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
Seeing that it was Josh, the two hounds stopped barking and wagged their tails at him. Josh was often around the Soxes’ residence in the name of hanging out with Drake. His frequent visits gave Mrs. Sox the wrong idea that Josh took a fancy to Drake, but it also drew him closer to the two hounds. Drake came to open the door. “Are you here for me?” Josh answered with a smile, “You wish. I’m here for your sister.” Drake grinned. “I found out yesterday that my mom thought you had a crush on me. Haha! That was hilarious.” “I’m surprised Mrs. Sox took it the wrong way.” “Well, you always came looking for me. Anyway, my sister’s getting dressed upstairs. She said she doesn’t care if you come, but she hasn’t decided what to wear since getting up. Oh, women. It’s one of those no-means-yes moments.” Josh told him off, “Don’t speak ill of your sister in front of me.” Drake commented, “Are you on her side already?” “Drake, is that Josh? Oh, it is Josh. Come on in.” Mrs. Sox
Josh said with a smile, “I better work on it so I can get the bigger gift from you soon.” “I heard that no gossip slips past your family,” Mr. Sox chimed in. Josh replied, “That’s true. Are you into gossip?” Mr. Sox uttered with a straight face, “Gossip doesn’t appeal to someone of my age, but you can share a little with me when we have nothing to do. I’m fine with it.” Squealing at her husband, Mrs. Sox remarked, “Jasmine takes after him.” Jasmine’s love for the buzz and gossip came from her father. Josh happened to be the same type. He and Jasmine seemed destined together. God knew what embarrassing moments Jasmine’s parents would share with Josh while she was not around. Hence, Jasmine finally decided on a dress after standing in front of her wardrobe all day. Jasmine wore a dress, grabbing her phone on the way out. “Get it together, Jas. Josh is downstairs.” Drake called her sister’s attention to her bearing. She should walk like a lady. Now that an eligible
Zachary had no idea his commitment to work had caused distress to the entire office. It was Monday after he took seven days to cool off. He invited Serenity out at the start of a new week. The injury on Serenity’s hand healed up well after seven days of rest. At least, she could now drive. Zachary asked to meet her at the presidential suite on the top floor of Wiltspoon Hotel. Serenity brought Sonny along. The little man was with her today because the facelift for Liberty’s restaurant was nearing completion. Since Liberty would be busy in the coming days, she did not have time to look after Sonny. The responsibility of caring for Sonny fell on Serenity’s shoulders. “Mrs. York.” Standing at the hotel entrance, Jim and his colleague watched as Serenity carried Sonny out of the car. Jim went ahead and respectfully said hello. “Where’s your boss?” “Mr. Zachary is waiting for you on the top floor. Please come with us.” Remaining deferential throughout, Jim and his colleagu
Paperwork for the transfer of Zachary’s personal assets, including York Corporation shares, bank accounts, and all title deeds of residential and commercial properties had been sorted and packed in one envelope for Serenity. “You will own the company’s equity, but I’ll manage York Corporation for you. The profit will be yours to keep. I’m only working for you. If you have a financial target in mind, I will do my best to help you reach that goal. “We can proceed with the paperwork to transfer everything to your name if you’re okay with it. I won’t keep anything. You can decide how much you want to give me for allowance.“I kept my guard against you, thinking you were out to get my money. Now, I’m handing over everything I have to you to prove my confidence in you and apologize through my actions. I promise all the hiding and lies won’t happen again.” Without looking at the deeds, Serenity stuffed the document back into the envelope and stared at him in silence. “Say something,
Pre-empting that Serenity would reject his gesture, Zachary put forth a threat before that could happen. “I’ll throw these papers out of the window if you don’t accept the envelope. You’re the head of the household. Why should I care if you don’t give a sh*t about our family asset? All that matters to me is you.” Serenity was lost for words. After going a week without seeing each other, Serenity thought he understood where she was coming from and was ready to change his tyrannical attitude when he asked to meet. Nevertheless, Serenity was left to sigh at his threat. A leopard could not possibly change its spots. He was born this way. She should not have counted on herself to be special and be able to change him. Zachary would not change, and she did not want to change. The only option left was to work their problems out one by one. Serenity locked eyes with Zachary for a long time before picking up the envelope. She pulled out a black card from the envelope and gave it to
“Um… Can I take you to see our properties?” Zachary was referring to the houses he bought before they got married. The properties he bought were mostly villas with front and back gardens. Zachary only purchased properties in catchment areas that were highly sought after. He was single back then, but he knew his family would not stop bugging him about getting married. There would be a time when he would have a family of his own. For his children’s education, he bought houses in a few areas with great schools. His future children would have the freedom to study wherever they wanted to. “Aren’t you busy with your work?” “Work comes second when I’m with you.” Serenity replied disagreeably, “It should at least be sometime during the weekend when you and I don’t have to work.” She did not want to pull him out of his busy schedule. Zachary was only testing the waters. Now that he got an answer, he could breathe a sigh of relief. For Serenity to be fine with looking at the
It then dawned on Zachary the difference in various levels. Serenity would end up like Liberty before the divorce if she did not have a job. She would have to rely on Zachary’s handouts, which he might start to moan about at some time. Unlike his mother, Serenity did not go from one wealthy family to another. Even without working, his mother received profits from her family trust fund and inheritance to be financially independent. Tania once mentioned that her parents were worried she might have a rough time with her in-laws after marrying Zachary’s father, the heir of the York family. To counter that, her parents named Tania as one of the bigger beneficiaries of the family inheritance. There was a company under Zachary’s mother’s name that grew into a listed corporation through the decades. His mother now managed a company that brought in billions in revenue. Suddenly, it made sense to Zachary why Serenity asked for independence and to have time to blend into his circle. S
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