The Johnsons would not make things difficult for them. They were effortless to work for."Good morning, Nigel. I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, so I thought I'd take a walk. I'm not really hungry yet, so I'll have breakfast with Jane when she gets up."Still smiling politely, Nigel said, “Mrs. York, you should wear an extra layer. It’s quite chilly in the morning.”Serenity responded, “I’ve already put on an extra coat.”“Be careful while walking, Mrs. York. Come back once it gets light. Madam Jane usually sleeps until dawn breaks.”Jane's biological clock was utterly punctual.Serenity smiled and replied, “Okay.”Nigel escorted Serenity to the door and watched her go down the steps before turning and heading back. It was still very quiet on the manor grounds, though the lamps were lit. When the sun rose, the lamps would automatically turn off.FC Manor was enormous, about the same size as Wildridge Manor. Serenity had been here several times and was relatively familiar
However, it usually did not take long before the toys would be snatched from each other, and the twins would start fighting. Connor always lost to Chloe and would end up crying loudly. In the end, this would attract the attention of the adults.Occasionally, when Connor could not win against his sister, he would tackle her. The siblings could sit up now, but the moment they got even a bit unruly, they would topple over. Connor’s tactic of tackling always succeeded in knocking his sister down.Then, he would bite his sister. The two little ones, who had yet to grow teeth, would bite each other. Whether it hurt or not was something only they knew, but no matter if it was knocking his sister down or biting each other, it would always end with Connor crying loudly.When Chloe woke up and saw her mother still beside her, she would insist on staying with her mother. The little girl was quite clever. Although she was not particularly prone to crying, it did not mean she would not cry. When
Jane was worried that Serenity might not be accustomed to things here, so she hurried out when she saw Serenity walking in the yard, leaving behind her still-asleep husband and son. When the father and son woke up and could not see her, Connor would end up crying and waking up the whole family. There was no need for an alarm clock. Connor’s crying was enough to pull everyone out of their dreams every morning.During the day, it was mainly the nanny and Old Mrs. Johnson who took care of the children. Jane and her husband were busy with company matters and could only spend time with the children in the mornings and evenings. However, every day when Connor woke up and did not see his mother, he would cry for a long time before calming down.Ben often complained that his son was too clingy to Jane as if he was competing with him for her attention, which amused Jane. She never complained about how he treated their daughter like a precious gem. If that was the case, then their daughter was
“I’m scared. I’m scared they might get hurt or something bad might happen. I hate that I can’t help right now. All I can do is take good care of Sonny so that my sister doesn’t have any worries.”She and Duncan felt the same way. They were worried but were unable to help. Duncan was even too afraid to casually call Liberty, fearing that he might disturb her.Jane reached out and held Serenity’s hand to comfort her. “It’ll be fine. No matter how big the pit, we’ll cross over it and see the rainbow on the other side.”Serenity pressed her lips together, nodding vigorously, and clasped Jane’s hand in return. Right then, a familiar sound of crying reached their ears, along with Ben’s voice soothing his son.“Please stop crying, we’re looking for Mommy right now. You just cry and cry every time you open your eyes and don’t see Mommy. A real man doesn’t cry. Look at your sister—she doesn’t cry like you when she wakes up.”Ben’s tone was full of disdain at his son’s crying, just as Dr. C
“I can’t feed him. Even if I prepare the formula, he only takes it if you hold him. If I feed him, it’s like I’ve added poison to the milk. He just won’t eat.” Ben complained about his son’s favoritism. Even though he prepared the milk formula, Connor would only eat if Jane was the one feeding him. If Jane was not home, it was easier because as long as he was hungry, he would eat no matter who fed him. The little guy might cry a lot, but he was also quite clever.“I’ll feed him later. You take Chloe back and let her sleep. It’s a bit chilly outside.”Connor was already dressed in a warm outfit, and Jane checked his clothing to make sure he would not be cold. Ben walked away, holding their sleeping daughter and occasionally bending down to kiss her little face.Serenity watched him leave with Chloe and said to Jane with a chuckle, “It’s really Ben who shows favoritism. He’s so impatient with Connor but dotes on Chloe.”“He’s been doting on and pampering her so much.”Jane managed
Serenity laughed and said, “That’s how children are. At this age, they’re curious about everything. If you change into a brighter outfit, their eyes will be fixed on you. Taking care of kids can be quite tiring, but when they cling to you and sweetly call you ‘Mommy,’ you’ll be over the moon.”Jane held her son close to her as he was trying to climb the table again. “That’s true. After a long day, coming home and holding the two little ones melts my heart. It makes all the exhaustion seem worth it.”She bent down to kiss her son’s little face. Connor smiled at her, then turned around to hug her neck, and even rubbed his face against hers. Seeing the mother-son’s interaction, Serenity felt quite envious.“Seren, you don’t need to envy me. In a few months, when your baby is born, you’ll be just as happy.”“My only concern is that it’ll be a little troublemaker.”Jane laughed. “There aren’t many kids who aren’t mischievous these days. Zachary’s mature and calm, so I’d guess his kid w
Sonny called out to Serenity. Laurence also greeted Serenity before he and Sonny sat around Jane, watching Connor drink his milk. Sonny played with his little feet, and when Connor kicked, Sonny giggled. Connor did not have much strength, so being kicked did not hurt.After feeding the two little ones, Jane handed them to the nanny. The nanny placed the twins in their stroller and pushed them out for a walk, so they would not cry when Ben and Jane left the house later.Jane and Serenity planned to take the boys to the children’s park without the twins. The twins were too young, and with so many people at the park, they were worried they would not be able to take care of the twins properly.It was lively at FC Manor, while Wildridge Manor was still quiet. The Yorks did not have any young children yet. The youngest was Rowan, who had not officially started his winter vacation. He would only get a break closer to Christmas to prepare for his college entrance exams, which made him quite
Truth be told, Sugar was also a treasured darling in her own home. At her master’s place, her seniors treated her exceptionally well. No one had ever given her the cold shoulder. Dylan was the only one who always wore a stern face whenever he saw her, as if she owed him a fortune.Sugar knew very well that Dylan was polite and gentle in front of the elders, but gave her a hard time behind their backs because he thought Grandma May wanted to matchmake them. She was not about to kiss up to him either. Did he think he was money, something that everyone liked? Even if she had once liked him, she forced herself to let go after he said those things, yet, they could not avoid interacting with each other.The employee was taken aback. Did Ms. Sugar dislike Mr. Dylan? Did Mr. Dylan bully her?“Ms. Sugar, has Mr. Dylan bullied you?” asked the employee out of concern, guessing that Sugar had been bullied by the young master after hearing her remarks.Sugar quickly said, “No, he wouldn’t dare
“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