“Liberty, are you hiring at the moment? I don’t have a job, and my age makes finding one a pain. I can’t beat those young girls out there. “You can hire me if you’re looking to hire. I’m not asking for a lot. I’m happy with eight thousand dollars a month with meals and accommodation included.”Chelsea changed the subject. Echoing her daughter, Mrs. Brown told her former daughter-in-law, “Liberty, Chelsea has been out of work for a long time. It’s going to be hard for you to run the place and look after Sonny. You should hire someone to help you. Chelsea is not an outsider. Plus, she’s a good worker. It’s better for you to hire her than someone you don’t know. You might end up with a thief for all you know.“I can look after Sonny, so you can focus on running the business.” If Mrs. Brown was watching Sonny, Liberty would have to go to the Browns’ home to pick the boy up, and she would bump into Hank. Liberty and Hank had known each other for more than a decade, and they had a so
“You can talk to me about it, Nana. No need to look for Duncan.” “I don’t need you. Stop with the questions. Hurry up and give me Duncan’s number.” Zachary skeptically gave his best friend’s number to his nana. At the end of it, he persistently asked, “What happened, Nana? Why do you need to talk to Duncan?” “It’s none of your business. Go back to work.” Grandma May immediately hung up on her darling grandson after getting Duncan’s number. Over on the other side, Zachary was speechless. Could he not be a little nosy to ask about it? Grandma May dialed Duncan’s number and spoke in an anxious tone when Duncan picked up, “It’s bad, Duncan! It’s bad! Those absurd people are out to get Liberty again. It’s Liberty’s ex-mother-in-law and sister-in-law. They’re jealous that Liberty set up a diner. They want Liberty to transfer the ownership of the restaurant to them. Liberty can’t face those two women alone. She’s no longer the two-hundred-pound woman she was.“I’m only an old l
“I’ll be right there. I’m sorry, Liberty.” Hank apologized on behalf of his mother and sister before ending the call. Picking up his car keys, he told his father, “Dad, Mom and Chelsea made a fool of themselves at Liberty’s diner again. Come with me to bring them back.” Black in the face, Mr. Brown took a moment to swallow the news and said, “They have nothing better to do.” They had a nice thing going on as a family, and it had all come to an end. It took Hank to get a new wife for Mrs. Brown and Chelsea to appreciate Liberty. Now the ladies would not stop harassing Liberty, and it was embarrassing. “I’ll take your mom back to our hometown after your wedding. We won’t come to the city unless necessary.” Mr. Brown believed taking his wife and daughter back home could give the newlyweds some space. The absence and distance would do them all some good. At least, the family would not be having fights every day. That way, his former daughter-in-law would be left alone too. Hank
Grandma May was lost for words. Snapping out of her trance, Liberty asked, “Mr. Lewis, h-how did you know they were here?” Duncan let go of the struggling boy. Despite giving Sonny many pinwheels, he still could not get through to the little man. Duncan believed he was a failure because he could never get the three-year-old to like him. “Grandma May called me and said your former mother-in-law and sister-in-law were stirring trouble at your place. She told me to hurry over with security, and I did because I was worried that they might scare Sonny and hurt Grandma May.“Are you all alright?” Liberty was in a daze. No wonder Duncan showed up out of the blue. It turned out Grandma May called him for help. Well, Lewis & Co. was nearby after all. It made sense why Grandma May sought Duncan for help. Without thinking much of it, Liberty said, “They have no shame, but I’m not afraid of them. I was going to splash them with water, but your arrival was perfect timing.“Thank you
Duncan replied nonplussed, “What’s your nana trying to do, Zachary? Does she think that I have feelings for Liberty? I honestly am fond of Sonny. That’s all.” Zachary believed his best friend’s eagerness to explain was a dead giveaway. His nana had a good eye for this kind of stuff. Nana would not put the feelers out to Duncan if Duncan was not interested in his sister-in-law that way. In the past, Zachary noticed that fate tended to draw Duncan and Liberty together. Wiltspoon was a bustling major city. Yet, the pair kept bumping into each other. If that was not fate, then what was it? “Hmmm… I adore Sonny too. It’s your business whether you like my sister-in-law or not. It’s not my problem either, but I hope you only take a liking to Sonny. I don’t want you hanging around the diner because of Sonny’s mother.” Since Duncan was Zachary’s best friend, Zachary knew him well. Duncan would not make a good couple with his sister-in-law, mainly because of Mrs. Lewis. Liberty w
Zachary did not have mixed feelings about it. Sure, Elisa was younger than him by a few years, but she was Serenity’s older cousin, so he should not be awkward about acknowledging Elisa as the older cousin-in-law. “Yeah, I came to pick Seren up. Did you skip work to come here?” Zachary replied in a husky voice, “I left early after finishing my work. No one will say anything.” Elisa pursed her lips. Zachary was the boss of York Corporation, so whatever he said goes. No one would say anything even if he skipped out on work for a whole month, much less the occasional early dismissals. “Mr. York is a busy, busy man, but he has nothing to do when Seren is at stake,” Elisa teased.Zachary never had time to meet Elisa in the past. Now Elisa found out that it was not that he did not have the time—he simply was not interested in her. He would make time for Elisa no matter how busy Zachary was if he truly liked her. With that registering in her mind, Elisa saw the light. Zacha
