[There are perks to being single. Cheer up.]Josh comforted his friend.When there was no woman he liked, Duncan also thought that it was good to be single.Now that there was someone he liked, he wanted to be like Josh. He wanted to end his status as a bachelor soon.In the future, he wanted someone to care for him and give him warmth when he came home after work.Liberty would definitely be a good wife!Hank did not know how to cherish her, but if Duncan got together with Liberty, he would certainly treasure her.“Who’s sending you messages, Duncan? Is it Zachary? Duncan, Zachary still feels a sense of novelty with Serenity, so he’ll side with his wife and sister-in-law. You should keep your distance from him until you marry Lily.”Mrs. Lewis was confident that Zachary would stand on his sister-in-law’s side.Josh’s fiancée was Serenity’s best friend. The Sox family was not bad; they were locals of Wiltspoon and owned several buildings and streets of stores for rent. Jasmine
Ring, ring, ring…Duncan’s phone rang. It was Zachary who called. Duncan immediately answered it. “Josh is inviting us to dinner tonight.” Duncan beat Zachary to it as he assumed Zachary was going to ask if he was free. The three of them were the closest of friends. Since Josh was no longer a bachelor and invited them to dinner, Duncan would go even if he was busy. “I know, he sent me a message long ago.” Zachary held his phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He called Duncan while he was drinking coffee. “My wife saw through you.” “Saw through me?” Duncan did not get it at first. He soon understood and responded, “She saw through me? That’s good. I was wondering how I can say it.” Initially, Duncan wanted to act on his feelings after realizing them. It was Zachary who persuaded him to hold back. Zachary told Duncan that it was inappropriate to tell Liberty about his feelings at the moment because she was injured and still weak. He asked Dunca
Zachary went back to work. His wife would pick him up from the office in the afternoon, and they would go and celebrate Josh and Jasmine’s marriage together. Zachary could dive right back into his work, but Duncan could not focus on his. Duncan’s mom asked him right after Zachary ended the call, “Duncan, what did Zachary tell you?” “Mom, do I need to tell you the content of my calls? You didn’t even take me seriously when I was a child. Now that I’m in my thirties, you’re here to control me. Don’t you think it’s too late?” Mrs. Lewis choked. “Mom, you’ve finished what you wanted to say. I have to get back to work.” Duncan wanted his mom to leave. Mrs. Lewis said after a moment of silence, “Since Josh is treating you to dinner tonight, take Lily with you and let her slowly integrate into your circle of friends.” “No!” Duncan directly refused. Mrs. Lewis asked, “Do you hate Lily that much? What about her that is inferior to Liberty? She’s better than Liberty—be it h
If Old Mrs. Lewis were alive, she would not stop Duncan from pursuing Liberty. In Duncan’s words, his granny only wanted him to be happy. If he truly loved Liberty, his granny would definitely support him to pursue Liberty. “Ms. Harmon, you don’t have fantasies about me still, do you?” Lily responded, There’s no such thing. I now know what kind of person you are, Duncan. Since you don’t love me, why should I harbor fantasies about you? You’re not the only outstanding man in this world. “Why should I cling to you when you don’t belong to me? Wouldn’t it be good for me to find someone else? I can also find more than one man. “Alright, then I’ll stop acting too. I’ll have dinner with Mrs. Lewis later and make things clear, then I’ll move out of your house and live in Wiltspoon Hotel. We might not end up as a couple, but we can still be friends.” Lily was well-intentioned. Even so, Duncan was also reasonable. It would be better for Lily to make things clear to Mrs. Lewis an
“Thanks for your concern, Mr. Charles. My sister is doing much better now and is recovering quite well,” Serenity replied. “That’s good, that’s good.” Mr. Charles ate some of the vegetables in his bowl again. “Serenity, I’ll tell you something. Can you give me some advice and tell me if it’s reliable or not? I told Mrs. Charles, and she scolded me.” Serenity chuckled and said, “Mr. Charles, go ahead. What is it? I’ll listen to it and give you some advice.” “You know I can tell fortunes, right? But I didn’t learn it from a teacher and somehow learned from others to get into it. I also read some books and figured it out myself.” Mr. Charles stopped eating and said softly, “But I think I can now set up a fortune-telling stall by the road or in the park. I’ll just do it during my free time so I can get some extra money for my family, though I still have to tend to our grocery store. “It’s just that as our children and elders grow older, middle-aged people like us are under mo
Serenity visited her sister in the hospital first. When she arrived at the hospital, Liberty and Sonny had finished their dinner. “Aunt Ser.” Sonny was delighted to see Serenity. He ran to her asking her to carry him. Serenity picked him up and saw her sister getting ready to wash the insulated lunch boxes. She quickly said, “Liberty, I’ll wash them.” “You don’t need to. I’m also bored now, so I’m just looking for things to do.” Otherwise, Liberty would have let Mrs. Lane wash the lunch boxes long ago. “You closed the bookstore pretty early today.” Serenity stood at the bathroom door with her nephew in her arms. While watching her sister wash the lunch boxes with hot water, she responded, “Jasmine is treating us to dinner. Sonny, you’re full from dinner already. I was going to take you to dinner.” Liberty chuckled and said, “I’m being raised like a pig now. I eat, sleep, and repeat every day. Moreover, the food brought by Sam every day is delicious. If I keep going at t
Everyone imagined Zachary coming to work with a baby in his arms. They could not help but shiver and did not dare imagine it! The senior managers who were talking to Serenity said with a smile, “Mrs. York, Mr. York is here. We’ll be leaving first.” They did not want to be third wheels. Serenity grinned and nodded. After the senior managers left, she walked over to the man and the kid with a smile. “Zachary, you have to hold him tight.” Some people did not hold their children tight when lifting or spinning them, causing them to fall on the ground. The consequences would be serious. Zachary stopped lifting and spinning Sonny in the air. He lowered Sonny and carried him instead as he responded with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll hold him tight. I won’t let him fall no matter what.“Sonny, am I good?” Sonny answered, “Uncle Zak, you’re good—very good.” The little guy thought, ‘As long as you stop calling me a third wheel, you’ll be even better.’ Sonny finished talking and
“It’s still early, but we have to get ready nonetheless.” Zachary added, “You don’t need to worry about it and just need to work with the designer. The designer will create a wedding dress that suits your figure and temperament. You’ll definitely be the most beautiful bride when you put it on.” Serenity smiled and said, “I think I’ll still be your most beautiful bride even if I don’t wear a bespoke wedding dress.” She was confident about her appearance. Zachary grinned as well. “Yes, you’ve always been my prettiest bride. I just want to give you the best.” He also wanted to prepare his wedding gifts for her. His properties and what would be given by his family would be used as the bridewealth. Zachary and Serenity left the office building and walked together to Zachary’s Rolls-Royce. “You don’t need to follow us anymore,” Zachary said to the bodyguards. The bodyguards responded to him with respect. Only after Zachary started the car and drove out of York Corporation
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