The gifts Mom prepared for him were only for Granddad, Grandmom, and Dad, so his aunt was upset and wanted him to call Mom and ask her to prepare Christmas gifts for her too. However, Aunt Chel was bad. He did not want to give her any Christmas gifts.“Sonny,” Olivia called out, but did not know what to say after that.In the end, she complained to Luke, “Why didn’t you have Hank take Sonny into his room when you were saying those things? It’s not good for him to hear all that. He’s still just a child.”“Now you realize Sonny is still a child? How old is he? If you're worried those words will taint his ears, you should’ve controlled your daughter better and stopped her from sprouting ill intentions again. How dare she still try to take advantage of Liberty?“If it weren’t for Sonny, does she think she would have even been able to open her shop, considering Zachary York’s means back then? She’d have gone bankrupt long ago and into massive debt. Serenity only left us a way out, a c
Meanwhile, at Dunboy Manor in Satbury, Isabella and her younger cousins were in the garden after lunch, sitting in the gazebo and watching Louis and Phillip play in the snow. Austin walked over carrying a tray. Soon, he reached the gazebo, his handsome face naturally lighting up with a warm smile. All the young O’Connor ladies thought the private chef Isabella hired this time was truly a pleasant sight. Not only was his cooking delicious, but he was also very handsome. His smile was warm like a spring breeze and just looking at his smile made the chill in the air feel less intense. They did not feel cold at all even with the snow falling outside, and truly, they were not cold. After all, they were dressed warmly in thick clothes.Usually, everyone was busy with their work or studies, and they rarely had the time or leisure to gather for a chat. When Isabella invited them to enjoy the snow together, they were happy to come, and watching the boys play so happily, completely unb
Edith thought that even if the food was not delicious, she could still taste the finest delicacies just by looking at Austin. Well, she was a sucker for looks.Isabella chuckled, “Why thank me? I’m not the one preparing everything. Austin will be doing all that.”“I’m Ms. Isabella’s chef. Her wish is my command,” Austin added gently. What he meant was, that if she had not agreed or had not invited them, the other young ladies could forget about tasting the barbecue he prepared.Apart from Isabella, the other young ladies all laughed. Austin had another good quality—he was loyal to Isabella and truly orbited around her. Isabella glanced at Austin with a smile and said, “Austin, go take a break. We’ll stay here for a bit longer. Once those two boys are tired of playing, we’ll head back inside.”Austin nodded respectfully and exited the gazebo. He even played with the two young masters for a little while before heading back to his quarters.Edith watched Austin’s retreating figure
“Hey, Ruth.”“Hey, Isabella, you're on vacation now, right?” Ruth asked over the phone.“Yeah, I am. What's up? You’re not inviting me to that class reunion again, are you? I'm not interested in that, so you don't need to keep trying to persuade me.” Isabella made it clear that she was not interested in the class reunion.When she was still studying, she kept a low profile, so not many people knew she was an O'Connor. However, after her grandfather passed away, her parents lacked the ability to shoulder the heavy family responsibilities, so even before she graduated, she had to step up. That was when her classmates found out that she was actually the eldest daughter of the O'Connor family.As there were many daughters and few sons in her family, before her brother was born, many people were eager to take advantage of the situation to monopolize the family's wealth. To that end, many pursued her and her cousin Tati simply because they were the oldest and the ones who had taken u
Ruth silently told herself that from now on, she would prioritize her friend's happiness and stop helping others gather information.Isabella was a busy person, and she was only just turning twenty-seven. There was no need for her to rush into marriage and she did not need her friend to worry about it for her.Many strong and successful women were still single well into their thirties or forties.“We’re having a barbecue tonight. If you don’t mind, come join us. But don’t come with the intention of playing matchmaker for me. If that’s the case, I’m not inviting you,” Isabella said.Ruth laughed, “I promise I won’t meddle in that. You’re only twenty-seven and you’re still young, there’s no need to rush.”She had gotten married early, but Isabella was different. Isabella bore heavy responsibilities.Caleb had even mentioned that he was willing to marry into the O'Connor family instead, but Ruth knew that he would not be able to help Isabella much. As the son-in-law of the O'Conno
Soon, even Tati ran out and joined the others.Only Isabella remained seated in the gazebo, sipping her tea while watching the younger ones play joyfully. Her personality made it difficult for her to indulge in carefree fun like the rest. However, seeing them so happy lifted her own spirits, and she felt content.She found the tea Austin made to her liking. In the past, she rarely drank tea, as she mostly drank coffee. She would have two cups of coffee every day to keep herself going.After returning to his dorm, Austin lay on his bed but did not immediately fall asleep. Instead, he picked up his phone and chatted with his cousins. He was closest to Peter and River, given their close age gap, and they often chatted the most. At this moment, he was on a call with River.He asked about the situation at home and whether their nana was mad at him for not coming home for Christmas.River replied, “Everything’s fine at home. Nana’s not mad that you’re not coming home. In fact, she’s
As for their future partners, they also had certain requirements. First, their family background should be comparable to the O’Connors, and secondly, they should be from this city or a nearby city—wherever it was, it could not be too far away.Austin had been working for Isabella for some time and had secretly figured out her requirements for a husband. He thought it would be easy when his nana had chosen Isabella for him, but he now understood that it was not as simple as he had assumed.Not only was it hard for Isabella to fall in love, but her refusal to move far from home would also be an obstacle in their relationship. Would he have to marry into her family?Hayden was also in charge of her family company, but she had a twin brother who was just as capable as her. After marrying into the York family, the company could be handed over to her brother to manage.Isabella’s brother had only just started elementary school, so it would take at least another twenty years before Loui
