Zachary answered in a mild manner, “I’m a nocturnal person. I’m not usually home at this hour.” He adjusted his schedule and was in the same time zone as the majority of people in the city after he got married. “Sit,” Julian said to Zachary. “This calls for some liquor. I brought out my good alcohol.” There was a bottle of liquor and two glasses on the coffee table. Judging by the alcohol in the glasses, the cousins had been drinking. Zachary rejected. “Thank you, but my wife doesn’t like me drinking. She’s not keen on the alcohol stench. I rarely drink when I go socializing now.” Julian was dumbstruck at first, but he soon burst into laughter. “Josh said the power of love has changed you. Now I believe him. You have changed a lot, Mr. York.” Zachary was not one to say no to alcohol during business engagements. He took a glance at Josh, smiled, and replied, “Josh doesn’t drink much now either. He stopped smoking too.” Josh jumped in. “Jasmine hates the smell of tobac
Zachary read the documents three times before quietly putting the papers in order and slipping them back into the file. He then handed the file to Julian and thanked him. “It never occurred to me that they would use the Yates girl,” Zachary callously remarked. “Liberty brought it up to me because she thought it was strange. That got me thinking. It was strange indeed. She never wanted Hank to see Sonny before, but now she visits with Hank and tries to be friendly with Sonny.” They had a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Newman and his wife were in on it. They also suspected that it must be someone Zachary had offended. To everybody’s surprise, Jessica was the pawn in this game. Since the Browns were related by blood to Sonny, the family’s attempt to be nice to Sonny did not raise any suspicion. “They’re not trying to get even with you, Mr. York. It’s your wife they are after, but you had her surrounded by security. Your wife can fight too. They wouldn’t try anything in broad dayli
“How about six months?” “Oh, I’ll take it!” Julian said with a smile, “Why don’t you take maternity leave too? Mr. York, just leave him. Give him the two-month marital leave and not a day more. Let me know if he doesn’t come back to work when the two months are up. I’ll tie him up and deliver him to you.” “Hey, I’m your family, you know.” “I don’t even care if it’s my brother. Besides, you’re only my cousin.” Josh remarked, “I can’t depend on you for anything…” He was joking, of course. The two-month marital leave was more than enough. Since Jasmine, Serenity, and Elisa were working together on a project right now, Jasmine was focused on making it work and turning a profit. Julian finished the liquor and said, “It’s late, Mr. York. You should go back and rest.” Zachary stood up and expressed his gratitude to Julian once more before Josh saw him out. Several minutes later, Zachary’s fleet of vehicles left the Buchams’ residence. It was getting deeper into the nig
“Sure.” One to satisfy her sister’s palates, Liberty made pasta with bacon bits. Liberty added basil to her sister’s plate, but she had none of that. “The food is ready.” Liberty called her sister over to grab her plate. Serenity put a pause on work and went to wash her hands before taking her portion. The sister sat down at the table. As usual, Serenity pulled out her phone and scrolled the news while eating. “No phone during mealtimes. Put away your phone.” Liberty had rules during mealtimes. “I was just looking.” Although Serenity said so, she slipped the phone back into her pocket. “I don’t want to see you on your phone while at the dining table anymore.” “Got it.” Serenity could never defy her sister. Besides, screens during mealtimes were a bad habit. “Are you really not coming with me to the event tonight, Liberty?” “Nope.” “I think you should broaden your horizons, Liberty.” Liberty took her time with the pasta. Since the food was fresh out of th
Duncan and Serenity did not have a lot in common to talk about. With Serenity here, Duncan could not have a private moment with Liberty. After Liberty made him his order, customers started coming into the diner. Nevertheless, the menu items ordered were already made in advance, so the workers could serve the customers without needing the boss to be in the kitchen. Liberty went back to her spot and continued her breakfast. “Duncan.” The voice made Duncan lose his appetite. Liberty and Serenity turned their heads and watched a beautiful woman walk through the opened glass door. Serenity did not recognize Lily, but Liberty had seen a picture of Lily before. Liberty thought Lily looked better in person than in the picture. Lily made a good match with Duncan. “Ms. Harmon, would you like something to eat?” Liberty put down her utensils and got up to serve the customer. Lily moved her gaze from Duncan to Liberty. She had observed Liberty a few times in the dark, and this w
Lily was not at all offended. She and Duncan had long known each other, but there was barely any interaction between them. More accurately, they never really hung out together. It was not strange that Duncan had little knowledge of her past. “Here you go, Ms. Harmon.” Liberty made the food and brought over Lily’s order. She put it in front of Lily and said with a smile, “Enjoy, Ms. Harmon.” Lily gave Liberty a smile. Liberty returned to her seat. “How did you get to know her, Liberty?” Serenity whispered. “Mrs. Lewis came by the other day and had a chat with me. She told me she was trying to pair Ms. Harmon and Mr. Lewis up. She showed me Ms. Harmon’s picture, and that was how I recognized her.” Liberty kept her voice down when replying to her sister. She added. “Don’t you think they make a cute couple? It feels relaxing to be around her. She doesn’t have the arrogance of the upper crust.” Serenity looked into her sister’s eyes before burying her head in her food. S
While it was a cooking spree at Liberty’s diner, Zachary woke up back at home and as always before opening his eyes, he turned to his side and reached out to hold his wife. Alas, all he grabbed was air. Zachary opened his eyes. Serenity was no longer in the room. He looked at the sky outside. The sun was high. Turning over, Zachary grabbed his phone on the bedside table to look at the time. “Nine o’clock?!”He jolted up. Even during the weekend, Zachary had never gotten up this late. Maybe he came home a little too late last night. Zachary washed up and got dressed in record time. He even picked an outfit Serenity had bought for him. He opened the bedroom door to find Mrs. Lane watching TV on the sofa with a cat on her lap. With the door swinging open, Mrs. Lane cocked her head to look at him. She then rose to her feet and said with a smile, “You’re awake, Mr. Zachary. Should I get a start on breakfast?” “It’s after nine now.” Zachary mumbled as he walked out of
Serenity bent over to hold the cat up. “Missus, you might want to sweet-talk Mr. Zachary. He hasn’t eaten anything since he got up.” Mrs. Lane had no words for her boss’s sudden tantrum. She would not know Zachary had a childish side to him if she did not work here. While stroking the cat, Serenity remarked, “Mrs. Lane, you must let me know why he’s angry before I can calm him down. I didn’t do anything.” Mrs. Lane whispered, “I think Mr. Zachary is angry that you went out early in the morning. He must be hoping you would spend time with him since he’s home for the weekend.” Serenity replied, “I went to help my sister at her diner… Although it’s the weekend, many factories are not closed. The workers still went to work. My sister’s breakfast place was going to be packed, so I left early to help her. But I came home early. I’m back before ten o’clock.” It did not cross her mind that Zachary would sulk over a trivial matter.Mrs. Lane was at a loss for words. “I’ll go in
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