Ch. 1111..1120

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1111

Sophia looked at the boy rolling on the ground and was scared out of her wits. Oh no, I’ve messed up big time! She hurriedly put away the lollipops next to the cash register.

Upon hearing the kids’ wailing, Michael felt his head aching. The director and the film crew were also unsure of what to do, while the several other young fathers were completely stumped as they tried their hardest to calm the kids down.

Harry and Ashton had followed Michael to buy exactly the same ingredients. Therefore, they had only arrived when Ashton began to cry. Although he was crying, his hands remained tightly clutched around the handles of the basket with the potatoes inside.

Hearing Ashton’s wails, Harry, who was carrying a large cabbage, was so terrified that he put down the cabbage and started comforting the boy. But when four kids were crying together, it was a terrifying situation that nobody, not even the staff or the fathers, could do to assuage.

The original purpose of the show was to test and train the ability of fathers to bring up their kids. Thus, comforting crying kids was also one of the necessary skills that fathers had to possess. Yesterday, they had spent a lot of effort to calm the kids down. But now that Carmen was the only one who had a lollipop, all hell broke loose, and the kids could not be calmed, so in turn, the filming could not go on.

Carmen was so scared that she didn’t dare to eat the lollipop and instead hid behind Michael, gazing at everyone with a pair of large, unblinking eyes.

Several fathers had no choice but to grit their teeth and shell out money to buy the lollipops in order to comfort their own kids. However, they did not expect that not only did the little kids want lollipops, but they also wanted jellies, cookies, and ice creams. If they didn’t get what they wanted, they would throw tantrums and cry.

The filming could not go on under this circumstance! Thus, the crew that consisted of more than a hundred people came to a complete halt.

Sophia did not expect a lollipop to cause such a big commotion. She was so petrified that she shrank into the corner of the shop. In her heart, she blamed herself for not remembering to put away all the snacks in advance.

Several fathers anxiously got together to discuss what to do, since the crew was unable to intervene and would not pay for them to buy any snacks.

After all, one of the reasons why ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ was so popular to the extent of earning a billion at the box office was the great production and strict adherence to principles. All unexpected situations required the fathers to personally solve them. To produce the most realistic reality show, the crew would not easily lend a helping hand. Therefore, the challenge for the fathers to comfort and teach the kids was one of the main attractions of the show. Viewers wanted to know how celebrity fathers would deal with the common problems with kids that occurred in life.

The four fathers were in a flummox as they put their heads together and brainstormed for ideas. Michael, too, was actively involved in the discussion, and the videographers came close to make sure they captured the fathers at their most harrowing moments of the show.

On the other hand, Sophia hid herself among the crowd to eavesdrop on their discussion.

“The snacks are so expensive. I can’t afford to buy them!”

“If we buy snacks, we won’t be able to eat anything tomorrow.”

“Perhaps they’ll be fine after crying for a while.”

Michael was also nervous. Glancing at Carmen, who was standing to the side and holding the lollipop she was still afraid to eat, he found her to be such an understanding angel compared to other kids.

But unexpectedly, Carmen suddenly led a tiny piglet out of nowhere toward Michael. She was so ecstatic about it that she didn’t even want the lollipop anymore. “Daddy, can I take the piggy home with me?”

Michael was already panicking about the whole filming situation, and when he saw that piglet, he almost exploded. He hurriedly said to Carmen, “Quickly put it back from where you found it! Our house has too many animals, so we cannot raise a pig.” The thought of raising a pig sent shivers down his spine.

But in the next moment, Carmen’s face fell. She flattened her mouth and started bawling. “Boo hoo… I want the piggy!”

Michael was speechless. Now, even Carmen is crying. The rest of the kids wanted snacks, while Carmen wanted a pig.

When Sophia saw Carmen crying, she almost went crazy and had a sudden urge to rush up to her daughter. As for Michael, he almost broke down at the sound of Carmen crying. He held Carmen and tried to comfort her but to no avail. She didn’t even want lollipops anymore and only wanted pigs. So, he finally had to say, “Okay. After we finish filming, we will take the piggy back! You can raise as many as you want, and we can have a house full of pigs, alright?”

Carmen immediately stopped crying and choked out, “O-Okay.” Then, she added, “Pinky swear?”

Michael had no choice but to bitterly make a pinky swear with her. In the next moment, Carmen slid off him and started running around trying to catch the piglet.

Sophia’s mind was about to explode. Oh my God, are we going to raise pigs? No, never! Our home will become a pig farm!

But right now, Michael no longer cared whether their home would be turned into a pig farm or a cattle farm. The most important thing to do was to calm the kids down as fast as possible. If this continued any longer, there would not be any lunch!

The fathers continued to be worried over the four crying kids. Meanwhile, Sophia checked the time and realized that it was quite late in the day now. If this dragged on any further, her daughter would not be able to eat her lunch on time. At that moment, she had no choice but to try her best to think of a solution. Taking advantage of Carmen playing with the piglet and the fact that nobody had noticed her yet, she said to her, “Little girl, look at the other kids crying! Shouldn’t you go and comfort them?”

Upon hearing the suggestion, Carmen looked at everyone timidly. She was a little afraid because she was the youngest. Among the five children, the oldest was seven years old, while Carmen was the youngest at only four years old.

Sophia gave her a slight push and whispered encouragingly, “Look, the time has come for you to shine! If you can manage to comfort the others, you’ll be the one in the spotlight today. Everyone will definitely look at you!”

Carmen thought about it. She absolutely refused to let go of any opportunity to put on a show in front of the camera. So, she took out the lollipop, then led the piglet toward Ashton. After licking on the lollipop herself, she then stuffed it into Ashton’s wide-open mouth. The crowd was stunned by her move.

After Ashton licked the lollipop, Carmen immediately took it away. The boy immediately started crying, to which Carmen stuffed the lollipop into his mouth again and stopped his wails.

After a few times, Ashton stopped crying. Carmen then said to him, “Here, you can touch my piggy, but no more crying! If you cry again, you’re no longer the best.”

Touching the piglet, Ashton licked the lollipop again and finally stopped crying. Relieved, Harry hurried over to carry Ashton away.

Following that, Carmen led the piglet toward the second kid. Holding out the lollipop, she did the same trick. Without a word, she stuffed the lollipop into the kid’s mouth first, and whenever the kid cried, she would stuff him over and over again. Finally, the kid was allowed to touch the piglet, and then Carmen promised he was the second-best ever. In this way, all was right with the world again.

In the end, Carmen’s lollipop was licked by all four other kids, and she even let them touch her piglet. The kids were comforted and happily followed her and her piglet around.

Now that the deafening cries were finally gone, the fathers and the filming crew were all relieved that the situation was brought under control. All of them were exhausted, as if they had fought a massive battle, but they still had to take their baskets of food and continue to buy ingredients to make lunch for the kids.

The fathers bought the condiments they needed as fast as they could, then hurriedly left this horrific site. Holding Carmen and the piglet that came from nowhere, Michael also left the grocery store.

Upon leaving, he took a look at Sophia, who was peeking at them from the corner of the grocery store, and thought to himself that it was highly likely that she would never appear again.

…

While passing by the watermelon field on the way back, Michael decided to bring Carmen to buy a small watermelon for dessert. To his shock, as soon as they walked into the pergola, Sophia was coming out from it to sell them watermelons.

Michael was struck speechless. Is she ever gonna stop?

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1112

Michael wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react. Does she have to be here and make a mess out of things? Could she not have stayed at home with the cats instead of following us all the way here?

Michael gritted his teeth as he reminded himself to teach her a lesson when he got home—someone had to rein her in or she’d just keep pushing the limits!

The village was built on high terrains and now that it was September, it was the season for naturally-farmed watermelons. People would usually drive in from the city just so they could get their hands on the seasonal produce, but the number of visitors had lessened significantly ever since the road closure had been implemented for the filming of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’.

The watermelon field that lay before them was the best stretch of sand the village had to offer, thereby producing the sweetest watermelons during this season. Sophia’s motorcycle was parked off to one side of the field; she was wearing a sun-protective jacket that was aptly melon-colored, a giant straw hat, and a pair of sunglasses that perched on the bridge of her nose. Her skin had turned a light shade of caramel under the hot sun and sweat was dripping down her temples as she squatted by the booth, much like an actual watermelon vendor.

It wasn’t a particularly hot day in the village but seeing as it was nearly nine o’clock in the morning, the sun had crept past the mountain tops and was now beating down mercilessly.

Sophia had played the role of a cell phone vendor, a lotus root vendor, a lollipop vendor and presently, she had assumed the role of a watermelon vendor. The switch-up had been so quick that she was probably already worn out by now. Bearing this in mind, Michael wanted to get whatever they needed from the market so they could make a move. It went without saying that Sophia was here to keep an eye on both her husband and daughter—the sooner they left, the sooner she’d head back to the hotel.

Michael hastily picked a small watermelon but Carmen’s gaze was glued to a much bigger one. He counted the money in his hand as he thought about how much they could eat as a father-daughter duo, coming to the conclusion that the watermelon was far too big for the both of them to finish, even if they were to split it for two meals. It would inevitably go bad by tomorrow and the price went beyond their given budget.

“Come on, sweetie. We’ll get the small one,” Michael said frantically, fearing that Carmen would become attached to the bigger watermelon.

Indeed, Carmen pointed to said watermelon and said, “Daddy, I want that one.”

“But we won’t be able to finish it,” Michael countered hurriedly.

Hearing that, Carmen pouted. “We can always give some to Piggy.”

Michael glanced over at the piglet that Carmen had somehow picked up along the way and cursed inwardly, Sh*t! Where the hell is the pig’s owner? How could they not have noticed that they’ve lost a pig?

Michael didn’t dare imagine what would happen if this piglet were to follow them back to Bayside City. Knowing Carmen, she would feel sorry for the lonely piglet in about two days’ time and go in search of a partner for it. From then on, it would only be a matter of time before a litter of piglets came popping out, and soon after that there would be a whole family of them! If that was the case, Michael would very likely come home to not only a bunch of crap-colored ginger cats, but also a house full of pigs!

No, he thought with grim determination. I can’t let that happen! He’d have to wait for Carmen to fall asleep before giving the piglet back to its rightful owner. Right now, he had to persuade her into giving up on the watermelon. “That melon’s too expensive for us. If we get it, we won’t have enough money for our meals tomorrow.”

Carmen pouted resentfully but just as she was about to give up on the watermelon, Sophia swiftly nipped the vine off said melon and beamed at the both of them. “Let the kid have it! It’s not expensive at all, only ten cents for a pound! We’re famous for our melons—if it’s not sweet, we won’t take your money!”

Michael was rendered speechless as he stared blankly at his wife. Then, he turned to look at the cameraman and muttered, “Cut this scene out.” Ten cents for a pound—Sophia was practically making a joke out of the watermelon and the cameraman’s intelligence.

After taking the watermelon and weighing it with a serious look on her face, Sophia promptly declared, “Right; the big watermelon is about three pounds, so that’s thirty cents.”

Michael was rendered speechless once again. The watermelon weighs far beyond that!

Carmen happily took out fifty cents and received twenty for her change. Then, as if she hadn’t already butchered the melon market, Sophia gave Carmen the smaller melon that Michael had initially wanted, saying, “You’re the 20th customer to visit our booth today, so you get a free melon!”

Overjoyed, Carmen held onto her change as she walked away with the melon tucked under her arm, tugging the piglet alongside her.

Michael rolled his eyes in frustration. He shoved the big watermelon into a borrowed carrier bag and tightened his grip on the heavy grocery basket, traipsing after his daughter. His thin, white undershirt was soaked through with sweat as it clung onto his body and accentuated his well-toned physique—so much so that one could even see the deep grooves that ran over his hip bones. The filming crew was ecstatic as they hurried to capture this on camera. With footage like this, they wouldn’t need to worry about the ratings for the second season at all!

The director leaned in close to Michael and asked in a low voice, “Do you know the lady who was selling the watermelons back there?”

Michael focused on carrying the melon as sweat ran down his temples. “No; I don’t,” he answered flatly.

“I think she looks like your wife.”

“Not at all.”

“That was your wife, wasn’t it?”

“Cut the scene out.”

The director said nothing more. Michael was making it far too obvious; it was most definitely his wife back there at the booth! However, the director knew better than to press on.

Meanwhile, Harry, who had seen through Sophia’s disguise from the get-go, had rushed over to the booth before she could leave and bought a seven to eight-pound melon at the price Sophia had set. He and Ashton could snack on the watermelon for the rest of the day.

The moment they left, the watermelons resumed their original market price and the other dads who were on the show were forced to buy the melons at two for a pound.

Sophia changed back into her clothes and left it to Dimon—who had only just paid for the piglet—to compensate the farmers for the underpriced watermelons she had sold. As he rushed over to the booth, Sophia hurried to catch up with Michael and Carmen.

By now, Michael was sweating profusely as he carried the watermelon and followed Carmen closely from behind. She looked so little as she marched on ahead, happily holding onto the melon while she tugged the piglet along on its leash. However, it wasn’t long before Carmen’s little steps came to a halt and she began amusing herself with the ants crawling on the side of the road.

Carefully, Michael put down the carrier bag with the melon and lifted a corner of his shirt to wipe away his sweat. Squatting down, he looked at Carmen with concern and asked, “Are you okay?”

Carmen hung her head. “Piggy can’t walk any further,” she mumbled.

Michael almost let out a bitter laugh because it wasn’t Piggy who couldn’t walk any further—it was Carmen!

“How about I head back and get started on the cooking while you and Piggy take a break here? You can both go back after you’re ready to walk again,” Michael suggested placatingly.

Carmen nodded but when she turned, the piglet had bitten off its leash.

Upon discovering that Carmen had swiped a random piglet and realizing that there was no way for them to bring it along with all their groceries, Michael had fashioned a leash out of a borrowed piece of rope so that Carmen could tug the piglet along. Now that the rope was bitten off, the piglet was scampering around the market.

Torn between holding onto the melon and trying to go after the piglet, Carmen looked at her father with watery eyes. “Daddy, Piggy ran away…”

Michael could feel the blood pounding in his ears. It was no surprise that no one came to their assistance. After all, the whole point of this reality show was to showcase how the dads dealt with unexpected situations, and everyone was interested in seeing how Michael would handle the runaway piglet.

Michael wasted no time, putting down the groceries and catching the piglet deftly. Then, he took off his shirt and turned it into a makeshift sack for the watermelon so that Carmen could easily carry it with her. He passed it to her gently and said, “You can make your way back home slowly with the watermelon. I’ll head back to get started on the cooking.”

Sophia had only just rushed over to where the filming crew was when she saw Michael strip off his shirt. The moment his shirt came off, his torso was bared to the crowd in all its glory—the lean muscles were defined as they coiled beneath his glistening skin. He sure was delicious to look at.

Sophia swallowed and turned to see that all the cameras were focused on capturing this exact moment. No, she thought possessively. That’s my husband! Get your cameras away from him!

The director was in bliss as he gestured for the cameramen to keep capturing the scene. With footage like this, this season was bound to be a hit!

For as long as Taylor Murray was featured, ‘Keep Running: Sisters!’ and ‘Divas Hit the Road’ would have nothing on this show!

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1113

Michael carefully placed the vegetables into the carrier bag with the watermelon, relieved to find that the bag was sturdy enough to hold up the weight of today’s haul.

The women in the crowd watched in awe as Michael carried the bag with one hand and picked up the piglet with the other. He held the piglet over his shoulder as he quickly jogged toward his courtyard.

All everyone paid attention to was his lean and long physique; they did not miss the way his biceps curled beneath the smooth skin and they stared openly at his perfect shoulder blades.

He was built like a model—it was such a shame that he was carrying a pig!

The piglet was seemingly pleased as it nestled into the crook of Michael’s neck, its front trotters resting on his broad shoulders.

At that moment, everybody wished they were the piglet instead.

By the time Michael had reached home with the groceries and the piglet, he noticed that there were filthy marks on him, courtesy of the piglet. He rinsed those off, having little regard to how the water splashed against his trousers, then quickly proceeded to thoroughly wash the vegetables and the rice. He also did not forget to put the piglet somewhere confined so it couldn’t run off while he was busy.

They lived in a courtyard that was not equipped with gas or an electric rice cooker; there were only woodfire stoves, on which Michael was expected to cook their meals.

Fortunately, they were given two stoves and two pots. Michael used one of the pots to make some porridge and the other for a spicy stir-fry hotpot.

When Carmen finally sauntered back home at her own leisurely pace, she immediately started helping Michael with the preparation. It was comfortable as the father-daughter duo worked together to make lunch.

Seeing as unauthorized persons were not allowed in the vicinity when the cameras were rolling, Sophia had had no choice but to disguise herself as part of the crew. She looked sheepish now as she took hold of a camera, angling to get closer up front as she kept her eyes on Michael’s pots.

Michael had never cooked or cleaned a day in his life, but he had picked up basic cooking skills from survival training during his military days. The food he made was by no means restaurant quality but it was edible, and—at the very least—no one had ever died after eating his cooking.

His head was bowed as he focused on his task at hand but when he looked up, he saw Sophia. She was wearing her contacts and she stared at his pot with such intensity that he thought her eyeballs might fall right in.

Michael resisted his urge to laugh.

Once he was done slicing the vegetables, he asked Carmen to keep an eye on the porridge while he followed the instructions that came with the stir-fry paste. The paste turned out better than he thought it would; it was fragrant and he could tell it was flavorful despite the lack of chilli.

It wasn’t long before the aroma of stir-fry wafted through the courtyard. The fragrance prompted Carmen to abandon her post by the pot of porridge so that she could stand by her father, and she watched intently as he cooked.

Michael glanced up to find both mother and daughter staring at him.

The pressure he felt was insurmountable.

Lunch was at half-past noon and the five dads were meant to bring the dishes they made to a designated area where they could all eat together. By the end of this segment, the five babies would vote for the dad with the best dish.

Sophia tailed after the crew. There were dozens of crew members surrounding the dining table, which had been set for ten.

Her gaze swept over the dishes laid out on the table. There were pies, dumplings and rice. Michael’s stir-fry hotpot and porridge definitely looked the best out of all the dishes; plus, he had brought half of the watermelon for everyone to share too.

Sophia found herself salivating at the sight of her husband’s cooking. She then happened to turn and look into Harry’s bowl, which featured a very suspicious looking blackish-green substance.

