“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
No matter how slowly he drove, the car soon reached Liberty’s place.Liberty did not want to be too far away from her sister when she was looking for a rented place, so the apartment was nearby Brynfield.Zachary stopped the car.“We’re here.”Serenity opened the car door, said goodbye to Zachary, and got out of the car.“I’ll take you upstairs.”“No need. You go back. Drive safe and have a good rest at home tomorrow. You don’t look too good.”Zachary’s dark eyes burned into her, and he asked in a low voice, “Seren, you still care about me, right?”He tried to hold her hand, but she simply turned and entered the building.Zachary stood at the entrance and watched her go up. In the end, he did not walk her to the door.He had his pride too. He had bowed to her several times, but never once she accepted...After a long time, he turned and went back to the car. He called Josh and Duncan and asked them to go to Neon Nights for a drink.After the call, he drove away and went str
After Zachary swept away all the bottles and glasses, he slumped down on the table and mumbled, “Serenity, Serenity... It’s not like it has to be you...”Josh and Duncan did not hear what he said clearly at first.He murmured repeatedly, and it was only when Josh leaned into his mouth did he hear Zachary say, “It’s not like it has to be you, Serenity.”“What is he saying?” Duncan asked curiously when he saw Josh’s odd look.Josh stood up straight, looked at the drunken Zachary, and said to Duncan, “Since his sudden marriage, he has gotten drunk several times because of Serenity.”In the beginning, when Zachary and Serenity signed the agreement, Zachary was depressed at Serenity’s indifferent attitude. Back then, he also asked his two friends out for a drink and got drunk, and it was Jim who sent him home. That was also the first time Jim appeared in front of Serenity as a substitute driver.“He said ‘it doesn’t have to be Serenity’. Hah!”Josh laughed at his drunk friend. “Why d
“I’ll send him to Serenity’s place. She’ll take care of him.”Josh wanted to help his best friend out.Duncan reminded him, “Zachary is drunk and spewing nonsense. If he said those words he said earlier in front of Serenity, it would be adding insult to injury.”Josh paused. “I’ll send him to Wildridge Manor.”Duncan had no problem with that.The three of them left the bar. Duncan helped Zachary into Josh’s car, said a few words, and watched Josh drive away. Then, he called for a cab for himself.On the way back to York’s residence, Zachary occasionally yelled a few times. One moment, it was “Serenity, I love you. Don’t leave me.” The next moment, it was, “What else do you want from me? It’s not like I need you.”He kept repeating those words.It was a fight between his love and ego. His love prevailed one moment, and his ego the next.More than an hour later, Josh’s car arrived at Wildridge Manor.He called Grandma May in advance, so she waited for him at the entrance of the
What would Zachary do?He was dreaming after passing out drunk.In his dream, he was fighting Serenity fiercely, and he shouted at her, “It’s not that I need you, Serenity. I can toss you away any time. Don’t regret it when that happens!”Serenity looked at him coldly and then turned to leave.“Serenity! You’ll never leave me! You’re mine! I need you!”His instinctive reaction was to pull her back and not let her go.He pulled her and held her tightly, then lowered his head to her for a furious kiss as if trying to sear himself onto her...“Splash—”When Zachary was fiercely entangled with Serenity in his dream, he flipped over and tumbled out of the deck chair. He fell into the pool.The cold water instantly engulfed his body.His dream shattered, and the blazing fire in him that had ignited was extinguished the moment he fell into the pool.F*ck!It was freezing!There was so much water!Why was he in the water?!Zachary was caught off guard when he fell into the pool
The scowl on Zachary’s face could not be any more grimacing. Nevertheless, he did not have the nerve to go ahead to face another beating from Nana’s cane. Taking his nana’s cynical remark to heart, Zachary callously retorted, “Nana, I never said Serenity’s not the only girl out there for me.” There was no way he would say such a thing. Serenity was the only one for him. He did not want anyone but Serenity. “So you never said that?” Stumped, Zachary took a moment before uttering, “I might have said it in my dreams… How did you know, Nana?” Was it possible that it did not happen in dreamland? He had a huge fight with Serenity and said the unthinkable in a fit of rage. The rage somehow inflamed something else in him too… “Nana, I-I had a lot to drink. What did I do to Serenity while intoxicated?” If he was drunk to use force on Serenity… Jesus! Zachary had to stop his thoughts from spiraling there. Alcohol could really mess things up! He was wasted.Grandma Ma
In other words, the couple would divorce and be set free if Serenity could not blend into his circle. Was marriage all about equal social standing? Zachary and his family never once turned their nose up at Serenity. Why must Serenity put pressure on herself and care about what other people think? He believed there was no gap between them! His word should be taken for it! “You can pretend nothing happened since you don’t remember. Oh, there’s one thing you kept repeating all night—‘Serenity, you’re not the only one out there for me.’ Are those your true thoughts? You should go and talk to her when the sun comes out. What are you trying to accomplish by making a huge fuss about it with us?” With his face falling, Zachary bitterly smiled. “Seren said a lot to me, Nana. She doesn’t want to be a defenseless girl, hiding under my wing. She wants to be a woman standing proudly next to me.“Serenity wants to share common interests. It’s not like we don’t have anything in common to
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