"Yes, that’s right." Jane nodded like mad. "You really do know me." Charlotte patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, you won't be able to get your marriage certificate that easily." Jane asked, "Why do you say that?" Charlotte said, "Don’t you know what kind of status Zachary’s father has? If he casually makes a call, who would dare to enter your details into the system at the Civil Affairs Bureau?" "That's true." Jane had just been blinded by anger earlier. Now, she wasn't worried at all. Michael also breathed a sigh of relief, but he still apologized to Jane. Jane waved her hand. "Let's not talk about this anymore." However, she still apologized to Madam Hall. "Sorry for scene." Madam Hall smiled and said, "I'm old enough to have seen many things. This little scene won't scare me. I'll go prepare the bed for you. I have a room with a big bed, enough to fit all of you. It will be more convenient for you to talk there." Jane went to help. Michael p
Frank looked at Zachary’s expression.The latter’s face didn't show much change, he was always composed. Even when he smiled, it was fainter than most people's.Frank understood and guessed Zachary emotional changes."She promised to marry me, so shouldn't you be happy and toasting with me to celebrate this moment? What's with sad look on your face?"Zachary crushed the cigarette butt in the ashtray.He stood up, grabbed the entire bottle of liquor, filled his glass, and drank it all in one go.Frank pulled over a chair and sat down opposite him.Nonchalantly swirling his wine glass, he said, "You'd better slow down with the drinking. If you throw up, I won't take care of you.""No need," Zachary replied coldly, and then went straight to drinking from the bottle.Frank raised a hand to scratch his head. He then continued, "By the time you're throwing up and completely drunk, I'll call over a female staff to give you a bath and change your clothes. Then I'll take a few pictures
"I don’t want to tell you anymore." Zachary clenched his fists. "Please, I'm begging you." Frank leaned back against the door, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes. "Things are valuable because they're rare. You never used to say the word 'beg' before. When you said it the first time, I thought it was interesting, so I helped you. Now, hearing it repeatedly, it just feels boring." Frank was the kind of person who always did as he pleased, never caring about others' feelings, except for Charlotte. Zachary had gotten used to it over the years, but this time, the matter at hand was important. He had no choice but to ask, "What do I need to do for you to help?" Frank was usually playful, but there was a limit to his jokes. Small matters didn't matter much. But when it came to something as significant as getting the marriage certificate, he became unusually serious. "I won’t be hard for you to get a marriage certificate out of Jeswood. You just need proof that
Yasmin exited the group chat, leaving the two girls to talk privately. Michael finished preparing the water and came out of the kitchen. When he saw Yasmin heading back to her room, he went over and handed her a glass of water. Yasmin wasn’t actually drunk. They were just drinking cider. But since Michael was being kind, she still drank the water. "Ms. Jackson, the hot water is ready. You can wash up." After the long journey, she did feel a bit uncomfortable. "Can I take a shower?" When Michael was taking Madam Hall to Jeswood for treatment, he entrusted the small courtyard to his neighbor, Mrs. Wayne. Aside from regular cleaning, the most important thing was maintaining the various appliances. The boiler in his house was quite old, but it still worked quite well after so many years. "Sure, the boiler’s on." Yasmin went to take a shower. Michael took the water to Jane and Charlotte. The two of them seemed drunk, and they clinked their glasses of w
"She’s still sleeping. She drank quite a lot with Jane last night." Yasmin stood up. "I'll go wake them up." "Don't. Let them sleep." As soon as Frank finished speaking, he saw Charlotte coming out from the her bedroom. Jane came out after her as well. Zachary immediately stepped forward, and Michael also went over. Charlotte was about to say something when Frank shoved Sparrow into her arms and pulled her aside. "Sparrow's hungry. Let her eat first." Charlotte knew what was going on immediately. "You just want to help Zachary." Frank smiled. "Come on, let’s not be so mean to me." By the time they finished, Jane had already been pulled to the dining table by Zachary. "These are all your favorites." Jane shrugged him off. "No, they’re not." She sat down at the stone table, grabbed a piece of pancake with her hands, and took a big bite. Her voice was muffled. "Right now, I love the food Madam Hall makes. It has the taste of home. Yours may look good
Of course, Jane would be happier if Zachary didn't come. But after their conversation about the proposal this morning, she was really worried. What if he really prepared an extravagant proposal for her? Charlotte saw the worry in Jane's eyes and said to Frank, "Go find Zachary and stop him from proposing." Frank replied, "We didn’t have as much fun during our honeymoon last time. This time, it's rare that our family is together, so we should relax and enjoy it. Besides, we didn’t have a full honeymoon because we had to help Jane. Charlotte, you were the one who said that we could have a proper honeymoon in the future. I compromised because I love you. Aren't you going to feel a little sorry for me? Taking time off isn't easy." Charlotte knew Frank all too well. His words were sharp, but when he wanted to, he could be very convincing. In the end, he still wanted to help Zachary in some way. "I don't necessarily want to break them up, but Jane doesn't want him aro
Jane had already made the donation at the church entrance. But when she turned around, she didn’t see Charlotte. Jason came over and said, "She took the child to the restroom." Jane nodded and decided to wait at the entrance. Suddenly, a nun came to give her a flower. She thought it was some sort of blessing from the church and accepted it. However, Michael felt something was off, especially when, not long after, another nun came with another flower. One after another, the roses in Jane's hands kept multiplying, and soon, she had a huge bouquet. "Wait a moment." Michael stopped a little nun and asked him, using the local accent, what was going on. The nun replied, "I don't know. The father asked us to bring flowers to this sister." Another little nun, who could speak Cherian, chimed in, "A benefactor uncle donated a huge amount of incense money, so the master asked us to help him fulfill a wish." Jane immediately felt something was wrong and quickly tri
Zachary stepped out from behind, and immediately, the little nuns scattered. Jane looked at his smiling face and wanted to slap him. But the presence of the Jesus statue restrained her. "You..." She was about to speak when he covered her mouth. "No foul language in front of Jesus." Jane glared at him and slapped his hand away. Then, she watched as he knelt down on one knee. He opened a small square box and presented it to her. "Jane, I'm proposing to you in front of Jesus. My sincerity is as clear as the heavens. Don't worry about my family or any trouble that we may come across in the future. I've also sincerely asked for Jesus's blessing. He will guide us. Jane, please marry me." Jane suddenly understood. It wasn’t that Zachary didn’t understand what she said. He simply didn't want to do things her way. Instead, he deliberately twisted her words and followed his own will, and did whatever he liked. "I won't marry you." Jane had come here to pray
Whitney had nothing to say.Even if Caleb's accusations were unreasonable, even if he was deliberately making things difficult, she still had to go along with it—and endure it."I'll keep that in mind."Caleb didn't feel any joy at her answer, but he still asked, "What exactly will you keep in mind?"Whitney replied obediently, "If the same thing happens again, I'll either send you a text or call you."Beneath his large palm was her small, soft hand. He brushed his thumb slowly across her skin and asked, "If I'm not home by six in the evening, what will you do?"Whitney answered with surprising seriousness, "Does a traffic jam count?"Caleb took a deep breath. "No. Let's say it's a normal day, I should be home on time, but I don't show up.""Oh..." Whitney nodded thoughtfully. "Then I'll call you and ask why you haven't come home."‘Good enough.’This topic could be put to rest.He released her hand and said, "I'm thirsty."Whitney immediately got up to pour him a glass of
"Perfect."Caleb was rendered speechless.Half an hour later, Whitney arrived at the hospital room.It was clear she had rushed over—she was still breathing heavily, chest rising and falling with each gulp of air.Caleb felt a pang of guilt for tricking her like this. He was just about to sit up when his mother pressed him back down.Janet's eyes reddened instantly, tears threatening to fall at will.Business was like war—and in war, sometimes a bit of acting was essential.After all, his mother had spent years navigating the cutthroat world of commerce. Her acting skills were easily on par with half the entertainment industry."Darling..."Whitney still looked confused. She stepped closer and saw Caleb's lips pale and bloodless.He had been perfectly fine just last night—how had it come to this so suddenly?And he hadn't even drunk that much at the Hilton family dinner.Far less than what he had consumed at their wedding, in fact."Mom, please don't cry..." Whitney helped
Since they got married, this had never happened before.Though Caleb was a busy man, his parents hadn't completely stepped back from the family business yet, so he didn't need to clock in every day.He only went in for important matters, or meetings he couldn't avoid.But at night, he was always home.In the morning, he always got up at the same time as her.She had early classes at eight in the morning.Still, she didn't overthink it, assuming something urgent had come up at the last minute.Caleb was indeed at the office that morning.But there was absolutely nothing on the schedule.No one could understand why the he had shown up so early, sitting alone at his desk doing nothing.Philip pushed open the door to his office and found Caleb slouched lazily on the sofa.He raised his hand to stop the secretary from reporting anything.The secretary quickly nodded, stepped out, and shut the door behind her."Had an argument?"Philip didn't think that was likely.After all,
There was no rush.Whitney deeply admired Dianne's way of living—a strong mind, never anxious, never consumed by internal battles.Whatever came her way, she simply found a way to deal with it.She believed there were always more solutions than problems."Are you tired?"Caleb sat down beside her. "Do you want to go back and rest?"They had just flown back from an island.When they got off the plane, Whitney had barely been able to walk on her own.If not for this dinner with the Hilton family—one they truly couldn't skip—she would have preferred to go straight home and sleep.But since no one had left, she couldn't excuse herself either, and had just waited quietly.Now that Caleb asked, she hesitated, then nodded.He took her hand and helped her up, then said to the rest of the family, "We're heading back first. Just got back from out of town, and we're both exhausted."Lia nodded. "Come by more often."Whitney nodded politely.Caleb led her to the entryway to change th
The man who had just sat down was Caleb's younger cousin, Blake Hilton.He was a police officer.His parents had died in the line of duty. The Hilton family had originally not wanted him to follow the same path.But he had chosen it anyway, without hesitation.Whether it was because of his profession, or the fact that his own parents were no longer around — even though the Hilton family was tightly bonded — he remained quiet and reserved.Whitney wasn't much of a talker either, so she had barely exchanged more than a few words with him.Besides, every time the family had a meal, he was always the last to arrive.She had long since gotten used to it, never questioning why.Lately, though, she had heard rumors that he had fallen for someone.She had noticed the slap mark on his face at the last family gathering. And this time, his aunt had used the word "again".Blake said nothing.The others understood without needing to say a word, but Dianne had always been the type to spea
She really hadn't expected that someone could ask their parents for pocket money so brazenly.She had never seen it before.It truly opened her eyes."Are you okay?" Janet quickly patted her back to help her catch her breath, while Caleb pulled out a tissue and gently wiped her mouth.Whitney, embarrassed, said, "I'm sorry, I...""What are you apologizing for?" Caleb casually wiped the table as well. "It's nothing. Everyone chokes on water now and then.""Exactly," Millie chimed in cheerfully. "I choked on water just yesterday.""Alright, enough talking. Bring out the dishes and let's eat!" Lia called out, setting a plate of food in front of Whitney. "Try this and see if you like it."Whitney had always felt that, to the Hilton family, she was an outsider.So every time she came over, she couldn't help but feel nervous and constrained.Especially facing so many elders, she was neither sweet-tongued nor good at small talk.Every time, it was Caleb who managed all the social i
Whitney quickly stood up and called out, "Aunt Stephanie."Stephanie curved her lips into a smile and nodded."Stephanie!" Lia said as she came out of the kitchen. "How come you’re here by yourself? Where's Steve?"Steve Hilton was Lia’s eldest son and also Stephanie’s husband."He had something to take care of and will be a bit late. We can start eating first."She looked at Millie and asked, "Millie, what were you saying about me?"Millie immediately tattled, saying that Gilbert had bullied her.Stephanie didn't even ask for details, she just swung her fist and punched Gilbert.She had trained before, so the punch was solid and strong.But Gilbert had also trained, and he had grown up. Otherwise, if it had been when he was little, he wouldn't have been able to take it.This kind of situation had often happened when Millie was young — as long as the little girl cried and complained, he would get beaten by his own mother."I don’t think she’s your daughter-in-law. I think sh
Whitney wanted to thank Georgina through Millie, but Georgina said there was no need.However, simply having a meal together was acceptable.Up to now, they had only eaten together once.She wasn't very good at interpersonal interactions.On top of that, she had been busy with work early on and had gone on a business trip for a while, and almost all of her remaining time had been taken up by Caleb."Whitney, if you have time, I'd like to ask Georgina out for a meal. Sorry to trouble you.""No problem. Georgina told me that she’s missed you as well."Whitney didn't know what to say, so she could only force a smile.Millie already knew her personality and didn't mind, continuing to talk about amusing things on her own.She even asked how the wedding had gone for her this time.Whitney said, "It was great. I got along really well with Mrs. Howard and her two sisters. They're all wonderful people. I'll introduce them to you sometime.""That's great. I like making friends. The mo
The guard at the door saluted and let Caleb's car pass.As soon as Whitney got out of the car, she saw the Lia waiting at the door."Whitney!"She paused for a moment before being pulled inside.When she had first married Caleb, the Hilton family hadn't been this warm toward her.Caleb rarely took her back to the Hilton family's residence, except for the mandatory monthly family dinners.Sometimes, if a family member hosted a dinner that couldn't be refused, they would eat together.The Hilton family had been polite to her, and it was quite decent.But this time, she felt something was different.She didn't know what to say, so she gave a stiff smile.Caleb followed behind at a slow pace, breaking the awkwardness. "It's so cold outside. Why not wait inside?""The air inside’s quite dry due to the heating," said Lia. "I felt short of breath, so I came out to get some fresh air."Caleb asked in concern, "Did you do your regular checkup?"Lia replied, "I've done it. Stop nagg