“Which floor is our unit?”“Sixteenth floor.”Hank carried Jessica’s suitcase out of the car, pulled it, and took Jessica inside.A neighbor bumped into them at the elevator and exchanged greetings with them, then asked, “Mr. Brown, didn’t your wife bring a group of people over to move out this afternoon? Why are you still coming back to live here?”“She was moving her stuff out.”The neighbor glanced at Jessica and seemed to understand.He smiled at Hank and left.It was no wonder Hank was chased by Liberty with a kitchen knife for five blocks. It turned out that he was cheating on his wife.The couple should be divorced, right?Liberty just moved out this afternoon, and Hank came home with a beautiful woman on the same night. He would not be so blatant unless he was already divorced.“Does he suspect something?”Jessica was a homewrecker, after all, so she still felt uneasy.Hank pulled her suitcase with one arm while embracing her shoulders with the other. He swept her i
Crack.The phone screen shattered when it hit the ground.Hank hurriedly bent down to pick up the phone and once again looked at everything at home without caring about the broken screen.Jessica also turned on the flashlight on her cell phone and together they looked at the state of the house. Never mind the lack of luxury decoration, it was even worse than a shack.“Hank, are we in the wrong house?”Jessica was still holding onto false hope.Hank walked inside and said, “That’s impossible. My key wouldn’t be able to open the door if it was the wrong house.“This is my house. What happened here? Where are my appliances? Is that all there is?”The more Hank looked, the darker his expression became.He stood in front of the dining table which he had paid for.A lightbulb moment hit him.He suddenly understood.It was Liberty.“Liberty!”He shouted up as the thought crossed his mind.“She smashed up my house!”Hank was furious.Jessica immediately said, “Let’s call the p
Hank paused before asking, “Couldn’t you have at least cleared away all the garbage?”Liberty laughed. “There was a lot of garbage when the house was first renovated too, and I was the one who paid for someone to clean it up. You didn’t reimburse me for that either. I’m just collecting my money back now.”“How much does it cost to hire someone to clean up? Why are you haggling with me over that little bit of money?”“Why shouldn’t I haggle? That’s my money. My money doesn’t grow on trees. Why should I give it to you? I’ll get back every penny I’ve spent.”Hank was speechless.After a long time, he gnashed his teeth and said, “Fine, you win!”“I’m only getting my renovation fee back. There’s nothing to win. Your house now looks like what you paid for.”Hank was so angry that he hung up the phone. He wanted to throw the phone, but Jessica quickly grabbed it. “That’s my phone. Don’t throw it.”“Damn it!”Hank could not do anything else but repeated those two words.As Liberty ha
Hank was furious whereas Serenity felt today went by spectacularly.After she and her husband left Liberty’s newly rented apartment, she was laughing the entire way home.Zachary was amused. “Don’t laugh too hard or your stomach will hurt.”“I’ll still be happy even if my stomach hurts. Hank must be home by now. I wonder what his reaction was when he saw the state of his place. He must have thought he entered the wrong house. Haha, I can’t help but laugh when I think of his reaction.”“Let me join in on the fun too!”Zachary then fell into Serenity’s laughing spell.He laughed until he almost hit the street light. He swerved in fright and managed to avoid the collision.Serenity was so startled that she forgot to laugh.When it was safe, she said, “Zachary, is your driving okay? I can drive instead. My driving skills are exceptional. Racing won’t be a problem either.”“I got my driver’s license when I was eighteen. I’m an experienced driver. Just now was just an accident. I la
“What’s wrong, Seren?”Zachary noticed something was wrong with her and quickly walked over. He sat down on the edge of the bed, reached out to tug her body, and asked with concern, “Are you feeling unwell?”“My stomach hurts.”“Your stomach? Are you bloated because you ate too much during supper?”Serenity glared at him.“No? Then why does your stomach hurt?”Serenity rolled over and turned her back to him. “You won’t understand. I’ll be fine if I lie down and bear with it for a while.”Zachary frowned.He stood up then bent down to pick her up from the bed again. His handsome face said seriously, “I don’t know medicine, but a doctor does. I’ll send you to the hospital. Don’t try to endure it. It’ll be too late for regrets if you bear with it and it turns out to be a big problem.”“There’s no need to go to the hospital. I just... It hurts because I’m having period cramps.”Zachary paused before saying, “Your... period... O-Oh. I get it now.”He quickly placed Serenity back
Sitting up, Serenity took the cup of hot cocoa and slowly sipped on it. She had no idea whether it was Zachary’s care for her or the hot drink working its magic, but she felt a lot better after the cup of cocoa and another lie-down. By the time Zachary was back with something to relieve her pain, Serenity was scrolling the news on her phone. “Why are you on your phone when you’re sick?” Zachary drew close and snatched the phone out of her hands before stuffing the pain-relief medicine into her hands. He said, “It’s late. The pharmacy was closed. I went to the nearby hospital and got a doctor to prescribe you some pills. Take some and go back to bed.” Lifting her chin, Serenity quietly stared at him. “What’s the matter?”She jolted up and stood before him, bringing her arms around his waist while emotionally uttering, “You’re so good to me, Zachary.” As Zachary embraced her, he could guess that she must be feeling better after a cup of cocoa. He dotingly remarked, “You’r
Out of everything Zachary had said to Serenity, the point that caught Serenity’s attention was money. His wife reckoned that he, the heir of the Yorks and the head of the multi-billion-dollar York Corporation, had no money… Letting loose of her, Zachary got up and walked away. Serenity blinked her eyes. Was the petty guy angry again? She got up too, but instead of cheering him up, Serenity poured herself a glass of water and downed the pills he bought. He paid no heed to his appearance and wore his dressing gown and loafers to get her something to help with the pain. It would be a waste of his effort if Serenity did not take the medicine. It would probably fuel his anger too. Zachary soon returned to her side. “Put your hand out.” He ordered. “What’s the matter?” Lifting her chin, Serenity watched as he took out a red jewelry box. She asked hesitantly, “Is this a ring?” Zachary opened the jewelry box and grabbed her left hand. Taking the gold ring out of the box,
Zachary held Serenity, intending to meet her in dreamland. After closing his eyes, something abruptly came to mind. He gently peeled away from Serenity and sat up. Zachary reached out to grab Serenity’s phone on the bedside table. He posted the photo on Facebook to announce he was married within his circle. The photo would definitely get out in the open. Zachary was not afraid of the photo getting circulated because the photo only showed a pair of hands. It would protect Serenity from the media vultures for now. However, Serenity’s post on Facebook might be seen by Elisa.Since Serenity and Elisa were close, the girls would have added each other on Facebook. Clive could see his photo through others while Elisa would find the photo on Serenity’s Facebook. By making a comparison, Elisa would realize that Serenity was his wife. Zachary could not let Elisa know about him and Serenity for now. Serenity and Mrs. Stone had done a DNA test, and the results would be out in two
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
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