Hank yelled behind the door, “Shut up and go home, Chelsea! Don’t come here anymore. You’ll just cause trouble!”Liberty was even more ruthless when she fought against his domestic violence. She chased him down several blocks with a kitchen knife.Did Chelsea forget that?Chelsea, who was scolded by her brother, yelled back furiously, “Yes, I’m a troublemaker. I just don’t like that b*tch. My parents are here, so this is my home too. What has that got to do with her? I can come here whenever I want. It’s not like I’m eating out of her pocket or sleeping under her roof. If she’s capable, tell her to pay for her own house. I promise I won’t take a single step into her house!”She wanted to make Jessica’s life a living hell!Jessica lay on the ground and cried bitterly.Except for the time when she was caught red-handed by Liberty and beaten up, she had never been so pathetic before.She was physically and mentally hurt and felt extremely aggrieved.Hank looked at her crying and f
Liberty did not care that her ex-husband was not living a good life after their divorce.All that mattered was that she was happy.At four in the morning, she woke her son up and brought him to All You Can Eat.Another busy day began.Sonny was still small and fell asleep along the way.When they reached the store, Liberty put two chairs together to let her son sleep on them, and a few more chairs on his sides to prevent him from rolling over and falling to the ground.The two assistants she hired came to work at six in the morning.Usually, the breakfast rush hour would be from half-past six to half-past nine.Serenity would come to pick up her nephew at seven.Sonny would be awake by that time.The little man was such a good boy and did not cry after waking up. He sat by himself at the cashier, playing with the set of blocks that he had not assembled yet.“Liberty.”Serenity called out to her sister as she entered. She lent a hand when she saw it was a full house at the d
Sonny recalled Jessica’s and his mom’s explanation, but he still could not fully understand the meaning of his mom’s words. He tilted his head and asked, “Dunc, are you married?”“No, I don’t have a spouse, so I’m not married.”“Why don’t you have a spouse?”“Because I don’t have a woman I like.”Sonny blinked and asked curiously, “You don’t like my mom? Also, my Aunt Ser and Aunt Elisa are very nice. Don’t you like them too?”Duncan was speechless.He said in amusement, “Your Aunt Ser is very nice, but she already has your Uncle Zack. I can’t like your Aunt Ser. Your Aunt Elisa is also very good, but I don’t like her that way. She’s not my type.“As for your mom... I only think of her as my friend. I come over every day because I like you.”Sonny seemed to vaguely understand the part where Duncan said he liked him.He asked instinctively, “Do you want to marry me?”Duncan froze. “Sonny, we’re both boys, so we can’t get married. Although I don’t have a girlfriend yet, I’m a s
“You don’t need to care about Liberty, nor do you have to find her since it’ll make you appear as having no confidence. I’ll handle her. I’m Duncan’s mother. It’s normal that I can’t accept a divorcee as my daughter-in-law.”Mrs. Lewis was afraid that Lily would go looking for trouble with Liberty and anger Duncan, causing him to dislike her.She added, “From now on, just focus on pursuing Duncan. I'll take care of Liberty for you.“I’m Duncan’s mom. No matter what, Duncan won’t fight with me.”Lily said while driving, “Mrs. Lewis, are you going to look for Liberty now? I think Duncan just treats her son well. He didn’t seem to pay much attention to Liberty. Maybe we’re overthinking.“Maybe Duncan simply likes Liberty’s son? I also saw what the boy looked like. He looks smart and is utterly adorable. There’s also nothing strange about Liberty renting Duncan’s store to open a breakfast diner. As long as she pays the rent, she’s just a tenant.“Furthermore, Liberty is Mr. York’s si
Liberty answered sincerely, “It’s Mr. Lewis’s lot and he said that he was going to charge me a cheaper rate since I am Zachary’s sister-in-law. We settled on eight thousand a month for the rental and if you add the utilities and all that, then it comes down to just shy of ten thousand.” Mrs. Lewis was relieved to hear that her son had charged Liberty a proper rental—at least he was not giving the shop away as an act of charity. Considering Liberty’s relationship with Zachary, charging her eight thousand per month for rental was a reasonable and fair price. "That brat is taking your money? You’re Mr. York’s sister-in-law, he should have the decency to let you use the lot without charging you a rental,” Mrs. Lewis said this intentionally to elicit Liberty’s reaction. Liberty quickly explained, “At the end of the day, business is business and I don’t think personal relations should play a part in it. I would not dare use the shop lot if he was not going to charge me rent at al
“Mrs. Lewis.” After Liberty glanced at the picture, she handed it back to Mrs. Lewis. After taking the photo, Mrs. Lewis asked Liberty with a warm smile, “Liberty, what do you think of this girl?” She made a point of observing Liberty’s expression to see how she would respond. Liberty gave her opinion candidly, “She looks beautiful and inspires a lot of confidence. I’d say she’s a very capable and independent woman, very trustworthy.” Mrs. Lewis noted the calm demeanor in which Liberty answered and said, “You’re very good at reading people, aren’t you? I would agree that Lily here is an independent woman. After graduating from university, she joined her family’s company and started from the foundation, keeping her identity a secret the entire time. “She climbed the ranks and is now the vice president of the company. It was only after she had been promoted to the top rung of the company that people found out that she was the chairman’s daughter and the younger sister of t
After Mrs. Lewis said this, she asked Liberty, “Liberty, how often do you see Duncan? He’s good buddies with your brother-in-law so I figured you see him from time to time. If you have the chance, please help me persuade and convince him to see Lily, alright?” Liberty smiled and assured her, “Mrs. Lewis, I’d be glad to help you out. Mr. Lewis is a wonderful person and I do see him now and then, but I’m not sure if I could influence him that much. “He comes to my place for breakfast most mornings and likes to play with my son. Next time he comes over, I’ll try to put in a good word for Lily and sway him to see her more often. “But I just have to tell you that there’s no guarantee, especially since our relationship for the most part is just that of a shop owner and a tenant. If you as his mother could not do much to sway him, I don’t think my words would have a much greater effect either.” Mrs. Lewis considered this and said, “You make a good point. Still, if he shows up for b
Lily steered the wheel while remarking, “Which is why I said that the Hunt sisters have very good characters. Considering how Liberty’s marriage had just fallen through, I doubt she would be looking for a new relationship so soon. “The only thing she’s focused on now is starting her business and making money. Another marriage has probably never even crossed her mind yet.” People who had experienced a failed marriage tend to be more vigilant when it came to founding a new relationship with another. Since her mind was fixed on building a foundation for her business, romantic affairs should not concern her in the least. Mrs. Lewis stated, “If she dares to hatch any ideas about Duncan, I’ll be the one chasing her out of the shop lot first. Don’t even think about setting up her restaurant at our property. It doesn’t seem like she’s up to anything now but I still feel strangely suspicious about her, like something’s going to happen between her and Duncan later on.” “You can dea
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