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
“Liberty, you’ve done this before. Do you have any advice on how to stop her vomiting?” Now that he learned the risks of abortion, he relented from putting Alice through it. Liberty answered, “I can’t stop her symptoms, but I suggest if things don’t get any better, you can go to the doctor for more advice. When I was pregnant with Sonny, I didn’t vomit that much.” During her pregnancy, she had also heard tales of other mothers experiencing terrible and severe symptoms. She was glad that her pregnancy was a relatively easy and stable one. In severe cases, some people did not stop vomiting until the child was born. “We went to a doctor, but it’s not helping,” Clive said irritably. “Then she just has to tough it out and things will get better eventually. All I can tell you is that you should stop telling her to get an abortion. That’s only going to make her feel stressed which doesn’t help. Ideally, you should keep her in a relaxed state through the pregnancy both mental
Serenity said, “Aunt Audrey, Liberty wants to go to the car dealership to buy a car, and I have to go back to the bookshop later. Are you and Elisa free to accompany Liberty to look at cars? I don’t think it is safe to roam the streets every day riding her e-bike with Sonny. That’s why I suggested she buy a car. Zachary said he would give her one, but she didn’t want it.”“I am capable of buying a car myself. I don’t need Zachary to give me one. I know Zachary is my brother-in-law, but I can’t take his things just like that and be a freeloader. I don’t want people to say that our family wants to take advantage of your in-laws.”They were poor, unlike the rich Yorks. However, Liberty does not intend to be a burden to her sister.She did not want any benefits from the Yorks.Touched, Serenity said, “Liberty, Zachary wouldn’t think badly of it, and neither would my in-laws.”Serenity knew her sister would always be considerate toward her.“I know Zachary and the in-laws won’t think
All members of the Stone family including Mrs. Stone hoped that Elisa would pick a talented young man from Wiltspoon. It would be convenient for them to meet up frequently if she married someone from the same city.On top of that, they would know right away if Elisa got treated poorly at her in-laws' house. If she married and relocated far away, no one would know how Elisa was doing.Although the Johnsons were well-cultured and of influential standing like the Yorks, both Mr. and Mrs. Stone were still reluctant for Elisa to be married so far away.As Remy had not confessed his love to Elisa, it would be hard for them to discuss this topic with Remy.Zachary saw Remy sitting under the gazebo as he got out of his car.Remy stood up and greeted him with a smile.“Why are you sitting here alone, Mr. Johnson? Not going inside?”Zachary walked over casually upon seeing a familiar face who was also a major client of his company.“Seems like I came at an awkward time.” Remy replied wit
“It’s nearly time for lunch. I don’t suppose your kitchen is ready yet. Do you want to join us?” Remy was quite at home at the Stones’ residence since he had the pleasure of dining there a few times. He said, “My kitchen is still under renovation, so I don’t have any cooking facilities yet. There will be a lot of people dining in the hotel at this hour. I don’t think I can get a private dining room for myself. I’d love to have lunch at your place.” With a smile, Elisa welcomed him into the house. As for Zachary and his wife, Elisa needed not to attend to them. Standing next to Zachary, Serenity stared at the backs of Elisa and Remy before telling her man, “They look good together.” Zachary only had his eyes on Serenity. Following her comment, he took a quick glance at the pair and faintly uttered, “They do.” “It’s obvious that Mr. Johnson has the hots for Elisa, but he’s not being truthful to her about his feelings. Zachary—uh, I mean—Babe, can you try and put out feelers
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.
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