As Jasmine mentioned, men had to be coaxed occasionally by giving them gifts or flowers. They would be in a good mood and more motivated to work when they receive presents. Ultimately, they would earn more money for their wives to stay pretty. Camryn felt Jasmine was skilled at persuading her husband. She and Serenity had to learn a thing or two from Jasmine. Serenity said Jasmine was simply applying what she learned from romance novels in reality. Camryn used to love reading, but she rarely read novels and preferred classics instead. When she lost her sight, she had not even graduated from school, let alone read books. While there were schools catered for the blind, her mom refused to send her to those schools. On the other hand, her stepfather, who was also her uncle, seemed to treat her decently. In truth, however, he could not be bothered about her life. In the end, Camryn was unable to go to university. When she regained her sight, Camryn wanted to start learning again
“Giving birth to a daughter is a remarkable feat in the York family. Our ancestors might even die from laughing.”After a brief silence, Josh reminded, “Need I remind you that your ancestors are already dead?”Callum replied, “It was just a metaphor.”He was affected by Josh's showing off. He had been looking forward to having a child of his own after getting married. The gender of the baby did not matter. He simply wanted to experience fatherhood. However, that would not happen for another two to three years. Camryn had not been nursed to full health yet. Even if he put in the effort, she was unable to get pregnant. Callum could not express his love for children in front of her because he did not want her to feel pressured. Well, they could spend more time together without a child. He was satisfied with their happy life. Josh and Callum took the elevator up as their offices were located on the same floor. They walked out of the elevator together. Callum had a huge s
Although Mr. Charles was the primary breadwinner, Mrs. Charles was the one wearing the pants in the family. She managed their finances, and Mr. Charles was more than willing to be bossed around. Jasmine said, “She rarely scolds you anymore. I haven’t heard her angry voice for some time already.”Mr. Charles immediately placed a finger against his lips and whispered, “Don’t be so loud. My wife has sharp ears. She can give me an earful right away if she hears you. You’ll be able to hear her angry voice again.”Serenity and Jasmine laughed with their hands over their mouths. “I’ll take my leave now.”Mr. Charles walked away happily. As Serenity watched him leave, she told Jasmine, “I’m actually envious of Mr. Charles. He’s always in a good mood.”Life would get better when one had a positive mindset.“Mr. and Mrs. Charles have a good relationship and a harmonious family. Although their business is small, they’re still doing great.”Jasmine put her bag down and sat behind the c
Serenity smiled. “It’s normal for you to feel fetal movements. Even though I can feel them sometimes, it doesn’t feel real. It’s easy to be mistaken.”Although she said so, she still asked to touch Jasmine’s belly.Taking advantage of the fact that nobody else was in the shop, Jasmine sat behind the cashier, generously letting Serenity touch her stomach. However, the baby was asleep. Serenity lightly caressed Jasmine’s belly but did not get a response. “Baby might be sleeping. When I woke up, I said I could feel it moving, so Josh also touched my bump. He was amazed when he felt it and interacted with the baby for quite some time. He might have tired the little one out, so the baby’s sleeping now.”Serenity chuckled and withdrew her hand. She would soon be able to feel fetal movements herself, so there was no need to be jealous of her friend. The sound of heels came from outside the door.Soon, they saw a young woman entering the shop. It was the same woman from yesterday, who
Jasmine said, “Yeah. I’ve said it was good when I took the first bite.”“Let’s split the rest.”Serenity walked into the kitchen and took a ziplock, putting in half of the gingersnaps Mr. Charles gave.Jasmine did not stand on courtesy and accepted it. Carrie hid behind a shelf and observed them, feeling a bit dumbfounded. Have these two women never had cookies before? What was so good about that small and brittle cookie? They even shared it evenly.Carrie was curious and wanted to try it. How good was the cookie to make these two like it? However, she was now disguised as Mrs. Longbottom. She was not close to Serenity yet, so she felt embarrassed to ask her for a piece.“Serenity, Jasmine, are you there?”A familiar voice came from the outside. Hiding behind the shelf, Carrie turned pale, feeling a little nervous. It was Camryn. Camryn walked in while holding an umbrella. Behind her were two bodyguards Callum had assigned to protect her. As long as she was not with Callum,
“It’s not busy in the store now, so I came over to chat with you.”Camryn came because she wanted to chat with Jasmine and Serenity. Serenity instructed the bodyguards to carry the existing plants away, then replace them with the new ones Camryn brought. Jasmine went to pour a cup of hot tea for Camryn and said, “Drink some to warm yourself. It’s cold today.”She asked the bodyguards to help themselves since they were familiar with this place. They knew the three missus were down to earth and not unapproachable. Camryn drank a sip and saw the cookies at the cashier, but she did not ask about it.Serenity still offered her some, and Camryn did not hesitate to take one.Carrie was speechless. That cookie must be delicious.Camryn did not comment on how the cookie tasted. She ate while chatting with her two friends. When the topic came to her attending a banquet with her mother-in-law, she said to Serenity, “Seren, if you weren’t pregnant, we could have gone together. I was c
Unexpectedly, her niece had better luck than her, eventually dating and marrying Josh. The Bucham family was much more well-off than the Sox family. After Jasmine married into the Bucham family, she did not have to endure scrutiny from Josh’s mother, Rebecca. Josh’s family welcomed Jasmine with kindness.When Rachel was young and just married into the Lowe family, she had a hard time as her mother-in-law disliked her. She was only freed from the torment after her mother-in-law passed away.Camryn laughed along. “Since you guys said so, I have nothing to be afraid of.”“Yeah. You used to suffer so much without fear. Now that your life has improved, and with people backing you up, you have no reason to be scared. Camryn, remember that many of us from the York family will have your back.”Serenity boosted Camryn’s confidence. Camryn nodded firmly. She would cross the bridge when she got to it. There was nothing to fear.“Seren, don’t tell Callum about this. I just got nervous for
Carrie hung up after a few words with Mr. Longbottom. He always only asked about her whereabouts and when she would go home.She did not want to stay at the store anymore. Turning around, she saw the three missus sitting at the cashier, with several bodyguards sitting or standing at the entrance. She was burning with jealousy.It was only a small bookstore, but six bodyguards were inside. Serenity, Jasmine, and Camryn each had two bodyguards.Carrie also had two bodyguards following her whenever she went out now, but these bodyguards only acted respectfully when there were others around. They were cold and controlling behind the scenes, dictating her every move. They were totally different from Serenity’s bodyguards. She thought about how Serenity could not recognize her after she changed her face. Although Camryn was her sister, she was blind for ten years. Despite regaining her eyesight, it was only partially recovered, and Camryn could only see things up close. Things with
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.
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