Grandma May said with a smile, “Why can’t you? You’re legally married. Zack isn’t stepping up to the plate. It’s up to you to do so and give me a great-grandchild.” Rosiness crept onto Serenity’s cheeks. “Nana, I’ll be blunt. I just can’t when I stare at your grandson’s straight face.” Nana was speechless.Like his grandfather, Zachary was a no-nonsense and detached man by nature. It took Grandma May years before winning over the heart of Zachary’s grandfather when she first laid eyes on him. “Even if I want to, he’ll freeze me to death before I can get close to him. He gives me the chills.” Nana was at a loss for words. “Don’t worry about Zachary and me, Nana. Things will happen naturally.” Serenity saw their living arrangements as roommates. As if that could ever stop Grandma May from worrying. Since Serenity was Grandma May’s choice for a granddaughter-in-law, Grandma May even went so far as to make the union possible against her son’s and daughter-in-law’s wishes. Gr
Jasmine chuckled in amusement, loving Grandma May’s funny quips. Jasmine had never met Zachary in person but got to know his aloof nature from her best friend. It was a wonder that he was related to Grandma May. Soon, Callum arrived. He was here to bring his gallivanting grandmother home. Nana reminded him to drive a cheaper vehicle. The cheapest car in the house was a BMW used by the housekeeper to get groceries. However, it was worth over a million bucks. Since it was too late to buy one, Callum had to borrow the gardener’s pickup truck. “Serenity, I’m here to take Nana home.” Callum came into the shop and said hello to Serenity. “Drive safe. Nana, please give me a message when you get home,” Serenity urged and gave them the crafts she made today. She gave Callum a copper-wire miniature tree. Callum was glad to accept the gift as he had grown to admire Serenity’s work after seeing them around the house. He believed Serenity’s handicrafts might not be worth a lot, but th
“What do you know?” Grandma May had her reasons. It then hit Callum. He asked with a smile, “Nana, are you putting one over Zachary?” Giving him a side glance, Grandma York murmured, “One more question, and you’re next.” That shut Callum up. Although Callum felt sorry for Zachary, it was best he stayed out of it for his own safety. Better Zachary than him. Grandma May was a child trapped in an adult’s body. Having found her inner child, Grandma May was on the prowl for setting her grandchildren up. Meanwhile, Serenity closed the shop and took the helmet from her best friend to put on. She also took the keys and said, “I’ll do it.” Sitting at the back, Jasmine wrapped her arms around Serenity’s waist. “If only you’re a man, Serenity. I’ll marry you right now, and that would get my mom off my back.” “Hold still! Keep your hands to yourself or I’ll throw you off the bike.” Serenity warned her best friend before starting the engine. Although Serenity often passed by B
“Ms. Sox, don’t leave so soon.” Not done flexing his superiority, Mr. Bill was reluctant to let Jasmine go. “I’m sorry, Mr. Bill. I don’t think we’re a good match. See you never.” Jasmine came clean about her thoughts before dragging Serenity away. They strutted on until Serenity came to a sudden stop. “What’s wrong, Seren?” “My husband.” “What?” Before Jasmine understood the meaning behind Serenity’s words, Zachary had drawn close. His profound eyes were fixated on Serenity as his lips curled into a smirk. Serenity could feel his sarcasm without him saying a word. What was he being sarcastic about? Serenity got her answer when she turned around and caught sight of Mr. Bill on their tail. Serenity explained, “I’m only tagging along my friend, Jasmine’s, date.” She was not in a rush to find the next sugar daddy. Zachary remained without a word. Jasmine got a look at her best friend’s husband at last! The man was a dreamboat! Afraid Zachary might take it the w
Serenity had no idea about the interaction between Zachary and Grandma May. It was a surprise running into Zachary at Beans and Cream, but putting two and two together, Serenity figured out why Zachary ended up there. What was the reason behind Nana’s actions? Was it so Zachary would get the wrong idea about her? It was not as if Serenity was on a blind date. It was Jasmine’s date. Even if Zachary saw her… Harking back to the scene at the coffee house, Serenity noticed the tension in Zachary’s face more than ever. Although Serenity tended to be slow at picking up cues, she could tell that Zachary took things the wrong way. Most importantly, Jasmine was at the loo, leaving Serenity with Mr. Bill by herself. It was a good thing Jasmine emerged from the loo right after. Her timely clarification loosened the tension on his clenched jaw. Serenity was clueless as to why Nana would do such a thing. She saved Nana’s life, but she expected nothing in return. It was Nana who remained
The video sent by Nana suddenly came to Zachary’s mind. Serenity was breathtaking when she was focused on making her crafts. Still denying that fact, Zachary watched the video multiple times nonetheless. He had to admit that he was captivated by the charm exuded by a confident woman at work. It was indeed eye-catching. It was said that women with confidence were the prettiest. All he saw was confidence in Serenity. She was a strong and independent woman. “I’ve never known and will never know what jealousy is… “Oh, you’re up?” Zachary was caught off guard by Serenity’s sudden presence in the living room as she emerged from the balcony. While still on the line, Callum replied, “I’m going to bed soon, but I thought of giving you a call before I turn in for the night.” Zachary terminated the call. Callum was speechless. “I dozed off on the swing. Your talking woke me up.” Wincing his face, Zachary told her off, “The night breeze can be freezing. Careful not to catch a
Serenity finished her breakfast and cleaned up in the kitchen before telling Zachary, “I’m going out. Don’t forget to lock the door on your way out.” Zachary glanced at her before turning his attention back to his toast. “That reminds me. Can I take some of the fruits to my sister’s?” She bought too much fruit the other day for the family event and they would be left to rot in the fridge since she and Zachary could not finish everything in time. Zachary answered, “Your sister is family. You can take whatever you want without asking me. You’re free to make decisions over household affairs unless it’s a matter that requires a discussion between us.” “We’re not that close, and I’m living in your house. I think it’s respectful to you as a husband to ask.“I’m not the type to hog all the good stuff for my own family. I bought a little too much fruit the other day and I think they’ll go to waste since we can’t eat that much. At least now my sister can have some before they turn ba
Zachary threatened the lady coldly. The apple of the Stones’ eye, Elisa was the princess of Stone Group’s chairman and the twin sister of the CEO, Clive Stone. Elisa was the most eligible bachelorette. “Hang on, Zachary.” Struck by a thought, Elisa turned around and ran back to the sports car to grab a huge bouquet of roses. She returned with the bouquet and shoved it through Zachary’s open window while saying, “These are for you, Zachary. I know you and my brother don’t get along, but I love you. I feel the need to confess my love to you, so you know I’m your one true love.” Stone Group and York Corporation might not be sworn enemies, but they were certainly business rivals due to clashing trades. Both groups were not on the best of terms, to say the least. Yet, it was love at first sight for Clive’s sister, Elisa, when she first laid her eyes on Zachary at an event many years ago. Due to the conflict of interest between both giants, Clive and her parents disapproved of El
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
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us