If the O’Connor family relied on Isabella’s father and not her to manage their business, they would have gone bankrupt long ago. Old Mr. Connor had known that his children were not very capable. Therefore, he started training his granddaughters young. That way, they could take over the company, and his sons could step down as soon as possible. Even if things would be difficult for Isabella and Tati, he believed they could overcome it. He also had no choice because the O’Connor family had more daughters than sons. Delphine only felt less guilty after giving birth to Louis. Isabella said, “Don’t you like painting? You can paint something. I can even hold an exhibition for your artwork when the weather gets warmer next year.”Delphine’s eyes gleamed. She was good at oil painting, but it was mainly a hobby. She had never considered earning money with it, let alone holding an exhibition. However, she found herself considering it after Isabella brought it up. Delphine wanted t
“I know, Mom,” replied Louis. The mischievous boys could not sit still. After standing, Louis told Isabella, “I’m going to build snowmen with Phillip outside. Phillip’s snowmen always look amazing. I want to build better ones than his.”Isabella said gently, “Okay. Come back if it gets too cold.”“Got it.”The cold usually would not bother the kids when they were having fun.The two boys ran out of the house giggling. Midway, Louis turned back and went to the kitchen to get Austin to make a few dishes he wanted for lunch.He ran out happily upon receiving an affirmative response. On the other hand, Phillip did not have any special orders. He knew Austin was Isabella’s private chef. Since he was having free meals at Uncle Hadrian’s place, he had to eat what was available and not be picky. Besides, even the vegetables Austin prepared tasted delicious, let alone other dishes. Louis and Phillip started building snowmen outside. Delphine was asking Isabella about her busi
Delphine smiled. She said, “You didn’t gain weight. You just look more filled out and not as skinny as before. It’s a good thing.”Isabella replied, “I didn’t eat a lot. I was busy and even worked out every day. How did that happen?”“It means that you’re satisfied with Austin’s cooking. Your complexion will improve if you eat your meals timely and get sufficient nutrients.”Delphine was most satisfied with Austin among all the private chefs Isabella had hired. Not only could he cook delicious food, but he was also handsome and had good manners. In fact, he did not look like a chef at all. He gave off the feeling of an elite or a young master of a wealthy family. Austin was gentle and polite whenever he spoke as well. If he changed out of his chef’s outfit into a suit, then he would look like a fine gentleman. “Yes. I’m pretty satisfied with him for now. Is Tati still at the office, Mom?”Delphine replied, “Tati has to run the company and attend meetings since you were on a b
“I’ll take a nap after lunch and head to the office before three o’clock. I’ll then have a meeting at half past three so Tati can be home early. Aunt Margaret won’t have any more complaints.”Delphine pouted and said, “Margaret complains too much. Does she think I have a lot of free time? I have more responsibilities as her sister-in-law. I don’t see you often either, despite us living in the same house. Does she see me complaining?”When she woke up, her daughter would already be at the office. When Isabella got home, she was usually fast asleep. Therefore, Isabella and Delphine could hardly meet each other. Who could she complain about it to?After marrying into the family, she and Margaret had no choice but to tolerate such occurrences. It was because they had incompetent husbands but capable daughters. “By the way, the Longbottom family from Havenmill has sent us invitations several times to their banquet that’ll be held a few days later.“Mr. Longbottom came to visit a
Delphine had heard rumors about the Longbottoms. She said, “There are too many conflicts within wealthy families. The family members end up turning against each other.”“Most of the wealthy families experience internal power struggles. Even the closest of families can become enemies for power.”Isabella said, “When I was on my business trip, I heard things have been turbulent for the Fisher family in Jensburg lately. The previous matriarch’s descendants and the current matriarch are fighting for the position of matriarch. There were even rumors that the previous matriarch was killed by the current one.“No one knows the truth, but the situation has escalated. I heard many things about it.”“Regardless of what’s happening to other families, we should remain a peaceful and harmonious family instead of breaking apart like the others.“We must try to be light-hearted and not be too calculative, Isa. The more calculative you are, the easier conflicts will arise. We’re family. Won’t it
There were a few candidates, but Isabella was not interested in any of them. She had high standards too. “Let’s not talk about this, Mom. I’m hungry. I’m going to get some snacks.”Isabella got up. She did not want to discuss that topic with her mother any longer.Delphine said, “The snacks we have now were prepared by the pastry chef because Austin was away with you. You usually dislike his snacks because they’re too sweet.”However, the rest of the O’Connors liked the baked goods made by the pastry chef.Isabella was the only outlier because she was picky.She could eat some of the desserts Austin made. However, he said he was not that good at baking. Delphine had tasted the desserts Austin made. They were not as sweet as those made by the pastry chef and had better texture. Maybe that was why Isabella could stomach Austin’s desserts. Isabella went to the kitchen. Austin glanced at her when she entered but quickly refocused on his work. He said with a smile, “You mus
