Liberty thought about it and said, “You’re right. Elisa, your way of thinking is much better than ours. You should learn more from Elisa, Seren.”The Hunt sisters were motivated and ambitious, but they might not be as good as Elisa when it came to investing and making money. After all, Elisa came from a family who ran their own business, so she at least had some experience.Elisa blushed and laughed, “I only thought of renting the fields to plant fruits and vegetables after I saw so many fields deserted on the way back to your hometown.“I talked to Clive, and he said that it’s feasible. He said that no matter what project we invest in, any project that makes us money is a good project. He suggested we give it a try.”Elisa added confidently, “Let’s just give it a go. It’ll be good if we can profit, but if we fail, it’ll be a learning experience. In any case, I’m not short of money.“Seren, mention it to Zachary later at night. If he thinks it’s worth a try, then we’ll go for it.
“I gave Dunc all the food I haven’t touched,” the little boy explained.Thus, the others did not find it strange.“Let’s take a break. We’ll have some free time to ourselves.”Zachary spoke to the group.He wanted to bring his beloved wife on a stroll around their home alone.The group smiled in understanding.After a short rest, Zachary took Serenity away from the barbecue site.“I’ll take you to the garden to see the flowers. The flowers are in bloom now.”Serenity did not refuse. She was not familiar with the place and did not know where the scenery was good, so she followed wherever he brought her to.The spring breeze caressed her face, and Serenity could not help but close her eyes and enjoy the wind.“The air here is better than in the city.”Zachary smiled. “Of course it is. It’s very quiet here too. It’s too bad Liberty’s store is opening tomorrow, or we could stay here for a few more days so you can get more familiar with your new home.”“I’ll be living in my home
“What’s wrong?”Zachary saw Serenity staring at the flower pots and said warmly, “If you like them, let’s take a few pots back and keep them on the balcony.”“Zachary.”Serenity turned to him and asked, “Back then, I asked you to buy flowers from the florist. Did you buy them at the flower shop or have they been sent over from here?”There was no need to hide the truth anymore, so Zachary admitted honestly, “I called Sam and asked him to arrange for someone to send some potted flowers over. I know you like large flowers with complicated petals, so I specifically asked them to pick those flowers and send them over.”“No wonder I always felt that the flowers you bought were more beautiful than the ones I bought. It’s because they’re a variety carefully cultivated by your gardener.”The flowers here were much better than the ones found in flower shops.“Are you angry, honey?”“What’s there to be angry about? The time to be angry has already passed.”Zachary stood in front of the
His mother wanted him to come home so he and Lily had a chance to cultivate a relationship.Duncan did not have a bad impression of Lily, but he did not like her either.“What’s inconvenient about that? You drive to work anyway, and no one will say anything even if you’re late since you’re the boss. There’s a guest at home now, so you have to stay home for a few days.”“Mom, I’m tired after being out and about today. I’m driving now so it’s not convenient for me to talk to you. I’ll hang up now.”Duncan did not directly reject his mother’s request and found an excuse to hang up the phone.After the call ended, Mrs. Lewis said helplessly to her husband, “I’m afraid your youngest son will be single for the rest of his life. Lily is a great girl who doesn’t mind his scarred face, but he’s not even willing to spend some time with her.”Mr. Lewis said faintly, “You’re too hasty and obvious in your motive. You’ve arranged several blind dates for Duncan, and he has developed an aversion
Liberty laughed. “Since you’re my first customer, your meal will be on the house. What would you like to eat, Mr. Lewis?”Duncan said, “No, I’ll pay. It’s your opening day, so you have to earn money. You need to collect money no matter who comes to eat.”Zachary echoed, “Paying for breakfast is pocket change for Duncan. Don’t even think of giving him a discount and only charge him the price as per your menu.”“In that case, thank you for your support.”In his heart, Zachary thought, ‘What’s there to thank? In the future, Duncan might sink his teeth into you and never let you go.’Soon after Duncan entered, there was a stream of customers coming into the store for breakfast.Liberty started getting busy.A new store opening was most likely to attract people to come in and try their food.Liberty’s store had been remodeling for a period of time. The people working in nearby buildings passing by every day were already long aware of All You Can Eat.They felt that the name of the
“Why are there so many flower stands? Who sent them?”Hank was a little jealous.Liberty was just a woman he threw away, and she opened a small breakfast diner with the money she took from him. However, there were long rows of flower stands on the opening day.“There’s no space for my flowers? Then I’ll get a re—”Hank was just about to say that he would get a refund from the flower shop, but Olivia immediately interrupted him. She took the flower stand from his hand and glared at him fiercely, then said to Liberty with a smile, “There’ll be space if you squeeze it in.”She took the flower stand outside and placed it at the spot of the stand that Duncan sent. If not for the fact that Serenity and Zachary, two people who she could not afford to mess with, were present, she would have smashed the flower stands sent by Duncan and thrown them away.Liberty did not want to have a fight with Hank and Olivia on the first day of business, so she turned a blind eye as long as they did not
