Ch. 1201..1210

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1201

Throughout the years, Sandra had always taken great care of her public image. She tried her best to publicize her acts of charity, but now, she was criticized for exaggerating her charitable acts. She was caught faking a number of donations, and there were several charities and events where she simply showed up so that the press and media could snap images to prove her presence—she even took back the funds she had donated after the event. Sandra was one who enjoyed chasing after trends; her actions were dependent on all of the hottest topics and trends. She was eager to portray herself as a thoughtful intellectual and a generous, loving public figure. However, her plan ended up backfiring on her.

The videos of her cursing Linus and shouting for women to stay home and care for their kids had successfully angered all of the citizens in the country; both her past and new scandals surfaced on the Internet all within a day. This time, her entire image was truly collapsing. Sandra was extremely displeased by this, and she quickly performed a series of acts in order to mend the issue—she got her connections to remove the online posts and posted a quick apology video on the Internet, sobbing pitifully in the video as she gave a speech apologizing for her mistakes. She then paid a number of Internet ghostwriters to clear her name. They started rumors about how there were unknown reasons for the controversial things that Sandra had said, but they never specified the details of it. They made it seem as though Sandra had no other choice but to give the speech, and they created the illusion of her being unable to clear her own name after being wrongfully accused by the public. They even left a few stories hanging so that other netizens could form their own guesses, and they later announced that Sandra was about to reappear in the field of sports and participate in a swimming competition. Sooner or later, Sandra was definitely going to get blacklisted and canceled by the public. Sophia was well-prepared for this to happen, and she was just waiting for the right opportunity to expose all of Sandra’s acts and destroy her once and for all. However, another incident surfaced before this scandal came to an end.

Winter had arrived, and it was that time of the year when all northeastern Cethosians began to dress in mink and fur coats. The annual debate between luxurious fashion brands and environmental protection associations began once again. In recent years, Cethosians who were slightly well off were quick to hop on the trend of dressing up in mink and fur coats. While there were more people dressing up in it, there were also more people going against it. As usual, there were activities being organized to encourage Cethosians to go fur-free. These campaigns kicked off slightly later this winter, but they were also a lot more aggressive.

Once again, Sandra was quick to be a part of the craze. She supported the act of saying no to fur products, and she led the group by being the first one to ruin all of the mink and fur products she owned. She promised that she would never dress in any such products in the future, eager to use these acts to restore her righteous image in the eyes of the public.

There were a number of supporters for the anti-mink and fur activities that year; even the Ronney Group and several other fashion brands in Bayside City responded to it. Globally, an increased number of luxurious brands began to announce their usage of artificial fur. They swore to stop using materials made from actual animals, and many celebrities began to take part and show support in these acts against mink and fur.

The anti-fur movements were crazier than ever that year; it came to a point where an individual’s entire family would be viewed as criminals if they were found guilty of dressing in fur clothing. Famous celebrities and public figures who didn’t step forward to show their support even had their names thrown into a long list made by some passionate individuals. They were then called out and criticized as the list went viral on the Internet. Some of the public figures were forced to step down, but a few well-respected and god-tier individuals like Taylor and Harry remained unharmed. One outdated male celebrity’s wife was caught and brutally criticized by environmental activists after she purchased factories that manufactured luxury mink and fur products; she was even criticized for being the wife of an unknown male actor. There were banners and posters stuck all over the outsides of her new factory, eventually forcing her to apologize and shut down. They even asked her to donate all the products that the factory had manufactured.

“That’s f*cking insane.” Sophia had picked the paper up on her way home, and she saw her husband’s name being listed on the news as one of the celebrities who deserved to be criticized. They even included a picture of Sophia showing herself off in a luxurious leather and fur coat without blurring her face out. Meanwhile, Cooper felt a little confused to see the whole trend in the newspaper. Aren’t these people eating meat sliced off of animals while they restrict others from wearing animal skin? Humans are weird.

However, Linus didn’t find this odd at all as there were a bunch of protesters who lingered outside the Michel Group’s office all year round. They protested against the Michel Group’s meticulous and advanced developments of artificial intelligence as they were afraid that the Michel Group’s robots would someday surpass the abilities of mankind. In other words, they were afraid that humans were going to turn into the slaves of robots.

The fur factory farm that Sophia had purchased was located in the northeastern region. The factory itself bred its own minks and sables; it was an old factory that provided fur for a large number of luxurious brands. It was a legal organization doing legal work, and there were no acts of abuse, skinning the animals alive or anything of that sort. Sophia had no idea what the people were protesting against; regular farms killed chickens and pigs as well, and some evil humans even used fertilized chicken eggs as food, facial products and other things. Wasn’t that just as terrible? In general, humans were the ones who deserved to be boycotted, and Sophia couldn’t care less about the protests that were going on. The minute she got home, she threw her bag aside and ran to the kitchen. She wrapped her arms around Michael, who was busy cooking. “Hubby!” She used her nasal voice to ask for affection as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his, taking two steps whenever he moved.

Ever since Michael went on ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’, he learned a few skills so that Carmen wouldn’t get hungry on the show. Recently, he had been tinkering around in the kitchen to cook up a few mouth-watering meals.

“I’m running out of handbags, hubby. Buy me a new one…” Sophia urged.

Michael was busy cooking when he felt a sweet burden clinging onto him from behind. However, he couldn’t help but frown when he heard what she said. “It’s enough. You already have so many bags.” Her wardrobe was stacked with bags, and all of them were branded items. The Ronney Group had given her a huge number of bags during their previous collaboration, and the bags Sophia purchased herself were worth enough to feed her an entire year of meals.

However, Sophia continued to cling onto her husband as she acted cute in front of him. “Buy me a bag, hubby…” Receiving a bag from my husband has a different feeling to it; buying bags for myself is nothing in comparison to that amazing feeling of receiving a gift! Once Carmen saw this going on, the young girl quickly ran over to cling onto Michael’s leg. “Buy me a bag too, Daddy!”

Despite their demands, Michael felt a surge of warmth within him as his wife and daughter held onto him. “Alright, I’ll go shopping tomorrow.” Michael finally gave in in the end. However, Sophia wasn’t done yet. “I also want clothes, shoes and a skirt!” She continued to cling onto him. “I want a new dog, Daddy! I want a corgi!” Carmen seized the opportunity to ask for more stuff as well.

“You’ll have to pick up your own dog poop, then!” Michael surprised her with his stern voice. Carmen was dumbstruck, and she fell silent for a second before she quickly ran away. Sophia continued to pester Michael in the kitchen, and Cooper could hear her sweet voice all the way from the living room where he was reading his paper. He felt loneliness creeping into him. My little sweetheart has been snatched away from me. She’s gone now… If my daughter is a warm, padded jacket, my son is a reliable pair of small leather boots. I can’t lose either one of them; I’d feel insecure without my boots and cold without my jacket. I want both of them!

“Why are you so greedy?” Michael asked Sophia in the kitchen.

After dinner, Michael watched as Carmen pestered Cooper to bring her out. Cooper took a glance outside and rejected her after he saw how cold and dark it was. Michael knew where Carmen wanted to go; she had repeatedly expressed her desire for a corgi, but she had been afraid to deal with corgi poop. Hence, she enjoyed going to other houses to play with their corgis. There was another large family near them that had loads of animals; they had 17 dogs, and 12 of these were corgis. They also had more than 10 cats, and it was clear to see that they were a rich family. They were the Yards, and the house belonged to Anna. The assumption that interests and hobbies were inherited had to be true, for both these large families inherited traits of being animal lovers.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1202

Carmen walked over to Anna’s house almost every day. The young girl often spent her time hanging out there—it was probably because she had the intention of adopting a corgi once she got closer to the family. That day, she dragged Cooper along with her. “Come on, Grandpa. We can invite Miss Beautiful over to my kindergarten’s year-end performance.”

Cooper frowned at this before he turned around and forcefully edged himself away from the exit. He didn’t want to have any interactions with Anna; he didn’t want Carmen talking to Anna either, but Carmen insisted on visiting her house almost every day. Seeing that Cooper refused to go along with her, Carmen stuck her lips out into a pout. “I’m going to start rolling on the ground and throw a tantrum, Grandpa. Are you scared yet?”

Ah, she’s going to throw a tantrum. How scary. Cooper unwillingly followed behind Carmen as the young girl dragged him over to Anna’s house. She was familiar with the route heading toward their place, and she knocked on the door upon her arrival. Both Callum and Cade were home, and they fought to open the door once they realized that Cooper was paying them a visit. In the end, Callum was the one who greeted Cooper with a wide grin on his face. “Do come in, Mr. Mitchell.”

Cooper didn’t want to go in, but Carmen dragged him inside nonetheless. She walked around as if it were her own house, and she quickly went over to the shoe cabinet before pulling out a pair of pink indoor slippers for herself. Then, she got one for Cooper as well.

