“My memory isn’t that poor. It’s not like we just only got our marriage license.”Serenity yawned and added, “Go to sleep, Zachary. You have to travel tomorrow. Rest well so you’ll feel energized.”She then leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips.“Good night, Honey.”Zachary’s gaze became intense all of a sudden. He wrapped his arms around her waist, not letting her leave after that peck on the lips she gave him.His dark eyes burned and locked on her pretty face.She was usually barefaced without makeup, but she took great care of her skin, so her face was still looking radiant and smooth, making it pleasant to the touch.She was a natural beauty through and through.Zacahry was already attracted to her the first time they met.However, he had come across plenty of beauties before, so he did not feel anything for Serenity at first sight.“Seren, what did you just call me?”She did not react the first time he called her Honey.It was a little depressing when he thoug
“Serenity, where’s your sister? Tell her to answer her phone!”Olivia was blunt and it was clear that she was livid.“Why are you looking for my sister?The last I checked, my sister has nothing to do with your family anymore. What do you want?” Serenity spoke casually.She guessed Olivia called because the latter found out that the renovations to the house were smashed and wanted to settle the score with Liberty in a fit of anger.Their reaction was actually rather slow.It was no wonder Olivia did not know about it until now.On the day Liberty and Hank divorced, the old couple took a taxi home after the formalities were done.They wanted to move into Hank’s house the next day.Chelsea’s children had to go back to school to get their report cards, so they waited an extra day.Today, the elementary school was officially out.Olivia and her husband brought Chelsea’s family, driving two cars carrying large bags into the city, intending to stay there for the New Year’s.As for
Serenity laughed and said, “Chelsea, you should go to the bathroom and wash your face at the sink. Oh, wait, there’s no faucet anymore. My sister paid for all the water pipes, so we sawed them all off. I guess you’ll just have to take a piss and see your reflection in it. Look at how big your face is.“My sister and your brother are divorced. They have nothing to do with each other whatsoever. How do you get off telling my sister to find a house for you to stay? Was it my sister’s fault that you don’t have a house to live in now? You were the ones who brought this upon yourselves.“If you guys had gone along and compensated my sister for her loss, you would have a place to stay now. Alas, it’s really cold today. I wonder if you’ll be able to sleep in a house full of holes.“But you have thick skin and flesh. If all of you huddle together, you’ll be able to withstand the bitter cold wind.“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up now. It’s very warm under the covers, so I’m going to
Mr. Brown stared at his wife with a dark expression and asked, “Whose grandfather did you go to?”“Who else? It was Liberty’s grandfather. Her grandmother was in the hospital, so I went there to see them and presented my request. Old Mr. Hunt said he wanted one hundred thousand, but I refused. After some bargaining, I gave him sixty thousand.“He repeatedly assured me that he would persuade Serenity not to divorce, but Serenity didn’t do so with Liberty. They just took the money and did nothing.”As soon as Olivia was done explaining, Mr. Brown flung his hand and slapped her on her arm.“Are you stupid? How could you trust those people in Liberty’s family? Besides, it’s not like you’re not aware of the conflict between Liberty and her family. You should’ve gone to anyone except for them. You’re usually smart, but how could you be so foolish this time?“Sixty thousand. You actually spent sixty thousand!”Mr. Brown was so angry at his wife that he was about to faint.Olivia said a
Chelsea called her brother.“I’m on my way there, Chelsea.”Hank knew that his parents and sister’s family had arrived at his place and he quickly got up. He also woke Jessica. After the two of them briefly freshened up, they rushed toward Bright Boulevard.“Hank, we haven’t had breakfast.”“I’ll treat you guys to breakfast when I go over.”Chelsea said, “Aren’t you living with Jessica? Can’t you ask her to prepare breakfast for us? There are so many of us. If we go out to eat, it’ll easily cost several hundred.”“We’re also staying in a hotel now since we haven’t had time to look for a place. There’s nothing in my house now, so there’s no way to cook for ourselves.”Liberty recovered the renovation fees in her own way. There was currently no water or electricity in Hank’s house. Even the kitchen was empty. Jessica could not cook for them even if she was willing to.Chelsea was silent for a moment and said, “Liberty blocked all of us. How are you going to contact her? We won’t
Grandma May said to herself, “Should I start with the second or third grandson?”Zachary did not speak, lest his nana told his brothers and cousins that it was him who stirred up trouble.“Let’s just start with Callum. Who should I match him with?”Zachary remained silent.He only knew a handful of young ladies. Rather than asking him to provide Callum with a wife candidate, it would be easier to tell Callum to go to the monastery to become a monk.Well, it was not like Grandma May expected Zachary to provide candidates either.“Go in.”Zachary looked at his nana, puzzled.Grandma May looked disgruntled. “You’re going on a business trip. Hurry in to say a few words to Serenity.”She had to remind him to do everything.Grandma May sighed and thought, ‘When I was bringing up this grandson of mine, I taught him everything except how to love someone. Now, he has become a chauvinist who doesn’t understand the mind of a woman.‘I thought loving someone was human nature and didn’t
After breakfast, Zachary transferred fifty thousand to Serenity.Serenity saw the transaction and said, “I’m not short of money.”There was sufficient money in the household card he gave her.“I’ll be away from home on business and don’t know when I’ll be back. The new year is around the corner so you’ll have to buy some stuff to ring the old year out. I wired fifty thousand to you so you can get whatever you want.“On the 28th, we’ll return to my hometown for the New Year’s. There are a lot of relatives, so we’ll need to deliver an abundance of gifts. Ask Nana what to give and buy them in advance. Tell me if fifty thousand isn’t enough and I’ll transfer more to you.”Zachary’s reason was indisputable. Upon hearing his explanation, Serenity had to accept the fifty thousand.After so long, this was the first time he mentioned bringing her along to go back to his hometown.In the past, whenever she met his parents, it was always him who informed his parents and relatives to come o
Tilting her head for a moment, Serenity helplessly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled his head down, and offered him her red lips.Zachary was elated after getting a kiss from his wife which she initiated. He pulled the suitcase with one hand and held Serenity’s hand with the other, and the couple went out together.Grandma May was downstairs waiting for the young couple.Jim was chatting with the old woman.He was recognized by Serenity on the day Liberty moved out and said that he would do anything as long as he was paid. Thus, he did not panic when he saw Serenity now.He felt like he could finally live out in the open.“Mr. York and Ms. Hunt.Jim took the initiative to greet them.Serenity returned his smile and asked, “What is your name, mister? I forgot to ask for your name card that day.”Jim darted a glance at Zachary and saw his boss’s expression remained unchanged before he boldly replied, “My name is Jim.”Then, he fished out a small slip of paper from his pa
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