Serenity's car was parked at Lewis & Co. She was waiting for Duncan to come out. He did not make her wait too long and appeared in his car within minutes.“Serenity.”Duncan lowered his window and said, “You can pass Sonny’s luggage to me.”Serenity replied, “I still have to send you two off. Sonny’s stuff is already in my car, Duncan. Let’s go to the preschool first, he’s almost done.”“Okay.”Duncan then asked, “Didn’t Zack come along?”“I didn’t tell him. He’s busy too.”Duncan nodded. Zachary was indeed a busy man. Serenity drove away and Duncan followed from behind. When they arrived at the preschool, they bumped into Carrie again. Carrie had been deliberately setting up such encounters every day. “Are you here to pick your nephew up?” Carrie asked Serenity with a smile. When she saw Duncan beside Serenity, her gaze gleamed. If it were not for Serenity already approaching her, she would have taken a picture of Serenity and Duncan together. Zachary was crazy ab
“Aunt Ser. Dunc.”Sonny was out. When he spotted them, he immediately broke free from his teacher’s grasp and started running. The teacher was shocked. She immediately raced after him. “Don’t run, Sonny. You might fall.”Serenity called out to him. Sonny arrived before her in the blink of an eye. She lowered herself to lift him, but he quickly escaped her arms to stay standing. “You have my little brother in your belly. He’s bigger now. I might squash him if you carry me.”Sonny would touch Serenity’s baby bump from time to time. He was greeting his little cousin in her womb. Sometimes, he would also ask why the baby was a boy and not a girl instead. Unfortunately, the baby boy could not answer him. Aunt Ser told him that his little cousin might move when Sonny greeted him after a month. That was because fetal movement would start a month later. Serenity said, “It’s okay. You’re not heavy. You won’t crush your little cousin.”Even if she was pregnant, holdin
Sonny asked Serenity. Serenity smiled. “I did. Don’t worry. I won’t let you detour. Duncan even came to pick you up to save time. Let’s go. Your mom is waiting for you two in Jensburg.”Sonny told Duncan happily, “We should leave now, Dunc. Let’s not make Mom wait.”Duncan adjusted Sonny to sit on his lap and replied, “Okay. Let’s go now.”He gestured at his bodyguard to push his wheelchair. Of course, a private plane could not take off from a preschool. He still had to take Sonny to the airport.“Are you hungry, Sonny?” Duncan asked. “I had some snacks in school.”The preschool always prepared some small bites for the kids during break time. Sonny knew he was about to go on a trip, so he ate a lot of them. He did not feel hungry at all as his stomach was filled. Duncan smiled. “We can have some food in the car or on the airplane if you’re hungry. We’ll have dinner with your mom when we arrive.”“Okay.”Duncan prepared a lot of food and drinks for Sonny so he would not
More importantly, during one of his visits, Granddad kept sighing whenever he saw him. Grandmom would keep telling him to tell Mom to remarry Dad when he goes back. However, Sonny was still young. He did not know what remarrying meant. Olivia had explained it to Sonny as having his parents live together again. Sonny shook his head vigorously at that. He said he liked living with Liberty and did not want to be with Hank. Moreover, Lucas was always in Hank’s house. He still liked to snatch Sonny’s toys. While Sonny’s grandparents would not side with Lucas anymore, Chelsea would scold him for not sharing his toys with Lucas despite having a lot of money and toys. She said he was petty and stingy. Chelsea even secretly asked him to give her money for her business. He replied that he had no money and that Liberty had kept all of it in the bank for him. Chelsea told Sonny off for being stupid and letting Liberty control his money instead of keeping it himself. Sonny’s dis
“Alright. See you, Sonny. Have a safe trip.”“See you, Aunt Ser.”Duncan placed Sonny in the car. Sonny turned to wave goodbye to Serenity before turning to look at his father. He pursed his little mouth and said, “Bye, Dad.”Hank smiled.Duncan left with Sonny and the bodyguards in tow.Meanwhile, Carrie took advantage of everyone’s lack of attention to slip away. Otherwise, her ruse would have been exposed.Those who were here to pick their kids up only had to pass their guardian card to the teacher and the teacher would then escort the little ones out.They did not have to wait very long.If she waited here any longer and still did not receive her so-called sister-in-law, it would arouse Serenity’s suspicion.Once Duncan’s car had vanished into the distance, Serenity returned to her car and quickly left the preschool.Only Hank stood in place, looking extremely lonely.He could feel his son was getting further away from him now.Sometimes, he thought of restarting the fi