Serenity knew the Brown family too well. She was worried that the Browns and Hunts would come over and cause havoc during the opening of her sister’s new store.The last thing anyone wanted on their store’s opening day was trouble.Serenity asked her husband for help, requesting him to arrange for people to keep watch nearby so they could help deal with any problems as soon as possible.Serenity, who was independent and reluctant to rely on her husband, took the initiative to ask Zachary for help. Zachary was overjoyed and felt that his wife finally thought of him as family.He immediately agreed.In fact, he would have arranged for people to keep watch even without her request. Like Serenity, he was also wary of the Brown and Hunt families causing trouble.When Jessica saw all the bodyguards from the Yorks and Duncan, her madness stopped at once. Then, she looked into the store and saw that there were only Serenity, Zachary, and Elisa.Elisa had ignored her the first time she g
Liberty explained why there were security guards patrolling the street as she served the eggs benedict to Elisa.Serenity did not notice that the security guards were only patrolling half of the street including Liberty’s store. As for the other half of the street, the guards simply looked from afar and did not patrol there.However, the overall security of the street was still heightened with the presence of the guards.Serenity’s beautiful eyes twinkled. She felt that Duncan’s action was because of her sister, but when she saw that Liberty did not seem to be interested at all, there was nothing else she could say. Who knew if Duncan did it for her sister or really for the safety of all his tenants?The store rented by her sister indeed belonged to Duncan.Duncan would pass by here every day to and from work. Since he was friends with Zachary, it was normal for him to look out for Liberty.Duncan did not explicitly say that he was interested in Liberty, so Serenity could only wa
Fortunately, Quinn herself was strong, and her family was not pushovers either. She turned to look at Julian.Without asking, Julian knew exactly what she was thinking, and he quickly reassured her, “Quinn, you don’t have to worry. That kind of thing won’t happen to us. I’m your rock. As long as I’m around, no one can bully you. In my family, apart from my parents, everyone else has to accede to me, and you know how my parents feel about you. They’re so grateful to you that they practically worship you like a goddess.“You’re familiar with the York family now and have seen the way they operate, right? Well, my family and the Yorks are old family friends. Birds of a feather flock together. The reason our two families are so close is we have similar family values.“Setting aside the fact that your family is powerful enough and supportive of you—even if you were like Serenity in the beginning, my family would never look down on you or mistreat you. They would only love and cherish you.
Stacy was actually hoping that Julian and Quinn could get their marriage license today and hold the wedding right away. However, the date they had picked was after Christmas and they still had to wait over a month for the actual wedding. At least once they signed the papers, there was no need to worry about Quinn changing her mind. Stacy was afraid that Quinn and her family might have second thoughts, especially since her son was afflicted with a disorder.“Hey, sweetie.”When Stacy addressed Quinn, her tone was very gentle. Quinn thought that her future mother-in-law was even kinder and more considerate than her own mother. Her father had looked into the Buchams' character and knew that Stacy was actually quite formidable. To Quinn though, Stacy appeared so gentle and kind that she did not seem like the kind of person who would be overly strict or tough. Of course, anyone who could hold fast the position of the Buchams’ head missus and secure her husband’s love for decades as if
Quinn could not stop laughing when she saw him.Julian blushed a little in response. He asked, “What are you laughing at? Is my outfit ugly? Does it not look good?”He was used to wearing black clothes all the time. Although he had a white suit, he rarely wore it. Today, for the special occasion of legally getting married to Quinn, he had specifically chosen to wear white, a color symbolizing purity, to proclaim how his feelings were as pure as snow.“It’s not ugly, it looks great! You look even more handsome than usual. I’m just not used to seeing you in a white suit. Now, you look like a prince from a fairy tale—my prince.”Julian smiled indulgently. “That’s right. I’m your prince charming and yours alone. You look great in white, too, my dear wife.”It was Quinn’s turn to blush slightly. She was not used to being called his wife, especially since they had not even registered yet. Since they were about to go get their marriage license though, she might as well start getting used