Isabella said nothing. She exited the kitchen and sat on the sofa. Delphine still brought her some snacks and said, “Have some if you’re hungry, Isa. These aren’t too sweet. The pastry chef modified the receipt and reduced sugar because he knows you don’t like it too sweet.”Isabella did not take it. She said, “The pastry chef must’ve made it according to your tastes since I wasn’t home. I can’t eat it.“Even if it isn’t too sweet, I still don’t like it.”It was not just because of the sweetness. With the pastry chef’s skills, he could not make anything that suited Isabella’s tastes. “What about chips?”Delphine brought some chips over because she did not want Isabella to starve.“You can have some fruits too. We have fruits you can eat all the time. They’re definitely fresh.”“It’s okay, Mom. Just sit. You don’t have to keep bringing me food. Austin said the soup will be ready in half an hour. I can wait.”Isabella did not like eating fruits on an empty stomach. “Austin
Louis smiled. “Okay. I’ll buy new clothes for you.”He had plenty of money. The family’s elders would give him lots of allowance. His mother managed part of his money, while he could keep a portion and buy anything he wanted. Louis could even make an account of what he used his money on. Isabella bent over and pinched her little brother’s face. She grinned. “I’m happy enough if you study well and be a good boy. I was teasing you. You don’t have to buy clothes for me. I have more than enough.”Many of the clothes in her walk-in closet had not even been worn before. On usual days, Isabella wore formal attire. She would only wear casual outfits when she was at home on weekends. Her mother and aunts would also order a few sets of clothing for her whenever they were having clothes tailored for themselves. She could not wear that many clothes, but they still loved getting her clothes. They said she had to dress up pretty. That applied to jewelry too. She never wore accessories
“I don’t want to. I want to be with Dunc.”Sonny did not want his grandmother to carry him. He turned to Olivia and said, “Aunt Lili treated me when I was sick and she said my throat got infected because I ate fried chicken, and that’s why I had a fever. She told me not to eat fried chicken anymore.“Aunt Ser also said that when I feel better, she’ll fry it for me herself. It’s safer than the fried chicken bought from outside, but I still can only eat a little bit, not too much.“Grandmom, I don’t want to eat fast food bought from outside anymore. You guys shouldn’t blame Dunc. He’s really good to me and if you scold him, I won’t like you anymore.”Sonny did not really have any affection for his grandparents. They had always taken his cousin Lucas’s side. Whatever toys he had or food he liked, Olivia would take them away to give to Lucas. He did not like Lucas, and he did not like Grandmom either. Even though his grandparents were nicer to him now, Sonny still spent very little t
Olivia immediately retracted her hand when she saw Duncan’s cold glance. Not daring to forcefully take Sonny from him, she awkwardly smiled and said to Duncan, “Mr. Lewis, can we have a word with Sonny?”“You can ask Sonny. If he’s happy to, that’s fine,” Duncan said coldly, giving Luke’s bag a glance before addressing both of them. “Mr. and Mrs. Brown, Sonny had a fever yesterday, which the doctor said was due to a throat infection. You two took him to eat a lot of fried chicken and fries that day, which caused the infection.“Today, you brought him more fast food. If Sonny eats that, he might have a fever again. Please try to avoid giving him such heavy foods in the future.”Olivia immediately became anxious, reaching out to touch Sonny’s forehead. “Has Sonny recovered from the fever? Are you still feeling unwell? Why didn’t you take a day off from preschool?“It’s fine to do that, you know. There’s no need to rush back to school. Plus, Sonny doesn’t eat much. We did take him to
“I don’t understand what Liberty is thinking, leaving Sonny in Wiltspoon. When she got Sonny’s custody, she should have taken him with her,” Olivia muttered.She really wanted her son to file another lawsuit and regain custody of Sonny, but out of consideration for Sonny’s future, she could not do that. Plus, her son would not listen to her anyway.“Liberty went to Jensburg. She’s probably still dealing with a lot of trouble over there and we don’t understand the situation. If she could, she would have taken Sonny with her. She values Sonny’s education a lot, and Sonny has been well-educated under her care,” Luke spoke more objectively.Although he did not like Duncan, he could see that Duncan really cared for Sonny. Sonny was very attached to Serenity because she had raised him. That was natural, and it probably had nothing to do with whether Duncan was a good stepfather or not. Luke did not say this out loud to avoid being scolded by his wife for siding with Duncan.“Here comes
