Serenity immediately put her arms up in surrender as she exclaimed, “Zachary, don’t talk that way. It doesn’t sound good when you elongate your creaky voice. You’re trying to act cute, but it’s not working. You sound like you’re going through puberty. Fine, I’ll kiss you, okay? Stop the cute act. It’s giving me the creeps.” Zachary stared at Serenity begrudgingly. It was not like he wanted to do it. He did not know how to act cute anyway. Thankfully, his voice had turned hoarse. Without the raspy voice, Serenity would call him out for using the high pitch tone. Never mind. He could forget the moé act. Serenity gave Zachary what he wanted and tenderly kissed him on the cheek. She asked, “Happy now?” During the kiss, Zachary closed his eyes and felt the affectionate tingle on his cheek. Although he could not feel the warmth as she had a mask on, Zachary could feel the love she had for him. That was right—love. Zachary was content. It left him more satisfied than when
Seeing that Zachary was still staring at her, Serenity put her phone aside and got up. She drew close and kissed him on the cheek. Tenderly she uttered, “Go on to bed now.” Serenity then touched his head. “Is there a thermometer here? I’ll check on your temperature. You still feel hot. You’re on IV drips and the pills already, but the fever hasn’t really gone down.” Zachary replied in all honesty, “I don’t know if there’s a thermometer here too.” “I’ll ask for one at the nurse’s station.” Serenity grabbed her phone and took off. Zachary’s phone happened to ring when she left the room. It was Josh. Zachary took the call. “Why aren’t you asleep this late in the night?” “I have the habit of checking my phone when I wake up. I saw the message from your wife that she made it there safe and sound. Since I was awake, I thought I might as well call to check on you. Has your fever gone down?” Zachary faintly said, “Not completely. The doctor said I had to stay in the hos
“Do you want some water?” “I don’t feel like drinking any. I don’t want to rush to the loo so often. It’s not very convenient for me to go to the loo right now.” Serenity had no words. Since Zachary did not want to sleep, Serenity stopped watching videos on her phone and chatted with him. She did most of the talking while he listened intently. As she blabbered on, Zachary’s eyes grew heavy until he finally drifted into slumberland. Once the bag of IV fluid hooked to Zachary was empty, Serenity rang the nurse to change a new bag before returning to the dependent’s bed and getting on her phone. However, her eyes began to grow heavy as well. She could barely stay awake. In case she fell asleep, Serenity put down her phone and got out of bed to head to the loo. She removed her mask and splashed her face with cold water to freshen up. Serenity waited until the last bag of IV fluid was emptied before waking Zachary up for his medicine. It was only then she caught up on sleep
After the doctor made his rounds, the nurse came by to put Zachary on IV drips. Serenity stared at Zachary while Mr. Tank went to check with the doctor on the type of shot to be administered to Zachary.Zachary looked at the bag of IV fluid, pondering on ways to escape the injection. “What’s the matter, Zachary?” With Zachary staring blankly at the IV fluid without blinking, Serenity asked with concern, “Are you feeling unwell?” “Seren.” Holding onto her hands, Zachary uttered pitifully, “Can I get the pills instead? I don’t like jabs. They hurt.”“It’s all for your own good. Besides, you talked about the side effects of medicine, so taking the shot should do the trick.” Serenity withdrew her arm and amusedly pinched his cheek. “So there is something you’re afraid of.” Zachary grabbed her hands once more and looked deeply and affectionately into her eyes. “The thing I’m most afraid of is you leaving me.” “Alright now. Quit the act. Your attempt to be affectionate and
Serenity uttered with joy in her eyes. “Hang in there then. You’re thirty years old, Zachary. How can a thirty-year-old manly man be afraid of a shot?” It turned out Zachary was afraid of needles. Zachary had better prayed not to be sick if he ever crossed her again. She would get the doctor to administer shots to him for any illness he had. With Zachary tensing his facial muscles without a word, Serenity leaned into his ear and whispered, “Be a good boy and take the shot, Zachary. Then, I can go all the way with you and go back. Call it a reward since I rushed over to take care of you.” Zachary’s dark eyes were sparkling. He asked, “Can I?” Sitting straight, Serenity smiled through her eyes. “Once you get discharged from the hospital.“How about it? Are you going to take the shot?” Looking rather conflicted, Zachary rolled up his sleeve and put his hand out in the end. He closed his eyes and took the shot like a champ. While the injection was being administered, Zacha
Zachary had developed feelings for Serenity first and fell head over heels for her while Serenity had only made a tiny step forward. She could shrink back into her shell at any time. He fell silent. Zachary and Serenity often got into fights not just because their relationship was not strong enough. His personality and habits were parts of the reason too. It was unlikely that Serenity would change for him. She was not the type to rely on men completely. Serenity would not even let him in the loops of things that she could handle by herself. Hence, he had to change for her instead. “Why aren’t you saying anything? You always keep to yourself when I teach you how to chase your wife and build a relationship with her.” “I don’t know what to say,” Zachary replied honestly. Grandma May responded, “Why do I have such a senseless grandson like you? If your brothers and cousins are like you, I’d rather reunite with your grandpa than worry about all of you.” Her sons and daughter
As Liberty was spilling on the sides, she did not wear a gown. It was mainly because there were no suitable evening dresses for her. It was too late to tailor one to her size. Nevertheless, she put on some new clothes and painted her face naturally. She also wore a jewelry set gifted by Mrs. Stone that brought out a sense of privilege in her. Sonny wore a mini suit. The little man was handsome, to begin with, and the suit only gave prominence to his attractive looks. Any woman who had seen Sonny could not resist holding him. The little guy was timid at first, but he soon got used to it and became bolder. He would sweetly thank anyone who complimented his looks. In fact, he became the star of the event. “Ma’am, Mrs. Lewis and Mr. Duncan are here.” With a maid approaching Mrs. Stone and informing the arrival of the distinguished guests, Mrs. Stone led her daughter and niece out to welcome them. Mrs. Stone held Liberty’s hand and said with a smile, “Come with me to welcome M
Sonny recoiled behind his mother.Turning around, Liberty picked her son up and said, “Sonny, this is Mr. Lewis. You met him before.” Sonny simply stared at Duncan. As polite as he usually was, Sonny refused to say hello to Duncan. “The child is beautiful,” Mrs. Lewis complimented. Mrs. Stone’s elder niece was broad around the beam, but her son was rather handsome. “Duncan, your scary face scared the little guy. He won’t let you touch him.” Mrs. Lewis tore one into her youngest son. Since the incident when Duncan got a cut on his face, Mrs. Lewis was all for her son to go under the knife to remove the scar and get his good looks back. However, the headstrong b*stard refused to take her advice and do the surgery. He had no consideration for his mother who nearly had a heart attack and cried so many nights over the accident. Many years had passed, and the scar remained. The once hunk now found himself single at thirty-five… Hang on. Duncan was about to celebrate his th
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
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve