Grandma May must have her reasons to take a shine to Serenity. Zachary fell silent for a while before replying, “What’s there to see? She has two eyes, a nose, and a mouth just like everyone else.” “Haha.” Duncan burst out laughing. He got the hint that his best friend had no intentions to let them meet with Serenity. Josh probably had met Serenity and knew her well because Josh was nosy and had an information network to get all the info on her.Duncan left the conversation at that. Knowing that his best friend was busy, he quickly hung up the call. Time passed quickly. It was soon dead into the night. Sitting inside the Rolls Royce, Zachary knitted between his brows as the weariness began to take its effect. He must be in over his head in the last few days for trying to cram three days of work into one. Of course, he was tired. “Sir, should I drive to Regent Residences?” The chauffeur asked. Slumping against the seat, Zachary closed his eyes and took his time
Zachary picked up the maneki-neko once more as his wife said, “I made your maneki-neko bigger than the one I gave Ms. Stone. I put a lot of effort into it. What do you think? Doesn’t it look lifelike?” The mention that his was bigger than Ms. Stone’s made Zachary feel good. However, he did not show it on his face and simply hummed faintly, “Yes.” Serenity grinned. “I’m glad you like them.” She put her car keys on the coffee table and turned around to head to the kitchen. “I’m making pasta for supper. Do you want any?” She then answered on her own before Zachary could reply, “Oh, I forgot. You don’t have the habit of eating supper because it adds pounds.” Zachary thought to himself, ‘… What more can I say? You said it all.’Nevertheless, he was not hungry. Serenity was boiling a pot of pasta in the kitchen. Zachary stood there for a moment before making his way to the kitchen door. Instead of stepping into the kitchen, he stood by the door and watched as Serenity sliced the
Josh was able to figure it was Shawn mainly because the latter attended the business event at the hotel tonight. Shawn might only hold a small position at Lowe Enterprise, but he was the predetermined successor of the company. His title as the heir of the Lowes would put him like a duck to water at the center of flattery and snow jobs at social events. Zachary’s silence was all the answer Josh needed. “How about I deliver the file to you now? Are you staying at Brynfield?” Josh knew that his best friend kept the marriage under wraps and bought a furnished place at Brynfield to put Serenity’s character to the test. “No need for that. Just give it to me tomorrow. It’s late. You should rest. I’m going to wash up and head to bed.” Although Josh had front-row seat to the progress of Zachary and Serenity’s relationship, Zachary was not in the mood to go into detail with Josh about it. Zachary quickly hung up the phone. Josh murmured under his breath, “Can you sleep well tonight?
While feasting on her pasta, Serenity sent a text message to her sister, asking if the latter was asleep. Instead of writing back, Liberty immediately rang Serenity. Since typing took a lot of time, Liberty would rather communicate directly on the phone. “Seren, I’m awake. Did you just return home?” Liberty had a clear idea of her sister’s routine. Back when Serenity was living in Liberty’s place, Serenity was the last to sleep but the first to wake up. Liberty was aware that to appease her husband, Serenity would get up first thing in the morning to prepare breakfast and manage some house chores. Her sister had done so much for the family, and yet Hank kicked up a fuss about Serenity mooching off him. Serenity had, in fact, chipped in on the household expenses… Judging by his cold and empty side of the bed, it did not matter to Liberty anymore. All she cared about was her sister. “Yeah. I’m having supper. Liberty, Shawn said he ran into my brother-in-law with a beau
Wiping away her tears, Liberty got a grip on herself and tried to sound normal. “I figured, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.” Despite having an affair, Hank kept it from Liberty and had not brought up a divorce. If her guess was right, it was because of Sonny. Sonny was young and could not deal with separation anxiety. Liberty’s parents-in-law were helping Chelsea to look after her kids and cook while Hank only had eyes for his family. Even Hank put his sister as his priority over her. He did not think there was anything wrong with his parents assisting only his sister. Once they were divorced, the Browns would certainly fight for Sonny’s custody. However, Hank would feel sorry to put the burden of child-raising on his parents unless Sonny was already in kindergarten. Hank was probably waiting for Sonny to start attending kindergarten before asking for a divorce. The only thing he could do now was to go passive-aggressive on her. “Liberty, you might want to keep
Liberty cried for a long time and only put away the tears when Hank came home. She pretended to be asleep, but her ears were pricked up for the noise outside. Ever since the domestic abuse, the couple had slept in separate rooms. Hank must be scared Liberty might cut him up in the middle of his sleep. The bedroom door was pushed open, but Hank did not enter. Instead, he looked in from the door. Seeing that his wife and child were asleep, he closed the door and went to the bedroom next door. With the door shut, he phoned Jessica. “Mr. Brown.” “We’re not in the office. Call me Hank.” Hank spoke in a hushed tone so his wife could not hear him from the next room. “Are you home, Hank? I was so worried about you. You drove home even though you had a lot to drink. I was worried sick. Don’t do that again. It’s dangerous to drink and drive. You’ll be in trouble if the traffic officer catches you driving under the influence.” Jessica expressed her concern for Hank over the phone
“You had a lot to drink. You reek of alcohol. Go and shower.” Disgusted by the stench, Liberty kicked Hank. Now that she had found out that he was cheating on her, Liberty was going to take her sister’s advice and refrain from spooking him. She would carry on with life like nothing ever happened while collecting evidence of his infidelity behind the scenes, so he could not talk his way out of it.As for whether Hank would do something to her, Liberty believed that he was not that cruel. Besides, the police could easily crack a murder case with today’s technology. His misdeed would not go undetected if he ever lay his hands on her. He would not throw away his future in exchange for her life. Amid all his swearing, Hank still went to take a shower. After coming out of the bathroom, Hank lay down next to his son again, but in less than two minutes, he sat up and crawled near his son’s feet to slither his hand onto Liberty’s thigh. He made his intention abundantly clear. Altho
Liberty was not at the market getting groceries. She had been looking for a job during the day and making a detour to the market while on her way home. The produce at the market tended to be cheaper at night, so she could save a bit of money this way. Although Liberty had not gotten a job and could not rely on her husband, she had not maxed out her resources. It was a good thing Liberty took her sister’s advice to save up some money back then. Her sister was against Liberty quitting her job and getting ready for pregnancy after getting married. Her sister said that women should have their own income instead of relying completely on men no matter before or after marriage. All was good if the husband was good to the wife. Once the husband fell out of love and started cheating, the wife, who was without a job or an income, would be in an unfavorable position and be sunk into oblivion. Liberty had been foolish. She trusted her relationship with Hank was solid and that Hank woul
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
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us