Chelsea added, “Your place is not too far from the school. I believe it’s in the catchment area.“Liberty can take care of the two kids, cook, and clean for them. The boarding expenses…” Hank interrupted her. “Chelsea, they are my niece and nephew. Forget the boarding expenses. I’ll get the kids transferred to the school here. Liberty will do the pickups and drop-offs. It’s not like she has anything else to do anyway.” Seeing that Hank did not hesitate to say yes, Chelsea and her husband were over the moon. Mrs. Brown pointed something out to her son. “Hank, you should discuss this with Liberty. She’s part of the family too.” She then turned her attention to her daughter. “I heard the kids don’t get an automatic placement for the junior highs here. The parents must live or own a property in the catchment area to get into local schools. Chelsea, it’s not like you’re living in the countryside. It’s suburban. The schools there aren’t too bad. You and your brothers studied there a
The family gathered together and enjoyed the watermelon in front of the TV. Soon, the Browns retired to their rooms for the night. The Browns were sticking around for a few days. Now that Serenity had moved out, there was an extra room for the whole Brown family to stay. However, without Serenity helping around the house while Liberty took care of the child, groceries, and cooking, the house did not seem as clean as before. Before retreating to bed, Chelsea discreetly pulled Hank to a corner and said, “Serenity and her husband brought a lot of stuff tonight. Liberty was so angry she carried the bags into her room just now. I took a look inside the bags. There was some good stuff.“I saw cigarettes and alcohol. Give some to your brother-in-law. Liberty doesn’t smoke or drink. You can afford the stuff anyway. Your brother-in-law can’t bring himself to get the good cigarette brands. Ah, Dad hasn’t tried that alcohol. Give the spirit to Dad.” Hank burst into laughter. “Just take
Liberty snapped back, “Hank, I take care of our child all day, but you only see me as some useless person who only eats and spends money unnecessarily. I can take it because I want to give my son the best I can. “But your sister’s kids have nothing to do with me. They’re not my responsibility. There’s no way I’m going to care for her kids! I can’t believe you want guardianship of her children. The burden of providing for them and their education would fall on us.“The title deed doesn’t have my name, so it’s your business if you want to transfer the ownership to your sister. It’s also your problem if you can’t get the house back. One thing though, you should return the renovation cost to me before you put her name on the deed.“I’m afraid I won’t get the money I spent on the renovation back when the house becomes hers.” A shadow of gloom loomed over Hank. “I said I’ll be giving you extra allowance. Isn’t that enough? You’re at home with a child anyway, so I don’t see the big de
Hank was livid and tempted to use force. To his surprise, Liberty suddenly turned around and looked at his raised fist. Liberty stared right into Hank’s eyes with a deadpan look and said, “You better kill me if you want to hit me. Otherwise, you can sleep with one eye open.” In the past, Liberty would endure Hank’s verbal and physical abuse. It was all for the sake of the family, her son, and the love she had for her husband but Hank’s insistence on going halves was the last straw. Since Liberty used to work in the same company as Hank, she had a clear idea of Hank’s salary as manager. It was tens of thousands a month. Yet, Hank only gave her three thousand bucks and not a penny more for the household expenses. To top it off, he was making her pay for her own share, so of course she was disappointed. Now that she had been let down, Liberty did not want to be a pushover who revolved around Hank anymore. Hank better not sleep if he ever laid his hands on her again because
Tilting her head, Serenity stared at Zachary as he met her gaze. The couple looked into each other’s eyes. A long while later, Zachary flicked her forehead. “Don’t look at me like that. Are you doubting the authenticity of my words? Serenity, we’ll go to bat for your sister so long as she’s in the right.” The Yorks held their family values in high regard. The husbands and wives had nothing but love for each other. Growing up, Zachary had never witnessed a case of domestic violence. Dad said that men who abused their wives were losers! “Mr. York.” “Yes?” Serenity cautiously asked, “I want to lean on your shoulder.” Zachary hesitated. “Just for a while. I won’t cross the line,” Serenity said while tilting her head to rest against his shoulder. Serenity could feel his body stiffening. Although it was also a strange feeling to her, Serenity needed companionship right now. It felt great to have a shoulder to lean on! It took a while for Zachary’s tensed muscles to
Zachary was speechless.He refused to budge from a stare-down before saying faintly, “It’s late. Get some early rest. Don’t fall asleep here again. It’s chilly at night. You’ll feel the pain when you catch a cold.” Zachary then turned on his heel and left. Soon, Serenity picked up on his door closing and locking. Serenity muttered amusedly, “He even locked the door. That’s hilarious. Who is he trying to keep out?”If Zachary could hear Serenity’s mutter, he would snap back that Serenity was the one he was trying to keep out.Back in his room, Zachary went straight to the bathroom, but not for a bath. He stood in front of the mirror and stared at his reflection. Judging by the faint blush, he did turn red on the face. Lifting his hand, he traced his facial lines and rubbed the spot Serenity touched while searching for the tickling sensation he got when her fingers ran along his face.He turned on the tap and washed his face. Thinking back on his reaction, Zachary smiled an
Feasting his eyes on the balcony garden, Zachary uttered faintly, “You can grow the whole yard with roses when we move into a bungalow. When they grow and climb the walls, the full bloom is a sight to behold.” Serenity replied with a smile, “The price of properties has skyrocketed to an all-time high. I can’t even scrape together the deposit for a studio apartment, let alone a bungalow.”Of course, Serenity had considered getting a bungalow… in her dreams. Anyone would’ve wanted to live in a bungalow if they had the means to do so. Privacy was guaranteed in the standalone building. An apartment was not exactly the perfect sanctuary as the walls were not thick enough to soundproof from upstairs and downstairs. Zachary held his tongue. The place they were staying now was a last-minute purchase before their marriage. He had been staying in a huge mansion prior to this. “Mr. York, get some breakfast. I’ll join you after I’m done watering the flowers.” “Sure.” Zachary turne
