Serenity lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. Alas, Zachary had turned away and walked off. She stared blankly as Zachary took large strides away. The hurt sneaked up on her. Serenity had no idea whether it was because of him or herself. Jasmine and Elisa were talking about something outside when Zachary came out of the shop with a grimacing look. Without looking at the girls, he made a beeline to his usual ride—the Rolls Royce. Zachary had gotten rid of his security team, but the chauffeur stayed behind in case Zachary needed a ride. Seeing that Zachary was out, the chauffeur got out of the car and opened the door for him. Zachary, together with the Rolls Royce, disappeared out of Jasmine and Elisa’s sight in no time. Elisa and Jasmine were left staring at each other. The girls immediately turned on their heels and rushed back into the shop. Serenity was not behind the cash register. Her crafting tools sat quietly on the cash register with trails of blood all over the
“It has nothing to do with Zachary. I cut myself by accident.” Acting like everything was okay, Serenity said to Elisa, “Elisa, the thing about me and Zachary…” “I don’t blame you, Seren. You don’t have to explain or apologize to me. It’s not like we just met. I’m only furious that Zachary lied to both of us. He made a monkey out of us cousins.” Moments ago, Jasmine had told Elisa the whole story about Serenity finding out Zachary’s identity. Elisa’s heart went out to her cousin who was fooled the whole time. “Seren, I gave up on Zachary a long time ago. I got over Zachary the moment I found out he was married. I feel more at peace after I backed off and stopped thinking about him for a while. Don’t let me come in the way of your decision. Lying aside, he’s someone you can spend the rest of your life with. “Of course, since he played you like a fiddle, I hope you take your time in forgiving him. At least, make him suffer for a bit.” Now that Elisa thought about it, she was
Zachary showed a sour face and held his tongue. Since there was no point talking sense into Zachary now, Josh suggested, “Why don’t you stay in the office while I do the snooping around for you? I think you need some distraction and what better way to get your mind off things than work? It will take more than a day or two before the conflict between you and your wife can be resolved. “It doesn’t help to hurry things along. You’re only making more room for mistakes if you rush into it.” It was true that Zachary needed to do something to distract himself. Helpless, he said, “You’ve just gotta let me know that you want to skip work. Don’t use spying for me as an excuse.” Josh chuckled. “I’ve been working my *ss for you for so many years. It’s time I get a couple of days off.” He and Jasmine had not made progress in their relationship. It was probably due to Zachary and Serenity that Jasmine remained on the sidelines. Josh could tell Jasmine was interested, but she held her fe
Judging by the timing of Josh’s arrival, Jasmine guessed that Zachary went to the office. “What did Elisa say or do when she found out that Zachary was Mr. York?” Josh did not send the photos to Zachary right away after taking them. Elisa had taken Serenity to the hospital to redress the injury anyway. Zachary would summon him back to the office while he himself would check on his wife at the hospital if Josh were to send him the photos right now. Josh selfishly thought to himself, ‘All I’m asking for is a half-day.’ He wanted to spend some alone time with Jasmine before going back to slaving himself at the office. Josh believed he must have owed Zachary tremendously in another life because he was ungrudgingly paying Zachary back by bending over backward now. “She blamed Mr. York for lying to Serenity. She didn’t do anything though. Mr. York didn’t defend himself, probably because he couldn’t talk his way out of the truth.” Jasmine looked at Josh. “You wealthy and power
Josh was not impressed, to say the least. He had asked Jasmine out many times, but her parents still had no clue that he was pursuing their daughter. Here Mrs. Sox thought Mr. Bucham was asking Drake out. Josh was lost for words. Jasmine took her mother’s call. “Mom.” Jasmine chirped, “What can I do for you, mother dearest?” “Don’t act smart with me. Come home early tonight. We’re going to your aunt’s for dinner.” Jasmine asked warily, “What’s the occasion since we’re having dinner at Aunt Rachel’s place?” Mrs. Sox fell silent for a while before asking in a hushed tone, “Is Serenity with you?” “No.” “Good. Shawn’s back but only for a couple of days. Your aunt has been missing him since he went to Havenmill. Mothers are all the same. We can’t stop worrying when our children are miles away. Now that Shawn’s back for a few days, your aunt wants to organize a get-together.” Scowling, Jasmine glanced at Josh and relayed the question that had been bugging her. “Mom, is
Mrs. Sox would not approve if Shawn continued to dwell on Serenity. What was the meaning of pestering a married woman? “Oh, that reminds me. Your aunt found another nice man for you. You can meet the guy at tonight’s dinner. Your aunt said the guy doesn’t come from a wealthy family. She gave up on that criteria since you hate it so much.” Truth be told, Mrs. Lowe knew her niece had kissed goodbye the notion of marrying a rich husband the moment Jasmine lay herself down on the floor at Mrs. Dawson’s birthday party. That was when Mrs. Lowe called it quits on playing the matchmaker. After staying out of her niece’s business for a while, Mrs. Lowe was once again back to find a man for her niece. Jasmine was twenty-six and single with no boyfriend in sight. Aunt Rachel was nervous for her niece who was not getting any younger. The anxiousness was getting to Mrs. Sox too. The two ladies would always think about setting Jasmine up on dates whenever they got together. “Your aunt
