“Thanks, Ms. Isabella, but I prefer standing.”Austin was not being formal but simply aware of his identity. He would not relax before his identity in the O’Connor family changed or Isabella fell in love with him. He did not want to ruin Isabella's impression of him. “Sit. If you continue standing, I’d have to raise my head to talk to you. My neck will get tired.”Since she said so, Austin immediately sat with an upright posture.Isabella looked at him for a moment and smiled. “You sit like a soldier.”Austin also resembled an elementary school student who sat straight in class out of fear of getting scolded by a teacher. He did not reply to her comment. “I love the things Louis bought for me. You must’ve been tired after shopping with them for the entire afternoon. How much did you spend in total? I’ll return the money to you.”Austin said, “Mr. Louis and Mr. Philip are shopping experts. I got tired, but they seemed fine throughout. Nevertheless, I enjoyed taking them sho
The ones Phillip bought for Isabella and Tati would also be in the correct sizes. Austin rarely met the other O’Connor sisters or had not seen them before, so he would not know their clothing sizes. Therefore, the two boys were in charge of buying their clothes. The other O’Connor young ladies could probably get an exchange in the store if their clothes were of the wrong sizes. “Mr. Louis is clever. He has a good memory too.”Isabella said, “Louis is smart but too playful.”After a pause, she added, “However, he’s still young. Kids that age love to have fun.”“Playing is a child’s nature. There’s no need for him to take up heavy family responsibilities yet. He should enjoy his playtime to the fullest and study hard when needed. Studying shouldn’t take up his entire childhood. It’s okay to have fun when he’s young.”Isabella agreed. She taught Louis the same thing. She told him to have all the fun he wanted when he could. However, he also needed to work hard when it was
Isabella smiled. “I can give a set of jewelry to you if you want it. The jewelry Louis got me is made of gold. They aren’t that expensive, just tens of thousands of dollars. They’re still not as expensive as yours.”A set of her mother’s jewelry could cost up to hundreds of millions. Delphine took the jewelry box from Isabella and opened it. She smiled. “Maybe Louis bought these for you because they're gold and shiny. He’s still young.”“I never said I didn’t like what he bought.”Isabella loved Louis’s gift. “Since this is Louis’s present to you, I shall not take it. Seeing you two having a close relationship is the best thing I can ever ask for.”Delphine did not say that out of jealousy. She was glad to see that her children were getting along well. “Louis said they used Austin’s money to buy everything. He asked us to return the money to Austin.”Isabella said, “I’ll have Dominic transfer the money to Austin tomorrow.”“Louis and Phillip must’ve spent a few months’ wo
Delphine would get a headache whenever she thought of her daughter being picky about food. She was worried that no one would apply to be their private chef in the future. What would they do if Isabella got bored of Austin’s cooking?After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “Let’s not think too far into the future. For now, I’m satisfied with Austin. I haven’t gotten bored of the dishes he makes.”“He has only been here for a month. You might get bored as time passes.“Why don’t you extend Austin’s contract, Isa?”Isabella thought about it and said, “Austin is ambitious and capable, Mom. He shouldn’t be restricted to our kitchen. He hopes more people can taste the food he makes.“It’s good enough if he works an entire year. There’s no need to extend his contract.“If one year has passed and I have no intentions of hiring someone else, I’ll have to seek his opinion about extending his contract. I won’t force him to stay if he wants to leave and continue running his businesses.”