Josh was holding a small stack of paper which could easily be mistaken for office documents. “Here you go.” After slipping the papers to Zachary across his desk, Josh took a seat and put his breakfast on the table. He asked his boss, “Do you want some? I got my food delivered from the Wiltspoon Hotel. It’s delicious.” Since Wiltspoon Hotel operated under York Corporation, Zachary usually grabbed his breakfast, lunch, and dinner there. Now that Zachary had a wife, it had been a while since Josh dined with his boss. Hmm… Josh kinda missed those moments. “I’m good.” Picking up the file, Zachary flipped through and asked, “Is everything here?” “Yeah. It’s all there. No stone is left unturned.” “It’s not a lot.” “The younger members of the family have it pretty good while the seniors spent their lives on the farm. What more can there be?” Zachary was without a word. As mentioned by Josh, there was nothing much to write about the seniors, albeit the info on the younge
Remy gave it some thought. If he were to become a father, he would also be extremely happy, to the point that he would forget about posting on social media.They were usually busy people and did not have the habit of posting regularly anyway. Josh only started sharing a lot on Facebook after he got married. He simply wanted to show off his life after marriage and irritate his friends who were still single. Even Zachary would post about his love life on Facebook occasionally. Remy suddenly felt he had to keep up with the trend and post something on Facebook during his free time. Remy and Elisa went to buy some supplements before heading to the hospital. There were still many people in Jasmine’s ward. Most of the men were sitting in the small living area while the women were chatting with Jasmine or looking at the baby in the room. The baby boy was already fed and in fresh diapers. He was sleeping soundly. “Jasmine.”Elisa walked over with the supplements she had brought.
The secretary wished she could skip work and visit Jasmine at the hospital with Elisa. However, that could never happen. She was simply an employee, while Elisa was her boss. The only alternative was if Elisa invited her along. Nevertheless, the employees could meet Jasmine during their break or visit her at her house. Elisa left excitedly. A Maybach was parked at the entrance of the company. When Remy spotted Elisa exiting, he stuck his head out and waved at her. Upon seeing him, she was no longer in a hurry to get to her car. She quickly walked over. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you go inside?”Elisa was beaming. As she had received good news, she had a smiling face regardless of who she met.“I just arrived. I didn’t drive inside when I saw you coming out. Where are you going?”Remy got out of the car.“Jasmine gave birth. I want to go to the hospital to visit her and her baby. You came at the right time. We can head over together, but let’s get some supplemen
“Yes. Health is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. With the York family’s wealth and numbers, they won’t have to worry about not having a successor even if your child is slightly more ordinary.”Of course, Elisa personally hoped the next successor of the York family would be her nephew.The Stones and the Yorks could be considered relatives because Elisa and Serenity were cousins.The successor of the Stone family was most likely Clive’s son. If the York family’s heir was not Serenity’s child, would the two families’ relationship that was finally mended become strained again?After all, the head of the York family would no longer be a relative of the Stones if that were the case. However, Elisa did not voice her thoughts. She did not want Serenity to feel pressured. As an aunt, she also thought her nephew’s health was more important than anything else.“You must be busy, Elisa. You should go on with your work. I shall not disturb you. I appreciate your
“A baby’s face changes almost every day. We’ll only know who he takes after when he’s a little older.”Serenity agreed. “I should call Elisa and share this news with her.”Jasmine probably did not have time to tell her friends about her newborn. Serenity also forgot to inform Elisa because she was too worried about Jasmine. Zachary told her to call Elisa only after they were inside the car. There were too many people in the hospital. Serenity held back her excitement and immediately called Elisa when she got in the car. Elisa was extremely busy at the company. She was the only one who could manage their joint company at that moment because Serenity and Jasmine were pregnant. Even if they wanted to return to the company to work, Elisa would not allow them. Rest was of utmost importance for pregnant women. Elisa was unmarried and not pregnant. She did not mind being busier. She only picked up Serenity’s call after some time.“Seren.”Elisa held the phone in her left h
“All that matters is that you’re okay, honey. Let’s not have more children. We’ll just have this one son.”Josh spoke while holding Jasmine’s hand.Women had to experience immense pain when giving birth. It came with many risks as well. Josh had heard other people saying that a woman usually had one foot in the grave during childbirth.He was genuinely shocked after accompanying Jasmine through her labor. He had been terrified and worried that something would happen to Jasmine.Luckily, everything ended well. Jasmine and their son were safe. However, Josh did not want to experience something like that again. Having one child was enough. There was no need for a second or third child. The Buchams were a big family anyway. He did not have to bear the responsibility of expanding the family alone.“Okay. We shall not have another baby.”Although Jasmine was brimming with motherly love and recovery from a vaginal delivery was quicker, she still thought childbirth was too
It was not just Camila. The rest of the people there also had the same thought. Josh and Jasmine had a great relationship. If something happened to Jasmine, Josh would be devastated and lose all hope of living.“Congratulations. The mother has given birth to a boy safely. The baby boy is six pounds and three ounces.”The people who brought Josh out were the anesthetist and nurse.The nurse instinctively reported the good news when she saw the crowd.Then, she explained, “The father probably fainted from shock after the baby was born. Come over and help bring him to the side to rest. The mother won’t be out that quickly.”Upon hearing her words, everyone’s mood brightened up.Camila, whose legs felt weak just now, was immediately filled with strength and stood up. Without Drake's help, she went to the nurse and asked, “Does the baby need to be in the incubator since he was born prematurely?”The nurse replied, “We’ll put the baby in the incubator and observe him for a while. If
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