Serenity fell into contemplation before agreeing to let Zachary come with. Walking around the cash register, Serenity told her best friend, “I’m heading out for a while, Jasmine. I’ll leave the shop in your hands. Reassure my sister that everything’s going to be okay when she comes over. I’ll sort things out.” “Okay.” After telling her best friend to be safe, Jasmine watched as Serenity and Zachary took off. Sitting in Zachary’s car, Serenity asked him, “Mr. York, do you know anyone in the media?” “Yes. Do you need their help with something?” Serenity replied, “I’m going back to my hometown to take photos of my uncles’ houses. It’ll be more convincing with a third party validating it. I still don’t know what my relatives do for a living.” Her grandparents were still hogging her family home too. Serenity intended to snap photos of their living conditions. A visual proof was crucial to disapprove their claims. As for the public witch hunt online, Serenity was not going to
Caught off guard by the response, Serenity ensued with a smile. “Many couples break up in the face of adversity. We got married without knowing anything about each other and have only lived together for two weeks. I’m grateful that you’re willing to face this together with me.” The people around her might be embroiled in the scandal if not handled well. “My sister and brother-in-law were college sweethearts and had been dating for years before tying the knot. They also have a son together. My brother-in-law wasn’t very nice when he discovered that my sister and I were villainized on the internet.” Zachary fell silent for a while before responding, “Serenity, you can’t use your brother-in-law as the benchmark for every man out there. It’s unfair to them and not everyone’s the same.” He believed Hank’s feelings for Liberty had gone sour. As the new addition to the family, Zachary did not want to point out that Hank was having an affair without proof. However, it was his gut fee
“Of course, I can give you an extra day if you’re going on a blind date and getting married.” Josh disconnected his boss-cum-best-friend’s call. Zachary was trying to lead him astray! Not happening! Zachary only married in haste because his nana made him do it. Grandma May took a fancy to Serenity so much so she sacrificed her darling grandson’s marriage. After giving out directives to Josh, Zachary got out of the car and went to get some snacks. By the time Serenity returned, Zachary had snacks ready for her in the car. “It’ll take some time to make the roundtrip. Have something to eat. Don’t starve yourself over a tiny issue,” he said.“Have you eaten?” “Yeah.” Zachary ate just enough to stop the hunger. The snacks were not to his liking. Seeing that Zachary was full, Serenity helped herself with the food. Zachary was tasked behind the wheel while Serenity filled her belly. Serenity’s hometown was over an hour’s drive on the highway from Wiltspoon. It had been
Serenity swiftly wiped away her tears before turning to look at the lady. Serenity immediately recognized her. “You must be Mrs. Deli.” The lady was one of Mom’s close friends when Mom was still alive. “It’s me. You came back.” Mrs. Deli was very friendly toward Serenity. “Do you want to come by my place for a catch-up?” She looked at the house and said to Serenity, “I heard your grandmother is sick and getting treatment at a hospital in the city. Your grandfather and your uncles made quite the fuss when sending your grandmother there. They all took their cars. People might mistake them for going to some wedding or holiday.“I’ve never seen them so proactive, but somehow, they were very zealous the moment your grandmother fell sick. They were just putting on a show for us.” Mrs. Deli had no idea about the tweet online since she was without internet. The viral tweet had not been up for a few hours, so it had not spread far and wide yet. “Mrs. Deli, do they usually ignore
“Back then, your grandparents said you didn’t have to help them with the cost of living if you split them half of the insurance money. Besides, your grandmother is blessed with a lot of children. You girls shouldn’t be forking out the money for her medical bills.“Your parents were still at the morgue when they seized a share of the blood money and hogged your house and land. They wouldn’t even take you in or let you visit your parents’ grave. Don’t feel bad for not footing your grandmother’s medical expenses.” As a close friend to Serenity’s mother, Mrs. Deli was aware of the events at the time. Once the uncles got their hands on the cash, they wanted no part in the funeral since Serenity’s parents died in a gruesome car crash. They either feigned sickness or made up some sort of excuse to evade the responsibility. It was the mayor who had to step in and give the family a telling-off. With the community giving them judging looks, the uncles begrudgingly helped put the funeral a
“Won’t they try to explain themselves online?” Old Mr. Hunt asked. The internet was a foreign world to the old man. However, he knew the story his grandson posted on Twitter was made up. He was worried that his two granddaughters would straighten the facts and leave the Hunts without the money and pride in the end. “Who would believe them? We hired trolls to write nasty comments and spill dirt on Serenity and Liberty. The netizens will blast them to kingdom come if they even so much as get online.” Old Mrs. Hunt chimed in. “Mike, use my phone and give Serenity another call. She better delivers the money right now if she doesn’t want to face public outrage. Liberty probably doesn’t have much money since she has a family. You must get Serenity to open her wallet.” “Say that you’ll delete the tweet in exchange for six hundred thousand dollars or be prepared to be ruined. She won’t be able to show her face in public,” Old Mr. Hunt added.“Granddad, we shouldn’t be the ones to call
Zachary quietly handed the phone to Serenity. With many netizens blowing up Serenity’s phone with text messages and calls, her phone was out of battery. Serenity could at least get some peace and quiet, but her friends and family had trouble getting in touch. “Who is it?” “Nana,” Zachary answered.Serenity took the phone and greeted, “Nana.” “I just got online and found out about the tweet, Serenity. Are you okay? Do you need help? Just let Zachary know. He’s been around the business world to know a lot of big CEOs. It’s a piece of cake for him to sort things out. “Don’t feel shy to ask. You’re married. You can tell me if he doesn’t even help with this tiny favor. I’ll beat him up.” Grandma May had only learned about it now. It was mainly because the viral story did not get far enough. Plus, the tabloid post about Zachary and Elisa snagged the attention away from the tweet. It did not make much of an impact either when it was retweeted by the press. Grandma found out fro
Liberty said, “There’s a part two. It talked about Grandmom being admitted into the hospital and prepped for surgery with the date fixed, having received help from kind netizens.“The netizens are really tearing into me, calling us ingrates. Apparently, Granddad and Grandmom struggled hard to raise us, but we repaid them with nothing after we made something of ourselves. We didn’t even visit Grandmom now that she was sick in the hospital. They said we were heartless and a letdown to our grandparents and deceased parents.” Liberty did a slow burn after scrolling through the comments all day.It hurt especially when her parents were brought into the picture. Mom and Dad were way better children to Granddad and Grandmom than her uncles when they were still alive. Yet, this was the treatment Serenity and Liberty received from Grandmom and Granddad now that their parents were dead. “Liberty, don’t read what the keyboard warriors have to say. They don’t know the truth and will belie
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