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
Serenity was already entrusting their children’s education to Zachary before the baby was born.She would rather take care of her children’s daily lives than be in charge of their schoolwork while he could put on a stern face and teach their children well. Zachary smiled. “Okay. I’ll be a full-time dad.”He had already bought many parenting books to prepare himself to be a stay-at-home dad. “Are you hungry? I made breakfast.”“I’m famished. You came in when I was about to take Sonny downstairs.”Zachary lifted Sonny with one arm and held Serenity’s hand with the other. “Let’s go and have breakfast.”Serenity noticed the house was still silent once they left the room. Everyone was still asleep. She asked Zachary softly, “What time did you return last night? Did everyone party until late at night?”“I came back as soon as night fell. This morning, the butler told me that many guests were wasted last night. The alcohol was good and strong, so it was easy to get drunk with it.”
“Go on, Nana. I’ll have a stroll outside later too.” The good thing about marriage leave was it granted Serenity and Zachary from waking up early to work or bother with work. All they needed to do was rest and eat well. Grandma May said with a smile, “We can enjoy a nice walk together after my breakfast.” Serenity happily agreed and Grandma May went out. By the time Zachary and Serenity had their fill, Grandma May returned from outside. As Serenity waited for Grandma May to have her breakfast, Sonny fell asleep in her arms. “The boy just woke up, and now he’s asleep again.” Serenity caressed Sonny’s face lovingly and said, “The last two days must have been tiring on him.” “Since he’s asleep, I’ll carry him upstairs to rest. You can go for a walk with Nana. I’m not going. I’m going to enjoy my time in bed with Sonny,” Zachary said.He went to bed early last night but was too excited to fall asleep. It took a while before the sandman took him away, and he woke up early t
“Let’s go out for a walk. It’s not sunny today, but it’s a little windy. We can walk around the yard and enjoy the breeze and the scenery. That’s the life.” “Nana, you just had your breakfast.” Grandma May said, “We can take it easy. It won’t be around the estate. We’ll just take a short walk nearby.” Since Grandma May insisted, Serenity accompanied her for a stroll. “Did you have morning sickness today?” Grandma May asked with concern. Serenity was about to give her usual answer when she realized she had not thrown up this morning. She exclaimed in surprise, “Nana, I don’t think so. I didn’t feel nauseous when I woke up this morning.” She changed her clothes, washed up, then left the bathroom, and took Sonny downstairs for breakfast. She was so busy with the routine that she did not realize she had not puked. Did this mean that her nausea days were over? Grandma May said with a smile, “It’ll get better. It seems you won’t have morning sickness until your due date like Al
Serenity said, “Nana, I’m not giving myself pressure. I’m just keeping an open mind.” Grandma replied, “Yeah, just stay open-minded. It’s a blessing to have a child, regardless of gender.” “You have nine grandsons, Nana. You will have nine granddaughters-in-law. I’m sure one of us will give you a great-granddaughter.” Serenity comforted Grandma May. Grandma May said with a smile, “I might not live long enough to see them get married and start a family.” Rowan was still a student. It would be another decade before he would marry. Grandma May was not sure whether she would be around ten years or so later. She believed she had another eight to ten years before she was reunited with her husband. Her sons and grandsons had their destinies. She could only do so much for them. It was their path to walk now. “Nana.” “Alright. I won’t talk about that.” Grandma May said dotingly, “Let’s walk to the foot of the hill.” “Will you be tired?” “No. You’ll be tired sooner than I
In fact, Duncan could have returned to his place. He owned a property at The Oasis. He was simply worried about Liberty. He did not want Liberty to be alone, so he stayed the night at her residence. Liberty did not kick him out, and this made Duncan happy. Although Liberty had not taken their relationship further, she had gradually gotten used to him being around as time went by. He did not talk about love, and neither did she. However, anybody could feel the chemistry between them when they were together. “I’m used to getting up early. I went to bed early last night anyway. I woke up the moment the sun was up. I can’t even sleep in even if I try.” Duncan smiled at Liberty. She seemed to be in a better mood today. He was relieved that her eyes were not as swollen as yesterday.Liberty had been carrying a heavy burden for a long time. Now that it was finally gone, she felt like she could collapse all at once. Liberty cried, letting out all the pain and sadness that she had
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