Darren said with a serious face, “Ms. Caroline is your daughter.”Belinda ordered coldly, “Let go, Darren. Don’t forget that I’m still the matriarch. You have to listen to me.”“My only mission has been to protect Ms. Caroline from the moment I was assigned to her. I’ll be loyal to her and follow her instructions for the rest of my life. This is our responsibility as assistants.“We only have one master.“My master is Ms. Caroline, not you. My task is to protect her, and not allow anyone to hurt her, including you.”Belinda was enraged. Indeed, Darren only needed to be loyal to and serve Caroline since he was assigned to her. Even she, the reigning matriarch, was not his master. She had no right to order him to do anything. Of course, he would stop her from hurting Caroline. Caroline told Darren softly, “Let go of my mom, Darren. It’s fine if she wants to vent her anger on me. I’m her daughter.”She was the one who told Darren to share information with Liberty and messed

Caroline knew Darren was worried about her. She told him to go out and even reassured him, “Don’t worry. My mom won’t take my life. She gave birth to me. I ought to be slapped for doing something that ruined her plans.”Caroline felt Belinda did not kill her because they were tied by blood. Darren glanced at Belinda before looking at Caroline’s swollen face. He walked out in silence. He asked a nurse for some ice and told Caroline to apply it on her face. She accepted the ice pack and said, “I’ll use it. You can leave us now.”Darren went out unwillingly. Only Belinda and Caroline were in the room. Caroline put the ice pack on her face and said, “You must be tired from standing. You can grab a chair and sit down.”Belinda glared at her before pulling a chair over. “Can you not slap my face the next time you want to hit me? I’m not pretty to begin with. Now that my face is swollen, I look worse. I don’t even have a boyfriend yet. If I can’t get married and have a daught

If the young ones refused to work, then they deserved to go hungry. It would be better to cancel their living allowance. Only by losing the source of money they were so dependent on would they start looking for jobs and become self-reliant. By doing so, more capable youths would emerge as well. On the other hand, the benefits given to the elderly could stay. “Many useless people in the family rely on us to earn money and provide for them. I want to change this. I want to make this family business belong to us only, but I need your cooperation.“Carol, I’ve sacrificed a lot to become the matriarch and have dedicated decades of effort. Although my abilities are limited, and I couldn’t lead the family back to its prime, I want to centralize our power and benefits so the elders can’t overstep the matriarch’s authority.“We’ll also silence those who dare to oppose us. I’ve done so many evil deeds to achieve what I have today. I’d rather die than hand everything over to Tiara’s descend

“Darren, let’s leave Jensburg after everything ends, okay?“Let’s leave all the mess behind. We don’t have to go too far as long as it’s away from the city center.”Caroline remembered that her company was still in Jensburg but not the city center. She had spent years getting her company going. She had no thoughts of relocating it yet. Resettling the company in a new city and environment meant starting anew, which would hinder its development.Darren replied affectionately, “I’ll leave with you anytime you want. I’ve said that I belong to you in this lifetime.”Whether for personal or official reasons, his body and heart could only belong to Caroline. She raised her head to look at him. She saw his love for her in his eyes. Caroline suddenly found Darren pretty handsome. Although he could not compare to Hayden or the York brothers, he was above average in terms of looks.He was more than enough for her. “Darren, am I marrying into your family? Or will it be the other w

All because she wanted to shorten her business trip. Hence, Isabella worked overtime every day and only returned to the hotel at midnight. She would also go to work at her usual time the next day.Being sleep-deprived, she struggled to stay focused and relied on several cups of coffee to keep herself going.Isabella got up and went to the window. She observed the world outside. The weather was cold. The people walking on the streets seemed to be in a hurry, and there were not many people outside. Austin had mentioned that the streets in Wiltspoon were always crowded regardless of the time of the day. The city was only quiet and less crowded between Christmas and New Year’s Day due to folks from out of town returning homes.Once the week was over, Wiltspoon would be back bustling as city dwellers made their way back.Luckily, Isabella had Austin preparing her three meals every day. No matter how busy she was, she would always be able to eat something when mealtimes came arou