Harry appeared proud as he announced, “My son and I made this Eight Treasure Congee with lotus root, century egg, cucumber, pulled pork and lotus seeds.”

Everyone stared and remained quiet.

Sophia was so horrified that she quickly turned away from Harry, focusing on her husband instead.

As the celebrities started to dig into their meals, the crew began to work in shifts as half of them continued working while the other half went to retrieve lunch boxes.

Having taken a lunch box as well, Sophia sat in the corner and began to eat but her gaze lingered on Michael’s stir-fry hotpot.

I really want to try his cooking…

Sadly, she did not even have a chance to taste Michael’s cooking because it was polished off within mere moments of being set on the dining table.

When everyone was done eating, the five children had to choose the dad with the best dish. Michael came out on top, which was due to the fact that while all the other kids had voted for their own dad, Ashton had voted for Michael instead. Granted, Harry wasn’t really Ashton’s father but one could not deny that the affronting congee was the main reason he had not won Ashton’s favor.

Once they had finished the watermelon that Michael had brought to the table, everyone went back to their accommodations with their bellies full; they needed to take a break before they continued filming for the rest of the afternoon.

From the moment they’d woken up, the dads had been kept on their feet all day long as they dealt with unexpected situations. As a result, they were all drained so after going back and cleaning up the house for a bit, they fell asleep.

However, Carmen was not worn out at all. Michael had gone back for a nap after the meal but Carmen had managed to sneak out of the courtyard to meet up with Ashton, and the both of them had gone next door to see the pig in labor.

By the time Michael woke up and went in search of his daughter, it was already too late.

Carmen had returned with a donkey in tow and a rooster in her arms.

“Daddy, can I bring the chicken and the donkey back home?”

“The pig next door had her babies. Can I bring another piglet home?”

“The village chief’s buffalo is so cute—can I bring it home?”

Michael soon found himself speechless at Carmen’s string of requests.

When Sophia sneaked over to the courtyard later that day to spy on Michael and Carmen, she was greeted by the sight of them in the yard, along with a rooster, donkey and a large buffalo.

Michael was on the verge of insanity and when Carmen was keen on feeding their dinner to her newfound pets, he was about to have a nervous breakdown.

Come dinner time, Michael had washed his undershirt and hung it to the side of the courtyard. The weather was hot so he decided to go shirtless as he made pot noodles. He added eggs and whatever amount of vegetables he had managed to salvage before Carmen fed them to her pets, then finished off the dish with a few cobs of corn.

He had also given milk to Carmen, who only drank formula that was customized by the family nutritionist. The formula had been made into powdered form so that Michael could bring it along on this trip.

Carmen was usually a picky eater but she ate her meal now without making a fuss; perhaps this had something to do with it being her dad’s cooking.

She polished off a small bowl of noodles and a cob of corn. Grabbing her milk bottle, she stared contentedly at Michael as she drank her milk.

Both of them seemed to be crowded around the little table. Michael had found two plastic stools to make up for the lack of chairs but while Carmen was comfortably seated, Michael—who was tall and long-limbed—had to fold into himself as he slurped up a big bowl of noodles. He had given most of the egg and vegetables in his bowl to Carmen, so all he had left were plain strings of noodles.

“What do you think of my cooking? Is it good?” Michael asked expectantly, putting down his chopsticks.

“Yes,” Carmen answered sweetly.

Just then, she set down her bottle and went into the house, only coming out moments later.

“Don’t move, Daddy.”

Michael stayed still. Carmen then rounded him with a bottle of insect repellent in her little hand and she began spraying it onto his back.

“Daddy, you have mosquito bites. Let me blow them for you.”

There were a few bumps that had formed on Michael’s back due to the mosquito bites. Carmen carefully sprayed insect repellent on him before she gently blew at the bumps.

At that moment, Michael was so moved he teared up.

She is daddy’s little girl, indeed!

It was as though his hard work for the day had been worth it the moment Carmen greeted him as sweetly as she did.

He would have given her anything she wanted—be it a buffalo, donkey or rooster!

He would even have given her a dinosaur if she asked for it!

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1114

Michael let his armor down the moment Carmen told him sweetly, “Here, Daddy, I’ll blow on the mosquito bites for you.” He had planned to sneak out at midnight so that he could secretly return all her newfound pets to their rightful owners, but he was so moved by his daughter’s warm gestures that he found himself relenting instead.

Michael certainly had not expected Carmen to bring a lamb into the courtyard while he was doing the dishes.

“Daddy, can I—”

Michael faltered and screamed inwardly, No, you can’t. You can’t!

He quickly began to dissuade her but alas, his painstaking attempt to do so had convinced Carmen that she wanted two lambs instead.

Once again, Michael was at a loss for words.

By the end of the day, two baby lambs were added to Carmen’s collection of farm animals and Michael let out a dry sob as he heard the lambs bleating in the yard.

But the moment he turned to see his little girl snuggled up against him, he felt all his resentment and frustration dissipate into nothing.

It had been a long day. Flipping over, Michael pulled his sweetheart into his arms and fell asleep shortly after.

At midnight, a few people showed up outside of Michael’s house.

“Alright; Dan has already led the guards away. Wait for me here. I’ll be back before you know it!” Sophia instructed quietly as she went over to where Dimon and the others were standing. There was a large bag slung over her shoulder.

Dimon watched as she dashed over to the courtyard, looking clumsy with the heavy bag in tow.

Sophia had scoped out the landscape during the day and had taken note of the camera that was positioned by the front entrance. She avoided it and headed over to a hidden part of the courtyard, where she knew the dog hole would be.

When she came upon this dog hole during her stake out earlier that day, Sophia had made sure that she would be able to squeeze through it without being captured by the camera.

Dimon watched as Sophia found the hole and crawled through it. Once she had managed that, she reached out an arm and said, “Dimon, give me the bag.”

Cringing, he handed the bag over to her.

He thought about how Cooper’s actions had forced Michael into crawling through a dog hole once upon a time.

How the tables had turned since, seeing as Sophia was now doing the exact same thing.

After she had infiltrated the courtyard, Sophia slung the bag over her shoulder and sneaked into the kitchen.

She had observed that the camera in the kitchen would be switched off during the night, but the same would not apply to the one in the courtyard. She carefully navigated her way around the latter and made her way toward the kitchen, thereafter locating the cellar in which Michael stored the food.

The temperature in the village was cool by nightfall and instead of using refrigerators, the villagers would store their food in a little cellar built into the ground.

Sophia shone her torchlight down at the meager supply that had been stored into the cellar. There was nothing left but a quarter of a lotus root, a couple of eggs, tomatoes, and a lonely cob of corn; the melons were gone and Carmen had fed the piglet whatever was left of the vegetables.

Hmm… Michael cooked that corn… I’ll take it!

Sophia munched on the cob of corn as she placed her torchlight down on the floor next to her. She made sure that it still cast its light into the cellar while she rummaged through her bag and began to gingerly stock up the food in the cellar.

She brought tomatoes, eggs, strips of pork belly and potatoes—all of which she deemed as essential food items. She had also brought lollipops, jellies, chocolates, a packet of cigarettes and chewing gum. Then, she lowered a sealed pack of ready-made chicken drumsticks and pig trotters into the cellar before finally putting in the fruits, which included grapes, peaches and pears.

Sophia had picked the fruits after sunset so they would be fresh enough for consumption tomorrow morning.

The massive bag that had been filled with food items was now deflated as Sophia emptied its contents into the cellar. As she did so, she felt relieved knowing that Michael and Carmen wouldn’t starve tomorrow.

She was so distracted with her own task that she hadn’t even noticed when, at some point, a figure appeared behind her. He stayed hidden in the shadows as he watched her every move.

Sophia remained unaware as she happily piled junk food into the cellar.

Michael kept quiet as he watched her stock up the cellar, which was already running out of space.

Finally, she laid a packet of pig feed on top of the stockpile. Upon seeing that, Michael was utterly speechless.

Sophia looked small as she crouched by the cellar. She was a study in enigma, like a rare flower whose heady perfume aroused Michael in the dead of the night.

A sense of urgency seized him and there was a deep hunger within him that he could no longer keep at bay.

At that moment, he could feel the blood coursing through his body in heated passion and he only had one thing on his mind—to ravish her with love.

Impatient and testosterone-driven, Michael grabbed Sophia and pinned her against the stove.

Sophia had been shaking her empty bag when someone suddenly swept her up and pinned himself against her. A large pair of hands clasped over her small ones.

“Shh,” Michael whispered softly into her ear, his breath stirring her hair in a familiar sensation.

Sophia relaxed upon realizing that it was Michael.

“Hubby—” she called out gently, reaching her arms around his broad shoulders.

With her stature, she could only cling onto Michael by reaching around his torso and placing her hands on his shoulders.

Michael made a sound in the back of his throat before he hungrily kissed her cheeks and earlobes. Sophia could feel her body giving in to his kisses as she melted into the strength of his arms.

Michael’s hand reached out, feeling for the stove. He had removed all the firewood after cooking and the heat of the stove had since died down, so he knew it wouldn’t scorch Sophia if she were to sit on it.

He lifted Sophia and lowered her onto the stove, then gently pushed her skirt upward as he brushed his hands along her thighs.

Sophia could feel the sheen of perspiration that covered his back as her grip tightened on his shoulders. He’d just showered and the faint, pleasant scent of his shower gel still lingered on his skin.