Nevertheless, Josh was a brilliant man. Mrs. Sox would sigh to herself every time Josh invited her son out for dinner. She would leap with delight if Josh asked her daughter out instead. In fact, Mrs. Sox would be laughing in her sleep. Josh earnestly replied, “Mrs. Sox, I’m not pretending to be Jasmine’s date. To put it accurately, I’m pursuing Jasmine. She hasn’t agreed to be my girlfriend.” Mrs. Sox put the phone away from her ear, making sure she had called the right number. She picked her ear before placing the phone back against it. She asked, “Are you really Mr. Bucham?” “It’s me, Mrs. Sox.” “Did you say you’re wooing Jasmine and not Drake?” Josh replied, “Mrs. Sox… I’m a straight guy. I only like women.” He moaned in his mind, ‘My future mother-in-law and Jasmine are the same to suspect I have a thing for Drake.’Amusingly, Mrs. Sox did not stop him from asking Drake out despite her suspicions. The old lady was quite open-minded. “But you’re so nice to Drake,
Unfortunately, those good days were coming to an end.Josh finally ended the call with Mrs. Sox.He returned the phone to Jasmine and looked at her with a smile and said, “Let’s go to your aunt’s house for dinner tonight. What should I prepare? What’s my status now?”Jasmine glanced at him as she continued to eat, and said, “Even if you’re a scumbag, my aunt and the others will still think that you’re the best.”He was Josh Bucham, the Mr. Bucham from York Corporation, and from the mysterious Bucham family. That status and identity were what her aunt wanted her niece to have.When they discovered that Serenity’s husband was the heir of the York family, Jasmine’s mother and aunt envied Serenity’s good fortune in front of Jasmine for having taken one of the most outstanding men in Wiltspoon.They always looked at Jasmine when they praised Serenity, and Jasmine knew very well what those expressions meant.Josh said confidently, “I’m not a scumbag. Not to blow my own trumpet, but th
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
Tony Longbottom was the only person who would put on such a parade. The big shots in Satbury usually had entourages of their own, but none would put on a spectacle as big as Tony would.As they departed in their car, Tony’s gracious demeanor utterly shattered.His face twisted into an ugly, cruel expression as he said, “I’ve never been treated like this before, even when the legitimate branch of the family still lived, and those two ignorant little girls actually refused to see me multiple times.”Manny was very angry too and he said, “Pops, since they refuse to go about this the easy way, we’ll have to show them the hard way. We can approach it from other angles, and once they’re completely out of business and they have nowhere else to turn to, they’ll be at our mercy.“Won’t they have to do as we please then? I want to marry them, they’ll have to marry me, and if I don’t, I’ll just make them my mistresses. Don’t the O’Connors have plenty of daughters? I’ll fuck every one of them
“Isabella O’Connor is so outstanding, so why are you asking me to go for Tati O’Connor instead?” Manny said under his breath in puzzlement.He had seen photos of the two ladies and Isabella’s appearance was more striking. She had a cold and aloof aura that easily triggered his desire to conquer her, and after just a few glances, he was captivated.If it were up to him, Manny would choose Isabella.Tony looked at his son, smiled, and said, “You can’t control her. Of course, if you manage to make her fall for you, we can talk about switching. But for now, focus on Tati O’Connor.”Tati was also beautiful. However, she did not have Isabella’s cold demeanor. She seemed much gentler, like she smiled often.“Marrying Tati O’Connor would be a big advantage for both you and our family.”Manny thought for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “Got it, Dad.”Manny’s good looks, wealth, honeyed tongue, and generosity toward girls made him good at winning them over. Pursuing a rich youn
After testing the O’Connor sisters and realizing they were not like other women, Mr. Longbottom thought of having his son marry Tati.He knew that his son would not be able to handle or control Isabella, so he set his sights on Tati. Tati probably did not realize she was considered an easy target. Most people underestimated her because she had always kept a low profile.At that moment, a young man got out from the other side of the Rolls-Royce. He resembled Mr. Longbottom. Indeed, he was Mr. Longbotton’s eldest son, Manny.“Dad.”Manny went to his father’s side and glanced at the building before him. He asked, “Aren’t we driving inside?”In Havenmill, Manny could do whatever he wished because his father was the interim head of the Longbottom family. While he had no respect for ordinary people at all, he was clever enough not to offend people he should not.He never parked his car outside the places he wanted to go and simply drove his car through the gates. However, Manny