“That’s fine. You can get your marriage license first, then slowly pick a good day or the wedding. “You two must invite us to your wedding when the time comes,” Liberty repeated.Caroline smiled and replied, “We’ll see when the time comes. For now, it’s still early.” She knew that Liberty wanted to support her, to show Darren that she had someone supporting her. Although Darren would not mistreat her, Liberty’s kindness still moved Caroline. If not for her mother having committed such heinous acts, she and Liberty would surely have become good friends. Caroline sighed inwardly. After sitting for a little while longer, Caroline got up and said, “Liberty, you’re busy, so I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll leave now. See you next year.”Liberty got up to see her off and walked her and Darren to the elevator. Duncan followed them out too in his wheelchair.“Mr. Fletcher, treat Caroline well. She’s a good girl.” Liberty could not help but stress, although she knew that Darren w
Caroline's ability to successfully run and grow her company and do increasingly better in the past showed that she was a capable person.“She also has Darren by her side. Darren is excellent in every way, especially his loyalty. People like him are like loyal retainers of old. Even if they die, they will never betray their master.”Duncan had a very good impression of Darren. “I hope they can be happy together. They should be. The way Darren looks at her, it’s full of tenderness.”“You know what they say, birds of a feather flock together—people are drawn to those similar to them. The fact that they get along so well with us and we appreciate each other means we’re of the same kind. Darren will absolutely be a doting husband in the future.”Duncan was sure that a new member would soon join the ranks of the doting husband team and that would be Darren. Liberty smiled at him, and Duncan could not help but reach out and gently pinch her cheek.“Why are you smiling at me like that?
“Whether he actually feels any fatherly affection or not, as long as he's still my father and is staying in the hospital, as his daughter, I should at least go visit him. Every time I come back from the hospital, my mood might be low, but how much better do you think his mood can be?” Caroline and her father and brothers were essentially hurting each other in a war of attrition. Darren remained silent. On the way, Caroline asked Darren to stop in front of a flower shop. She got out and bought a bouquet of flowers. She did not buy any fruits or nutritional supplements.Seeing that she only came back with a bouquet, Darren could not help but smile. “Mr. Clark is going to be upset when he sees you only bought flowers. Flowers are cheap, they can’t be eaten, and they wither after a few days. He’d much prefer it if you bought some supplements for him.”“I’m not buying those for him. He'll sell whatever nutritional products I send him to make money. It feels like they've become obsessed
When they arrived at the hospital, Caroline told Darren to wait outside the ward and not follow her in, so Darren waited by the door in the corridor. Caroline took a few deep breaths before entering the room, holding the bouquet of flowers.As soon as she entered, she heard Hunter complaining to the caretaker about Caroline’s cold-heartedness and Belinda’s bias. He also said that Belinda deserved to die, that she should have died sooner because if Belinda had died a few years earlier, the matriarchy would have been succeeded by Celine, who had a good relationship with the Clark men. If Celine were in charge, Hunter could walk all over the Fisher family.As the father of Fisher’s matriarch, he would not lack money. Celine, being filial, would just give him money if he asked for it. There would be no room for Caroline then.The caretaker spoke up in defense of Caroline. She said, “Mr. Clark, Ms. Caroline’s your actual daughter. And the late Madam Fisher did not treat you badly either
Caroline was so unfilial! She inherited so much wealth, yet she did not even give him a little bit of money for retirement. At the very least, she could buy him a villa to live out the rest of his days and give him a monthly allowance. It did not have to be much; just thirty thousand a month for living expenses would be enough for him.“How's my dad been recovering these days?” Caroline casually asked.“Mr. Clark’s recovery has been going pretty well, but since he's in advanced age, he still needs to stay in the hospital for a few more days before he can be discharged,” answered the caretaker honestly.“The doctor suggested I stay in the hospital for at least another half a month,” Hunter added. He did not want to be discharged too soon. He feared that once he left the hospital, no one would take care of him. Once he was out, Caroline would definitely arrange for the caregivers to be transferred elsewhere. His sons were busy, and his daughters-in-law were superficially filial wi