After taking a look at the plants and flowers, Serenity sat back down on the sofa.Then, she took out her phone to text her sister.[Duncan’s taken Sonny to the airport. They’ll arrive at night.]Liberty soon called.“Liberty.”“I got a text from Duncan saying that they’ll reach the airport soon. I’ll wait for them to arrive to have dinner together.”On Fridays, Sonny got out of preschool early and it only took a few hours by flight to get to Jensburg from Wiltspoon. Liberty would be able to have dinner with the both of them upon their arrival if she ate just a little later.“Sonny told me his dad went to pick him up?” Liberty asked.“When I dropped Sonny off at preschool this morning, I bumped into Hank. He said he happened to be seeing a customer off somewhere nearby, so he dropped by the preschool to see Sonny, but Sonny had already entered the building.”Serenity did not believe Hank. “I think he was there on purpose. I think he got jealous when he saw Sonny and Duncan so
Serenity changed the subject.She did not want to talk about the Browns anymore.Liberty chuckled. “Do you think I have super speed or that I’m a goddess, able to handle everything in a flash?“The company’s only just been established. We’re still recruiting heavily.“There’s no need to worry about business though—I might have started the company, but in truth, it’s just a subsidiary of York Corporation. Zack and Duncan own all the shares. I’m just an employee.”The company that she started was involved in an industry overlapping with that of Fisher Enterprise, specifically targeting them. She was obviously trying to steal their business. Serenity laughed. “You’re not an employee, you’re the boss. Does your company offer meals and accommodation? You have a cafeteria, right? Don’t you need vegetables and fruits? Don’t forget to give your sister a chance to work together.”She and her friends had started an agriculture company growing fields after fields of fresh produce.They h
“You should leave Elisa enough time to go on dates.”Liberty chuckled. “Don’t be a slave driver and take up so much of her time that she doesn’t even have time to go on dates.”“I don’t! I’m handling the management of the headquarters, aren’t I? Elisa just needs to handle the new branches.“There are so many employees in the company too. She just needs to sign the agreements and hand everything else off to the management team to handle. It won’t affect her time to go on dates.”Liberty said supportively, “Alright. You guys should discuss and arrange it then. If there’s nothing else, Seren, I’ll hang up first. I have work to do and once I’m done with that, I’m heading to the airport to pick Sonny up.”“Alright. Go ahead. I’m just waiting for Zack in his office to get off work and go home together.”On Friday nights, Zachary generally refrained from attending events, instead choosing to go home and spend time with his wife.After the sisters ended their call, Serenity immediately
Elisa giggled. “I’m not really jealous. I was just joking with you, Mom. You started it first by joking with me.“I also know that you’re good to Remy for my sake, hoping that my future in-laws will see how well we treat him and, in turn, treat me well too.“But Mom, even if I have to move to Annenburg with Remy in the future, you don’t need to worry about me being bullied. He can protect me, and I can protect myself too. Have you forgotten who I am?“I’m the little hothead. I’m the one who bullies others, not the other way around.”Audrey removed her daughter’s hand and lightly pinched her cheek. “I’m not worried at all about you being bullied by your in-laws. My future in-laws are wonderful people. Their family values are upright, and their household is harmonious. You hit the jackpot by finding a man like Remy.”Elisa said proudly, “That’s because I have a discerning eye. Any man I choose, and his family, must be excellent.”“Yes, yes, you have the best eye.” Audrey laughed an
