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
Of course, Zachary would not go crazy for Serenity if he could easily have her swoon over him. Zachary was brought back to what Mrs. Lane said to him. He loved the person Serenity was now. Serenity would not be the same person he fell in love with if she changed. Such was her personality. “I don’t have a love rival. I’ll be jealous if I have a strong love rival who’s eyeing you. I would worry that someone will steal you away from me. I’m not that great after all.” Serenity spoke matter-of-factly—she had no rivals in love. Sure, there were many women who coveted him. However, these women could not even take the first step to confess their feelings to Zachary. It was not like Serenity ever met these women either. There had never been catfights. Her love life had been smooth sailing as she monopolized all of Zachary’s affection. He gave her all of his love and affection. With that in mind, Serenity believed she was a lucky woman. She got someone who loved her! Serenity
“Where are we going?” The couple indulged in a little romance until Serenity realized that they were not en route to Brynfield. “To the villa on the hilltop.” “Oh,” Serenity remarked. Zachary stared at her with a worried look, afraid she might be displeased or not like it. The villa on the hilltop did not leave Serenity the best of memories. Zachary held Serenity captive in the estate for two days after the revelation of his identity. He was afraid to lose her, but it took everybody to talk sense into him before he could let go and allow her to leave. Since the day she set foot out of the villa, Serenity had never returned to the place. “Seren, we don’t have to go if you don’t like it there. I’ll get the driver to switch course for Brynfield.” After a pause, he mumbled under his breath, “Nana is still staying in Brynfield.” Serenity replied, “We can go to the villa on the hilltop. No need to switch routes.” The guy must think that he might startle Grandma May in B
Mrs. Newman would have everything sorted if they were faced with an ordinary person. It was a different story because the person they were targeting was Mrs. York. “No. Did Mr. Newman come looking for you?” “Yes. He came with gifts to apologize again, but I wouldn’t meet with him. I told Callum to handle it.” Since Callum would have to engage with the Newmans in the near future, he could use the practice by dealing with the matter. Poor Callum. “I wouldn’t be so kind as to forgive Carrie even if Mrs. Newman came to me. To be kind to the enemy is to be cruel to myself.“The feud between Carrie and I is past reconciliation.” Serenity took Camryn’s side too, and Carrie had it in for Camryn. The fact that they took different stands determined that they were on opposing sides. “No need to patch things up with her. She’s spoiled and thinks she should get her way in everything. She’ll always hold a grudge even if you forgive her. She’ll get even with you every chance she gets
Zachary gave it a thought before saying, “It sounds like a good plan. The DNA test is the most direct approach and compelling evidence.“I’ll send someone to bring him here. You can get a DNA test with him. You can slam the evidence in their face during the trial unless Noah isn’t their grandson.” Serenity said, “Um… What if Noah isn’t their grandson…” Zachary was speechless. The couple’s minds went blank. In the end, Zachary said, “Just get a DNA test with your grandfather. The old man is not going to cooperate for sure. Here’s where Noah can come into place. He can get a few strands of hair from your grandfather. The hair follicles have to be intact to do the DNA test.” The DNA test did not always have to be done with blood. Noah was the youngest grandson in the Hunt family. Serenity had roughened the boy up a couple of times to the point Noah revered Serenity now. It was a great opportunity to use him. Believing that Zachary’s plan was doable, Serenity remarked, “We’l
Sam replied, “Thank you for the heads-up, Cecilia. Mr. Zachary wouldn’t be happy if I went in.“Is the bedroom arranged according to Mr. Zachary’s instruction?” “It’s all done to give the romantic feel. I can guarantee the missus will have a great experience, and they will take their relationship up a notch.” Mrs. Lane replied expectantly, “I hope we’ll hear some good news from the missus soon.” Mr. Zachary had been working hard. “You can talk about it with me, but don’t bring this up to the missus. We don’t want her to feel the pressure. Mr. Zachary has not been together with the missus for a long time. They might want to have some alone time before adding a family member.” Although Sam looked forward to the missus carrying a child, employees like themselves had no right to rush the couple if they wanted to enjoy a few years without kids. Mrs. Lane said, “I know. I won’t say such a thing in front of the missus. More than anything else, I hope the missus and Mr. Zachary wi