She wanted so badly to leave a mark on his neck but she thought better of it; the film crew would have a field day if the mark showed up on camera tomorrow!

…

When everything was over, Sophia pulled on her clothes. Since Michael had come out of his room wearing only a pair of shorts earlier on, he was dressed relatively quickly. Presently, he turned on the kitchen light before going over to the stove where there was a big pot of water. Placing a steam rack into the pot as the water began to boil, he efficiently warmed up a couple of eggs, two cobs of corn, and a few large potatoes.

“Have some food. You must be hungry,” Michael said softly, looking at Sophia with a gentle expression.

With all that she had done today, from running around with the crew to gathering fruits and potatoes, Sophia had to be famished by now.

Her stomach grumbled but she held back nonetheless as she ate two potatoes and a cob of corn, saving the eggs for Michael and Carmen.

Seeing her scarf down her food like this broke Michael’s heart.

He and Carmen might be the ones starring on the reality show, but Sophia was the one who was truly worn out by the end of it all.

Michael cleaned up the kitchen after Sophia had finished her food, but it didn’t take long before he picked her up and settled her onto the stove again. Pulling down his pants, he teased in a low voice, “I don’t think you’re full—not just yet. Don’t worry, you can go after you’re done with this meal.”

…

Despite what Sophia had said earlier, it had taken two hours before she finally crawled back through the dog hole.

The bag she had brought along with her was empty.

“So much for being quick,” Dimon grumbled as he killed yet another mosquito, then left quietly.

The next day, Michael woke up feeling refreshed and invigorated. The crew was arriving and the drones were taking flight. At daybreak, he woke Carmen up and got her ready to start their father-daughter missions for the day.

Michael stepped out of his courtyard thinking that he had already satisfied Sophia last night and he was sure that she would have gone home today. However, as he looked up, he saw her standing by the entrance, disguised as a villager as she peeked at them.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1115

On the last day of filming, it was announced that everyone could leave as soon as lunch time was over.

Half a day—they only needed to get through half a day before all of them could be set free. Everyone prayed silently for things to go off without a hitch.

All the five celebrity dads were physically and emotionally drained as they finally began to realize how their wives were the true pillars of the family.

They only had to take care of their kids for two short days, but they felt as though they’d aged a decade.

Carmen was Michael’s precious little girl and he had always enjoyed their father-daughter bonding time even back when she was a baby. Babysitting was hardly a challenge for him, but Sophia-sitting was—there was no telling what she would be up to next.

True to her nature, Sophia was now hiding in the crowd, probably waiting to make a mess out of things. She wasn’t using her contacts and somehow that had drawn Carmen’s gaze toward her. Carmen perked up as she picked the blue-eyed Sophia right out of the horde of villagers. “Mommy!” she cried out happily.

Carmen took off at a run and planted herself firmly in Sophia’s embrace.

Sophia was startled but she wrapped her arms around Carmen anyway.

That one hug brought forth an astounding ripple effect.

The remaining four children who witnessed this scene immediately turned toward their dads and before long…

“Wah! I want Mommy!”

“Daddy, I want Mommy now!”

The children were crestfallen to see that Carmen’s mother had shown up but not their own. Soon, the sound of heart-wrenching sobs and incoherent wails filled the air.

The celebrity dads grew flustered.

The kids had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and they’d spent hours trying to placate them, for heaven’s sake! What are we supposed to do now?

Sophia panicked as the sobbing and wailing went on, her hands clutching Carmen against her.

Meanwhile, Michael winced. He had known that Sophia would mess things up one way or another.

The out-of-hand situation worsened as all the dads tried to soothe their kids, all the while glowering at Sophia.

Upon seeing that, the director heaved a frustrated sigh.

In light of all this, Michael went over to his wife, trying to make himself look as outraged as possible. He then ordered in a low voice, “Go back to the hotel and stay there. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Fine,” Sophia muttered with a pout.

She knew she had messed up, so it was best if she left the set as soon as possible.

But just as she was leaving, Carmen began to cry. Sophia felt a stab to her heart and she instinctively turned back, only for Michael to dismiss her as he consoled Carmen, who was sobbing fitfully in his arms.

Sophia had grown anxious upon hearing Carmen’s sobs and she couldn’t budge at all. Dimon had to rush over and frog-march her away from the set.

As she was about to leave, she thought she heard Michael coaxing Carmen out of her tantrum, his voice soothing as he murmured, “You have to choose between Mommy and Piggy…”

In the end, Carmen chose the pig.

…

The schedule had been delayed by an hour after Sophia’s presence had caused a scene, but eventually the filming came to an end and everyone left in their cars after lunch.

Sophia hadn’t shown up ever since that morning but throughout filming, Michael had spotted at least eight more drones flying around the set. He had recognized them as the same military spy drones that were manufactured by the Michel Group.

That evening, Michael and Carmen boarded Sophia’s private plane that was bound for Bayside City. Sophia had been waiting for them for what felt like ages.

“Mommy!” Carmen exclaimed as she ran toward Sophia with her arms stretched out.

Sophia happily picked up her little girl.

She felt relieved to know that Carmen had not lost any weight under Michael’s care.

As Michael boarded the plane, Sophia noticed that his skin had a sun-kissed tinge to it. He came over and pinched her cheeks, teasing, “You do underestimate me. Did you really think I’d let Carmen go hungry while she was with me?”

Sophia blushed, feeling sheepish. She had never intended to disrupt the filming process but her worries had gotten the better of her.

That said, Michael did seem unhappy and he had been sulking ever since he got on the plane.

One might have thought that Sophia’s little stunt that morning had something to do with Michael’s sour mood, but no one could have guessed that it was because there was a buffalo aboard Linus’ luxurious, billion-dollar private plane.

An actual, real-life buffalo!

There was also a pair of lambs aboard the flight. When the crew had assigned Carmen to help the villagers tend to the sheep, they had not expected her to get attached to the lambs and she had been insistent on bringing them back to Bayside City.

As if the lambs and the buffalo weren’t enough, there was also a rooster, donkey, and piglet!

Simply put, Michael was about to lose his mind.

All the other children had whined for their moms and had demanded to go home.

But no… not his Carmen. She had wanted pigs and buffaloes!

He was wrong to have conceded to her many absurd requests and he should not have been blinded by how adorable she was.

Michael was deeply regretting his decision to allow Carmen to bring all these animals along with them.

Even the old man in the village had made fun of him.

Before they had left the village, the old man had pulled him aside and said, “Miles, there’s no use denying that your daughter is destined to be a farmer. You should go back to the village and be with May! That contractor will never be good enough for her!”

Michael did not know how to respond to that.

It wouldn’t cost much to rear these animals but Carmen’s intentions were clear—she wanted to keep them as household pets!

She was going to turn the entire family home into a barnyard!

Harry, who was on the plane with them, was laughing hysterically.

He couldn’t wait to get back to Bayside City just to see how Linus would react once he discovered his private plane had been turned into a portable animal farm.

Carmen, on the other hand, was the only one who was excited about any of this. She was proudly showing off her new pets to Sophia.

“Mommy, can we put the buffalo in the fountain out front?”

“Can we let the lambs live in the gardens?”

“Can Piggy stay with me in my room?”

“The donkey would love staying on the balcony.”

Sophia frowned as she pondered her daughter’s many requests.

To have lambs in the gardens, a buffalo in the fountain, a pig in the bedroom and a donkey on the balcony… Sophia couldn’t imagine how things would turn out if these were allowed.

She exchanged a knowing glance with Michael, each of them waiting for the other to come up with ways to dissuade Carmen from her ambitious plans.

However, Michael immediately turned to his side and pretended to fall asleep.

Gritting her teeth, Sophia set to brainstorming. She had to convince Carmen to give up on the farm animals within the two hours that it would take for this flight to arrive at Bayside City, or else the house really would be converted into a farm.

She turned to Carmen and began her patient lecture, which started with a long winding introduction on humanitarian philosophies and ended with the specifics of a pig’s postnatal care. Having heard all of this, Carmen gave up on the buffalo, lambs and donkey, but she was adamant on keeping the piglet and rooster.

Fortunately, it wouldn’t take much to feed those two animals. Sophia figured that there would be a surplus from the cat food budget to cover the cost of feeding the chicken and pig.

It was dark by the time the plane landed in Bayside City. They stayed the night at the family farm outside the city, effectively depositing the buffalo, donkey and lambs there. The next day, they took a car back to Bayside City.

The piglet had been cleaned, vaccinated and dewormed. Carmen held it in her arms as she happily combed through its short tufts of hair. She had also ceremoniously tied a bow around the piglet.

“Michael, look—now we won’t have to worry about it pooping everywhere!” Sophia pointed out cheerily as she picked up the piglet to show her husband. Michael, on the other hand, was worn out. He had been using an eye mask as he slept but now, he lifted up a corner of it to see the piglet donning an oversize diaper. He was far too tired to protest so he merely nodded and hummed in response.

The rooster was also wearing a diaper to prevent unwanted accidents from happening on the way back.

Truly, only the rich could rear chickens this way.

However, Michael did not want to put a diaper on the chicken; he wanted to slaughter it for its meat.

This episode of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ had come to an end. The last season of the show had been a hit but there were viewers who had complained that the show was slow-paced and lacked content. Thus, the production team had taken the feedback into account and had released this episode within two weeks instead of the initial three.

