Duncan went and gave the pinwheel to Sonny. Sonny refused to take the pinwheel from him. “Mr. Lewis, Sonny has a lot of toys already.” “It’s not much. I was passing by a toy store and thought the pinwheel at the entrance was nice. I bought him one since the wind’s strong today, and he’d probably enjoy it.” He dropped by to give Sonny the pinwheel. Otherwise, Duncan would not have come in. Handing the pinwheel to Liberty, Duncan said, “Hold it for Sonny.” Since the pinwheel did not cost a lot, Liberty accepted the gift and thanked Duncan on behalf of Sonny before handing the pinwheel to her son. Sonny took the pinwheel. Duncan said hesitantly, “Sonny’s scared of me. I gave him the pinwheel, but he didn’t want it. He took it the moment you gave it to him.” Liberty replied amid chuckles, “I’m his mother. I have been with him since he was in my womb till today, so I’m his closest person.” Duncan laughed in delight. “Sorry, that came out wrong.” Looking around the shop
Even so, Mrs. Brown did not like it one bit. Duncan was the boss of a company. Although his face was ruined, the man was loaded. Mrs. Brown and her daughter stood in front of Lewis & Co.’s office building the whole morning while waiting for Liberty back then. She heard from her son that Lewis & Co. was one of the biggest corporations in Wiltspoon and a more influential company than the place her son was working at. Her son mentioned that he himself might not pass the interview and become a senior executive at Lewis & Co. It did not sit well with Hank that Liberty was employed by Lewis & Co. as he realized Liberty could get back on track to a successful career when she returned to the workplace. It was a good thing that the couple was divorced now. Hank did not have to worry about being overshadowed by his wife. Since Jessica was his secretary and she relied heavily on him, it fed his ego as a man. Having recognized Mrs. Brown, Duncan stopped in his tracks and shot a glare
“Sonny.” Mrs. Brown entered the shop smiling and pulled up a toy car from her purse. She said to Sonny, “Look, Sonny. I bought you a toy.” “Grandma.” Sonny had no idea what happened among the adults, so he would still acknowledge his grandparents’ and father’s presence. Liberty held grudges against the Browns, but she was ready to move on after the divorce. So long as the Browns stayed out of her business, Liberty could keep her cool when meeting her ex-husband’s family. She never spoke ill about her ex-husband’s family while Sonny was around. No matter what, Hank was Sonny’s father. Liberty put Sonny down. Mrs. Brown crouched to get to Sonny’s eye level. She handed the toy car to Sonny in exchange for the pinwheel which was a gift from Duncan. Call it her killer instinct but she had the feeling that Duncan was trying to get to Liberty through Sonny. For a divorced single mother to find a second chance in love, the most important thing was to see whether the man was
“Jessica wants the reception to be at Wiltspoon Hotel. How much is that going to cost? We’re paying for the reception. Instead of marrying for love, Hank is marrying himself into debt.” Mrs. Brown whined, “It’s not like she can lay a golden egg.” Liberty grabbed a cloth and wiped the table. All the while, she listened to whatever Mrs. Brown had to say without giving her two cents. Her former mother-in-law came to her to vent about Jessica because the latter was demanding and did not hold back on splurging. If Jessica was foolish like Liberty for paying for the renovations and refusing the Browns to pay for the wedding and family support, her ex-mother-in-law would probably brag about Hank marrying someone younger and more beautiful right after the divorce. Mrs. Brown would laugh at her for being fat and ugly. No one would want Liberty after she left Hank. “Liberty, have you been thrifty and skipping meals lately? You seem to have lost a lot of weight.” “Mrs. Brown, I’m no
“Liberty, I got to go. I’ll visit you and Sonny some other time.” Mrs. Brown left these words before making the run for it. Serenity carried Sonny out the door as they watched Mrs. Brown get into a taxi. Serenity clicked her tongue once it was confirmed that the old lady had left the building. She shot off. “She’s never been so eager to see Sonny before, so why change now?” Sonny was holding the toy car that Mrs. Brown stuffed in his hands before leaving. Taking the toy car from Sonny, Serenity asked, “Do you like the toy car, Sonny?” “No.” Shaking his head, Sonny replied, “I have a lot of toy cars.” All of them could move whereas the toy car that Grandma gave him could not.“Why don’t we throw it away?” After much thought, Sonny answered, “For Lucas.” He believed Lucas would not go after his toys if he had his own toy car. “Sonny, Lucas will never fight with you over your toys anymore. If you don’t want to throw the toy car away, we can give it away to other child
Serenity said, “I understand that another marriage isn’t on the table now, but I’m speaking in terms of the future. You’re young, Liberty. Are you planning to be single for the rest of your life?” “Why not? I think I’m doing fine. I don’t need to wait on my in-laws hand and foot or deal with any issue with a mother-in-law and a sister-in-law. I can do whatever I want and spend on whatever I want. I feel free.” Thanks to her newfound freedom, it dawned on Liberty why more and more women did not want to take the marriage route. Serenity was speechless. “Don’t worry about me, Seren. My life can’t be better. Don’t you think I’m happier now that I’m divorced?” Serenity nodded her head. “Don’t you wish I’ll always be happy?” “Of course.” “Don’t bring up the possibility of a second marriage. I just escaped from hell, but Seren, this shouldn’t be a reason for you to be afraid of marriage. Yours is different from mine. Zachary seems like a reliable guy. There was no guarantee