“Miss Beautiful!” Carmen excitedly ran around in search of Anna. She ran around the place as if she had lived there all her life, and she even brought a corgi into her arms before showing it to Cooper. “Look, Grandpa. Its name is Buns! Look at how adorable its butt is.” Carmen turned the dog around and faced its butt toward Cooper, extending an invitation for Cooper to admire the corgi’s butt with her. Cooper furrowed his brows as he wasn’t interested in looking at a corgi’s butt. He didn’t want to sit around either, but Cade had already walked over with a cup of tea for him. “Don’t worry, Mr. Mitchell. Anne isn’t here today.”

Indeed, Anne wasn’t around that day as she had learned her lesson after getting beaten the last time; she no longer dared to pester Anna any longer. Soon enough, Anna came down from the second floor in a pearl-white long gown that suited her elegant aura. She was dressed in a casual and simple outfit, but it made her look classy and chic at the same time.

“Carry me, Miss Beautiful.” Carmen reached her arms out, and Anna lovingly lifted her up before she walked toward Cooper and sat down beside him on the couch.

“Mr. Mitchell.” Anna felt an inexplicable sense of joy within her when she saw that Cooper had come to visit.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you, Mrs. Yard,” replied Cooper as he nodded without forgetting his manners. After sitting around for a while, Anna made the first move to initiate random topics of conversation with Cooper. Meanwhile, Carmen’s babysitter pulled a small, delicate little basket out. There was a pink cloth draped over the basket, and there were bacon slices wrapped in paper underneath the pink cloth. Oddly enough, there was a ribbon tied around the basket of bacon strips, and there were two odd roses placed in the basket—the roses were even pleasantly scented. What is this odd combination of bacon and roses all about? Cooper wondered.

Carmen slowly placed the cloth over the basket and covered it after she took a peek. She then turned to Cooper before blinking at him with her large, watery eyes. Cooper was a little slow, and he widened his eyes to indicate that he didn’t understand what the young girl meant by that. Carmen responded by looking beside him before winking twice. Cooper got it then—Carmen wanted him to present the bacon as a gift for Anna. He was shocked. How can this young brat steal all the bacon from our house just to give it to someone else?!

However, Anna already saw the pink cane basket in the room, and she eyed it curiously. “Did you bring something delicious over for me again, Carmen?” Carmen dropped by to play with the dogs every once in a while, and she always brought some snacks as a token of appreciation for allowing her to play with the dogs. Since Cooper didn’t make a move, Carmen personally placed the basket on the coffee table. “This is freshly made bacon from our house. My Grandpa came here just to give this to you, Miss Beautiful,” Carmen said in a sweet voice.

Cooper felt the muscles in his face twitching as color filled his cheeks. Now that the bacon is already in Anna’s hands, I can’t take it back anymore, can I? Furthermore, she seems pretty glad to see the gift. Despite living a life of luxury, she had never tried it before. “Bacon?” she asked curiously. However, she was even more surprised to see the two roses in the basket when she uncovered the gift. She froze for a moment as she felt her heart fluttering in her chest. “Thank you,” she said gently as she picked the roses up.

Cooper looked extremely embarrassed right then. He abruptly got onto his feet. “Sorry for disturbing,” he muttered as he picked Carmen up and walked out of the house hastily. Carmen acted quickly and picked up one of Anna’s corgis, refusing to let go of it even as her grandfather picked her up.

“Mr. Mitchell, you should leave after having some food!” Callum quickly ran toward the door, but Cooper had already disappeared onto the streets at that point. There seemed to be a huge, dramatic story hidden behind the man’s hasty footsteps.

Coincidentally, the Yards hadn’t had their meal yet, so they washed the bacon and prepared a simple dish of fried bacon. Although the Yards were extremely rich, they had always enjoyed eating simple meals. It was an odd sight for them to see a dish of bacon placed on the middle of the table. None of them had ever tried eating bacon, but Anna felt an oddly familiar sensation as she glanced at the slices of red, salted meat. The bacon melted in her mouth and gave off an extremely special taste. The taste of it felt familiar; it felt like it had awakened something deep within her. She felt like she had tasted it somewhere, but she simply couldn’t remember where. Could I have tasted this in my past life? This texture and taste… Even the saltiness of this bacon feels familiar.

“Mom!” Cade called for his mother and snapped her out of her daydream as he realized that she was acting in a rather odd manner. Anna only realized that her cheeks were soaking wet with tears when she came back to her senses. “Sorry. I forgot my manners.” She quickly dried her tears. While she usually didn’t have much of an appetite, she surprisingly wolfed down two bowls of rice before she quietly went up to her room after that.

Callum and Cade exchanged glances with one another after watching her leave the table. Just by looking into each other’s eyes, they both knew what the other was thinking. Their mother was acting really weird as of late; she had been daydreaming a lot, and she even had nightmares from time to time. What’s going on? She always acts a little strange after seeing that guy, Cooper.

Meanwhile, Cooper was acting odd as well after he arrived home. Sophia gave him a warm greeting when he first entered. “Come over and watch some TV with me, Daddy. This channel is showing ‘The Winter Breakthrough’ again.” Everyone was huddled in front of the TV just then, but Cooper remained silent as he placed Carmen down. He then walked up to his room and stayed inside for a long time. Sophia found this odd, and she soon found out that Carmen had brought Cooper over to Anna’s house. This infuriated Sophia, and she immediately gave Carmen a harsh scolding. “No more playing at the Yard Residence from now on! Look at you—you even brought their dog home! Take it back!”

Carmen put on the most innocent expression she had. “Why? Miss Beautiful is so nice to me. I want to play with her!”

Sophia gave it some thought before she responded to Carmen’s words by saying, “That’s because… Miss Beautiful is an angel, and you’re just a normal human. Humans can’t be friends with angels!” Michael, who had been patting Celine’s baby’s back for her to burp, burst into laughter when he heard Sophia’s sorry excuse.

To their surprise, Carmen was dissatisfied with this excuse. “Daddy said that Mommy’s an angel too! I’m Mommy’s baby, so I’m an angel too! Angels and angels can be friends!” she cried indignantly.

Sophia’s eyes widened as she realized that she had no way to argue against this. Meanwhile, Carmen began to tear up in a pitiful manner. “Mommy, you used to call me an angel too… Have you been lying to me this whole time? Does that mean I’m not an angel?”

Sophia was utterly speechless.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1203

Sophia had initially planned on teaching Carmen a lesson, but the little girl turned the situation around and made herself the victim first. “Alright, my good girl. Who said you aren’t an angel? You’re still the princess of angels; you’re the prettiest angel among the thousands of angels in the sky.” Carmen finally stopped crying after Sophia coaxed her for a little while more. The young girl then picked the corgi up and invited everyone to admire its butt with her.

Once Carmen fell asleep, Sophia got her babysitter to send the dog back. She glanced up toward the third floor wearily, which remained silent the whole time. Cooper must be feeling terrible right now. He really wants to see Anna, but he’s also afraid of seeing her—after all, she has completely lost all memories of him. She’s now the wife of another man, and she even has four sons… Michael might be the only person who can understand this torturous experience…

…

Meanwhile, it was past midnight in the Yard Residence when Anna found herself caught in a hypnagogic state. She had a really odd dream which had been troubling her ever since she returned to Cethos. In the dream, she felt a splitting pain in her belly. Amidst all the suffering she was in, she felt the emergence of new lives as two babies tore themselves away from her flesh and wiggled their way out of her body. She barely caught a glimpse of the two newborn babies before someone picked them up and raised the babies toward the sky. “You’d better hand the right of succession and all your shares over. Otherwise, I’ll drop your son onto the ground right now!”

“Ah!” Anna woke up from her nightmare and felt someone’s arms around her. “What is it, Annie?” A man’s deep voice came from beside her. She felt his strong arms curling around her, but for some reason, that only made her feel more afraid than ever. “Ah!” Right then, Anna lost control of all her emotions. She threw away all the things that she could lay her hands on; all she wanted to do right then was to throw out the person who had just wrapped his arms around her. “Go away! Get out!”

The man caught everything that Anna had been throwing as he explained himself and said, “Annie, it’s me…” However, Anna couldn’t hear anything he said right then. The disgusting scent of a male body lingered in her nostrils; it was a repulsive scent that triggered her desire to break everything that she could grab onto. She threw her belongings onto the ground as she screamed like a crazy woman.

Her loud screams caught the attention of Callum and Cade, and Callum turned the lights on to see the room in an utter mess. The pillows, vases and Anna’s cell phone were on the ground, and her hair was an utter mess as she continued to throw things out. Meanwhile, Jordan pathetically took a few steps back to avoid getting hit by something.

“Mom!” Callum cried out in surprise before he quickly ran forward to hold his mother in his arms. Anna began to thrash around in his arms, looking like a pitiful woman who couldn’t seem to escape from her own nightmare. When Anna saw Jordan trying to edge closer to her, she lost her mind even more than before. “Ahhhh!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs.

This came as a shock to Jordan; he took a few steps back, his eyes filled with hurt and terror. “Dad, Mom’s having a relapse of her illness. Please go out for a while,” Cade quickly said.

