Tania had wholeheartedly accepted Serenity as her daughter-in-law. In the future, she would teach her the internal workings of the York family. Once she handed all the responsibilities to her, she could retire. Serenity was a willing and earnest learner, motivated and ambitious. In that sense, she was a good match for Zachary, who was also ambitious. More importantly, Tania felt Zachary was utterly smitten with Serenity. She had no choice but to accept Serenity for her son’s sake. As long as Zachary was happy, Serenity’s inferior background did not matter. Besides, they had found out that Serenity was a descendant of the Fisher family of Jensburg. That was good enough. Back in its prime, the Fisher family had been on par with the York family. Moreover, Serenity’s aunt was the Stone family’s missus. Liberty was also working hard to back Serenity up. Tania admired Serenity and Liberty’s mindset. The higher society could say whatever they wanted. Tania would simply ignor
Tania’s mood got better after chatting with Serenity. She would take Serenity’s advice. Her sons were adults. She would just let them do as they wished. Austin was taking on a legitimate job. Besides, his business was stable. Becoming a personal chef would not affect his business anyway. Considering that Austin could be cooking for his future wife, Tania no longer saw the need to stop him. “I’ve come round, Seren. I’m not angry anymore. Let’s go downstairs to check on Sonny.”Tania got up and Serenity went downstairs with her. Sam was watching an animation with Sonny, who was engrossed in the show. When Sam heard the sound of footsteps, he stood up. “Aunt Ser.”Sonny stopped watching the TV when he spotted Serenity. He immediately ran toward her and Tania. He greeted Tania enthusiastically too. Tania lifted him and asked if he was happy in preschool. Sonny answered every question. He even told her many interesting stories that occurred in preschool and made he
Serenity and Austin did not head inside right away. Austin stared at her and asked, “Can we have a few words, Serenity?”Serenity replied with a smile, “Of course. You can tell me anything.”“Mom and Dad fought because of me. I want to be a private chef. I’m confident I can juggle my business at the same time, but my mom objected. She thinks that I already have a career and that even if I like to cook, I can do it at home. There’s no need for me to be a private chef.“A chef is a professional job, but Mom doesn’t like it. She didn’t want me to become someone else’s chef because of my identity as a young master of the Yorks.”Austin sounded frustrated. Tania’s objection had also led to her and Liam fighting. Austin was different from Zachary. Zachary was raised by their grandparents, sharing the closest bond with them. Although Austin also received education from his grandparents, he spent more time with his parents. Hence, he cared about his parents’ approval a lot. Austi
Austin blushed. Upon seeing his reaction, Serenity understood everything. She asked curiously, “What’s her name? Where is she from?”Austin looked toward the house. After ensuring that his parents would not walk out, he answered, “She’s from Satbury, located within Windermere. Her last name is O’Connor.”“Windermere is so far.”Serenity was stunned that Grandma May would choose a granddaughter-in-law from such a far place. Windermere… “Is Satbury far from Havenmill?”“They’re neighboring cities located not too far from each other.”Austin was puzzled. “Why did you mention Havenmill? Do you have friends from there?”Serenity replied, “No. My best friend is Jasmine. I don’t have any friends in Havenmill. I just recalled someone saying that there’s a family in Havenmill that has a long history.”Austin said, “I’m not sure about that. I can look for information on that family from Havenmill after I arrive in Satbury.”“Have you met Ms. O’Connor before?” Serenity asked. Au