“What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly. What was it?”Hunter stammered, “Nothing, I didn’t say anything.”His ungrateful daughter would not admit that she had heard his complaints, so he was not going to repeat himself. He was not dumb enough to do that.“Do you want an apple, Dad? I’ll wash one for you,” Caroline asked. Before her father could respond, she took two apples and began washing them. Soon, she returned to his bedside, handing one apple to her father and biting into the other herself. Hunter did not like apples, but he took it anyway. “Are you really planning to stay in the hospital for another half a month?”Hunter answered irritably, “If not, where else would I stay? Where will I live once I get discharged? The Fisher family mansion is off-limits to any of us other than you and Fletcher now. Caroline, can’t you have some backbone? That’s our home! How can you just bow down to them and give up our own home? If your mother knew, she’d be so angry that even the cof
“If you still think it’s too little, Dad, after you recover, you can look for a job as a security guard or janitor. You’ll still earn a few thousand a month.”Hunter was speechless at this. He was already in his seventies and had never worked a day in his life. “I’m already over seventy. You want me to work? Which company would hire a seventy-year-old security guard?”Caroline replied coldly, “Since you know you’re no longer able to earn money, then whatever your children give you for living expenses, don’t complain that it’s too little. I’m your ungrateful daughter, after all, and giving you ten thousand a month is already a lot. If you’re not happy with that, I can reduce it to five thousand. If that’s not enough, you can go to your sons or sue your most dearly beloved daughter’s biological mother for her assets.”Hunter was silent before he gave in. “Fine, ten thousand it is. But remember to send it on time every month. Your brothers all have their own families and children to
Caroline was neither saying she did not trust Liberty nor that Liberty would definitely go after them, but people would change, so who knew what would happen tomorrow? It would be best to leave now, while Liberty and the others were not planning anything against her, so that no one could provoke her into opposing Liberty. This way, she would preserve the best impression and keep things amicable between them, so that if they encountered each other in the future, it would not feel like they were crossing paths with their enemy.“Adrian, Justin, and Jason’s families are their responsibilities. It’s none of my business. I’m not obligated to help them, or to support their children. As long as they raise their children well and teach them to be self-sufficient, isn’t that better than leaving them a pile of money? If they have no ability, even if I leave them money, they won’t be able to keep it.“As for the division of my mother’s assets, she arranged it all before she passed. I will dis
Austin smiled meaningfully, “My entire family will be very happy and warmly welcome you if you come with me to attend my nephew's sip-and-see shower.”In fact, his family would likely treat Isabella as his future wife, extending the kind of hospitality reserved for a daughter-in-law.However, Austin did not voice this thought.He and Isabella had not reached the stage where they could openly flirt like that.In any case, he was not in a hurry. Like a good stew, he would gradually win Isabella’s heart with time, and everything would fall into place naturally.“Your sister-in-law hasn’t given birth yet, so why are you already saying it’s a nephew?” Isabella teased belatedly. “Are you all hoping for a boy?“I heard from Ruth that your family elders are all hoping for a baby girl, though.”At the mention of that, Austin smiled wryly. “Ms. Fuller’s been to Wiltspoon and has heard about my family. She knows that our elders have always wanted a baby girl, so she must have also heard ot
Isabella asked, "When is your sister-in-law due?"She did not have a private chef who could fill in for Austin. If he took a leave of two or three days, she could manage, but if he requested a longer leave, she might not approve it.Zachary York’s wife was pregnant. Isabella had learned about the Yorks’ situation through a friend. Since she was Austin’s sister-in-law, it was natural for him, as the uncle, to want to go back and see his nephew.“I’m not sure. I asked my brother, and he said it might be in about two months. It could be earlier or later, it’s hard to say. I’ll go back when my sister-in-law is hospitalized. Once she’s discharged and returns home for postpartum recovery, it won’t be convenient to visit, so I’ll come back to work.“Then, when the baby is one month old, I’ll definitely go back for another couple of days. After all, he’ll be my first nephew and the eldest in the family’s new generation.”Isabella thought for a moment and said, “If it’s just two or three d
Austin knew she said that because she was afraid he would not agree, but how could he not? Rather, he wished for it.“Alright. If you don’t mind, I’ll eat with you from now on. Ms. Isabella, please go ahead and eat. I’ll quickly prepare some fruits for dessert.”Isabella glanced at him but said nothing and left.In the past, unless it was a social engagement, she would rarely have dessert.Usually, after finishing her meal, she would hurry back to her lounge to catch some rest, never bothering with fruits.Isabella realized belatedly that Austin had subtly influenced some of her small habits into changing.These small changes allowed her a bit more time to rest, which in turn improved her health.Soon, Austin came out.He had sliced some of the fruits and arranged them into the shape of a phoenix spreading its wings, while the smaller fruits were left whole to serve as the finishing touches.“In just this short time, you actually managed to create a phoenix,” Isabella praised.
