Based on the Bucham family’s network, Josh was extremely clear about her entire family history stretching back eighteen generations. He even knew about how many children her grandmother had had and how many had survived to adulthood. She did not even know that.She only knew her father had four siblings and thought her grandparents had only had five children.Once, she had no idea what they had been talking about before that, but Josh mentioned her father had eight siblings. It was just that only five of them reached adulthood, while the remaining four had died when they were infants.At the time, Jasmine was struck dumb.She then returned home and asked her father, but he had no idea either. When she asked her grandmother about it, it was only then her grandmother admitted that that was the truth.In the past, living standards were bad and many people had many children, but most had at least one child who passed away.Her grandmother asked her how she knew about that.It had be
While Josh’s proposal had failed, elsewhere, Zachary and his wife were happily enjoying their honeymoon phase.After dinner, Serenity sat on the sofa watching television as Zachary washed the dishes in the kitchen.A life like this made Serenity feel very fulfilled and also blissful.After sitting for a moment, she got up and walked to the kitchen. Leaning on the doorway, she watched Zachary wash the dishes.“Don’t you want to watch TV anymore?”Her stare was quickly noticed by Zachary. He turned his head to glance at her before he resumed washing the dishes.“I don’t follow any dramas, and I don’t know which ones are good. I didn’t find any that I wanted to watch after flipping through the channels either. I feel like TV dramas aren’t as good as they used to be. The special effects are over the top. Maybe I’m just old, but anyway, I can’t bring myself to watch anything.”Zachary laughed and said, “You’re so young, but you’re calling yourself old already. You normally come back
Zachary finished wiping down the stove, washed the rag, and proceeded to wash his hands again. Then he turned to walk toward Serenity and stopped before her. His large hands cradled her face and pinched it lightly a few times before he said, smiling, “I told you, you should go only if you want to go. If you don’t, then you don’t. I don’t mind either way.”Serenity grabbed his hand, walked to the balcony with him, and sat down on the swing.She leaned against his shoulder and together, they looked out at the city lights.“When all the houses below are all lit up, the huge building opposite us goes all dark. They’ve all gone home for New Year’s.”“Tomorrow morning, we’re going back to the old residence. I’ve already informed Nana and there’s already a room arranged for us to stay in.”Zachary had his arm around her shoulders as their heads leaned against each other.That moment was full of warmth and sweetness.“Seren, our old York family residence is really old. I hope you won’t
Serenity nodded, and also reminded him, “You need to put your jacket on too. If you get sick, there are jabs waiting for you every day.”Zachary was speechless for a moment. “With you constantly monitoring me like this every day, how could I dare let myself get sick?”Those few days of daily injections were enough to strike fear into him for the rest of his life.Zachary went back into the bedroom to get Serenity’s jacket and put on his jacket too.After coming out of the room, they heard a phone ring. It was not Zachary’s phone but Serenity’s. He saw Serenity scoop her phone out and look at it for a long while before doubtfully picking up the call.“Hello. May I know who this is?”Zachary figured it was an unfamiliar number just by hearing her ask that question.The person on the other side of the line did not speak right away.Serenity asked again, “May I know who this is?”“Serenity, it’s me.”A familiar voice filtered through the phone and Serenity’s expression turned ugl
Jasmine and Josh as a couple would probably be impossible then.For the sake of Josh’s love, they would leave Lowe Enterprise with a way out.“He knows you’re married and that our relationship is stable, but he’s still bugging you. You even told me you guys were like siblings. If I hadn’t been jealous and made a fuss, you probably still wouldn’t know right now he’d long had romantic feelings for you.”Zachary cynically poked Serenity’s forehead.Serenity touched the place that had been poked and said in defense of her innocence, “I’ve known him since I was young and I watched him grow up. I always thought of him as my own little cousin. Who knew he would like me?“That’s not my fault. I never provoked him in any way.”Serenity said as she hugged his arm and walked outside with him, further saying, “Doesn’t him liking me prove that Nana has good taste and chosen a good wife for you?”Zachary could not help but laugh. “Right, right. Nana has good taste and chose a good wife for me
Zachary said without inflection, “I don’t remember anymore. She hasn’t shown up before me as of late.”“You don’t remember?”“Do I have to? I don’t like her, so what’s the point of remembering? If I did remember and you got jealous, what should I do then? You’re the person I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, so I only need to remember you. To me, all other women are just passersby. I probably couldn’t even remember what they looked like even if they stood in front of me.”Zachary was very much indifferent to women and was naturally unappreciative.In this life, he would not fall for another woman except Serenity.Serenity laughed, saying, “I won’t get mad and I won’t get jealous either. You don’t have to be so defensive.”“I’m really not being defensive. I’m telling the truth. Other than my relatives, you’re the only one I care about. I don’t care about anyone else.”“Then we’re even. Shawn Lowe may admire me but you have an admirer too.”Zachary wanted to say that Sha
