Mrs. Lewis was relieved to hear that her son had charged Liberty a proper rental–at least he was not giving the shop away as an act of charity.
Considering Liberty’s relationship with Zack, charging her eight thousand per month for rental was a reasonable and fair price.
“That brat is taking your money? You’re Mr. York’s sister–in–law, he should have the decency to let you use the lot without charging you a rental,” Mrs. Lewis said this intentionally to elicit Liberty’s reaction.
Liberty quickly explained, “At the end of the day, business is business and I don’t think personal relations should play a part in it. I would not dare use the shop lot if he was not going to charge me rent at all.”
“So he took the rental fee willingly when you gave it to him?”
“Yeah, I paid him cash last month. He counted it right in front of me to make sure that everything was in order before leaving. As for this month’s rental, he instructed me to give the rent to his butler.”
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lewis wondered if her concerns were unwarranted.
If the boy did have feelings for Liberty, he probably would not have charged her rental in the first place.
“That child… Well, at least there’s a lot of people coming and going around these parts of town so I’m sure your business can profit even after paying the rent.” She suddenly added, ” Speaking of which, where’s your son?”
“Seren took Sonny to her place.”
Mrs. Lewis hummed.
The mutual affection and support between the Hunts sisters was certainly something to admire.
“It must be very tiring to run a business. You’ve lost a lot of weight from what I can see.”
Mrs. Lewis eyed Liberty from head to toe as she said this. She observed that Liberty seemed considerably skinnier than when she first met her.
She had to admit that Liberty looked much better compared to her past self.
The main reason for her giow–up was the vibrant energy she exuded. She had turned into a greatly motivated and confident woman.
Based on her observation, Mrs. Lewis figured that it only made sense that her youngest son would catch feelings for Liberty as she was a completely different woman these days. Her son had always been fond of confident women who embraced their identity–just like Lily.
She thought that if she let her son spend more time with Lily, he would gradually develop feelings for Lily.
“It is a little exhausting, but I’m very disciplined and make sure I get my exercise in every day and watch my diet; that’s how I lost weight gradually. To be honest, I haven’t reached my weight loss target yet as I want to go down to a hundred pounds. So I still have about thirty pounds to shave off.”
Running the shop had demanded more of her energy but she persevered on her weight- loss journey nonetheless. Her efforts were paying off since she found herself losing weight faster than ever.
She weighed a hundred and thirty pounds now.
She just had to stick it out a little longer and she would reach her goal.
“Take it easy, it’s nice to keep a little weight around, you’ll age slower that way.”
Liberty remarked, “Based on my height, a hundred pounds is more or less an ideal weight.”
She had been far too skinny before marriage. Perhaps Mrs. Lewis had a point, especially considering she was in her thirties now, she should be wise to start taking some anti–aging measures.
Mrs. Lewis’s phone suddenly rang. When she reached for the phone in her pocket, a picture slipped out and fluttered to the ground.
Liberty picked it up for her instinctively and noticed the person in the picture. It was a young, charming, and beautiful lady.
“Mrs. Lewis.”
After Liberty glanced at the picture, she handed it back to Mrs. Lewis.
After taking the photo, Mrs. Lewis asked Liberty with a warm smile, “Liberty, what do you think of this girl?”
She made a point of observing Liberty’s expression to see how she would respond.
Liberty gave her opinion candidly, “She looks beautiful and inspires a lot of confidence. I’d say she’s a very capable and independent woman, very trustworthy.”
Mrs. Lewis noted the calm demeanor in which Liberty answered and said, “You’re very good at reading people, aren’t you? I would agree that Lily here is an independent woman. After graduating from university, she joined her family’s company and started from the foundation, keeping her identity a secret the entire time.
“She climbed the ranks and is now the vice president of the company. It was only after she had been promoted to the top rung of the company that people found out that she was the chairman’s daughter and the younger sister of the president. She is a true prodigy and a daughter of a good friend of mine.”
After giving a brief introduction of Lily, Mrs. Lewis asked nonchalantly, “I’m planning to match her with my son, Duncan. Tell me, Liberty, do you think those two make a good pair?”
Liberty continued speaking her mind rather frankly, “Based on their respective background, it does sound like they would make a good match. I think it’s a good idea since they could collaborate in the workplace. As for looks, even though Duncan has had that accident, it should be fine once he has his scar fixed. He would look good next to Lily.”
