice chat.”Grandma May pointed at a summer house nearby. Camryn agreed and walked toward the summer house with her. Once seated, Grandma May held Camryn’s hand and said lovingly, “You must feel a lot of pressure being a missus of the York family, right? There’ll always be people watching what you do. “Not many people will praise you when you do well, but countless people will criticize you for a single mistake.“If your privacy isn’t secure, some people can easily find out what you’re doing and make up stories. That’ll bring you all fame, certainly, but a lot of unnecessary trouble as well.”Camryn remained silent for a moment before saying, “I’m doing fine, Nana. I did feel stressed at first, but that was because I was still blind. I kept thinking I didn’t deserve Callum.“Although I seemed unaffected by what others said about me behind my back, I felt depressed.“It was the same as how Serenity was anxious and tense when she could not get pr
Aunt Evelyn had also advised Camryn to accept Callum if she truly loved him and that she would regret it if she let him slip past. Every one of the York men received the same education and was equally loyal and devoted to their partners. Once they fell in love, it would be for a lifetime.“I know. Our family is just too famous.”Grandma May patted the back of Camryn’s hand. Camryn smiled and said, “That was in the past, Nana. I don’t feel any pressure or inferiority now. I used to think I was just lucky when Callum chose me.“Now I realize I must’ve had some qualities that made you choose me for Callum.“You only gave him a candidate, and it was up to him to decide if he wanted to pursue me. Ultimately, he chose to take action. He decided to learn more about me and develop a relationship with me. After a year, I believe that he truly loves me.“Therefore, I didn’t only regain my confidence after being able to see again but also because I think I’m good enough for Callum.“I
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