“Seren, don’t put the pressure on yourself. We’re only taking preventive measures. Besides, people in our circle often go around with security detail. No one will be caught dead without one.” Serenity blamed herself. “I’m concerned that the Newmans will get back at me through my sister and Sonny.” However, she did not regret helping Camryn. Carrie went too far. “It won’t happen. Don’t worry. I’m here for you. Besides, your sister rented the shop from Duncan. Duncan is pretty responsible as a landlord. He won’t let his tenants get into that kind of situation. Heck, he owns the commercial space of half the street. He has never had a problem.” Duncan had been on the other side of the law before. Even though Duncan had turned away from the dark side, he was still on good terms with many people from his past. No one would stir trouble on his turf. Plus, Duncan was fond of Sonny. Duncan would not sit by and watch if anybody were to lay a finger on Sonny. “The only people with
Josh uttered with a smile, “You’re not the Zachary I know anymore. I can’t believe you said that to Mr. Moe.” “Seren was stopped in the middle of the road, and her car was trashed when she was on her way home.” Josh was intrigued. “Who’s the fool to block the missus’s car? I bet the person is in the hospital right now.” Zachary was caught between tears and laughter. “I’ll get someone on the case right now.” “It’s fine. I know who it is.” “Who?” Curious, Josh asked. He was nosy, and gossip was his game. His imagination wandered to great heights. “Was it your admirer?” Zachary replied, “Yours, actually.” He added peevishly. “It’s Ms. Carrie of the Newman family.” It did not take long for Josh to find out who Zachary was talking about. Josh uttered, “Ms. Carrie must have it in for the missus. Mr. Newman apologized not too long ago, and here his precious daughter was at it again. “Was she arrested?” “We called the cops on her. She’s been detained since we have evidence
Serenity had no idea that her man had everything sorted out while she was enjoying a good soak. She came out of the bathroom and found Zachary sitting on the bed. Drawing close, she wrapped her arms around the nape of his neck and pressed him onto the mattress. She was on top of him. “Honey, you’re killing me.” Zachary’s voice was raspy when he hinted at his beloved wife. With a smile, Serenity brushed her lips along his face and gave him butterfly kisses before rolling away from him. She gave him a kick. “Off to the showers, you go. You smell of cigarettes.” “I didn’t smoke.” “Well, someone did. You got the cigarette smell on your clothes.” Zachary took a whiff of his clothes. Nothing smelled like tobacco. Nevertheless, it must be true since his wife said so. He went to take a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes. By the time he came out, Serenity was snoozing away in dreamland. Zachary stared at her serene face, feeling envious of her sometimes. Serenity
Serenity and Zachary were an old married couple now. A while later, Serenity emerged from the bedroom and watched as Grandma May kept up the act of rummaging for her non-existence reading glasses. Serenity uttered, “Never mind if you can’t find them, Nana. I’ll go with you to get another pair of glasses later.” “Alright. I’ll stop looking then. I’m getting old. My memory isn’t as good anymore. I remember putting them here, but I can’t find them now. Maybe the glasses grew a pair of legs and ran off.” Serenity replied with a smile, “Maybe they grew a pair of wings and flew away like a butterfly.” Grandma May thought it was a shame. “Oh, I didn’t get to see them flying away like a butterfly.” Serenity was amused by the old lady’s antics. “When did you come home last night, Nana?” “I was back before you were. I went to bed early last night. I don’t know what time you guys came home last night.” Although Serenity was skeptical of Grandma May’s answer, she left the conversat
Sonny was pretty well-behaved, but he was less than three years old after all. He had a cheeky side to him. Hank took Sonny to a nearby park the other day, and the playful and active child ran everywhere. Sonny would wander off far away if Hank took his eyes off the boy for one second. It frightened Hank as he thought he had lost his child. Since then, Hank did not want to take his son out anymore. In fact, the first time they went to the park together was because Hank ran out of excuses not to go. Sonny sensibly asked, “Oh. Do you need to work?” Hank lied, “Yeah. I need to work and make money.” He still had no luck in the job department. Since it appeared Liberty was doing well with her business, it got Hank into thinking of setting up a business with Jessica after the wedding. They could be their own boss.Without needing to take orders from other people, they could work on their own schedule. Would Zachary come after him if Hank were to set up a business though?
