Duncan had always gone to All You Can Eat for breakfast before eight o’clock. If she avoided that timing, she could avoid meeting him. Liberty asked Serenity for help. After reading her sister’s message, Serenity sighed. Her sister was finally forced to run away. If not for Serenity marrying Zachary and living in Wiltspoon because the York family was here, Liberty might have really left Wiltspoon with Sonny secretly and distanced herself from Duncan as Mrs. Lewis wished. Even if Duncan could find Liberty no matter what it took, he would still require time to do so. Serenity replied to her sister that she would respect and aid in every decision she made. “Is it a message from your sister?”Zachary guessed it was his sister-in-law. Serenity replied in the affirmative. “What did she say? Your expression looks serious.”“My sister is moving now. She found a new house to rent in a hurry and would be relocating to East Hill neighborhood. It’s a high-end area with excell
Liberty thanked Zachary. Zachary said, “We’re family, Liberty. You don’t have to be so courteous.”He even feared that she would not accept his help. Luckily, she was rushing to move places and took up his offer. With her brother-in-law’s assistance, Liberty moved out of her apartment quickly while Zachary left work to accompany Duncan for drinks. Aside from Zachary and Serenity, no one knew Liberty’s new address. She did not inform Aunt Audrey either. Meanwhile, in a hotel’s private room, a table was filled with dishes Duncan ordered along with many bottles of strong liquor. At that moment, Zachary and Josh were by his side, watching him down one glass of alcohol after another. “Eat something, Duncan.”Zachary took some salad for him. Maybe he felt guilty toward his best friend because he had taken his sister-in-law’s side. He wished he could help Duncan, but his sister-in-law did not love Duncan at all. Moreover, Mrs. Lewis was stubborn in opposing the relationship.
Serenity did not say a word. Among the people around her, only Jasmine’s relationship was smooth sailing without a hitch. Josh and Jasmine tied the knot very quickly. Elisa’s love and her sister’s second chance at love had many obstacles. Serenity was considered lucky. Although she and Zachary had conflicts, silent treatments, and even almost got divorced, they understood, respected, and trusted each other in the end. They had been living a blissful life since then. Serenity cherished everything she had at the moment. Zachary regulated his emotions quickly. He said softly, “Sleep, honey. Don’t overthink. Let’s go with the flow.”Serenity hummed in agreement. They slept in each other’s embrace soundly throughout the night. Duncan woke up the next afternoon. He slept long enough that he did not have a bad headache but just hunger after waking up. When he realized it was already noon, he got up immediately and showered. After changing into clean clothes, he went downsta
It was not Mrs. Lewis who had rear-ended the car in front of hers, but Duncan who hit a lorry from behind. Although the vehicle behind Duncan slammed on the brakes, it still rear-ended Duncan’s car. Mrs. Lewis was not involved in the collision as she stepped on the brakes in time. After parking her car, Mrs. Lewis immediately unfastened her seat belt and opened the door to get out. Mr. Lewis had not registered what transpired. He had been trying to persuade his wife to stop chasing after their son. “Honey.”“Duncan’s car rear-ended another vehicle.”Mrs. Lewis dropped the bomb on her husband and ran forward. She passed the sedan in front of her. That car collided with Duncan’s car, and its bumper was damaged. The person in the car was motionless, probably due to shock. The condition of Duncan’s car was far worse. Almost the entire hood of his car was buried under the lorry due to the collision, and only the trunk was left visible from the outside. Duncan was hurt and unco
Duncan would go looking for Liberty every day at her apartment. Zachary calculated the time and thought Duncan would wake up at noon, look for Liberty, and realize she had moved. In the end, the news Zachary received was that Duncan had gotten into a car accident. “Where did the accident happen? Was he the one who crashed into someone or the other way round? How’s his condition?”When Zachary received Josh’s call, he was on his way to Wiltspoon School to have lunch with his beloved wife.Jasmine could not be at the bookstore that day. Josh was afraid that she was worn out because she had been operating the bookshop all evening yesterday. To be honest, she was not tired at all. However, since the doting husband insisted she was exhausted, then exhausted she was.He did not let Jasmine head out that day. Jasmine, who was already treated like a national treasure at the Buchams’ house, had no choice but to listen and stay home. She would occasionally be on video calls with her fri
After some hesitation, Zachary told Serenity the truth.“Seren, I’m not going over anymore. If the food has been delivered, you can dig in first. I… I’m at the hospital. Duncan met with an accident.”Upon hearing the news, Serenity’s expression changed. She quickly asked, “How did it happen? Did it occur when you two were together? Did you both drink and drive again?”Zachary explained, “No. We didn’t drink today. That was yesterday. All of us didn’t drive. I still don’t know what happened. I came to the hospital right after Josh informed me. Duncan’s still in the emergency room. They say his legs were injured the worst, and it’s uncertain whether they can be saved.”Toward the end, his tone turned heavy, and his speech slowed. He sounded sad. “I’m done with my work now. I’ll head to the hospital after closing the store.”Zachary did not stop his wife from coming over. He reminded her, “Drive slowly.”“I’ll have a bodyguard drive. Don’t worry. Mr. Lewis is a good person. He’ll
“I’ll bring him with me.”Liberty could not find anyone to babysit Sonny at that moment. Therefore, she was taking Sonny to the hospital with her. She hung up, carried her son, and started walking. As she walked, she told her son, “Sonny, we must go to the hospital now. Dunc got into an accident. We’re going to visit him.”“How’s Dunc? Nothing will happen to him, right?”Upon hearing that Duncan had gotten into a car accident, Sonny imagined lots and lots of blood. His small face turned pale instantly. Liberty’s bloody figure back when she was stabbed traumatized Sonny. He would feel dizzy when he saw lots of blood. “Dunc will be fine.”Liberty reassured her son and herself. Sonny hugged her neck tightly. He hoped Dunc would be okay and not bleed so much as Mom did. In the hospital, the number of people waiting outside the emergency room grew. When Serenity and Liberty arrived, Zachary’s bodyguards brought some food as instructed. He asked everyone to eat something fi
Mrs. Lewis’s body swayed. Two of her daughters-in-law quickly supported her. “Mom.”They exclaimed worriedly. “Duncan out of the woods is a good start. He’ll recover eventually.”Mrs. Lewis hit her chest out of remorse. She said guiltily, “It’s my fault. I caused his misfortune. Why wasn’t I the one who got into an accident? I’d rather it be me in the accident.”If Duncan became disabled…Mrs. Lewis did not dare to think about what would come after. “Mom, Duncan will get better. The doctor said he can recover.”Emmett consoled his mother. Mr. Lewis’s expression was grim. He told his sons and daughters-in-law, “Take your mother to rest. I’ll watch over Duncan.”“I’m not leaving. I won’t leave. I want to wait for Duncan to come out and take care of him.”Mrs. Lewis refused to leave. Her son’s operation had ended, but he was not out of the emergency room yet. She was worried. He had gotten into such an unfortunate accident because she had been extreme as a mother. How c
“Remy, Remy!” a voice called from outside. It sounded like Audrey. Remy came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron.“You keep at it, I’ll go out. My mom must have seen the lights and knew you were back, so she’s calling you over for dinner at our house.”At this time, her family was probably halfway through their meal.Elisa put down the remote control and walked out of the house with a packet of snacks in hand, munching as she went.“Mom.” Elisa walked to the fence and responded to her mother.“Elisa? You’re back too? You came back and didn’t even come home for dinner? We’re eating right now. Hurry up and bring Remy over. Grandpa True was just saying that Remy hasn’t come over for dinner in a few days.”Remy had been busy entertaining clients lately, so he had not had time to join his in-laws for meals.Elisa replied, “Mom, I feel like eating Remy’s cooking tonight, so we won’t be coming over. You guys go ahead.”“Oh, you. It’s so late already, and you’re still making Remy c