“Thanks, Serenity. I feel more confident after you said that. You’re right. Zachary’s food is excellent, but I cook more often and enjoy it more than he does. I guess I still stand a chance against other people.”Not only that, Austin had invested in the food and beverage industry. He often traveled to many places to try out local delicacies and learned various cuisines. Sometimes, he would repeat a dish several times to polish it to perfection. He was also skilled in making home-style dishes and all sorts of intricate desserts. The bottom line was he would dabble in anything related to food. That was probably enough to win over Ms. O’Connor’s palate.“That’s the spirit. A son of the Yorks must be confident. Believe in yourself and Nana. She must’ve chosen Ms. O’Connor for you because she knew you’d succeed in wooing her.“Think about it. She’s a foodie but picky. On the other hand, you love cooking and are able to cook a variety of dishes. It’s as if you two are made for ea
“Can I tell Zachary about this?”After some contemplation, Austin said, “I don’t mind. I’ll probably need his help in the future anyway. He won’t know how to help me if he doesn’t know anything.”Serenity chuckled. “Zachary can help you with work, but he’s useless in the relationship department. You can come to me instead. I’m better than Zachary at that.”Zachary was clueless about women. According to him, he had taken all his effort to understand Serenity and had none left for other women. Every woman’s personality was different. Therefore, asking Zachary about women was useless.Even if someone had a similar personality to Serenity, they were still different people.As his brother, Austin knew Zachary well. Since Serenity offered to help him, he would simply take her up on it.Having Serenity’s help was equivalent to having Zachary’s.It was common knowledge that Zachary was a doting husband.In the past, no one in Wiltspoon’s business world dared to displease Zachary.
“He’s right, Tania. Why didn’t you take me with you? We’re husband and wife. We shouldn’t be apart from each other. Have you ever thought how I’d feel when you left me at home?“You could’ve told me that you missed Zachary and Serenity. I would’ve come here with you.”Looking at Sonny sitting on Tania’s lap, he added, “I missed Sonny too.”Sonny looked toward Tania and Liam, then Austin and Serenity. He did not know how he got involved in the conversation.He just wanted Tania to watch cartoons with him.Grandpa Liam came after and he held Grandma Tania’s hand to say many things. Grandma Tania’s face turned red. In the end, she told little Sonny to watch the TV himself and went upstairs with Grandpa Liam.A few minutes after Grandma Tania and Grandpa Liam returned downstairs, Aunt Ser and Uncle Austin came inside. “I missed Grandma Tania too,” said Sonny. Everyone laughed. Sonny was confused but laughed along as well. Serenity told him, “You should go upstairs for a showe
After Serenity and Sonny went upstairs, Austin apologized to his mother again. Tania said, “I’m not angry anymore. Your dad and Serenity were right, Austin. You’re an adult. You know what you should do and be responsible for it. I don’t have to boss you around anymore.“You’re not Zachary. Since you don’t have to manage the family, you can do whatever you want. I’m fine as long as you don’t break any laws.”It would be great if he could bring with him her future daughter-in-law when he returned. However, Tania did not voice her thoughts. Since Austin never mentioned anything about wooing a girl, she pretended not to know. He would naturally let her know when his relationship was stable. No matter which girl it would be, Tania would accept her so long as Austin liked her. She had even accepted Serenity. Well, her future second daughter-in-law was someone who could afford to hire a private chef. It meant that she was well-off. What could Tania possibly dislike about her?
