Serenity took Zachary’s call. “I’m not a hot water bottle!” The first thing that came out of Zachary’s mouth was to correct what Serenity called him. Serenity chuckled. “I’m feeling cold now, so I thought about you. You’re warmer than a hot water bottle.” Zachary’s voice was gruff. “So, you wouldn’t think of me if you weren’t feeling cold?” Serenity gladly admitted to that fact. “I probably would’ve gone right to bed if I weren’t cold. Oh, I’ll send you a goodnight gif.” Zachary was speechless. “Are you done with your work? You should carry on if you aren’t. I’m going to bed.” Serenity was about to hang up the call. “Serenity.” Zachary huskily asked, “Are your DNA test results with Mrs. Stone out yet?” “The results are out. Mrs. Stone is my aunt. We’re related by blood.” Although his heart sank, Zachary did not show it in his face or tone. “Congratulations on finding your family.” “Thank you.” She only had her sister for fifteen years. Now that an aunt sudde
Zachary, on the other hand, became more addicted and fell deeper in love with Serenity.Ring ring ring...Zachary’s phone rang again.He thought it was Serenity, but then he saw the caller ID and it was Duncan.“Duncan.”Zachary leaned back on the black swivel chair and asked indifferently, “Why are you calling me so late at night?”“There’s something important I need to tell you. Do you know that your wife has an aunt? It’s Mrs. Stone. It turns out that the sister Mrs. Stone has been looking for is your mother-in-law.”Duncan was not as gossipy as Josh, but he loved to watch drama and gloat on the sidelines.He just felt that he should relay this news to his best friend.“Stone Group and York Corporation have always been at odds. Clive and you will never appear at the same place together. The relationship between the two of you is completely frozen... I just thought of something.”Duncan muttered in hindsight, “When you treated Clive to that meal back then, did you already k
“Zachary, maybe Serenity didn’t tell you because she didn’t want you to worry?”Duncan felt that he made a mistake and quickly offered an explanation.However, Zachary hung up the phone.Duncan said to himself, “Damn it. What am I supposed to do if the couple gets into a quarrel because of this?”Once Zachary cared about a person, he would want the other party to put him first. In simpler terms, he was overbearing.His domineering nature would sometimes let people feel like he cared about them, but other times, it made people feel suffocated as if they could not breathe.What was worse was that Zachary would feel like he was in the wrong. For example, he felt like he fell in love with Serenity, so he was willing to do everything for her. However, Serenity was independent and would not tell him everything for him to help her with. Thus, Zachary would feel that Serenity did not trust him and did not treat him as family.Duncan called Zachary again, but it went to the mailbox becau
After witnessing her sister and Hank getting to know each other, falling in love, and then ending up in such an ugly divorce, Serenity felt that it was better to rely on herself than on others. Even if he was someone she shared a bed with, she could not be completely dependent on him.That was because the person who shared her bed might become a person who shared someone else’s bed at any time.“Are you calling me narrow-minded?”Zachary’s voice was low and chilly, like the weather in this cold winter month.He wanted to know everything about her because he cared about her.However, she did not take the initiative to tell him, saying that he was narrow-minded and that he got angry over trivial matters.Was this trivial? Even someone like Duncan knew about it, but Zachary only found out because Duncan told him.If Duncan did not tell him and he did not ask, she might have never told him.He cared about her, but she was not touched. Instead, she felt that it was useless to tell h
A few minutes later, Serenity sat up from the bed and pondered. She then slid out of bed, began to pack her household goods, and took them back to her room.She would not sleep in his bed anymore.She angrily moved back to her room to sleep.Zachary was likewise still sulking.He received the message from Serenity and read it, but he did not reply. Instead, he deleted it instantly.He only had one thought in his mind, and that was how Serenity accused him of being narrow-minded and did not treat him as a family.Putting the phone on the desk, Zachary got up and paced back and forth in the office, incredibly annoyed.In the end, he went and made himself a cup of coffee.After drinking the coffee, he forced himself to calm down and got back to work.He intended to work through the night.Serenity was so angry that she tossed and turned, failing to fall asleep, but after an hour or so, she stopped being angry. It was not the first time he acted like this. If she got mad at him e
“Don’t worry, Ms. Hunt. Take your time with breakfast. Your sister just called me and said that she sent Sonny to the store. Ms. Sox is already there. She told us to head directly to the store later. There’s no need to drop by her new place.”Serenity sighed in relief and sat down at the dining table.Mrs. Lane prepared sandwiches for her today with all kinds of fillings, as well as a pot of black coffee.Black coffee...Serenity took out her phone and photographed the pot of coffee, then sent it to the petty man.Unsurprisingly, Zachary did not reply to her.Serenity grumbled.“Are the sandwiches not good, Ms. Hunt?”Mrs. Lane heard Serenity grumble and thought the sandwiches she made were lousy. She asked, “What kind of sandwiches do you fancy? Tell me and I’ll make them for you tomorrow.”“I’m not a picky eater, Mrs. Lane. I like all kinds of sandwiches.“You sit down too. Let’s talk while we eat.”With Zachary not at home, Mrs. Lane was a lot more comfortable.Although
“Zachary doesn’t fully treat me as a family either. What right does he have to demand me to be completely open with him when he can’t do the same for me? He’s being hypocritical. He has to have the final say in everything. When things don’t go his way, he gets angry and says I don’t think of him as family.“I got mad too and said that he was self-centered and narrow-minded, so he hung up on me. When I sent him a message, he refused to reply to me. He’s always like this. He stops replying to my messages every time he’s angry, and he doesn’t pick up my calls either. He’s like a petty woman.”Mrs. Lane was speechless.Zachary was indeed like that. Serenity’s analysis was spot on.Zachary was raised as a successor since he was young. All his younger brothers revolved around him.When he took the helm of York Corporation, whether it was Old Mrs. York or his parents, they relented and let him in complete charge of the company. In York Corporation, his word was law.His brothers and eve
Seeing that Mrs. Lane was mopping the floor, Serenity did not think much of it and went off by herself.Mrs. Lane sent her off at the door and watched her enter the elevator before returning to the house. She hurriedly got her cell phone to call Zachary.At first, he did not answer.Mrs. Lane called him three more times, but he still did not pick up.She sent him a message.[Mr. Zachary, the missus took some medicine.]In less than a minute, Zachary called Mrs. Lane.“What medicine did Seren take?”Zachary spoke in a voice that still sounded the same as usual, low and cold, but Mrs. Lane was familiar with him and could hear the nervousness in his tone.“She said she didn’t sleep well and had a headache and sore eyes, so she took a painkiller.”Zachary suddenly stopped talking.He got the fright of his life!Mrs. Lane was vague.He thought Serenity took some pills and attempted suicide.Well, he was obviously far off the mark.Serenity had a cheerful personality. There wa
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
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