Josh was a little dumbfounded when he saw this.Was Zachary merely acting all this while when he showed off about his wife?However, Grandma May no longer cared about the company affairs and rarely went to the office, so there was no need for Zachary to act in front of Josh.Josh was confused.Forget it. That was Zachary’s private affairs, so Zachary could manage it himself. They were just Zachary’s friends and would just wait to watch the drama unfold with some popcorn in hand.If there was no drama to watch, Josh would just go home and sleep.Two hours later, Serenity looked at the time and saw that it was already three o’clock in the afternoon. She said to her friend, “Jas, let’s go back. I have to go to my sister’s house.”“Alright.”Jasmine also looked at the time and did not object to Serenity wanting to go home. “Let’s drop by the supermarket later to buy some fruit and toys for your sister and Sonny. I want to visit your sister’s house with you. I don’t want to go home
Jasmine asked in surprise, “Really? Brynfield is a high-end neighborhood, but I didn’t expect someone who drives a Rolls-Royce would live there. If they’re so rich, why not live in a villa?”“Mr. York said that perhaps some rich kid went to a nearby school, so the parents bought an apartment for the kid in Brynfield. That way, it’s more convenient for the kid to travel to school. That family might have countless villas.”Jasmine smiled. “True. Let’s go to the supermarket. By the way, didn’t Grandma May say that she’s coming over?”“Not anymore.”“Why now?”“The owner of the house disagreed.”Jasmine was speechless.The owner of the house was Zachary, Grandma May’s grandson. Grandma May wanted to come over for the weekend, but her grandson did not allow it. What an unfilial child!The two got into Jasmine’s car and left Beans and Cream.Shortly after, Jasmine parked the car in a large shopping mall.After strolling around the mall, the two of them came out with many bags of go
Jasmine and Serenity went to Liberty’s apartment.Serenity got out of Jasmine’s car. Her face stiffened when she saw a familiar car parked there.“What’s wrong?”“That car belongs to Liberty’s sister-in-law. She must’ve come to trouble my sister again. Liberty’s sister-in-law is definitely one of the worst people I know. She’s comparable to the relatives from my hometown.”Jasmine said, “Let’s hurry up, then. If she bullies Liberty, we’ll kick her out together!”Serenity had already grabbed her things to head inside.Jasmine quickly followed.The Browns visited again. As usual, it was just Chelsea and Mrs. Brown.They came to persuade Liberty to take Hank back from their house.Hank went to live at his parents’ house but ate his meals at his sister’s house because his parents took care of Chelsea’s children and cooked at her place.Fortunately, both his parents’ and sister’s houses were close by. They were in the same neighborhood but opposite blocks.Chelsea watched as her
Instead of answering whether he missed his father, Sonny only said, “Daddy work!”Liberty and Serenity raised Sonny, and Sonny only got to see his father on weekends. When Sonny woke up, his father had already gone to work, and when Sonny fell asleep at night, his father had not come home.Thus, Sonny did not have much of a bond with his father.Even when Hank was at home, Hank would not play with Sonny and rather play with his phone.“Liberty, look! Sonny grew distant from his dad after being apart for a few days. That’s not good for his growth. A boy can’t grow up without fatherly love. There are many things that fathers need to teach their sons.”Mrs. Brown initially thought that her grandson would say that he missed his father, so she could use it as an excuse to make Liberty compromise for Sonny’s sake. However, to her surprise, Sonny did not miss Hank.Fortunately, Mrs. Brown was quick-witted and made up a conversation, picking up from where her grandson left off.Liberty
Serenity put the bags on the coffee table before hugging Sonny and asking him gently, “Sonny, are you eating porridge?”Sonny nodded. “Yes.”“Are you full?”Sonny rubbed his belly, thought about it, and shook his head. He felt that he had not had enough and was still a little hungry.Serenity smiled. She sat down in front of the sofa and took the half-eaten bowl of porridge from her sister and said, “I’ll feed Sonny, okay?”“Okay.”Jasmine greeted Liberty and put the things she was carrying on the coffee table too. She also nodded to the Browns in greeting.Liberty only turned around to talk to her in-laws after Serenity took over the task of feeding Sonny. “I won’t pick up Hank. He can come back whenever he wants. If he doesn’t want to, you two will just need to take care of him.”Hank even asked Liberty to refund his share of the food expenses. What else could she say when they have already come to this point?Liberty knew she was also at fault.Her mistake was trusting Han
Hearing Liberty’s rebuttal, Mrs. Brown opened her mouth to say something but could not speak.After all, Mrs. Brown was the one who suggested that her son split the household expenses with her daughter-in-law. She knew that even without splitting it, her daughter-in-law had no control over her son’s money.“Mom, let’s go.”Chelsea was displeased with Liberty’s attitude and refused to let her mother waste another breath. She dragged her mother away and glanced at the things Serenity and Jasmine bought for Liberty on the way out.As they arrived downstairs, Chelsea said to her mother, “Mom, you mentioned Serenity’s husband works in a large company, right? Does he have a high income? Since Serenity married him, her every visit came with lots of gifts. I glanced at the bags and saw all those fruits she bought were very expensive.“They’re all imported and pricey fruits like durians and cherries. A durian costs at least two hundred dollars and a pound of cherries cost tens of dollars.”
Mrs. Brown said, “I’m a little worried about how much Hank listens to Jessica. That girl knows how to play hard-to-get and still hasn’t given herself to Hank. The more Hank waits, the more he wants her. She’s making Hank go head over heels for her.“If they get married and Hank lets her take charge of his bank account, our life will be tougher.”Chelsea thought about the monthly allowance her brother gave her parents and how it was used on her own family. She benefited a lot from that and did not want this benefit to be taken away by her new and soon-to-be sister-in-law. Thus, she said, “Forget it, then. That’s Hank and Liberty’s business. Let them deal with it.”“As long as Hank can keep his affair hidden from Liberty, I won’t interfere with it. Men aren’t reliable. They’ll fool around if they are rich and capable.”Mrs. Brown felt that her son was capable enough to attract a young and beautiful girl even when he was a father.Anyway, her son would not be at a loss no matter what
Serenity agreed. “I’m only reminding you. Don’t worry too much about finding a job.”Jasmine chimed in, “Look slowly and find a job that suits you. If you really can’t find one, why don’t you help me and Serenity out at the store? I’ll pay you well. Or… would you like to start your own business, Liberty?”Liberty watched her son play. She sounded helpless as she said, “I don’t have that much capital to start my own business, and I don’t know what kind of business I should take up. It’s hard to do business in brick-and-mortar stores now.”Serenity’s bookstore was right in front of Wiltspoon School, so their business was steady. If it was in a different location, it might not have survived.The small shops at the entrance of Wiltspoon School had a high rental, so not everyone could afford them. It took some connections to rent a shop there. Serenity only managed to rent that place only because Jasmine’s family helped out.“Liberty, why don’t I teach you to make some handicrafts? You
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