“Zachary owns a villa in a high-end residential area. The villa is huge with a front and back garden. The view is breathtaking. I did my research and found the price of the villas starting from ten million dollars.” Liberty was speechless. “Zachary said he makes millions in annual income and doesn’t have big spending. He saved quite a bit of money to buy the villa, but it’s still on a mortgage.”“How much does he have to pay for his mortgage?” “I didn’t ask. It’s his house. The mortgage is his business. I won’t demand a share of his house if we end up separating.” “Don’t jinx yourself. What do you mean separate? Your marriage has only begun. You should invest in your relationship. Don’t be like me.” Liberty wanted nothing about a divorce coming from her sister’s mouth. Since she failed in her marriage, she hoped her sister had a better chance at spending the rest of her life with Zachary. “It’s right for you to think so. His house is his unless he offers to put you in th
“Zachary’s back from the business trip. You can take him to meet Aunt Audrey when you have time.” Liberty changed the subject.Liberty had no way to tell whether Zachary was related to the richest family in Wiltspoon, but their aunt was the wife of Stone Group’s chairman, so she must have seen the York brothers before. If Serenity took Zachary to see their aunt, they would know whether Zachary deceived Serenity about his identity.Mrs. Lane was listening on the side and thought she should remind Zachary when he got home at night.It would be better for him to confess to Serenity as soon as possible.“Zachary said he won’t be free until after New Year. He’s been very busy recently, and his company is holding an annual dinner soon.”“Does his company allow employees to bring their family members to the annual dinner? Did Zachary say that he’ll take you?”Serenity had never worked in corporate before, but Liberty did and was familiar with the culture. Liberty thought that if Zachary
“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
“I’m sorry. I have a business appointment tonight.”Tati rejected Manny’s invitation without hesitation. Manny had been pursuing her relentlessly. If she were to have a meal with him, the paparazzi stalking them would take pictures and she would be on the local entertainment headlines the next day. She would not give Manny any chances to advertise false information about their relationship. Manny looked disappointed. “Another day then.“By the way, you’ll be attending a banquet two days later, right? Can I be your escort?”Tati and Isabella would not attend just any banquet. Families who could invite them were wealthy and close to the O’Connors. Ordinary banquets could never have Tati and Isabella as guests. Manny had gathered information for two days. He heard that one of the wealthy families in Satbury would be holding a banquet to celebrate their old missus’s eightieth birthday, and many guests were invited to liven up the celebration. A missus of that family was clos
“My family isn’t inferior to yours, sweet Tati. The Longbottoms even surpass the O’Connors. As a young master of the Longbottoms, why will I go after your family’s money?“Money has never been a problem for the Longbottom family. In fact, you and I are the best match for each other. Our families are equally rich. If we get together, it’ll be a joining of two strong forces.”Tati wanted to say that while the Longbottom family surpassed the O’Connors, Manny was not the true person in power within his family. Even his father was not the legitimate head. The power and wealth of the Longbottom family belonged to the true head of the family. Tony and Manny Longbottom were simply managing the family in the interim. Did they think the family had become theirs?If the son of the previous Longbottom family head grew up and returned to take charge of the family, Tony and Manny would no longer have any influence. They would only receive some compensation for their hard work. Without the L
Tati looked toward Manny and said in a serious tone, “If you love someone, you’d be considerate of her and do what’s best for her.“Meanwhile, you’re disregarding any inconvenience this might cause me just to appear romantic. You know I’m busy, yet you put flowers here and blocked my way, wasting my time.“Do your actions truly reflect your love for me? Are you being considerate of me?”Tati would not have said a word if Manny had asked his people to place the flowers in an empty spot. However, he just had to do it at the entrance of the company, attracting many people. Her company security team could not even chase them away. They knew Manny’s identity and that he was pursuing her. If the security chased him away, the Longbottom and O’Connor families could end up enemies. Secondly, they were worried about getting fired if Tati were to accept Manny’s feelings one day and decide to punish them. Tati would not blame the security for failing to execute their duty. After Manny s