“I think he would like Lily as well.”
Duncan had built up everything he had single–handedly. He would appreciate a self–made and independent woman. Based on Mrs. Lewis’s descriptions, it seemed to Liberty that Duncan would like this girl named Lily.
She thought it was rather intriguing that Mrs. Lewis was trying to match Duncan with the lady.
Mrs. Lewis noticed that Liberty had expressed her opinion with sincerity and made no attempts to conceal her thoughts. She was very natural the entire way through and it would appear that she had spoken her mind.
With that, she concluded that Liberty was not interested in Duncan!
Mrs. Lewis had a rather low opinion of Liberty and refused to ever consider the prospect of her son being together with Liberty. She maintained this opinion even though she had been steadily losing weight and regaining her previous charms. On top of that, she was building her business and was on track for success.
If she kept this up, she was going to start raking in profit and come out a successful businesswoman.
Even so, Mrs. Lewis did not respect Liberty’s ungainly background. She was a divorced woman. burdened with a child–someone like her was not worthy of her son.
Nevertheless, she found it hard to acknowledge that Liberty had not developed feelings for her son, not even in the slightest.
She thought about Liberty’s failed marriage. It had only been several months since her divorce and her situation seemed like it was trending upward at last. With this provided context, it would make perfect sense that another relationship was the last thing on Liberty’s mind and that she had better things to pursue at the moment.
She came here intending to give Liberty a hard time, but her attempt ended up being not very fruitful. She found herself somewhat at a loss.
“I do think they make a good match as well, the problem is Duncan is always telling me how he’s too busy with work and doesn’t seem very receptive to my suggestion of him spending time with. Lily. It’s very troubling for me. He’s already thirty–six, so he can’t be said to be young and springy anymore. How am I, as his parent, not supposed to worry about his future?” Mrs. Lewis expressed with an exasperated sigh.
Liberty conveyed her sympathy and advised, “Mrs. Lewis, there’s no way to rush these matters, and it’s even worse to try to force it. For now, let Lily spend more time with Mr. Lewis and develop their relationship naturally. Things will progress faster eventually.”
Mrs. Lewis spoke suddenly, “Lily’s family name is Harmon, she’s not from Wiltspoon but she came here to survey the market and get some investments underway. Their family is trying to expand their business by starting some small–scale businesses.
“I do think there are many opportunities for those two to see each other going forward, especially since Lily has several projects she’s interested in and plans to work with Duncan. I don’t know how things are progressing and frankly, I’m not concerned about the business side of things. I just hope Duncan spends more time with her.”
After Mrs. Lewis said this, she asked Liberty, “Liberty, how often do you see Duncan? He’s good buddies with your brother–in–law so I figured you see him from time to time. If you have the chance, please help me persuade and convince him to see Lily, alright?”
Liberty smiled and assured her, “Mrs. Lewis, I’d be glad to help you out. Mr. Lewis is a wonderful person and I do see him now and then, but I’m not sure if I could influence him that much.
“He comes to my place for breakfast most mornings and likes to play with my son. Next time he comes over, I’ll try to put in a good word for Lily and sway him to see her more often.
“But I just have to tell you that there’s no guarantee, especially since our relationship for the most part is just that of a shop owner and a tenant. If you as his mother could not do much to sway him, I don’t think my words would have a much greater effect either.”
Mrs. Lewis considered this and said, “You make a good point. Still, if he shows up for breakfast tomorrow, have a quick chat with him and try to bring up Lily’s name. See what he thinks about her.
“I’m going to take Lily to Wiltspoon Hotel tomorrow, to attend the Marshalls banquet tomorrow night, I was hoping Duncan would join us.”
Duncan was going to attend the banquet as well, except he was going to attend by himself. He was not bringing a partner with him nor attending with his mother.
After all, he was largely a lone wolf out there and was rather detached from his family.
Most people saw him and his family as separate entities.
Liberty sympathized with how Mrs. Lewis was concerned about her son’s future. She decided she would do Mrs. Lewis a favor, especially considering the old lady’s relationship with her sister’s family and her aunt.
However, she knew better than to assure Mrs. Lewis that she could convince Duncan to attend the Marshalls‘ banquet. She doubted she had that much influence over the man.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.