Hank admitted that he was a bad man. He wanted to force Liberty to grow disconnected from society with no source of income and become a faded woman in her early thirties.Compared to many housewives who had suffered the same situation, Liberty was a very brave person. She decisively cut off her relationship with Hank.She never compromised just because of her child.Although divorce might be harmful to the child, it would be equally detrimental if they fought all day while remaining together and there would be no peace at home too. It was better to get divorced and raise her son alone. As long as she taught him attentively, she could raise him to be a confident person.Mrs. Lane took a plate of eggs and bacon and placed it in front of Hank.Hank was pulled back from his drifting thoughts. His life now with Jessica was also happy and sweet. Although there were some family conflicts, the husband and wife were still in the break-in period. He would live a better life than with Libe
When Serenity previously lived in his home, she handled all the household chores...“J-Jessica, I-I just came here to have breakfast.”Hank picked up the fallen fork and threw it into the trash can under the table.He stood up and explained to Jessica that he was just here for breakfast.Jessica looked at Sonny.Sonny looked back at her. His face took after Liberty, and his eyes were bright and clear. He was a lovely child.Jessica could not bring herself to continue looking at him.Hank quickly explained, “Liberty was very busy earlier, and there was no one to look after Sonny, so I let him sit next to me and looked after him while I ate. Sonny is still my son, after all.”He knew that Jessica greatly disliked it when his family brought Sonny up in conversations, and she hated it when he visited Sonny.Jessica took a few deep breaths and suppressed her anger. She did not like her husband and his family always coming to visit Sonny and talking about him at all. Her in-laws alw
Hank gave Jessica a sideways glance and joked, “Jessica, did the sun rise from the west today?“I went to Liberty’s diner early in the morning to have breakfast and accompany Sonny. When I saw you, I was afraid that you’d quarrel with me and embarrass me in front of Liberty. I didn’t expect that you’d be willing to let me bring Sonny home to stay for a few days.“You treated Lucas badly, so I thought you hated children.”Jessica hated Lucas since he broke her cosmetics. However, he was Chelsea’s son. As long as Chelsea and Hank did not break off their sibling relationship, they would still come over and meet up.Jessica hated the boy, but the only thing she could do when Lucas came over was to lock their bedroom so that Lucas could not get in.Lucas would make a mess of the place, and his grandparents would not care. They were happy to let the little brat do whatever he wanted.Jessica knew that Chelsea’s three children were raised by her parents-in-law. They treated their three
“It’s conducive to our family’s happiness. I’m not a petty person. When all’s said and done, you’re Sonny’s father and have to pay for his child support, so you have to maintain your bond with him. Otherwise, it’ll be a waste if he isn’t close to you despite him growing up with your money.“We’ve been together for so long, but I haven’t gotten pregnant yet. Maybe I’ll be able to conceive if you bring Sonny over. There are many people who remain childless after years of marriage, but after they adopt a child, they have one of their own after a year or two.”Hank was overjoyed to hear this and praised her. “Jessica, I was right about you. You’re a wise and sensible wife and mother.”“What woman doesn’t think about making a good life for herself when she marries her husband. I was forced to become a shrew because your family bullied me. Your sister, especially, is a troublemaker.“She stirred up your marriage with Liberty, and now she wants to stir us up too. Hank, I’m not trying to s
Jessica wisely dropped the topic.No matter how terrible Chelsea was, she was still Hank’s sister.Hank could not really cut ties with his sister.In any case, Jessica made her stand. Her purpose was to let Hank and her get closer to Sonny, and to break down Liberty’s defenses. As time passed, Liberty would not object if they wanted to take Sonny out to play.Then, she would be able to complete the task given to her by that unknown lady.She was not being ruthless. Her family’s lives were on the line. All she had to do was bring Sonny to a crowded place so that the other party had the opportunity to strike. Sonny would be fine as long as he behaved well.If anyone was to blame, it was Serenity.That person was targeting Sonny because Serenity offended her.The woman also said that she was just using Sonny as bait to lure Serenity out. The person she wanted to deal with was Serenity....Spring Blossoms always opened earlier than others. Camryn had already opened the store bef
Camryn maintained her smile and answered, “I also sell flowerpots, fertilizers for flowers, potting soil, and so on. What do you need, sir?”Callum pursed his lips. The woman in front of him spoke with a constant smile, but she gave off a wispy feeling. However, her words were sharp.“I’ll just take a look.”Callum walked past Camryn and entered the store to wander around.After making a round, he turned to find that Camryn was following him not far behind.Why was she following him when she was pretending to be blind? Was she revealing herself?“Sir?” Camryn called out to Callum when she did not hear his subtle footsteps anymore.Callum felt uncertain again when he saw her expression. Was she blind or just pretending to be blind?He decided to test her.After looking around the store, his gaze finally locked on a potted cactus. He took the pot and put it on the counter, asking, “I want this one. How much is it?”Camryn turned toward the direction of his voice and walked towa
Callum took out his phone but saw that there were no cashless payment options on the counter. He asked, “Your store doesn’t accept payments via e-wallets?”Camryn said honestly, “I can’t see, so I didn’t set up cashless payments. I don’t have an e-wallet account.”She took out her phone and showed it to Callum. It was an old-fashioned model that sported a keypad. She could only make phone calls and send messages with the phone.Camryn could not see, so she could only call others by pressing the keypad. She could not use a smartphone either.“I posted a sign at the door saying that the store only accepts cash. If you don’t have cash and if my two shop assistants are present, you can pay her via Apple Pay and she’ll pay me back in cash.”Callum hummed and took out a one hundred dollar bill from his wallet, handing it to Camryn.He did not tell her that it was a hundred-dollar bill.Then, he stared at her and watched as she touched the money. After feeling it several times, she wen
Zachary hummed in response. When he saw Callum holding a cactus, he asked, “Did you buy that?” “Yeah, I went to Spring Blossoms before work.”“Spring Blossoms?” Zachary found the name a little familiar. He seemed to have heard it from his beloved wife before.Callum did not hide it and said honestly, “It’s Ms. Camryn’s flower store. The name of the store is so unoriginal.”Zachary said faintly, “Flowers blossom during spring.”Callum choked.“Since you went all the way there, why didn’t you buy more potted plants?”Callum pouted and said, “I didn’t go there to buy flowers. I bought this cactus because I had no choice.”He could not just leave without buying anything when he caused her to prick her hand with the thorns.“Wouldn’t a ball cactus look nicer if you place it next to your desktop? Normal cacti have longer thorns. Be careful not to get pricked.”Zachary made a few passing remarks and entered the office building. He left his brother behind and went upstairs first.C
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