Austin waited till Isabella finished eating and he cleaned up before returning to his room. Dominic had already gotten off work. If any of the O’Connors required the staff members’ assistance, they simply had to speak into the intercom. The summoned staff would have to work overtime, but they would be paid accordingly.Isabella sat in the house for a while before heading to the garden for a walk. She had not strolled in the garden of her house for a long time.She was too busy. Even during some weekends, she would have to work to handle a few matters. Her mother often nagged at her for not resting during weekends and told her not to bring any work home. However, Isabella’s responsibility was heavy. She had too many things to deal with. She would usually bring urgent documents back home. Nevertheless, she was used to her busy life to the point she would feel bored and not know what to do whenever she had free weekends. Isabella preferred having busy yet fulfilling
The adults were just bullying him for being young. Sonny was determined to eat more and grow up fast. Once he became an adult, he would be able to understand Uncle Zak’s words. “Didn’t you fly here in your plane, Uncle Zak?” Sonny asked. Zachary put him in the car and helped Serenity get inside as well. Serenity smiled. “Do you think flying a private plane is that easy? You have to file a flight plan first.”Besides, picking her and Sonny up was not an urgent matter. There was no need to use a private plane. “Are we going back by car?”“Your Uncle Ben arranged a car to drive us to the airport. Taking an airplane will be faster. We’ll arrive in about an hour.”Serenity was heavily pregnant. Long car rides would make her uncomfortable. Therefore, Zachary bought plane tickets. Heading to the airport from FC Manor would take less than an hour. Therefore, it was a quicker way to get back to Wiltspoon. Sonny asked happily, “That’s awesome. I like traveling in airplanes. Ca
The elders at home did not restrict Rowan. His mother, well, really had never monitored him, because he had eight older brothers and cousins looking after him, and he bore a lot of academic pressure on himself. Many of his teachers had also taught the eight of them, so whenever he scored a little lower, his teachers would compare him to them. He was under tremendous pressure.Among his classmates, he ranked at the top. Even in the city rankings, he was among the top ten. Compared to his brothers and cousins, however, he still fell short. They had skipped grades in both elementary and middle schools, but by the time Rowan reached middle school, he could only take things one step at a time. Having one outstanding older brother was already a lot of pressure for a younger sibling, let alone having eight particularly excellent older brothers.“Nana said you would be back today, so she arranged for the driver to pick you up. I came home yesterday for the holidays, so I tagged along.”Rowa
Rowan was speechless.Serenity chuckled, “It’ll be the same no matter when you see him. Affection is something that’s cultivated. After the baby is born, you’ll have time to hold him, play with him, and the bond will grow—then it’ll feel like you’re close to him.”She could already foresee that after her baby was born, he would become the family’s little darling. The members of the York family were numerous but hers would be the only baby, so everyone would dote on him immensely.Rowan pitifully said, “Nothing good ever makes its way to me because I’m the youngest.”Zachary responded, “Once you get married and have your own kids, you’ll be able to make sure that your child sees you first when he’s born, but you can forget about that for your nephew.”Rowan said, “I’m still so young—it’ll be at least another eleven or twelve years before I get married and have kids. In fact, it might take a little longer, like fourteen or fifteen years. Aren’t you only just becoming a father at thi
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa
The Queen family was well-educated and had few members. Sophia had heard of other families fighting over power, but Caroline’s experience shocked her the most. Maybe it was because the Queens was close to her. Sophia quite liked Caroline as well. “How could they… You’re their biological sister!”Caroline smiled bitterly. “Are you having a fever, Carol? Your face is red.”Sophia touched Caroline’s forehead. She said, “You’re burning up. Have you informed the doctor, Mr. Fletcher?”Darren replied, “The fever started at dawn. Ms. Caroline caught a cold. Her fever subsided after taking medication once, but it returned.“It’s time for her to take her medicine.”Sophia spotted the lunch boxes. She told Darren, “Go have your lunch, Mr. Fletcher. I can look after Carol.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Queen. I can eat on my own,” said Caroline embarrassedly. It was her first time feeling cared for by someone her mother’s age. Although Sophia was not part of her family, the lady treated her
