“Yeah. We’re back. We arrived with Serenity right when the rain stopped. No one expected it to pour because it was so sunny just before. The elders believe a rainy wedding day signifies cleansing and fertility.”Hayden smiled. “I didn’t know rain was meaningful on a wedding day.”“It’s an old saying anyway. I think it’s just a coincidence. The weather is unpredictable.”Kevin handed the bouquet to Hayden and said, “I caught the bouquet. I hope it’s true that whoever catches this bouquet will be the next to marry.“This is for you, Hayden. I hope we’ll be blessed like Zachary and Serenity.”Hayden hesitated before accepting the bouquet. She said, “The rumors about us will be a hot topic again if you were seen giving the bouquet to me.”“They can say whatever they want. It’s fine as long as you know I’m straight.”Hayden said instinctively, “Well, I can’t be sure. Who knows if you have a similar condition as Mr. Bucham?”“I can let you verify if I am healthy to ensure you’ll be s
Hayden looked at Kevin. “Are you still returning to Jensburg after Zachary’s wedding?”“Of course I have to be where you are unless you’re staying with me in Wiltspoon.”Hayden said, “You have so much free time.”“I’ve been helping Zachary manage the family business since I graduated. He put me in charge of the F&B industry because I’m picky and good at cooking. In his words, if Wiltspoon Hotel’s food couldn’t satisfy me, it wouldn’t satisfy our customers too.“It’s been about ten years since I’ve taken over York Corporation’s F&B businesses. I’m good at my job. Even if I’m not in Wiltspoon, all hotels can operate without a hitch. Besides, every hotel has a managing director and a few deputy directors. I only have to handle crucial matters.“I can choose to live in Jensburg long-term, and nothing will be affected. To me, not being kicked out by Nana is more important.”Hayden had heard him mentioning that Grandma May would chase him out of the house if he could not win her heart.
Hayden could never figure out Grandma May’s actions in arranging her grandsons’ marriages. It was not Kevin’s first time explaining it to her. She could understand his words, yet she did not resonate with the idea. It was probably because she was not part of the York family. She also realized that Grandma May’s children never worried about their children’s marriages. It was all handled by the old lady herself. They simply accepted the daughter-in-law Grandma May handpicked regardless of their looks or family background. Perhaps they were not pressing enough, which prompted the bored Grandma May to take on the responsibility of managing her grandsons’ marriages. “Nana’s reputation and popularity are second to none in Wiltspoon. Even when we were rivals with the Stone Group, they still respected Nana greatly.”Kevin looked proud. He added, “I hope Nana can live a long life to witness all of us build our family and the births of her great-grandchildren.“She always says that she
Serenity had no idea how the guests were doing. Upon her arrival, she met the York elders and family members with Zachary. As the groom and the host, Zachary drank with the guests on behalf of Serenity as well because she was pregnant. When the reception ended, he was worried she would overexert herself and took her to rest in a room.Serenity was indeed exhausted. She almost fell asleep right upon entering the room. Zachary held her up and said, “You should sleep after bathing and changing out of these clothes.”“Don’t I have to entertain the guests later tonight?”“I’ll be back by nighttime. We don’t have to entertain them all day. We should rest early after a long day.”Zachary encircled Serenity’s waist and pulled her into his arms. He said, “You must be worn out today.”She snuggled up to him. “I’m just very tired. I didn’t get enough sleep last night, and Liberty woke me up early in the morning. I’ve been up the whole day by sheer willpower. Now my eyelids feel heavy.”
“Jasmine thinks her baby is a boy. I think ours is a boy too. Maybe our children are fated to be brothers, just like you and Josh.”“That’s not bad.”As much as Zachary would love to have a daughter, he was happy enough to have a child at all with Serenity, regardless of the child’s gender as it was not easy for her to conceive.“You’re right, babe. Not bad at all. Anyway, I’m going to bathe now.”“Don’t fall asleep. I’ll wait for you for fifteen minutes and if you’re not out by then, I’ll go in.”Serenity was speechless. No matter how tired she was, she would never fall asleep in the tub.However, Zachary’s attentiveness and care was sweet. He had fulfilled his promise of planning the grandest wedding Wiltspoon had ever seen while she had also become the most stunning bride for him.Serenity wished their love would always burn brightly, to have children and to grow old together with him. Exactly fifteen minutes later, Serenity exited the bathroom. Zachary immediately lifted
Serenity quickly said, “I know. The pain I felt was when I hadn’t known I was pregnant and was out and about running errands. I was shocked when I found out about the baby.”She dared not tell Zachary about it at that time because he would be worried. Zachary had planned on taking her on a drive because her pregnancy prevented her from going overseas. Considering that a drive would also be tiring, she decided to inform him of her past discomfort. Zachary was relieved to hear that the pain was from before and not now.She had indeed reduced her workload after discovering she was pregnant and stopped making trips with Elisa. Working in the office would not tire Serenity out. After all, she was physically fit from the martial arts classes she had taken. She grew up in a harsh environment too. Zachary wanted to persuade her to stay home even after her marriage leave ended but knew she would not agree. Besides, her first trimester would almost be over by then, and the pregnancy wo
It was morning when Serenity finally woke up. She thought the sun had not set before looking at the time only to realize that she slept through the night when she saw her phone screen.On the other hand, Zachary was already awake. She knew he was preparing breakfast for her downstairs. Serenity was hungry after having slept for so long but feeling recharged from the sufficient rest she had. When she was about to get up, she noticed someone lying at the end of the bed. It was Sonny. Serenity was dumbfounded. Why was the little guy in her room?He had changed out of his suit and was sleeping without a blanket on. She guessed he might have entered after Zachary woke up earlier and probably fell asleep while waiting for her.Serenity went to the edge of the bed to shift Sonny into a more comfortable sleeping position. However, he opened his eyes the moment she lifted her. When he saw Serenity, he said softly, “Aunt Ser.”Then, he hugged her with both hands. “Do you want t
Sonny immediately shook his head. “No. I don’t want to go back with you tomorrow. Mom will send me to school.”Serenity was speechless. She reminded Sonny, “It’s Saturday tomorrow. You don’t have to go to school even if you go home. How much do you dread going to preschool, Sonny?“You were so happy when you first started. Do you dislike it after just a month?”Sonny pouted and whispered, “I don’t hate it. I just think it’s much more fun staying at home.”“You’ll get scolded if your mom hears that. You should work hard and play hard.”Sonny lowered his head and replied, “I know, Aunt Ser. Mom said the same thing. I’ll be hardworking in school and be better than Laurence. I’ll also play hard when it’s time to have fun.“Will you take me to Laurence when the next holiday comes, Aunt Ser?”Sonny missed his playmate. “The next break will be in winter. You have to study hard. When winter break comes, I'll take you to FC Manor if I don’t become too bulky by then. Laurence will be
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