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
“Our lady is someone who can’t stand to see the Hunt sisters doing whatever they want.”Jessica blinked. It was someone that the Hunt sisters had offended?What did that person want her for?She did not have the ability to suppress and retaliate against the Hunt sisters.“You’ll know once you come with us, Ms. Yates.”Jessica said, “I don’t even know who you are. Who knows what you’ll do to me if I follow you? You’re still wearing masks, so I can’t see what you look like. However, I’ll go with you if you take off your masks and let me take a photo to send to my husband.“That way, you guys won’t get away with it if anything happens to me.”“Our apologies, Ms. Yates, but we can’t take off our masks. If you don’t come with us, our lady will come over to invite you personally. You won’t like it if that happens. Our lady has a bad temper.”“Save your breath and just knock her out,” the other man said impatiently.When Jessica heard this, she immediately turned around and tried to
One of the men waited for her to finish throwing up and handed her a mask.Jessica hurriedly put on the mask, but she could still smell the stench through it. She quickly used her hand to cover her mouth and nose, then followed the two men into the incomplete building.It was only after entering the building and away from the garbage dumps did she lower her hand from her mouth and nose. She looked around to survey the surrounding environment. There was no one living nearby. No one would find out even if she met with misfortune here and her body decomposed.That thought caused another shudder to run down her spine.She did not know who these men were. Since it was the Hunt sisters who offended them, they should find the Hunt sisters instead. Why did they come to her?She was also enemies with the Hunt sisters.“Don’t be afraid, Ms. Yates. I told them to bring you here because I wanted to talk to you about a deal. Let’s work together to get back at Mrs. York.”An unfamiliar woman’
“Sonny... Sonny is still a child. Besides, his custody was given to Liberty. Hank only needs to pay three thousand a month for child support, which will end when Sonny turns eighteen. Hank won’t need to pay if Sonny wants to buy a house or car in the future. He has no way of fighting for the family assets.”“People’s hearts change. The only way you’ll be sure that he won’t compete with your son for the family fortune is if he’s dead.”“But I don’t have a son… I don’t even have a daughter.”“Can’t you give birth to one?”Jessica choked.The other party laughed. “It seems that you’re just slightly morally reprehensible, but you still have humanity in you. I just told you about my plan. I didn’t say anything about killing Sonny.“I want to use Sonny to lure Serenity over. She has a good relationship with her nephew, so I believe she’ll be willing to come and see me alone.”What she wanted was for Serenity to meet her alone.Jessica sighed in relief.She only had the ability to st
However, being busy for a period of time in exchange for peace of mind for the rest of her life was worth it.“It’s been hard on you, Seren.”Zachary kissed her forehead, distressed at how much she was going through because of him.“I asked for it. If I learn well, it’ll serve me for the rest of my life.”Serenity yawned again.She got up early in the morning, so she was sleepy now.“You have to go back to the office in the afternoon too. Your time is much more valuable than ours.”He lost more by sacrificing half his day for her sister’s sake.How would he be willing to make such a sacrifice if he did not love her deeply?Serenity looked at Zachary and reached out to touch his handsome face. Her eyes were filled with emotion. “Babe, how did I manage to marry you? Don’t worry, since you’ve entrusted me with your life, I’ll never let you down. I’ll treat you well for the rest of your life.“My sister is always nagging me to treat you better. It’s as if she’s afraid that I’ll a
Serenity returned to the bookstore at 2:50 pm.Zachary personally sent her to the store.“I have a social function tonight,” Zachary said somberly when Serenity got out of the car.Serenity looked at him and instinctively asked, “What time will you leave the office? Don’t drink too much, and definitely don’t drink on an empty stomach. It’ll hurt your tummy.”“I took medicine for three days. My stomach will be fine.”Serenity said, “Even if your stomach is fine, you still have to take care of it. I’ll send you some food before you leave work. Eat a little before going, but still, don’t drink too much. It’s best if you can forgo drinking altogether.”“Okay, I’ll listen to you. I’ll wait for you to send food to me before leaving.”Zachary’s dark eyes burned as he looked at Serenity.Serenity instantly understood what he wanted and turned back to kiss his face. Then, she pinched his cheek. Just as Zachary was about to strike, she slipped out of the car swiftly so he could not catch
That was why business on her online store improved.“I finished the plan and just discussed it with Jasmine. Have a look.”Elisa took out the plan she spent the night making from her bag and handed it to Serenity to read. “I’m also a rookie, but there are three of us. Three heads are better than one. Let’s work hard and make money together.“Stop that for now, Seren. Don’t work while you’re reading, or you might hurt your hand again.”Elisa took Serenity to the hospital the last time the latter hurt her hand. Her legs had gone weak when she saw the blood. The fearless Ms. Stone was afraid of blood.“That time was an accident.”Serenity did not admit that she was injured because of Zachary, but she still stopped weaving the craft and took the plan made by Elisa. She read it carefully and discussed it with her two friends from time to time.“I haven’t shown this plan to Clive yet. I figured we have to experience it ourselves. We can’t rely on others for everything.”“I think the
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa
The Queen family was well-educated and had few members. Sophia had heard of other families fighting over power, but Caroline’s experience shocked her the most. Maybe it was because the Queens was close to her. Sophia quite liked Caroline as well. “How could they… You’re their biological sister!”Caroline smiled bitterly. “Are you having a fever, Carol? Your face is red.”Sophia touched Caroline’s forehead. She said, “You’re burning up. Have you informed the doctor, Mr. Fletcher?”Darren replied, “The fever started at dawn. Ms. Caroline caught a cold. Her fever subsided after taking medication once, but it returned.“It’s time for her to take her medicine.”Sophia spotted the lunch boxes. She told Darren, “Go have your lunch, Mr. Fletcher. I can look after Carol.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Queen. I can eat on my own,” said Caroline embarrassedly. It was her first time feeling cared for by someone her mother’s age. Although Sophia was not part of her family, the lady treated her
Caroline looked toward Darren. She said, “In my younger days, I often caught colds and coughs when the weather was too cold. The coughing will last throughout the changing of seasons. Therefore, I’ve been looking after my health since I grew up.“My immune system strengthened a lot. I haven’t been coughing for years.“I’m not worried.”Caroline stared at Darren lovingly. “I have nothing to be worried about with you here.”Darren pinched her face lightly with affection. “I’m still sulking. I didn’t want you to risk yourself, yet I couldn’t stop you. I’ll only feel better once you recover.”He was Caroline’s assistant and had to heed her orders. Even if they were dating, he still had to follow her arrangements.“Okay. Don’t be angry. I won’t take risks like this again in the future. You’ll age quickly if you get angry frequently. If that happens, your hair might turn gray before I even grow old.“We promised to grow old together.”Under Caroline’s gentle coaxing, Darren’s expre
Darren became an orphan when he was only a few years old. After losing everything, he was collected and trained by the training center to be an all-rounder assistant. He could not remember how he lost his parents as he was too young back then. Since he had no memories, there was no pain.Nevertheless, he had seen others interacting with their parents. He knew parents should love their children. There were not many parents who would not shower their children with love. Ms. Caroline was too unlucky to have met one. “I don’t care. I don’t care about my dad at all.”Caroline asked, “Has my dad asked you to give him money? He doesn’t need money. He just wants to know about his sons’ conditions.“Having lived for so many years, he was probably aware of the consequences of his sons’ plan and had advised them not to do it. They didn’t listen to him, so he’s just hoping to get lucky and waiting for some news.”Hunter must have known that her brothers were going to murder her. Sinc