“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
“I wonder who the lucky lady is.” Although Clive knew his question would come to naught, he still had to ask. His sister wanted to know who defeated her. Zachary’s eyes were fixated on Clive for a while before he answered, “Mr. Stone, I’d ask for privacy, so I’m not going to answer that question.” Clive had foreseen getting nothing from Zachary. Accepting the result, Clive graciously smiled. “You have your wife well protected, Mr. York.”“I promised to love, protect, and cherish her forever when I married her.” Clive replied with a little surprise, “You’re an affectionate man, Mr. York.” His sister and Zachary were not meant to be. Clive had talked his sister into letting Zachary go, but his sister refused to listen. Now, she was devastated. He sighed in his mind. Clive would support his sister to be with Zachary and ease the tension between the rivaling York Corporation and Stone Group if Zachary had fallen in love with Elisa. This was because Zachary only had ey
After listening to a day of gossip about Mr. York’s marriage and wife-doting tendencies, Serenity applied a facial mask in front of the dressing table at night and said to Zachary, “All I hear is stories about your boss today.” With his game face on, Zachary asked, “Oh. What about?” “You don’t know?” Serenity turned over to look at him. “Your boss made a public announcement that he’s married, but no one knows who his wife is. Elisa said that caused quite a stir among the higher society.“Zachary, you work at York Corporation. Do you have any firsthand news about the identity of your boss’s wife?“I heard the press waited in front of your office building for a long time but had to leave with nothing.” Pulling a chair over, Zachary sat next to his wife and watched as Serenity put on the facial mask. He grabbed the mask packing for a look at the brand. It was a good and expensive brand. “Elisa gave it to me. I hardly apply facial masks, but I thought I should try it out tonigh
“Remy, Remy!” a voice called from outside. It sounded like Audrey. Remy came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron.“You keep at it, I’ll go out. My mom must have seen the lights and knew you were back, so she’s calling you over for dinner at our house.”At this time, her family was probably halfway through their meal.Elisa put down the remote control and walked out of the house with a packet of snacks in hand, munching as she went.“Mom.” Elisa walked to the fence and responded to her mother.“Elisa? You’re back too? You came back and didn’t even come home for dinner? We’re eating right now. Hurry up and bring Remy over. Grandpa True was just saying that Remy hasn’t come over for dinner in a few days.”Remy had been busy entertaining clients lately, so he had not had time to join his in-laws for meals.Elisa replied, “Mom, I feel like eating Remy’s cooking tonight, so we won’t be coming over. You guys go ahead.”“Oh, you. It’s so late already, and you’re still making Remy c
Elisa said, “Although cousins can be as close as siblings, it’s still better to have another child. After all, we won’t be living at your family home permanently, and our children might not have much time to bond with their cousins in the future.“I have two older brothers, and the three of us have always been close. My brothers have always doted on me, and I can always talk about things with them. My sister-in-law has been very kind to me even after they got married too.“I’m used to having siblings around. It’s lively, and no matter what happens, we can always talk things through. It’s nice not having to face everything alone. I don’t want my children to feel lonely in the future.”Elisa continued, “Most importantly, I love children. If you could be the one to carry and give birth, sparing me the exhaustion of pregnancy, I’d even consider having three kids. But unfortunately, you can’t.“If I have to carry the baby myself, even though I love children, I’d only have two—preferably
Jasmine smiled. “I can’t tell. He’s so tiny. I’m scared when I have to carry him. I’m afraid of hurting him. What if he slips from my arms?”As a first-time mother, Jasmine was inexperienced. She was not like Serenity, who had raised a baby before. Josh and Zachary had secretly taken classes on how to look after a baby. The way Josh held the baby was more accurate than hers. “You’ll get better at it after learning slowly. I didn’t dare to carry my nephew either because I was scared of hurting him, but I’m an expert now.”Elisa could not resist touching the baby’s face again. She really liked babies.“Has the baby been fed?”Camila replied, “He was fed an hour ago.”The baby had been ravenous. Everyone was relieved when they saw the baby could feed normally. The doctor said the baby might experience jaundice a few days later and that premature babies should be monitored closely. Jaundice usually appeared when the baby was a few days old. It would reach its peak after
Remy gave it some thought. If he were to become a father, he would also be extremely happy, to the point that he would forget about posting on social media.They were usually busy people and did not have the habit of posting regularly anyway. Josh only started sharing a lot on Facebook after he got married. He simply wanted to show off his life after marriage and irritate his friends who were still single. Even Zachary would post about his love life on Facebook occasionally. Remy suddenly felt he had to keep up with the trend and post something on Facebook during his free time. Remy and Elisa went to buy some supplements before heading to the hospital. There were still many people in Jasmine’s ward. Most of the men were sitting in the small living area while the women were chatting with Jasmine or looking at the baby in the room. The baby boy was already fed and in fresh diapers. He was sleeping soundly. “Jasmine.”Elisa walked over with the supplements she had brought.
The secretary wished she could skip work and visit Jasmine at the hospital with Elisa. However, that could never happen. She was simply an employee, while Elisa was her boss. The only alternative was if Elisa invited her along. Nevertheless, the employees could meet Jasmine during their break or visit her at her house. Elisa left excitedly. A Maybach was parked at the entrance of the company. When Remy spotted Elisa exiting, he stuck his head out and waved at her. Upon seeing him, she was no longer in a hurry to get to her car. She quickly walked over. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you go inside?”Elisa was beaming. As she had received good news, she had a smiling face regardless of who she met.“I just arrived. I didn’t drive inside when I saw you coming out. Where are you going?”Remy got out of the car.“Jasmine gave birth. I want to go to the hospital to visit her and her baby. You came at the right time. We can head over together, but let’s get some supplemen
“Yes. Health is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. With the York family’s wealth and numbers, they won’t have to worry about not having a successor even if your child is slightly more ordinary.”Of course, Elisa personally hoped the next successor of the York family would be her nephew.The Stones and the Yorks could be considered relatives because Elisa and Serenity were cousins.The successor of the Stone family was most likely Clive’s son. If the York family’s heir was not Serenity’s child, would the two families’ relationship that was finally mended become strained again?After all, the head of the York family would no longer be a relative of the Stones if that were the case. However, Elisa did not voice her thoughts. She did not want Serenity to feel pressured. As an aunt, she also thought her nephew’s health was more important than anything else.“You must be busy, Elisa. You should go on with your work. I shall not disturb you. I appreciate your
“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