Elisa found it a shame that she could not become the love of Zachary’s life. However, she was comfortable with Zachary being her cousin-in-law and wished Serenity nothing but happiness. Judging by the shimmer in his dark eyes, Zachary was taken by surprise. He thought Elisa would take the chance to discredit him in front of Serenity. Poor Elisa. Zachary totally had her misjudged. “Is the car outside with the flat tires John’s?” “Yes.” Pulling out his phone, Zachary said, “I’ll call the traffic police to tow the car. It’s parked there, obstructing traffic.” “He secretly came by twice to check on the car. I guess he’s waiting until I’m not around to get the tow truck to come around.” There was sarcasm in Serenity’s tone. “He’s acting like a thief.” “That reminds me. I need to tell you that your cousin has made an appointment for surgery with a plastic surgeon. What looks do you think she should go by?” Serenity wickedly uttered, “She wants to resemble me and take my pla
The Hunts had moved the graves of Zachary’s parents-in-law elsewhere, and Serenity and her sister had no idea of the location. The Hunt family’s intention was to stop the sisters from visiting the graves while pushing John to pay respects to Serenity’s parents as their son. John could then inherit the property from Serenity’s parents. The mention of her parents put Serenity in low spirits. Holding her hands, Zachary soothed Serenity, “Your parents in heaven will be happy to see you and your sister doing well in life.” “I’ll take back everything that belongs to my parents!” “You got me. Go and get them. I will hire the best lawyers to fight the case. We won’t let them win!”Serenity gave a firm nod. “Ahem.” Clearing her throat, Elisa interrupted the couple. Elisa drew close as the couple watched on. “Seren, my mom called and told you to come home with me. We can start getting ourselves ready for the event.” She then turned to Zachary. “Seren made you an early dinner.
Zachary was also worried that Serenity would go into premature labor out of shock. He also persuaded her to go for her checkup in a gentle voice. They could not do anything but wait anyway.Serenity finally decided to conduct her prenatal checkup first. Zachary accompanied her. Just moments after they left, the door to the delivery suite opened. A nurse stood there and shouted, “Is Jasmine Sox’s husband here?”“Yes. I’m her husband,” replied Josh quickly. He dashed to the nurse. “You must save Jas, doctor. Save the mother no matter what.”His family members behind him also echoed, “That’s right. No matter what happens, you have to save Jasmine.”The nurse said, “The mother is fine. It’s just that she wants her husband to accompany her as she’s in a lot of pain.”Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.Josh was about to rush inside but was stopped by the nurse.She asked him to change his clothes before taking him inside the delivery suite.Jasmine was wailing in pain. When
With advanced medical technology, a premature baby could still be healthy if taken good care of in the incubator. Serenity said, “Jasmine should be at thirty-five weeks. I just don’t understand why she would suddenly go into labor. Did she fall at home?“Or did she eat something that made her go into labor?”Zachary said, “That’s most likely not the case. Josh’s cousin is Jasmine’s dietician and keeps an eye on her food every day. There’s no way Jasmine would’ve eaten something bad unless she ate it secretly.”Serenity and Zachary suddenly went silent. Pregnant women had weird appetites. Once they had a craving, they could not go unsatisfied. Sometimes, they would even crave fruits that were not in season. Serenity herself was one of them. Once, she woke up in the middle of the night craving mac and cheese. Of course, Zachary, the ever-doting husband, had to satisfy her request. However, where could he find mac and cheese at that hour?Ultimately, he had to drive to the
People would reap what they had sown. They would have to bear the consequences of their actions. Sometimes, interfering in another person’s fate would backfire. After chatting for some time, Serenity said, “I have to go for my checkup now, Liberty. Let’s talk again when you’re free another day.“By the way, I’ll get someone to bring Sonny to you this weekend. He misses you.”“Okay,” said Liberty. After the call ended, Serenity put her phone into her bag and stood up. She told the man behind the office desk, “It’s almost time, babe. Let’s go.”“Okay. I’m almost done.”Zachary quickly signed and stamped a document before closing it. He walked over with the document in hand. Serenity and Zachary left the office together. He handed the document to his secretary. The secretary did not expect him to pass the document to him personally. He had thought of entering Zachary’s office to request it later. The secretary watched Zachary and Serenity leave. He could not believe
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