Mrs. Torres, whose job was only to spend money, had transformed into a successful career woman within a few years.She smiled. “You’re the more impactful person, Mrs. York.”Serenity was the York family’s missus. She did not have an outstanding family background and only found Aunt Audrey after marrying Zachary. Although her aunt was Mrs. Stone, none of the Stone family’s assets belonged to Serenity. She simply gained a relative. To think that someone of Serenity’s background was able to be Zachary’s wife; she must have lucked out. Everyone remembered Serenity as she married Zachary and gained a foothold in the York family despite coming from a mediocre one herself. Before she got pregnant, the public criticized her for being infertile but the Yorks defended her. They would target anyone who dared to badmouth Serenity. Even though there were rumors that Tania disliked Serenity, Tania was willing to forego her image and fight those who criticized Serenity. Who would then not
Liberty was a divorced woman, while Mrs. Torres was a widow. They both had a son, but Mrs. Torres thought she was more capable than Liberty was. She felt she had to fight for what she wanted. She thought she had a greater chance of winning against Liberty. Besides, Liberty was not in Wiltspoon at the moment. Serenity remained silent. Duncan smiled and said, “If you’re not in a rush, we can meet another day. Sorry for your wasted trip.”Mrs. Torres returned the smile. “It’s okay. You should handle matters of higher priorities first.”Every business negotiation required several trips, or even over ten times going back and forth before it was finalized. Mrs. Torres’s secretary pressed the elevator button again while she walked toward the back of Duncan’s wheelchair, ready to push him into the elevator. Duncan refused her help, saying, “It’s fine, Mrs. Torres. This is an electric wheelchair. I can control it myself.”Mrs. Torres smiled and withdrew her hands. She watched a
Sonny said playfully, “I miss Jazz more.”He was close to Jasmine because of Serenity. Whenever Serenity brought him to the bookstore, Jasmine would take him out for good food and a shopping spree.Therefore, he liked Jasmine more as compared to Josh. “What a naughty kid.”Josh pinched Sonny’s cheek and put him down. He smiled and said, “I’m busy now. You can follow Serenity and play with Zachary first. Jasmine and I can take you to play when your winter vacation starts this weekend.”“Promise? You can’t lie to kids.”Every child loved playing outdoors, and Sonny was no exception. Josh laughed. “When have I ever lied to you?”Sonny thought about it. Indeed, Uncle Josh had never lied to him. After speaking to Duncan briefly, Josh led the senior managers out of the building. A few minutes later, Serenity and the rest showed up in the CEO’s office. Sonny acted like a spoiled child in front of Zachary for a while before being told to read and write on the sofa by Serenity.
Sonny hugged Zachary’s neck. He said, “I have something important to tell you, Uncle Zak.”Zachary asked in a curious tone, “What is it, Sonny?”“My winter vacation is coming soon.”Zachary hummed in agreement. Once winter vacation started, the new year would be arriving. The year flew by. “Can I play with Laurence during winter break?”Sonny looked toward Zachary in anticipation. His eyes were sparkling. “Who’s taking you there?”“I wanted Aunt Ser to go with me, but she said she couldn’t answer me. She told me to ask you for permission. Can I go, Uncle Zak? I miss Laurence. He said he’d be on vacation too.”Zachary looked toward Serenity. She smiled. “Sonny asked me about this right after school. I told him to ask you instead. I think it’s fine for me to accompany him because my bump won’t be too big yet.”She would be four or five months into her pregnancy by the time they were to go to FC Manor. It would not affect her traveling by flight. She would not dare to t
It was utterly embarrassing. “It’s okay. You’ll get more thick-skinned after each loss and eventually be able to brush it off.”After Zachary spoke, Serenity hit him lightly. He burst out laughing. Well, he was only speaking facts. Laurence was gifted. Not only did he have an extremely good memory, but he also had great teachers. Even if his teacher ignored him, his teacher’s mentor would train him. He also excelled in academics, martial arts, and medical skills. Great teachers would always produce brilliant students. While Sonny nevertheless had some advantages over Laurence, it was a fat chance for him to beat Laurence. Zachary was not trying to kill Sonny’s confidence. However, they sent Sonny to martial arts lessons primarily to strengthen his body and gain self-defense skills; not counting on him to become a master at it. “How could you say this to him? Sonny, don’t listen to him. You’re doing great. Although you can’t beat Laurence, you’re still much better than
Zachary’s expression told her that he had zero impression of Mrs. Torres.“I told you you wouldn’t know of her,” Serenity whispered. “Sonny’s coming. Let’s talk about it at home later. I have to give Liberty a heads-up later tonight too.”Liberty was currently stationed in Jensburg and Duncan still could not walk. They were not meeting as often as before. Even if they had eight hundred calls a day, it was still a long-distance relationship, and feelings could fade easily.It was hard to guarantee that Duncan would not have a change of heart if an attentive and considerate woman who could help him in his business appeared by his side at this time.Zachary spoke up for Duncan. “Duncan won’t have a change of heart. You don’t know him as well as I do. I’ve known him for over twenty years and he’s been a good buddy of mine for many years now. He’s very serious when it comes to relationships.“When he falls in love, it’s for life. He has never dared to fall for someone because of how se
Zachary was afraid of his wife—what of it then?At least he had a wife to be afraid of. There were so many sad single men out there who did not even have a girlfriend, let alone a chance to be a hen-pecked husband.Sonny gaped at him, speechless.It was impossible to expect Zachary to help him.“Uncle Zak, are you not coming home with us?” Sonny very naturally changed the subject.Zachary took his little backpack from him and then picked him up as he said, “I have a meeting later tonight, so I’ll get Uncle Bodyguard to send you guys home after I have dinner with you. I can only come home later.”Sonny pursed his lips and did not reply.The adults were so busy!“Are you unhappy?”Zachary pecked him on the cheek and said with a smile, “I’ll take you out to play this weekend, okay?”“I’m not unhappy. I know Uncle Zak’s busy because you need to earn money to buy milk powder for the baby. Okay! I want to go to the children’s amusement park this weekend.”Zachary said fondly, “Oka
“That’s right. Don’t listen to her, Sonny. Don’t take your Granddad or your Grandmom’s words to heart either. If your Dad says bad things about your Mom and Dunc, don’t listen to him either. They’re all just jealous.”“I know, Aunt Ser. They think I don’t know anything because I’m young, but I do.” Sonny was well aware of who was truly good to him and who was not.It was just that he was too young to express all of this clearly.Serenity patted Sonny’s head.She had to tell Liberty to limit Sonny’s contact with the Browns.That family would never change.She once saved Chelsea’s youngest son and thought that Chelsea would change because of it.Before Liberty started dating Duncan, Chelsea did treat the Hunt sisters much better and even turned around to pick on Jessica instead.Now, however, Chelsea had returned to her old habits.Zachary put Sonny down when they got into the elevator.Sonny held Serenity’s hand in one hand and Zachary’s in the other.Though his parents wer
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