“Annie…” Jordan tried to call his wife, but Anna was completely out of control. He had no choice but to bitterly step out of the room. Callum continued to tighten his grip around his mother in the room. She was crying and wailing as if she had just experienced the most traumatic incident in her life, and her face was soaked with tears of terror.

“It’s Callum, Mom! I’m your son!” The look on Anna’s face flickered for a moment as she seemed to regain some consciousness after seeing Callum’s face. She quickly threw her arms around Callum. “My son… My son, my darling Callum… My son… Don’t hurt my son! No! No!” She clung onto Callum tightly, as if she was afraid that someone would snatch him away from her. He returned the hug and began to tear up as he listened to her muffled sobs and incoherent sentences. “It’s okay. It’s alright. I’m here now, and no one’s going to hurt me. We’re all grown up, so we can protect ourselves now!”

However, Anna was still extremely emotional. She couldn’t seem to detach herself from the nightmare she had, and she was having a complete mental breakdown. Eventually, she began to quiet down a little after Callum soothed her emotions. She then moved to the guest room for the night while the maid tidied the messy room.

Cade picked the two roses up from the shards of glass that had once been a vase. The roses were a gift from Cooper, and Anna had carefully placed them in the vase earlier that night. She threw the vase onto the ground and it shattered into pieces when she lost her mind moments ago, so the roses were left in a puddle of water on the floor. Cade picked them up and placed them into a new vase before gently putting it by Anna’s bedside once again.

After taking two sleeping pills, Anna went back to sleep. Callum tucked her into bed and gazed at her tear-stricken cheeks as she slept. The public only saw how great their lives were, but they had never seen all the pain and struggles that the mother and her two sons had to go through. Callum and Cade’s childhood were filled with fear and terror; everyone wanted them dead back then. Direct and distant relatives of the Yard Family wanted them dead, and all of Jordan’s other women wanted them dead too. The survival of Anna and her two sons had a huge impact on the potential benefits of others around them, so everyone wanted them gone! On the outside, they were threatened by the Yard Family; on the inside, they were controlled by Jordan. They never once had the freedom and right to direct their own lives, and it felt like they were constantly living under the shadow of everyone else’s power.

Callum and Cade could never forget the day they had been kidnapped while they were still asleep. Those men laughed heartily as they tortured Anna and forced her to kneel in front of them. They found joy in hearing her bitter cries; they wanted her to pick a son to fall to his death so that she could live the rest of her life blaming herself for what she had done. Callum always remembered how helpless Anna’s cries sounded back then. She continuously bowed down and pressed her head onto the ground; she kept begging until the skin around her forehead split apart. Her face was covered in her blood and tears, but she still didn’t manage to get her son back. Callum felt like he was forced to grow up after that night.

Although they were eventually saved later, Anna became extremely anxious over everything. Every night, she would wrap her arms around her sons tightly, using her frail and skinny body to protect them. Anna would coax them to go to bed by singing them to sleep and trying her best to provide them a sense of security. However, once they fell asleep, she would stay awake for the entire night. Her bloodshot eyes were alert to every tiny movement around her, and she was afraid that someone would come and snatch her children away from her.

Even until today, Anna would occasionally have such nightmares of the worst night of her life. No one knew how the mother and her two sons had managed to survive until today. Some people were born into a world where they were given all the greatest pleasures of life, while some others had to sacrifice everything just to keep themselves alive. The very fact of life was a luxury to them. Despite their struggles, they insisted on surviving; they wanted to be the happiest people on earth.

“Callum.” Callum only came to his senses when he heard Cade calling for him. Callum turned the lights off and quietly shut the door behind him before he wiped his tears and calmed himself down. When he walked to the living room, Jordan had already been sitting there for a while.

“How’s your mother?” Jordan asked.

Callum put on a relaxed expression. “She’s the same as before. It’s just an old habit; she can’t be triggered, and she can’t have any men near her. This also happens when she sleeps with me or Cade beside her sometimes.”

Jordan seemed a little dejected to hear this, but he quickly changed the topic. “When are you and Cade going to return to Ronney City?”

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1204

“Mom wants to recuperate in Bayside City for a while, but the Yard Family wants to amend the family tree and shift the ancestral grave, so there are quite a number of things to be done. We thought we’d stay around and help out since Mom isn’t emotionally stable, so we might not be returning so soon,” Callum replied. He spoke in a respectful and meticulous manner, as if he was reporting to his supervisor; there wasn’t a hint of intimacy in his tone.

To the boys, Jordan was practically a stranger. Apart from the contribution of his sperm, he had never given them anything more. During the toughest periods of their lives when they were younger, Jordan would disappear and leave them with their mother. Furthermore, Jordan had other women and children outside that often bullied them. Callum lowered his gaze after answering to Jordan to conceal any hint of distaste in his eyes.

Jordan seemed a little disappointed by Callum’s reply. “We still need you boys to handle the matters over at Ronney City.”

“I’ve dealt with everything before I left. I left Henry and Ryan in charge of the fashion week, and there haven’t been any other large events happening recently. We can handle the rest of it remotely, so you don’t have to worry about it, Dad,” Callum uttered. It seemed like Jordan had begun to grow suspicious of Anna and the twins recently, and they decided that they’d simply leave him behind and let him continue being suspicious if that were the case. But Jordan didn’t notice anything then, as he simply nodded before he went up to rest in another guest room.

After a restless night, Anna was extremely weak the next morning. Their personal doctor dropped by to check on her before prescribing medication for her. Her sickness wasn’t a physical one but a mental one; she was easily triggered, and her mental health was deteriorating. This left her susceptible to all sorts of mental illnesses, so she had to depend on long-term medications to stabilize her emotions. The doctor said that such cases like hers were due to a traumatic incident that occurred in the past, but this illness had been with Anna for her whole life, even before she gave birth to Callum and Cade. She couldn’t recall anything from her past, and she didn’t know what she had been through then.

The doctor had a long discussion with Jordan before they both left. Jordan didn’t return after that, and no one knew when he’d ever reappear again. They didn’t look forward to his visits, anyway. Carmen dropped by again that afternoon, with a basket carrying some food and two nearly frozen roses. The roses were from her grandfather, and the food was her way of showing her appreciation to them for allowing her to play with the dogs.

Carmen was shocked to see Anna with an IV drip the moment she stepped into the house. “Are you sick, Miss Beautiful?”

“Miss Beautiful’s sick, so she can’t play with you today,” Callum quickly said.

“Well, should I sing her a song, then? I have a great voice!” Carmen offered. Callum was worried that the young girl might be disturbing Anna, but Anna gestured for him to allow it. Although she wasn’t feeling too well, she was still pleased to see Carmen around. “Come over here and sing me a song,” she uttered.

Carmen placed her basket down before she began to sing and dance cheerily. “The fields are soaked and the rain’s over… The trees are growing faster than ever… La la la la, I’m a little boss who sells the newspaper…”

Callum leaned his body against the doorframe with a cup in his hand as he listened to the young girl’s song. He was surprised to hear how great her voice sounded; it felt like his ears were filled with honey when he listened to her sing. Carmen’s grandmother, Elizabeth, had a voice that had left a mark on the last two generations of Cethosians, and Carmen’s father had an amazing voice himself; hence, it made sense that this young girl inherited the same talents. Her voice was like some sort of magnet that attracted everyone’s attention. Since God had blessed her with such wonderful talents, it’d be a shame if she didn’t grow up to be a star. But conversely, it’d also be a shame if she became a star—she had such a huge family business that she could take over if she wished to.

Anna beamed happily as Carmen hopped and pranced around the room while singing. The splitting headache that had been bothering Anna the entire day miraculously disappeared; she felt like she finally found peace as all the anxiety and fear seemed to have left her body. Right then, Sophia knocked on the front door of the Yards Residence. She was furious after she found out about Carmen walking over here, and she paid them a visit to drag her daughter back home. Cade was the one who opened the door. “Where’s my daughter?” Sophia asked as she stuck her head inside.

“Shh.” Cade pointed up to the second floor, and they both heard Carmen’s sweet voice coming from the room. “Sophia, my mother has been sick for the past two days. Your daughter’s voice is really helping to cure her headaches! Can I beg you to leave your daughter here for a while more? Just a while more; I’ll send her back to you by noon.” Cade’s eyes were filled with sincerity.

“Your mother’s sick?” Sophia felt her heart aching upon hearing that Anna had fallen sick. She glanced up to the second floor and lowered her voice without even realizing it herself. “What… illness is it? Is it serious?” she asked in a whisper. When she looked into the house, she caught a glimpse of someone who looked like a doctor gathering his medical equipment.

“It’s nothing; just an old illness that she’s been dealing with for a long while. She just needs a lot of rest,” Cade explained. “I see.” Sophia no longer seemed interested in dragging her daughter home, and she absent-mindedly walked away. She didn’t even turn around when Cade called out for her. Should I tell Cooper that Anna’s sick?

