Serenity’s heart melted at Zachary’s warm gestures while on the other side, Elisa’s spirits were dampened as she was given a rude awakening before she even got out of bed. As Zachary changed the settings on Serenity’s Facebook, Elisa did not see the photo on Serenity’s stories. It was her sister-in-law who showed her the photo. Her sister-in-law, Alice, knocked on the door and entered her room when Elisa just woke up. Alice quietly tapped on a picture on her phone and showed Elisa. Since Elisa had just gotten up, she could not understand the meaning behind her sister-in-law’s actions. Elisa asked, “Alice, who’s showing this mushy stuff online? Are you trying to get under my skin for being single by showing it to me?”Alice stared at her without a word. In fact, Alice gave her blessing to Elisa to fight for true love. As Zachary was outstanding in every single way, he would make the perfect couple with Elisa. Alas, Zachary was not into Elisa. Elisa had tried to move on,
Feeling bad, Alice gave Elisa a hug and consoled her, “Elisa, you should stop yearning for him since Zachary’s married. He’s not the only good man on earth. You’ll find better men once you let go of him.“You’re a great girl to me, Elisa. Don’t beat yourself up just because Zachary doesn’t like you. Take my advice. Forget Zachary. Your brother and I will find you a good man who is better suited for you and yours alone. “I promise you will live happier than Zachary. It might not be all sunshine and roses for the woman to marry a stoic man like Zachary. Think about it. Who would want to be with an aloof man?” Elisa bit her lips, refusing to shed tears. Worried Elisa might draw blood from the furious biting, Alice ran her mouth about her husband. “Clive is an *sshole for making me a meanie bright early in the morning. Don’t do that, Elisa. You’ll only hurt yourself.“Cry it out if you’re feeling sad. Cry it all out. I’m not an outsider. You’ll feel better after crying.“How about
“That’s what I admire the most about you, unlike some people who don’t care if others are married. They find someone they fancy and come in between the marriage of others under the pretext of finding true love. Those people disgust me the most.” Alice was speaking from the heart. She embraced Elisa as her in-laws would because her sister-in-law had good qualities. Alice would not even bother if Elisa was not a decent person. “I’m fine, Alice. Go and catch up on sleep. Tell my brother not to worry about me. It’s not like I can never find a man.” “Alright. I’m heading back to my room. Do you want to go back to sleep?” “Nah. I’ll go to spend some good time with Serenity later. That reminds me, the pastry chef made some great desserts yesterday. Is there any left? I want to bring some to Serenity and Jasmine. They have a thing for desserts.” These girls were just like her sister-in-law. Previously, Elisa’s family did not have a personal pastry chef as their chef could take
Clive sighed. There indeed was bound to be regret in life. …Serenity went to her sister’s new place to pick Mrs. Lane and Sonny up before heading to the shop with Zachary. She did not take a ride in Zachary’s car but since he insisted on escorting her by driving, she could only accept his kind gesture. Sonny was in a much better place with his mother spending time with him. Now that he was willing to be in Mrs. Lane’s company, Liberty could finally go back to work. Liberty could not take a long leave since she was still on probation. Once at the shop, Zachary reminded Serenity, “The Eternal diamond ring.” Serenity replied, “I’ll put it on now. I promise it will always be on my finger.” She then went behind the cash register and opened the drawer with a key. The expensive diamond ring sat quietly in the corner of the drawer. Zachary watched with a grimace. She was so nonchalant with the ring. Serenity pulled out the ring and wore it on her ring finger. She had
Elisa thought she was seeing things. Zachary traveled around in a Rolls Royce with a convoy of black personal security cars. Besides, there was no way Zachary would be here. No one in his family was in Wiltspoon School. Elisa put the matter behind her. Upon reaching Serenity’s bookshop, Elisa pulled up as Serenity carried Sonny out. “Serenity, how do you know I was here?” Elisa got out of the car and added with a smile. “You even came to greet me with Sonny.” “Nah. I’m taking Sonny to the supermarket.” Elisa drew close and reached out to carry Sonny, but Sonny turned away and pulled his arms around Serenity’s neck. He said, “I want Ant Swer.” Serenity explained, “Sonny is getting better, but he only wants people who are close to him.” “The Browns are a real piece of work!” Elisa cussed the Browns as she did not get to hug the adorable Sonny. She asked, “Has your sister divorced Hank?” “They split up yesterday. She got the divided assets and renovation costs back.”
Elisa downed a cup of tea before agonizingly opening up, “Serenity, Mr. York is married.” Serenity blinked. “Didn’t you mention before that you saw the ring on his finger?” Why did Elisa bring up that Mr. York was married then?Elisa fell silent for a while before replying, “I saw his wedding ring, but I was hoping that he was wearing the ring on purpose to get me to move on.” Jasmine asked, “Are you sure now that Mr. York is married?” Elisa nodded and answered, “Mr. York posted on Facebook announcing that he’s married. The news has caused a stir within the upper society in Wiltspoon. Many want to know who his wife is. “The press is stalking York Corporation and the Yorks’ residence to get a scoop. It’s a shame nothing was on media platforms yet before I came over. I guess they haven’t gotten any information yet.” Serenity was surprised. “Why is the media so interested in his marital status?” Jasmine and Elisa turned to look at Serenity at the same time. Serenity smile
Dizzy from the shaking, Jasmine pried Elisa’s fingers from her shoulders and said, “Elisa, Mr. Bucham and I only went on one blind date, and that was it. He won’t tell me if I ask him.” “I can’t believe you went on a date with Josh Bucham!” Elisa exclaimed in amazement. “Josh is the most eligible bachelor in Wiltspoon, and I’m talking about among the elites.” Elisa had no doubt about the authenticity of Jasmine’s date with Josh because Jasmine was the daughter of a local wealthy man. Jasmine’s aunt was also the missus of the Lowe family. Jasmine often attended higher society events with her aunt. However, Mrs. Lowe stopped bringing Jasmine around to parties after Jasmine’s lying stunt at Mrs. Dawson’s birthday celebration. “Serenity’s husband set up the date.” Serenity smiled and admitted openly, “My husband does seem to be in Mr. Bucham’s good books. Seeing that Mr. Bucham was always busy at work and single, he boldly set him up with Jasmine. He thought Jasmine would make
Putting down his pen, Josh got up and drew near the window to look down. He looked at the paparazzi standing firmly outside the company entrance and murmured, “They sure have the patience to stay from last night until now. Seriously, Zachary. All it takes is for Zachary to show off his relationship and boom, the community’s rocked to the core.” Well, it only shook the community. All was calm with the missus. Zachary shielded the missus well. Everybody in the office had seen Serenity, but no one had the guts to blab it out. The York family kept mum, refusing to let a word out despite the reporters’ incessant inquiries. “Do you know who Mr. York’s wife is?” was the first thing that popped out of everyone in the upper crust’s mouth today.Business clients would join in on the gossip after closing deals, snooping on the identity of Mr. York’s bride. Josh was annoyed. Since he was best buddies with Zachary, many tried to pry information from him. Josh knew the most but cou
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.
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