It was not that Delphine was selfish and wanted to tie her daughter to the O'Connor family to bear its heavy burdens. It was just that the risks of Isabella moving away were too great.When she had seen the two young ones embracing earlier, Delphine had paled, as if the sky were about to collapse.At that moment, she nearly screamed. She had to clamp a hand tightly over her mouth to stop herself.Once the two separated, she quickly turned away, not daring to linger at the staircase. She had wanted to pretend she had not seen anything, to return to her room and silently process the matter.But she could not. She needed to talk to her daughter.While she was torn with indecision, Isabella came upstairs.And now, here she was, sitting in her daughter’s room.After studying her mother for a moment, Isabella said, “Then, Mom, sit here for a bit. I’ll go take a hot shower.”Delphine nodded and Isabella left. While waiting, Delphine sighed repeatedly.Now that she had calmed down, sh

The company veterans truly did not take Isabella seriously.They constantly pressured her and made things difficult for her.For those two years, Isabella walked on thin ice while her nerves stretched taut, never daring to relax for even a moment.It was only after she stabilized the situation and firmly established her footing that she began to gradually replace those old executives, letting them retire. After all, they were at that age anyway.Now, the senior management in the company respected her wholeheartedly.“Watching you walk this path, I know how much you’ve suffered and endured,” Delphine said, her voice thick with heartache.“In the end, it’s still because your dad and I were useless.“Look at your best friend, she doesn’t have any of these pressures. She does what she loves, gets married to the man she wants, and lives a carefree and happy life, full of joy.“She may not be as capable as you, and her status in this city can’t compare to yours, but I would rather yo

Without their knowledge, Grandma May had thoroughly investigated her daughter. The old lady had studied her temperament, silently marking Isabella as a match for Austin, and then arranged for him to enter her life as a private chef.Through daily interactions, their relationship blossomed.With this move, Austin was hitting two birds with one stone.After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “Old Mrs. York wouldn’t harm us without reason. Even in business, our companies are too far apart to have any dealings.“Their family has no investments or business here, so there’s nothing to worry about.“If she hadn’t been seeking a bride for her grandson, she wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to investigate someone like this.”Though she said this, Isabella felt immense relief that their family and the Yorks had no prior conflicts. Separated by thousands of kilometers and being in different provinces let alone cities, they had no history of interaction, let alone grudges.Otherwise, as h

Did her daughter's words mean she intended to marry Austin? After a moment of inner conflict, Delphine said, “Isa, we can't bear to see you marry so far away. Austin is wonderful, but his home is too distant. You know better than anyone that our family still relies on you.”“Mom, I may marry Austin, but I won’t leave Satbury. I’ll continue managing the company affairs as before. I’ll even keep living at home. You don’t have to worry that I’ll neglect my responsibilities after getting married.”This made her mother’s eyes widen. “Isa, have you and Austin already discussed what you’ll do after you get married? Is he willing to become a live-in son-in-law for our family?”If Austin agreed to this, the match might actually be worth considering.The thought of their family gaining such an outstanding son-in-law shifted Delphine’s perspective. With Austin by her daughter’s side, he could share her burdens and become her pillar of support.Moreover, no one would dare scheme against th

Hadrian quickly pieced it together. Seeing his wife’s silent confirmation, he turned the light back on and sat up, studying her face.He asked somewhat disbelievingly, “Isa likes Austin? She told you this? So the girl does like men. I’d begun to wonder if she was incapable of love.”Though surprised, he lacked his wife’s anxiety. If anything, he felt relieved.His daughter was normal after all.He had secretly worried she might never love anyone, or that her orientation might diverge from tradition. The reality was, that she had just never dated anyone despite being in her twenties because she was simply unimpressed by the lackluster suitors swarming her.Austin, however, was different.Hadrian had appreciated him from the start. Their first meeting convinced him the young man was no ordinary talent, which was later proven true when Austin’s elite background came to light.Despite being a scion of a hundred-billion-dollar empire and having considerable wealth of his own, he was