Sophia went straight to Villa No. 2 after going home, as Cooper’s office was located there. Cooper and Linus would often have their meetings and do their work there before they would return to Sophia’s to eat and rest. When Sophia went in, Cooper was having an online conference call with people from the Michel Group. She exchanged glances with Linus outside the meeting room, and he threw her a warning stare while gesturing for her not to enter the room. She didn’t push the door open, but instead stood outside and listened to the contents of discussion between Cooper and an elder of Michel Group.

“She’s the fiancée your ancestors had picked for you. If it weren’t for her help, you wouldn’t have managed to obtain your position here so easily. Like the old Cethosian saying goes, don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” the elder uttered. Cooper has a fiancée?! And he relied on her to obtain his position? Sophia perked up her ears as she was shocked to hear this. The elder spoke in a stern tone, and he had a thick and posh British accent that was hard to understand. “She’s on the way now. You have to be well-prepared; I hope you can get married to her as soon as possible.”

Get married? Does that mean Cooper is going to get married soon? Am I going to have a stepmother? But Cooper didn’t seem interested. “I have no plans of doing so,” he muttered. Sophia felt a rollercoaster of emotions within her after listening to their conversation. Is Cooper really thinking about marriage? Will I have a stepmother? No! I don’t want a stepmother!

The elders lost their temper and began to criticize Cooper on breaking his promise. Unconcerned by this, Cooper casually hung up on them before he walked out of the room with a cold expression. He was surprised to see Sophia outside. “What are you doing here, my darling?”

Sophia felt a little uneasy. She previously hoped for Cooper to find himself a wife, but she now felt a little unhappy to hear that he was about to marry someone. I have a mother now…

“She’s… sick. Carmen’s visiting her now,” Sophia muttered. Once Cooper heard that ‘the woman’ was sick, the cold expression he wore quickly fell apart to reveal the anxiety between his brows. He patted Sophia on the shoulder before he rushed off without saying anything more.

He clearly hadn’t let go of her. They were together for 30 long years, after all; he couldn’t just let go even if he wanted to. They were deeply in love, but they simply weren’t fated to be together…

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1205

A loud sigh came from behind Sophia as Linus patted her shoulder before resting his arm on it. “Dad still can’t forget about her,” he stated. He saw the video himself, and he knew how cruel fate had been toward their mother. Her memories had been stolen from her.

Sophia glanced toward the direction where Cooper had walked off and zoned out for a while before she turned back to Linus. “That fiancée of Dad’s that they were talking about on the call earlier… What was that all about?” Linus maintained his neutral expression upon the mention of Cooper’s fiancée. “You know how it is. Dad’s handsome, rich, and tall; the women who are interested in him could probably form a whole line all the way from here to the Eiffel Tower. It’s pretty common for there to be a few women who are a little more aggressive.”

The siblings later walked out of Villa No. 2 and headed toward Villa No. 8 for lunch while Linus continued to talk about Cooper’s fiancée. Apparently, 20 years ago, the family head of the Michel Group found out that he was ill and realized that he didn’t have long to live. The old man then thought of his daughter, Beyoncé, who had gotten married to an Easterner and hadn’t kept in contact with him since. He ordered for someone to hunt her down, only to find out that his daughter had been dead for years. He also found out that he had a grandson, Cooper, who was practically a carbon copy of him—they shared the same skills and boldness. Back then, the Michel Group still appeared to be grand and impressive, but the old family head found out that they were deep in debt after he fell ill. The family members were all scheming against one another, and the Michel Family, which had existed for thousands of years, was at risk of falling apart. There were several other financial groups back then that were equally powerful; they could have taken over the Michel Group anytime. The old family head didn’t manage to find a suitable successor back then, as he simply couldn’t see anyone in the family having enough power to turn the tides to get them out of their predicament. His grandson, Cooper, was therefore the perfect heir. Furthermore, as a dying man himself, the old family head longed to take a look at his Easterner grandson. He therefore invited Cooper over to the Michel Group for a secret meetup.

Coincidentally, Cooper was planning to leave the Mitchell Family right then, so he agreed to abandon his identity as a part of the Mitchell Family after he found out about his mother’s family and his grandfather’s identity. Cooper then took over the role as the family head of the Michel Group and began to work there. The company was saved from its near demise after Cooper took over, and it began to reclaim its position at the peak of its field. Cooper managed to deal with all the internal affairs of the family while also saving the entire business. He ran around playing two roles back then—he had just begun to take over the Michel Group while he was also planning his great disappearance from the Mitchell Family. That was also when he found out about Linus and adopted him as a son.

Back then, the old family head was concerned as Cooper didn’t seem to have established stable foundations in both the Michel Group and Michel Family. The old man was afraid that Cooper wouldn’t be able to go against all the greedy, ferocious enemies that were fighting for his spot once the old man passed away. The old man decided that Cooper needed a stronger support system, so he found him a fiancée with great talent and an impressive background to help support him.

Cooper didn’t actually need anyone’s support, but the old man’s judgements were a little off since he was on his deathbed. He claimed that he wouldn’t be able to die in peace if he didn’t get to see Cooper getting married, so Cooper made an agreement with the fiancée that the old man had chosen. They agreed to put on a show in front of the old man, just so that he could die in peace. The woman agreed to it, so they ended up faking their engagement in front of the old man’s sickbed. The old man died with a smile on his face after they exchanged their wedding rings.

After that, Cooper thought everything was over as he had clearly stated that he wasn’t interested in getting married to his ‘fiancée’. Unfortunately, the woman fell in love with him and continued to pester him after their fake marriage. This went on for the past 20 years—the woman waited for Cooper from her early adulthood all the way until she was past 40.

“How loyal of her.” Sophia hesitated and let out a sigh after listening to the story. Quinton, who had been playing his handphone on the couch, perked up his ears when he heard Linus talking about Cooper’s fiancée. Sophia thought about it for a while more. Well, I guess Anna and Cooper no longer have a chance with one another. That fiancée of his has already waited for 20 years; I guess it’d be worth a try if she is truly a decent woman.

When Sophia expressed her views, Linus simply sniggered in response. “That woman is a crazy person who doesn’t care about anything else. She doesn’t truly love Daddy; she’s just fixated on him because she can’t get him. If she weren’t afraid of our father’s status and position in society, she might just kidnap him and force him to get married to her.” Linus then threw Quinton a glance. “That woman’s the same type of person as the man who’s playing with his phone on the couch now,” he muttered.

Quinton stared at him speechlessly. Sophia couldn’t properly picture how crazy the woman was at first, but when Linus made the comparison with Quinton, Sophia felt her skin crawling with goosebumps simply at the thought of it. “Eeeek!” That’s how abnormal and crazy she is?! “What’s her name? Where’s she from?” Sophia asked.

“She got married once in the past, but her husband then passed away. Her ex-husband was a count, so she’s commonly known as ‘The Countess’. She’s a bigshot in the field of insurance and has some relations to the Western armies,” Linus replied.

Thunk! Quinton was so shocked that he dropped his phone on his face. He didn’t even cry out in pain; he was too surprised to do anything else. The Countess! Sophia had been learning more about the circles of Western aristocrats, and she had heard of this woman as well. That woman is Cooper’s fiancée?!

…

Meanwhile, Carmen was drinking some milk during her break; she had just completed the first half of her singing performance. She sucked on her milk while having a chat with Anna on the bed. “Grandpa said that being a performer isn’t a proper job for me. Daddy promised Grandpa that I’ll have to take over the family business if I don’t show any career success in this field.” Carmen was sharing her own life plans and struggles with Anna.

Anna felt a lot better after listening to Carmen’s voice. The young girl had a beautiful voice that sounded like larks chirping by her ears. It was magical—all of Anna’s pain and worries evaporated into thin air after listening to Carmen’s voice.

“Well, what do you want to do, Carmen?” Anna asked cheerily. The older woman was genuinely envious of the young girl. Carmen is loved, and she isn’t pressured to do anything that she doesn’t want to do. She could sing if she wanted to, and she could run a business if she wanted to. Although most people might think that taking over the family business is a better option, you can also earn huge sums of money as a performer!

Carmen gave Anna’s question some serious thought. “I want to sing, act, and earn money, all at the same time!”

Anna stroked the young girl’s hair lovingly upon that. “You should do whatever you enjoy the most, darling. Your future depends on the hard work you put in now. I’ll support you no matter what you pick!” she uttered gently. Carmen nodded firmly in response to this.

She’s really a flawless little angel! Anna thought as she glanced at the young girl. Right then, the maid placed the fresh roses that Carmen had brought into the vase, and the petals fluttered in front of Anna’s eyes. “Grandpa picked these up specially for you, Miss Beautiful! I saw him picking them out with my own eyes! We have more roses that are blooming in the greenhouse. You can tell me if you like them, then I’ll get my Grandpa to send some over every day!” Carmen said sweetly. Anna was aware that the roses weren’t from Cooper, but she felt happier whenever she imagined that he was actually the one gifting them to her.

Someone knocked on the door right then. Cade was the closest to the door, and he glanced at the surveillance cameras to see Cooper standing outside. What?