For each episode filmed, it would be edited into two episodes which would be released on TV over the course of two weeks, after which the cast and crew would take a week off before filming the next episode.

It had only taken one episode for Carmen to amass an impressive collection of farm animals; Michael and Sophia hated to think what nine more episodes could lead to.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1116

The more Michael thought about his upcoming schedule for the reality show, the more he regretted signing up for it in the first place.

Upon their arrival at The Imperial, they received the warmest welcome the family had to offer.

Cooper and Linus stood by the entrance, along with Stanley, Justin and Celine. Relatives from both sides of the family were here—even the Michels showed up with words of congratulations. Sam was present as well and he had brought a homecoming gift for Carmen to congratulate her on starring in the reality show.

Michael, Sophia and Carmen made quite an entrance with a piglet and a rooster in tow. Harry, on the other hand, had only Ashton in his care.

Stanley was taken aback when he registered the diaper-wearing rooster. “I guess money makes all the difference when it comes to rearing chickens!” he mused. “That’s something us ordinary folks can never understand!”

Michael’s expression looked sour despite the occasion. It was hard for him to muster even an ounce of a smile, especially when there was a diapered piglet and rooster waddling in front of him.

Cooper, on the other hand, was in a terrific mood. Seeing Michael, he clapped a hand on his son-in-law’s shoulder and said, “You didn’t do too badly.”

Cooper had dispatched countless men and drones to spy on his precious little granddaughter, so he had managed to see everything that had taken place throughout the three days during which the episode was filmed.

His old son-in-law had done fairly well throughout the process but that was likely because all the other dads were completely hopeless by comparison, thereby magnifying Michael’s babysitting skills.

The shot of Michael carrying the piglet, in particular, had become an international sensation.

After all, it was a photo that captured the very essence of fatherhood!

It was not merely a pig that Michael had carried on his shoulders, but the sacred responsibilities that came with being a father!

Michael grew slightly cheerful upon being praised by his father-in-law.

As everyone adjourned to the living room, Sophia began distributing the truckful of village specialties that she had bought as souvenirs.

It was nightfall by the time the last of the guests departed. When Sophia was done with her dinner and had taken a shower, she switched on the news.

The team behind the reality show had only released a couple of teaser clips on their official channel, but there was no doubt that this season would see solid viewership ratings as it continued to gain traction among the fans.

Michael had only carried the pig for all but five minutes, but apparently that was all it took for his name to make waves in the entertainment industry. All anyone could talk about was him and his piglet.

Meanwhile, Carmen was ecstatic. Starring in this season of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ was her dream come true and she was basking in the joy of it all as she climbed into Sophia’s bed, keen on getting an early night’s sleep.

Having seen Carmen writing in her diary earlier, Michael became curious and decided to sneak into her room after he had washed up. As Carmen’s vocabulary expanded, Sophia encouraged her to keep a daily journal, even though there were words that she couldn’t quite spell just yet.

Michael’s eyes gleaned over Carmen’s diary. He was excited to find out what she thought of his performance for the past couple of days.

‘My Daddy is the best superhero in the whole world. He safed the world once when he was Docter Strange.’

‘I’m going on ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ with Daddy. This makes me really happy.’

‘Daddy is always so busy. I’m happy that I get to spend a hole day with him.’

‘I’m happy that Daddy cooked for me.’

‘I’m happy that Daddy got rid of mosquitoes for me.’

…

When he was done reading through the pages, Michael felt himself tear up. Filming over the past three days had worn him out but the joy he had gained from it was far beyond anything he could imagine.

He carefully stored the diary away before retreating to his room, thereupon finding Sophia and Carmen fast asleep as they snuggled in bed; they must be tired after the past couple of days.

He kissed both his girls goodnight.

After all, he was the best father and husband in the world.

It wasn’t even daybreak the next morning when the rooster crowed loudly, startling Sophia before both her alarm and biological clock went off.

The voice-control lighting that was installed around the neighborhood lit up at the sound of the rooster’s crow. Sophia bolted upright with her heart beating fast and she was still bleary-eyed as she turned to see that Carmen was still sound asleep. Michael, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.

Hmm, that’s early, Sophia noted curiously.

She shuffled over to the bathroom but Michael wasn’t there either. Thinking that he had gone out, Sophia certainly did not expect to bump into him when she entered the kitchen.

He was looking serious in an apron as he made breakfast out of the local specialties from the village.

Sophia’s eyes sparkled and she was fiercely determined to try Michael’s cooking.

It didn’t take long for the feast to be served; there were potatoes, cobs of corn, sandwiches, burgers, noodles and mac and cheese.

Soon, the family gathered around. Cooper was keen on sampling the local specialties from the village and Linus arrived early too, seeing as he always had his meals here. With the addition of Justin and his family, there was now a crowd surrounding the breakfast spread.

Sophia dipped the potato into some sauce after she had peeled it, then took a bite. Meanwhile, Michael had taken off his apron and was now seated with the rest of the family. In the midst of the ongoing friendly conversation, Michael turned to address Cooper with a somber expression. “Dad, is it true that Anne attempted suicide because of you?”

Cooper was startled and he stopped peeling the potato in his grip. His face gave nothing away as he answered stoically, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Michael suppressed a smile. He knew the truth but he pressed on nonetheless, “So why aren’t you and Louis speaking to each other?”

Cooper did not answer but there was confirmation in his silence.

Despite having everything to do with Anne’s attempted suicide, Cooper had remained relatively unfazed, which infuriated Louis. In retaliation to that, Cooper had given away his collection of paintings by Louis that he kept around the house.

“What happened? What is it? Linus, tell me!” Sophia demanded after seemingly picking up on something.

Upon seeing the resentful look on Cooper’s face, Linus hesitated as he murmured, “I don’t think it’s my place to tell you the specifics…”

With that, Cooper finished his meal and went upstairs without a word. He occupied the entire third floor of the house and he rarely came down other than during meal times.

The moment Cooper left, Linus began to spill the beans. “Anne insists on marrying Dad and she dropped by the Mitchells’ place just so she could see him. The Mitchells came to us instead but they were denied entry, and Dad wouldn’t come out of his room at all. In order to talk things over, Louis invited Dad over for tea but Dad turned him down; after that, Louis got Anna to send Dad an invitation, but he rejected it as well. So, Anne lost her mind and she threatened to kill herself unless Dad showed up. She even got someone to send him a video of her hanging herself. She went to see the Fletchers, too!”

Having heard all this, Sophia angrily slammed her chopsticks down on the table.

This is outrageous!

Anne Osborne has crossed the line. Did she somehow lose her mind when she became obsessed with the thought of marrying Dad?

Sophia clenched her jaw. It is time to put that woman in her place!

Sophia had only just finished her meal when she received a very hostile phone call from Sandra.

“Sophia Edwards, you better bring your father over here this instant! The Osborne girl is hospitalized because of him and none of you even bothered to visit her! If anything happens to her, it’ll be the end of the Mitchell Family!”

“Tell me where you are and I’ll go over immediately,” Sophia replied swiftly.

She ought to teach Anne a lesson later.

Sophia cursed inwardly, How dare the woman assume that she is good enough for Cooper? How delusional can she be? He is completely out of her league!

As far as Sophia was concerned, Anne could go screw herself.

Sandra was elated at the thought that Sophia agreed to show up with Cooper, but her tone was malicious as she snapped into the phone, “Methodist Hospital, inpatient ward, room number eight. Be here within the hour.”

Upon hearing that, Sophia scoffed. “Don’t insult me. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

Sophia was feeling impatient, wanting nothing more than to teleport to Anne’s hospital room and give that delusional girl a harsh slap on the face!

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1117

Perhaps Sophia had agreed to turn up at the hospital out of fear for Sandra, but Sandra knew it was more likely than not that they conceded out of fear of the Yard Family.

The situation now was not under Sophia’s or Cooper’s control; it wasn’t as if they could do anything about Anne’s infatuation with Cooper.

Cooper was left with no choice but to marry her!

Anne’s family longed to return to Bayside City and as Anne was about to become part of the Yards, they had hoped she would marry into the local upper-class social scene. The Yard Family had initially set their eyes upon the Fletchers, but were let down immensely by their inability to make things work. Now was the chance for the Mitchells to rise to the occasion.

Sandra had thought that perhaps one of the Mitchell boys could capture Anne’s heart; alas, the woman had become obsessed with Cooper instead.

Sandra had no intentions to make things easy for Cooper in the event Anne did marry him. While the Mitchells would become in-laws with the Yards, Sandra needed to make sure that Anne would always be on her side and never Sophia’s. To do that, she would have to ruin both Sophia and Cooper’s reputation in front of Anne’s family, namely the Yards and the Osbornes.

After that, she could easily use Anne as a stepping stone to get closer to Anna Yard and if Sandra could marry into the Yard Family, everything would fall into place.

If Cooper really were to marry Anne, the Yards would never allow her to move out of the family home, which meant Cooper would have to move into their place of residence instead. This could provide the Mitchells the perfect excuse to keep all of Cooper’s assets under the Mitchells’ family name.

For hundreds of years, it was never a concept for any son of the head of the Mitchell Family to move into their wife’s place of residence after marriage; the very idea of Cooper being forced to do so would completely uproot the dignity of the family!

With that, Sandra could kill three birds with one stone!

