“Mom, Sonny has a toy, and he’s not letting me play with it. I want a toy, Mom! I want Sonny’s toy!” Lucas took quick paces to his mother and tugged on Chelsea’s clothes, demanding Sonny’s toy. Chelsea always thought the world of her children while other people’s children could suck it. Putting her hand out at Sonny, she said, “Sonny, hand over your toy.” “This is mine!” Sonny latched onto the Lego box like glue. Chelsea went ahead to pull the toy off of Sonny when Liberty grabbed a kitchen utensil and slapped it on Chelsea’s wrist. The pain caused Chelsea to recoil her arm. “What are you doing, Liberty?” Liberty put on a sour face. “I should be asking you that. That is Sonny’s toy. He can decide whether he wants to share it with Lucas. Why are you taking the toy from a child?” Chelsea was lost for words. With a scowl, Mr. Brown gave his daughter a dressing down. Once Chelsea pulled her son to a corner, Mr. Brown apologetically said, “Liberty, it’s fine if Sonny doesn
Serenity took a ride in her man’s Roll Royce to the shop. She had just collected the craft goods from the crafters she hired. After examining the quality, Serenity complimented her employees on a good job and paid them based on the agreed rate. “Serenity, it’s good money since we’re only working on crafts when we take a break from caring for the kids. Our families are pretty supportive. You know what? My mother-in-law stopped giving me an attitude.” “Me too. My mother-in-law is now looking after my child for me. I was shocked that she was happy to do it for me. Serenity, you can accept more orders. We are more than able to finish the task.” They ventured into the world of crafting together. Although there had not been a lot of contact among the ladies, they had always kept in touch. The ladies were well aware of Serenity’s position in society now too. Of course, they were envious. However, Serenity gave them a job and paid every time they handed in the crafts. It was a lucr
Sure, Jessica’s mother only lost a chunk of hair, but it was enough to scare the hell out of Jessica. It would not take much for these people to come after her family’s lives. Although Jessica was not on good terms with her family due to the bridal gift, this was her family. She could not allow anything to happen to her family just to save an outsider like Sonny. Today looked most promising to carry out the plan. Serenity asked, “Is your mom going?” “Yeah. Mom’s going. Are you going, Aunt Ser?” After much thought, Serenity replied, “What time are you leaving? I’ll see if I can make the time.” “Mom said we can leave in about half an hour. Aunt Ser, please go with us. I want to see the tigers in the zoo.” Sonny had been wanting to go to the zoo since the last time. However, it did not happen because the boy later chose to go out with his aunt. The zoo was still a magical place for the boy. Now that he had the chance today, he really, really wanted to go. “Alright then
Elisa looked at Liberty. Once she was sure that the Browns were here to go on a family trip with Liberty and Sonny, Elisa’s straight face softened into a smile. The smile was for Sonny, not for the Brown family. The sight of the Browns made Elisa sick to her stomach. “Since you want to go to the zoo, I’ll go with you, Sonny.” Elisa readily said yes to her nephew’s invitation. It had not registered in Sonny’s head that his parents were divorced. Liberty had a heart of gold. She never spoke ill about Hank in Sonny’s presence despite her grievance with her in-laws. No matter what, Sonny and Hank were father and son. It would not do Sonny any good to hate his father. On the contrary, it would impede Sonny’s mental growth. Half an hour later, Serenity, Liberty, and Sonny took a ride in Elisa’s car as they set out for the zoo. Serenity’s two bodyguards took another car and tagged behind. The Browns were split into two cars, and they drove behind the bodyguards. Jessica na
Serenity had to chase after the little guy. It was crowded in the zoo, and children like Sonny were everywhere. Not in the mood to appreciate the scenery, Serenity was exhausted just running after Sonny. Sonny had been watching the shop with his mother day in and day out, and his mother would take him home for a rest after work. Liberty did not have time to take him out to play. Now that he was at the zoo, Sonny unleashed the unruly nature of children. It was a good thing Serenity had the habit of working out. At least, she could keep up with the child’s activeness. Since Liberty had been jogging to lose weight, her stamina was at an optimum level. Only, Ms. Stone rarely engaged in such an activity. The long walk hurt her feet. As for the Browns, God knew where they were. Sonny had a great time at the playground, going several rounds at the age-appropriate facilities until he was sweating all over. His aunt then picked him up to see the animals. The zoo was a huge place
The man murmured a quick apology before slipping a note into Jessica’s hand.Jessica clutched onto the note, not having the nerve to open it in public. She looked around and saw the sign for the nearest toilet. Following the signpost, she went into the ladies’ room and opened the note for a look. The note wrote, “We will cause a distraction during an aquarium show and take the child amid the chaos. Your task is to lure them to the aquarium.” Jessica shredded the note and flushed the pieces down the toilet. She thought those people would not carry on with the mission since a large group of the family came along. Plus, Serenity brought two bodyguards to the trip. It never occurred to Jessica that they had no intentions of giving up. They planned to strike during a show at the aquarium. Would they succeed? Jessica was not with the Brown family now, much less Serenity and her sister. Coming out of the ladies’ room, Jessica gave Hank a call. She told Hank to send his loca
Liberty clung tightly to her son. Jessica knew the plan would fail when Liberty held Sonny, and the York family’s bodyguards escorted the group out of the aquarium. “Lucas! Lucas!” Chelsea’s shrieks snapped Jessica out of her thoughts. A big man grabbed Lucas and made a run for it. Jessica was dumbfounded. Did they grab the wrong child? “Honey! Hank! Go after them! That person took Lucas!” With no time to watch the fight, Chelsea tried to pursue the man who took Lucas while calling her husband and brother for help. Realizing that Lucas was kidnapped, the Browns tried to go in pursuit, but they could not get past the crowd. “A kidnapper! My child was kidnapped! It’s that tall man there. That’s him! He took my child!” Chelsea went pale in panic. Unable to elbow her way through the crowd, she cried out loud. Hearing a kidnapping was taking place, all the parents, who were here for the show with their kids, stuck with their children and ran out of the aquarium. It o
Liberty would have lost her son to the kidnapper if she had loosened her grip even by a tiny bit. Now that they were inside Elisa’s car, Liberty continued to clutch onto her son. Color drained from her face. The lingering fear had not left Serenity. Elisa called her brother and the moment her brother picked up, she said, “Clive, send all our bodyguards to fetch us from Wiltspoon Zoo. There’s a kidnapper on the loose. Sonny was nearly taken.“I don’t think I can drive now. What if someone stops the car and kidnaps Sonny?” This was Elisa’s first encounter with such a chaotic and dangerous situation. Sure, she was cocky and acted as if nothing scared her, but her legs went weak when Sonny was almost taken. It would be hard to catch up to the kidnapper amid the chaos if Sonny was really taken… The thought of it drained the color from her complexion. Her limbs were still shaking as she could not settle down. She was not in a position to drive right now. The last thing she wan
“A baby’s face changes almost every day. We’ll only know who he takes after when he’s a little older.”Serenity agreed. “I should call Elisa and share this news with her.”Jasmine probably did not have time to tell her friends about her newborn. Serenity also forgot to inform Elisa because she was too worried about Jasmine. Zachary told her to call Elisa only after they were inside the car. There were too many people in the hospital. Serenity held back her excitement and immediately called Elisa when she got in the car. Elisa was extremely busy at the company. She was the only one who could manage their joint company at that moment because Serenity and Jasmine were pregnant. Even if they wanted to return to the company to work, Elisa would not allow them. Rest was of utmost importance for pregnant women. Elisa was unmarried and not pregnant. She did not mind being busier. She only picked up Serenity’s call after some time.“Seren.”Elisa held the phone in her left h