Austin slept for an hour and then got up. He had to prepare the barbecue ingredients for Isabella, and the marinade was very important. If the O'Connor family was having a barbecue, Austin would actually have it quite easy. He just needed to prepare the marinade whereas the actual ingredients would be prepared by someone else, so he did not need to do everything himself. Of course, if he wanted to take charge and do it all, that was fine too.While Austin was busy in the kitchen, he heard a crisp voice coming from the hall, laughing while asking, “Isabella, where’s that handsome chef of yours? Can I take a look at him? I made sure not to bring my husband along just to see him, so he wouldn’t get jealous.”Austin was speechless. Being handsome could be troublesome too; everyone treated him like a circus monkey. He was not even the most handsome among his brothers. Zachary was the most good-looking and charismatic. If these women saw him, would they go crazy?He heard Isabella sa
“Besides, he caught a cold just from standing outside for half an hour without his jacket last time. He was only fine because he drank some spicy soup and took some medicine. Also, he has a strong body, because if it were other people, they would’ve fallen sick.“I just wanted to torture him a little. I don’t want him to die. I still need him so I can marry into the York family.”Layla smiled. “The York family has many young masters. It doesn’t have to be him. His cousins are of similar age as you, right?”“Peter is close to my age, but he already has a fiancée. Austin already has an arranged partner too. River and the rest are too young. Even if they were offered to me, I wouldn’t want them. I don’t like being the older one in a relationship.”Rowan was not even a legal adult yet.Layla said, “Okay. Old Mrs. York is a weird lady, but I can’t deny that she has a good eye for people.“I think Dylan isn’t even good enough for you. He can’t win against you in a fight, and his IQ and
If Imogen hated the noise and excitement in the air, she would not have snooped around as Chameleon Fox. That identity allowed her to explore and have fun. Sometimes, she would step up to help someone or be a troublemaker and offend someone.Layla walked over and sat down. She watched Imogen’s charming face and smiled. “That York guy is here again. He’s waiting at the company’s entrance. He has a bouquet in his hands, and his new car is parked behind him.“It looks like he wants to invite you to have a dinner date with him.”Layla asked, “What is he trying to do? Are you still planning to accept him?”Dylan had been living in a hotel since his arrival in Huntington. He was already looking at houses but had not found one he liked yet.Grandma May suggested he learn from Remy and buy a house right beside the Doyle family's. It would make it more convenient for him to pursue Imogen.However, none of the Doyles’ neighbors intended to sell their houses. Those people did not lack money
Imogen did not give Dylan a reply. She was still in the office.She did not even have time to look at his messages. She just wanted to finish her work as soon as possible so she could leave and eat.Did Dylan not need to work?He also had a company under his name. Even if he was not involved in managing York Corporation, he still had to manage his own company, right?Imogen was extremely busy.She had been overwhelmed with work since she resumed working yesterday. She would be at a meeting, on her way to see a client, handling documents, or solving issues at a branch company.Imogen barely had time to take a sip of water, let alone reply to Dylan’s messages.Seeing Dylan being so relaxed while she was working so hard put her in a bad mood. Her urge to ignore him gradually increased.As her parents had mentioned, she had other men to choose from. Dylan was not her only option.She could fall in love with someone else.Even if Imogen were to choose Dylan in the end, she would m
However, they had heard that this man had previously pursued Imogen, and those who had a good memory and had seen Dylan before, had already recognized him.When Imogen seemed a bit interested, this man then said he did not love her and went to pursue someone else. After failing to win over that person, he backtracked to pursue their vice president once more. This behavior left many people with a bad impression of Dylan.What did he take their vice president for?It was worth noting that Imogen was the chairman’s niece and the president’s sister. The chairman treated his own daughter and niece the same, and in the Doyle family, she was very much favored by her elders. The Doyles were one of the top families in Huntington, and as part of it, Imogen did not have to worry about finding a husband.Dylan ignored the looks people gave him. His gaze fixed on the cars coming out of the Davidson Group building, afraid that if he blinked, Imogen would pass him by.He watched the employees le
Duncan called Serenity to inform her that he was taking Sonny to the Lewises’ for dinner and would send him back later. Naturally, Serenity had no objections. With her nephew being well taken care of by Duncan, Serenity had time to go shopping with Jasmine. Jasmine was buying baby supplies as she was eight months pregnant and it was high time to prepare for the baby’s arrival. Watching Jasmine pick up items for her baby made Serenity feel the itch, and she ended up buying a ton of stuff for both her baby and Sonny.In the evening, Zachary and Josh came to pick up their wives.They both managed to cancel their appointments, leaving the task of handling work engagements to Callum and other senior executives. The two men who were once the busiest had now become the ones who most enjoyed slacking off.“Why did you buy so much? Where’s Sonny?” Zachary asked as he walked toward Serenity when he got out of the car. He saw his wife and her bodyguards carrying a bunch of shopping bags. T
Olivia cursed Duncan one last time. “You won’t have a good ending bullying the weak!” she spat before she was pulled away by her husband.Duncan watched them leave, his expression cold. “Dunc, don't be angry. My grandmom is always like that. When Lucas wanted my toys before, I cried and refused to let him take them. My mom wouldn’t let him either, but she always scolded my mom. I still remember that.”Sonny could vaguely remember some things from when he was two years old. It had only been a little over two years since then, after all.As he comforted Duncan, he gently touched Duncan's face, speaking softly, “Aunt Ser says we shouldn’t get too angry. If we get too angry, we’ll grow old faster. I don’t want you to get old, Dunc. I want you to stay just like this forever.“Dunc, please don’t be mad anymore. I won’t eat the fried chicken my grandmom buys for me anymore.”Duncan could not help but feel both amused and heartbroken for both Sonny and Liberty, who had been mistreated b
“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