A ringtone was heard. It was Serenity’s phone. Her instincts told her that it was her husband’s call. When she took her phone out, it was really Zachary who was calling. “My husband’s calling me,” Serenity told her two best friends. Jasmine was tactful and walked away to take a novel she had not finished from a bookshelf. Elisa laughed and said, “I should be going back too. If there are no problems with the contract, I’ll have someone sign the contract with the mayor. Our project can commence afterward.”She took her bag as she spoke and left after speaking. Serenity smiled and proceeded to answer Zachary’s call. “Honey.”Zachary’s voice was warm and alluring. He was captivating his wife with his voice on purpose. Serenity could not stand him doing it. She could not help shuddering. She laughed and said, “Just say what you want to, Zachary. You don’t have to seduce me.”Zachary was speechless. “Why are you laughing? I heard your laughter when you answered my call
“Mm. They came to thank me. My granddad brought my uncles and cousins over too. The two families quarreled. Chelsea and Mrs. Brown chased my granddad and the others out with the broom. The tires of John’s car were punctured too. Chelsea did it.”Zachary laughed upon hearing that. “The Brown family has finally done a satisfying thing.”Serenity giggled. “My granddad and the others probably came to tell me that my dad wasn’t their biological son. They want us to give up on inheriting the property. If we don’t, they’ll likely negotiate with us. Getting my parents’ property back without fighting a lawsuit is the best-case scenario.”If Old Mr. Hunt really wanted to negotiate, Serenity would be willing to do it too. However, there was no way she would give up on her inheritance. “Me and Granddad’s DNA test results will be out within these two days. I’ll see how they can continue making this up after I get the results.”“It’ll be ready by tomorrow. I’ll go and get the results with
“Mm, he said there’s a lunch appointment in the afternoon.”Tania said nonchalantly, “Tell him you won’t be going then. We haven’t eaten outside or gone shopping together before. Zack won’t fight me on this.”People have been spreading rumors that she had had a bad relationship with Serenity. They said Serenity had always attended banquets with Mrs. Stone but was rarely seen returning to the manor to accompany her mother-in-law; neither had they eaten together in public or gone shopping. Tania wanted to ignore the rumors. She was aware of the status of her relationship with Serenity. However, she was asked about it by her friends whenever she went to play cards with them. She felt annoyed. Tania gave up on playing cards and looked for her daughter-in-law immediately. She wanted to take her daughter-in-law and splurge at luxury brand boutiques. She would dispel the rumors with concrete actions. That was the reason for Tania’s sudden visit. “Okay.”Serenity was about to call
Serenity hung up the phone after saying a few words to Zachary.Not two minutes later, she received a notification that money was transferred to her bank account.Zachary changed the phone number bound to the household bank card to hers. He was worried she would feel uncomfortable if he received a notification every time she spent money.He told her to let her use the money at will, but...Zachary was very considerate with regard to that.After the phone number linked to the account was changed to Serenity’s, she became much more comfortable when spending money.Zachary transferred a sum of money to the account and told Serenity to spend as much as she wanted while shopping with her mother-in-law.Liberty arrived a few minutes later.Only when her nephew was handed over to her sister did Serenity accompany her mother-in-law to lunch.Then, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law spent time together until the evening.Tania was the wife of the current head of the York family. Th
Meanwhile, when Serenity saw the entertainment news article, she was silent for a long time before saying to her friend, “Now that my status is different, every little thing can make it to the entertainment section of the news.”It was her first time making the news after becoming the missus of the York family.Jasmine was used to seeing gossip like that and laughed. “Your husband is the biggest name in Wiltspoon’s business world. You barely interact with your mother-in-law, and you’ve recently attended various parties with your aunt, so it’s natural they started to misunderstand.“A lady called your mother-in-law before to say that you were meddlesome, and she told your mother-in-law to discipline you. You heard about that, right? Those people just wanted to see your mother-in-law treating you badly because they were jealous you were able to marry into a top-class family like the Yorks.“I heard from Josh that Grandma May and your mother-in-law have the most say in the York family
Serenity’s phone rang. It was a call from Zachary.She looked at the screen and laughed. “Speak of the devil.”Jasmine said, “Be happy about it. Mr. York is so busy, but he still calls you every once in a while. It’s clear that he really dotes on you. Of course, my Josh isn’t bad to me either. Oh, he’s not mine yet. He hasn’t proposed to me yet.”Serenity answered the call.“Honey, I’m on my way. I’ll reach in ten minutes.”“You’re coming here?”Serenity was a little surprised because she did not know why Zachary was suddenly coming over. However, she soon figured it out. He said that he would accompany her to get the results of the DNA test.She looked at the clock. It was half past two. He should be at work at this time.He pushed away a lot of his work to accompany her. In his heart, anything that was related to her was his number one priority.The taste of being pampered so much was sweeter than sugar.“I’ll just get the results by myself. You’re busy at work.”Zachary s
