“Alright. I’m on a break like the students now. I’m going there to sort you out and whip you into a henpecked husband if you don’t be good. You can forget your dignity in front of your colleagues.” The smile across Zachary’s face deepened. “So you’re saying that you’ll come here and keep tabs on me if I deliberately stay away from the doctor?” “Don’t you dare, Zachary!” Zachary cowered on purpose. “I’m scared. I wouldn’t dare.” “Alright now. I’m going to stop here. Hurry up and get yourself to the hospital. You’re an adult, yet you don’t take good care of yourself.” Serenity grumbled before hanging up. She left Zachary to his work. “Seren.” “Liberty.” Serenity watched as her sister drew close. “Is Sonny asleep?” “Yeah. I want to take a walk while he’s sleeping. It’s good exercise. I run three times a day now. I put myself on a diet and cut down on my sugar intake.” Liberty stopped and added, “My takeaway from the three-year marriage is that we women should take ca
Clive cussed Zachary in his mind. He was still second-guessing whether it was Zachary when Serenity mentioned her husband’s name. Now that Zachary said that he was away on business, Clive could confirm that Zachary was Serenity’s husband. “When are you coming back?” “Are you that eager to buy me coffee?” “Quit the act, Zachary. I know it all. The wedding ring on Serenity’s finger belongs to the same pair as yours, right? Your wife whose face is not shown in the picture is Serenity, right?” Zachary went radio silent. He neither admitted nor denied it. Clive took Zachary’s silence as his admission to the fact. “When did you two get married? Was it before Serenity went viral on Twitter? You’ve been married for a while, yet you kept quiet about it. Elisa went mad for you and even went all the way to your office to profess her love for you in public!“Elisa became the talk of the town while you went on your aloof and sophisticated self, making a joke out of Elisa. The publi
Zachary terminated the call right away. Despite being hung up on, Clive was not angry at all.He smirked coldly. “You can refuse to acknowledge me as your cousin, Zachary, but I’ll get my way one way or another.” Alice was pouring him a glass of water when she heard his comment. She said, “You’re now family. What do you mean get your way? Whatever reason he keeps his identity a secret, Zachary is Serenity’s husband.” “I’ve been his rival for many years, and none of us ever get the upper hand. Now that I have the chance to climb over his head, I got to make use of the opportunity.” Clive grabbed the glass and took a couple of gulps. “Zachary wound me up badly. I must get my payback when he returns from his business trip. I’ll contact Serenity to come along when he buys me dinner. I bet he’ll have to call me his cousin then.“Honey, I’m walking on air just thinking about my nemesis bowing to me because I’m the older cousin.”“I think you’ve gone mad.” Alice replied amusedly,
Josh sat upright immediately.“Come in.”The door was pushed open, and a bodyguard came in with an invitation.Josh thought that it was an invitation for Julian to a banquet. Unexpectedly, the bodyguard walked straight to him and handed him the invitation. “Mr. Bucham, this is an invitation sent by Mr. Stone. The Stones will be holding a banquet tomorrow night and have invited you to join.”“Me?”Josh took the invitation skeptically and questioned, “The Stones are holding a banquet, and Clive had someone specially send it over? Also, the banquet is tomorrow night? Why so sudden?”Other families might make their banquet known a few days in advance. Some even gave guests ten days of notice so they could get ready.Was this a last-minute decision by the Stone family?Josh remembered how Audrey recognized her two nieces and he guessed the real purpose of the banquet.‘She must wish to introduce her two nieces to Wiltspoon’s elites.‘Hehe, what does Zachary think about it?’“Mr.
What would the scene of a woman meeting her ex-husband and his mistress when out shopping be like?Liberty did not have much of a reaction. As for Jessica, when she walked into the store and saw the Hunt sisters, her instinctive reaction was to cling tightly to Hank’s arm.It was as if she was afraid others would not know they were a couple.“Daddy.”Sonny, who was being held by Serenity, called out to Hank when he saw the latter.The people in the store turned to look at Hank.They saw Hank standing next to the young and beautiful Jessica, then at Liberty, whom Sonny had called “Mommy” earlier. The store clerks looked at Liberty with sympathy.She came out shopping for clothes but ended up catching her husband cheating on her...“Sonny.”Hank walked over to Serenity under the watchful eyes of the store clerks. Jessica followed closely.“Sonny, let Daddy hold you.”Hank reached out to hug Sonny.Serenity did not give him Sonny directly and placed him on the ground instead.
When Liberty was Hank’s wife, Hank led an easy life with everything provided.Now, it was Jessica who was living that life.Hank felt that Jessica was his true love.After defeating Liberty by easily getting promoted to the top and gaining Hank’s deep affection, Jessica could not wait to show off in front of Liberty, trying to provoke her.Liberty did not pay attention to Jessica and picked out a few more sets of clothes for herself.Seeing this, Jessica tried to grab the clothes again.Serenity caught her wrist and said coldly, “Hey, don’t think my sister is easy to bully. She doesn’t care to fight with you, but I won’t allow you to bully her!”She flung the hand away. With a push, Jessica was forced several steps back and retreated to Hank’s side.“Hank Brown, keep an eye on your lover. Don’t let her piss me off or I’ll beat her to a pulp.”Jessica was so angry that she was at a loss for words. “Serenity Hunt, does your man know how brutish you are? Be careful so he doesn’t
“Aunt Audrey...”Audrey raised her hand and motioned for Liberty not to speak.She gazed coldly at Jessica.Jessica cowered. “M-Mrs. Stone.”Audrey turned to her daughter and said, “Elisa, call and inform our family bodyguards to drive over all the luxury cars in our garage so your cousin can ride in all of them one by one. Each of our cars costs at least a million.”“Mrs. Stone, it’s a misunderstanding.”Hank hurriedly tried to smooth things over.“We won’t shop here anymore, Mrs. Stone. We’ll leave right away.”Hank was reminded of the difficulties he was facing at work now and did not dare to confront Audrey head-on.He took away the clothes in Jessica’s hand and passed them to the clerk. He quickly pulled Jessica and left despondently.Jessica did not dare to do anything in front of Audrey, but as soon as she left the shop, she shook off Hank’s hand and stormed forward angrily. “What were you doing just now? You didn’t say a word when you saw me being bullied by those sis
“Even if I give her more than a million dollars, she’ll probably end up spending all of it buying a house, but she still won’t be able to find a job. Unless her aunt keeps supporting her, she won’t be as happy as we are.”Sure enough, Jessica’s mood improved.“A million isn’t even enough for the down payment for a house in downtown Wiltspoon. A friend of mine bought a second-hand apartment in the busiest part of the city a while ago. It’s near a school district and is only seven hundred square feet, but it cost her five million. I was really shocked.”If she had not snatched Hank away, she could not have afforded to buy a house in downtown Wiltspoon with her income.Hank was cognizant that housing prices were exorbitant now.Fortunately, he struck early. If he only bought a house now, he would not be able to buy one in a good location, let alone a school district.“I asked around and heard that Mrs. Stone is a very strong woman. She dislikes weak and incompetent people the most.
Zachary only had eyes for Serenity. He did not fancy any woman other than her. While Zachary did scold Austin badly, he would not actually distance himself from his brother.After all, he only had one biological brother.However, Zachary decided that he would never say another word about Austin’s love life. If Austin were to look for him to talk again, Zachary would only lend an ear to his issues.It had been exasperating.“Alright. You’re twenty-seven. You can think for yourself. You shouldn’t tell me about your love journey in the future though. What do you take me for? You all come looking for me whenever you face problems. Am I a love advisor?“None of you can replicate my love story with Seren, so don’t tell me anything from now on.”Austin smiled sheepishly. He knew Zachary’s anger had not completely subsided.He quickly asked after Serenity and the unborn baby to change the topic, which softened Zachary’s tone. After some time, their call finally ended.Austin si
On the other hand, Austin closed and locked his door as soon as he returned to his room to prevent anyone from peeking. Then, he called Zachary.When Zachary picked up, Austin whispered, “My identity is exposed, Zachary.”“Exposed? What did you do?”Zachary’s voice was deep without betraying his emotions. “Isabella knows that I’m a young master of the Yorks. Her previous classmate had been to Wiltspoon with her husband who was there on a business trip and lived there for half a month. She knows about York Corporation and started asking questions once she heard my surname.“Isabella asked me why I hid my identity from her after I admitted to it. I replied that she never asked about my family tree. Besides, she already did a background check on me twice.”Zachary said, “You didn’t hide it from her on purpose anyway. You simply didn’t go about announcing that you’re from the York family. That doesn’t count as lying.“You were hired by the O’Connors based on your true abilities. Yo
“I think Austin gives you special treatment, Isa. His gaze and smile are different when it comes to you. You’re a clever person. I’m sure you felt something.“Have you ever thought that the person his nana has chosen for him is you?”Isabella frowned. “I don’t even know what his nana looks like, nor have I met her before. How could she possibly choose me? Besides, he said he’d be resigning to pursue that woman.“Anyway, I’m glad that you’re not sad. Just stay away from him and enjoy the food he cooks. Don’t think about anything else.”Tati was speechless.Isabella never believed her when she said she was not interested in Austin at all.However, when Tati thought of the way she acted around Austin, she could not blame Isabella for the misunderstanding. She had been expressing her admiration for Austin too outwardly. Since Isabella was giving her advice, she would do as Isabella said to reassure her.Tati decided not to go over to Isabella’s place for meals and keep a distance
