A few minutes later, Serenity mumbled to herself, “Do you think I want to go into your room? If one day you were to beg me, I wouldn’t set foot inside at all.” Having realized that she also had the habit of locking her bedroom door, Serenity stopped rambling. Ultimately, this was the aftereffect of marrying at first sight. After guzzling down the hangover cure Zachary made for her, Serenity returned to her room and turned in for the night. It was a quiet night throughout. The following day, Serenity woke up to the sun shining on her face. She felt around the nightstand for her phone and looked at the time. It was past seven o’clock. Even as an early riser, Serenity barely got up at this hour today. She was usually awake by six in the morning. This was the result of having one glass of wine last night. It was a good thing she did not wake up with a headache. She was hungry though. Serenity felt bad for her sister last night and that resulted in her not much eating at h
“I’m not saying that you can’t stand up for your sister, but there’s no turning back once your sister and your brother-in-law have a falling out. I definitely am on your side with you sorting it out with your brother-in-law.” Serenity grimly ate her mushroom and replied, “You have a point. I will control my temper and refrain from hitting anyone, but I’ll still leave him a warning. I don’t want the Browns to think they can pick on my sister just because she doesn’t have a family.” Seeing that she took his advice, Zachary left the conversation at that. After filling their bellies, they sat for a little while before heading out together. Knowing that Serenity was worried about her sister, Zachary took a detour to Liberty’s place so Serenity could check on her sister before dropping her off at the shop.Serenity was touched by his thoughtfulness. She had cautioned herself against hitting on Zachary last night, but his kindness led her to throw that decision out the window. J
“Mr. York, can you stop flaunting your relationship? I have no plans on getting married now.” Now that Zachary bade his single life goodbye, he should not drag Josh into a married life. For Zachary to persistently show off the perks of having a wife, he was trying to persuade Josh to ditch his wonderful singlehood too. “Huh? Why did you pick this outfit today?” Josh’s keen eyes picked up on Zachary not wearing his usual suit label. He asked out of curiosity, “Why the change of brands?” Zachary was a stubborn man. He would stick to the same brand for years once he had a penchant for a certain brand. He was not one to switch between labels. With Zachary’s taste, the price of the suits he wore were exorbitant. However, the one he had on today did not cost more than a few hundred bucks. This was so unlike Zachary. Following Zachary’s footsteps, Josh asked with concern, “Mr. York, is our company facing a financial crisis? Are you wearing clothes from the outlet store to save
Serenity nearly burst into an outrage when Chelsea said that in her face. Still, Serenity had class and did not slam the table in front of Chelsea. She unhurriedly went behind the cash register and sat down before looking Chelsea in the eye and bombarding her with questions, “Chelsea, you mentioned my sister hit my brother-in-law? Did you witness it? Did my sister start it? Did my brother-in-law fight back? How bad was he beaten? Was he hospitalized?” Chelsea replied shamelessly, “So what if Hank started it? Your sister ought to be taught a lesson, and Hank wanted to discipline her the other day. However, he didn’t want to make your sister look bad since you came over with your husband. We even talked him out of punishing your sister. “Any man would’ve slapped their wives for all the things your sister had done. Your sister deserved a beating for her mistakes. She had the audacity to hit Hank back until he was black and blue. He couldn’t bring himself to go home. “Serenity, you
Chelsea cut in while Serenity was still talking. “We should be responsible for the children we give birth to. The parents-in-law have no obligation to look after the grandkids.” “That’s right. Children should be their parents’ responsibility. Why don’t you care for your own children then, Chelsea?”Chelsea opened her mouth and retorted, “My parents are happy to take care of my children. You could tell your sister to ask your parents to care for hers too.” Serenity picked up the glass of water in front of Chelsea and splashed it on her face. “Ah! What the hell was that, Serenity!” “I was helping you to rinse your filthy mouth.” Serenity shot an indifferent glare at the mother and daughter. Livid, Chelsea wanted to put violence into action when Mrs. Brown held her back. Mrs. Brown said to her daughter, “Your sister-in-law’s parents are gone for over a decade. You can’t blame Serenity for being angry since you made a hurtful comment.” “But she shouldn’t have splashed me wit
“Of course, I have no problem if you want to be a slave to your husband, Chelsea. However, my sister is not one. Men and women are both equals in this day and age. There should be equality between spouses. No one is better than the other.“It’s your choice to be under your husband’s thumb, but don’t force your values on my sister.“Hank struck my sister first and bashed her real bad. My sister only retaliated to stay alive. She was acting out of self-defense. There’s no way my sister will apologize, much less with gifts! You should be talking sense into Hank and get him to apologize to my sister.” Serenity reflected indifference and assertiveness on her face without fear of offending Liberty’s in-laws. She added. “You can send my sister back if you think she spends money without earning it, but don't ever use force on her. You might care about your son and brother, so do I. I cherish my sister more than anything.“And one more thing. My sister spent over a thousand bucks on clothe
“I think, like us, you hope Liberty and Hank’s relationship will turn out fine. You know how couples are. They might have a tiny spat every now and then, but it will pass. Don’t fuss about it too much.” Serenity uttered coldly, “Did Hank break his legs or forget his way home? Why does my sister need to bring him home?” The Browns might come down hard on her sister if Liberty went to their residence to bring Hank home. Besides, it would show that Liberty was admitting her fault. Serenity would never allow her sister to admit anything she had not done wrong. Hank was free to return home as he pleased. He could stay at his parents’ place for all she cared. Her sister could enjoy some peace and quiet in the house. “Why are you being difficult?” Mrs. Brown told Serenity off. “Hank’s not giving a dime to your sister for the living expenses so long as he’s not living at his own home. Your sister can forget ever stepping in our house if she can support herself.” With that, Mrs. B
“I’ll have a talk with my sister. This can’t go on. She’ll only be treated like dirt.” Liberty would always be at a disadvantage without a source of income. “How about we ask your sister to work at our shop? I’ll pay your sister’s wages. You don’t have to fork out the money. Liberty would be able to take care of Sonny too. That’s an added bonus.” Jasmine had Liberty’s interest at heart. Serenity sighed. “My sister won’t come. She believes our business is not doing well because I run an online business for additional income.” As a matter of fact, the shop was making a bit of profit. However, Liberty refused to make money out of Serenity, and no amount of words could persuade Liberty otherwise. “Liberty used to work in finance. I’ll ask Shawn if Lowe Enterprise is hiring at the moment. It’d be great to get Liberty into my uncle’s company. Although the company can’t compare to York Corporation and Stone Group, it’s a big business. The employees’ perks and welfare aren’t to
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
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve