Callum pointed to the handsome man in the photo. “So, he’s a she?”“She has a fraternal twin brother, but they look exactly the same. Her family raised her as a boy since childhood, so she acts like a man. People outside of her family think that she’s the eldest son.”“How did you know she’s actually a woman?”Callum heard of Casey Stoll before, and he had seen pictures of her too. At first glance, she really did look like a man, but it was not because she was deliberately trying to come off as the opposite sex. She dressed androgynously, but since she was known for her power and influence, people misunderstood and thought she was a man.The handsome guy in the photo was different from Casey. She was raised as a man and also deliberately dressed like a man. She had thick eyebrows and large eyes, looked grim and cold, and her tall figure was dressed in a suit. Anyone who looked at her would think she was a he.Callum flipped over the photo and read the woman’s profile on the other
“No. I’ll only help you and Kevin find a candidate for the time being. There’s no hurry for the others.”Callum tried to drag his younger brothers into this. “Only Rowan is still a minor. Alex just turned twenty this year, and the others are at the legal marriageable age. You can’t be biased, Nana. Let them all get married. The more granddaughters-in-law you have, the greater your chance of having a great-granddaughter.”Grandma May said, “I’m counting on Seren to give me a great-granddaughter. The fortune-teller said that Seren’s firstborn will be a girl.”Callum asked, “When did you become so superstitious?”“Since your big brother actually fell in love with Serenity. Fortune-telling is an age-old art. It’s worth believing in a little.”After she finished speaking, she stood up. “I won’t bother you with your work. I’ll go to Liberty’s shop to have a look. I miss Sonny after not seeing him for so long. Liberty’s breakfast diner will be open for business soon, right?”Callum said
“Mrs. York.”“Mrs. York.”The two receptionists greeted Serenity respectfully with a smile when they saw her come in.Serenity smiled in return. The receptionists had always been very nice to her.One of the receptionists went around the desk and led Serenity toward the elevator entrance. She glanced at the insulated lunch boxes that Serenity was carrying.“Zachary’s stomach isn’t feeling well lately, so I brought him food. It’s almost lunch break, right?”Serenity came over early.The receptionist looked concerned. “Mr. York’s stomach isn’t feeling well? He should take care of himself.”She thought in her heart, ‘The CEO has been working all day nonstop recently and isn’t having his meals on time. Most of the time, it’s Mr. Chaplin who packs food for him to eat at the office, but I heard Mr. Chaplin say that Mr. York still often forgets to eat because of his busy schedule.‘It’s only natural that he’ll have stomach problems like that.’“We’re having our lunch break soon,” th
“Seren, why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would’ve gone downstairs to pick you up.”Zachary took the insulated lunch boxes from his wife, fearing that she would be tired from carrying them. He turned around to place the two boxes on his desk, then led her by the hand to sit on the sofa.His fiery eyes glued to her body.Callum spat in his heart, ‘If he could dig out his eyeballs and stick them on Serenity, I guess he would do it without hesitation.’“It’s not the first time I came to your office. You don’t have to pick me up. I brought you food, so eat it while it’s hot. Eating your meals on time every day will help your stomach recover.”Zachary grinned. “Thank you, honey.”Serenity could not help but pinch his cheery face and smile. “Is the company giving out bonuses today? Everyone I saw today was beaming brightly.”Callum chimed in with a laugh, “Serenity, having you come here is more gratifying than getting a bonus.”Zachary looked at his brother.‘Didn’t you see
Zachary wanted to see the photos now because Serenity was present.There was new gossip to be heard, so of course he wanted to let his beloved wife in on it.Callum was not stupid and knew that Zachary was using Kevin and him as gossip material for Serenity.Alas, he was betraying his brothers for his wife.As Callum handed over the two photos, he despised himself for his lack of backbone. Zachary was selling him out to please his sister-in-law, but he was still bending over backward to go along with it.If his relationship did not go smoothly in the future and he needed his brother’s and sister-in-law’s help, he hoped the young couple would lend him a hand unconditionally.Bah, what was he thinking?His relationship was sure to be smooth sailing.In any case, he would not get married out of the blue or hide the marriage. He would not conceal his identity to lie to his wife either. Everything would go smoothly.“What photos?”Sure enough, Serenity was interested.Zachary pre
Callum remembered that Kevin was six feet two and understood Grandma May’s arrangements.Callum was only five foot seven. If he were to get together with Hayden, she would be taller than him.Out of the nine brothers, Kevin was the tallest.“Even if a woman dresses up as a man, there’ll be signs. A woman’s Adam’s apple is less obvious.”Serenity stared at Hayden’s picture. Her interest was genuinely piqued. ‘Why did she pretend to be a man for more than twenty years?’“Seren, there are clothes to hide the Adam’s apple.”Serenity was speechless.She did not think of that.“Who is Casey Stoll?” she asked curiously.Zachary took the initiative to explain, “She’s the president of Stoll Corporation in Annenburg. She’s a little pitiful. She lost all her family members except for her little sister, so she had no choice but to take over the family business. Her life has been quite hard. She often dresses in unisex clothing, but she’s very powerful and influential, so people mistake he