Tati had made it clear that she did not love Austin, and purely admired him. Why was Isabella looking at her like that? Austin’s fiancée would never be her. If it were, Austin would have treated her differently. So who on earth was Austin’s fiancee?Why would Old Mrs. York choose someone from Windermere for him?Austin came to be a chef before pursuing his future wife. Which city in Windermere was his fiancée from? Was it Satbury?If it were Satbury, which elite daughter could it be?There were many elite daughters in Satbury, but not many were superior to the O’Connor daughters. Tati recalled Austin’s special treatment toward Isabella. A thought crossed her mind, ‘Is Isabella the lady Old Mrs. York has chosen for Austin?’“Tati, I want to discuss something work-related with you.”Isabella thought Tati remained silent because of Austin’s news. Therefore, she used work as an excuse and brought Tati to the study on the second floor. After closing the door, Isabella poured
Louis and Phillip were not the only ones worried. Even Delphine and the rest were anxious too. While they did think it was inappropriate for someone of Austin’s status to be their chef, the food he made was truly delicious. They had already gotten used to his cooking. If he were to leave, they would have to adjust their tastes to another chef’s cooking. Tati had even more concerns. Isabella admired capable people. Austin was highly skilled in cooking and had a head for business too. Moreover, he was a young master of a wealthy family. That made him more suitable for Isabella. Would Isabella be attracted?Isabella probably could feel how differently he treated her, right?“Did you chase Austin away, Isa? Why didn’t he come back with you?”Louis continued asking questions. He was worried that Isabella might have fired Austin. Not only could Austin make delicious food, but he would also play with the boys. Louis and Phillip really liked Austin. They thought he was fun,
Austin knew her question was related to Tati.He was aware of Tati’s admiration for him.Nevertheless, he recognized Tati’s feelings as pure admiration. On the contrary, Tati must have noticed that he treated Isabella differently. She probably told Isabella about it in private, but Isabella simply did not have plans for marriage due to her heavy responsibilities. Austin said with certainty, “No. Although I haven’t succeeded in pursuing her, I’ve set my heart on her. She’s my fiancée, and she’ll become my wife in the future. The York family doesn’t allow divorce unless our wives cheat on us. However, that definitely won’t happen.“Every woman Nana chose has a good character and values.“I’ll be loyal to my marriage and family. I’ll only love my only wife for my entire life. How outstanding other women are is none of my business.”Austin did not want to be like Dylan. He would rather spend more time inventing recipes. Isabella said with a hint of regret, “Okay.”She had to te
Isabella could not find anyone who suited her tastes in Satbury. She knew the city was filled with talented young men, but none made her heart race. Their goal was usually the O’Connor family business. The men knew Louis was young and that Isabella was the head of the family. If they could win her heart, it would be equivalent to conquering the O’Connor family. From there, they could gradually swallow the family whole. Isabella dared not date anyone. She was scared of falling into someone’s trap. She would not let her feelings show, even if she had a crush on someone.“Many people are aiming for my family’s status and wealth. I dare not date or get married for fear that I’d destroy the family once and for all. Those people will go to great lengths for money and power.”Isabella was even wary of young masters of wealthy families, let alone ambitious men from inferior backgrounds. “I know Nana is doing this for us. She had chosen our wives. Our parents didn’t need to worry
Isabella knew it would not be that quick. By the time Louis could take over, which would be twenty years later, she would already be close to fifty years old. If she got married and had children within the next two years, her children could inherit her businesses a few years after Louis took over the family business. That way, she could finally retire for good. “Austin, you’re aware that I sent someone to Wiltspoon to investigate your background, right? There was no information about you being a young master of the Yorks. Was it because you didn’t want me to know about it?”“No.”Austin said honestly, “I wasn’t aware. Zachary was the one who told me that you investigated me twice. You couldn’t find the connection between me and York Corporation because Zachary covered it up for me.“He knew that I was here to cook and improve my skills. If you knew I was a young master of the wealthiest family in Wiltspoon, you might not have hired me as your private chef. If so, I wouldn’t be
Isabella smiled and said, “If the person taking over the family business doesn’t have true ability, they won’t be able to bear the responsibility. In this way, they can still prove themselves. Of course, starting a business from scratch and inheriting from a generation or two back is different.“For those who are supported by their family, no matter how many achievements they have, others will say they relied on their family’s support. If they fail, people will call them useless and a waste, and that family wealth will never last more than three generations. They’ll just wait for your family to go bankrupt.“So, without real ability, no one can take over the family business.”Austin was silent for a moment before responding, “What you say is true. My eldest brother, for example, is very capable. Although we could all take on the responsibility, none of us is as steady as he is. He’s the real anchor of our family. With him around, we don’t have to worry even if the sky falls.“Becau