Caroline looked toward Darren. She said, “In my younger days, I often caught colds and coughs when the weather was too cold. The coughing will last throughout the changing of seasons. Therefore, I’ve been looking after my health since I grew up.“My immune system strengthened a lot. I haven’t been coughing for years.“I’m not worried.”Caroline stared at Darren lovingly. “I have nothing to be worried about with you here.”Darren pinched her face lightly with affection. “I’m still sulking. I didn’t want you to risk yourself, yet I couldn’t stop you. I’ll only feel better once you recover.”He was Caroline’s assistant and had to heed her orders. Even if they were dating, he still had to follow her arrangements.“Okay. Don’t be angry. I won’t take risks like this again in the future. You’ll age quickly if you get angry frequently. If that happens, your hair might turn gray before I even grow old.“We promised to grow old together.”Under Caroline’s gentle coaxing, Darren’s expre
Darren became an orphan when he was only a few years old. After losing everything, he was collected and trained by the training center to be an all-rounder assistant. He could not remember how he lost his parents as he was too young back then. Since he had no memories, there was no pain.Nevertheless, he had seen others interacting with their parents. He knew parents should love their children. There were not many parents who would not shower their children with love. Ms. Caroline was too unlucky to have met one. “I don’t care. I don’t care about my dad at all.”Caroline asked, “Has my dad asked you to give him money? He doesn’t need money. He just wants to know about his sons’ conditions.“Having lived for so many years, he was probably aware of the consequences of his sons’ plan and had advised them not to do it. They didn’t listen to him, so he’s just hoping to get lucky and waiting for some news.”Hunter must have known that her brothers were going to murder her. Sinc
“I’m not obliged to provide for you, Mr. Clark.”Darren would not give Hunter money. He also felt Hunter was trying to obtain some information through the call, not money. Hunter said furiously, “Aren’t you going to marry Caroline? You’ll be my son-in-law in the future. It’s like being half a son to me. Since you’re my son, you should look after your father. Quick. Give me the money.“Otherwise, I won’t let you marry my daughter.”Darren said without hesitation, “Ms. Caroline will decide for her marriage.“If we do get married, she’ll be the one in charge of the finances. I don’t have money.”“Fletcher! Are you a man? Can’t you revitalize the spirit of the Fisher family’s sons-in-law? You saw how I ended up like this. I didn’t have access to the finances and didn’t have money. I’ve been under strict control ever since I married into the family.“That was how I ended up in this miserable state. I’m telling you, the Fisher women are evil. It’s best if you don’t marry Caroline.
“Why would a husband have an affair if his wife could do well?”Ellie was exasperated. She ended the call without hesitation. “Old bastard. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. All your sons cheated on their wives because they have a perverted father like you.“I would’ve divorced Jason if it weren’t for my children being too young. Look at Emma now. She even received half of Adrian’s assets and doesn’t have to look after her children herself. How relaxed her life must be.”The wealth Belinda had left behind was sufficient to afford the children’s education. Ellie still had feelings for Jason. Otherwise, she would have gotten a divorce upon knowing he cheated on her. She would not have reconciled with him with just a little coaxing and advice from her family. Since Jason did not return home the entire night, Hunter guessed his sons’ plan had failed. As he had expected, Caroline was not an easy target. After all, she was Belinda’s biological daughter. Belind
Since the call ended abruptly, Adrian’s girlfriend, Irene, muttered, “Is Mr. Clark unsatisfied with me?”She was almost twenty years younger than Adrian. If he had not been rich and willing to spend his money on her, she would not have wanted to be his lover. Adrian promised to marry her after he was done fighting a legal battle against his sister and claiming his inheritance. He would make her the missus of the Clark family. As for the three children he had with his ex-wife, he had told Irene not to worry about them.Since his mother had left some money behind for her grandchildren, he did not have to pay child support. Irene knew Adrian used to be a young master of the Fishers and that Madam Fisher was extremely wealthy. She did not expect Belinda to be helping her son take care of his children even after her death. Considering Adrian would be able to receive a huge portion of inheritance in the future, Irene decided to be with him. If she did get married to him, and gave