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1206

Is he here to look for Carmen? Cade opened the door and invited Cooper in. “Are you here to pick Carmen up, Mr. Mitchell? My mom’s sick, and Carmen’s talking to her now!” Cade said in a pleasant tone of voice. Cooper was dressed in a black winter jacket that highlighted his long and lean figure. His face was as cold as the weather outside, and his voice as monotonous as ever. “I heard that Annie’s sick, so I’m here to pay her a visit,” he replied as he stepped into the house. Carmen excitedly came over to take a pair of shoes for her grandfather once she realized he had come over. The young girl then brought him upstairs to see Anna.

“Grandpa’s here to see you, Miss Beautiful!” Carmen cried.

It was then that Cade realized the few stalks of roses that Cooper held in the hand that was placed behind his back. Woah, what? Is Cooper actually here to give Mom flowers? He wasn’t tricked by Carmen! He called Mom by her nickname—Annie—when he came in just now. Annie? Annie! Something must be up! Since when did they get so intimate with one another?!

Cade felt like he had to go up and take a look for himself to investigate the situation and check on their progress. But the moment he went up the stairs, he saw Carmen dragging Callum down. When she saw Cade, she spoke to him sternly. “Grandpa is too big-sized, and the house is too squishy. There’s no space for a third person there.”

Wait a minute… Carmen’s words had surprised Cade once again. This young girl is in our house, and she blatantly allowed her grandfather to flirt with my mother, yet she wouldn’t even let us go take a look?! Cade seized this opportunity to get Carmen to follow his orders. “Well, let me carry you; otherwise, I’m going up there,” he uttered.

Carmen gave him an awkward stare before she finally lifted her arms up miserably. “Do it, then,” she muttered before Cade happily lifted her up into the air. The three of them went downstairs, and Callum looked up to glance at Anna’s bedroom on the second floor. It’d be amazing if Anna and Cooper got together, but it’s not going to be easy for them to become a proper couple. Dad isn’t dead yet, after all.

Meanwhile, Anna was the first to speak in her room. “Thank you for coming over, Mr. Mitchell. It’s just an old illness that I have; it’s no big deal.” Anna seemed extremely glad to see Cooper. She sounded rather excited, but her voice was still a little weak as she was feeling sickly.

Cooper glanced at her as he stepped into the room. Although she seemed pale, her eyes were twinkling, and she didn’t seem to be that ill. This made him feel better, but he quickly averted his gaze as he thought that it was rude to stare. “Carmen asked me to come over and visit you,” he explained. With his gaze avoiding hers, he looked around the room to see the cup that Anna had just drank from and the corgi that was running around on the floor. He was too nervous to know what to say or do, so he brought out the few roses that he had plucked earlier and began to arrange them into the vase.

So Cooper is really the one who has been giving me roses. Anna’s eyes gleamed with joy as she grinned. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re pretty. I really like them.”

Cooper had his back turned against her, but he wore a bittersweet smile on his lips as he glanced at the flowers. “As long as you like them.”

…

In the meantime, Michael was in Villa No. 8 at The Imperial. It was the weekend, and Michael finally managed to catch Harry red-handed for stealing all the roses in the greenhouse. With a flyswatter, Michael smacked Harry as he shouted. Smack! Smack! Smack! “I planted these roses for my lovely wife, and they just f*cking bloomed! My wife hasn’t even had the chance to see it, and you guys have already stolen most of it! Carmen stole some; Celie stole some; even my father-in-law stole some! I can’t believe you’re stealing some too! Do you guys think I’m dead?!” Harry received a good beating from the flyswatter, but he insisted on protecting the roses that he had just plucked as he tried to defend himself. “Do you think I wanted to do this?! My wife wants some roses too!”

Michael continued to smack him. “You should plant some roses yourself if your wife wants some! These plants took me 6 full months to grow; I had to pluck the weeds, fertilize them, and even pick the bugs out of them! I didn’t even want to put any pesticides as I was too emotionally attached to these flowers! How f*cking good must it be for you to just pick them up once they’ve bloomed, huh! Get out of here!”

Harry scurried out of their greenhouse with his arms still around the roses as he threatened Michael. “I’m warning you; you can hit me, but not my face!”

This only angered Michael more as he began to aim for Harry’s face with his flyswatter. “Do you still have ‘face’? I thought you wouldn’t know how to spell the word ‘face’ after your shameless act! Anyway, look at all the terrible films that you’ve been acting in recently. Your average rating on Rotten Tomatoes is probably just 2 out of 5 stars now! You’re really saying yes to every film deal! How many ‘naked loans’ do you have to repay?!”

Harry had accepted a number of odd and peculiar films recently. He had really lowered his own standards as an Academy Award-winning actor. It’s fine if he doesn’t take blockbuster films, but how can he appear in those terrible, low-quality web series?! Furthermore, all of them are web series about gay romance! Michael sincerely suspected that the scripts for those films were written by their gaffer, that the makeup was done by their logistics team, that the director filmed the entire thing on his phone before editing it in some cybercafe. What the hell are those series all about?!

“Do you think I wanted to do it? Sarah was the one who forced me to accept those offers!” Harry spoke up for himself indignantly as he covered his face and continued to run away. Nathan quietly held the door open for them and watched as Michael continued to chase after Harry with his flyswatter.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Michael spoke as he continued hitting Harry. “How could you accept a movie offer that pays you 70 million when its total funds invested were only 80 million?! You’re really something…”

Sophia watched their interactions and nodded when she heard what Michael said. I agree! I completely agree! Following the recent growth in trends of intellectual property, many of the novels were being remade into films. Even some of the gay male romance, smut, and Yaoi books that Sarah were addicted to in the past had revealed the news of their upcoming film adaptations. As a master artist in elegant Yaoi painting, Sarah would produce new content regardless of how busy she was. She produced more in the recent years; she was still one of the most famous artists as she drew graphics of all the most popular novels, with Harry’s face as the main character of each novel. Harry was the man who practically upheld the livelihood of Cethos’ collaborative content creators.

A few of the novels that Sarah had been following were making plans for a film adaptation recently; Sarah and her fans agreed that they wouldn’t be satisfied unless Harry was the main character of the movie. She therefore used her own resources to accept a few offers on Harry’s behalf, so that he could appear in the film adaptations of those novels. The filming process for these shows were simple—most of them were done indoors while all the naked and fighting scenes were done by their stunt doubles; Harry simply had to show up every now and then to fake a few actions. He even had a stunt double for the kissing scenes. The series lasted 10 episodes, but he completed his filming within 1 or 2 months without having to memorize his script. The voice actors were to do that job after the filming was over, so Harry dazedly completed his filming without even taking a glance at the script.

In the past, whenever Harry had a filming for a movie, he would have to memorize his own scripts and personally appear in all of the action scenes. He would stay up for days without sleep, and it was the norm for a movie to take up to a year of meticulous production to complete. In comparison, the web series he filmed felt like retirement to him. Furthermore, the web series invested millions into it, and 80% of the investments went straight to Harry’s paycheck. It was amazing to feel like money had just fallen out of the sky into his pocket. More importantly, his wife loved the films; she would binge the entire series right after he finished filming it, and she’d then pester him to film another one.

After all, he wasn’t the one investing in the films. He could just finish his job, take the money, and leave. But when the films were aired… That was the reason everyone had been criticizing Harry for losing his mind recently. They thought he had been forced into this because of the ‘naked loans’ he owed.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1207

Sophia could understand the situation that Harry was in. For the past two years, both Harry and Michael had begun to shift their focus toward their own personal businesses. Michael was slowly starting to disappear from the spotlight, and he was extremely picky about the movies that he agreed to film. He’d never say yes to some weird films just for the sake of earning some quick money. Harry, in comparison, was losing himself and agreeing to every single job!

However, it was also true that those rubbish films didn’t require much effort. Harry didn’t even have to work on his expressions throughout the films; any extra effort would go to waste. He didn’t have to read or memorize his scripts, and he could just show up at the filming set every now and then when he was needed. He could finish filming a whole series just with a single expression on his face, and he’d still get his pay in the millions. It was really as if money were falling out of the sky, so it made sense that he’d take it.

But what is it with all the series that he has been filming recently?! It’s fine if he lets go of himself and loses his integrity, but he has to think about our feelings too! Every time Harry appeared in some weird film, Sarah would invite me to the movies not once, not twice, but thrice! She’d even invite everyone over to watch it at home after it was no longer screened in the cinemas. And she would never take ‘no’ for an answer! Those are clearly terrible films, but she would think of any one of them as the most amazing film simply because her husband’s in it. The distorted lenses through which a fan sees her idol is truly thicker than a concrete wall!

Sophia had considered giving her a reminder for a while now; she wanted to remind Sarah that this wasn’t what an Academy Award-winning actor should be doing. Normally, the popular artists who gained fame after acting in those idiotic web series would clamber and claw their way up into the making appearances in proper movies. Harry, on the other hand, was doing the complete opposite! As his wife, Sarah didn’t stop him from doing this; she even supported him instead! Sophia wanted to say something about it, but she was afraid that her cherished friendship with Sarah would turn sour over a man, so she didn’t do anything.

