“There’s always wind blowing from any direction.”Grandma May slapped away Callum’s hand that wanted to support her. “No need for that. I’m still hale and hearty. I won’t die until I see all of you marry and have children.”“Then I won’t marry and have children. I’ll let you live until you’re two hundred years old, Nana.”Grandma May whacked Callum.“You little brat. I followed your big brother back to the office today to talk about your marriage.”Callum was speechless. Was it too late for him to escape now?Of course, it was.He hurriedly helped his nana to the couch for a seat, then knelt in front of her and helped to massage her legs. He asked a little curiously yet nervously, “Who do you have your eye on, Nana? Is it someone I know?”He was aware that his nana had recently set her target on him.It was because he was the second born. Since the eldest got married, it was his turn now.“Nana, I’ll say this first. I’m not interested in getting married out of nowhere. Don’t
Callum pointed to the handsome man in the photo. “So, he’s a she?”“She has a fraternal twin brother, but they look exactly the same. Her family raised her as a boy since childhood, so she acts like a man. People outside of her family think that she’s the eldest son.”“How did you know she’s actually a woman?”Callum heard of Casey Stoll before, and he had seen pictures of her too. At first glance, she really did look like a man, but it was not because she was deliberately trying to come off as the opposite sex. She dressed androgynously, but since she was known for her power and influence, people misunderstood and thought she was a man.The handsome guy in the photo was different from Casey. She was raised as a man and also deliberately dressed like a man. She had thick eyebrows and large eyes, looked grim and cold, and her tall figure was dressed in a suit. Anyone who looked at her would think she was a he.Callum flipped over the photo and read the woman’s profile on the other
“No. I’ll only help you and Kevin find a candidate for the time being. There’s no hurry for the others.”Callum tried to drag his younger brothers into this. “Only Rowan is still a minor. Alex just turned twenty this year, and the others are at the legal marriageable age. You can’t be biased, Nana. Let them all get married. The more granddaughters-in-law you have, the greater your chance of having a great-granddaughter.”Grandma May said, “I’m counting on Seren to give me a great-granddaughter. The fortune-teller said that Seren’s firstborn will be a girl.”Callum asked, “When did you become so superstitious?”“Since your big brother actually fell in love with Serenity. Fortune-telling is an age-old art. It’s worth believing in a little.”After she finished speaking, she stood up. “I won’t bother you with your work. I’ll go to Liberty’s shop to have a look. I miss Sonny after not seeing him for so long. Liberty’s breakfast diner will be open for business soon, right?”Callum said
“Mrs. York.”“Mrs. York.”The two receptionists greeted Serenity respectfully with a smile when they saw her come in.Serenity smiled in return. The receptionists had always been very nice to her.One of the receptionists went around the desk and led Serenity toward the elevator entrance. She glanced at the insulated lunch boxes that Serenity was carrying.“Zachary’s stomach isn’t feeling well lately, so I brought him food. It’s almost lunch break, right?”Serenity came over early.The receptionist looked concerned. “Mr. York’s stomach isn’t feeling well? He should take care of himself.”She thought in her heart, ‘The CEO has been working all day nonstop recently and isn’t having his meals on time. Most of the time, it’s Mr. Chaplin who packs food for him to eat at the office, but I heard Mr. Chaplin say that Mr. York still often forgets to eat because of his busy schedule.‘It’s only natural that he’ll have stomach problems like that.’“We’re having our lunch break soon,” th
“Seren, why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would’ve gone downstairs to pick you up.”Zachary took the insulated lunch boxes from his wife, fearing that she would be tired from carrying them. He turned around to place the two boxes on his desk, then led her by the hand to sit on the sofa.His fiery eyes glued to her body.Callum spat in his heart, ‘If he could dig out his eyeballs and stick them on Serenity, I guess he would do it without hesitation.’“It’s not the first time I came to your office. You don’t have to pick me up. I brought you food, so eat it while it’s hot. Eating your meals on time every day will help your stomach recover.”Zachary grinned. “Thank you, honey.”Serenity could not help but pinch his cheery face and smile. “Is the company giving out bonuses today? Everyone I saw today was beaming brightly.”Callum chimed in with a laugh, “Serenity, having you come here is more gratifying than getting a bonus.”Zachary looked at his brother.‘Didn’t you see
Zachary wanted to see the photos now because Serenity was present.There was new gossip to be heard, so of course he wanted to let his beloved wife in on it.Callum was not stupid and knew that Zachary was using Kevin and him as gossip material for Serenity.Alas, he was betraying his brothers for his wife.As Callum handed over the two photos, he despised himself for his lack of backbone. Zachary was selling him out to please his sister-in-law, but he was still bending over backward to go along with it.If his relationship did not go smoothly in the future and he needed his brother’s and sister-in-law’s help, he hoped the young couple would lend him a hand unconditionally.Bah, what was he thinking?His relationship was sure to be smooth sailing.In any case, he would not get married out of the blue or hide the marriage. He would not conceal his identity to lie to his wife either. Everything would go smoothly.“What photos?”Sure enough, Serenity was interested.Zachary pre
