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
It had been one month since Zachary married Serenity and there were five months left before they would get a divorce and go their separate ways. They would have nothing to do with each other then.Josh and Duncan looked at each other.Duncan said, “I thought all the men in the York family can’t get a divorce?”“I’m an exception.” Zachary added coldly, “You know why I got married to Serenity. Even if I want a divorce, my nana can’t say anything about me, let alone other people. All of them know that I’ve suffered.”Yes, he had suffered.To repay the favor of saving his nana’s life, Zachary married Serenity, who was a complete stranger. After marriage, he was generous and tolerant of her, but what did she do?Serenity lied about going to her sister’s house when she was actually having lunch with Shawn.Zachary, who refused to admit that he was jealous, automatically ignored Jasmine’s presence. He also forgot that Jasmine and Shawn were cousins who were close to each other.Josh a
There was no reply from Zachary, so Serenity said to her sister, “Zachary’s probably having a good time with his friends. He didn’t reply to my message yet.”“You don’t have to come here tomorrow. Spend some quality time with Zachary.”Liberty had a failed marriage, so she hoped her sister’s marriage would be better and longer than her own.She approved of Zachary as her brother-in-law because he was genuinely kind to her sister and was more generous than Hank. Although Liberty had known Hank for a long time, Hank was reluctant to buy her a scooter even when he had ample savings.Serenity was the one who bought her the e-bike.“Alright,” Serenity said.“By the way, are the Hunts still looking for trouble with you?” Liberty asked about her money-hungry relatives. “I wonder what happened to them. Grandmom had probably undergone the surgery by now.” “They wanted to reconcile the last time they came over but didn’t return after that. They’re probably embarrassed. Besides, that tren
Zachary was seething.Serenity was rendered speechless.Did he think she wanted to find out?Serenity was only concerned because he was her husband on paper.She turned around and left.When Zachary saw that Serenity walked away from him without a tinge of care for him, he became more upset.“In the future, don’t open the door in your pajamas!”Serenity walked toward the kitchen.“I’m wearing underwear.”Now that she was living with Zachary, she only took off her underwear before turning in lest she encountered a similar situation and had to open the door for him again.“Mr. York, how I dress is none of your business. I remember the agreement you wrote stating that the two of us should not interfere in each other’s private affairs.”Zachary said nothing. His face was glum.The agreement Zachary drew up back then was completely in his favor. Every clause was restraining her, but why did Zachary feel that he was being restrained instead?Serenity went into the kitchen and po
Zachary grabbed Serenity’s hands and pinned them down next to her head. He swooped in for a kiss to seal her lips shut.The kiss was everything but gentle.He seemed to be venting his anger.Zachary forcibly bit Serenity.Serenity was agitated by his behavior and angrily bit his lips back until he was bleeding. Finally, Zachary let go of her when he felt the pain.While he was dumbstruck, Serenity quickly pushed him to the floor. She sprung up to retreat a few steps before looking at him defensively.Zachary got up slowly and wiped the blood from his lips.His expression was dismal.“Zachary, what the hell is wrong with you? You went crazy after a few glasses of wine!”Zachary stared at her gloomily.He said coldly, “Serenity, let me ask you again. Were you really at your sister’s house today?”“I was at my sister’s house…” Serenity suddenly stopped mid-sentence.Zachary sneered. “What, you remember now? You and Shawn were eating lunch at Grace’s Diner, talking and laughing
Serenity could not care less even if Zachary smashed everything at home since the house belonged to him anyway. He would be the one suffering if his house was wrecked.Zachary swept aside the glass of honey water and went into his room. He then rushed into the bathroom to draw a bath of cold water to sober himself up from the chill.He drank heavily today, but he was not completely drunk. He was still aware of his actions, but he was easily agitated after drinking too much.Serenity turned off the lights in the hall later to save on the electricity bills.That night, Zachary and Serenity tossed and turned around in bed. Neither of them could sleep because they were mad at each other.Serenity was angry at Zachary for questioning her.Zachary was mad that Serenity was with Shawn. He firmly believed what he saw was the truth. She said that she and Shawn had known each other for more than ten years and that she grew up with Shawn. She and Jasmine were good friends, and Shawn was Jas
Regent Residences was a high-class villa neighborhood in Wiltspoon. The residents were either rich or nobles.Before Zachary got his marriage license with Serenity, he lived here almost every day and only occasionally returned to the old residence to accompany his elders.The villa he lived in used to be made up of several small villas, but he demolished them and rebuilt a large villa when he bought the land. The large villa had both front and back gardens. Although it was not as large as the old residence, he lived alone, so it was spacious.Sam knew Zachary was coming back before he had anything to eat, so Sam told the kitchen to prepare lunch in advance.Zachary got up late and had brunch at one go.After he finished eating at a home he was familiar with, his bad mood improved marginally.He sat on the sofa and called Josh.Josh had not woken up yet. Yesterday, Duncan and he went drinking with Zachary. Zachary could hold his liquor, so he was not drunk. On the contrary, Josh
Zachary was also worried that Serenity would go into premature labor out of shock. He also persuaded her to go for her checkup in a gentle voice. They could not do anything but wait anyway.Serenity finally decided to conduct her prenatal checkup first. Zachary accompanied her. Just moments after they left, the door to the delivery suite opened. A nurse stood there and shouted, “Is Jasmine Sox’s husband here?”“Yes. I’m her husband,” replied Josh quickly. He dashed to the nurse. “You must save Jas, doctor. Save the mother no matter what.”His family members behind him also echoed, “That’s right. No matter what happens, you have to save Jasmine.”The nurse said, “The mother is fine. It’s just that she wants her husband to accompany her as she’s in a lot of pain.”Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.Josh was about to rush inside but was stopped by the nurse.She asked him to change his clothes before taking him inside the delivery suite.Jasmine was wailing in pain. When
With advanced medical technology, a premature baby could still be healthy if taken good care of in the incubator. Serenity said, “Jasmine should be at thirty-five weeks. I just don’t understand why she would suddenly go into labor. Did she fall at home?“Or did she eat something that made her go into labor?”Zachary said, “That’s most likely not the case. Josh’s cousin is Jasmine’s dietician and keeps an eye on her food every day. There’s no way Jasmine would’ve eaten something bad unless she ate it secretly.”Serenity and Zachary suddenly went silent. Pregnant women had weird appetites. Once they had a craving, they could not go unsatisfied. Sometimes, they would even crave fruits that were not in season. Serenity herself was one of them. Once, she woke up in the middle of the night craving mac and cheese. Of course, Zachary, the ever-doting husband, had to satisfy her request. However, where could he find mac and cheese at that hour?Ultimately, he had to drive to the
People would reap what they had sown. They would have to bear the consequences of their actions. Sometimes, interfering in another person’s fate would backfire. After chatting for some time, Serenity said, “I have to go for my checkup now, Liberty. Let’s talk again when you’re free another day.“By the way, I’ll get someone to bring Sonny to you this weekend. He misses you.”“Okay,” said Liberty. After the call ended, Serenity put her phone into her bag and stood up. She told the man behind the office desk, “It’s almost time, babe. Let’s go.”“Okay. I’m almost done.”Zachary quickly signed and stamped a document before closing it. He walked over with the document in hand. Serenity and Zachary left the office together. He handed the document to his secretary. The secretary did not expect him to pass the document to him personally. He had thought of entering Zachary’s office to request it later. The secretary watched Zachary and Serenity leave. He could not believe
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