Zachary responded faintly, “Nana, didn’t you say I’m bad at cooking?” “You are, but I’m your nana. As bad as your food tastes, I’ll honor you so you’ll have some confidence.” Zachary was speechless. Ring, ring, ring…His phone rang, so he answered it to remove himself from bickering with his nana. He had never been able to win arguments against her. “Zachary, I’m at the entrance of your neighborhood, but I can’t enter without an access card. Duncan is here too. He said he has been waiting for half an hour.”It was Kevin who called. Their nana informed them in their family group chat last night that everyone in Wiltspoon had to return to the manor today. Serenity’s elders were going to visit for the first time, so the others had to be home to welcome them as a form of respect toward her. After all, Serenity would be the wife of the head of their family in the future. Her authority should be established bit by bit. “You came real quick.” Zachary added indifferently, “
Serenity greeted Kevin and Duncan with a smile. She closed the door after Duncan entered the house. By the time she turned around, she saw that Grandma May had asked everyone to gather for breakfast. Zachary doted on his wife and knew what Serenity liked to eat, so he asked Kevin to bring some of her favorites. There was plenty to choose from. Even though Duncan showed up uninvited, there was enough food for everyone. After having a full meal, Grandma May instructed Duncan, “Duncan, go to Liberty’s place now to pick up her and her son, then go to my place together.” Duncan’s eyes flickered. He immediately wondered why he was summoned again. He asked, “Grandma May, how many people have you asked to join the barbecue?” “I don’t know? In any case, I notified everyone in the family group chat. Everyone in Wiltspoon is to return to the manor today.” Duncan was speechless. It sounded like the Yorks were going to have a family meeting. Duncan only wanted to gather with a few f
Wildridge Manor was the home built with love by Zachary’s grandfather for his wife. It covered an extremely vast area. The landscape of the manor was artificially created according to Grandma May’s preferences. Grandma May liked an antique and classic feel, hence Wildridge Manor was built like a garden. The gate of the manor opened. It was worth noting that the sons of the Yorks usually lived in their respective villas and would only return to the manor during festivities such as Christmas and New Year’s for a few days to accompany the elders. Apart from those times, it would be difficult to see them here. Today, the sons returned and were especially early. A few of them even had breakfast with their parents. As for their parents, regardless of the plans they made, they turned them down and waited conscientiously for Grandma May to return. Serenity was going to Wildridge Manor with Zachary for the first time. On the way, when she listened to Grandma May talk about the sce
Grandma May patted the back of Serenity’s hand as she spoke. “You and Zack haven’t held your wedding yet anyway. It’s not too late to have a child after the wedding. You should enjoy your romantic time together during this time.” It was fine as long as the young married couple was not taking contraception methods. They would have a child sooner or later. Serenity responded with a hum. She was not in a hurry, so she would just go with the flow. “Zack.” Grandma May suddenly asked Zachary, who was driving, “Has Callum made a move?” “How would I know? I only care about what he does in the company. I don’t care about what he does after work. He’s an adult and not a three-year-old kid. He doesn’t need his big brother watching over him.” Grandma May choked. “Nana, do you mean Camryn?” Serenity added, “I’ve seen her in person.” Grandma May had long known that Serenity and Camryn had met. She even knew Serenity had helped Camryn at the banquet, but she pretended not to know
Grandma May was glad to see the manor’s gate open. She turned to look at Duncan’s car behind them. Liberty and her son were in his car. Following behind Duncan’s car was Darrell’s family of three. Clive had to keep the pregnant Alice company because she was having morning sickness. She vomited everything she ate and only wanted to stay in bed every day, so it was not convenient for them to get out of the house. The second son of the Stones was rarely home, and Mrs. Stone did not ask him to come with. It would be enough for her and her husband to show up with Elisa.Zachary led everyone to park their cars in the open parking lot. Sam, the manor’s head butler, welcomed everyone with a smile. While Zachary opened the door to get out of his car, Sam opened the door for Old Mrs. York and reached out to support her. Unsurprisingly, she pushed him away and refused his help—it would make her look weak when she was clearly strong. “Old Mrs. York.” Sam smiled and greeted her w
Now, Tania and Mrs. Stone still had to sit together. Tania took Liberty’s hand affectionately and smiled as she said, “Liberty, just bring yourself next time, and don’t spend so much money on gifts.” Liberty responded with a smile, “I didn’t buy much, just some small gifts.” Tania looked at Sonny, who was being carried by Serenity. She asked, “Should I carry Sonny?” Duncan, who was carrying a bunch of stuff for Liberty, interrupted at this time. “Aunt Tania, Sonny is very picky. In any case, he doesn’t want me to carry him.” Tania looked at Duncan, whose hands were occupied. He looked like Liberty’s porter. In actuality, Sam had welcomed everyone and would arrange for people to carry the things brought by Liberty and Mrs. Stone no matter how many there were. There was no need for a guest like Duncan to do the work. Was Duncan trying to show off? A wise person who could see through the truth would not expose it. Tania smiled and said to Duncan, “Duncan, Sonny doesn’t want
For easier communication, Audrey and Liberty sat together after they entered the house. Audrey took the paper handed to her by Grandma May and looked at it with Liberty. In the end, the aunt and niece picked a date that was neither too far nor too near. “Let’s go with this date—it’s neither too soon nor late. We both have ample time to get ready,” Audrey said to the elders of the Yorks as she pointed at the date she and Liberty had chosen. Since her sister was no longer around, Audrey was ready to take over the responsibility and organize her niece’s wedding. She would definitely let Serenity marry into the Yorks in style and not let anyone look down on her. Grandma May, Tania, and the others had nothing to say about the date selected by Audrey. In any case, no matter which date was chosen by the in-laws, Grandma May had carefully shortlisted them. Lastly, they asked Zachary and Serenity for their opinion. Serenity had no comment. On the other hand, Zachary looked at the
Jasmine, who was sitting next to Josh, stuck her head out to see Duncan’s puzzled face. She pursed her lips and smiled. Duncan and Zachary were the same. Josh, on the other hand, had a high IQ and EQ. Among the three of them, he played the role of a consultant. Elisa and Remy were chatting happily. Remy was also only able to sit still because Elisa was talking to him. Otherwise, he would feel so troubled that he would want to slip away. He was most afraid of such an occasion. Seeing Old Mrs. York was likened to seeing the boss of his family. His grandmother was also always worried about his and his brothers’ marriages.Fortunately, Remy’s grandmother was not as active as Grandma May. Even so, she had handed them over to Remy’s sister-in-law to manage their marriages. This was because Jane had the potential to be a matchmaker. Josh stared at Duncan for a while and said, “Tactless people can’t use 0.25mm pencil leads.” “I don’t like to use 0.25mm pencil leads anyway—they
Lilian often messed with the medicinal herbs her master cultivated, which led to her being chased and scolded by him.It seemed her son had inherited her restless nature.“How’s Sonny been lately?”Liberty had been on edge these past few days because Caroline had been preparing to lure her three brothers into a trap and had not had time to call her son.“Same as usual, but it seems like things have soured again with the Browns.”Serenity added, “Sonny still answers when Hank calls him, but he doesn’t seem happy when his grandparents visit. He doesn’t like going to the Browns’ place, and he doesn’t want to take their calls either.“Hank’s mother and sister are truly incorrigible. They must have been badmouthing you and Duncan in front of Sonny again, which is why he’s upset with them.”During the holidays, Sonny had stayed with the Browns for a few days and started to warm up to them.However, who would have thought that the mother and daughter would start spouting nonsense in f
Once the baby was born, he would apply the knowledge he had learned over the past few months to care for the baby. He was determined to be a competent and responsible father.Serenity released her arms from around him and shifted to her side.Zachary let go, too, allowing her to turn.Then, she planted countless gentle kisses on his face.“Babe, with you here, the baby and I will be just fine. Don’t worry too much,” Serenity comforted softly after kissing him.“You are my rock. If even you are nervous, I’ll start feeling anxious too, and that won’t be good.”Hearing this, Zachary immediately said, “Seren, don’t worry. I’ll protect both of you. Alright, I won’t be so nervous anymore.”He gently touched her rounded belly again. “Lil’ Bun should be a calm kid. He’s not that mischievous.”He felt that the baby’s movements were not too intense.Serenity wanted to tell him that there were times when the baby kicked more vigorously, but she decided against it, knowing it would only m
“Just hit the gym a few more times. Lately, you’ve been spending less time there.”Every day after work, he would come home and orbit around her. As a result, he had less time to work out.It was normal to gain a few pounds eating well and exercising less. Did he really think he could eat anything without gaining weight?The reason he could maintain a model-like physique before was that he exercised daily.“Ow.” Serenity suddenly cried out in pain.This startled Zachary so much that he nearly jumped up, asking anxiously, “Is it stomach pain? Are you going into labor? Let’s go to the hospital right away.”He was about to pick her up, but Serenity stopped him by pressing his hand.“Don’t be so nervous, Zachary. It's not time yet. It’s not happening so soon. It’s just the baby kicking again. His kicks are getting stronger.”As she entered the later stages of pregnancy, the little one inside her was growing stronger. Sometimes, a couple of kicks from the baby could actually hurt.
