“It has nothing to do with Zachary. I cut myself by accident.” Acting like everything was okay, Serenity said to Elisa, “Elisa, the thing about me and Zachary…” “I don’t blame you, Seren. You don’t have to explain or apologize to me. It’s not like we just met. I’m only furious that Zachary lied to both of us. He made a monkey out of us cousins.” Moments ago, Jasmine had told Elisa the whole story about Serenity finding out Zachary’s identity. Elisa’s heart went out to her cousin who was fooled the whole time. “Seren, I gave up on Zachary a long time ago. I got over Zachary the moment I found out he was married. I feel more at peace after I backed off and stopped thinking about him for a while. Don’t let me come in the way of your decision. Lying aside, he’s someone you can spend the rest of your life with. “Of course, since he played you like a fiddle, I hope you take your time in forgiving him. At least, make him suffer for a bit.” Now that Elisa thought about it, she was
Zachary showed a sour face and held his tongue. Since there was no point talking sense into Zachary now, Josh suggested, “Why don’t you stay in the office while I do the snooping around for you? I think you need some distraction and what better way to get your mind off things than work? It will take more than a day or two before the conflict between you and your wife can be resolved. “It doesn’t help to hurry things along. You’re only making more room for mistakes if you rush into it.” It was true that Zachary needed to do something to distract himself. Helpless, he said, “You’ve just gotta let me know that you want to skip work. Don’t use spying for me as an excuse.” Josh chuckled. “I’ve been working my *ss for you for so many years. It’s time I get a couple of days off.” He and Jasmine had not made progress in their relationship. It was probably due to Zachary and Serenity that Jasmine remained on the sidelines. Josh could tell Jasmine was interested, but she held her fe
Judging by the timing of Josh’s arrival, Jasmine guessed that Zachary went to the office. “What did Elisa say or do when she found out that Zachary was Mr. York?” Josh did not send the photos to Zachary right away after taking them. Elisa had taken Serenity to the hospital to redress the injury anyway. Zachary would summon him back to the office while he himself would check on his wife at the hospital if Josh were to send him the photos right now. Josh selfishly thought to himself, ‘All I’m asking for is a half-day.’ He wanted to spend some alone time with Jasmine before going back to slaving himself at the office. Josh believed he must have owed Zachary tremendously in another life because he was ungrudgingly paying Zachary back by bending over backward now. “She blamed Mr. York for lying to Serenity. She didn’t do anything though. Mr. York didn’t defend himself, probably because he couldn’t talk his way out of the truth.” Jasmine looked at Josh. “You wealthy and power
Josh was not impressed, to say the least. He had asked Jasmine out many times, but her parents still had no clue that he was pursuing their daughter. Here Mrs. Sox thought Mr. Bucham was asking Drake out. Josh was lost for words. Jasmine took her mother’s call. “Mom.” Jasmine chirped, “What can I do for you, mother dearest?” “Don’t act smart with me. Come home early tonight. We’re going to your aunt’s for dinner.” Jasmine asked warily, “What’s the occasion since we’re having dinner at Aunt Rachel’s place?” Mrs. Sox fell silent for a while before asking in a hushed tone, “Is Serenity with you?” “No.” “Good. Shawn’s back but only for a couple of days. Your aunt has been missing him since he went to Havenmill. Mothers are all the same. We can’t stop worrying when our children are miles away. Now that Shawn’s back for a few days, your aunt wants to organize a get-together.” Scowling, Jasmine glanced at Josh and relayed the question that had been bugging her. “Mom, is
Mrs. Sox would not approve if Shawn continued to dwell on Serenity. What was the meaning of pestering a married woman? “Oh, that reminds me. Your aunt found another nice man for you. You can meet the guy at tonight’s dinner. Your aunt said the guy doesn’t come from a wealthy family. She gave up on that criteria since you hate it so much.” Truth be told, Mrs. Lowe knew her niece had kissed goodbye the notion of marrying a rich husband the moment Jasmine lay herself down on the floor at Mrs. Dawson’s birthday party. That was when Mrs. Lowe called it quits on playing the matchmaker. After staying out of her niece’s business for a while, Mrs. Lowe was once again back to find a man for her niece. Jasmine was twenty-six and single with no boyfriend in sight. Aunt Rachel was nervous for her niece who was not getting any younger. The anxiousness was getting to Mrs. Sox too. The two ladies would always think about setting Jasmine up on dates whenever they got together. “Your aunt
Nevertheless, Josh was a brilliant man. Mrs. Sox would sigh to herself every time Josh invited her son out for dinner. She would leap with delight if Josh asked her daughter out instead. In fact, Mrs. Sox would be laughing in her sleep. Josh earnestly replied, “Mrs. Sox, I’m not pretending to be Jasmine’s date. To put it accurately, I’m pursuing Jasmine. She hasn’t agreed to be my girlfriend.” Mrs. Sox put the phone away from her ear, making sure she had called the right number. She picked her ear before placing the phone back against it. She asked, “Are you really Mr. Bucham?” “It’s me, Mrs. Sox.” “Did you say you’re wooing Jasmine and not Drake?” Josh replied, “Mrs. Sox… I’m a straight guy. I only like women.” He moaned in his mind, ‘My future mother-in-law and Jasmine are the same to suspect I have a thing for Drake.’Amusingly, Mrs. Sox did not stop him from asking Drake out despite her suspicions. The old lady was quite open-minded. “But you’re so nice to Drake,
Unfortunately, those good days were coming to an end.Josh finally ended the call with Mrs. Sox.He returned the phone to Jasmine and looked at her with a smile and said, “Let’s go to your aunt’s house for dinner tonight. What should I prepare? What’s my status now?”Jasmine glanced at him as she continued to eat, and said, “Even if you’re a scumbag, my aunt and the others will still think that you’re the best.”He was Josh Bucham, the Mr. Bucham from York Corporation, and from the mysterious Bucham family. That status and identity were what her aunt wanted her niece to have.When they discovered that Serenity’s husband was the heir of the York family, Jasmine’s mother and aunt envied Serenity’s good fortune in front of Jasmine for having taken one of the most outstanding men in Wiltspoon.They always looked at Jasmine when they praised Serenity, and Jasmine knew very well what those expressions meant.Josh said confidently, “I’m not a scumbag. Not to blow my own trumpet, but th
Jasmine could not help but laugh. “You can be a landlord whenever you want.”“My family’s houses and stores belong to my parents, not me. My mom only told me to collect the rent because she’s too lazy to do it herself, and she gives me a few thousand as remuneration.”Her parents’ money belonged to themselves.Her capabilities could only be measured by the money she earned by herself.“Aunt Rachel said that Shawn came back and asked us to go over for dinner for a get-together.“He just came back for the weekend to see my aunt. He won’t try to bug Seren, so you and Mr. York should stop attacking him and Lowe Enterprise.”Jasmine was not dumb. She figured everything out after learning that Zachary was from the York family.Jasmine would not believe that Josh did not have a hand in Lowe Enterprise being attacked.Josh did not have a guilty conscience, so he said, “Zachary only told Mr. Lowe the reason he terminated their cooperation out of consideration for you and I. Otherwise, L
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
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