Harry mainly focused on appearing in the film adaptations of the most popular novels, and his handsome looks made him well-suited to be the main character of these films. A good number of fans of the novels had also turned into fans of his. Although the quality of the film adaptations was so low that they hurt his heart and chased his older fans away, he still had a lot of new, crazy fans that were willing to spend on him. The films that only had a total investment of 80 million still managed to get a profit, and some films even broke the records to become the most-viewed web series. There was therefore an increase in the number of invites for him.

His fans were extremely aggressive. Anyone who dared to post a negative comment about Harry would soon find themselves being hunted down as Harry’s fans would find their IDs and crush their reputation. His fans were known to be the most powerful cult among the four evil cults in the entertainment industry, and no other fans dared to mess with them. It was also one of the reasons that Sophia had kept quiet for so long. She was therefore overjoyed to watch Michael slapping Harry on the face! He can’t blame others for smacking him on the face if he’s embarrassing himself out there anyway!

Eventually, Harry managed to escape, leaving nothing but his footprints and a few rose petals in the snow. “I’m going to let the dogs out to attack you if you come here again!” Michael growled while Sophia nodded in agreement. As they watched Harry running off frantically, Michael couldn’t help but let out a sigh. It must be hard to pretend to be young and go against all the fresh-faced 20-year-olds in the industry when he’s already so old! Michael turned back and glanced at his own dear wife before realizing how lovable she seemed then. At least Sophia doesn’t force me to film some weird movies. I’d end up in the same position as Harry otherwise.

After the effortful encounter with Michael, Harry managed to steal 3 roses home. He wrapped the flowers up nicely, sprayed some perfume, and sprinkled gold powder on the petals before he hid the large diamond ring in the flowers. The diamond was the size of a pigeon’s egg. It was Harry and Sarah’s wedding anniversary that day. After he got the roses, Harry ordered the babysitter to dress 3 of his children up as he decorated the living room. He was prepared to give Sarah the surprise of her lifetime when she came back.

Sarah had been occupied with her own work recently. While Sophia was busy with her own business in the field of luxury items, Sarah insisted on doing something herself as well, so she started the ‘Little Kitten’s Cultural Channel’. Harry had no idea what her company did, and he wasn’t interested in finding out as it probably had to do with things that he didn’t want to know. It was the weekend, but Sarah had some business to deal with, so she rushed out in the morning. Harry cuddled with his babies as they watched the TV and waited for Sarah to return.

They had 3 babies now; 2 big-built sons and Poppy, the adorable daughter that they had adopted from Sophia. As Harry flicked through the channels, he accidentally turned on one of the terrible ‘blockbuster films’ that he had appeared in. The expressions on all four of them quickly changed as they all gasped in horror. Harry immediately switched the channel as he felt all his hair stand on end. Oh, my God. This feels like me sticking my head into the toilet bowl to stare at my shit after I’m done doing my business. I’m disgusted, shocked and utterly speechless… Harry thought.

Back in Villa No. 8, Sophia was anxiously waiting for Cooper’s return. She felt conflicted—she wanted Cooper and Anna’s relationship to go somewhere, but she was also afraid that Anna would hurt him. However, she was also afraid that he would end up getting married to The Countess, or that he would end up all by himself. Her mind was a mess from all her conflicting thoughts. Sophia stood by the side of the road as she waited for her father. Right then, Sarah’s car passed by and slowed down once she saw Sophia.

Sarah wound down her glass window before she excitedly greeted Sophia. “Sofie, I have huge news to tell you!” Sophia edged closer to the car curiously. “That novel, ‘The Memoir of a Tomb Raider’ that we went crazy over during high school, is finally going to be made into a movie! Ah! I’d been waiting for years, and the day has finally come!” Sarah cried excitedly.

Sophia had a bad feeling when Sarah continued the rest of her sentence. “Well, guess who’s going to be the lead male actor for the role of Hanson Raider in the movie? You’d never be able to guess who it is!”

Sophia could imagine what her soul would do right then. It would take a few steps back before waving its hands frantically while shouting, “No, no, no! I don’t want to know! Don’t tell me! Don’t invite me to watch it either!” Before Sophia could actually respond, Sarah replied to her own question. “That’s right! It’s our very own Lord Winston!”

Of course it is… Sophia thought.

“I don’t think anyone else on earth would be more suited for the role of Hanson Raider! Harry is the most perfect person to take this role. He’s just like Hanson in the story; Harry looks exactly like how I would imagine Hanson to look like! This film is going to be so famous. Look, I just signed an agreement with the production team. I went out today just to get this done!” Sarah looked as if she was drunk on love as she continued to ramble.

Sophia kept silent.

“The production crew got a special effects team all the way from Hollywood! The total budget for this grand production is 1 billion, and I managed to ask for 90 million as Harry’s pay!” Sarah continued. Sophia didn’t know what to say. Eventually, Sarah headed home with the contract to tell her husband about this amazing surprise that she had for him.

Michael, who had been listening to their conversation from afar, simply took a long, deep breath. She really shouldn’t do this to an Academy Award-winning actor! I feel nervous for my good old partner.

Soon enough, Cooper returned to the house with his usual emotionless expression on; no one could ever tell if he was happy or sad. “Daddy! How was it?” Sophia asked as she ran over to greet him excitedly. Cooper glanced at Sophia’s face. Her petite face was turning red from the cold, and her features resembled that of someone he used to know. The realization of it made his heart ache, and he felt like his entire being was falling into an endless hole of despair. “It was fine. Let’s go inside.” His voice didn’t reveal the slightest hint of any emotions. He then simply stepped into the house and went up to his room after he replied to his daughter.

Carmen was just behind the old man, and she pranced around excitedly as she got home. “What did Grandpa do earlier?” Sophia quickly asked.

“Miss Beautiful fell sick, so Grandpa brought some flowers over to visit her. They’re getting along well!” Carmen replied.

Getting along well… But what does that mean? Sophia wondered.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1208

Sophia gave Callum a call to ask about it. “You should pack your things up and make some space for us; your dad’s about to get himself two more sons. Cade and I are probably going to snatch your role as the successor soon,” he said.

“F*ck off!” Sophia ended the call. She was now certain that Cooper and Anna had indeed made some progress. But for some reason, she still felt an uneasy feeling in her chest after learning about this…

…

Wednesday was the day of Sandra’s public swimming competition. She sent an invitation over to Sophia before the day itself. It was Sandra’s big day—she wanted Sophia to feel helpless as the latter watched her rising to power once again. Sandra did a lot of self-promotion before the competition day itself, for she wanted to show everyone what being the world champion looked like! She also remembered to include Sophia in the advertisements and promotions for her competition—she mentioned something about Sophia coming to support her as they were close friends. As a result, the animal and environmental protection workers all camped outside the swimming pool stadium on that day itself as they wanted to force Sophia to give a statement on her actions.

The inside of the stadium was filled with reporters and the press although the event itself was merely a national-level competition that didn’t gain international attention. The size of the competition was far from international ones like the Universal Games, and it might be overshadowed by the Winter Universal Games, which had just ended. Regardless, there was still a large audience, for it was a relatively popular local event.

Furthermore, Sandra’s acts had been one of the hottest topics recently. Apart from all the previous remarks that she had made, her public act of destroying all her personal fur products had also attracted a lot of attention from the public. The Mitchell Group had undergone a large number of changes as well. Ever since they had the large meeting at their ancestral grave, many of the senior workers in Mitchell’s Technology had quit their jobs there and went over to Cooper’s side. There were only a few Mitchells who remained in senior positions, but a skinny camel was still larger than a horse; the company managed to survive despite their loss of workers. Sandra was certain that she would be able to reclaim her fame and positive image on the day of the competition. Then, she would be able to save the Mitchells again, just like how she had saved them all those years ago.

Most of the participants of the swimming competition were unknown individuals, so Sandra wasn’t bothered by them at all. All the cameras were turned toward Sandra; they practically broadcasted her entire warmup routine. Every now and then, the flashing lights of the cameras would strike against her delicate face, which was covered in waterproof makeup. A bunch of articles titled ‘The Water Lotus’ and ‘A Natural Beauty’ had been drafted about two weeks ago.

“Sophia’s here!” someone shouted. All of the cameras quickly turned and went after Sophia. The Young Lady of the Mitchell Family, whose surname wasn’t even Mitchell, had just obtained her position in the family for a short while. She had also just purchased a factory that manufactured mink products and another company that sold luxurious fur items—many people had criticized her for this. The protests of environmental and animal protection activists against fur products had been growing in recent years, so her acts of purchasing these factories and brands were definitely going against the trend. This had gained her a lot of negative attention. Sophia didn’t just show up to the competition that day; she had also put on a huge fur coat and brought a fur handbag along with her customized sunglasses from one of her own fashion brands. She wore her black hair in a slicked-back hairstyle that made her seem more elegant than ever. All the reporters and activists surrounded her the moment she showed up, and her security guards struggled to shoo the bunch of people away from her.