Hanging up the call, Sandra turned to look at Anne. “Don’t worry,” she consoled. “Sophia is coming over soon. I’ll make sure to put her in her place!”

Anne broke into a small smile upon hearing this. She lay in bed as she recuperated, looking pale after her suicidal endeavors which saw her slitting her own wrists and hanging herself.

“You know Cooper likes you—” Sandra started to say. “—but Sophia has been getting in his way of pursuing you. She’s worried that if you and Cooper have kids one day, she’d lose out on the family assets. Don’t worry though, because I’ll stop her from ruining everything.” Pausing, Sandra gazed down at Anne with a serious look on her face. “Remember, Anne—you’ve got the looks and you’re a Yard. Nobility runs in your blood. You have suitors lining up for you all the way to France! If you ask me, Cooper should be honored that you’ve taken an interest in him at all. You’re obviously way out of his league!”

Anne’s heart fluttered at the thought of Cooper. She had known he was the one for her from the very moment she laid eyes on him, and she would do anything to marry him.

However, a surge of fury overcame her as she thought about how Sophia was trying to come between her and Cooper.

How dare Sophia try to disrupt what she and Cooper had? How dare she try to stop true love in its tracks?

Sandra leaned in and continued, “I’ll let you in on this little secret. Cooper has never been in love before but Sophia’s mother—who was a young, lowly servant—seduced Cooper and somehow made him fall for her. He was young and he had no idea what he was doing, but he got that b*tch pregnant. Then, she tried to use her pregnancy to force Cooper into marrying her.”

“It was a dirty move. She thought that she could use her pregnancy as leverage to marry Cooper and live her life as mistress of the family, but little did she know that the Mitchells saw right through her despicable act. In the end, they sent her packing and told her to get rid of the child!”

Anne’s eyes had widened to the size of saucers as she took all of this in. She had never heard of anything like it—how anyone could be so wicked was beyond her! She asked urgently, “What happened after that?”

“Well—” Sandra began with fervor. “—Sophia’s mother realized that there was no way she could marry into the Mitchells, so she found herself an honest man and passed off the child as his instead. The man was an Edwards, so she took on his shares and played mistress for a couple of years. When the family discovered the truth, they cast her out.”

“What? I can’t believe she did that! How shameless of her!” Anne gasped, affronted.

Sandra did not stop with the lies—she was practically a playwright at this point. “Cooper was in an accident over a decade ago and he went into hiding after that, but when he returned a couple of years ago, Sophia somehow found out that he was her biological father. She tracked him down and won him over completely. I don’t know how she did it but Cooper will do anything for her, even if it means going against the Mitchells.”

“You have to watch out for Sophia. She’s no ordinary, simpering wench; she has Taylor Murray wrapped around her little finger and she made Cooper betray his own family. You can’t underestimate her.”

“Also, that brother of hers is not to be overlooked. I don’t know how he ended up as the adopted son of the Michel family. He was close to becoming the heir to the family and the conglomerate, but thank goodness he was kicked out of the family before that happened! These siblings are as scheming as they come and they’re all leeches. Linus is nothing but a gigolo who spends his days hoping to marry a woman like you just so he can climb up the social hierarchy. You have to watch out for them both. They’re a family of crooks!”

Anne felt chills run down her spine after Sandra was done with her storytelling. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for Cooper.

He was completely swindled by Sophia and her family!

If she didn’t get rid of Sophia and Linus, Cooper would suffer in their schemes forever!

Anne was determined to rescue Cooper from this horrible fate. She had to let him see how evil Sophia and her brother were!

Satisfied with how angry Anne looked, Sandra went on to add fuel to fire. “Why don’t you show them who’s really in charge here? You’re Anne Yard. They are meant to show you respect and you should make them.”

Anne nodded fiercely at that and Sandra mirrored her.

Everything was going according to Sandra’s plan. Now, even if Anne did end up marrying Cooper, she would never think of Sophia and her brother as anything but a pair of wicked twins.

On the other hand, Sandra could soon find herself in the Yards’ good graces, seeing as she and Anne were becoming such good friends.

It would be even better if she could end up marrying either Callum or Cade.

Eventually, Sophia turned up as expected.

She had flown over in a chopper, not wanting to waste any time. She could hardly wait to give Anne two slaps across the face.

Sophia was fuming, unable to comprehend how shameless Anne was.

“Miss Anne,” the bodyguard greeted in a low voice after rushing through the door. “Miss Sophia has arrived.”

Anne was well on her way to becoming a young lady of the Yard family and certainly that would have warranted her a royal title if they were in ancient times. She felt important as she indulged in the privilege of being escorted by the Yards’ security team.

She had made sure that the security team would give Sophia a hard time when she arrived later!

“Right. Let her in,” Anne ordered in an imperative tone. She didn’t like speaking this way but she was a young lady of the Yard family now and she had to act like one in front of others.

The bodyguard hurried out of the room and brought Sophia in. She had arrived with several bodyguards in her wake, all of them wearing the insignia of the Mitchell family, which was crafted during Cooper’s leadership.

“I hear somebody has tried to kill herself because of my father, so I decided to bring a little gift to cheer her up,” Sophia mused. Following this, something landed in a thump on the headboard behind Anne; one of the bodyguards had thrown a bottle of brain health supplements and as Anne turned to glance at it, she saw that the supplements were meant for geriatrics.

She glared at Sophia incredulously as she brought her hand down on the table and commanded, “Sophia, you b*tch! Stay away from your father! You have no right to come between us, not when we’re about to be married!”

Sophia had dressed for business today. She wore a white blouse, which was tucked into a pair of black and white checkered palazzo trousers. She had coupled her outfit with a pair of simple stilettos and her hair had been pulled back into a no-nonsense chignon. Her look was completed with a pair of oversize shades that covered half her face.

Lifting her shades, Sophia gazed at Anne with bemusement, clearly impervious to her threats. “Oh?” she sneered. “So, you intend to marry my father, but what do you have to offer? Your long list of suitors who have lined up all the way to France?”

Anne lifted her chin with the hope of intimidating Sophia, then retorted, “I am a young lady of the Yard Family! I have plenty to offer!”

“A young lady of the Yard Family?” Sophia sputtered before she burst into laughter. She wiped away her tears as a smirk fixed itself onto her face. “Tell me then, princess—how many shares do you own in the Ronney Group? Are you next in line to take over the conglomerate? Do you even matter to the rest of the Ronney Group?”

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1118

Anne was rendered speechless by Sophia’s questions. Growing defensive, she glowered at Sophia and countered, “I don’t own any shares now in the Ronney Group, but it’s only a matter of time before I do. I am Young Lady Yard, after all. You’re just a nobody!”

Sophia laughed at Anne’s remark. Standing at the foot of the hospital bed, Sophia surveyed Anne’s pale face with cool appraisal. “You dare call yourself Young Lady Yard when you don’t even own a single share in the Ronney Group? You have no right to call yourself that at all!” she spat.

Anne’s face twisted into a grimace. Sophia is just as despicable as her low-life mother!

“Shares?” Anne wanted to retch and she snarled at Sophia in detest, “People like you only care about money and power. You’re just as shameless as your mother! You’re nothing but a despicable low-life! How dare you assume the Yard Family would ever stoop as low as you? I didn’t come back to the Yards just so I could have shares in the company—I came back for honor, which is something you would never be able to understand! You’re nothing compared to us!”

At this, Sophia went still.

Indeed, there was no denying that she was despicable.

Shares, money and power were all she ever talked about.

And yet, these were all the same things that prompted Anna Yard to eradicate her entire family!

Sophia sat down on the corner of the bed and tried to appear as amiable as possible. “Fine; let’s not talk about money. My dear Miss Osborne, what makes you think my father would ever be interested in you?”

However, Sandra interjected before Anne could answer, “Please take note that she will no longer be called Miss Osborne. She’s already part of the Yard family so she will only be addressed as Anne Yard from now on.”

Hearing that, Sophia thought the Osborne name was better suited for Anne.

Anne ought to look at herself in the mirror before deciding to take on the Yard family name.

After all, it wasn’t as if Anna Yard and her sons had gotten rid of the rest of their family just so they could make room for another person to clamber into their ancestral hall.

The thing was, it seemed as though Anne had truly deluded herself into thinking that she had suitors lining up for her all the way to France, because she began to list her many qualities. “I’m beautiful and young. I come from a family of scholars. I’m gentle as well as intellectual. I play eight different musical instruments and I’m well-versed in everything from law to Sanskrit.” Anne appeared to be pleased with herself as she eyed Sophia with disdain. “Cooper and I will be the perfect couple if we end up together. We were made for each other! What we have is true love and you can never come between us, so why don’t you back off for your own good?”

Sophia could only stare blankly at her.

Is Anne trying to insinuate that Cooper is not good enough for her?

Cooper had only ever met Anne on two occasions—the first being an exhibition where he had spoken to her briefly and the other had been at the Fletchers’. Altogether, they had barely spent more than two or three hours in each other’s company, so how in the world was she convinced that they were in love? How could she even believe that they were meant for each other?

Sophia couldn’t be led astray by Anne’s crazy talk. Composing herself, she tried to reason, “Miss Osborne, please don’t take this the wrong way but my father is just as much of a low-life as I am. All he cares about is money. We’re a bunch of money-crazed people and as vulgar as we are, we would never be good enough to become your in-laws. It would be easier if you let him go.”