Callum remembered that Kevin was six feet two and understood Grandma May’s arrangements.Callum was only five foot seven. If he were to get together with Hayden, she would be taller than him.Out of the nine brothers, Kevin was the tallest.“Even if a woman dresses up as a man, there’ll be signs. A woman’s Adam’s apple is less obvious.”Serenity stared at Hayden’s picture. Her interest was genuinely piqued. ‘Why did she pretend to be a man for more than twenty years?’“Seren, there are clothes to hide the Adam’s apple.”Serenity was speechless.She did not think of that.“Who is Casey Stoll?” she asked curiously.Zachary took the initiative to explain, “She’s the president of Stoll Corporation in Annenburg. She’s a little pitiful. She lost all her family members except for her little sister, so she had no choice but to take over the family business. Her life has been quite hard. She often dresses in unisex clothing, but she’s very powerful and influential, so people mistake he
Zachary and Callum said in their hearts, ‘Nana won’t do anything she’s uncertain about.’Zachary took Camryn’s photo from his beloved wife’s hand and handed it to Callum, then started to glare at the latter again.Callum was speechless… “I’ll go now, Zachary and Serenity. You guys continue chatting. Eat more, Zachary!”What a cheapskate!Serenity said there was enough food for them to eat together, but Zachary would not let him eat!He could only find an excuse to leave, but he could not let Serenity notice that it was because Zachary was being stingy and not letting him stay.Callum left, leaving the young couple in the office.“Have you eaten, Seren?”“I ate before I came here.”Serenity would not let herself go hungry.Zachary was just about to reach out for the food when his wife smacked his hand.“You’re an adult. Use a spoon.”She handed him the utensils. “Hurry up and eat. Cold food isn’t good for your stomach.”Zachary took the spoon and said to Serenity, “I’ll eat
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
Meanwhile in Satbury, a few luxury cars stopped at the entrance of Costa Corporation. The door of the first car, a Rolls-Royce, opened. A bodyguard came out of the car.He waited for his boss, who was sitting in the backseat to exit.Mr. Longbottom got out of the car. Although he was over fifty years old, he looked like he was in his forties as he maintained his appearance well.He wore a white tailored suit with a tie, which made him look more youthful.The bodyguards in the other cars alighted as well.They quickly stood behind Mr. Longbottom to protect him. It was also his display of power.A few bodyguards grabbed many gift boxes from the trunks. Mr. Longbottom stood in front of the company and raised his head to look at the sixty-eight-storey office building. It was a symbol of the O’Connor family’s abilities.Costa Corporation was not the family’s only business. They were involved in many industries and were successful in all of them.The O’Connors were wealthy and powe
Jasmine added, “In some cases, the divorced women can get married to a better man, while the divorced men can’t even find a new wife. There are many single men now.“Isn’t there a saying nowadays that men who have wives are extremely lucky?”When Jasmine was at the bookstore, she would also visit the neighboring stores to listen to juicy gossip. Many of the store owners were not locals and they had many stories to tell. Someone said there was an evil mother-in-law in a rural area who looked down on her daughter-in-law. She would egg her son on to abuse his wife and get a divorce. She would also tell her son that she could find a better and younger wife for him. However, once the divorce went through, news of the mother-in-law’s evil deeds and the son’s domestic abuse spread far and wide. Who would dare marry off their daughters to a man like that?Besides, holding another wedding would require a lot of money. The cost of a wedding had increased a lot compared to the past.Whe
“Sonny’s fine. He has recovered. You want to get Sonny from school?”After thinking about it, Serenity agreed and said, “Okay. I’ll message Sonny’s teacher later to tell her you’ll be taking him.”“Okay, Serenity. Thank you.”Hank was thankful that Serenity did not make things difficult for him. Serenity and Liberty had great character. Liberty had a new relationship and already let go of her resentment for Hank. She could coexist with him peacefully. On the other hand, Serenity still held grudges against Hank. However, since he and Liberty had divorced, he could no longer hurt her. He was also Sonny’s father. Serenity was willing to tolerate him for Sonny’s sake. Therefore, she always said yes whenever Hank requested to meet his son. “You’ll be taking Sonny out to eat after picking him up, right? Remember not to let him eat too much fried food, especially fried chicken and fries. He’ll get a sore throat.“He got a fever that day due to a throat inflammation.”“Got it. I’ll