“I don’t have any letter tracing workbooks for preschoolers here. You can look for it at other bookstores.”Serenity’s bookstore was located in front of a middle school. Her primary customers were middle schoolers, so she had no preschool materials. “You don’t have it? I’ll go to other bookstores to get it then.”After the lady paid for her books, she took them and thanked Serenity before leaving. Serenity found the silhouette of the lady familiar. Maybe she had seen her before when she accompanied Zachary to business engagements. She probably could not remember her because they did not interact much. She would ask Zachary about it later. Which family had three children with their eldest son married, their second son in seventh grade, along with their daughter in preschool? The lady appeared to be in her early twenties, so her husband was likely of similar age. Serenity would often attend gatherings of the higher society before she was pregnant. However, she had never hea
“Mr. Longbottom wants you to study more and focus on self-improvement. You have to change your temper as well. You should be gentle and generous like a noblewoman instead of your past arrogant self. You can’t be like that anymore. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult for you to mingle with the elite ladies of Wiltspoon.”Carrie pouted. She said, “Do you think those ladies aren’t arrogant? Just because you haven’t met one doesn’t mean they don’t exist.“The Newman family is wealthy. I used to be young and aggressive, but I wasn’t uneducated. I’m refined too. My social circle comprised elite ladies and daughters of wealthy families.”Her mother was unwelcome in high society. Everyone disliked her because she had married her brother-in-law after her husband's death. However, that did not affect Carrie’s status in Wiltspoon’s high society. Although she could not compare to Elisa, she was still better off than many other elite daughters. She was confident and never doubted her elegance an
Carrie suddenly slouched on her seat. That way, she would not be spotted from the outside.At that moment, Zachary’s convoy passed by. Truth be told, he would not have been able to see her. Carrie was guilty and worried about Zachary spotting her and discovering her plans. Serenity was able to send Carrie to prison because she had underestimated Serenity. She did not know Serenity was trained in martial arts. More importantly, Serenity had Zachary’s backing. Even if Carrie had gotten her own backer, she instinctively felt fear and wanted to hide when she spotted Zachary’s car. When his car passed by hers, the bodyguard on the passenger seat turned and saw Carrie curled up in her seat out of fear. No one could have known there was someone in the backseat. “What are you doing, Ms. Newman?” the bodyguard asked, displeased. Carrie raised her head and took a peek outside. She only sat straight when she saw Zachary’s car was gone and adjusted her clothing. Her shirt had gotten
Mr. Longbottom had promised Carrie. She had to kidnap Mrs. Young-Johnson’s adopted son once they verified his identity. If she could accomplish that, he would give her all of the Newman family assets and let her do whatever she wanted to Serenity. Mr. Longbottom never told her that his promises were worthless. There was no knowing if Carrie would still be alive after the deed was done. He would never make an enemy out of the Yorks and Buchams for her sake.The bodyguards were aware of that. However, they were assigned to watch Carrie and assist her. It was not their place to reveal anything else. He would just let Carrie dream on. Otherwise, how would she be motivated to help Mr. Longbottom?After pursing her lips, Carrie said, “I understand. Why are you guys so cold to me? You still have to address me respectfully before others.”While the bodyguards treated her with respect in front of others, they were like her managers in private and kept controlling her. They were hig
Trenton would surely come to regret it. ‘I’m the sister who shares the same parents as him,’ Carrie thought.He chose to instead trust Camryn, who was born to a different father. Meanwhile, Serenity could never guess that the young wife who bought books from her store earlier was Carrie in a hyper-realistic mask. She did not know Carrie well. Even after looking at Carrie with that mask on, she simply found her figure familiar and could not identify her exactly. After all, Carrie had never been a friend of hers. At that moment, Serenity heard familiar footsteps. She walked out of the bookstore. “Zachary.”She went to her husband with a smile. Zachary’s gaze was gentle. He walked up to Serenity in large strides and hugged her before saying, “I missed you, honey.”Then, he kissed her forehead and let her go. Serenity whispered, “Everyone’s watching. Why do you miss me when we meet every day?”One of Zachary’s bodyguards had two bags in his hand. The bags contained two se
Zachary placed his hand on Serenity’s. “We’ll just show our faces and leave after half an hour. “Don’t drink any alcohol and stay away from the women. It’ll be better if you don’t leave my side at all.”“Half an hour sounds good. We don’t have to stick to each other. Everyone distances themselves from me when they see you.”They knew she was Zachary’s sweetheart. Getting pregnant had been difficult for the couple, so the baby in Serenity’s womb was extra precious. No one dared to get too close to her. They did not want to take the blame if she tripped and fell by accident. Serenity felt helpless. While she clearly would not do such a thing, other people did not think so. Wiltspoon’s elites kept a safe distance from her. They said they would only approach her again after the baby was born. “It seems like they know their places. It’s best if they stay away from you. Most of them like to smoke, and breathing in secondhand smoke is bad for your health.”Zachary stopped bringin
Zachary asked softly, “Do you need me to come along?”“No. I’ll go myself. Your work is important.”Serenity rejected his offer. Zachary did not insist. He was not as worried about her going to the Stones’ house. When they got out of the car at the hotel, Serenity spotted Carrie again. Carrie had intended to return to the villa to eat before changing out of her clothes and hyper-realistic mask before going back to her rented house. Then, she would resume her identity as Carrie Newman. However, she changed her mind on the way back and asked the bodyguards to take her to Wiltspoon Hotel for a meal. Zachary and Serenity often showed up there. Carrie wanted to train her nerves. It would be a successful training if she did not fear or go into hiding when she saw the loving couple. The Longbottom bodyguards did not object to Carrie’s decision. That was how Serenity and Zachary met the masked Carrie when they arrived at Wiltspoon Hotel. “Babe, that’s the lady who came to
Carrie dared not talk back and scrambled into the car. Two hours later, now reverted to her identity as a Newman, Carrie was panting as she climbed a flight of stairs. She finally got to the entrance of the unit she rented. When she took her key out and was about to open the door, it opened on its own. Wait, someone had opened it from the inside. Carrie’s first thought was that someone had broken into her house. ‘What the hell? Why would a robber want to break into a broke woman’s house?’Right then, she identified the person who opened the door. It was Brenda. Carrie exclaimed, “Why are you in my house, Aunt Brenda? Do you have my keys?”She did not recall giving her aunt the keys to her house. Brenda was startled. Upon looking clearly, she said, “You scared me, Carrie? You didn’t make a sound. Didn’t you give me your keys when you rented the house and asked me to help you clean up? I forgot to return them to you.“Where have you been? You didn’t return for a few days. I
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