Sophia wasn’t wrong. After all, Cooper was vulgar enough to have become an armament magnate.

He had set up a pharmaceuticals laboratory in Africa and during the cholera outbreak that nearly wiped out the continent, he refused to hand over the treatment that could otherwise save the people. The conference room had been filled to the brim with government officials from all the African countries as they demanded for the treatment, but he had denied them all. He used the treatment as leverage, refusing to give up the cure until the countries had signed over the diamond mines to him; he wanted to monopolize the diamond mining industry in the entire continent.

He was nothing but a capitalist, a corrupt businessman who cared only about making a profit. If they were to turn back time and go back to the revolution, a man like Cooper would have been dragged out and flogged on the streets.

But this only further infuriated Anne. She slammed a hand down on the table and snarled, “You useless b*tch! How dare you stab your father in the back by saying these horrible things about him? You ought to be struck down by lightning for insulting your family like this!”

Anne appeared to be under the belief that she was destined to be with Cooper, which inevitably led her to assume the role of Sophia’s stepmother.

When Anne snapped, she did so in a way that was akin to how a stepmother would put down her husband’s illegitimate child. “You were born out of wedlock. What right do you have to butt into your father’s affairs? You’re ridiculous! It doesn’t even make sense for your father to spoil you the way he does, and now you think you’re above everyone else? How dare you interfere with his private affairs and speak badly about him behind his back? If I were you, I’d have died of shame!”

Sandra chose that moment to chime in, “Exactly! All of this is absurd! Clearly, you have no respect for your elders and you don’t know your place. You’re a daughter born out of wedlock, so who gave you the right and the confidence to meddle in your father’s business?”

Anne then tilted her chin in an effort to look superior. “Have you no shame? You’re married with a family of your own but you and your husband continue to reside at Cooper’s place. You’ve completely destroyed the Mitchells’ reputation!” She scowled resentfully. “You’d better move out of Cooper’s house this instant!”

Sophia was stunned into silence.

After all, Cooper was the one who was staying at her place, not the other way round!

The man loved being around them so much that he couldn’t bear to stay away for more than a day. In fact, there had been times when he hadn’t been able to eat or sleep without seeing his beloved grandchild, so he had decided that the best solution was to move in with Sophia.

But to be fair to Anne, Sophia understood why this seemed a ridiculous notion.

At this point, Sophia realized that there was no use in trying to reason with Anne.

If the woman refused to listen to reason, then Sophia had no choice but to be harsh with her.

She slowly put on her shades, effectively shielding the icy look in her eyes, and drawled, “I have nothing more to say to you, Miss Osborne, but let me tell you this—you may be as perfect as you say you are, but my father has more than his fair share of gorgeous admirers in Bayside City. While your family may be formidable, there are others whose family names carry more weight than yours. You won’t be the only young lady of the Yard Family; it’s not as if you’re the first person to have adopted a different surname to get into the Yard’s ancestral hall.”

Sophia’s tone grew cold as she continued, “So, seeing as my father isn’t short on admirers who are prettier, more capable and have better breeding than you do, what makes you think he’d be interested in you in the first place?”

One would think that Sophia’s speech would keep Anne in check, but instead, Anne remained impervious. Worse still, there was a dreamy look in her eyes as she retaliated arrogantly, “Cooper would never abandon me! We are in love! There’s no way that those cheap floozies out there can even begin to compete with me!”

Sophia was at a loss for words.

“Pfft!” The bodyguards who flanked Sophia began to snicker.

It was as if Miss Osborne was a one-woman comedy show!

Sophia, on the other hand, had never been more exasperated in her life.

She had been right to give Anne that bottle of brain health supplements; the woman clearly needed it more than anyone else.

Sophia knew she had to switch tactics. She would go crazy if she went on like this!

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1119

Sophia was also beginning to understand Anne. She was nothing more than a naive little girl who saw the world through rose-colored glasses, and her delusions belied her sheltered upbringing. She’d never had to endure life’s many cruel punches, and she was clueless as to how vicious mankind could be—she didn’t know how ruthless it was out there in the real world.

Sophia hadn’t wanted to be too hard on her, but as of now, she had to be cruel to be kind. “So, Miss Osborne, it seems as if you’re set on marrying my father.”

Anne was determined. “You have no right to interfere with our plans to get married.”

With a low chuckle, Sophia cast a fleeting glance at Sandra, who was practically buzzing with anticipation, and sneered, “Anne, I think it’s time you get that brain of yours checked.”

At this, Anne was outraged. “Sophia, I suggest you watch that mouth of yours. I’m older than you, and you should show me some respect! You rude little wench! Just wait till your father and I get married, I’ll—”

Sophia cut her off mercilessly, ready to burst the girl’s bubbles. “Oh dear, Miss Osborne, it seems as if you’re far too naive to understand what’s going on. You speak as if you are Young Lady Yard, and I bet you’ve thought about how you’d be a princess if we were in ancient times. But think about it, Anne, what happened to the rest of the Yards? The Yards were a clan before this, and now look at what’s left of them! Have you ever wondered why they were so desperate to claim you back as their own even after you’ve taken on a different surname?”

She did not wait for Anne to respond. “Are you really that stupid, Anne? Your Aunt Anna and her sons killed off the entire clan! That was her whole family—people who shared the same blood as her—but your aunt spared none of them!”

Anne began to falter. “Shut up!” she cried, panicked.

But Sophia did not shut up in spite of Anne’s obvious distress and continued sardonically, “Didn’t you know that your aunt is renowned as a bloodthirsty tyrant? She killed off the uncles and sisters who helped her climb up the family throne, and she spared none of those who came from the branch family—that’s the reason why she and her sons are the only ones left! My dear lady, do you understand what I mean by ‘branch family’?”

Anne was clearly in shock. She refused to believe in these ugly lies. She was a princess, and she wanted nothing to do with any of these, but Sophia’s voice grew menacing as she went on to say, “Much like yourself, the branch family consisted of those who were collateral descendants and had no rightful claim on the Yard family fortune! As far as your aunt is concerned, you are not of direct descent, and that means you’re worthless! She and her sons are lineal descendants of the Yard family, and only they have a rightful claim to the family name. You, on the other hand, are just a nobody! Do you really think your aunt brought you back so that you could be the young lady of the family? I’m sorry to say that she only sees you as a pet dog!”

Then, Sophia leaned forward with a malicious smirk on her face, and pointed a finger toward Anne. “If these were the ancient times, you would be the type of ‘princess’ who got married off to some old fart in another reigning family, and once he died, you’d be forced to marry someone else in the same family—you’d just be traded around from one man to another like a whre! Right now, you’re just a lowly dog in the Yard family, and your aunt could just as easily get rid of you as she did with the others. What’s sadder still is that you actually believe you have far more value than that. You thought you could fit in with the rest of them, but you can’t change the fact that you are nothing more than a btch of collateral descent!”

Anne was sobbing by now. She covered her ears with her hands and screamed, “Go away! Stop talking! I won’t hear it!”

However, Sophia was relentless as she drove her point forward. “Your aunt and her sons hold 61% altogether in Ronney Group, thereby securing control over the board of directors and gaining power within the family. The three of them hold 20% of shares each, and the remaining 1% is held by General.” She paused, looking at Anne with a thoughtful gaze. “Do you know who General is? He’s Anna Yard’s cat! Her cat owns 1% of the shares in Ronney Group, and how many do you hold? None! My dear Miss Osborne, you can’t even begin to compete with their cat!”

There was no use trying to block out Sophia’s words. By the end of it all, Anne could feel herself fall apart in shock and despair; her dreams of becoming a real-life princess were shattered before her eyes.

She remembered being over the moon when she first heard that she was a long-lost relative of the Yard family. She had thought that she was royalty!

But today, Sophia had destroyed everything she fantasized about.

She was no better than Anna Yard’s cat. Even General was a shareholder in Ronney Group, while Anne had nothing! She had no place in the Yard family at all!

Anne sobbed piteously on the bed as she felt her pride and faith fade away.

The fact that she was not of lineal descent of the Yard family had made her lose out to a cat!

And Anna Yard had become the powerful woman she was by eradicating the whole branch family—the people who, like Anne, had no direct claim on the Yard family fortune.

Xena Osborne had once told her to not get too close to her Aunt Anna, and had cautioned her not to go after any part of the Yards’ fortune. Other than association, the Osbornes would ask for nothing more from the Yards.

Sophia continued attacking Anne despite the latter’s heavy sobbing. “Your aunt single-handedly built the foundation for the Yard family, and your cousins are the ones benefiting from it. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for them to eradicate the entire Yard clan, and the price they had to pay in order to wield power over Ronney Group? The honor and glory are theirs, and theirs alone—you have no right to any of it. You are nothing but a tool in the Yard family’s shed. You’re no different from a princess in the ancient times who were married off against her own will, be it for in-breeding or intermarriage purposes. Do you really think you get to have a say on who you wish to marry? Wake up and smell the hummus, Anne Osborne!”

Anne was trembling under the sheets, feeling as if she’d just been gutted. She stammered pathetically, “Stop it, stop it! I-I won’t hear any of it! I’m going to marry Cooper!”

Sandra recovered from the initial shock that came with Sophia’s speech and quickly came to Anne’s defense as she countered Sophia fiercely, “Don’t you dare fill Anne’s head with your filthy lies! Do you take her for a moron? How can she be from a branch of the Yard family? She is a direct descendant! You’re the only one here who’s not of direct descent, and outcasts like you can’t stand to see our kind better off than yours ever will be! Guards, take her away immediately!”

