Zachary picked up Laurence in his arms.Sonny ran over.“Uncle Zack.”Zachary smiled and carried Sonny too.Serenity stood up from the stone bench and looked in the direction of the voice. She saw her husband walking toward her with the kids in his arms.Why did he come here?He even knew Serenity was at FC Manor.Zachary walked over with the two children in his arms. He then bent down and put them down on the ground and told them, “Go enjoy yourself.”Sonny pulled Laurence and said, “Let’s go play, Laurence.”Laurence was a playful kid who loved playing the most.There were a few children at FC Manor. All of them except Laurence were still infants that could not speak or walk, which was not fun to play with as they could only cry.They got crazy together as Sonny seldom came to visit.Serenity and her husband looked at each other for a moment, and she asked him, “How did you know we were here?”Zachary reached out and lightly pinched her face, scolding her, “You didn't ev
A good husband knew his wife best.Every time she saw the children playing around, she would think about them not having babies yet.Serenity leaned her head on Zachary’s shoulder and responded with a grunt of agreement.The two children got tired of playing and ran over to them.Laurence ran too fast and tripped on a stone, falling down.Sonny hurried to help him up.Zachary and Serenity stood up quickly and walked over. Serenity was the one who picked him up as Sonny was still young and could not lift up the chubby Laurence.Laurence pouted his mouth and was on the verge of crying. He was held by Serenity, who asked him in a gentle and caring tone if he was hurt and where it hurt.Aunt Ser was so gentle, just like Mommy Jane, giving him a maternal feeling. Tears swirled in Laurence’s eyes, but he still shook his head and said he was not in pain.Serenity helped him pat off the dust on his clothes. She then took out a tissue and gently wiped away his tears after seeing them w
“Aunt Ser.”Sonny felt sour watching.He sensed that Aunt Ser was taken away by Laurence.Feeling a sharp pang of jealousy, Sonny could not help but also dive into Aunt Ser’s arms.Serenity smiled and hugged her nephew. She then let go of the two little ones and followed along, holding one in each hand saying, “We've played outside long enough, let’s go back inside.”Zachary held Sonny’s other hand.The couple and the two children were like a family of four.Back in the main house, Serenity told Jane that Laurence had taken a tumble.Jane hurriedly pulled her foster son over, intending to check him over in public. She remembered something and did not lift Laurence’s clothes. Instead, she held his shoulders and asked him with concern, “Did it hurt?”“It hurt, but it doesn’t hurt anymore after Aunt Ser hugged me.”The little one answered. After thinking about it, he added, “Aunt Ser has the same mommy scent as you, Mommy Jane. I really like Aunt Ser.”Jane laughed. “You like e
Ben greeted Zachary and his wife once more, before finally sitting down next to his beloved wife.They exchanged a few cold pleasantries until it was time for dinner.It was because of the arrival of an important guest, the Johnsons were dining in the main house. The dinner was lively and energetic.The two grannies were particularly happy. Perhaps it was because of their age, they both shared the same mindset of enjoying the scene of their children and grandchildren filling the house.Later that night, Serenity had just managed to get her nephew to sleep and was feeling drowsy herself.Hearing the sound of the door, she sat up and saw Zachary enter the room.“You are not asleep yet.”Gently, Zachary asked, “I was talking with Ben for quite a while, I thought you were asleep.”“I was putting Sonny to sleep, and I almost fell asleep too.”She then asked, “What are those patterns on Laurence’s back? They look like tattoos. Laurence had it done since he was younger, it must have h
Serenity decided and said, “Tomorrow. We will take Sonny back tomorrow. Children have short-term memory. Once the two of them are separated, sooner or later, Sonny will forget about the secret on Laurence’s back.”Zachary looked at her and said, “If I agree with that, then you will think I want you guys to leave. If I don’t, I’m afraid Sonny will ask Laurence or even lift his shirt to take a look. You know how strong the sense of curiosity little kids have.”“If I hadn’t accidentally found out about it, I would have wanted to stick to the original plan and go home as scheduled”.Serenity also did not expect that by lifting Laurence’s shirt, she could know the secret on his back. Without a doubt, the one who tattooed Laurence’s back was his own parents.Just like Zachary said, no one would willingly tattoo something on such a little kid unless it was absolutely necessary.“Don’t worry about it, just stay for another two days. The manor is a safe place.”Zachary comforted his wife
What was he doing at Queen Manor?Thinking about how much her parents liked Kevin, Hayden could not stay in bed any longer. She was afraid that if she did not go home, mealy-mouthed Kevin might charm her parents and make them happy enough to sell her off.Hayden knew her parents were now worried about her marriage.She had been living as a man for over twenty years and had long grown accustomed to the life of a man.Marrying a wife was impossible for her; she was a woman after all.Even if Hayden had a wife, she could not give her a real married life.She did not want to get married either. She was not used to being a woman and she had never worn a skirt her whole life.Moreover, she had never met a man who could make her heart skip a beat and make her take off her disguise.Her parents also thought she was so outstanding that men could rarely match her.They did not urge her although they were worried about her marriage.If it were not for Kevin coming into her life, she wou
With an irritated expression, Hayden said helplessly, “Mom, I only get to rest on weekends, and I want to sleep in until I wake up naturally. Besides, I usually only take one day off and go out to play, which is more tiring than working.“Moreover, Mr. York is also busy. How can I bother him all the time?”Donald took over the conversation and said, “It’s not that Kevin should take Hay out to play, it should be the other way round. This is Jensburg, Hay is more familiar with it than Kevin, no?”Hayden kept a straight face and did not say a word.Kevin laughed and said, “When there is a need, I’ll have to trouble Mr. Hayden to be my guide.”“Kevin, just tell Hay wherever you want to go. He may seem cold, but he knows everything about Jensburg, where the good places and the best food are in town.”“If that’s the case, Mrs. Queen, don’t mind if I do.”Sophia smilingly said, “Of course, go ahead. I like you the most.”Both of her children could not compare to Kevin’s eloquence. He
“I see.”Sophia laughed and said, “Kevin, don’t blame your parents. All parents are like this. I even urge Hay and her brother, but they don’t listen to me. Maybe it’s because we love to nag, and Hay rarely comes home.“As for Hugh, that boy has many female friends, but none of them are serious girlfriends. Sheesh, children really are a liability.”“Mom, didn’t you say we’d have breakfast together when I’m here? I came back on an empty stomach.”Hayden had to interrupt her mother again.“Yes, yes, let’s go have breakfast. You and Kevin had planned to go horseback riding, right? Kevin, there’s a hot spring near our ranch. In this kind of weather, you’ll be covered in sweat after horse riding. You can go get a good soak.”Hayden did not say a word.Her mom almost said it outright, “Kevin, Hay is actually a girl.”Kevin said with a smile, “Great! So there’s actually a hot spring near the ranch. I bet it’ll be comfortable taking a soak in the hot spring after our horse riding sessio
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
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