Mrs. Lane said, “When I left yesterday, the door was locked. I was wondering why it’s not locked today. It turned out that you’re back, Missus.”The moment the pet dog saw Serenity, it wagged its tail and scurried toward her.Serenity said with a smile, “Snowball.”She touched Snowball’s head and it lay obediently by the side of her leg.“Mrs. Lane, we came back last night.”Mrs. Lane grinned and said, “Missus, you should’ve given me a call so I could prepare great food for you.”“No worries. This place is close to the market.”Mrs. Lane had been working for Serenity, so the both of them were close. Mrs. Lane knew that Serenity would not put on airs. Even if Serenity did, Mrs. Lane dared not act unscrupulously.When Mrs. Lane noticed that Zachary was busy preparing in the kitchen, she promptly went over to help him out.Zachary said, “I’ve cooked pulled pork with sauerkraut. Mrs. Lane, you don’t need to help out. You can go to the balcony and see to the plants. You’ve been loo
“Nana, Gramps is watching from above. He’s at peace,” Zachary chimed in after hearing Grandma May’s words.She replied with a smile, “As long as you get married and have a child, your gramps would be at ease. He was most worried about you. His attention was all placed on you.“When he was a father, he didn’t care for his sons as much as he did his grandsons when he became a grandfather. Back then, your gramps would criticize your father and all other sons. When it came to your generation, he’d be cheerful no matter what you did.” This showed that the intergenerational relationship between Old Mr. York and Zachary was better than the one he had with the generation before Zachary.Serenity had never seen Old Mr. York, so it was not her place to comment.As Zachary’s grandparents were the ones who raised him, he was the closest to the two of them.Zachary walked over to bring Grandma May to the dining table and seated her. He said with a smile, “Do I look like the younger version
“Nana, is there any way to stop Seren from vomiting?”Grandma May said, “It’s normal to have morning sickness, but this only happens in the first trimester. After three months, morning sickness will gradually clear. If it’s not too severe, she can endure it. If it is, she should go to the hospital and see the doctor.“Don’t simply take medications as many can’t be taken during pregnancy,” Grandma May reminded her grandson.Serenity said, “Nana, I know. I won’t simply take medications. I’ll endure it.”In the end, she said in admiration, “Why didn’t Jasmine vomit?”Serenity wondered why she had this reaction but not Jasmine.“Everyone is different. Some people don’t vomit when they are pregnant with their first baby. However, they vomit terribly during their second pregnancy.”Serenity touched her belly and said, “I hope I won’t vomit until the baby is delivered.”“I’ll take Seren to the hospital for a checkup later. I’ll ask the doctor if there’s any way to ease her morning sic
Zachary remembered the words of advice Serenity had offered to Clive back then.Having a miscarriage could be harmful to the body.The husband and wife should know each other best.Serenity was aware of Zachary’s expression. Soon, she was able to guess what was going on in his head. Also, he bit his tongue several times just now.“Zachary, don’t even think about it!”Serenity warned him seriously, “If you dare act as my cousin did, we’ll get a divorce. I’ll raise my child, and you don’t have to meddle in it.”“Seren.“What’s wrong?”Grandma May and Liberty were stupefied to hear what Seren said.Seren actually brought up divorce.Just like when Zachary revealed his identity, Serenity’s reaction was extreme and she mentioned that she wanted to get a divorce. Zachary acted like a lunatic at that time.The couple’s relationship then was stiff, which was worrying.Fortunately, they made peace afterward.Serenity never brought up divorce again with Zachary.She knew the me
Grandma May was about to slap Zachary again. Serenity quickly pulled the old lady’s hand back. “I’m not angry anymore, Nana. Please stop hitting Zachary. He’s already in his thirties. He’ll be embarrassed if you keep beating him.”“Although Seren is protecting you and hiding your mistakes from me, I’m still giving you a warning—I won’t let you off if you don’t behave yourself.”Zachary smiled bitterly. “I know, Nana. I’ve always behaved myself properly.”Mrs. Lane soon returned with the sour prunes. Serenity tore the package open eagerly and ate one. The sour taste spread in her mouth. She smiled and said, “I love this taste.”Zachary breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Serenity enjoying the sour prunes. After a short rest, Zachary brought Serenity to the hospital for a checkup. Grandma May and Liberty remained in Brynfield. Mrs. Lane continued going about her business. Since they had nothing to do, Grandma May could finally ask Liberty about her and Duncan’s relation
After a moment of silence, Liberty said, “He’s out of the ICU and transferred to a normal ward. He’s recovering. I brought Sonny to visit him previously.”Grandma May hummed in acknowledgment. “Does Hank still want to make up with you?”“He regrets his decision but has never mentioned anything about remarrying me. He and Jessica aren’t divorced yet. His family hopes he’d get a divorce with her, but he doesn’t seem to think the same.“However, even if he gets divorced, I won’t remarry him. I won’t stop him from meeting and bonding with Sonny because he’s his dad, but I’ll never remarry him out of consideration for Sonny. My feelings for him were already gone the moment he suggested we split our bills.”After a pause, Liberty added, “The Browns are persistent about getting Hank to remarry me. How can I do that? My heart was wounded terribly. It’s as good as dead. There’s no way I’ll go back to him. Even if I don’t marry again for the rest of my life, I’ll never remarry him.“Besides
Grandma May said, “You’re just like Seren. You two have the same personality. Since you’ve said so, I can make Duncan happy when I visit him later at the Lewises’.”Liberty was speechless. She felt Grandma May was addicted to being a matchmaker. Grandma May had chosen Liberty as her next target after she had settled the marriages of her grandsons who were at marrying age. At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Liberty released Grandma May’s arm and said, “I’ll get it. I wonder who it is.”Zachary had brought Serenity to the hospital, so they would not be back so soon.Besides, not many people knew they were back. That was unless they could see Serenity’s post on Facebook. “I think it’s probably your aunt.”Liberty went to open the door. Snowball followed her while wagging its tail vigorously. Surprisingly, the person standing behind the door was Jasmine. “Liberty.”Jasmine greeted Liberty with a smile. Liberty moved aside to let her in. When she saw the two b
Liberty chimed in after Jasmine, “Seren vomited after breakfast. Zachary was so worried. Aside from getting Serenity’s body checked at the hospital, he’s also going to ask the doctor for ways to ease her morning sickness.”Liberty smiled and said, “I think he’s so anxious that he’d rather be the one vomiting instead of Seren.”She was relieved to see her brother-in-law fussing over her sister. Serenity was definitely more fortunate than she was. Liberty and Hank used to be classmates. They dated for a long period before getting married and she got pregnant right after. The time Hank spent with her lessened because his career was taking off at that point. He always went out early in the morning and returned late at night. He did not even accompany her to prenatal checkups, let alone feel worried for her. He always told Serenity to attend those appointments with her. Liberty shook her head. She no longer wanted to recall her failed marriage with Hank. Jasmine said with a grin
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