A lot of people were taking a stroll in the neighborhood. Most of them were parents bringing their children out for walks while others included young couples holding hands intimately.Despite seeing how affectionate other couples were, Serenity and Zachary just walked side by side, without taking the initiative to extend their hand to the other.However, many people turned to look at them because they were a good-looking couple.Finally, Serenity stopped by a children’s playground and said to the man beside her, “Let’s sit here to watch the kids play.”Serenity liked children.She loved her nephew, Sonny.Zachary did not speak and followed her silently to sit on a stone bench.“If Sonny was here, he’d definitely have a good time.”Zachary hummed in response.Serenity tilted her head to look at him. Zachary felt weird that she was looking at him like that, so he asked her defensively, “Why are you looking at me like this?”“You look exquisitely handsome, so I thought of soothi
Zachary was speechless again.He had no idea what he should talk with her about.The young couples around them were newlyweds and behaving intimately, interlocking their fingers as they walked together. The couples with children were focused on their kids, so they had more things to talk about; unlike them, who had neither feelings nor children.It was an onerous task for them to chat.Seeing that Zachary was at a loss for words again, Serenity smiled and stood up, before pulling him up too. “Let’s go back so you won’t feel uncomfortable, wondering if I’ll jump you at any moment.”“Serenity, you’re a girl!”“So what if I’m a girl? I’m just saying…”Serenity pulled him away, but she only pulled on his sleeve without touching his hand for fear he might wash his hands a hundred times when he got home.“Didn’t you see the trending story two days ago? It was about Ms. Stone and Mr. York. Ms. Stone really likes him, so she confessed to him and wooed him openly. Men will pursue the wo
“You’re a manager in the company, yet you barely have the chance to meet your boss. Your boss is truly… unattainable and mysterious,” Serenity said.There were no photos of Mr. York on the internet.Mr. York was followed around by a security squad. Last time at the dinner party, there were so many tall and brawny bodyguards surrounding him to the point where Serenity and Jasmine could not catch a glimpse of Mr. York’s face even when they tiptoed.Now knowing that Zachary who was a white-collar employee in York Corporation and yet he rarely saw Mr. York, Serenity felt much better about herself.Zachary did not carry on with the conversation.He did not care what others say about him and acted according to his own wishes.The couple chatted about Mr. York and returned to their block.Zachary’s bodyguards wandered nearby. Although they did not follow Zachary and Serenity closely, the guards were always watching the young couple and kept them within range of vision, wherever they we
Zachary finally felt the benefits of being married.He left for work with the insulated lunch box.While on the way to the office in the car, he savored the breakfast that his wife prepared for him with love.He ate it with much gusto and felt satisfied.The driver and the bodyguard who sat in the same car as Zachary were a little puzzled. The breakfast Serenity prepared was extremely simple, yet the picky Zachary relished it. Perhaps, Serenity’s cooking skills were excellent.After Zachary left, Serenity routinely called her sister and left the house knowing that her sister was fine.When she got out, it was already rush hour, so there was traffic congestion which eventually got heavier as she was halfway into her journey.Many who were rushing for work were feeling utterly anxious till they almost went berserk.Elisa Stone was one of them.While her brother and sister-in-law were behaving lovey-dovey during breakfast, Elisa quietly slipped out of the house and secretly packe
Serenity was unaffected by the traffic congestion as she rode her electric bike.It took more than ten minutes to arrive at York Corporation.She stopped the bike and turned to Elisa and said, “We’re here, Miss.”Elisa returned the helmet to Serenity and thanked her.“It’s just a small favor. No need to thank me.”Elisa looked at her and asked, “May I know what’s your name? You look really familiar for some reason. Have we met before?”“My last name is Hunt. I also quite like you, Miss. Unfortunately, we’ve never met before.”Beautiful women had always left an impression on her, but she had no recollection of this lady.“Your last name is Hunt? Oh, I remember now. There was news about an unfilial granddaughter that went viral before. The granddaughter’s last name was also Hunt, and there was a photo attached as well. I think you look a bit like one of the little girls in the photo. Was that you?”The “unfilial granddaughter” news had left a deep impression on Elisa, and she re
Elisa did not want to owe Serenity a favor, but also because she felt she could hit it off with Serenity. Thus, she gave the latter her business card.Serenity also saw the line of luxury cars and said understandingly, “You should get going, Ms. Stone. I wish you all the best.”“Thank you.”Elisa hugged the bouquet and carried the insulated lunch box. Instead of running toward the luxury cars, she went straight to the building’s entrance and stood in the middle of the gate.Serenity was dumbfounded.Ms. Stone was truly formidable.Zachary was late to arrive at the office. Although he left early today, he had to drop by the villa to get something. After leaving the villa, the car drove for a short while before getting stuck in a traffic jam. Regardless of the car one drove or the people in the car, it was equal in the eyes of a morning rush congestion; nobody could get away with it.The bodyguard sitting in the passenger seat happened to be Jim, who had brilliant eyesight. He saw
Elisa blocked the entrance to the building, so the driver had no choice but to stop the car.“Mr. Zachary, shall I go down and pull Ms. Stone away?” The driver turned his head and asked for Zachary’s instruction.After a moment of silence, Zachary wound down the car window.As soon as Elisa saw his window down, she was overjoyed and immediately bounced over, carrying the bouquet of flowers and an insulated lunch box.“Zachary.” She finally met the man she had been longing for. Although she often came here to profess her love, the truth was she had not seen him in person for a long time.She missed him so much!He still had the same cold look, but he was still the most handsome man in her mind.Her gaze trickled down to his tightly pursed lips, and she felt the urge to give him a kiss or two.She wondered how soft his lips would be.Elisa looked at Zachary like he was her prey and that made him frown.“Ms. Stone.”“Zachary, just call me Elisa.”Elisa smiled brightly and stuf
“I ate in the car.”Josh was speechless.“By the way, I saw something interesting earlier. Do you want to hear about it?”Zachary gave him a look and walked ahead. His handsome face remained expressionless, and his lips pursed into a line as he stayed silent.Josh hated that attitude, but he could not stop his chatty mouth from saying, “I arrived early and just so happened saw your missus send Ms. Stone here, so I stopped to figure out what was going on.“Before your car arrived at the company, your missus and Ms. Stone chatted rather amicably. Boss, your wife and admirer seem to like each other and are ready to be good friends. What do you think of it?”Zachary could not be bothered to even look at Josh, so he simply entered the elevator, leaving behind the chatty administrative executive.Josh did not get angry either and chuckled in his heart, ‘This will definitely be the drama-of-the-year.’He really wanted to know what Serenity Hunt would do if his boss’s identity was reve
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
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