“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
“See you.” Jasmine did not avert her eyes from the book she was reading the entire time. Serenity observed how intently she was reading and teased her, “Jas, you’ve probably read all the books lying around here enough times to recite them from memory. It’s a wonder to me that you’re still amused by the same books over and over. “Why don’t you learn to write a novel? With your years of experience as a bookworm, I guarantee your work will be a hit that’s going to fly off the shelves. I promise you I’ll place your books in the most prominent spot. “What do you say? Embark on your journey as a star author.” Jasmine smiled and dismissed the idea, “I just enjoy reading, writing is not for me. I’m so lazy that the only thing that would motivate me to move at all is good food, but you’re expecting me to write an entire novel? Besides, do you think writing a book is easy as you make it out to be? Just coming up with the plot alone is going to make you pull your hair out.” Serenity
Clive felt terrible seeing his wife in pain and had gone as far as to suggest an abortion to alleviate her pain. Jasmine had heard of husbands who doted on their wives, but this was the first time she had ever heard of a husband who suggested something as drastic as abortion as a solution. Elisa said, “Of course she’s not going to get an abortion! She thinks it’s a ridiculous suggestion, understandably so, but that doesn’t stop my brother from trying to persuade her to get an abortion. He keeps harping about ever since she got pregnant, she hardly had any appetite at all, and would regularly throw up anything she ate, even vomiting bile at one point.“She’s lost a lot of weight and it’s causing my brother a lot of stress. Right now, my parents are at home every day to help keep an eye on her because they’re worried that one of these days, my brother is going to force her to go to a hospital for an abortion.” That explained why Mrs. Stone had not been seen lately. Jasmine e
Back when Liberty and Hank got married and their place was getting renovated, Hank had no time to monitor the progress. Liberty was the one who paid for everything but had no time to oversee the progress either since she was busy with work, so the task was left to Serenity who had time to help keep an eye on things. She experienced firsthand what it was like renovating a new place and could naturally relate to how Remy felt. Still, she had a sense that the true reason Remy came so often was that he wanted to see Elisa. Elisa was a rather sharp-witted person as well but this was an occasion where her perceptions failed her—she did not realize Remy had his eyes on her at all. Perhaps she stopped caring so much about these things since she failed to win over Zachary. Elisa drove to the main entrance of the villa and remarked, “Good point, he mentioned something about buying this villa for his sweetheart and went on about how they would spend their married life here. “I don’t
“Mr. Johnson, why don’t you wait at the gazebo for now.” The servant led Remy to the gazebo and apologized profusely for the inconvenience caused. Remy was a very understanding man, “It's okay, why don’t you get back to your work.” He sat down at a stone-carved table under the gazebo and placed the snacks he brought for Elisa on the table. He did not inquire what was going on inside the house. Ever since he bought the villa next to the Stones, it gave him an excuse to regularly come over and pay a visit to the Stones. At this point, most of the housemaids in the family recognized and treated him very politely. They would respectfully invite him into the house every time he came around. This time was the sole outlier where they did not invite him into the house immediately. He figured some sort of emergency must have happened and decided to not be too probing, especially since he was an outsider. If they would not tell him, he would not ask either. After all, he
How nice it would be if childbirth was simple and effortless. He would like for him and Alice to raise their child without Alice having to go through such a harrowing experience. If a man could get pregnant, he would be more than willing to bear the pain of pregnancy rather than let Alice suffer. A housemaid went up to Elisa and whispered something in her ear. Elisa told the servant something in a hushed voice and sent the maid away. After that, she turned to Alice and told her, “Alice, please don’t hold it against my brother. He’s a little out of it right now, you can see how even my mom is telling him off.” Alice could not deny that she was rather upset. She has been married to Clive for years now and the only reason they had pushed off having a child was that Clive was very possessive and wanted her all to himself. To appease him, she had been on the pill the entire time to avoid a pregnancy. It was to the point where rumors were beginning to surface that she was
“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.