“Isa has a networking event tonight, so she’ll be working overtime. You should bring her dinner.”“Sure.” Austin was here precisely to do that.Tati entered the elevator. When she turned around, she saw that Austin had already walked off.Tati chuckled to herself, “When will it be my turn to meet a good man who only has eyes for me?”Isabella had Austin now. Even though they had not officially started dating, they were clearly interested in each other. In the near future, they would definitely become a couple, and if both sides’ parents had no objection to it, they would eventually be a loving husband and wife.Though, at the thought of her family circumstances, Tati was still a little worried that Isabella and Austin might not get to that point.Isabella could not move far away after getting married as she still had to manage the family business. Her husband and her in-laws had to be understanding and tolerant of the fact that she would be very, very busy.They had all heard th
Isabella wanted to say something but ultimately decided against it. Tati had a point. She could push the boys too hard. They were still young, and they deserved a carefree and happy childhood. She had already put too much pressure on Louis and Phillip. “Austin accompanies the boys when he’s free. I think he’s great with kids. Maybe he has experience from babysitting in his family.”The York family had nine sons in their youngest generation and no daughters. Austin was the sixth in line with three younger brothers. Rowan was the youngest and still a minor. Thinking about it, he must have been raised by all his older cousins and brothers. No one understood how much pressure Rowan was under as he grew up. His older brothers were outstanding individuals. He would not have been that stressed if any of them were mediocre. He kept chasing after his brothers’ footsteps. He did not know when he could ever catch up to River and Austin. He would have to live with that pressure fo
“Isa, do you know many hotels and restaurants are waiting for you to switch Austin out? That way, they can snatch him away and make him their star chef.”With Austin’s culinary skills, he could be the head chef at any hotel.Isabella smiled. She said, “It depends on how much they can offer him. He already has his own hotels and restaurants. He’s already successful in the F&B industry.“How can they possibly hire him to be their chef? That’s unless Austin buys their hotel.“Besides, I haven’t gotten bored of Austin’s food. They’ll have to wait. “You can make a bet on whether Austin can last a full year as my private chef. I think you might win, but there’s always the possibility of losing.”There would always be wins and losses in a bet. Tati smiled. “Some people already made their bets. However, they betted on whether Austin could last for three months first. I guess those who put their money on him leaving before three months are up will lose.“For the second round, they’re
Knowledge of Mr. Longbottom’s philandering was not restricted to Havenmill. Even people in Annenburg knew about it. He switched lovers as quickly as he changed clothes. Many of his mistresses accidentally got pregnant and thought they could replace Mrs. Longbottom because of their children. However, Mr. Longbottom was a heartless man outside of bed. While most of his mistresses had gotten pregnant, only those who were honest and without ambitions were allowed to give birth. Even if those women gave birth, the child would not bear the Longbottom surname and only take their mother’s surname. However, Mr. Longbottom would buy that mistress and her children a townhouse and hire two nannies to look after them. There would also be a sum of money deposited into their account monthly to provide for the child. On the other hand, most of Mr. Longbottom’s mistresses who were not allowed to give birth were ordered to get an abortion. If they refused, Mrs. Longbottom would intervene and f
Tati did not care what Manny would do. She had no feelings for him. Not only did she know he was ambitious, but he also wanted her family’s wealth. Only a few men deserved Tati’s praise in her entire life. Austin was one of them. Even so, she simply admired him and did not view him as a romantic partner. Tati could sense that Austin’s eyes were always on Isabella. It had nothing to do with him being her private chef. He was dedicated to Isabella. When Isabella and Tati were unaware of Austin’s true identity, they admired him a lot. Isabella even teased Tati about it. Later, they discovered he was a young master of the wealthiest family in Wiltspoon.His family background and qualifications made Austin worthy of being the partner of an elite daughter of the O’Connors. Although Isabella refused to admit it, Tati knew Austin would eventually be her brother-in-law. However, he probably had to sacrifice a lot to be with Isabella. After all, Isabella was the head of the
Once Manny left, Costa Corporation entrance resumed its peace. Manny had bought a villa in Satbury. He was determined to woo Tati and would not leave until he succeeded. Besides, he would be doing business in Satbury and needed a place to live. He did not want to stay at a hotel every day. The villa he bought was only a ten-minute drive away from Dunboy Manor. On his way back, he received a call from his momma asking about his situation in Satbury. After speaking about business, his momma said, “Don’t be like your dad, Manny. If you really like Ms. Tati, you should treat her well.“Your dad is too flirty. Marrying him was the unluckiest thing in my life. I had no choice. I’ve been his wife for decades and even gave birth to you all. He got me involved in too many things.“He forced me to be in the same boat as him. I’m forced to stick with him for your sake and our family’s benefit. However, if I could turn back time, I’d rather stay single than get married to your dad.“Y