“I’m fine, Zachary. My car was smashed. That’s all.” The thugs were bashing her car by the time Serenity got out. She and the two bodyguards quickly subdued the perpetrators, but it was too late for the car. Zachary glanced at the smashed car and remarked, “All that matters is that you’re safe. We can always replace the car.” “But you gave me this car.” “I gave you one on Valentine’s Day too. You can drive that and send this one for repairs.” Serenity replied, “I prefer the car brand I have right now.” It was discreet. Zachary said, “I’ll take you to get a new car of the same brand tomorrow.” She had a thing against showing off and parading her riches as the wife of the richest man. Zachary was happy to meet her standard and lifestyle. He would do anything to please her so long as he was in the picture. “Did you manage to get who is behind this?” Zachary’s question was meant for his bodyguards. “It’s Carrie,” Serenity answered. Since everybody here had not met C
Carrie simply got cocky and carried away that she forgot to delete the call history that included the recorded call. Zachary and his wife left the rest to the police. Back home, Zachary clung to Serenity. He went everywhere she went. He was her shadow when Serenity grabbed her pajamas to go to the bathroom. “Zachary, Mr. York, just tell me what’s on your mind. We’re a married couple. You can be straight with me about anything.” Serenity stopped at the bathroom door and leaned against the door frame before giving Zachary an amused look. “You’ve become my shadow since we got back from giving our statements. You’re following me wherever I go.” “Seren, please don’t leave home without a bodyguard. I’ll assign four bodyguards to keep you safe on a shift rotation, 24/7. I can promise you that they’ll only report to me if you encounter danger. They won’t be there to spy on you.“I know you can fight, but what if a professional is hired next time? You’ll get hurt.” Zachary’s mind
“Seren, don’t put the pressure on yourself. We’re only taking preventive measures. Besides, people in our circle often go around with security detail. No one will be caught dead without one.” Serenity blamed herself. “I’m concerned that the Newmans will get back at me through my sister and Sonny.” However, she did not regret helping Camryn. Carrie went too far. “It won’t happen. Don’t worry. I’m here for you. Besides, your sister rented the shop from Duncan. Duncan is pretty responsible as a landlord. He won’t let his tenants get into that kind of situation. Heck, he owns the commercial space of half the street. He has never had a problem.” Duncan had been on the other side of the law before. Even though Duncan had turned away from the dark side, he was still on good terms with many people from his past. No one would stir trouble on his turf. Plus, Duncan was fond of Sonny. Duncan would not sit by and watch if anybody were to lay a finger on Sonny. “The only people with
Josh uttered with a smile, “You’re not the Zachary I know anymore. I can’t believe you said that to Mr. Moe.” “Seren was stopped in the middle of the road, and her car was trashed when she was on her way home.” Josh was intrigued. “Who’s the fool to block the missus’s car? I bet the person is in the hospital right now.” Zachary was caught between tears and laughter. “I’ll get someone on the case right now.” “It’s fine. I know who it is.” “Who?” Curious, Josh asked. He was nosy, and gossip was his game. His imagination wandered to great heights. “Was it your admirer?” Zachary replied, “Yours, actually.” He added peevishly. “It’s Ms. Carrie of the Newman family.” It did not take long for Josh to find out who Zachary was talking about. Josh uttered, “Ms. Carrie must have it in for the missus. Mr. Newman apologized not too long ago, and here his precious daughter was at it again. “Was she arrested?” “We called the cops on her. She’s been detained since we have evidence
Serenity had no idea that her man had everything sorted out while she was enjoying a good soak. She came out of the bathroom and found Zachary sitting on the bed. Drawing close, she wrapped her arms around the nape of his neck and pressed him onto the mattress. She was on top of him. “Honey, you’re killing me.” Zachary’s voice was raspy when he hinted at his beloved wife. With a smile, Serenity brushed her lips along his face and gave him butterfly kisses before rolling away from him. She gave him a kick. “Off to the showers, you go. You smell of cigarettes.” “I didn’t smoke.” “Well, someone did. You got the cigarette smell on your clothes.” Zachary took a whiff of his clothes. Nothing smelled like tobacco. Nevertheless, it must be true since his wife said so. He went to take a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes. By the time he came out, Serenity was snoozing away in dreamland. Zachary stared at her serene face, feeling envious of her sometimes. Serenity
Serenity and Zachary were an old married couple now. A while later, Serenity emerged from the bedroom and watched as Grandma May kept up the act of rummaging for her non-existence reading glasses. Serenity uttered, “Never mind if you can’t find them, Nana. I’ll go with you to get another pair of glasses later.” “Alright. I’ll stop looking then. I’m getting old. My memory isn’t as good anymore. I remember putting them here, but I can’t find them now. Maybe the glasses grew a pair of legs and ran off.” Serenity replied with a smile, “Maybe they grew a pair of wings and flew away like a butterfly.” Grandma May thought it was a shame. “Oh, I didn’t get to see them flying away like a butterfly.” Serenity was amused by the old lady’s antics. “When did you come home last night, Nana?” “I was back before you were. I went to bed early last night. I don’t know what time you guys came home last night.” Although Serenity was skeptical of Grandma May’s answer, she left the conversat
Sonny was pretty well-behaved, but he was less than three years old after all. He had a cheeky side to him. Hank took Sonny to a nearby park the other day, and the playful and active child ran everywhere. Sonny would wander off far away if Hank took his eyes off the boy for one second. It frightened Hank as he thought he had lost his child. Since then, Hank did not want to take his son out anymore. In fact, the first time they went to the park together was because Hank ran out of excuses not to go. Sonny sensibly asked, “Oh. Do you need to work?” Hank lied, “Yeah. I need to work and make money.” He still had no luck in the job department. Since it appeared Liberty was doing well with her business, it got Hank into thinking of setting up a business with Jessica after the wedding. They could be their own boss.Without needing to take orders from other people, they could work on their own schedule. Would Zachary come after him if Hank were to set up a business though?
Sonny might not understand that it was a business, but he knew that no one else but Aunt Ser and Uncle Zack were the only exceptions to the paying rule.Hank was dumbstruck for a moment before remarking, “I’m your father, Sonny. How can you compare me with Mr. Lewis? He’s an outsider. Besides, Mr. Lewis isn’t a good man. He’s scary.” Sharing the sentiment, Sonny bobbed his head and replied in his childish voice, “Dunc is scary, but he’s not a bad man!” Hank did not forget the time he told his son to kick a fuss every time Duncan came looking for Liberty. Refusing to dwell on the same topic, Hank took the hint and talked about breakfast again. His son was stubborn. The little man said that Mr. Lewis was scary, but he was not a bad man. Despite Hank’s efforts to change the boy’s mind, Sonny stuck to his guns about Mr. Lewis. “Alright. I’ll pay. Happy now? I feel like it’s all about money for you after the divorce.“You’re so petty. You hold every dime against me. We were once a
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
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w