“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
“This is what Mom wanted. They’ll definitely lose if they take this matter to court. Offending me won’t do them any good either.“They should sell their houses and stores. After that, they can return to your hometown and treat the past decades as if they never happened.”Caroline stood and added, “You should get proper rest since your injury hasn’t recovered fully, Dad. Stop speaking ill of us before the caretaker. You should know your place and accept reality.“Your path was already destined the moment you chose to marry Mom. It was your choice, so you can’t resent anyone for it. The Clark family has also gained many benefits from your marriage. There’s nothing to complain about because it’s a fair trade.”Hunter was embarrassed. Caroline had clearly overheard him complaining earlier.“Call Darren over, Caroline. I want to talk to him.”Hunter forgot about his embarrassment and quickly spoke to Caroline as she was about to head out. She looked toward him and said, “Darren wi
“Why are you here, Emma? To visit Dad? Or do you have relatives who are hospitalized?” Caroline asked. She used to feel neutral about her sisters-in-law. When she returned to the Fisher family, they did not treat her well and curried favor with Celine instead. They even joined Celine in bullying her. Later, Caroline discovered her brothers were having affairs. Her sisters-in-law made a huge fuss about it upon finding out. From a woman’s perspective, she naturally supported and spoke for her sisters-in-law. Although she had also warned her brothers, they did not take her seriously. They were punished and only broke things off with their lovers when Belinda caught Hunter cheating on her. Since then, Caroline’s sisters-in-law started treating her better. Many events happened thereafter, which brought them closer. Emma said, “Your brother and I are divorced, Caroline. I’m no longer your sister-in-law. You can call me Em from now on.“I’m here to look for you. I went to your c
Since Carrie was approaching Spring Blossoms, she decided to drop by. It was a pity she could not wreck the store as she was heading there as Mrs. Longbottom.When she arrived, Camryn was not in the store. Only Louise and Leah were there. Carrie asked casually, “Where did your boss go?”“Our boss is very busy. Usually, we’re the ones looking after the store. She only comes by when she’s free. Are you looking for her, Mrs. Longbottom?”Louise and Leah recognized Mrs. Longbottom. “No. Your boss is always around whenever I’m here to buy flowers, so I’m just curious since she isn’t here today. Get me two jade plants. The ones I have aren’t growing well. I want to change them,” said Carrie. She really had jade plants at her villa and she was the one who bought them. In fact, they were growing well. It symbolized her having great luck with wealth.Indeed, she was doing well financially. Mr. Longbottom had never mistreated her in terms of living standards.Carrie wanted to get
Tati kept trying to match her with Austin.As soon as Austin left, Tati came in. Isabella could tell, just by the timing, that it had to be related to Austin.If she had not known how loyal Austin was to her, Isabella might have suspected her cousin was being bribed by him.Tati smiled. “I happened to see Austin leaving when I came in. He was very polite to me and his smile was gentle, and the way he looked at me was respectful. But it’s completely different from how he looks at you, Isa.“I noticed it long ago. When he looks at you, there’s light in his eyes, there’s affection, and tenderness. He’s utterly devoted to you, or rather, he dotes on you.”Isabella was quiet.“Isa, the first time I saw Austin, I knew he was no ordinary person, and I thought you two made a great match. You know me, I don’t joke around about these things, but when I saw him, I just couldn’t help it.“I really think you two are perfect for each other. Before, we didn’t know his real identity, so you mig
Tati hummed in agreement.After her cousin reviewed the documents, Tati said, “Isa, why don’t you try dating? Neither of us has a boyfriend, so outsiders are always thinking they can take control of us through marriage alliances.“You could just date. There’s no need to get married. Or you could even just pretend to date. Make them give up.”Isabella looked up at her cousin, amused. “What? That’s a crazy idea.“I haven’t been in a relationship until now because they all know I’m hard to deal with. They think I don’t even have feelings. If I start dating, they’ll realize I’m just like any other girl who dates and wants to get married. Then, they’ll get even more ideas.”Unless her boyfriend was someone so powerful that no one would dare to touch him. He would have to come from a family strong enough to protect the O'Connor family, and he would need to love only her and not be after her family’s money.Power, status, wealth, and good character were all essential.There were men