Sonny might not understand that it was a business, but he knew that no one else but Aunt Ser and Uncle Zack were the only exceptions to the paying rule.Hank was dumbstruck for a moment before remarking, “I’m your father, Sonny. How can you compare me with Mr. Lewis? He’s an outsider. Besides, Mr. Lewis isn’t a good man. He’s scary.” Sharing the sentiment, Sonny bobbed his head and replied in his childish voice, “Dunc is scary, but he’s not a bad man!” Hank did not forget the time he told his son to kick a fuss every time Duncan came looking for Liberty. Refusing to dwell on the same topic, Hank took the hint and talked about breakfast again. His son was stubborn. The little man said that Mr. Lewis was scary, but he was not a bad man. Despite Hank’s efforts to change the boy’s mind, Sonny stuck to his guns about Mr. Lewis. “Alright. I’ll pay. Happy now? I feel like it’s all about money for you after the divorce.“You’re so petty. You hold every dime against me. We were once a
Hank admitted that he was a bad man. He wanted to force Liberty to grow disconnected from society with no source of income and become a faded woman in her early thirties.Compared to many housewives who had suffered the same situation, Liberty was a very brave person. She decisively cut off her relationship with Hank.She never compromised just because of her child.Although divorce might be harmful to the child, it would be equally detrimental if they fought all day while remaining together and there would be no peace at home too. It was better to get divorced and raise her son alone. As long as she taught him attentively, she could raise him to be a confident person.Mrs. Lane took a plate of eggs and bacon and placed it in front of Hank.Hank was pulled back from his drifting thoughts. His life now with Jessica was also happy and sweet. Although there were some family conflicts, the husband and wife were still in the break-in period. He would live a better life than with Libe
When Serenity previously lived in his home, she handled all the household chores...“J-Jessica, I-I just came here to have breakfast.”Hank picked up the fallen fork and threw it into the trash can under the table.He stood up and explained to Jessica that he was just here for breakfast.Jessica looked at Sonny.Sonny looked back at her. His face took after Liberty, and his eyes were bright and clear. He was a lovely child.Jessica could not bring herself to continue looking at him.Hank quickly explained, “Liberty was very busy earlier, and there was no one to look after Sonny, so I let him sit next to me and looked after him while I ate. Sonny is still my son, after all.”He knew that Jessica greatly disliked it when his family brought Sonny up in conversations, and she hated it when he visited Sonny.Jessica took a few deep breaths and suppressed her anger. She did not like her husband and his family always coming to visit Sonny and talking about him at all. Her in-laws alw
Chelsea muttered, “Even if you do that, Sonny isn’t close to you, Mom.”Olivia was speechless for a second. She said, “Even if we aren’t close, he’ll call me grandmom when he sees me. He doesn’t even greet me now.“Sonny may be young, but he’ll be four years old next year. He knows everything he needs to and is clever. He must’ve inherited Hank and Liberty’s best genes because they used to be smart people.”Liberty was not stupid. She even had a better career than Hank before she got married. What were they thinking back then?The Browns wanted to suppress Liberty to ensure she was less dominant than Hank. Therefore, Liberty was persuaded to leave her job after marriage to stay home throughout her pregnancy. She ended up becoming a housewife and lost the sharp edge she had in her workplace. Her world only revolved around her husband and son, causing her to lose her identity gradually. The Browns were changing Liberty bit by bit, yet they were not treating her well. Ultimately
“I’m not using Sonny. Since Hank and I are siblings and he only has one son, Sonny and Lucas can get along as cousins. If Sonny hangs out with his cousins more often, he’ll have brothers who have his back in the future.“If he runs into any problems, we can help him. He won’t be alone.”Chelsea guessed Hank must have told their parents something to have caused the change in their mother’s attitude. Olivia favored Sonny and no longer wished to work toward the future of Chelsea’s children.Olivia glanced at her daughter and chuckled. Then, she looked toward Lucas, the grandson she raised. Lucas was a naughty boy. He would never stay still and had already made a mess of the house in a short period. “Look at how Lucas behaves now and compare it to Sonny’s personality. Although Sonny can get mischievous sometimes, he’s more mature and sensible despite his young age. He’ll only be more composed in the future.“Even if he does run into trouble, he won’t require your help. You guys