“Miss Edwards, what are your comments on the public anti-fur movements?” one asked.

“There are many ways to protect the animals, and stopping the usage of fur is one of them. The protection of mother nature starts with you and me!” another exclaimed.

The reporters’ microphones were virtually pressing against Sophia’s face, but she couldn’t be bothered to reply to any of them. Her large sunglasses concealed any annoyance that she felt for the reporters. However, the reports and activists continued to block her way. The environmental activists were especially passionate that day; one of them, a skinny man in glasses, swiftly passed through the crowd of reporters and stopped right in front of Sophia’s face. “Sophia, if our Earth is destroyed one day—if all of the living creatures go extinct one day—you’ll definitely have to take some of the blame! As a public figure, your words and actions have a great impact on many other people. You’re going to pay for this someday!” he cried.

Sophia frowned upon hearing this before she glanced at the shabby-looking young man through her tinted sunglasses. His face was pale, and his hair was a mess, but his eyes were burning with intense passion—it almost made him seem like he was going crazy. Sophia didn’t wish to respond to him, but the young man continued to pester her. “Primates only used fur products in the past because they had no other ways of keeping themselves warm. Now that humans are living in a modern society, we no longer have to live brutal and ferocious lives like our ancestors used to. The sole usage of fur products is a sign of degeneration in our society; it highlights the return of our barbarity! We’d be worse than animals if we continue to use fur products. Animals only eat meat to fill their bellies, yet humans use fur products simply as a pointless tool to enhance their appearances. There is no deeper meaning or beauty to such an act of killing for the sake of your own looks. All I see underneath your dressing is bags of bones belonging to animals that have died in vain. Sophia, your selfishness will ruin mankind forever.” The young man’s words received a great deal of praise from the people around him. Sophia looked like a coward as she quickly scurried away from them; her very act of wearing fur products was seen as the most sinful and ungodly deed right then.

Quinton, camouflaged in the group of bodyguards, was dressed in a suit and sunglasses as he gave an unimpressed yawn. Justin, who was dressed in an identical suit, quickly hissed at him. “No yawning on the job.” Quinton secretly rolled his eyes at him. Linus had planted a tracking device into Quinton, so he couldn’t go anywhere else even if he wanted to. He hadn’t wanted to come to work today, nor did he wish to go back to being a teacher; he simply wanted to stay home on the couch, where he could watch his TV series and play with dogs and cats all day. But now, he was forced to be a bodyguard; he and Justin either had to follow Carmen or Sophia around the whole day.

Sophia and her large group of bodyguards simply treated the reports and activists as if they were invisible; they walked straight toward the entrance and headed over to the swimming competition. Sandra obviously knew about the passionate activists who were waiting at the entrance—she was the one who paid them to appear at the competition, her sole intention being to embarrass Sophia. Sh*t. Why is Sophia so shameless?! Fine, I can still come up with articles even though Sophia didn’t respond to anything. I was the one that hired all the reporters, anyway. JNS Fashion Group? Hah! She clearly thought too highly of herself! I’m going to make her lose a fortune this time!

Once Sophia got into the stadium, she quickly found the spot that Sandra had reserved for her. There were heaters in the indoor stadium, so the place was warm. Sophia took her fur coat off to reveal a comfortable-looking cotton bodycon dress. Quinton broke his back just to find a seat beside Sophia; he quickly took her fur coat from her and covered himself with it once she took it off. Why would anyone swim during the winter? It’s so cold! It feels the best to have some fur covering me! Quinton had used too many stimulants when he was younger, and the side effects were showing in recent years—he often felt a chilly sensation in his bones. He would long for a fur coat even in his dreams.

“Move aside.” Justin shoved Quinton away and was about to take the fur coat from him when the competition began, so he quickly sat down to watch the match. I’d love to see how Sandra’s going to make a comeback today!

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1209

Sandra was glowing with confidence that day although she hadn’t been swimming for ages. She didn’t have much time to train before the competition, but she appeared to be in tip-top condition regardless. The commentator often mentioned Sandra during the event. “The women’s 200-meter freestyle match is about to begin, everyone!

You guys can now see contestant number 8, Sandra, securing her lead at the very start of the match! She’s in first place once again! She’s the world champion indeed! Miss Sandra’s current score for today is the same as her previous record from a few years ago. I wonder if she will be able to break the world record that she has maintained for all these years! We’ll have to wait and see!”

Sandra outshone the rest of the swimmers in the crystal-clear pool; she extended her limbs like a beautiful mermaid in the water. Her figure was lean and proportionate, her muscles clear and defined after years of exercise. Everyone was excited and in awe to catch a glimpse of her every time her head surfaced above the water. Right then, the crowd felt like they had been brought back in time to the Universal Games that was aired globally all those years ago. That girl was as beautiful as a water lily whenever she emerged from the water. Her pretty features and strong skills took the world by surprise. Back then, she was still known as Sandra Oak.

But now, it was Sandra Mitchell’s eye-catching performance that was broadcasted across the country, and it received huge feedback from the entire nation. She’s the world champion indeed! She’s as perfect as a mermaid princess! At the peak of Sandra’s career, she had left the field of sports and used her role as the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family to enter the business world. Everyone was shocked to see how skillful she was now that she reappeared after years of being away from the pool.

Alex, who was watching it live in the stadium, was more surprised than everyone else. My daughter’s really full of surprises! Mitchell’s Technology is never going to collapse with her around! The crowd was extremely excited as they all chanted Sandra’s name. She was clearly in the lead with her scores; the rest of the new swimmers couldn’t put up a fight against her as they were merely background objects that made her stand out even more. Sandra was the greatest winner of the day!

In the end, she managed to break her own world record that she had held for the past few years, just by a few milliseconds. The entire nation rejoiced at that very moment. Our world champion, Sandra, is back! She’s definitely going to bring back some medals in the swimming category for the next Universal Games! Once the competition was over, the live audience was heated up as they all stood up to cheer for Sandra. Right then, it felt like the entire nation of Cethos was cheering for her. All the news articles about her were filled with nothing but positive comments. Sophia was the only one who remained calm and collected; she merely clapped her hands a few times after the results were announced. Apart from that, she simply watched Sandra’s performance emotionlessly.

When the medals were handed out, Sandra no longer sobbed and thanked her family like she did a few years ago. With the trophy in her hands, she now gave off an elegant and classy aura. “I’m thankful that I haven’t given up after all these years. I would also like to thank my family members, my supporters, and all the people who have hurt me. I will continue to fulfill my mission on this battlefield!”

Upon her mention of people who have hurt her, everyone naturally turned toward Sophia. Both of the girls were known as the young ladies from the Mitchell Family, and they were known to have conflicts with one another. There were rumors about Sophia playing Judas and backstabbing Sandra just to secure her own spot in the Mitchell Family. Sophia’s even dressed in a fur coat for this competition! That disgusting, wicked and heartless nouveau-riche!

Meanwhile, Sandra—the largest winner of the day—felt like she was back on the peak of the mountain once again. She was certain that she would be able to lead the Mitchell Family back to their days of glory. Sophia? She’s no match for me! After receiving her trophies, Sandra found herself surrounded by reporters. She gracefully did her interviews with a towel draped over her body.

Since the competition had ended, Sophia stood up and got ready to leave. All of a sudden, she heard Sandra calling for her. “Hey, Big Sis, are you leaving already? Come here! It’s my big day; don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Sophia had already put her big sunglasses on, and Justin had already snatched her fur coat away from Quinton before handing it over for her to put on. Upon hearing Sandra’s words, Sophia simply pushed her sunglasses up on the bridge of her nose before she walked away without even looking at Sandra. Sandra’s clearly older than me; how can she shamelessly call me her big sister… Sophia then glanced at her watch. “It’s about time,” she mumbled.

Sandra felt extremely good to see Sophia ‘gloomily’ leaving the stadium. From today onward, the Mitchell Family is going to grow and flourish once again! Sandra continued to respond to the reporters, and she even faked a comment about Sophia. “That woman’s always like that—” But before she could finish her sentence, her expression quickly faltered as the muscles around her face began to twitch in an odd manner. She then collapsed onto the ground as her entire body jerked. Foaming at her mouth, she flailed her arms around weakly, looking as if she just had an epileptic seizure.

This sudden episode left the audience dumbfounded, but the media outlets and reporters were quick. Snap! Snap! They took shots of Sandra’s every move and expression. By the time the Mitchells’ bodyguards arrived to carry Sandra away, there were already countless images of her foaming at the mouth on the Internet.

The edge of Sophia’s lips curled into a mysterious smile when she heard the huge commotion happening behind her. You have to pay for your own sins, Sandra. You should’ve been more careful with your use of stimulants. The reporters outside were shoving one another to get into the stadium once they heard that Sandra had a seizure. They were all rushing to get pictures for their ‘breaking news’ article, while Sophia was the only one who went against the flow of the crowd as she stepped out of the stadium.