Ten minutes later, Serenity heard the sound of a car honking and spoke to her friend before taking her phone that was left on the table. She went around the counter and left.After a few steps, she turned back and picked up her bag. “I forgot to take the bag that Zachary gave me. He’ll pull a long face if I don’t go out with it.”Jasmine laughed. “What a blissful worry.”Serenity held the branded bag Zachary gave her and walked out of the bookstore. The two bodyguards saw that it was Zachary who came to pick her up and very sensibly did not follow her again.Zachary got out of the car, holding a bouquet in one hand and opening the car door for her with the other. He passed the bouquet to Serenity when she approached.“This is for you, honey.”“Thanks, babe.”Serenity took the bouquet, smiled and kissed Zachary’s face, and got into the car.Zachary touched the place she kissed with a smile in his eyes, then followed her into the car.“Honey, I brought you some pastries for afte
“What does it say?”Zachary had not seen the results yet. He watched her actions but could not see a smile on her face, so he assumed his father-in-law really was not the biological son of Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt.“The results say that my granddad and I are related by blood. My dad is their biological child.”“They’re actually related by blood? With how badly they treat you, I always thought you weren’t biologically related.”Serenity looked at her husband and seemed amused. “You sound like you were hoping my dad wasn’t their biological child.”Zachary said sheepishly, “They’re so ruthless that I thought your dad wasn’t their own. How can they do this when he’s their actual son? It’s heartbreaking.”“My sister and I had our hearts broken by them long ago. We’ll never reconcile in our lifetime.”Serenity put the results away. She had not received a reply from her sister yet, so she guessed that Liberty should be sleeping.The business at All You Can Eat was booming, and Liberty wa
“She lost the child when she fell on her own. That was our family’s flesh and blood, too!”Since Sonny did not live with the Browns, and despite her many objections, Olivia did not voice her criticisms toward Jessica when she was pregnant, out of consideration that Jessica was carrying the Brown family’s child.It was Jessica’s bad luck that she fell and lost the child, which made Olivia lose a grandson. If she had just one more grandson, she would not be waiting so eagerly for Sonny to return. It was all karmic retribution! “Mom, that's all in the past. I'm doing fine now. If the child wasn't meant to be, then it wasn't meant to be. They just didn't want to come into our lives. Anyway, Jessica is still my wife. I should go and see her. If I hadn’t corrupted her, she wouldn’t have ended up like this. It’s my fault, I ruined her.”When Jessica first became his secretary, she was still innocent and never thought of seducing him. It was he who fell for Jessica, and it was also he wh
Unfortunately, their regret and realization came too late. “I heard from Sonny that you and Mr. Lewis are getting married soon. When will the marriage be?”Olivia tried to make herself sound calmer. “We’ll be heading to the City Hall to complete the procedures later.”Olivia went silent. After some time, she said, “Oh, today? Congratulations, Liberty. I wish you both a happy marriage.”“Thank you.”Olivia initially had a lot of things to say. However, upon discovering Liberty and Duncan were getting their marriage license that day, the words got stuck in her throat. Saying anything was meaningless.Soon, Olivia hung up. Once the call ended, Luke, who had been sitting beside his wife, asked, “How did it go? Did Liberty agree to Sonny staying with us for a few days?”Olivia was still stunned and did not immediately reply to her husband’s question. At that moment, Hank came out of his room in his pajamas. When he saw his parents sitting on the sofa, he yawned and asked, “Wha
Serenity asked, “Duncan has no comments about it, right?”“No. He said that Hank would always be Sonny’s biological father. Sonny’s surname won’t be changed to Lewis as well. He’ll remain a Brown. That’s part of Hank’s and my divorce agreement.”Since Liberty had signed the agreement, she would keep her promise. No matter Sonny’s surname, the fact that he was a member of the Brown family would not change. If so, there was no point in changing his surname. “Duncan is so easygoing.”At that moment, Liberty’s phone rang.It was Olivia. When Liberty recognized her voice through the phone, she whispered to Serenity, “Speak of the devil. Olivia is calling me.”“What did you say, Liberty?”Olivia heard Liberty whispering but could not hear her clearly. She asked Liberty to repeat herself.“I was talking to my sister, Olivia. Why did you call?”It was still early in the morning. “You’re back from Jensburg, right, Liberty?”“Yes.”“That was what I heard. Look. The year is almo