Austin quickly left the CEO’s office. Just as he stepped out, he ran into Tati, who was looking for Isabella.“Ms. Tati,” Austin greeted politely.Tati nodded and waited for Austin to leave before she knocked on the office door and entered.“Austin came early today to cook for you,” Tati said, holding a folder in her hand and opening it as she walked toward Isabelle.She sat down at the desk, handed over the folder, and said, “Isa, this is urgent. Please take a look.”Isabella took the document, glancing through it as she replied, “He comes around this time every day, neither early nor late.”“That Longbottom fellow came by again?” Tati asked.It was only after Mr. Longbottom had directly asked to see Isabella that Tati found out the old lecher had come again.“Yes, but I didn’t meet him. He brought some gifts, claiming they were holiday presents for us. I had them sent back. He’s too ambitious, and he has bad intentions. We’re absolutely on guard against him. Why would we give
Isabella turned her head to look at Austin.Austin stopped the massage and asked in a gentle voice, “Are you feeling any discomfort? I can work on it. I don't give people massages often, so I don’t have much experience. I'll keep giving you more massages as practice so I'll be able to serve you better.”“It's not that,” Isabella smiled. “It's actually very comfortable. It’s just that I really want to meet your grandmother every time you mention her.”In Isabella's mind, Austin's grandmother had already become something of a legendary figure.Austin thought to himself, ‘Nana’s already met you. You probably met her before, you just didn't know it was her.’His nana had surely spent a lot of time observing Isabella, getting to know her, and confirming that her character and abilities were suitable for him before choosing Isabella for him.“When you’re less busy, if you’re willing, you can come visit us in Wiltspoon. Lots of flowers bloom in spring, and there’s beautiful scenery ever
When Isabella first took over the family business, many of her grandparents' and parents' friends and relatives openly tried to sabotage her. They played dirty tricks, schemed, and tried various ways to undermine her.They wanted to take advantage of her, and they also did not want her to take control of the family’s legacy. They tried to prevent her from establishing herself in the company, even going as far as to collaborate with outsiders to trap her.She had suffered countless setbacks, faced numerous conspiracies, and even experienced several so-called accidents, nearly losing her life. It was only after all this that she truly understood the treachery of human nature. From that point on, she learned to arm herself with cold indifference.Though she was taking over her own family’s business, it felt like she had to fight through a bloody battle to secure her place, as if she were a king striving to ascend the throne. It was exhausting and disheartening.However, she endured an
Austin said, “He’s definitely here to discuss a potential partnership with your company.“He's just the acting head of the Longbottoms. He doesn’t truly control the family. If the real head returns, everything he’s worked for will go to someone else.“The downfall of Belinda Fisher probably gave him a wake-up call and he doesn’t want to end up like that.“He’s definitely seeking to cooperate with you regarding his personal business. He’s just using the Longbottoms’ name, since their influence in Windermere is enormous.”In terms of wealth, the O'Connors and the Longbottoms were on equal footing, but the O'Connors had fewer members and did not have the same level of influence in Windermere as the Longbottoms.Isabella said, “He’s very ambitious. A partnership would only just be the beginning. Once it’s established, he’ll start thinking about how to cheat us and steal our business.“Plus, he’s very lecherous. Nobody can put a number to how many women he’s toyed with. Some even lost
Tony was aware that whenever his wife had to play the villain, it was always to protect him. He said, “You're right, I misspoke. Your mother isn’t that kind of person.”“Manny, I’ll be leaving soon. You stay here, and I’ll leave half of my men with you. If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me. I’ll be waiting to hear good news from you.” Tony decided to fly to Wiltspoon in the afternoon. He would only stay for two or three days before returning to Havenmill to handle business.However, as he thought about how he was working like a horse for Longbottom Corporation when many of the benefits did not even belong to him personally, Tony felt a bit disgruntled.“Got it.” Manny did not reject his father’s arrangement.As the Longbottom father and son were discussing how to deal with the O’Connors, Austin entered Isabella’s office.Isabella was busy, so Austin did not disturb her. He quietly sat at the tea table and made some tea.“It seems you’ve learned the art of tea-
Manny had never been to Wiltspoon, but he knew from his father that several prominent families in Wiltspoon had close ties with the Johnsons from Annenburg. It was possible that the child adopted by the Johnsons’ young missus was Laurence. Unfortunately, he could not meet that child, so he could not be a hundred percent certain. The child was currently out of sight and well-protected, hidden so effectively that even the Longbottoms’ information network could not find anything. The other prominent families in Wiltspoon were also helping to keep the child hidden, so Manny deeply disliked the people from these families. Even though they were thousands of miles away, they were still an obstacle to him and his father in their pursuit of becoming the true head of the family.“That's right. If we can conquer the O’Connors, we’ll have a backup plan,” his father said. “You must put your all into it, son. If you need help, just let me know, though this is also an opportunity for you to ge