Serenity sat up and picked her phone up. “I’ll watch a movie.”Zachary took her phone away. Then, he went to his study, picked a book at random, and shoved it into her hands. “Why don’t you read something? It’s easy to fall asleep this way.”Holding the book he had shoved at her, Serenity looked at the title of the book and blinked. She was not seeing things wrongly, was she? This book was…She flipped it open to the first page.Zachary placed her phone on the bedside dresser and turned back around to her. He was taken aback when he glimpsed the contents of the book and instinctively snatched the book away. With slight embarrassment on his handsome face, he said, “I-I grabbed the wrong thing. Wait for a second—I’ll grab a magazine for you,” he said as he left hastily, book in his hands.Serenity came out of her stupor and laughed, “Zachary, so this is the sort of person you are.”Zachary blushed all the way to the tips of his ears.That book had been given to him by Josh many ye
“Zachary, are you a liar?” Serenity asked Zachary.Zachary just looked at her and did not answer her question.“Zachary, are you really a liar?” Serenity raised her voice this time. Then, she woke up.Even after waking up, Serenity was still dazed. After a long moment, she came to her senses and muttered, “So, it was a dream… What did I dream of?”Turning her head to the side, she noticed the man who had painstakingly lulled her to sleep was no longer there.“I knew he was up to something, trying to get me to sleep early. No wonder I had a nightmare like that.”Serenity picked up her phone to check the time and then proceeded to go back to sleep.This time, she did not dream again and slept soundly.Meanwhile, at Wiltspoon Hotel, Mr. Lowe sat in the lobby on the first floor, waiting for Zachary’s arrival.He had suddenly received Josh’s call earlier, notifying him that Zachary was willing to squeeze a little time out to meet him and telling him to wait at the Wiltspoon Hotel
Zachary was also worried that Serenity would go into premature labor out of shock. He also persuaded her to go for her checkup in a gentle voice. They could not do anything but wait anyway.Serenity finally decided to conduct her prenatal checkup first. Zachary accompanied her. Just moments after they left, the door to the delivery suite opened. A nurse stood there and shouted, “Is Jasmine Sox’s husband here?”“Yes. I’m her husband,” replied Josh quickly. He dashed to the nurse. “You must save Jas, doctor. Save the mother no matter what.”His family members behind him also echoed, “That’s right. No matter what happens, you have to save Jasmine.”The nurse said, “The mother is fine. It’s just that she wants her husband to accompany her as she’s in a lot of pain.”Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.Josh was about to rush inside but was stopped by the nurse.She asked him to change his clothes before taking him inside the delivery suite.Jasmine was wailing in pain. When
With advanced medical technology, a premature baby could still be healthy if taken good care of in the incubator. Serenity said, “Jasmine should be at thirty-five weeks. I just don’t understand why she would suddenly go into labor. Did she fall at home?“Or did she eat something that made her go into labor?”Zachary said, “That’s most likely not the case. Josh’s cousin is Jasmine’s dietician and keeps an eye on her food every day. There’s no way Jasmine would’ve eaten something bad unless she ate it secretly.”Serenity and Zachary suddenly went silent. Pregnant women had weird appetites. Once they had a craving, they could not go unsatisfied. Sometimes, they would even crave fruits that were not in season. Serenity herself was one of them. Once, she woke up in the middle of the night craving mac and cheese. Of course, Zachary, the ever-doting husband, had to satisfy her request. However, where could he find mac and cheese at that hour?Ultimately, he had to drive to the
People would reap what they had sown. They would have to bear the consequences of their actions. Sometimes, interfering in another person’s fate would backfire. After chatting for some time, Serenity said, “I have to go for my checkup now, Liberty. Let’s talk again when you’re free another day.“By the way, I’ll get someone to bring Sonny to you this weekend. He misses you.”“Okay,” said Liberty. After the call ended, Serenity put her phone into her bag and stood up. She told the man behind the office desk, “It’s almost time, babe. Let’s go.”“Okay. I’m almost done.”Zachary quickly signed and stamped a document before closing it. He walked over with the document in hand. Serenity and Zachary left the office together. He handed the document to his secretary. The secretary did not expect him to pass the document to him personally. He had thought of entering Zachary’s office to request it later. The secretary watched Zachary and Serenity leave. He could not believe
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