Zachary, afraid that his wife might refuse to spend time with him at his office in the future, emphasized that he was not busy today.He had already cleared his morning schedule because he needed to accompany his beloved wife for her prenatal checkup.His secretary was well aware of Serenity’s checkup dates. Whenever he saw Serenity turn up at the office with his boss, his secretary would quietly adjust his schedule.Sometimes, on the day of the Serenity’s checkup, his secretary would not schedule any appointments for Zachary at all.Even if appointments were scheduled, Zachary would request they be canceled or rescheduled.Now, in Zachary’s eyes, his wife’s matters were the most important.With Alex now able to share the workload, Zachary felt that he, as the eldest of his generation who had shouldered the bulk of the burden for so many years, deserved a break.Plus, there was the elite team the company had trained; if not now, then when would they be put to use?Everyone was
Tony turned around and left.Only after hearing the door close did Carrie dare to open her eyes.She had woken up while Tony and his son were on the phone, but she did not dare move, fearing that Tony might suspect her of eavesdropping.Just now, when that old lecher stood by the bed looking at her, there was definitely a murderous glint in his eyes. She could feel it.Sooner or later, he would kill her.Carrie was filled with panic. She wanted to escape but was afraid she would not succeed. No one was there to help her.For a moment, Carrie even considered running to Camryn to confess everything, but she quickly dismissed the thought. The reason she ended up in this situation was entirely due to Camryn.She and Camryn were sworn enemies. Their conflict would not end until one of them was dead. However, even if she died, she would drag Camryn down with her.-Meanwhile, in the CEO's office at York Corporation, Zachary, seated at his desk, kept glancing up at his pregnant wife.
“You should have gotten rid of them all back then and cultivated a network of people loyal only to you.” Manny felt that his father should not have spared those people in the first place.Tony said, “There were too many of them, all relatives and friends with the same goal as us. We couldn’t eliminate them all at once.”Back then, he had incited everyone to join him in wiping out the entire main family, sparing neither the elderly nor the children.It was because they were all from the collateral branches, jealous of the main family’s long-standing control, and shared a common goal that his conspiracy succeeded.He had also spent over a decade waiting for the right opportunity.Who would have thought that even after wiping out the main family, he still could not obtain the family seal, token, or totem? Without these, he could not become the true head of the family and could only act as a proxy. Many of the connections loyal to the head remained inaccessible.Moreover, much of the
It was his father. Manny composed himself and picked up Tony’s call as he walked toward his car.“Hey, Pops.”“How’s it going, Manny? Has there been any progress?”Tony was still in Carrie’s room at the moment, but had gotten up and walked to the balcony to call his son.Carrie was still fast asleep, though her face was set in a frown. She was obviously discomfited.Tony had pestered her for the majority of last night, so it would be weird if she did not feel any discomfort.Despite her begging, Tony would not let her go. He even forcefully drugged her to make her mess around with him while out of it. He was simply an old pervert.Before she passed out, she cursed him in her heart. However, she knew that Tony only treated her so roughly because she was just his mistress—a tool for him to vent his frustrations on.If she really was his wife, he definitely would not treat her like this.In the past, she had ambitions of taking Mrs. Longbottom’s place and becoming the real missus
Tati also finished her plate of pastries.She followed Isabella out.“Isa, you’re always so busy and exhausted. If you’re feeling even a little unwell, you should have a good rest. Stay home for the day. I can handle the work you have on hand. It’s the same either way.”Tati wanted Isabella to take the day off so Isabella could spend some time with Austin and nurture their relationship.However, Isabella still declined Tati’s kind offer.She said, “Not today. There’s an important meeting today, and I have two important clients to meet. I’m fine, really. Don’t worry. From now on, I won’t touch alcohol.”Given her current status and position, no one would dare to force her to drink during social engagements.Many people also knew that Isabella would not drink outside her home, fearing that she might fall victim to someone’s schemes.However, Isabella would occasionally make an exception. When she was in a good mood, she would have a couple of drinks.Hearing this, Tati stopped t
Austin still smiled gently and said, “It’s all thanks to Ms. Isabella’s guidance.”He felt that he had indeed improved a lot.Grandma May really understood him well. The wife she picked for him could actually help improve his culinary skills.“After eating the sweets, I feel much better.” Tati picked up another piece of pastry and ate it.Austin quietly retreated, not wanting to disturb their conversation and also to avoid overhearing their private matters.“Just ignore him. Are you really going to skip work because of him?”Isabella added calmly to Tati, “If you let him provoke you, he’ll only cling to you even more. If you act like he doesn’t exist and don’t respond no matter what he does, he’ll naturally give up once he sees that you’re completely unresponsive.”Tati said, “I’m afraid that he’ll go and bother Edith and Eleanor if he doesn’t get anywhere with me. They don’t have the same resolve as we do.”She, therefore, decided to bear the brunt of it.“Every time I see hi