“It might be my mom.”Zachary got up and said, “I called her after you fell asleep last night and asked her to come over to accompany you to buy an evening dress for the company’s annual dinner.”Upon hearing that, Serenity’s eyes snapped open. She sat up on the bed and said, “You go back to sleep. I’ll go get the door.”As she spoke, she quickly had a change of clothes and combed her hair.Zachary watched her as she moved swiftly and said, “When you go out, go to the kitchen first and put on an apron.”“Why?”“Just do as I say.”Zachary grinned. “Go on and get the door. Don’t keep your mother-in-law waiting.”Serenity turned to leave. After leaving the room, she followed Zachary’s instructions and went to the kitchen to get an apron. After putting it on, she jogged over to the door while calling out, “Coming.”The person standing in front of the door was indeed her mother-in-law, Tania.“Morning, Mom.”Serenity smiled sweetly and greeted her mother-in-law.Tania was carryi
“What time is it already? And he’s still not up?”“Zachary is always busy and has to work overtime for social engagements. Let him sleep a little longer.”Tania said, “It’s typical for him to work until midnight before coming home, and he still gets up early the next day for his morning run. He’s only lazy now because you’re here. Serenity, you shouldn’t spoil him. Whether it’s men or women, you’ll be the one suffering if you spoil them rotten.”“Mom, are you badmouthing me behind my back?”Zachary came out of the room dressed in a suit. He exuded a certain glow and looked dashing.However, he did not put on his suit jacket and his tie was not worn.He carried those in his hands.Tania got up and walked over. “You came out just as I called you lazy. It’s fortunate I wasn’t scolding you.“The weather has warmed up a bit these two days, but it’s still cold in the morning. Hurry up and put your jacket on so you don’t catch another cold, lest you tire out Serenity again.”Tania wa
Zachary’s words instantly ignited his mother’s anger.“Who said that a wife has to get up early to make breakfast for you? Who said that a wife has to clean up the house? It’s not natural at all. She doesn’t owe you anything and doesn’t need to serve you like a king. Zack, you said you learned from your father, but you couldn’t be more wrong about that.“You better correct yourself right now. Where did you learn those ideas from? All women who married into our family are spoiled by their husbands. You’re the only one who treats Serenity like a servant, and you dare say it’s only natural? Thank goodness I was the one coming over today. If your nana heard what you just said, she’ll knock you over with her cane and beat you half to death.“Serenity, Serenity!”After Tania scolded her son, she called out to Serenity, who was busy in the kitchen.Serenity quickly came out of the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”“Come here.”When Serenity approached Tania, the latter pulled off Serenity’s apr
Tania, who felt cheated by her son, deliberately treated Serenity well during breakfast. Her son got jealous and said bitterly, “Mom, was I adopted?”She gave him a sidelong glance and said, “This is how I treat my daughter and my son.”It was the brat’s fault for tricking her.Zachary was speechless.After the meal, Serenity sent Zachary off downstairs.“I actually have an evening dress, so there’s no need to buy a new one.”Serenity said to her husband, “Evening dresses are a little expensive, and I only wear one once a year. If I buy another, it’s just going to stay untouched at home. It’ll be a waste if I can’t wear it anymore. I think having one dress is enough, so there’s no need to buy a new one. We still need a lot of money to buy Christmas gifts.“You didn’t tell me about this earlier, and now you had Mom come over.”Zachary listened to his wife’s complaints. Before getting in the car, he gently brushed Serenity’s pretty nose and said, “Seren, I told you before that we
Tania had the intention to make her daughter-in-law the most dazzling woman in the room at the company’s annual dinner. The evening gown she selected for Serenity was the most beautiful one. Thanks to Serenity’s mien, she was able to flaunt the selling points of the dress.Tania stared at Serenity, who looked like a different person when she changed into the evening dress. She commented, “Seren, you bear a pretty decent aura. You’ll definitely become a celebrity if you’re willing to learn etiquette.”“Mom, my goal is to earn more money to buy a house. I’m not interested in becoming a celebrity. Celebrities have strong family backgrounds whereas I’m just a small bookseller who relies on collaboration with a school to earn a living. How would I dare dream of something that impossible?”“Zack already has two houses...”Honestly, Tania wanted to say but kept it to herself, ‘My son doesn’t have much of anything but money and houses.’“I want to buy a house in a school district in advan
Serenity and Tania got into the car with bags large and small before Serenity drove her mother-in-law home.Unbeknownst to Serenity, a luxury car came to a stop. The person in the car wound down the window to look at Serenity’s car in the distance now, and asked her daughter-in-law who was beside her, “Alice, was one of those two women Seren?”Alice nodded affirmatively.“It’s Seren.”“Was that woman with her the wife of the current head of the Yorks, Zachary’s mother?”Audrey’s eyes were very sharp.The York and Stone families did not see eye-to-eye. Audrey and Tania would oppose each other when they met, so Audrey could recognize Tania like the back of her hand.Just now, she saw her niece with Tania in the same car from a distance and urgently asked her daughter-in-law to stop so she could see clearly. It really was Tania!Why was her niece with Tania?“Mom, that person just looks like Mrs. York. She’s not her. I didn’t get a good look at her face since it’s a bit far away.
Tania rarely went out shopping. If she needed something, she would tell the brand to make a delivery straight to her home. However, the one time she came out today, she was seen by Audrey.Zachary could fool Serenity, but he could not fool Audrey.Serenity was still in the dark about these things and laughed when she heard Audrey’s words. “Could you give me a moment? I’m with my mother-in-law now. I’m sending her home first.”Audrey said, “You can ask your mother-in-law to join us since we haven’t met yet. Let’s get acquainted and have a meal together.”“I’ll ask what she thinks.”Serenity also felt that it was time to let her aunt and mother-in-law meet. The elder in her family who treated Serenity and her sister the best was their aunt.Tania kept an ear out for Serenity and her aunt’s conversation. Before Serenity could ask, she said, “Seren, it’s been a while since I shopped and we had a long day shopping today. My feet are sore from walking. I don’t want to stroll anymore. S
Audrey was silent throughout the journey to the company. No one knew what she was thinking.Alice was a little worried that her mother-in-law would do something to Serenity because of Elisa.After all, as a niece, Serenity’s relationship with Audrey did not run that deep. Audrey would naturally favor Elisa, her own daughter.When they arrived at Stone Group, Audrey walked straight into the office building while Alice deliberately trailed behind. She called Clive.“Clive, Mom is here. She’ll be in your office soon.”After a moment of silence, Clive said, “All right. Don’t worry. Mom is angry, but she won’t do anything.”She might even think that Zachary was blind.Elisa was worthy of Zachary in every way, but of all the people Zachary fell in love with, he had to fall for Serenity.To aggravate the situation, Serenity had become their cousin now.If only they were not related by blood...Clive was also stumped about what to do. Most likely, they would not let Serenity off easy
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
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us