Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt could not give the family a moment of rest too. The old folks expected money from their kin for the holidays since their savings were spent on Old Mrs. Hunt’s hospital stay. The seniors did not feel comfortable without any money, so they tried to get money from the rest of the family for retirement. John said, “Dad, Serenity’s husband is the York guy. He’s Mr. York, the heir of the York family. I’m talking about the wealthiest family in Wiltspoon. He’s worth billions.” Baffled, Chris looked at his son as if he could not believe the words coming out of his son’s mouth. Was Serenity’s husband the heir of the wealthiest Yorks? A billionaire? That would mean a lot of money. “Is that true, John?” “Honest to God. His interview was on TV. We’ve met Zachary. The reporters called him Mr. York. It must be him. It is him.” Once Chris got the confirmation he needed, he smacked his lap and said, “I’ll go find your grandparents now. That’s their retirement fund
“Zachary’s not in the office? He hasn’t come in today?” Serenity was in disbelief. Where was he if not the office? Did he not have the interview in his office? Serenity recalled the background of his interview was fancy. However, it was not a familiar place to her. She had never seen that kind of furnishing. She thought that was his office, and she had never stepped into his office before. Serenity had been to York Corporation multiple times, but Zachary had not brought her to his real office. He lied to her, saying that everybody worked at cubicle desks. If she remembered correctly, Callum’s office had an office door sign that read COO. The whole family was in on it! Serenity scowled at the thought that Zachary had her fooled for a long time. “Ms. Hunt, Mr. York hasn’t been in the office today.” The receptionist, who poured Serenity a glass of water, added, “Do you need to speak with Mr. York? Maybe you can call him?” Serenity grabbed the glass of water. She
Jasmine had given Josh a call earlier to say that her ride ran out of juice in the middle of the road. She was trying to push her e-bike back but it was too great of a distance and she did not make much progress either. In the end, she sought Josh for help. This was the first time Jasmine asked Josh for help. She called him to pick her up because she could get a ride and offer solace to her best friend. Otherwise, Jasmine would have called her brother to pick her up instead, and Josh could kiss the opportunity goodbye. John beckoned Serenity to sit as he paused his plans to pick Jasmine up. “Would you like anything to drink, Ms. Hunt?” “No need for that. I want to ask you a few questions. Is Zachary the heir of the wealthiest family in the city? Is he your boss?” After much silence, Josh replied with a question, “Have you seen Mr. York gushing all over his wife in the interview?” “Gushing all over his wife? More like lying to his wife!” Serenity furiously remarked, “I s
“Ms. Hunt, regardless of the reasons Zachary wasn’t honest about who he was, his feelings for you are true. It’s true that he loves you. There’s no doubt about that.” Serenity started laughing until her eyes welled up. Lifting her arm to rub her eyes, Serenity got up and said to Josh, “Thank you for clearing that up for me, Mr. Bucham. I should leave you to your space. Bye.” Now that Serenity got the confirmation she needed, she did not want to spend another second in this place. Without asking her to stay, Josh rose to his feet and walked out with her. He said, “Ms. Hunt, I know you’re in shock and mad right now. Zachary did you wrong, but it was with reason. There’s no malicious intention behind his actions. Once you calm down, give him a chance to explain. No matter what, you’re husband and wife.” Serenity was without a word, but her grimacing expression was telling. Josh went with Serenity to the bottom floor and saw her off outside the office building before going to h
Duncan drove Liberty to York Corporation. On the way, he met Jasmine, whose e-bike ran out of battery, and let the distressed girl hitch a ride with them. The bike was strapped to a pole and left by the side of the road. Jasmine planned to retrieve her e-bike once Serenity simmered down. “Seren.” “Seren.” Liberty and Jasmine jumped out of the car and raced toward Serenity. Sonny was somehow left behind and forgotten by his mother. At last, Duncan got to hug Sonny. It was not like Sonny had a choice. His mom dashed out, forgetting that he was still in Duncan’s car. Duncan said he would carry the boy down, so Sonny let him. However, once they got out of the car, Duncan never let his feet touch the ground. In fact, Duncan took quick paces toward Serenity with Sonny in his arms. As Serenity was no match for Josh and Callum, there was no way she could leave York Corporation. Serenity was getting sick and tired. With her sister here, Serenity finally had a meltdown and th
Serenity’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Zachary usually drove a national MPV. Did he deliberately buy the car to trick her? She bet he went around in an expensive car with his security detail in tow because that was how stylish the heir of the Yorks traveled!“Seren.” Zachary got out of the car and took large strides over. “Seren.” Zachary approached the sisters, first apologizing to Liberty. “I know I’m in the wrong here, Liberty. Can you give me a moment with Seren?” Tilting her head, Liberty looked at her sister. Serenity callously retorted, “What’s there to talk about? You’re the great Mr. York. You’re up there, and I’m down here. I’m just a lowly citizen, and you’re out of my league. I’m not entitled to have a chat with you.” She dragged her sister along to leave. “Seren.” Zachary reached out to pull her back. Liberty let go of Serenity’s arm and said, “You should talk to him, Seren. No matter what, you should give him a chance to explain.” Sereni
Back at the hilltop villa, Zachary wanted to carry Serenity out of the car.“I’ll get out by myself. I don’t need you to carry me. Don’t touch me!”Serenity refused to let him carry her and did not want to let him touch her again.After pushing him away, she got out of the car by herself.Brandt came out of the house.He was surprised to see Serenity and instinctively called out, “Mrs. York.”Serenity said coldly, “Don’t call me Mrs. York. I’m not Mrs. York. The great Mr. York is out of my league!”Her words were all barbed and sarcastic.She was really pissed off.She turned her head and said to Zachary, “Didn’t you say you lived alone? Lying is second nature to you, isn’t it? You don’t even need to come up with a script. You lie as easily as you breathe.”His acting skills were too great, and she was not sharp enough to see through him.She was a fool.Just because she saw that he drove an MPV worth a few hundred thousand and lived in a local neighborhood instead of a vil
Serenity stood up and went into the kitchen.When Zachary came in from outside, he happened to see her figure in the kitchen.He was silent.Serenity did not cook a lot. She only made herself a simple plate of spaghetti, then came out with the plate in her hands.When she saw Zachary, she merely glanced at him before ignoring his presence and went to the table. She sat down and started eating.Zachary was worried she would refuse to eat or drink because she was angry.When he saw how healthy her appetite was, and how she could eat such a large plate of spaghetti with relish, he felt conflicted.He sat down at the dining table and opened his mouth. “Seren...”“Shut up! Don’t affect my appetite.”Zachary obediently shut his trap after being yelled at by his wife.He was at fault, so he lowered his ego and pride.As he watched her eat, he felt hungry too.However, he did not dare to leave. He was afraid she would take the opportunity to slip away if he did.He could only endu
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