The reporters who had initially blocked the front door to wait for Sophia’s exit had now rushed into the stadium, but there were a few media outlets who stayed outside for Sophia as they knew that they wouldn’t be able to get an interview on the situation inside the stadium. Sandra clearly hadn’t expected that the media outlets she had paid to attend would end up being the ones that revealed the ugliest side of her.

Sophia found herself stopped by reporters when she walked out. They wanted to interview her, and the environmental and animal activists still got in her way. The skinny guy with glasses from earlier appeared once again as he shouted, “You’re an evil woman, Sophia. You’re going to be responsible for the extinction of our animals. One day, you’re going to have to pay for your actions. All of mankind is going to have to pay for their actions. Stop using fur! Get everyone to use artificial fur instead! Animals won’t be killed if no one wants to buy them!”

Since Sophia was in a good mood, she finally decided to respond to the man. “Sir, you’re wearing clothes made of fiber and shoes made of faux leather; the manufacturing of these products causes great pollution to our water. Residents have to live miles away from these factories because of the pollution! Before you talk about the environment, why don’t you take off all your clothes since they cause such heavy pollution?”

The man in glasses glared at Sophia as he went speechless for a second. He unconsciously took a glance at his shoes and clothes. “Have you ever calculated the amount of pollution caused by the manufacturing of artificial fur that you people always advocate for? My natural fur is biodegradable; its materials are all from the minks that we breed; the factory is a legal business that obtained its license through proper procedures.

Everyone is welcome to visit the factory if you have any questions. Also, my husband, Taylor, is a huge contributor to the protection work of giant pandas, Tibetan antelopes, and other animals that are about to go extinct. You’re not allowed to say anything bad about my husband.” Her last sentence was a statement that an obsessed fan would say about their idol.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1210

Sophia didn’t initially plan on talking to these so-called environmental and animal activists at all, but she couldn’t stop herself from speaking after she thought about how they had tainted Michael’s reputation by blacklisting him as an anti-environmentally friendly person. My husband is the best! Anyone around me who dares to talk bad about him will have to watch out!

Michael did a great deal of charity work, but he simply didn’t announce and publicize all his acts of charity the way Sandra did. Sandra would write a tweet, make a Facebook post, send an announcement to all her groups of friends, and publish articles all over the Internet every time she donated a small sum of money to some charity. Everyone else got tired of her pretentious acts. Michael, on the other hand, secretly donated some funds to the School of Hope, legitimate animal protection organizations, old war veterans, and so on. He performed these acts in a hushed manner, as if he was afraid of others finding out about it.

Sophia got into her car and made her grand departure, while the news reporters and animal and environmental activists were left exchanging awkward glances with one another. They released her statements exactly the way she had phrased them, and although there were still people who disagreed and criticized her, there were also a lot of people who supported her views. Since the Ronney Group had previously promised to switch from natural to artificial fur, Sophia took this opportunity to dominate her area of the market. She expanded the size of her fur factories and made a few agreements with other meat and pharmaceutical factories, so that her factory’s discarded mink could be sent off for use in other producing meat and medicine.

Of course, the news about Sophia was minor in comparison to the large headlines that talked about Sandra. She only enjoyed the spotlight for less than 30 minutes before she ended up foaming at the mouth and getting her limp body carried away in an unsophisticated manner. The reporters captured images and videos of all of this. The Internet had been full of her pretty, charismatic pictures in the swimming pool just moments ago, but it was then covered by all the shocking, high-definition pictures of her spitting foam and losing control of her bladder in front of the public. The entire process of her foaming at the mouth was uploaded as a full video. This attracted a great deal of attention, and the public were all concerned about the issue of her illness.

That night, Sophia went home and had her dinner before she went online to look for articles about Sandra. She only had to scroll for a while to find a huge number of videos showing Sandra jerking, twitching, and spitting white foam out of her mouth. None of the articles revealed the actual cause of her illness, and most of the netizens agreed that her symptoms seemed like she had suffered from an epileptic seizure.

Right then, an account with the nickname ‘Eddie Fletcher’ that was certified as the ‘President of JNS Group’ made a post on Twitter to diss Sandra. ‘Epilepsy? A neurological disease? It seems more like you didn’t handle your use of stimulants well, @Sandra!’

Sandra used stimulants?! The whole country was shocked to hear this. Every athlete that gets addicted to stimulants will surely end up in a terrible state! If Sandra really used stimulants before her match, all her hard work and achievements would no longer be recognized! But did she really use those stimulants? Most of the public suspected that this might be true. It was rare to see a swimmer that could return to her peak performance in a competition after years of being away from the pool, so that made things rather fishy. That was also the reason why many people ended up believing that Sandra used stimulants to enhance her performance.

Sophia scrolled through her Twitter in the living room while she reached one leg out to stroke her pet dog, and every now and then, she patted the cat that was sleeping in her arms. Life is good, she thought. During the nighttime, Cooper would often head over to the living room to spend some time with his little sweetheart before he went to bed. That day, as usual, he sat beside Sophia as he watched the TV. When he switched the channel, a video of Sandra foaming at her mouth appeared on the screen. Cooper frowned at the rather disgusting image as it made him feel nauseous. He quickly switched the channel, only to find Sandra foaming at the mouth filmed from another angle. When he switched it again, the cheap web-series that Harry starred in appeared on the screen. This burns my eyes! Cooper couldn’t find anything better to watch on the TV. It was the peak hour then, so most of the channels were either filled with the news of Sandra’s seizure, or some TV dramas about family fights, love triangles, cheating spouses, and other shows that had Harry in it. Cooper jabbed on the remote for a while longer until he finally arrived at the opera channel to see a rebroadcast of the Spring Festival opera show. It showed Michael’s performance of ‘Mulan Joins the Army’. Finally, something that I can actually bear to watch.

Everyone else was on their phones while Cooper listened to the performance. Sophia received a huge response after dissing Sandra on the Internet, and she soon obtained over 10,000 retweets. Now that she was trending on Twitter, most of her good friends came forward to show their support.

Michael: ‘She could have used expired stimulants.’

Harry: ‘Society is getting worse and worse nowadays. First, they make fake vaccines, and now, they even have fake stimulants! Sigh.’

When Sandra regained consciousness, she found herself in the hospital. Upon turning the TV on, all she saw were pictures and videos of her foaming at her mouth. The news anchor announced, “For now, we do not have any confirmed information regarding the cause of the world champion, Sandra’s, sudden seizure. However, there have been netizens who pointed out that the injection or consumption of expired stimulants may result in such a bodily reaction. Reporters have not gotten a response or statement from Miss Sandra after contacting her.”

Thud! Sandra angrily threw the TV remote across the room. Her assistant and nurses were shocked to see this, but they only quietly tidied the room up as they were too afraid to speak. “Ahhhh!” Sandra began to throw things around the room furiously. She had been informed of her condition the moment she woke up—her muscles had suffered permanent damage, and she wouldn’t be able to do strenuous exercises in the future. This, of course, meant that she wouldn’t be able to go back to swimming. Her legs still felt numb right then. How did all of this happen? Sandra searched around for her phone like a madwoman. She made a call right after she found it. “I’m sorry. The number you’ve dialed is unavailable,” the machine said. Sandra dialed the same number again, checking that it was the right number before she rang it. To her surprise, the number was still unavailable. How’s that possible? I just called this number yesterday!

Right then, someone knocked on the door. As soon as Alex and Mrs. Mitchell stepped in, Sandra immediately cut her crazy act and began to sob softly. They entered the room and comforted Sandra for a while before they exchanged glances with one another. “Sandra, did you really use stimulants?” Alex asked carefully.

Sandra responded with an innocent, helpless stare when she saw the suspicion in his gaze. “I’m your daughter, Dad. I’d never use those stimulants. You have to trust me…” Alex still suspected that Sandra had used them, but he withheld his suspicions and comforted his daughter for a while more. The entire incident was rather odd, but the Mitchell Family would have to conceal this whole issue, regardless if Sandra had actually used stimulants. Ultimately, Sandra had to appear as the perfect world champion to the rest of the public! Perhaps she actually had an epileptic seizure.

While Sandra continued to fake her sobs, she actually knew the truth deep down. Of course I used those stimulants. I hadn’t swam in ages; how else could I have achieved my peak performance without using those drugs? She had her own connections that helped her to get the stimulants, and they indeed increased her strength and stamina by a significant amount. It even allowed her to break her past records. Furthermore, the buyer informed her that there might be side effects, but the buyer also assured her that the contents of the medication wouldn’t show up in any tests. At most, the doctor would think that she had an epileptic seizure. But I didn’t expect myself to have the seizure during the interview itself!

When it came to urine and blood tests, however, Sandra was certain that she’d be able to pass them without any issues. The drugs she used weren’t just regular drugs; she obtained them through some connections she had with an extremely mysterious terrorist organization in Africa. It was the latest, most refined stimulant. The head of that terrorist organization was widely known as ‘Phantom Wolf’.