A few minutes later, Zachary arrived in a hurry.“Seren.”There was only Serenity in his eyes. He did not notice Remy sitting to the side chatting with Elisa.Zachary quickly walked to Serenity and looked at the IV drip, then he crouched and gently held up Serenity’s injured finger. His heart ached as he asked, “Does it hurt?”“Why don’t you try for yourself?”Zachary blamed himself. “I’m sorry, Seren. I was wrong again.”Serenity pursed her lips and said, “It has nothing to do with you. I hurt myself accidentally.”Zachary looked up at her. She met his eyes for a moment and then looked away.His heart clenched.He stood up, and said after a moment, “The infusion is finished. I’ll send you home. Rest well and don’t touch cold water for the next few days so the wound doesn’t get infected.”“You’re busy with work, so you don’t need to send me. Elisa will send me home.”It was a Saturday, but his whole company was working overtime. It was clear that work was up to their necks.
Elisa asked Serenity, “Seren, do you want him or me to send you back?”“I’ll take a cab myself.”Serenity did not let Elisa or Zachary send her back so she would not offend either party.Ugh, life was so hard!“Let Zachary send you back. I’ve been out for a long time and should be going back too. My mom doesn’t even know I went out.”Elisa took the initiative to step down.She looked deeply at Zachary, then let go of Serenity and left.“Zachary.”She suddenly stopped again, turned her head, and called out Zachary’s name. “Don’t force Serenity, Zachary! Also, my family will always stand on Serenity’s side. Don’t think that you can bully her because she doesn’t have a maiden home to rely on. If you dare to restrict her freedom like the other day, I’ll come to your door to beat you up!”Zachary’s handsome face was tense as he said coldly, “You won’t have the chance.”He wanted nothing more than to hold Serenity in his arms now. How could he bear to bully her?“Seren, tell me if
“Why are you suddenly thinking about making money? Do you lack money now?”“I only have a few hundred thousand in my savings account. I don’t lack money, but I’m not considered rich either. Elisa said a lot of things to me. I need to think about the reality gap between Zachary and me.”Jasmine asked, “Are you not angry at him anymore?”“Whether or not I’m angry, I still have to think about my future with him.”Serenity sighed. “I just wanted to find an ordinary man to marry. How did I jump into such a large pit? Now, I can’t climb back out. Elisa said that even if I sue for divorce, I won’t be able to leave if Zachary doesn’t let me.”“If you dare to sue for divorce, he’ll imprison you in the house for the rest of your life.”“Stop bringing that up. It’ll only make me angrier.”Serenity forked a piece of honeydew to eat. “This melon is quite sweet.”“Of course it is. I picked it out myself. At first, we were all worried that Elisa would turn against you when she found out, but
After calling Zachary, Serenity told her sister that she would be going back to Brynfield in the evening to have a talk with him before returning to the rented apartment.Liberty said, “That’s fine. It doesn’t matter how late you are. I’ll leave the door open for you.”After the phone call, Serenity did not go back to the store immediately. She walked alone on the streets along the river in front of the school.Her mind slowly calmed down as the cold wind blew.The most important problem in front of them was not the question of whether she was angry or not, but the reality gap between them.As she walked, she realized that she had walked quite a ways. She stopped and turned to walk back.When she turned around, she saw that Jasmine was following her from afar. She paused before walking toward her friend.“I’ll get over it.”Jasmine smiled. “I know you will. I just figured that I should follow you so I can hear you if you shout if you need anything.”Serenity looked at Jasmine
Serenity held the watering can in her right hand and raised it when she turned to look at him. She was showing him that she was using her right hand.She injured her left hand.“It’s tiring if you only use one hand too. I told Mrs. Lane to take good care of these flowers. You don’t have to worry about them.”Zachary took the watering can from her hand and did not allow her to water the flowers. He pulled her to the swing chair and pressed her down to the seat. “Here’s your favorite spot. Just sit here and swing. I’ll go into the house and get you a coat.”“I’m not cold.”However, Zachary went inside as if he did not hear her. He brought her a jacket and wanted to put it on her, but she refused, so he draped it over her legs instead. That way, she would not feel cold when sitting on the swing chair.“I’ll go cook now. Call me if you need anything. Don’t touch the water.”Zachary exhorted her again and returned to the kitchen to prepare their dinner.Serenity sat on the swing cha
“I was really angry when I first found out that you lied to me... Forget it. Let’s put that aside for now. Look at yourself. It’s like your hair is standing on end. I’m still angry, and I haven’t calmed down yet, but everyone is speaking up for you and pleading your case.”Even her best friend, who was on her side, spoke up for him.“You have the right to be angry, Seren. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have concealed it from you for so long. I couldn’t even confess to you in person and chose another way to let you find out... It was Remy who suggested that!”If Remy were here, he would say, “You were the one who came to me for advice.”After a moment of silence, Serenity said, “In the end, it’s because you don’t trust me enough.”“Seren, I admit that I used to distrust you and guard against you. I thought you were after my money. Now, I absolutely believe in your character.”Serenity was silent again and looked up at him. With a heart split between hesitance and certainty, she aske
“What I mean is, give me a little time. I’ll try to see if I can fit into your world. If I can’t, I won’t force myself, and you shouldn’t force me either. An unequal marriage won’t last.“You just fell in love with me, so your feelings are especially strong now. You think you can accept everything about me, and you don’t care what my status is.“As time passes, you’ll feel that I can’t help you with anything. We have nothing in common. I won’t understand if you talk about finance, stocks, and investment. If you take me to socialize with your friends, other ladies will be able to make conversation easily with you all, but what can I talk about to you?“Do I talk about the weather? Or ask what you had for lunch?“Eventually, you’ll feel that I’m a disgrace, and that I’m not as good as your friends’ wives. It’s because they’re on the same level as you with similar social circles, so they share similar insights and conversation topics.“You can say that no one will dare do anything to
Serenity also admitted that her in-laws were very good people. However, she could tell that her mother-in-law was not too satisfied with her.There was no conflict yet between Serenity and her mother-in-law, but as they spend more time together in the future, would she experience the same thing her aunt did in her youth?What Serenity wanted was to be truly acknowledged by her in-laws!“Let’s leave it at this, Zachary. It’s late now. You should rest early. I’m going back.”Serenity suppressed her anger and did not quarrel with Zachary. She could not convince him, and he could not understand what it was that she wanted.It was a waste of breath to continue the discussion.Serenity felt powerless.She felt that if they continued talking, they would just end up quarreling again. In fact, the fight would most likely escalate and worsen their relationship further.She came here to settle their issues, not to fight with him.Zachary stood up and grabbed her arm, saying in a low voic
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