Zachary said, “I’ve always looked up to Mr. Young-Johnson and was hoping for a chance to meet him. You’ve given me this opportunity.”Remy smiled. “My eldest brother has also admired you for a while, Mr. York.”They exchanged pleasantries.Remy came over to Zachary’s office to deliver his brother’s wedding invitation. Since it had been delivered, Remy did not stay long because he was busy.He said, “Mr. York, Mr. Bucham, I have something else to attend to, so I’ll get going now. If you have time in the evening, we can have dinner together. My treat.”Josh smiled. “I’m fine anytime, but Mr. York might not be free.”Zachary interrupted. “I’ll buy you dinner some other day, Mr. Johnson.”Zachary had plans with his wife tonight.Remy smiled. “Okay, then. I’ll wait for your call.”He stood up.Zachary and Josh both got up and walked Remy out of the office together.“Mr. York, Mr. Bucham, you don’t have to send me off.”Remy stopped at the door of the office and asked the two men
Josh said, “I heard about it even though I wasn’t there. Mrs. Lowe was the one who brought Jasmine to the banquet that time, so she quickly dragged Jasmine away.”Zachary was speechless.He heard Serenity mention occasionally that Jasmine’s family kept urging her to get married. Last time, Serenity even accompanied Jasmine on a blind date at Beans and Cream.Did Jasmine do that at Mrs. Dawson’s birthday party on purpose for the sake of her peace and quiet? That way, her family would not urge her to marry.“Ms. Sox was a sensation for lying on the floor. Everyone in our circle heard about this girl.”Josh smiled. “The girls in our circle won’t just lie on the floor even if they’re drunk because etiquette is engraved in their bones. They will still look elegant when drunk.”After a moment of silence, Zachary asked his friend, “Then do you like an elegant drunk or a wild drunk?”“I haven’t thought about this. But if you really want to arrange a blind date for me, go for it. I’ll me
The people who Serenity cared about the most were her sister and nephew.Pleasing Sonny would earn Zachary some brownie points.Zachary bought the bag of snacks because Serenity was a foodie.Serenity might not be so happy if Zachary gave her a bunch of flowers, but she would definitely smile when she saw this big bag of snacks.Zachary walked into the bookstore with a bag of snacks in his left hand and an airplane model in his right. At that time, Serenity had just finished feeding her nephew a bowl of porridge.“Uncle Zak!”The little guy was overjoyed to see Zachary.Serenity saw the toys that her husband bought and said, “Mr. York, why did you buy toys for Sonny again? Jasmine already bought him new ones.”Zachary handed the bag of snacks to Serenity and gave the airplane toy to Sonny, then he carried the little guy.“Sonny’s our only nephew. Who else can I spoil if not him? What Ms. Sox bought for Sonny is her business. It doesn’t clash with me.”Serenity put the empty b
Serenity said, “Oh, right!”She suddenly thought of her pets and asked Zachary, “What about Snowball and the rest? Should we bring them along?”“Snowball?”Zachary’s eyes turned dark as he thought, ‘Who is Snowball?’“It’s the puppy you gave me. I named it Snowball.”Zachary’s eyes turned gentle instantly.It turned out to be the puppy.He thought he had another love rival he was not aware of.“Seren, if it’s inconvenient, Snowball and the kittens can stay in the store. I’ll bring them back to my house after work and bring them back here tomorrow. I have pets at home too, so I promise I can take good care of them.”Serenity smiled and said, “Great! I’ll leave Snowball and the kittens to you then.”She hugged Jasmine and cooed, “Jas, you’re the best girlfriend in the world!”Jasmine gently pushed her away and said with a smile, “Don’t sweat the small stuff with me. We grew up together. Hurry up, don’t make Mr. York wait for too long.”Only then did Serenity go with Zachary w
Serenity asked, “Liberty, is everything going well?”The Hunt sisters walked toward Zachary’s car while they talked.Liberty smiled. “Did you forget what I used to do back then? Work is pretty easy. I was a little rusty at first, but I got my groove back pretty quickly.”However, Liberty still did not get along with her colleagues.It might be because of the commotion Liberty caused on the day of the interview. Everyone knew that Liberty was acquainted with Mr. Lewis, so they were being nice to her superficially while behind her back, they gossiped she had a relationship with the CEO. The looks that Liberty got from the female staff were indescribable.Liberty accidentally overheard her colleagues talking about her when she was in the bathroom.However, this was only her first day of work. It would eventually get better.“Zachary.”Liberty greeted her brother-in-law as she got in the car.Zachary nodded. His eyes then fell on Serenity. Liberty had been there and done that, so
Liberty winked at her sister, and Serenity understood the underlying meaning.She just wanted to say that Zachary was a good man, and that Serenity should treat him well.Serenity had to admit that although Zachary was sometimes domineering and petty, he was a righteous man when it came to facing difficulties. He was better than a lot of men out there.More importantly, even though their relationship was not based on love, Zachary had been great to Serenity and was doing his best.In order to prove to Liberty that she was treating Zachary well, Serenity kept serving Zachary food by putting them on his plate during the dinner.Zachary relished the food and felt loved.It turned out that the food Serenity put on his plate was extra delicious.Zachary suddenly recalled the time he saw Serenity putting food on Shawn’s plate at Grace’s Diner. Zachary thought, ‘Shawn must’ve been ecstatic at that time, right?‘Hmph, so what? Serenity serving him once doesn’t mean anything!‘Serenity
It was most likely because of Zachary’s guilty conscience and the signed agreement.Zachary decided to find a way to steal the copy of the agreement that Serenity was keeping. Oh, not steal, but just take it back. Stealing sounded horrible. How could the heir to York Corporation steal something? After taking back the agreement, he would destroy it.Zachary, who had no guts to hold his wife’s hand, accompanied his wife as they strolled along the streets all night. By the end of it, Zachary acted as a free porter and got into the car with various shopping bags.At first, Serenity mentioned there was nothing she fancied buying. However, after walking for a bit, she found a galore of things to buy and spent her own money.Zachary wanted to pay for her, but she firmly refused, which frustrated Zachary.At ten o’clock at night, the young couple returned to their small apartment.“Fortunately, I don’t like wearing heels. My feet are so sore after walking for so long.”Serenity slumped
A few moments later, Serenity said, “After listening to what you’ve said about your colleague, I think he’s better than all the blind dates Jasmine had gone to. I’ll ask her what she thinks tomorrow.“It’s late now, Mr. York. I’m going back to my room to wash up and sleep.”Serenity was exhausted from shopping.Zachary got up as well and said faintly, “Oh, good night.”Serenity replied with a good night and went into her room. She could not be bothered to even put away the things she bought from shopping and planned to leave them for tomorrow morning.Seeing how she went straight into the room without any intention to stay, Zachary stood where he was and remained silent for a long time.After a while, he walked out to the balcony, sat down on the swing, quietly looking at the night sky and wondering how both of them would go on in the future.Zachary was used to sleeping late, so he sat at the balcony until past eleven o’clock before returning to his territory.The husband and
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
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve