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
“When’s Nana coming back? I miss her so much.”Serenity missed the days when the old woman lived with them.Mrs. Lane said, “It was too late by the time I wanted to remind you. You already pushed the door and went in.”Serenity sighed again. “I’ll go wash my hands.”She washed her hands twice with antibacterial soap and went back to the room where she used to sleep. She then took a set of clean clothes from the closet and changed before she re-entered the master bedroom.“Babe, I washed my hands twice with antibacterial soap and changed my clothes too. There won’t be a single cat fur on my body.”Serenity walked behind Zachary and reached out to encircle his waist.“I’m sorry, okay? I really just forgot that I was holding the cat. In fact, they’re really cute, and you were the one who gave them to me. I treasure everything that you give me. You said you’d treasure it even if I gave you grass, and it’s the same for me. I’ll treasure whatever you give me.”Zachary did not turn ar
“Putting aside all the things we have to do, even if we retire in the future, there’s no guarantee that we’ll wake up every day and see each other right when we open our eyes.”There would always be one of them who would wake up earlier than the other.Zachary knew that he was being absurd.“Mrs. Lane said that you haven’t eaten yet. You must be hungry. Come on, let’s go eat. I’ll accompany you.”Serenity refuted him until he was speechless, and she could tell that he realized he was being unreasonable. Thus, she stopped dwelling on the topic and took the initiative to change the subject.The couple would just end up arguing if they dwelled on it further.“Okay.”Zachary hummed and let go of his beloved wife.Serenity pulled him out.Mrs. Lane already served Zachary’s breakfast on the table.Zachary was fussy, but in front of Serenity, he would always have to bow his head and compromise.Mrs. Lane was not worried at all that the breakfast she made would be wasted.“Why didn
Serenity once again sighed at her fortune. Although the man she married liked to throw tantrums, he was very good to her. He never raised his hand against her, and she did not have to worry about him cheating on her.More importantly, his family was great. Having open-minded and tolerant in-laws like the Yorks was rare among wealthy and influential families.She remembered Grandma May saying that since Serenity saved her life, she would never introduce a bad grandson to Serenity.In fact, all of her grandsons were exceptional.Zachary was just the oldest and thought to be the most exceptional by his elders.“Mrs. Lewis already helped pick a wife candidate for Mr. Lewis. Her name is Ms. Lily Harmon. She’s young and beautiful, but she also seems to be smart and competent. I could tell at a glance that she was an experienced person. The self-confidence and nobility that emanates from her gestures show that she came from a wealthy background. Furthermore, she must be good if she could
“I think Mrs. Lewis showed your sister Ms. Harmon’s picture deliberately to test whether your sister has any ideas about Duncan. In the end, she found out that Liberty has absolutely no interest in her son and was purely focused on her store and making money.”Zachary’s analysis was more thorough than Serenity’s.“If Liberty showed the slightest hint that she was interested in Duncan, Mrs. Lewis would not allow her to continue operating her store.”Serenity agreed with her husband.Mrs. Lewis was testing Liberty, but Liberty did not know anything. However, that was good. At least Liberty would not be influenced.“Babe, do you think I should tell my sister about all this?”“Mrs. Lewis’s hands are tied, which means she’s on the same boat as we are. She only has speculations but no way to prove them. You don’t need to say anything to Liberty. I’ll talk to Duncan and tell him not to go to your sister’s store for breakfast so often in the future.”Zachary grumbled about Duncan in his
“If it’s something you like, I’ll do my best to satisfy you as long as it’s within the scope of what I can tolerate. Don’t thank me. I don’t like to hear you thank me. If you really want to thank me, give me something practical.”Serenity laughed. “You don’t lack anything, and I wholly belong to you. What else can I give you?”Zachary liked what she had just said very much.Ring, ring, ring…Serenity’s phone rang.When she took out her phone to look at the caller ID, she excitedly answered the call.Zachary tried to guess who the person calling was. Why was Serenity so eager to answer their call?Was she also this excited whenever he called her?Zachary tended to be jealous of her loved ones and compared himself to them. He hoped that in the end, she would consider him to be the most significant.“Nana.”Serenity did not know that the man beside her was being jealous because she answered the phone so quickly.The call was from Grandma May.When Zachary heard Serenity’s gree
Serenity chuckled along. “Nana, Zachary is very good to me.”Grandma May said the same thing her sister always nagged her about.The old woman laughed on the other side of the phone.Zachary asked, “When are you coming back?”“I’m still lying in the hospital now. I won’t be back soon.”Zachary and Serenity both asked with concern at the same time, “What happened?”Even after chatting for so long, Grandma May did not mention that she was in the hospital. She acted like everything was fine and talked with a smile, so the couple did not expect her to be hospitalized.“I went out alone and fell when I was startled by Mr. Queen’s car. I just bumped my hip bone a little. Mr. Queen sent me to the hospital and helped me to notify my family. The only family I have in Jensburg is Kevin.”Zachary was speechless. “Nana, can’t you use a different method?”His nana was not young anymore. If she was not careful enough, she might actually hurt herself from the fall.Grandma May appeared aggr
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