Meanwhile, when Serenity saw the entertainment news article, she was silent for a long time before saying to her friend, “Now that my status is different, every little thing can make it to the entertainment section of the news.”It was her first time making the news after becoming the missus of the York family.Jasmine was used to seeing gossip like that and laughed. “Your husband is the biggest name in Wiltspoon’s business world. You barely interact with your mother-in-law, and you’ve recently attended various parties with your aunt, so it’s natural they started to misunderstand.“A lady called your mother-in-law before to say that you were meddlesome, and she told your mother-in-law to discipline you. You heard about that, right? Those people just wanted to see your mother-in-law treating you badly because they were jealous you were able to marry into a top-class family like the Yorks.“I heard from Josh that Grandma May and your mother-in-law have the most say in the York family
Serenity’s phone rang. It was a call from Zachary.She looked at the screen and laughed. “Speak of the devil.”Jasmine said, “Be happy about it. Mr. York is so busy, but he still calls you every once in a while. It’s clear that he really dotes on you. Of course, my Josh isn’t bad to me either. Oh, he’s not mine yet. He hasn’t proposed to me yet.”Serenity answered the call.“Honey, I’m on my way. I’ll reach in ten minutes.”“You’re coming here?”Serenity was a little surprised because she did not know why Zachary was suddenly coming over. However, she soon figured it out. He said that he would accompany her to get the results of the DNA test.She looked at the clock. It was half past two. He should be at work at this time.He pushed away a lot of his work to accompany her. In his heart, anything that was related to her was his number one priority.The taste of being pampered so much was sweeter than sugar.“I’ll just get the results by myself. You’re busy at work.”Zachary s
Ten minutes later, Serenity heard the sound of a car honking and spoke to her friend before taking her phone that was left on the table. She went around the counter and left.After a few steps, she turned back and picked up her bag. “I forgot to take the bag that Zachary gave me. He’ll pull a long face if I don’t go out with it.”Jasmine laughed. “What a blissful worry.”Serenity held the branded bag Zachary gave her and walked out of the bookstore. The two bodyguards saw that it was Zachary who came to pick her up and very sensibly did not follow her again.Zachary got out of the car, holding a bouquet in one hand and opening the car door for her with the other. He passed the bouquet to Serenity when she approached.“This is for you, honey.”“Thanks, babe.”Serenity took the bouquet, smiled and kissed Zachary’s face, and got into the car.Zachary touched the place she kissed with a smile in his eyes, then followed her into the car.“Honey, I brought you some pastries for afte
“What does it say?”Zachary had not seen the results yet. He watched her actions but could not see a smile on her face, so he assumed his father-in-law really was not the biological son of Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt.“The results say that my granddad and I are related by blood. My dad is their biological child.”“They’re actually related by blood? With how badly they treat you, I always thought you weren’t biologically related.”Serenity looked at her husband and seemed amused. “You sound like you were hoping my dad wasn’t their biological child.”Zachary said sheepishly, “They’re so ruthless that I thought your dad wasn’t their own. How can they do this when he’s their actual son? It’s heartbreaking.”“My sister and I had our hearts broken by them long ago. We’ll never reconcile in our lifetime.”Serenity put the results away. She had not received a reply from her sister yet, so she guessed that Liberty should be sleeping.The business at All You Can Eat was booming, and Liberty wa
Serenity said, “Because I was the one who told him to pluck your hair.”“You told him to do it? Are you mad? Why do you want to pluck my hair? How could that runt obey your orders? Serenity, did you give Noah a lot of benefits?”She gave his youngest grandson benefits but not to her own grandfather. Sure enough, there was no point in raising a girl. She did not know how to take care of her grandfather after getting rich.“I heard you spread rumors saying my dad wasn’t your biological child. My dad died more than ten years ago, so he can’t refute the accusations. As his daughter, I have to refute it for him.“According to inheritance law, Grandmom and you can inherit a part of Dad’s assets. The results will be the same whether we go to court or negotiate. You wouldn’t have gotten into this situation if you weren’t this greedy.”Serenity took out the DNA test result. “I told Noah to pluck your hair to do a DNA test. Dad can’t get a DNA test done with you, but it’ll be the same if I
Mike persuaded his granddad to come to an agreement with Serenity and Liberty regarding the house.“Okay,” Serenity agreed.If negotiation was on the table, she wanted it. She did not want to waste time on a lawsuit.An hour later, Zachary arranged a private room in Wiltspoon Hotel for the Hunt family to talk.Liberty brought Sonny with her.Old Mr. Hunt called John back too. He was fighting for Scott’s house because he wanted John to inherit it. John had always been his favorite grandson, so he liked to discuss everything with John.After hearing that Serenity used their youngest cousin to get a DNA test done with Old Mr. Hunt in advance, John was cognizant that continuing their actions would only paint them as clowns.There was a mishap with Harriet’s cosmetic surgery too. She was supposed to change her face to Serenity’s, but she came out looking like their other cousin instead...It would be hard to carry out the plan of Harriet replacing Serenity as the missus of the York
The Hunt family was speechless.They exchanged glances, and then Mike said, “Serenity, discuss it with your sister and name a price. Just sell the house to us.”“If we offer to sell it, will it be you or our grandparents paying?”Mike said, “Our grandparents are the ones staying in the house, so of course they’ll be the ones paying. However, they don’t have much savings after Grandmom got sick. All of us pitched in to pay for her medical fees. They may not be able to fork out a large amount of money at once.“You can let them sign an IOU. They’ll pay you as much money as they can now. If it’s not enough...”“Can they owe you the money?”Serenity could not help but ask, “They’re old and don’t have a source of income. How are they going to buy a house?”Mike was silent.Old Mr. Hunt heard his grandchildren’s conversation and said to his two sons angrily, “You brothers help me pay for the house. Scott’s share can be considered paid for since your mom and I are staying in the house
“A few thousand per square foot.”Serenity looked at her two uncles and two cousins and asked them, “Do you have any objections? If you don’t, then we’ll go with Granddad’s idea. I’ll get someone to help me write the contract, then we’ll notarize the agreement. Granddad and Grandmom will have no share in the property my parents left behind in the future.“They don’t need to move out, but you have to pay for the rent and utilities every month. We won’t take advantage of you, but don’t even consider taking advantage of us either.”Zachary leaned into Serenity’s ear and whispered, “Transfer the ownership first. Although the name on the title deed is your dad’s, your grandparents are still around. Your sister and you will only be able to inherit it completely if they sign to give up their share of the inheritance.”If the title deed was transferred to the sisters’ names, there would be no need to wrangle with those people in the future.Serenity nodded.The Hunt family had no objecti
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
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve