Serenity watched Duncan walk out of the ward.After that, she turned her eyes to her husband. Zachary looked very calm as though Duncan’s reaction was within his expectation.Zachary saw Duncan off.“Seren, your store must be busy. You should return to your store.”“Liberty, let me accompany you.”“I don’t need you to. I can walk around on my own. I’m fine. If it hadn’t been for the doctor who insisted on having me stay in the hospital, I would’ve wanted to be discharged right now.”She missed All You Can Eat.“Listen to the doctor.”Serenity said, “Stay in the hospital for a few more days. Once you’re discharged, you can’t return to the store and work straight away. You need to have a good rest at home.”“I’ve been lying on the hospital bed for nearly half a month. If I continue to do so after being discharged, my body will fall apart. Once I’m out, I’ll keep an eye on the breakfast place and help collect money without doing things on my own, okay? Don’t worry. It’s my body.
Serenity asked Zachary, “Callum took a day off, and Josh might not return to the office today.”Zachary laughed. “I can have the secretary postpone the meeting. Let’s go. I’ll send you to your store. As for your car, I’ll ask Harry to drive it there straight away.”Serenity did not turn him down.“I’ll pick you up in the evening. There’s a social gathering at night, and I’d like you to go with me.”“Okay.”Serenity readily agreed.Only after Zachary sent Serenity back to her bookstore did he rush to his office and start his busy day of work.Jasmine came to the store today.Serenity mocked her playfully. “Why don’t you stay at home and prepare for the wedding? Your other half is desperate. I thought you might not come to work today.”“There’s nothing much I need to do. Plus, it’s boring to stay at home, so I came.”Jasmine looked radiant. Serenity felt that her best friend had become much prettier.Serenity stretched out her hand and pinched Jasmine’s face while complimentin
Jasmine smiled. She called River by his name so that he would not feel awkward.Deep down, she thought that Serenity’s brothers-in-law had different temperaments. Despite that, all of them looked attractive and photogenic.They were even more handsome than the male lead in the novel she had been reading every day.“Nana, you brought a lot of things. What are they?” Serenity placed the bags on the counter and unpacked them.“Nothing much. There are plenty of supplements at home. I’ve had a lot of them, and I can’t take too many. I’m worried that overconsuming supplements may backfire, so I sent some over. Young people like you work every day and feel exhausted. You need to improve your health.”Nana added, “Also, there’s some seafood. Your mother-in-law asked me to bring it for you as she knows you love seafood most.”“Now, Zachary and I are staying in the hilltop villa. There’s nothing we’re short of.”However, Tania remembered her favorite food and sent over so much food. Ser
Deep down, River was hoping that Zack would not assign the most unmanageable company to him. York Corporation was huge and had many subsidiary companies. There were quite a lot of small companies under its subsidiary companies too. Some were not doing well, whereas some were about to close down.When Zachary’s younger brothers first entered the workforce, it was usually either Grandma May or Zachary who assigned tasks to them. Sometimes, Zachary’s brothers would directly join York Corporation and work at the grassroots.Sometimes, they would be trained by being sent to those companies that were not doing well or about to close down.These kinds of companies were the most challenging.If his brothers could revive a small company and expand its territory, it would mean that they were capable of doing business. After they passed the preliminary training, Zachary would get them to handle some great subsidiary companies.At last, he would arrange for his brothers to take over certa
After Grandma May explained, Serenity felt slightly better.Otherwise, Serenity would think that she did not fulfill her duty as Mrs. York.“Seren, Jas, you can carry on with your work. I’ll bring along River to hand out the invitation cards to a few families.”After sitting for a while, Grandma May rose to her feet and was about to leave.Serenity and Jasmine got up as well.“Nana, do you want to come over for lunch at noon?”“No. I’m treating Mr. Queen to a meal at noon. He’s now in our hotel, and I had Kevin keep him company,” said Grandma May as she looked at Serenity with a playful gaze.Serenity got the point and answered with a smile, “Alright. Do pay us a visit whenever you’re free, Nana. It’s best that you come over and stay with Zachary and I. It’s convenient.”When she uttered the word “convenient”, she shot a look at Old Mrs. York.Grandma May understood tacitly and replied, “After River’s birthday, I’ll move to your place. If Zack doesn’t agree, you need to speak
River heaved a sigh of relief.Thankfully, he was only twenty-three.Anyway, he had a few older brothers acting as his shield. One of them was twenty-six and still single. If Grandma May were to pressure someone into getting married, that said brother would be the one first.“Serenity, Ms. Sox, you don’t have to send me. I’ll bring Nana to visit the Stones.”River opened the car door. After Grandma May got into the car, he turned around and bade goodbye to Serenity and Jasmine.Serenity and Jasmine stood at the entrance of the bookstore and watched River and Grandma May leave.After River’s car was some distance away, Jasmine said, “River keeps such a low profile.”River’s car brand was ordinary. He bought the car for $101,000 to $102,000. Compared to the cars that Zachary and the rest had, River’s vehicle was just like a bicycle.Serenity responded, “River is about to start working, but he hasn’t proven himself. He can’t overindulge in his life, so he keeps a low profile. When
Serenity was amused by Jasmine’s statement.“You’ll actually feel jealous of your child.”Jasmine said in a self-righteous manner, “Josh is my man. How can I not feel jealous when other people grab his attention, even if they’re my children? My children will be pampered by their other halves in the future, so they can’t share Josh’s love with me.” “Perhaps Mr. Bucham is worried that he’ll be jealous of his children.”Serenity laughed and said, “My husband is definitely going to be jealous of my child. He’s an overbearing person. On the outside, he looks magnanimous, but he’s actually narrow-minded and overbearing.”“Seren, I feel that you’re now publicly displaying your affection with Zachary.”“I don’t have to publicly display our affection. You and Mr. Bucham are lovey-dovey. Jas, you’ll be staying at the store today, won’t you?”“Mhm.”Jasmine then asked, “Do you have anything to take care of? You can carry on with your work. I can watch over the store.”“I’ll head to Spri
Serenity called Callum. When Callum picked up the call, she said, “Callum, Camryn has changed her number. I went to her flower shop twice this morning but didn’t see her. Have you seen her?”Callum answered, “I’m waiting for her at Beans and Cream to send me flowers.”He had no idea what Camryn’s new number was as the shop assistant refused to tell him. He had no choice but to recall the number for Spring Blossoms. Then, he got the store manager of Beans and Cream to phone Spring Blossoms to have Camryn send the flowers over.He would only be able to see her by doing so.“Is Camryn going there alone?”“Another worker is sending her over by an electric scooter. Thank you, Serenity.” Although Serenity had not been able to see Camryn and speak up for Callum in front of her, she had visited Spring Blossoms twice in the morning. This touched Callum and made him feel that Serenity was concerned about his matter.“Don’t mention it. We’re family. When you see her, don’t frighten her ag
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