When Alice saw her sister-in-law return, she quickly asked, “Elisa, have you eaten yet? If not, I can make something for you.”Audrey stopped her daughter-in-law and said, “Don’t worry about her. She’s got Remy in the kitchen cooking something delicious for her. With Remy around, she’s not going to starve.”Hearing this, Alice smiled and sat back down. Elisa protested, “Mom, how can you say that? Remy’s cooking for me of his own volition. You always say I’m exploiting him. You’re getting more and more biased.“You feel sorry for Remy but not me. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have found such a good son-in-law like Remy. So, you should still love me the most, just like before.”Audrey chuckled. “If it weren’t for you saying you wanted to eat his cooking, would he be in the kitchen right now? I called you two over for dinner, but you didn’t want to come.“Remy has been working all day. He must be tired, but when he comes home, he still has to serve you like a princess.”“Mom
“I’m not picky with food. Whatever you like, I’ll enjoy it too, so I’ll base the dishes on your preferences.”No matter what, he always put her first.Elisa said contentedly, “I’ll go back home and check on things. I heard my nephew crying earlier. Once the food is ready, just call me over from the fence.”Remy replied dotingly, “Alright, go ahead and check on him. You can bring the baby over to play for a while too.”After being taken out for a stroll, the little one had grown quite fond of going outside. If he cried after being fed, hydrated, and well-rested, it was clear that he just wanted to go out and see the world.As Elisa walked out, she said, “We’ll be eating soon. If we bring him over and he starts crying to go out, it’ll ruin our meal. It’s better to leave him at home for Grandpa True to look after.“Nowadays, he’s the apple of Grandpa True’s eye. Grandpa True even said that to see more of the younger generations, he’ll strive to live a few more years.”Patrick’s wil
However, Remy felt that his niece, Chloe, seemed even more outstanding than her brother. Perhaps in the future, it would be Chloe who would take charge of the family.“I miss Clo-clo so much. I don’t know why, but lately, whenever I see little babies, I feel especially fond of them. Maybe it’s because as I get older, I’m becoming more maternal.”“You’re not old at all. I’m older than you, so don’t talk about being old in front of me.”Remy did not like hearing her say she was getting old. If she was old, then he was even older. Remy felt that he was still in his prime, especially since he had not even married Elisa yet.“I’m older than Seren, and her baby is due in two months.“Oh, by the way, earlier, besides complaining that I was making you cook and worrying that I was tiring you out, my mom also suggested that we start preparing for pregnancy. She said that by the time we hold the wedding in the fall, it could be a double celebration.”Remy turned to look at her, his eyes bur
“Just like how Grandma May taught Zachary and the others, being able to cook isn’t just about earning points when looking for a wife—it’s also about rewarding your own stomach.” His own grandmother had not said anything like that. All she said was that flowers did not stay in bloom forever. Although the Johnsons were currently at their peak and were wealthy beyond measure, the world was unpredictable. Who knew in which generation the family might decline?Having more skills never hurt. Learning an extra skill meant that if the family ever fell on hard times, they would at least have the ability to support themselves.That was why their family elders encouraged them to develop a wide range of skills. They did not need to master everything, but they should at least have a basic understanding of many things. In truth, his cooking skills used to be quite average.It was only after he developed feelings for Elisa and learned that she had once had a crush on Zachary, who was skille
Audrey heard the cry of her precious grandson and immediately forgot about her daughter. She called out loudly, “You two enjoy your time together then. My grandson is crying, so I’m heading back inside.“You and Remy can start preparing for pregnancy too. When it’s time for the wedding, it’ll be a double celebration.”Hearing someone else’s daughter had given birth, Audrey was eager for her daughter to do so too. Though she was already a grandmother, she wanted to be a grandmother to her daughter’s child too. That was simply how elderly people with both sons and daughters were.Elisa was speechless. She heard the hurried footsteps of her mother heading back into the house, calling out before even entering, “Darling, don’t cry. Grandma’s back.”Elisa muttered, “Now that she has a grandson, even I, this precious daughter of hers, have been pushed aside. When I give her a grandson, I doubt there’ll be any room left for me.”She and Remy would definitely have children, but they were n
“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