After a moment of silence, Belinda continued, “She’s the successor, the next head of the Fisher family. She’s supposed to bear the responsibility of producing the next generation of heirs. If she doesn’t find a man, how is she going to have a child?“That girl actually said she could just find a man to sleep with a few times, get pregnant, and have a daughter to be the heir. She thinks she doesn’t need to marry or bring a man into the family.”Basically, Caroline only wanted a sperm donor. The younger generation had very different views compared to Belinda’s generation. Although she was the head of the family, her thoughts were still bound by the old belief that a woman must marry or bring a husband into the family. She had not adopted Caroline’s progressive views and was troubled about her marriage. Darren was not sure how to respond and just listened silently.“Darren, after you left the center, did you ever look for your own family or investigate your origins?” Belinda suddenly s
It seemed to Darren that Belinda had called him over for a chat, but it felt like she was trying to arrange a marriage between him and Caroline. However, could Belinda really dictate Caroline’s decisions? And Caroline preferred to have a man marry into the family rather than marry out of it herself. She might only be open to marriage if she was no longer the successor of the Fisher family and would not lead the family in the future.Darren guessed Belinda’s intentions from recent events, though he did not show it on his face. Both he and Caroline were watching, and Liberty’s side was also keeping an eye on things. In the end, who would come out on top?Darren was unconcerned about that. He only followed Caroline’s instructions. Whatever Caroline told him to do, he would do it. Was Belinda preparing for failure so soon? Darren did believe Belinda was likely to lose, but he certainly would not say that out loud.He was loyal to Caroline, but Belinda was still Caroline’s mother and Car
Belinda had arranged for an all-round assistant to be by her daughter’s side early on, originally believing that Caroline was a useless fool and that without a capable person, her daughter would struggle to establish authority.She never imagined that one day, she would entrust her daughter to Darren, and for life, too. If Caroline left the Fisher family, married Darren, and lived a simple life together, it would not be a bad outcome either. Both were capable individuals and as a couple, they could support each other. Their life together might even be better than it was now.Having been in the position for decades, Belinda knew well the current state of Fisher Enterprise and the family’s remaining influence. She entrusted Caroline to Darren because he came from the training center, and those who came from there had never betrayed their masters. They were loyal for life and carried out any tasks assigned, whether good or bad. Even if the family head were to die, their hearts would rem
Belinda continued, “She made me more and more disappointed with Celine, bit by bit. At work, she gradually revealed her skills and decisiveness. I realized that she had already awakened her bloodline long ago—being a Fisher by direct lineage, she was truly, naturally born to excel in business and was a strong-willed woman by nature.“Once I knew what kind of person she was, I continued scolding her for a while at work to maintain appearances and cover for her. When she had gained enough understanding of Fisher Enterprise’s operations, I began to delegate power to her. By the time everyone realized, it was already too late for them to control her.“No matter what, she is my biological daughter. I owe her. I never nursed her, never held her even once. I need to make amends. No matter how she treats me, her biological mother, I will endure it. If it were someone else, I would have taken her life the moment she betrayed me.”Darren remained silent. He could tell Belinda was speaking fro
Belinda knew Darren was worried about Caroline. She said confidently, “Don’t worry. This drug won’t take her life. It’ll only put her to sleep for a few days. When she wakes, she’ll feel groggy for about half a month.“I won’t take my only daughter’s life.”Darren accepted the drug and put it in his pocket. He said, “I take this, but I can’t guarantee that I can make Ms. Caroline eat it.”If he did not take the drug, Belinda would simply ask someone else to drug Caroline. He would take the drug and have someone investigate it. That way, Caroline could keep her guard up.“I know you won’t kill Ms. Caroline, but she’s an adult with her own thinking. You shouldn’t keep her out of this. If I do as you say, she’ll definitely be angry at me.”After a short silence, Belinda said, “Her opinions aren’t important. I just need to get her out of here.“You must cooperate with me for Caroline’s sake this time. We’re doing this for her own good.”Darren thought, ‘But have you thought whethe
Darren stood and left. Belinda watched him walk away. He stood tall and straight. His back alone was pretty charming.Darren was actually good-looking. He suited Caroline in many aspects. Belinda turned her gaze to the photo frame at the corner of her desk. It was a family photo taken after Caroline had returned to the family. Caroline was right beside her but with no physical contact. At that time, the mother and daughter were like strangers.On the other hand, Celine stuck close to Belinda and even held her arm intimately. It looked as if she was trying to prove a point to Caroline.Belinda stared at the photo for a long time. She caressed the photo where Caroline was, and murmured, “You’ll live a much happier life than me, Carol.”Then, she moved to Celine. She still held some feelings toward that child. However…When did she and Celine start walking on separate paths?Belinda sighed and muttered, “If I become a mother again in my next life, I hope you’ll become my daugh
If it were not for Tiara, Patrick might not have even spared her a glance. Everything was related to Tiara. Belinda thought that she must have killed Tiara out of resentment back then. Whatever she did, Tiara would be mentioned. No matter how outstanding she was, Tiara would be praised for having taught her well. Belinda admitted that she was jealous of Tiara for being better. Tiara had a weak constitution and had asked Belinda to manage the company and family matters in her stead. Whenever Belinda ran into a problem, Tiara could think of a solution as soon as she told Tiara about it once she got home. With Tiara’s advice, the problem would be solved perfectly. She was not as clever or charismatic as her elder sister. However, she was unconvinced and thought she would become as great as Tiara when she reached her age. Belinda did not want to be shrouded by Tiara’s brilliance. She wanted to live out her life and become greater than Tiara ever was. She could do whatever T
After a moment of silence, Mr. Gordon reminded Belinda, “If Ms. Caroline isn’t willing to be the matriarch, your sacrifice will be in vain.“Even if your plan was a success, the position of matriarch will still go to other people if you don’t have someone to inherit it.”Belinda said without hesitation, “If it comes to that, Caroline will take over. She may have made up her mind, but she won’t abandon everything.“Besides, not everyone from Wiltspoon will be here. Serenity won’t be here. Elisa might not come either. Our enemy is set on training Liberty to be the matriarch.”She and Tiara had descendants. It would be a competition between whose descendant could become the matriarch. Belinda was confident that Caroline would win. Caroline had been managing Fisher Enterprise and the family matters with her for two years. She was far more experienced than Serenity and Elisa. Besides, Belinda heard Elisa had no thoughts of being the matriarch. Elisa’s personality was not suited
“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