“All that matters is that you’re okay, honey. Let’s not have more children. We’ll just have this one son.”Josh spoke while holding Jasmine’s hand.Women had to experience immense pain when giving birth. It came with many risks as well. Josh had heard other people saying that a woman usually had one foot in the grave during childbirth.He was genuinely shocked after accompanying Jasmine through her labor. He had been terrified and worried that something would happen to Jasmine.Luckily, everything ended well. Jasmine and their son were safe. However, Josh did not want to experience something like that again. Having one child was enough. There was no need for a second or third child. The Buchams were a big family anyway. He did not have to bear the responsibility of expanding the family alone.“Okay. We shall not have another baby.”Although Jasmine was brimming with motherly love and recovery from a vaginal delivery was quicker, she still thought childbirth was too
It was not just Camila. The rest of the people there also had the same thought. Josh and Jasmine had a great relationship. If something happened to Jasmine, Josh would be devastated and lose all hope of living.“Congratulations. The mother has given birth to a boy safely. The baby boy is six pounds and three ounces.”The people who brought Josh out were the anesthetist and nurse.The nurse instinctively reported the good news when she saw the crowd.Then, she explained, “The father probably fainted from shock after the baby was born. Come over and help bring him to the side to rest. The mother won’t be out that quickly.”Upon hearing her words, everyone’s mood brightened up.Camila, whose legs felt weak just now, was immediately filled with strength and stood up. Without Drake's help, she went to the nurse and asked, “Does the baby need to be in the incubator since he was born prematurely?”The nurse replied, “We’ll put the baby in the incubator and observe him for a while. If
Zachary was also worried that Serenity would go into premature labor out of shock. He also persuaded her to go for her checkup in a gentle voice. They could not do anything but wait anyway.Serenity finally decided to conduct her prenatal checkup first. Zachary accompanied her. Just moments after they left, the door to the delivery suite opened. A nurse stood there and shouted, “Is Jasmine Sox’s husband here?”“Yes. I’m her husband,” replied Josh quickly. He dashed to the nurse. “You must save Jas, doctor. Save the mother no matter what.”His family members behind him also echoed, “That’s right. No matter what happens, you have to save Jasmine.”The nurse said, “The mother is fine. It’s just that she wants her husband to accompany her as she’s in a lot of pain.”Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.Josh was about to rush inside but was stopped by the nurse.She asked him to change his clothes before taking him inside the delivery suite.Jasmine was wailing in pain. When
With advanced medical technology, a premature baby could still be healthy if taken good care of in the incubator. Serenity said, “Jasmine should be at thirty-five weeks. I just don’t understand why she would suddenly go into labor. Did she fall at home?“Or did she eat something that made her go into labor?”Zachary said, “That’s most likely not the case. Josh’s cousin is Jasmine’s dietician and keeps an eye on her food every day. There’s no way Jasmine would’ve eaten something bad unless she ate it secretly.”Serenity and Zachary suddenly went silent. Pregnant women had weird appetites. Once they had a craving, they could not go unsatisfied. Sometimes, they would even crave fruits that were not in season. Serenity herself was one of them. Once, she woke up in the middle of the night craving mac and cheese. Of course, Zachary, the ever-doting husband, had to satisfy her request. However, where could he find mac and cheese at that hour?Ultimately, he had to drive to the
People would reap what they had sown. They would have to bear the consequences of their actions. Sometimes, interfering in another person’s fate would backfire. After chatting for some time, Serenity said, “I have to go for my checkup now, Liberty. Let’s talk again when you’re free another day.“By the way, I’ll get someone to bring Sonny to you this weekend. He misses you.”“Okay,” said Liberty. After the call ended, Serenity put her phone into her bag and stood up. She told the man behind the office desk, “It’s almost time, babe. Let’s go.”“Okay. I’m almost done.”Zachary quickly signed and stamped a document before closing it. He walked over with the document in hand. Serenity and Zachary left the office together. He handed the document to his secretary. The secretary did not expect him to pass the document to him personally. He had thought of entering Zachary’s office to request it later. The secretary watched Zachary and Serenity leave. He could not believe
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.