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
“Don’t rush yourself. Just take it easy. You have made great progress. Many people like you find it hard to stand up on their own. You’re amazing that you can take a couple of steps. Don’t push yourself too hard. Take care of yourself. Nothing is more important than your health.” Liberty wheeled him to the lawn and added, “You can try to walk on the grass. Even if you fall, it won’t hurt as much.” Back at the Lewises’ residence, Duncan usually practiced walking on grass too. Duncan lifted his head and looked at her before uttering, “I will fall, and I won’t look good falling. Don’t laugh at me, Liberty. Don’t feel sorry for me either. It’s the pain I have to go through to get better.” Liberty knew he had a strong pride, so she nodded and replied, “I won’t laugh at you. If you feel my presence here is giving you a lot of pressure, I can leave.” “It’s okay. It gives me pressure and motivation when you are here. I will hang in there for you.” If it was not for Liberty and to
Corey would be in tears if she was watching her son. After all this time, Corey still blamed herself. She believed she was the reason for Duncan’s car accident. If she had not stopped him from seeing Liberty and threatened him with death, he might not have been driving so fast. If she had not chased after him, he might have braked in time, and he would not have ended up in a car accident that left him wheelchair-bound. It was all her fault. Corey cried when Duncan gave up on himself. She also cried when Duncan struggled and became flustered during rehabilitation. Hence, Duncan did not allow family by his side when he had these sessions. He did not want his mother to cry. It also annoyed him that Corey often cried even though he had accepted reality. “Okay, I’ll take a short break. I’ll stand up in a bit. Do you have water, Liberty? I’m thirsty.” “Rest here. I’ll go inside to fill a bottle of water for you. Do you want anything to eat? Should I bring you something?” He
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