“Sure,” Zachary dotingly responded. Serenity put the bouquet on the coffee table and pulled out her phone to capture the romance in the room, preserving Zachary’s love for her in a digital form. After Serenity took photos and videos, the couple took a few more together. Serenity was over the moon. “Take a look upstairs.” Serenity said with a smile, “Did you decorate the room like this too? It must be beautiful and romantic. I’m so glad.” Zachary grinned without a word as he took her by the hand upstairs. Serenity was right. The red carpet extended to their bedroom door. Pushing the bedroom door open, Serenity could not stop herself from smiling. The setup in the room was no different from downstairs, but the love language was written in the air. A glass of wine in this sensual room would push the flames of desire to an all-time high. It was a night of pleasure and intimacy. With the sun rising in the east, the break of dawn took over the night and welcomed a new d
Well, Grandma May was occupied getting her other grandsons to ditch the singlehood. Inspired by her first successful matchmaking, the old lady wanted to keep the momentum going and put her other grandsons, who were at the right age to marry but stayed single anyway, on the market. All that was left to do then was to wait for the birth of her great-granddaughter. A reward of five hundred million dollars would be given to the one who would give her a great-granddaughter! Zachary had a moment to himself as he finished his breakfast and read the paper for fifteen minutes on the sofa in the living room. He then got up and walked out of the house to get to work. Prior to leaving, he reminded Mrs. Lane to take good care of Serenity. By the worried look on his face, Mrs. Lane was tempted to suggest he brought Serenity to work with him. “Jim.” Before getting into the car, Zachary suddenly told Jim, “You don’t have to follow me today. I need you to do something for me. Go to the Hu
Although Callum had started viewing Dalton as a brother after Dalton got married, he still kept his guard up around Dalton. He only let his guard down a little after Melissa got pregnant.It was also because Dalton treated his wife with utmost sincerity and love. Dalton had nothing to worry about and could focus on his life after knowing Camryn was doing well and had the York family supporting her. Not only that, her husband and in-laws adored her. Camryn would come over to handle more important company matters, while Dalton could deal with smaller ones. He rarely attended business engagements at night and chose to accompany his pregnant wife most of the time. Melissa was kinder to Camryn as well. Although they were not sisters-in-law, they shared a close relationship. “Melissa’s baby probably has a sweet tooth. Tell her to be careful and not eat too many sweet things at once.”Camryn wanted to say that Melissa was probably pregnant with a girl. However, she did not say it ou
After her call with Leah ended, Camryn put down her phone and leaned against her office chair. She rotated her chair back and forth. She was at Newman Enterprise.At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Dalton entered soon after.“Dal.”Camryn stood up when she saw him. “Are you daydreaming?”Dalton asked softly, “Are you tired? Go and rest if you are. You should return to Wiltspoon soon. I can handle things here.”“Melissa is pregnant. You should spend more time with her.“I’m not really tired. I was on the phone with an employee of my flower shop earlier and thought of some things that made me feel unhappy.”Dalton and Camryn sat on the sofa in the guest lounge. “Why are you upset? Is the flower shop not doing well?”Camryn had put in a lot of effort in Spring Blossoms. It had accompanied her through her tough times. No matter how her identity had changed, it would always have an important place in her heart.Despite becoming rich, she still kept the store up and
To Louise and Leah, Mrs. Longbottom looked too young.Carrie caressed her stomach. She sighed and said, “I was pregnant before, but it was a high-risk pregnancy and ended up in a miscarriage.“My husband told me to recuperate first before we try for another baby a few years later. We’re still young anyway,” Louise consoled Carrie. She picked two jade plants and two money trees for her. After paying, Carrie got her two bodyguards to carry the plants. Before leaving, she handed Louise and Leah her calling card and said, “Please call me if your boss or Mrs. York comes over. I want to make an appointment with them, but it’s too difficult to do so.”Leah accepted the card. After taking a look at it, one of them replied, “Mrs. York is heavily pregnant, so she rarely drops by. She’s usually resting at home. I can inform you if our boss comes.“You should probably have Ms. Camryn’s number if you wish to make an appointment with her. You can try calling her.”Carrie replied, “I’m not
Since Carrie was approaching Spring Blossoms, she decided to drop by. It was a pity she could not wreck the store as she was heading there as Mrs. Longbottom.When she arrived, Camryn was not in the store. Only Louise and Leah were there. Carrie asked casually, “Where did your boss go?”“Our boss is very busy. Usually, we’re the ones looking after the store. She only comes by when she’s free. Are you looking for her, Mrs. Longbottom?”Louise and Leah recognized Mrs. Longbottom. “No. Your boss is always around whenever I’m here to buy flowers, so I’m just curious since she isn’t here today. Get me two jade plants. The ones I have aren’t growing well. I want to change them,” said Carrie. She really had jade plants at her villa and she was the one who bought them. In fact, they were growing well. It symbolized her having great luck with wealth.Indeed, she was doing well financially. Mr. Longbottom had never mistreated her in terms of living standards.Carrie wanted to get
