Will and Mark made a run for it. Zoey did not want to hear Will and Mark saying that they would take care of Quinn. She thought it would jinx Quinn from finding a man.Julian got up when he saw Will and Mark coming out of the kitchen. Dave introduced his sons to Julian, and Julian said hello to his future brothers-in-law. Will and Mark courteously greeted Julian while sizing him up. When everybody sat down, Will asked Julian. “I heard from Quinn that you’re interested in joining our gym?” Julian smiled. “That’s right.” Mark cut to the chase. He said, “You’re a little old to start off with training. Even if you pass our character assessment and pay the fees, you can’t learn much. You’re wasting your money, and we don’t want to scam you.” Julian said with a smile, “I know. Ms. Crawford and Mr. Crawford have made that clear. Money isn’t the issue. I just want to learn and take it from there. At least, I can work out.” Will and Mark left the conversation at that. Quinn and
Quinn put down her bag of mozzarella sticks and went to fetch her father a bottle of good wine and a few wine glasses. Dave poured Julian a full glass and asked, “Do you drink?” “Dad, Mr. Bucham has to socialize for business, so he has to drink,” Quinn replied on behalf of Julian. Julian smiled. “Alcohol and business go hand-in-hand, but I don’t usually drink a lot. Two glasses is my limit for beer, and I can handle a glass of liquor. I won’t let myself go wasted. It’s not good for my health, and anything can happen.” “That’s good, Julian. You must know your limit when it comes to drinking,” Zoey praised him. Julian’s face beamed. He had a good understanding of the Crawfords’ individual personalities. If Julian’s close friends were there, they would roll their eyes at Julian’s statement. There was no way Julian would stop at two beers. Julian had lied through his teeth. It would take more than two glasses of beer to take Julian down. Besides, beer was not Julian’s u
Quinn said with a smile, “My mom will get adventurous with food sometimes, but she prefers the familiar healthy choices.” Locals in Summervale had a taste for rich, flavorful food. Zoey, a northerner with a taste for bland food, eventually influenced the rest of the family to adopt her culinary preferences.Of course, Zoey was not selfish. She considered her husband and children's love of flavorful food and would try new dishes every couple of days. However, she could not bring herself to eat the food as it did not sit well with her stomach.Dave felt bad for his wife and told everybody to get takeaways if they had cravings. “So Mrs. Crawford is from the north like me. No wonder I felt a connection to her right away.” It dawned on Julian. Julian knew where Zoey was from, but he did not feel it was polite to ask her about it during their first meeting.Zoey came from a town far from Wiltspoon. The area had no public transportation, so Zoey would have to drive for hours to g
Two days passed in the blink of an eye and here came Zachary and Serenity’s wedding day. The doors of Wildridge Manor were wide open to welcome guests from all cities. The guests would travel to the manor right after landing in Wiltspoon and would stay at Wiltspoon Hotel as arranged by the Yorks. The hotel’s operation would only resume the day after the wedding. Serenity was awakened by Liberty before sunrise. The makeup artist Zachary hired had already arrived and was waiting for Serenity to wake up. The plan was to put on some light makeup on Serenity, suitable for pregnant ladies. Serenity was sleepy. She did not sleep well as she was too excited and chatted with her friends for a long time before bed. After being awakened by Liberty, Serenity tubbed her eyes and looked outside. She closed her eyes again when she saw the barely lit sky and murmured, “Let me sleep a little longer, Liberty. It’s only a simple makeup that won’t take long. Let the makeup artist eat somethi
As Serenity walked to the bathroom, she said, “You’ve told me the same thing countless times. I can memorize them already.”Liberty laughed. “Have I? I felt like I’ve only said it twice. I’m just worried about you. It wasn’t easy for you to get pregnant, so you must be extra careful. There’ll be many people during the reception. Anyway, you should take care. I reminded Zachary about this too.”“Did Zachary promise you that he won’t let anyone bump into me?”Liberty nodded. “He did.”“You have nothing to be concerned about then. Since Zachary said so, nothing will happen to me. Don’t worry too much. You’ve been worrying about the wedding for the past few days.”Furthermore, Liberty did not let Serenity help out. She would tell Serenity to sit or lie down even with the slightest movement. Serenity was in perfect pink of health, so her baby was definitely healthy and strong too. The baby would not be affected that easily. However, Serenity still listened to her strict sister and
Alice would still throw up every day. She did not gain any weight other than the baby’s throughout her pregnancy. It hurt Clive to see her that way. He harped on about only having one child and refused to put Alice through another pregnancy again. Due to his nagging, Alice wished she would give birth to a son. Although Clive did mention that he preferred a daughter, she wished to have a son who could inherit the Stone family’s legacy. Serenity often told Zachary about Alice’s honesty. Many people would refrain from revealing their preference for a specific gender for fear of being accused of discrimination. However, Alice never failed to be straightforward in saying she wanted a boy.“Mom.”Speaking of the devil, Serenity and Liberty heard Sonny’s voice. At first, Liberty thought she was hearing things. It was still too early in the morning, and Sonny would usually not be up. After hearing his voice again, Serenity told Liberty, “It’s Sonny. He’s awake.”Liberty exited the w
Serenity and Sonny whispered to each other their complaints about Liberty being too scary as they walked. Liberty, who overheard them from behind, was speechless. She was like a mother figure to Serenity. She wanted to marry Serenity off extravagantly. “Missus.”The makeup artist Zachary hired stood and greeted Serenity with a smile when she saw her walking down the stairs. Serenity returned a smile. “Good morning, Ms. Gardner. Sorry to have made you wait. I woke up late this morning as I had gone to bed late last night.”“I didn’t wait long. Go ahead and have your breakfast. Then, we can start after you have a short rest.”Most people were not yet aware of Serenity being pregnant. As Ms. Gardner was the makeup artist, Zachary had disclosed Serenity’s pregnancy to her. He also reminded her to use skincare that was harmless for pregnant women. “Let’s eat together, Ms. Gardner.”Ms. Gardner refused politely, “I’ve eaten before coming over.”As she was a seasoned bridal mak
Noah continued, “But Serenity doesn’t need our support.”They thought time had dissipated Serenity’s anger since their last conflict was long ago. They wanted to mend their relationship with the sisters through the wedding. By doing so, they would be able to gain some benefits just by being related to the Yorks. The Hunts wanted to restore their family to its former glory. Everyone looked toward Old Mr. Hunt, awaiting his decision. If not for Serenity and Liberty having some respect left for him, they would have gone to the wedding without his approval. Word of Zachary and Serenity’s wedding had been made known to everyone in Wiltspoon through the entertainment news. It was definitely going to be the wedding of the century. The Hunts wished to witness such a grand event. Serenity’s aunts and uncles wanted to attend the wedding for the delicacies. They even thought of packing up the leftovers to bring home. Since Serenity and Liberty could not care less about them, they
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
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