“Even if my husband and I work tirelessly for another decade, we can never achieve the wealth of the Lewises.”Chelsea was mentally cursing Hank for being ignorant and not mending his relationship with Sonny. He even brainwashed their parents until they stopped siding with her. She could only imagine Sonny’s bright future, where he would be living in a large villa, driving luxury cars, and inheriting a megacorporation. Meanwhile, her children could only get a decent nine-to-five job. Their monthly salary could even be lower than the price of one of Sonny’s meals.Chelsea was jealous. She was anxious about getting her son to build a close relationship with Sonny.“Why don’t we file a case to regain Sonny’s custody, Mom? Liberty and Serenity won’t ignore us so long Sonny is in our house. They’ll help us so that Sonny lives a good life too.“That way, Sonny will have a deeper connection with us. He won’t forget us when he becomes a capable person.”Chelsea had a pipe dream. O
Hank’s parents had always been biased toward his sister, Chelsea. It would be difficult to change them. Their father, Luke, was a slightly better case because he had felt regretful ever since knowing Serenity was the York family’s missus. He regretted letting Hank date Jessica. After going through so much, he was more convinced that Liberty suited Hank better. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Hank could no longer return to the past. On the day Serenity and Zachary brought Sonny to the Browns’ place for a meal, Chelsea also brought Lucas back to visit her family. When Chelsea entered the house, Olivia was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She said, “I heard Liberty and Duncan getting married soon, Mom. The Lewises are preparing for the wedding. The couple will most likely get their marriage license after she returns from Jensburg.”Olivia looked indifferent. “That’s bound to happen sooner or later. Why are we still talking about her?“Even if she gets a boost in her
Next, she posted the pictures on social media. Many of her followers were her students’ parents. Only a minority of them were her friends or ex-classmates. She was flooded with blessings from them as well. One of Zoey Crawford’s worries was finally resolved. Since her daughter had gotten married, she would continue urging her sons to do the same. Zoey had been anxious that Quinn could never find a suitable partner because of her easy-going personality and proficiency in martial arts. Although she was introduced to a few men through matchmaking services, the men usually refused to show up. They were scared of the potential domestic abuse they could face since Quinn was good at fighting. They had heard of her countless accomplishments as well. Therefore, no one was interested in Quinn despite her decent figure, looks, and family background. This was where Zoey’s constant urging for her to find a life partner came from. Quinn had felt frustrated about Zoey’s nagging. She did not
Julian said gently, “You can meet Serenity, Jasmine, and Elisa often in the future.“By the way, don’t trust anything Elisa says. Take her words with a grain of salt.”Quinn asked, “What will Ms. Stone say to me? Why are you specifically asking me not to listen to her?”Julian cleared his throat. As he drove, he said embarrassedly, “I pretended to pursue Elisa for some time to help Remy back then.”Quinn said, “I didn’t know I had a love rival.”“Elisa isn’t your love rival. She and her family don’t fancy me anyway. When they knew I was pursuing her, Mrs. Stone immediately changed her mind and agreed to Remy and Elisa’s marriage. To her, I’m like a fierce beast unsuited for her baby daughter.”Quinn got invested and asked, “Why did helping Remy involve pursuing Elisa?”Julian came clean and recounted everything to Quinn. He did not want her to misunderstand.“Even your parents fell for your acting. I didn’t think you’d do such a thing.”“Don’t misunderstand, honey.”Quinn smi
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