Zachary and Callum said in their hearts, ‘Nana won’t do anything she’s uncertain about.’Zachary took Camryn’s photo from his beloved wife’s hand and handed it to Callum, then started to glare at the latter again.Callum was speechless… “I’ll go now, Zachary and Serenity. You guys continue chatting. Eat more, Zachary!”What a cheapskate!Serenity said there was enough food for them to eat together, but Zachary would not let him eat!He could only find an excuse to leave, but he could not let Serenity notice that it was because Zachary was being stingy and not letting him stay.Callum left, leaving the young couple in the office.“Have you eaten, Seren?”“I ate before I came here.”Serenity would not let herself go hungry.Zachary was just about to reach out for the food when his wife smacked his hand.“You’re an adult. Use a spoon.”She handed him the utensils. “Hurry up and eat. Cold food isn’t good for your stomach.”Zachary took the spoon and said to Serenity, “I’ll eat
Zachary casually raised the question as he pulled Serenity’s hand over to play with after he finished eating.The last time he met Clive, he even mentioned how Clive had not had a child despite several years of marriage. Now, Alice suddenly got pregnant.He wondered when his Seren would get pregnant too.Zachary was not in a hurry to have a baby. He just liked the process.After remaining chaste for so long, all the cells in his body were screaming at him, desiring Serenity.Unfortunately, he had to hold back for a while longer.He pulled her hand up to check her injured finger and make sure that it was recovering well. Lowering his head, he tenderly kissed the wounded finger.It was his fault that caused her to get hurt.“I talked to Liberty about it. She’ll go buy some supplements. She’s a mother, so she knows more than I do. Once she buys them, we’ll send them over together.”Serenity was genuinely happy about Alice’s pregnancy.“That’s fine. I’ll reimburse Liberty for the
Lilian often messed with the medicinal herbs her master cultivated, which led to her being chased and scolded by him.It seemed her son had inherited her restless nature.“How’s Sonny been lately?”Liberty had been on edge these past few days because Caroline had been preparing to lure her three brothers into a trap and had not had time to call her son.“Same as usual, but it seems like things have soured again with the Browns.”Serenity added, “Sonny still answers when Hank calls him, but he doesn’t seem happy when his grandparents visit. He doesn’t like going to the Browns’ place, and he doesn’t want to take their calls either.“Hank’s mother and sister are truly incorrigible. They must have been badmouthing you and Duncan in front of Sonny again, which is why he’s upset with them.”During the holidays, Sonny had stayed with the Browns for a few days and started to warm up to them.However, who would have thought that the mother and daughter would start spouting nonsense in f
Once the baby was born, he would apply the knowledge he had learned over the past few months to care for the baby. He was determined to be a competent and responsible father.Serenity released her arms from around him and shifted to her side.Zachary let go, too, allowing her to turn.Then, she planted countless gentle kisses on his face.“Babe, with you here, the baby and I will be just fine. Don’t worry too much,” Serenity comforted softly after kissing him.“You are my rock. If even you are nervous, I’ll start feeling anxious too, and that won’t be good.”Hearing this, Zachary immediately said, “Seren, don’t worry. I’ll protect both of you. Alright, I won’t be so nervous anymore.”He gently touched her rounded belly again. “Lil’ Bun should be a calm kid. He’s not that mischievous.”He felt that the baby’s movements were not too intense.Serenity wanted to tell him that there were times when the baby kicked more vigorously, but she decided against it, knowing it would only m
“Just hit the gym a few more times. Lately, you’ve been spending less time there.”Every day after work, he would come home and orbit around her. As a result, he had less time to work out.It was normal to gain a few pounds eating well and exercising less. Did he really think he could eat anything without gaining weight?The reason he could maintain a model-like physique before was that he exercised daily.“Ow.” Serenity suddenly cried out in pain.This startled Zachary so much that he nearly jumped up, asking anxiously, “Is it stomach pain? Are you going into labor? Let’s go to the hospital right away.”He was about to pick her up, but Serenity stopped him by pressing his hand.“Don’t be so nervous, Zachary. It's not time yet. It’s not happening so soon. It’s just the baby kicking again. His kicks are getting stronger.”As she entered the later stages of pregnancy, the little one inside her was growing stronger. Sometimes, a couple of kicks from the baby could actually hurt.
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