Serenity laughed and said, “I hope I’ll be toasting at your wedding soon.”Peter replied, “I think I'll get married before Dylan does.”Dylan’s romantic path had been much more complicated because he had not wanted to follow the smooth, well-paved road that Grandma May had arranged for him.“We have lots of happy occasions lined up after Christmas, then,” Camryn remarked.“Yes, lots,” Serenity agreed.The courtyard was lively, with the elders occasionally joining in on the fun. Meanwhile, inside the house, Dylan was thinking about what Serenity had told him. She had repeatedly said that the person Grandma May picked for him would definitely be the right one, someone who would suit him well.She also suggested that he look into Imogen and that there might be a pleasant surprise in store for him, but that he was not to let Imogen know. The implication in Serenity’s words was that Imogen might be Fox and that Fox’s real identity was Imogen Doyle herself.After understanding Serenit
Dylan frowned as he pondered deeply.“The scent from outside is wafting in. I think the food’s ready. I’m going out to have a couple of skewers to satisfy my cravings. You can stay here and think things through.”Seeing that Dylan had finally grasped the main point, Serenity stopped the conversation and went out to have some barbecue. It had been a long time since she had eaten barbecue.After getting pregnant, although she was not as strictly monitored as Jasmine was, she still paid close attention to her diet and would do her best to avoid things she could not eat or had to limit. Liberty called her every few days to remind her to be careful.When Zachary saw Serenity come out of the house, he immediately picked up a plate of freshly grilled skewers to his beloved wife, saying, “I deliberately used less seasoning on these for you, so you can eat them with peace of mind. Sonny’s asleep now, right?” “He fell asleep long ago, after playing so hard today,” Serenity replied, then gr
In that case, Grandma May would not even need to step in to teach him a lesson. His older brothers would beat him up multiple times for tarnishing the York family’s reputation and dragging their names in the mud with his own.“Dylan, I told you that if you didn’t trust Nana, you’d face the consequences. Look, you’re starting to suffer now, aren’t you?” Serenity said. Who was Grandma May? She was a kind-hearted but cunning old fox who could sell someone out and still make them feel grateful for it as they counted the money she made for her. How could she pick a bad match for her grandsons? There was no way they would be unsuitable. “Serenity, it’s not that I don’t trust Nana, it’s just that I really couldn’t fall in love with Imogen. I feel like if I couldn’t fall for her in almost three months then I just won’t. And I always thought about Fox when I was with Imogen. I’m not some naïve kid who doesn’t understand what that means.” Dylan smiled bitterly. His family always compla
“Callum and Camryn came with Trenton, so they’re all having a barbecue together.”Serenity hummed in response. She closed the door to Sonny's room and said to Dylan, “Is it something you don’t want Zachary to know? If so, let’s go to his study to talk." “It’s not that. It’s fine if he knows, but I’ve talked to him, and he couldn’t be bothered. Then I asked Julian, but he said he was busy. He’s taking Ms. Crawford to register their marriage tomorrow. I just wanted a little help from him; I didn’t need him to do it personally.” Dylan grumbled a little about Julian being unhelpful.If Julian could hear this, he would retort, “Why should I help you? Even Zachary isn’t that demanding.”If it were not for the fact that Zachary and his cousin, Josh, were best buddies, Julian would not be so obliging either. Among the Yorks, Grandma May was the person the Buchams most respected. Of course, if it were something important, the Bucham family would definitely help, but Dylan’s request se
“I haven’t felt like snacking lately.”“Is the stuff made at home not to your taste anymore?” Whenever Serenity said she did not want to eat something she usually loved, Zachary would wonder if it was because the chef’s skills had declined, causing his beloved wife to lose her appetite. “It’s not that, I just don’t feel like eating them. I think maybe the baby is like you and doesn’t like sweets.”Zachary smiled. “If our son is like me, that’s fine. He’ll be steady, and in the future, the two of us will protect you.” If they had a daughter, he hoped she would be like Serenity. If she had his personality… Well, it would not be the most charming. Zachary wanted his daughter to be very likable. “I don’t need you guys to protect me, I can protect myself.”“Honey, don’t say that. I’m your husband, your man. You have to give me a chance to show off, or else people will say you married a useless husband. That would be so unfair to me.”Serenity chuckled.“Do you want to go watch So
“I can be just as considerate and attentive to you.”Quinn looked at him and could not help but laugh. “I don't mean anything else by that, you don’t need to be so defensive.”“You envy Serenity,” Julian said. “I don't want you to envy anyone. I want you to be someone others envy.”Uh, this sounded exactly like something Zachary would say. It looked like, occasionally, he really had learned a thing or two from Zachary.Quinn instantly felt smitten. She looped her arm through Julian's and whispered, “I already am someone others envy. I’m not envious of Serenity—I was just making an observation. They say Mr. Zachary dotes on his wife, and Serenity is very lucky. Now that I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes, I believe it. So, I genuinely sighed with admiration. I know I’m very lucky as well. You treat me so well, and I am content. I really don’t envy anyone.”The young couple’s conversation went unnoticed by Zachary. He waited for his wife to settle before answering a call from Dylan.