Moreover, Patrick was still alive, and he had been Tiara’s assistant. Plus, the crime of Belinda killing her sisters to rise to power had been exposed to the world and no matter how one thought about it, it was impossible for Belinda's children to take over the position.“Dad, I just can’t accept it! I just don’t agree! Even if I can’t get the position of the head of the family, Liberty can forget about taking away our positions in Fisher Enterprise!“And if Caroline doesn’t divide the huge fortune left by Mom with us, she can forget about taking it all. If worse comes to worst, I’ll go down with her. If I die, my children can inherit Mom’s fortune, but Caroline’s unmarried and childless! She stands to lose the most if she dies.”Adrian stood up and turned to leave once he finished speaking. It was clear he did not want to continue the conversation with his father and did not want to listen to his advice.Justin and Jason looked at each other, then at their father, who was tremblin
The older generation of the Fisher family had indeed accepted the gifts sent by the Clark brothers. They felt that they had been mistreated by Belinda, so they viewed the benefits given by Belinda’s sons as compensation from her. However, they had not agreed to do what the Clark brothers wanted—to solicit their support. Without concrete evidence, what could the Clark brothers do to them? Besides, it was quite normal for juniors to give their elders gifts during the holiday season, was it not?Hunter could not help but slap his son’s arm. He scolded, “How many times have I told you, and you still won’t listen? My words just go in one ear and out the other.“Though you lot and Caroline are siblings, you’re still Clarks, not Fishers. The Fisher family’s rules have been in place for over a hundred years and won’t change just because of you. If they could change, it would have happened long ago. Do you really think it would have taken this long?“Those old fogies are from the Fisher fa
At the sound of a car, Hunter, who was sitting in the yard basking in the sun, instructed the helper who was taking care of him, “Go outside and see if the young master is back.”The helper went out. Soon, Hunter saw his three sons walking toward him one after another.Seeing this, Hunter could not help but furrowed his brow, feeling a headache coming on as he pinched the space between his brows. He suddenly understood why his late wife would become so impatient and frustrated with their sons—they were really troublesome.He had tried to reason with them, advising them to preserve their strength, to stop hoping to stay on at Fisher Enterprise, and to return here where they could still live well, but they simply refused to listen.When they accompanied him back to Ashford during Christmas, he thought they had come to their senses, but when the new year started and Fisher Enterprise resumed operations, they eagerly hurried back.It made Hunter so angry that he scolded them at home f
“I’ll still try my best to convince them to leave. One of these days, I’ll go meet my father and my two sisters-in-law, and get them to try to persuade my brothers. If they still refuse to listen, then there’s nothing else I can do.”“You should do whatever you think is right. I’ll leave them alone as long as they don’t appear before me.”It was not that Caroline did not care about her brothers; it was them who did not value the relationship. What else could she do? Liberty said, “I’m not the kind of person who would harm the innocent. As long as they stay honest and don’t get involved in any schemes or underhanded tactics, and leave Jensburg for the Clark hometown, I’ll only take half of what they currently have.” She would leave half of the assets for Adrian and the others. They would not starve, and this way, she was still showing Caroline some respect.“They won’t give up easily. They’ll still try to make trouble. You taking only half of their assets is already showing mer
Duncan had been so insistent on marrying no one but Liberty that his current temporary cripple was the result of his conflict with his parents. He had sacrificed his legs in exchange for their consent, but who knew whether his parents truly accepted Liberty or were just pretending to?“They’re very good to me, and they’ve accepted Sonny. It’s not that they don’t want to take care of him—, it’s Sonny who wants to stay with Seren.” Liberty explained, "My in-laws tried to persuade Sonny to stay with them for several days, but they didn’t manage to.“Ever since Sonny was born, it’s mostly been Seren looking after him. During the most difficult times, Seren helped me a lot too, so when I’m not home, Sonny prefers to be with her. No matter how good others are to him, he still chooses to stay with her.”Duncan loved Sonny like his own child, but if Liberty was not in Wiltspoon, Sonny would not want to stay with Duncan. He preferred to stay with his aunt.“That’s good, then.”As long as
Then there was her mother, who had committed countless evil deeds. It was likely that Liberty and the others would not pay respects to Belinda, as she was an enemy of Liberty’s branch of the family. No matter how magnanimous Liberty was, she would not go as far as to visit the grave of her enemy. Therefore, Caroline needed to come back herself to pay respects to her mother, to ensure that her mother’s grave would not be neglected. This was her duty as a daughter. Her mother had committed many sins, but she was still her mother.“Anyway, I’ll also be back to attend your wedding to Mr. Lewis. Technically, I’m still your elder.”Caroline smiled as she extended her belated blessings. “Liberty, I wish you and Mr. Lewis a lifetime of happiness. Mr. Lewis loves you dearly. You two will definitely be very happy together.”Duncan was such an outstanding person in his own right but was willing to marry into the Fisher family for Liberty. This truly broke the previous streak of the matri