The bodyguards moved to usher Sophia out of the room. While Anne held no shares under her name, she was still a young lady of the Yard family.

These bodyguards were confidants to Anna Yard, and they had followed her orders to kill off many of the Yard clan. Anna had to be ruthless to gain all that she had now; she had been unforgiving toward her uncles and siblings, killing all of them when they so much as disagreed with her. She had been amiable since her reconciliation with Louis Osborne, but if he or Xena were caught scheming against her, there was no doubt she would be just as merciless toward them.

After all, what was kinship compared to profit and power?

She’d rather have her cat hold 1% of the shares than let her own father and sisters have anything to do with the conglomerate—that alone was enough to speak volumes of her character.

Fortunately, Louis and Xena were both smart enough to not go after what wasn’t theirs in the first place. The Yards might be family, but Ronney Group indeed had nothing to do with the Osbornes in the slightest.

Anne was still far too young and naive to understand any of this. She would survive if she chose to remain an airhead for the rest of her days as Young Lady Yard, but if she so much as even asked for shares in the conglomerate, there was a very high chance that she would end up dead the next day.

Miss Edwards, on the other hand, seemed a lot sharper.

As such, it was no surprise that Anna was fond of her.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1120

Bearing in mind the fact that Anna Yard was fond of Sophia, the bodyguards weren’t too harsh on her when they said, “Miss Edwards, this way, please.”

Sophia got onto her stilettos-clad feet and began to make her way to the door. She didn’t look back at Anne as she drawled, “Miss Osborne—no, Miss Yard, let this be my warning to you: stay away from my father. He’s a lineal descendant and the head of the Mitchell family. People like you of collateral descent will never be good enough for him!”

Anne did not miss the cruel emphasis on the last few words.

She also did not miss the mockery in Sophia’s tone when she addressed her as ‘Miss Yard’.

Sophia’s message was as clear as day: the title was meaningless, and the novelty was lost on Anne.

Anne claimed to be a young lady of the Yard family, but she did not even have one single share to her name.

The door did not close all the way following Sophia’s exit, so Anne could still hear her contemptuous voice resonating down the hall. “My father’s a busy man, so don’t bother looking for him if you ever decide to kill yourself again because it has nothing to do with him! He has no time to entertain your petty life decisions! He can’t be bothered to remember the faces of those he’s only met once or twice, so don’t even think that he knows what you look like, Anne Osborne! How dare the Yards think that I would set my father up for some twisted arranged marriage just to gain the benefit of a business deal? My father is too good for any of you, so you can go screw yourself if you think he would ever be interested in someone like you!”

……

Every one of Sophia’s words pierced through Anne’s heart with unrelenting precision.

She was struggling to come to terms with the possibility that Cooper didn’t love her.

Why would he keep quiet all this while if he had never loved her?

And why did he go along with her to meet Louis Osborne on the day of the art exhibit?

Meanwhile, Sandra tried her best to console the shell-shocked girl. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s all over now. She was only lying to you. She just wants you to think that you’re not good enough so that you would back off on your own. She’s jealous because she’s a b*tch born out of wedlock, whereas you are a direct descendant of the Yard family. She knows her life will be ruined once you marry Cooper, so she’s doing everything she can to stop that from happening! How could Cooper not love you when everybody else adores you so?”

The words were empty lies. Sandra knew that Anne was worthless without shares in Ronney Group. The girl had neither power nor authority, and she was only collateral for the Yards to gain a powerful ally in the Mitchells. She was no better than a pawn.

Sandra had managed to become a Mitchell by way of her many accomplishments. She didn’t want to live in fear, so she did everything she could to expand her influence. She knew that it was meaningless to have only a title to her name when what she really needed to have was power; her worth was tied to nothing else other than the shares she held in and the control she wielded over the conglomerate.

Without the authority that came with being a shareholder in the conglomerate, one would find themselves in danger of being disposed of at the whim of others who were far more powerful.

But now, in order for Sandra to get closer to the Yards, she needed Anne to marry into the Mitchell family. If the marriage fell through, Sandra would never have a chance like this ever again!

This meant that she had to do all she could to placate Anne before the silly girl gave up on the idea of marrying Cooper!

For the past two days, Sandra had done little else other than visit Anne at the hospital, and each visit would last for hours. Many young masters of the Mitchell family had dropped by between intervals to talk about business, but their presence had been deliberately arranged by Sandra so that she could show Anne the finest men the Mitchells had to offer.

But Anne was adamant that Cooper was the only one for her, and she would not consider anyone else despite Sandra’s best efforts to persuade her otherwise.

Oh, Cooper. Just what did Anne see in him? He was nothing more than an obsolete figurehead—an outcast in the Mitchell family who had nothing to offer. There were plenty of other men in the family who were younger and more accomplished than him, but Anne could not be bothered to even spare them a glance.

Anne’s stubbornness had now led to Sandra’s predicament. Presently, she was thinking of ways to make Anne take interest in other men in the Mitchell family while trying to console her.

She knew she was racing against time, for there were others in Bayside City who had their eyes on Anne.

The Yards’ return was followed by their reconciliation with those who had either drifted away from the family or adopted different family names, and while it was true that such reconciliation had brought forth the emergence of many young ladies of the Yard family, it still couldn’t be denied that Anne was the most important one of all.

Even as she lived now without holding a single share in the conglomerate, she was still Anna Yard’s niece—that alone ought to have warranted her a more favorable disposition in the family than the other young ladies!

So what was Cooper trying to achieve by playing hard to get? What more could he ask for when Anne was already so far out of his league? Did the old man really think he could do any better?

Meanwhile, Sophia had left the hospital. She had managed to let out a string of abusive remarks toward the bodyguards who worked for the Yards, but in reality, she had intended for Anne to hear every single disparaging word. Once she was escorted outside, Sophia had regained her composure.

After all, someone had to knock Anne down from her high horse before the little wench thought she was above everybody else.

Sophia scoffed in disdain as she thought about how Anne had asked to be addressed as Miss Yard.

Not once had Sophia ever made the public declaration that she was a young lady of the Michel family.

She was well aware that Michel Group would never have risen to the peak of its glory if it hadn’t been for the efforts of those who came before her. Brick by brick, Michel Group had been built up by the likes of Cooper, Linus and Alice. These geniuses were behind the conglomerate’s power and glory, whereas Sophia had contributed nothing at all. She had no right to ask to be a shareholder because she had no credit in any of the conglomerate’s success.

She had no desire to be a young mistress of Michel Group—she wanted to be the president!

Previously, Sophia and Michael had bought up most of the shares in the conglomerate, which had been sold off by panicking shareholders when they had first gotten word that Michel Group would be undergoing a major internal restructuring due to Linus’ termination.

Unlike Anne, who was going to be married off for a profitable agenda, Sophia was waiting for the right time to use these shares to enter the conglomerate so she could take her rightful place as the young mistress of Michel Group.

But not everyone shared the same sentiments.

While Sophia thought of ways to procure more useful resources, Sandra was obsessed with fortifying her position, and Anne was thinking of ways to convince Anna to give her some of the shares in Ronney Group.

…

Anne was discharged from the hospital the next day.

She had made up her mind that there was no point in staying in the hospital any longer. After all, it seemed as if Cooper was completely under Sophia’s spell as he had never bothered to pay Anne a visit himself.

However, Anne was determined to marry Cooper, and there was nothing Sophia could do to ruin her plans.

She must ask the Yards to make her a shareholder. That way, Cooper would have no choice but to marry her, and no one could get in the way of that!

Upon leaving the hospital, Anne hurried over to the hotel where Anna was staying.

Anna was in the middle of a briefing with a property agent on the matter of purchasing the building.

Seeing as the Yards were keen on returning to the country in addition to their plans of establishing Ronney Group here, they needed to purchase a large family estate in Bayside City so that the whole Yard family could lay down their roots. Anna was also looking for a mansion for her own private use.

The Yard family originated from the banks of the Lombardi River, and while some had fled the country, there was still a large number of the clan that remained in the country. The hundreds of years that followed had seen the continuous return of members of the Yard family, who had subsequently set up their ancestral halls along Lombardi River. Nonetheless, Ronney Group would have to establish their branch in Bayside City as it was the country’s economic stronghold.

In light of this, Anna had been perusing properties in the country. She was determined to pick the best out of a wide selection of houses, office buildings, family homes and private mansions.

She was in the midst of browsing through the folders given by the property agent when Anne showed up with her unreasonable demands. Anna couldn’t begin to wrap her head around what the girl was actually requesting for.

“Anne, what did you just say?” Anna lifted her head to look at her niece in askance. There were no lines that marred Anna’s smooth, porcelain skin; even without an ounce of make-up, the woman looked as though she had defied all laws of time and physics.

Anne bit her lip nervously, then stammered, “Aunt Anna, I’d like to have some shares in the conglomerate. Cooper thinks little of me because I have no place in Ronney Group and won’t marry me otherwise.”

Upon saying that, she cast a resentful glance at the sleeping General. Surely, in light of the cat owning 1% of the shares, her aunt would not think she was crossing the line by asking for a mere 2% or 3% out of all the shares in Ronney Group, would she?