“He doesn’t even want kids and said having Sonny was enough.”Duncan did not care about blood relations. Liberty believed him. He only cared about her. If Liberty had not had to manage the Fisher family, she probably would have taken more time to consider whether she wanted a second child. However, Duncan's love for her ran deep. She decided to try for another child so that he could have a child of his own. Liberty did not want to be selfish. She could not prioritize only herself and Sonny. She had to be considerate of Duncan as well. “By the way, there’s something that I need your help with.”Serenity said, “Oh you, don’t sound like a stranger. We’re sisters. I’m ready to help with whatever you need.”“I have to go to Jensburg next year. I think I’ll leave Sonny here in Wiltspoon for his studies. I’ll ask for Sonny’s opinion again once my situation in Jensburg is stable. If he wants to move to Jensburg to live with me, I'll bring him over.“If he says no, I’ll need y
“Morning, Liberty. The housekeeper said you weren’t out yet, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”Serenity stood and smiled when she saw Liberty enter. “I woke up when you arrived.”Liberty whispered, “Sonny is still asleep. Let’s go downstairs. You can accompany me on a walk outside too.”“What time are you and Duncan meeting?”Serenity was worried that Liberty would be late. Liberty said, “We still have to wait until the City Hall opens. Duncan and I agreed to meet at nine. It’s still early.”The three adults exited the child’s bedroom and went downstairs. Zachary remained in the house while Liberty and Serenity went on a stroll in the garden. Liberty’s villa initially belonged to Zachary. Although he sold it to Liberty, it was also considered a gift. She was the one who insisted on paying and refused to accept it as a gift. Therefore, Zachary accepted some money from her so that she would take it. The villas Zachary owned were never small. They usually came with garden
“As expected of a child’s skin. It’s so smooth,” said Serenity. “Catch me if you can, Isaac…”Sonny spoke in his sleep and even giggled. He dreamt of him and Isaac playing tag. When Isaac started running after him, he quickly turned to escape while laughing. He did not realize that he was dreaming. “I have two dads, Isaac…”Sonny spoke again.Serenity laughed and told Zachary, “Sonny must’ve had a blast yesterday. Even his sleep talking is related to playing.”She pinched Sonny’s face lightly. “You do have two dads, Sonny. They love you a lot, so you have double the love.”Serenity spoke gently, regardless of whether he could hear her. She bent over and left a soft kiss on his cheek. “That’s why you must be happy. I wish you a carefree life ahead.”She hoped he would grow up healthily and be worry-free. Sonny was in a deep sleep and did not reply to her. Liberty watched them from the door with an affectionate gaze. She felt content. Zachary and Serenity had a st
The night went by peacefully. The next morning, Liberty could hear her gates opening when she stirred in her bed. Soon, she heard her housekeeper talking. “You’re early, Mrs. York.”“Mm. My sister is getting married today. I couldn’t go back to sleep after I woke up, so I decided to come over.”While Serenity could not help Liberty and Zachary out with anything, she was excited to the point she could not sleep. It took Zachary a lot of effort to persuade her to sleep. However, she woke up at dawn after having a dream about her parents. She could not go back to sleep afterward and insisted on going to her sister’s place. Zachary thought he could sleep in since he was on break, but his wife just could not fall asleep. There was no helping it. The doting husband accompanied his wife to her sister’s house early in the morning. The housekeeper smiled. “Ms. Hunt isn’t awake yet.”“It’s okay. I won’t wake my sister.”Serenity finally felt at ease when she was at Liberty’s ho
After a pause, she said, “Let’s meet at nine in the morning. Seren and Zachary will come over to my place. They’ll be looking after Sonny for me. I’ll head out after they arrive. You can wait for me at the City Hall’s entrance.”“No. I want to go to the City Hall with you.”Duncan did not want to wait for her at the City Hall. He wanted to go together.“Bring Sonny along.“We’ll be a family of three from tomorrow onward. We should bring him along.”He would officially become Sonny’s father tomorrow. It did not matter that he was a stepfather. It was Duncan’s first time adoring a child that much, and he did not expect that he would later become that child’s father.After giving it some thought, Liberty said, “Okay. Let’s take Sonny with us.“By the way, Sonny won’t change his surname after we get married. That was Hank’s condition when we got divorced. Since I promised him, I’ll keep to my word.”Sonny would still be the grandson of the Browns. He would not become a Lewis.
Although Sonny was backed by a few wealthy families and would be well-supported even if he was incompetent, they still hoped he would turn out to be an outstanding individual. That way, he could be independent and achieve his goals without much help. Duncan had not thought about Sonny’s education plan. However, he knew Liberty had high hopes for Sonny. Even Serenity had never neglected Sonny’s nurturing. Despite only being in preschool, Sonny had started various hobby classes. It was to build a solid foundation and develop his interest in certain hobbies while still young. The only time he could fully enjoy playing was during winter and summer vacations. Liberty and Serenity had similar philosophies when it came to children’s education. They believed children had to study hard and play hard. Liberty nodded and said, “Sonny can have all the fun he wants when he’s young. Once the situation in Jensburg is stable, he’ll have to study and live there.“I wonder if he’ll be willing