Hank gave Jessica a sideways glance and joked, “Jessica, did the sun rise from the west today?“I went to Liberty’s diner early in the morning to have breakfast and accompany Sonny. When I saw you, I was afraid that you’d quarrel with me and embarrass me in front of Liberty. I didn’t expect that you’d be willing to let me bring Sonny home to stay for a few days.“You treated Lucas badly, so I thought you hated children.”Jessica hated Lucas since he broke her cosmetics. However, he was Chelsea’s son. As long as Chelsea and Hank did not break off their sibling relationship, they would still come over and meet up.Jessica hated the boy, but the only thing she could do when Lucas came over was to lock their bedroom so that Lucas could not get in.Lucas would make a mess of the place, and his grandparents would not care. They were happy to let the little brat do whatever he wanted.Jessica knew that Chelsea’s three children were raised by her parents-in-law. They treated their three
“It’s conducive to our family’s happiness. I’m not a petty person. When all’s said and done, you’re Sonny’s father and have to pay for his child support, so you have to maintain your bond with him. Otherwise, it’ll be a waste if he isn’t close to you despite him growing up with your money.“We’ve been together for so long, but I haven’t gotten pregnant yet. Maybe I’ll be able to conceive if you bring Sonny over. There are many people who remain childless after years of marriage, but after they adopt a child, they have one of their own after a year or two.”Hank was overjoyed to hear this and praised her. “Jessica, I was right about you. You’re a wise and sensible wife and mother.”“What woman doesn’t think about making a good life for herself when she marries her husband. I was forced to become a shrew because your family bullied me. Your sister, especially, is a troublemaker.“She stirred up your marriage with Liberty, and now she wants to stir us up too. Hank, I’m not trying to s
Jessica wisely dropped the topic.No matter how terrible Chelsea was, she was still Hank’s sister.Hank could not really cut ties with his sister.In any case, Jessica made her stand. Her purpose was to let Hank and her get closer to Sonny, and to break down Liberty’s defenses. As time passed, Liberty would not object if they wanted to take Sonny out to play.Then, she would be able to complete the task given to her by that unknown lady.She was not being ruthless. Her family’s lives were on the line. All she had to do was bring Sonny to a crowded place so that the other party had the opportunity to strike. Sonny would be fine as long as he behaved well.If anyone was to blame, it was Serenity.That person was targeting Sonny because Serenity offended her.The woman also said that she was just using Sonny as bait to lure Serenity out. The person she wanted to deal with was Serenity....Spring Blossoms always opened earlier than others. Camryn had already opened the store bef
Camryn maintained her smile and answered, “I also sell flowerpots, fertilizers for flowers, potting soil, and so on. What do you need, sir?”Callum pursed his lips. The woman in front of him spoke with a constant smile, but she gave off a wispy feeling. However, her words were sharp.“I’ll just take a look.”Callum walked past Camryn and entered the store to wander around.After making a round, he turned to find that Camryn was following him not far behind.Why was she following him when she was pretending to be blind? Was she revealing herself?“Sir?” Camryn called out to Callum when she did not hear his subtle footsteps anymore.Callum felt uncertain again when he saw her expression. Was she blind or just pretending to be blind?He decided to test her.After looking around the store, his gaze finally locked on a potted cactus. He took the pot and put it on the counter, asking, “I want this one. How much is it?”Camryn turned toward the direction of his voice and walked towa
Callum took out his phone but saw that there were no cashless payment options on the counter. He asked, “Your store doesn’t accept payments via e-wallets?”Camryn said honestly, “I can’t see, so I didn’t set up cashless payments. I don’t have an e-wallet account.”She took out her phone and showed it to Callum. It was an old-fashioned model that sported a keypad. She could only make phone calls and send messages with the phone.Camryn could not see, so she could only call others by pressing the keypad. She could not use a smartphone either.“I posted a sign at the door saying that the store only accepts cash. If you don’t have cash and if my two shop assistants are present, you can pay her via Apple Pay and she’ll pay me back in cash.”Callum hummed and took out a one hundred dollar bill from his wallet, handing it to Camryn.He did not tell her that it was a hundred-dollar bill.Then, he stared at her and watched as she touched the money. After feeling it several times, she wen
Zachary hummed in response. When he saw Callum holding a cactus, he asked, “Did you buy that?” “Yeah, I went to Spring Blossoms before work.”“Spring Blossoms?” Zachary found the name a little familiar. He seemed to have heard it from his beloved wife before.Callum did not hide it and said honestly, “It’s Ms. Camryn’s flower store. The name of the store is so unoriginal.”Zachary said faintly, “Flowers blossom during spring.”Callum choked.“Since you went all the way there, why didn’t you buy more potted plants?”Callum pouted and said, “I didn’t go there to buy flowers. I bought this cactus because I had no choice.”He could not just leave without buying anything when he caused her to prick her hand with the thorns.“Wouldn’t a ball cactus look nicer if you place it next to your desktop? Normal cacti have longer thorns. Be careful not to get pricked.”Zachary made a few passing remarks and entered the office building. He left his brother behind and went upstairs first.C
Camryn was very surprised to hear that.He was from York Corporation.Was he an employee of York Corporation or someone from the York family?Camryn could not tell.She thought, ‘I’ll ask Serenity who that number belongs to the next time she comes to my store to buy flowers.’Serenity did not know Callum had begun to approach Camryn. After Zachary sent her to the bookstore, she chatted with Jasmine for a while before her old classmates she invited over to help weave the handicrafts arrived. Serenity told them to weave a small trinket according to her instructions.She first had to make sure that their skills were not rusty, then she took a lot of materials from the small storeroom and distributed them to everyone to take home and weave.After sending them off, Serenity turned and was just about to go back into the store when Elisa arrived in her car. She watched Elisa park in front of the bookstore and get out of the car.“Seren.”Elisa walked over to Serenity with a smile. “W
Whether it was Serenity’s hometown or the neighboring villages, the young worked in the cities while only the older generation stayed behind. The elderly could not do much farm work, so the fields were deserted. Since there was someone rich who wanted to rent the fields from them, they would not refuse the opportunity to earn money.Serenity and Jasmine were very pleased to hear this.After Elisa finished updating them about the investment project, she looked at Serenity and hesitated a moment before saying, “That was the good news. Time for the bad news. Seren, I also got someone to inquire about what your relatives were up to while talking about contracting the land.”“Everything they’ve done has been bad news. Just say it, Elisa. I’m prepared to hear whatever it is they’re doing recently. At most, they hauled away the bricks, sand, and gravel and sold them.”“The trucks of materials you sent to rebuild the house were still there. They were stacked properly untouched. Your relati
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