“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
When Liberty brought the bottle of water out, she saw Duncan falling and getting up from afar. Duncan was still practicing his walking. She stopped and watched him hang on. She did not get close to him so as not to put pressure on him. She had seen him at his worst. However, nobody liked to be seen at their worst. Duncan had his pride. Once Duncan was tired, he wanted to get back to his wheelchair but was too exhausted to get up. Since there was no one around, Duncan crawled back to his wheelchair and propped himself back onto it. After he had done all that, he caught his breath. Liberty immediately hid behind a tree when Duncan looked around. She did not want Duncan to know that she was there. It pained Liberty to see Duncan crawl and climb back to the wheelchair. She had something to do with what happened to him. Duncan was determined to pursue her, and he did not want to give up on her. He went against his mother’s wishes and got into a car accident. It was all beca
Duncan was not involved with Liberty romantically, and neither was she dating anyone. That was a good thing. Oh, the drunkard wanted to pursue Liberty. The man went to Liberty’s restaurant to meet her when Duncan let his guard down once. Now that Duncan knew about his rival, he stopped the drunkard from ever getting close to Liberty again. Duncan had been watching over Liberty for more than a year. There was no way he would allow someone else to swoop in and take her away. “It’s cloudy today. Why is your face burning up?” Liberty asked. Duncan replied, “Really? I might have practiced walking a little too long. I’m exhausted. My face must be red because I need air.” He refused to admit that he blushed because she wiped away his sweat. Duncan was pushing forty. Although he had never been intimate with anyone, he had imagined what it would be like. Besides, he had seen a lot in his rebellious stage, so he was not completely green. He believed he was not an innocent man for h
Meanwhile, Julian, who had never let alcohol get to him, got wasted for once and he did it at Zachary’s wedding. He was now at Wiltspoon Hotel. It was good liquor. Julian was having the time of his life with Quinn by his side, so he drank a lot. He kept talking about how great the alcohol was while drinking. The strong liquor packed a punch, and he ended up intoxicated. He opened his eyes, but he had to close them due to his headache. Julian had not had enough sleep. His head would not hurt if he slept longer. Soon, Julian opened his eyes again. He realized he was lying in an unfamiliar room. Where was he? He was not at his family home or his villa. Julian hoped nobody had picked him up from the streets and had their way with him after he passed out drunk. The scenario was unlikely. He was drinking at Wildridge Manor. Nobody would have the guts to do that even if he was drunk unless they wanted to cross him. Ignoring his throbbing head, Julian jolted up fro
Thank goodness Josh was married and Jasmine was pregnant, so Julian had nothing to worry about. Besides, Quinn only admired the strong, and Josh was a strong character in everybody’s eyes. It was normal that Quinn would admire and praise Josh. Julian’s headache did not feel so bad when he saw that Quinn was calling. He quickly picked up the call. “Ms. Crawford.” “You’re up, Mr. Bucham. Did I wake you? You’ve been asleep for long. It’s almost ten o’clock now. I called to check whether you were awake.” Quinn did not drink, so she got up early. She was out because she could not work out in her room after waking up. She went jogging along the streets bright early, then returned to the hotel for a shower. Feeling refreshed, she went to the restaurant on the first floor to enjoy a buffet. She did not disturb Julian and went to have breakfast alone since he passed out drunk. The restaurant on the first floor of the hotel was the best in all of Wiltspoon. People from everywhe
Quinn smiled. “I don’t come often. Do you have a headache? Do you want something to eat?”She already had her fill. “My head hurts. It’s my first time getting drunk and hungover. It feels like my head is being torn apart.”Julian rubbed his temples as he spoke. At the same time, he thought, ‘The alcohol Zachary prepared was so good that it actually got all of us drunk.’Zachary would have felt accused. Clearly, Julian’s alcohol tolerance was the issue.“I don’t have an appetite because of the headache, but I still feel hungry.”Julian made himself sound pitiful to gain Quinn’s sympathy. Naturally, Quinn did not feel bad for him because she had no feelings for him. However, she still showed concern out of courtesy. “I’ll ask the receptionist if they have anything that can relieve your headache. If it doesn’t work, we can go to the hospital to get some medication from the doctor.”Quinn added, “You should eat something despite the headache. It’s bad to leave your stomach em
Quinn headed out to get Julian breakfast. He mentioned that he wanted something light, so she went to the bakery and got sandwiches for him. Afraid that the sandwiches would not suffice, she bought a banana and orange juice before returning to the hotel. Ten minutes later, Quinn stood in front of Julian’s room and knocked on the door. “Mr. Bucham.”Julian opened the door. Quinn handed him the breakfast and asked out of concern, “I requested the receptionist to send you some meds. Have you taken them?”Julian accepted the food and allowed her inside. Quinn did not want to enter the room. However, seeing that Julian had already made way for her and was in proper clothes, she entered after some hesitation. She was the one who brought him back to his room last night anyway. Fortunately, she had been strong enough to support him all the way back to his room because of her training. If it were any other ordinary girls, they would not have been able to keep Julian upright. H
“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
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.