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
“They can try every dirty trick under the sun, but we’re not going to change our minds about taking them to court. We’ll only take what is ours and nothing more,” Serenity spoke firmly. She was not a heartless person, but she could show no mercy when it came to her money-hungry relatives. It would take Serenity a lifetime to get over the hurt from her childhood. “Of course. They can talk and make up stories all they want. We’ll take the legal route, so it’s a fair game for them and us.” Elisa said, “I have never met anyone more shameless than them. Are you sure your father is their blood family, Seren?” “I believe so. My father shared an uncanny resemblance with his old man. They’re just playing favorites…. That’s the case with some parents—they dote on the oldest and youngest while the middle child tends to get ignored. “I will request for a DNA test if they put up a defense, saying that my father isn’t their child in court. The DNA test will prove the blood relations. “
Serenity said with a smile, “I know, I know. I’m the luckiest woman alive. I will count my blessings. I mean, I do count blessings.” Her best friends and family were easily paid off by Zachary, and now they always put in the good word for him. Well, Zachary was good to Serenity. “I don’t know what I should get him.” Serenity puckered her brows. Her two best friends believed Serenity was tormenting them by showing off her relationship. It did not affect Jasmine much though as Josh was nice to her too. However, as someone without a partner, Elisa was envious and jealous. “Zachary used to have everything but a wife. Though that’s settled because you’re now married to him. He needs children in his life now. Hurry up and make babies. Get a pair of twins—a girl and a boy.” With an adorable kid like Sonny in mind, Elisa uttered, “You can have lots of children if they are as cute and smart as Sonny. Zachary can afford to raise them anyway. “Seren, any good news from you? I m
Serenity was shocked. She was in the wrong business. In fact, why set up her own business? She could just give Zachary children. Her wealth could be built through giving birth. Jasmine gasped in awe; as expected from the wealthy. The push present was a lot of money, and Grandma May was not the only giver. The other family members would be showering with cash gifts too. “Seren, you can be rich by having children,” Jasmine commented with a smile. Elisa grabbed Jasmine’s hand and caressed the charm bracelet Jasmine got from Mrs. Bucham, uttering, “Jasmine, you don’t need to be envious of Seren. Your future mother-in-law gave you a family heirloom. I thought my eyes deceived me, but now that I had a close examination, I’m certain this is the Buchams’ family heirloom.” Jasmine was at a loss for words. “The Buchams’ family heirloom? How can you tell?” It never occurred to Jasmine that Mrs. Bucham would give her the family heirloom during their first encounter. Did Jasmine p
It never occurred to Serenity that Mr. York turned out to be her husband. “Seren, it’s all in the past. I quit daydreaming the moment he saw me as his cousin-in-law. He has done a lot for you but never anything for me. He wouldn’t even talk to me in the past.” Serenity was not the only reason Elisa could get over Zachary. Elisa was able to tell that Zachary had no feelings for her as he only had eyes for Serenity. “Come to think of it, my best friend shares a similar experience with you except their roles were reversed—she took Zachary’s role. She hid her identity when she was together with her boyfriend, but the guy left her for someone rich. Apparently, the new girl had money and connections, so he didn’t need to work as hard to advance in his career.” Serenity remarked, “She should be relieved that she saw the man’s true colors before they got married.” “That’s what I told her too.” Elisa grabbed her car keys. “I got to go, Seren. Do you have time to draft the contract?
Serenity said, “I’m okay. Am I not sitting here all fine? But my car was smashed. Zachary drove me to work this morning.” Liberty nervously asked, “Who was it? Was it those people again?” She thought it was their relatives again. “No. It’s the Newman family. Well, the sister of the woman I helped before, to be precise. I got into two arguments with her, so she hired a few thugs to get back at me.” “I can’t believe it! Where is the law?” Liberty reproached. “Did you call the cops?” “Yeah.” Serenity looked at her nephew in her sister’s arms and replied, “I’ll be fine, Liberty. Zachary assigned another two bodyguards to protect me. I’m letting you know now in case you and Sonny might be dragged into this.“How about you move in with us, Liberty? We can look after one another, and it’s safer for all of us.” Liberty answered, “I’m renting in quite a safe neighborhood. Since you called the cops, they would’ve learned their lesson and wouldn’t try something again. We’re livin
The clock struck nine. There were two more hours before the event ended. Yet, Zachary had come all this way to take his wife home. Mr. Jefferson smiled and said, “It’s nice that you dropped by, Mr. York. It’s my mother’s eightieth birthday. Can we have the honor of you joining us at the party?” Without replying to Mr. Jefferson, Zachary uttered in a low voice, “Jim.” Jim stepped forward with a gift in his hands. Zachary said, “I’m sorry to bother you. This is a little gift for the birthday girl. I wish nothing but happiness and longevity to your mother.” Although Zachary did not attend the celebration, he was giving Old Mrs. Jefferson all due respect by preparing a gift. Jim handed the present to Mr. Jefferson. He accepted the gift and thanked Zachary profusely. Standing there, Zachary appeared rather dashing. The bouquet looked brilliant under the night light. Seeing that Zachary had no intentions of coming in, Mr. Jefferson did not insist and told the maid to fet
Together with the other ladies, Mrs. Stone stood at the entrance of the Jeffersons’ residence and watched as the familiar Rolls Royce drove away. “Mrs. Stone, Mr. York is really good to your niece. We’re only halfway into the party, and he’s here to take your niece home.” Mrs. Stone replied with a smile, “Zachary is good to Seren, so good that us oldies are jealous too.” One of the ladies next to Mrs. Stone probed, “When are Mr. York and your niece planning for a wedding? It’ll be nice for us to join the celebration.” Mrs. Stone curled her lips and remarked, “My older niece, my husband, and I went to Wildridge Manor two days ago. We were there to discuss the wedding. We got a date pick in early fall, so it’s a few months till the wedding. Don’t worry. You are all invited. Don’t forget to bring a gift.” The ladies replied with smiles, “Of course.” It was an honor to be invited by the York family. No one would pass up on rubbing shoulders with the Yorks. In fact, many wante
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