Camryn uttered with a smile, “I’ll arrange something for you since you trust me.” Putting her cane aside, Camryn began to design a floral bouquet for Serenity. Serenity watched Carmyn handle the task with ease and asked, “Ms. Newman, do you memorize the placing of each type of flower here?” While pairing flowers together, Camryn replied, “I have to since I can’t see. I hired some employees to separate the flowers every time the stock comes in. They’ll tell me where each type of flower is placed. “My flower shop has been around for a few years now, so I had a lot of time to memorize everything. I think I’m on top of it.” Looking into Camryn’s eyes, Serenity probed, “Is there any way you can see again, Ms. Newman?” With her smile fading, Camryn answered, “I lost my sight from an illness. I was lucky to even survive. I’m fine without my sight. I’m just grateful to be alive.” Due to the sudden blindness, she nearly lost her life to depression and insanity. Nevertheless, she
Serenity would not take no for an answer as she put the two hundred bucks in Camryn’s palm. Camryn felt the money with her fingers before pulling one bill and giving it back to Serenity. She said, “If you insist, I’ll take half the money.” Since the girls were not close yet, Serenity relented and took back a hundred-dollar bill from Camryn before replying with a grin, “Thank you, Ms. Newman. Your flowers here are beautiful. I’ll be sure to come back for more.” Camryn beamed. “You’re always welcome. You can call me in advance if you need anything. Just let me know who it is for, and I’ll have the flowers picked out and wrapped up. You can come and collect without waiting.” Turning on her heel, she went to the cash register. Camryn held onto the table as she got behind the cash register and pulled the drawer to get a box of business cards. She retrieved a business card before making her way back to Serenity. “This is my business card, Mrs. York.” Serenity drew close and took th
Callum responded, “I only ran into Serenity on my way out after a discussion with Zachary. She’s my cousin-in-law. I mean, I should at least get to sample when family comes over with food.” Mr. Chaplin laughed in delight. “That was why Mr. Zachary pushed you out of there.” Only Callum would be so bold to pull such a move. Well, he was family with Zachary and Serenity after all, and family would not have a falling out over a tiny matter. Callum pursed her lips. “What’s the big deal? So he has a wife. He acts like none of us can get a wife.” “You can get yourself a wife who delivers food to you every day too. All the other single men like me will be jealous of you.” Callum choked. His nana’s chosen wife for him was someone blind. There was no way she could cook for him. It was more like the other way round. “Mr. Bucham has a glow to him lately with a spring in his step. Love must be beautiful, I guess.” Callum drew close to Mr. Chaplin and tugged on his tie. “Tell me tha
Serenity took the fancy-looking bags from Zachary and asked in glee, “What are these?” Taking his seat on the sofa, Zachary replied with a smile, “Well, why don’t you take a look inside?” He removed the lid of the food container and dug into his wife’s specially-made dinner. Serenity took a look and responded with a grin, “Skincare products. You’re giving me a lot more than Elisa has bought me.” The guy had been jealous. He did not like her using the skincare products given by Elisa and insisted that she should only use the ones he would give her. However, Zachary had not given her any. Taking it as a passing remark, Serenity continued using Elisa’s skincare products. They worked well for her skin and were better than the products she used before anyway. Serenity must admit that women should not skimp in terms of skincare. “I’ll buy all the skincare products for you.” Zachary had no idea about the brands used by women as skincare products were not something he had ever bo
“They are bound to come and beg us for help,” Zachary predicted. Serenity chuckled sarcastically. Zachary was like a brick wall. What could he do if his cousins came to him for help? Zachary was probably only good for taunts and horrible ideas. “You don’t believe me, babe.” “Not at all.” Zachary stared into her eyes and said, “We’ll just have to wait and see. They’ll come to me as the senior male figure in the family when they’re in trouble. Even if I can’t do anything to help, I can lend an ear.” Since Zachary’s cousins had the utmost respect and trust in Zachary, Serenity had confidence in Zachary’s prediction. “Did Ms. Carrie get into a disagreement with you?” Serenity mentioned running into Carrie and the feud between the sisters, but there was nothing further about what happened between Serenity and Carrie. Sure, Carrie was cocky, but Serenity would always put Carrie in her place. Since he asked, Serenity came clean to Zachary about Carrie’s arrogant behavior.
Despite Zachary’s yearning for Serenity to stay, Serenity still left the office in the end and went back to watch her shop. By the time of her return, the shop was still bustling with students. Since Josh had not arrived, Serenity and Jasmine dove right into work. The crowd of students was slowly dispersing when Josh made it to the shop. By then, Serenity could handle the work all on her own. Josh would always drop in with flowers for Jasmine. Jasmine would also prepare little gifts for him. The couple looked out for one another and always had each other’s best interests at heart. They were a pair made in heaven. “Seren, we’re leaving for our date now.” Jasmine held her purse and bouquet given by Josh before announcing her leave to Serenity with a smile. Once Serenity acknowledged her, Jasmine took off with Josh. Serenity was kept occupied for a while until the last swarm of students left. She then went into the kitchen to heat her food up and enjoyed her dinner behind
Mr. Charles replied, “That’s true… It’s a good thing I didn’t tell my wife.” “Mrs. Charles doesn’t give you much allowance, but she doesn’t let you pay for the other stuff. You don’t have to worry about expenses for your parents and parents-in-law, social favors, and expenses for raising your children. You are lucky, Mr. Charles. “It’s not easy to manage money.” While munching, Mr. Charles remarked, “I agree, and that’s why I left the finances to my wife since she’s good at it. I used to be the one to take care of the finances, but our savings never made it past twenty thousand dollars by the end of the year despite our business doing well. Since my wife took over, we have saved close to a hundred thousand dollars a year.“I’m happy with the load off my shoulders and the surplus of money in the family account. My wife is a very fair person. She won’t favor her own family. She gives equal amounts to my parents and her parents. My parents cannot be happier with their daughter-in-l
“Alright. We got it.” These thugs had no idea who Serenity was. Carrie was not that dumb to let them in on it. No amount of money could buy these people to do her dirty work if Carrie let out that Serenity was Mrs. York. “Delete my number when you get the final payment. I can guarantee your safety so long as you do as I say.“Don’t blame me for what’s to come if I catch you blabbering about it.” “Don’t worry, Ms. Jones. We won’t breathe a word to anyone. We’re in this together since you pay us to do the job.” Truth be told, Carrie did not even tell the thugs her real family name.She intended to dump the SIM card after the deed was done and she was through with contacting the thugs. The number was not registered to her name anyway. Carrie hung up the call. Thinking that Serenity was about to get it, she burst out laughing. Serenity should have minded her own business instead of helping Camryn. It was time Serenity got a taste of her own medicine. Knock, knock.Pulling
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