She also dreamed that he said a lot of things to her, but she did not hear them.In the dream, she told him to speak louder because she could not hear him, but his mouth simply continued to open and close. She was unable to hear a single word and had been incredibly anxious.Mrs. Lane turned to look at Serenity, then turned back to her work.“I sent your sister and Sonny home yesterday evening and stayed overnight at their place. I really have no clue if Mr. York came back or not.”Serenity smacked her own head. “Right, you didn’t come home. Ugh, my head hurts. Mrs. Lane, can you please make me a bowl of hangover soup? No, I’m going to take a painkiller. My head is killing me.”Serenity turned and slipped out of the kitchen.Acting completely naturally, she wandered into the guest room and found the medicine box to grab a bottle of painkillers.“Headache?”Her sister’s voice resounded.Serenity was startled that she almost dropped the bottle.“I have a headache from not sleep
Liberty gave her sister a look. “Are you saying his clothes ran outside by themselves? They’re still damp. They must’ve been washed last night or this morning.”Serenity muttered, “Did he really come back last night?”“What was that?”“Nothing. Look, don’t you think the flowers I have are pretty? You enjoy the little balcony garden while I finish eating.”When Serenity returned to the dining room with the bowl and sat down, she hurriedly took out her cell phone and sent a message to Jasmine.[Jasmine, when did I get drunk last night? Did your brother and you take me home after I got drunk?[Why did I have a dream last night about Zachary coming home? It’s not like I miss him.[He has clothes drying on my balcony, and his clothes are still damp... Could it be that I wasn’t dreaming? Was he actually back?[Text me instead of calling since my sister is here. I don’t want her to worry that I’m fighting with Zachary.]After Liberty divorced, what she feared most was that her sister
Ring ring ring...Serenity’s cell phone rang. It was a call from Elisa.She stopped talking to Jasmine and quickly answered the call.“Serenity, where do you live?”“Brynfield.”“Okay, I’m going over now. I’m in front of your store, but you’re not open today.”Serenity said, “Sure, I’ll send you the location. My sister and I are ready to leave.”Elisa hummed.After Serenity sent the location, Elisa opened the navigation app on her phone and headed for Brynfield.She had always been a fast driver. When she was about to merge into traffic on the expressway at an intersection, she almost crashed into a Maybach. Both the Maybach and her car were urgently halted.Elisa wound down her window and the other driver did the same.She instructed the driver of the other car to back up a little to make way for her to pull up before they discussed the incident.The driver did not immediately do as Elisa gestured. Instead, he turned his head to look at the person sitting in the back seat.
When the light turned green, Remy’s car went ahead of Elisa’s.Elisa saw Remy’s car plate number and wondered, ‘Whose car is that? Those black cars behind belong to a security detail, right?‘Who else in Wiltspoon besides Zachary likes to go around the city with an entourage?’Elisa had no clue.Her eldest brother did not like to bring bodyguards and would only occasionally bring two, unlike Zachary whose bodyguards were divided into two teams of eight each. Every time he showed up, it was always with the fanfare of an emperor’s arrival.Serenity had no idea that Elisa met Remy on the road. After she sent Elisa her address, she sent a text message to Jasmine to inform that she was going to her aunt’s house.She then pondered for a while before sending a message to Zachary.He was most likely still on the plane and did not reply to her message.Serenity’s heart sank at once.She muttered, “Fine, don’t reply. It’s not like I care or anything.”She placed the phone into her coat
“By the way, just for your information, Hank and I will be registering our marriage on the coming Valentine’s Day.”Liberty was still remarkably calm. “Congratulations, Ms. Yates.”Congratulations on jumping into the pit of mud that was the Brown family.“It’s the weekend today and I just woke up to a handmade breakfast by Hank. I heard you were married for more than three years, but you were always the one cooking for Hank. You had probably never tasted his cooking before.”Liberty had had enough of Jessica’s provocation so she cut the call off.“Liberty, was that the Yates woman?”“Yeah. She’s insane. I divorced Hank and let them be together, but she still called to brazenly ask me if she could add me as a friend on social media. She must’ve wanted to flaunt her daily dose of lovey-doveyness with Hank to piss me off.“What’s there to be upset about anyway? We’re already divorced, so what is Hank to me now? He’s just an ex-husband.”As for Hank prepping breakfast for Jessica,
Liberty was the one who drove them here.She told her son to greet them.Sonny did not want Audrey to hold him, but he was willing to greet them. He addressed them the way his mother taught him.“This child is so cute.”Alice smiled. “Can I hold him?”Audrey said, “Sonny doesn’t even want me to hold him. Will he let you hold him instead?”Alice reached out tentatively. Unexpectedly, when Sonny saw her, he suddenly reached out as well for Alice to hold him.Audrey was speechless. “Sonny is picky with people.”“He’s usually not picky. He was just scared because of the last time. He’ll want you to hold him the next time we meet, Aunt Audrey.”Even Liberty was surprised that Sonny was willing to go to Alice.“Liberty and Serenity, this is Clive, my eldest son. He’s your cousin.”Audrey introduced her sons to her nieces.The sisters greeted Clive.Clive smiled back and said nothing.Audrey then pointed to her second son and said, “This is my younger son, Anthony. He’s two year
“Alice, I saw the wedding ring that Serenity was wearing.”Alice looked at him and said in amusement, “Do you think we don’t have eyes and you’re the only one who saw it? So what if you saw it? What’s wrong with Serenity’s wedding ring?”Clive was silent, pondering how to phrase himself.“We’re husband and wife. What is it that you can’t tell me? Didn’t you call me upstairs because you wanted to say something to me? What’s wrong?”“Alice, do you remember me telling you about Zachary showing off his wedding ring on his social media?”Alice nodded. “Of course, I remember. That day, you even told me to go talk to Elisa early in the morning. You were the good cop while I was the bad cop. I wanted to cry myself when I saw how much pain Elisa was in.“You also said that Zachary actually invited you to a meal when you met him by chance at Wiltspoon Hotel. You kept talking about it all night, saying that you would’ve never dreamed of having Zachary invite you to a meal in your lifetime.
Clive had this in mind, so he did not think about Zachary when his sister mentioned that Serenity’s husband had the last name York.Although the York family had a deep heritage that spanned several generations, they originated from the countryside. It was said from where their ancestors lived, everyone had the last name York.Clive did not know whether Zachary’s ancestors brought along the townspeople when they made a fortune in the city.However, he was cognizant that there were indeed many employees with the surname York in the headquarters of York Corporation and its branch companies. However, most of them had nothing to do with Zachary and simply shared the same last name.“That’s why I called you up. I want you to find an opportunity to secretly ask Serenity what her husband’s name is. Don’t let Mom or Elisa find out. You know Elisa hasn’t completely let go of her feelings for Zachary.“Mom just found Serenity and Liberty, so don’t let her know for the time being. I don’t kno
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