“Remy, Remy!” a voice called from outside. It sounded like Audrey. Remy came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron.“You keep at it, I’ll go out. My mom must have seen the lights and knew you were back, so she’s calling you over for dinner at our house.”At this time, her family was probably halfway through their meal.Elisa put down the remote control and walked out of the house with a packet of snacks in hand, munching as she went.“Mom.” Elisa walked to the fence and responded to her mother.“Elisa? You’re back too? You came back and didn’t even come home for dinner? We’re eating right now. Hurry up and bring Remy over. Grandpa True was just saying that Remy hasn’t come over for dinner in a few days.”Remy had been busy entertaining clients lately, so he had not had time to join his in-laws for meals.Elisa replied, “Mom, I feel like eating Remy’s cooking tonight, so we won’t be coming over. You guys go ahead.”“Oh, you. It’s so late already, and you’re still making Remy c
Elisa said, “Although cousins can be as close as siblings, it’s still better to have another child. After all, we won’t be living at your family home permanently, and our children might not have much time to bond with their cousins in the future.“I have two older brothers, and the three of us have always been close. My brothers have always doted on me, and I can always talk about things with them. My sister-in-law has been very kind to me even after they got married too.“I’m used to having siblings around. It’s lively, and no matter what happens, we can always talk things through. It’s nice not having to face everything alone. I don’t want my children to feel lonely in the future.”Elisa continued, “Most importantly, I love children. If you could be the one to carry and give birth, sparing me the exhaustion of pregnancy, I’d even consider having three kids. But unfortunately, you can’t.“If I have to carry the baby myself, even though I love children, I’d only have two—preferably
Jasmine smiled. “I can’t tell. He’s so tiny. I’m scared when I have to carry him. I’m afraid of hurting him. What if he slips from my arms?”As a first-time mother, Jasmine was inexperienced. She was not like Serenity, who had raised a baby before. Josh and Zachary had secretly taken classes on how to look after a baby. The way Josh held the baby was more accurate than hers. “You’ll get better at it after learning slowly. I didn’t dare to carry my nephew either because I was scared of hurting him, but I’m an expert now.”Elisa could not resist touching the baby’s face again. She really liked babies.“Has the baby been fed?”Camila replied, “He was fed an hour ago.”The baby had been ravenous. Everyone was relieved when they saw the baby could feed normally. The doctor said the baby might experience jaundice a few days later and that premature babies should be monitored closely. Jaundice usually appeared when the baby was a few days old. It would reach its peak after
Remy gave it some thought. If he were to become a father, he would also be extremely happy, to the point that he would forget about posting on social media.They were usually busy people and did not have the habit of posting regularly anyway. Josh only started sharing a lot on Facebook after he got married. He simply wanted to show off his life after marriage and irritate his friends who were still single. Even Zachary would post about his love life on Facebook occasionally. Remy suddenly felt he had to keep up with the trend and post something on Facebook during his free time. Remy and Elisa went to buy some supplements before heading to the hospital. There were still many people in Jasmine’s ward. Most of the men were sitting in the small living area while the women were chatting with Jasmine or looking at the baby in the room. The baby boy was already fed and in fresh diapers. He was sleeping soundly. “Jasmine.”Elisa walked over with the supplements she had brought.
The secretary wished she could skip work and visit Jasmine at the hospital with Elisa. However, that could never happen. She was simply an employee, while Elisa was her boss. The only alternative was if Elisa invited her along. Nevertheless, the employees could meet Jasmine during their break or visit her at her house. Elisa left excitedly. A Maybach was parked at the entrance of the company. When Remy spotted Elisa exiting, he stuck his head out and waved at her. Upon seeing him, she was no longer in a hurry to get to her car. She quickly walked over. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you go inside?”Elisa was beaming. As she had received good news, she had a smiling face regardless of who she met.“I just arrived. I didn’t drive inside when I saw you coming out. Where are you going?”Remy got out of the car.“Jasmine gave birth. I want to go to the hospital to visit her and her baby. You came at the right time. We can head over together, but let’s get some supplemen
“Yes. Health is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. With the York family’s wealth and numbers, they won’t have to worry about not having a successor even if your child is slightly more ordinary.”Of course, Elisa personally hoped the next successor of the York family would be her nephew.The Stones and the Yorks could be considered relatives because Elisa and Serenity were cousins.The successor of the Stone family was most likely Clive’s son. If the York family’s heir was not Serenity’s child, would the two families’ relationship that was finally mended become strained again?After all, the head of the York family would no longer be a relative of the Stones if that were the case. However, Elisa did not voice her thoughts. She did not want Serenity to feel pressured. As an aunt, she also thought her nephew’s health was more important than anything else.“You must be busy, Elisa. You should go on with your work. I shall not disturb you. I appreciate your
“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