“Tell her that you won’t go halves on everything anymore and give her a little more allowance in the future, so don’t get divorced. You and Jessica should do your best not to let her see you two together.”“Mom, I want to divorce her!”Hank was insistent. “Jessica has never been married before and she’s dating me. I have to take responsibility for her. I don’t want Jessica to suffer any more grievances.”Olivia said unkindly, “Wasn’t Liberty a beautiful maiden too before she married you? I don’t see you taking responsibility for her to the end. And now you’re making her suffer for another woman?”“Mom, whose side are you on?”Olivia pursed her lips.Jessica was very good at buttering them up and making them like her, but Olivia felt that when it came down to it, Liberty was better at facing life than Jessica was. Liberty had gone through hardships and had tenacity. Jessica, on the other hand, was the youngest in her family, was coddled by her parents and her older brother, and ha
Mr. Brown continued to say, “It’s fine even if you give a little more money to Liberty. We shouldn’t be too unrelenting and should leave a way out for ourselves. Then we’ll be able to meet amiably in the future, but Sonny must return to us!”Sonny was a Brown, after all!“Dad, I guarantee you that I’ll definitely get custody of Sonny.”“Before the two of you are divorced, I don’t believe your guarantee. It’s better if you get Sonny to come and stay with us and let your mother and I take care of him. I’ll only stop worrying then.”Hank said helplessly, “Dad, you and Mom have never taken care of Sonny. If I bring him over, and he can’t get used to it and makes a fuss, what then?Olivia rallied. “That’s exactly why we have to take him in now to nurture the bond. In the future, when you get married again, will that Yates woman be willing to take care of him? Sonny will definitely end up with your dad and I. We’re his biological grandparents, after all.”“How many kind stepmothers are
Zachary instantaneously picked up her call.“Mr. York, were you alright this morning? Can you hold up? If not, you should get the remaining day off to come back and rest after your meeting.”Hearing her concern, Zachary felt happy. He leaned back on the black swiveling chair. He said as he spun, “I only managed to hold up because I had a cup of coffee after I got back to the office. Work is almost over. I can sleep for a bit soon.”“Aren’t you going to eat?”“I’m too sleepy and I don’t have an appetite. I don’t feel like it.”“That won’t do. You’ve worked the whole morning. If you don’t eat lunch, you’ll get gastric problems. It’ll be very hard to recover fully afterward.”Zachary said softly, “I just don’t feel like eating.”“After you finish work, you should get some sleep first. I’ll send some food over to you in a bit. I’ll call you once I’ve reached your office.”He only lost his sleep because of her sister’s issue. Whether it was for their public image, or in private, Ser
Nana dragged her luggage and walked straight to the sofa. She sat down and said, “Zachary, I want to move in with you and Seren.”Zachary’s face stiffened. “Nana, you promised me—”“I’m not stirring trouble, so what are you so nervous for? What are you worried about?” Nana rebutted. Following that, she said stubbornly, “I’ve already been chased out of home by your dad and uncles. I have nowhere else to go, so I wanted to seek refuge with my grandson. Is that not okay? Are you going to learn from your dad and uncles and chase me out too?”Nana sighed. “When you get old, you get hated. Wherever I go, I get chased away. What’s the point of raising sons? What’s the point of raising grandsons too? It’s better to raise a sweet granddaughter.”Zachary’s expression was dark. “Nana, my dad and uncles would never chase you away.”Even if she wanted to move in with him, she should not tag his dad and uncles with a giant label of being unfilial.Nana smiled cheerily. “I can’t say it was my
“Who was the one who said ‘I don’t get jealous, it’s unbecoming!’ and ‘I don’t chase after women!’? Zack, do you know who said that?”Zachary’s face did not twitch from its glum expression. His lips were pursed tightly as he kept quiet.Nana laughed until she was content, and only then changed the subject. “Isn’t Elisa Stone waiting for you there?”“She won’t come and disturb me anymore.”Elisa had not come to the office to lie in wait for him for the past two days.She had once told Serenity that as long as Zachary already had a girlfriend or was married, she would definitely stop bothering him.That made Zachary’s impression of her increase in favorability by two points.The unruly young lady was indeed much better than many others just by not trying to break apart a marriage in the pursuit of true love.“Has she found out about you and Serenity?”“Nope. I just showed my left hand off, and she backed off.”Nana harrumphed. “What do you think your left hand is? If she backed
Callum brought Nana downstairs and the two prepared to go to the hotel to have lunch.The moment they exited the office building, Callum spotted Serenity with his sharp eyes.“Nana, now I understand why Zachary asked me to bring you out for lunch.”He pointed at the entrance of the office building and said to Nana, “Serenity’s here and she’s even carrying an insulated lunch box. She brought him lunch.”No wonder Zachary was burning with anxiety about getting him to take Nana and leave. He did not want Nana to third-wheel them.Nana stopped in her tracks and squinted for a while, saying, “That really is Seren. Hurry and give your cousin a call and remind him to change rooms. Let him use yours, and don’t let Seren find out.”Callum hummed in acquiescence and called Zachary.Even without Callum’s heads-up, Zachary knew long ago that Serenity had arrived.There was a pair of binoculars in his drawer. Once he had sent Nana on her way, he had gone to stand by the window, staring down
“I’ve already eaten.”Serenity answered without hesitation, then thought for a second before saying, “Why don’t I accompany you as you eat? Once you’re done eating, I’ll go back.”A light sparked in Zachary’s eyes. “Let’s go to my office then.”Serenity glanced once more at the crowd of people in black and tentatively asked, “I’m not an employee of your company. Can I enter just like that?”“It’s fine since I’m bringing you in.”He reached his hand out to Serenity, and after a moment of hesitation, she put her hand in his.As he held her hand, a hint of a smile appeared on Zachary’s face that escaped Serenity’s notice.With one hand carrying the insulated lunch box Serenity had personally sent over and the other holding her hand, he led Serenity into the building under everyone’s astonished and speculative gazes.“Mr. York.”“Mr. York.”Everyone who saw Zachary would greet him respectfully.They would also smile and nod at Serenity but they greeted her bearing a sense of won
Zachary opened the lid of the insulated lunch box as he said, “If you join my company and work here, you’ll realize that everyone addresses each other this way regardless of position. Our company culture places respect as a priority. Anyway, I’m just an average existence here.”Serenity stuck her tongue out at him. “Luckily, I don’t have the capability to join your company and work here, or else there’d be too many names to remember.”Zachary looked at her meaningfully. “You’re in a pretty good position right now. You have freedom, and you earn quite a bit too. You don’t know how many people would envy a self-employed person with freedom like you.”“I couldn’t get used to being managed by someone, so I opened my shop with Jasmine right after graduation. Jasmine’s family helped a lot, or else we wouldn’t have been able to get the operating rights to our shop.” It was not easy to open a shop right at the entrance of a school.“Was that copper wire tree bought from my online shop?”
“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
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.