Once Serenity fetched Sonny from school, they did not go to York Corporation to look for Zachary. He was busy that day and did not even have time to have a meal with her. She did not want to distract him. Duncan was busy too, so Serenity brought Sonny back to the bookstore. Imogen was still around. When she saw Serenity entering with Sonny, she smiled and waved at him. “Come here, Sonny. Let me carry you.”Sonny remembered Imogen. When Serenity let him go, he jogged toward Imogen and greeted her before she carried him. Sonny greeted Jasmine as well. Jasmine patted his head and told Serenity, “Has Sonny grown taller? I think he has.”“Yes. He gained some weight too. Zachary said he would not be able to win a fight against Laurence when they meet up during winter break if he did not start eating more.”Jasmine laughed. “He’s right. You should eat more, Sonny. Once you get taller and heavier, you can crush your opponent even if you can’t beat him.”Sonny said, “Laurence is s
Imogen could not relate to the topic of children. She had not even gotten married yet. Although she had a target, the marriage probably would not happen. After they chatted for a while, the school bell rang and the students were off.Sonny played behind the cashier counter while the three adults got busy. When the sky turned dark, and the students had left, Serenity told Jasmine and Imogen, “Let’s go have dinner together.”“I want to have Italian food,” Jasmine suggested. Serenity said, “Italian again? Have you been craving that lately?”“I’ve always liked to eat Italian in this weather.”Serenity looked toward Imogen. Imogen said, “I’m fine with anything.”“I guess the pregnant woman gets priority. Let’s go have Italian.”Jasmine laughed. “You’re speaking as if you aren’t pregnant yourself. Your baby is just a month younger than mine.”“A month still counts. My baby will still be in my stomach when you give birth.”Serenity took Sonny’s bag and called out, “Let’s go, S
On the way to the Italian restaurant, Serenity got a call from Jane. She heard Connor's voice the moment she picked up the call. “What’s Connor doing, Jane?” Serenity asked amid laughter. Jane was holding her son with one arm and her phone in the other hand. “He wants to snatch my phone when he sees me making a call. If I don’t give it to him, he’ll start screaming, demanding that I give him the phone.”Serenity smiled. “You can get a toy phone that can emit sounds for him.”“He has one, and he likes it a lot. He’s just playful and wants to snatch mine the moment he sees it. He probably mistook my phone for his.“Have you eaten, Seren?”After speaking, Jane spoke to someone else, “Take Connor out for a walk. He’s too noisy.”Connor was always crying or screaming. He was truly a crybaby like Tim’s son.A nanny carried Connor away. One of the elders had taken the obedient Chloe away early on. Everyone loved well-behaved babies. More importantly, the Johnson family did not
The legendary doctor missed Oliver a lot. Before he returned, he would get on a video call with his disciple, Dr. Carden, multiple times a day to look at Oliver. Dr. Carden was annoyed and said she could let him raise Oliver in the mountains. He was experienced in raising children anyway. After all, Dr. Carden was brought up by the legendary doctor himself. However, Tim refused to let him take Oliver away. Although Oliver was a crybaby and often caused Tim headaches from his crying, Tim still loved Oliver deeply. He said the place where Laurence and the legendary doctor lived was too cold and that the young Oliver could not stand such harsh weather. Tim was right. The legendary doctor’s home was far from civilization. It was cold in spring, fall, and winter. The weather would only turn slightly warm during summer. Now that it was still snowing, Laurence was forced to clear the snow in the garden every day after waking up. He would train while clearing the snow. Indeed, Oliv
Jane said, “Okay. We can get the present when we go shopping for clothes tomorrow.”She did not offer to pay for the present. She would let Laurence use his money. He had some savings and did not lack money. He managed his finances. Since he wanted to give Sonny a present, he would have to pay for it himself. “What present should I get for Sonny?”Laurence sounded as if he was asking Jane and muttering to himself simultaneously. Jane said gently, “Since it’s a gift for Sonny, you should get something he likes.”Laurence was in a dilemma. “Sonny loves food. He already has a lot of toys.”“You can get him some food then.”“Sonny isn’t picky. He eats everything as long as it doesn’t kill him. If so, won’t I have to prepare many presents?”Laurence was a little concerned about his money. He looked toward Jane, looking as if he wished Jane could sponsor him but was embarrassed to ask. He was the one who said he would pay for Sonny’s present himself. Sonny was his friend. H
Laurence would turn four years old soon, yet his learning progress was faster than others. As expected, a child taught by the masters was special. If one did not have natural talent and wit, he or she could never keep up with the masters’ teaching. Of course, the masters would refuse to teach someone who did not have talent. Laurence answered seriously, “The books in my bag are gifts from the grandpas and grandmas for the new year. I like them a lot.”He put a lot of emphasis on the last sentence. Jane dared bet that Laurence would have the urge to throw his bag away once he opened it and saw it filled with books. She knew he was under a lot of pressure. Keeping up with a group of masters was difficult. However, it was an opportunity that others could only dream of. “Since I’m Sonny’s age, he’ll definitely like whatever I do. That’s why I want to give Sonny some books as well. He likes too many types of food. I can’t buy that much food for him.”Jane said, “Are you su
Jane patted Laurence’s head. She said, “Admitting and correcting your mistakes is good.”He nodded vigorously. He would reflect on his mistake. As long as the adults pointed out his mistake, he would correct all of them. Jane stood and said gently, “You can go and play now.”“Where’s Chloe, Mommy Jane?”Laurence added, “I want to play with her.”He only had one younger sister. He preferred her over his younger brothers but they were also adorable. “Her nana might’ve brought her out to play. Connor is still with the nanny. Do you want to play with Connor?”After thinking about it, Laurence said, “I’ll look for Chloe. Since Connor has the nanny to play with, he doesn’t need me.”Connor was a crybaby like Oliver. Uncle Ethan’s sons were older than Connor by a few months and were more difficult to handle. Laurence only found his little brothers cute when they were asleep. On the other hand, Chloe was adorable regardless of whether she was awake or asleep. Laurence thought
“Was that Chelsea and her family?” Jasmine asked Serenity after they settled down. “It must be. She’s been living a comfortable life. She’s even dressed in expensive clothes and jewelry.”Before Liberty got a divorce, Chelsea and Mrs. Brown would go to the bookstore to complain to Serenity. Jasmine had met Chelsea several times before. Chelsea had left such an impression that Jasmine could not possibly forget her. “It is Chelsea.”Serenity replied, “Lucas called Sonny twice, but Chelsea covered his mouth. She’s scared of us joining her for dinner and making her pay.“In the past, she and her family would go to Liberty’s house to eat for free. They never helped out and even dared to order my sister around and pick on her.”The Browns were like leopards who would never change their spots. Serenity felt Wiltspoon was tiny. She would bump into people she disliked from time to time. Imogen did not know what happened in the past. She kept quiet and simply listened. Jasmine sa
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