Duncan stared at Lily in silence. After some time, he said calmly, “This is your decision, Ms. Harmon. You can do as you wish, but I won’t reciprocate or accept your feelings just because of this.”He knew that Lily’s feelings for him had not extended to one of love. Therefore, she could remain alert and rational when facing his reply. She even accepted the fact that she lost to Liberty calmly. However, he still made things clear beforehand. No matter what Lily did, Duncan would never accept her. He did not have a big heart. It was only enough for one person. The woman who entered his heart first would be kept there forever. Duncan would feel happy if he could marry the person he loved. If he could not marry her, he would not forget her and store his feelings for her in the depths of his heart. Lily smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Duncan. I won’t expect you to repay me or accept my feelings for this. We’re all adults. We have to face the consequences of all the decisions we
‘How did Serenity conquer such a cold, arrogant man?’ Chelsea criticized inwardly. She would not be able to bear spending time with a man like that. He was too cold!She did not dare look at Zachary anymore. Instead, she smiled and said to Serenity, “Serenity, can I have a few words with you in private?”Serenity asked Chelsea, “What is it that you can’t say right now?”Chelsea took a quick glance at Zachary, then Serenity. Indeed, Serenity was more pleasing to the eye. Chelsea used to treat Serenity meanly and instigate her brother to quarrel with Liberty. It was an indirect way of forcing Serenity to move out. Firstly, it was because she wanted to make space for her children. She had planned to send her children to the middle school in the city. Secondly, Chelsea was jealous of Serenity’s youth and beauty. Liberty was beautiful before she married too. However, she did not bother maintaining it and bloated up like a ball. Her beauty before her marriage was gone. Serenity was
Chelsea did not know what was good about Jessica that bewitched her brother. His son almost got into an accident because of Jessica. His ex-wife was injured too. However, he was still partial to Jessica. Chelsea was greatly dissatisfied with her brother. She felt guilty too.It would have been nice if her brother and Liberty were not divorced. Chelsea made mistakes in the past and was trying to correct them for her brother and Liberty to remarry. “Just be straightforward, Chelsea. There’s no need to beat around the bush. I don’t like talking to people who go in circles, wanting me to guess their thoughts.”Serenity could more or less guess Chelsea’s intentions from her expression. The Browns simply wanted Hank and her sister to remarry. It was ridiculous. What did they take her sister for to be at their beck and call?The Browns would never have regretted it if Hank had not been in a dire situation.“Serenity, I like your frankness. I’ll be honest. Is Mr. Lewis pursui
“Hank’s still thinking of begging for mercy for Jessica’s sake, and his heart is on Jessica. He might’ve felt regret, but he would never mourn divorcing my sister. My sister doesn’t regret divorcing him too. Chelsea, I advise you not to look for my sister or me for this matter anymore.”After speaking, Serenity did not give Chelsea a chance to talk and left her behind. She walked toward Zachary, who was waiting for her at the door of the ward, without turning her head back. Zachary could not hear their conversation. When he saw his beloved wife’s dark expression, he knew that the chat did not go well. “Seren, should we make her leave?”“Not this time,” Serenity replied. Then, she told the bodyguards, “If the Browns come again in the future, chase them away. Don’t let them see my sister or Sonny before my sister recovers.”After recovering, Liberty would continue running All You Can Eat and be back in business. She would not be able to keep the Browns out. That family was shamele
Upon exiting the inpatient department and getting into Zachary’s car, Serenity took her phone and removed her granddad’s number from her list of blocked contacts. Next, she called him. She rarely got in touch with her extended family ever since she solved the problem of her old house. After experiencing Serenity’s ferocity first-hand, her extended family, who had always been aiming to gain benefits through her, ceased to take advantage of her anymore. They had numbers, but all the people around Serenity were wealthy and powerful—they stood no chance. Additionally, Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were hurt by their children’s and grandchildren’s attitudes toward their elderly care. They suddenly did not want to make a fuss anymore. In the past, Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt treated Serenity and Liberty heartlessly. They took so much of the sisters’ compensation and used it all to support their other children. It was so that their children would have money to start a family. Every family ended u
Serenity’s words pleased Old Mr. Hunt because she was willing to come to them for help when she had a problem. “My sister got into an accident and was injured.”“What accident? How’s her injury? How did she get hurt? Did it happen a week ago? Mike and John had asked whether you contacted me during those few days. They refused to say anything when I asked them what they wanted.”Old Mr. Hunt never paid attention to the internet, so he did not know Liberty was injured. The younger generation in the family knew, but no one told Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt. People of the town did not talk about it either. They thought things were awkward between the Hunt sisters and their grandparents. If Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were to know that Liberty was hurt, they probably would be delighted. Therefore, no one in the town informed him. “It happened a week ago. Liberty is recovering well, but her previous in-laws keep pestering her. They want her to remarry her ex-husband. However, my sister was hurt
After ending the call with her granddad, Serenity held the phone in her hand and said to Zachary, “I got external help to go against the Browns and return my sister peace according to your suggestion, but I don’t know how things will turn out.”“We’ll find out after some time. I think the effect will be great.”Zachary was confident in his idea. “Seren, you don’t have to be so worried. We should think now about what dress and jewelry you’ll wear tonight.”Serenity glanced at him. “You sound like you want to steal everyone’s attention away from Mr. Bucham.”Zachary said smugly, “I don’t even have to steal. I’m in the limelight in every venue I appear in, and I make Josh pale in comparison.”Serenity was speechless. He was confident that he could beat Josh, but she had no intentions of taking the spotlight away from her best friend. She smiled and said, “My dresses are the ones you or Aunt Audrey bought. I’ve only worn the dresses I purchased several times. Will I have the cha
Serenity had not been able to sleep well for several consecutive days after Liberty mentioned that to her. Every time she woke up with a start at midnight, she would surreptitiously grope her way to Liberty’s bed. She would stretch out her hand to check Liberty’s breathing. Not until she confirmed that Liberty was still alive would she feel at ease.Having lost both her parents at a young age, Serenity experienced the pain of losing her loved ones. Therefore, she feared losing her only sister.“Let’s go. I’m taking you upstairs to get changed.”The Yorks and the Buchams were on friendly terms. Now that Josh got engaged, Tania would certainly do the Buchams the honor of attending Josh’s engagement party. What was more, Tania’s relatives and the Buchams had close relationships. Tania’s relatives would also make an appearance tonight.Serenity rose to her feet gently and walked upstairs with Tania.Soon, Serenity had changed into a gown. She put on light makeup and a pair of high hee
“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.