Elisa said, “Although cousins can be as close as siblings, it’s still better to have another child. After all, we won’t be living at your family home permanently, and our children might not have much time to bond with their cousins in the future.“I have two older brothers, and the three of us have always been close. My brothers have always doted on me, and I can always talk about things with them. My sister-in-law has been very kind to me even after they got married too.“I’m used to having siblings around. It’s lively, and no matter what happens, we can always talk things through. It’s nice not having to face everything alone. I don’t want my children to feel lonely in the future.”Elisa continued, “Most importantly, I love children. If you could be the one to carry and give birth, sparing me the exhaustion of pregnancy, I’d even consider having three kids. But unfortunately, you can’t.“If I have to carry the baby myself, even though I love children, I’d only have two—preferably
Jasmine smiled. “I can’t tell. He’s so tiny. I’m scared when I have to carry him. I’m afraid of hurting him. What if he slips from my arms?”As a first-time mother, Jasmine was inexperienced. She was not like Serenity, who had raised a baby before. Josh and Zachary had secretly taken classes on how to look after a baby. The way Josh held the baby was more accurate than hers. “You’ll get better at it after learning slowly. I didn’t dare to carry my nephew either because I was scared of hurting him, but I’m an expert now.”Elisa could not resist touching the baby’s face again. She really liked babies.“Has the baby been fed?”Camila replied, “He was fed an hour ago.”The baby had been ravenous. Everyone was relieved when they saw the baby could feed normally. The doctor said the baby might experience jaundice a few days later and that premature babies should be monitored closely. Jaundice usually appeared when the baby was a few days old. It would reach its peak after
Remy gave it some thought. If he were to become a father, he would also be extremely happy, to the point that he would forget about posting on social media.They were usually busy people and did not have the habit of posting regularly anyway. Josh only started sharing a lot on Facebook after he got married. He simply wanted to show off his life after marriage and irritate his friends who were still single. Even Zachary would post about his love life on Facebook occasionally. Remy suddenly felt he had to keep up with the trend and post something on Facebook during his free time. Remy and Elisa went to buy some supplements before heading to the hospital. There were still many people in Jasmine’s ward. Most of the men were sitting in the small living area while the women were chatting with Jasmine or looking at the baby in the room. The baby boy was already fed and in fresh diapers. He was sleeping soundly. “Jasmine.”Elisa walked over with the supplements she had brought.
The secretary wished she could skip work and visit Jasmine at the hospital with Elisa. However, that could never happen. She was simply an employee, while Elisa was her boss. The only alternative was if Elisa invited her along. Nevertheless, the employees could meet Jasmine during their break or visit her at her house. Elisa left excitedly. A Maybach was parked at the entrance of the company. When Remy spotted Elisa exiting, he stuck his head out and waved at her. Upon seeing him, she was no longer in a hurry to get to her car. She quickly walked over. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you go inside?”Elisa was beaming. As she had received good news, she had a smiling face regardless of who she met.“I just arrived. I didn’t drive inside when I saw you coming out. Where are you going?”Remy got out of the car.“Jasmine gave birth. I want to go to the hospital to visit her and her baby. You came at the right time. We can head over together, but let’s get some supplemen
“Yes. Health is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. With the York family’s wealth and numbers, they won’t have to worry about not having a successor even if your child is slightly more ordinary.”Of course, Elisa personally hoped the next successor of the York family would be her nephew.The Stones and the Yorks could be considered relatives because Elisa and Serenity were cousins.The successor of the Stone family was most likely Clive’s son. If the York family’s heir was not Serenity’s child, would the two families’ relationship that was finally mended become strained again?After all, the head of the York family would no longer be a relative of the Stones if that were the case. However, Elisa did not voice her thoughts. She did not want Serenity to feel pressured. As an aunt, she also thought her nephew’s health was more important than anything else.“You must be busy, Elisa. You should go on with your work. I shall not disturb you. I appreciate your
“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