Tati kept trying to match her with Austin.As soon as Austin left, Tati came in. Isabella could tell, just by the timing, that it had to be related to Austin.If she had not known how loyal Austin was to her, Isabella might have suspected her cousin was being bribed by him.Tati smiled. “I happened to see Austin leaving when I came in. He was very polite to me and his smile was gentle, and the way he looked at me was respectful. But it’s completely different from how he looks at you, Isa.“I noticed it long ago. When he looks at you, there’s light in his eyes, there’s affection, and tenderness. He’s utterly devoted to you, or rather, he dotes on you.”Isabella was quiet.“Isa, the first time I saw Austin, I knew he was no ordinary person, and I thought you two made a great match. You know me, I don’t joke around about these things, but when I saw him, I just couldn’t help it.“I really think you two are perfect for each other. Before, we didn’t know his real identity, so you mig
Tati hummed in agreement.After her cousin reviewed the documents, Tati said, “Isa, why don’t you try dating? Neither of us has a boyfriend, so outsiders are always thinking they can take control of us through marriage alliances.“You could just date. There’s no need to get married. Or you could even just pretend to date. Make them give up.”Isabella looked up at her cousin, amused. “What? That’s a crazy idea.“I haven’t been in a relationship until now because they all know I’m hard to deal with. They think I don’t even have feelings. If I start dating, they’ll realize I’m just like any other girl who dates and wants to get married. Then, they’ll get even more ideas.”Unless her boyfriend was someone so powerful that no one would dare to touch him. He would have to come from a family strong enough to protect the O'Connor family, and he would need to love only her and not be after her family’s money.Power, status, wealth, and good character were all essential.There were men
Austin quickly left the CEO’s office. Just as he stepped out, he ran into Tati, who was looking for Isabella.“Ms. Tati,” Austin greeted politely.Tati nodded and waited for Austin to leave before she knocked on the office door and entered.“Austin came early today to cook for you,” Tati said, holding a folder in her hand and opening it as she walked toward Isabelle.She sat down at the desk, handed over the folder, and said, “Isa, this is urgent. Please take a look.”Isabella took the document, glancing through it as she replied, “He comes around this time every day, neither early nor late.”“That Longbottom fellow came by again?” Tati asked.It was only after Mr. Longbottom had directly asked to see Isabella that Tati found out the old lecher had come again.“Yes, but I didn’t meet him. He brought some gifts, claiming they were holiday presents for us. I had them sent back. He’s too ambitious, and he has bad intentions. We’re absolutely on guard against him. Why would we give
Isabella turned her head to look at Austin.Austin stopped the massage and asked in a gentle voice, “Are you feeling any discomfort? I can work on it. I don't give people massages often, so I don’t have much experience. I'll keep giving you more massages as practice so I'll be able to serve you better.”“It's not that,” Isabella smiled. “It's actually very comfortable. It’s just that I really want to meet your grandmother every time you mention her.”In Isabella's mind, Austin's grandmother had already become something of a legendary figure.Austin thought to himself, ‘Nana’s already met you. You probably met her before, you just didn't know it was her.’His nana had surely spent a lot of time observing Isabella, getting to know her, and confirming that her character and abilities were suitable for him before choosing Isabella for him.“When you’re less busy, if you’re willing, you can come visit us in Wiltspoon. Lots of flowers bloom in spring, and there’s beautiful scenery ever
When Isabella first took over the family business, many of her grandparents' and parents' friends and relatives openly tried to sabotage her. They played dirty tricks, schemed, and tried various ways to undermine her.They wanted to take advantage of her, and they also did not want her to take control of the family’s legacy. They tried to prevent her from establishing herself in the company, even going as far as to collaborate with outsiders to trap her.She had suffered countless setbacks, faced numerous conspiracies, and even experienced several so-called accidents, nearly losing her life. It was only after all this that she truly understood the treachery of human nature. From that point on, she learned to arm herself with cold indifference.Though she was taking over her own family’s business, it felt like she had to fight through a bloody battle to secure her place, as if she were a king striving to ascend the throne. It was exhausting and disheartening.However, she endured an