They lived in a small circle where paths intersected frequently. They would cross paths eventually.Liberty was a divorcee, and Mrs. Lewis only brought her up in passing. Lily only remembered a bit about Liberty because she was Serenity’s sister.“Yes, she divorced last yet. Her husband had an affair. I heard he was violent toward her too and wanted to go Dutch with her when it came to living expenses. Liberty stayed at home to raise their son and was considered a housewife, yet her husband wanted to go Dutch with her. It was clear it was because he disliked her, but she didn’t realize it.“I heard she only found out that her husband was cheating on her when she received evidence of his affair. Her husband was very stingy with her, but he bought luxury goods for his mistress.“Women, especially married women, need to love themselves more. If you don’t know how to love yourself, you can’t expect your husband to love and cherish you. You have to try and maintain financial independenc
What Mrs. Lewis wanted to know was whether Liberty and Duncan contacted each other frequently in private.Lily heard Mrs. Lewis order someone to investigate Liberty’s recent situation and asked, “Mrs. Lewis, you don’t think that Duncan is interested in Liberty, right?”“Liberty is divorced and fat. Duncan’s standards aren’t that low, but we still have to take precautions. Maybe Liberty is interested in Duncan. Lily, I want my daughter-in-law to be someone like you.”Even if Liberty had never divorced, she was still not up to Mrs. Lewis’s standards.Lily paused. “You’re right, I didn’t think of that. I just figured that Duncan would never like a divorced woman. Since you don’t approve of her, I won’t worry about her either.”“Lily, Duncan has always been single. There are no rumors or scandals about him, but he has never pursued a girl before either. He’s a bit boorish when it comes to emotions, but if anyone can conquer him, he’ll spoil that woman with a lifetime of tenderness.“
After settling the matter of her parents’ house, Serenity returned to the bookstore in a happy mood.Unexpectedly, she saw Shawn, whom she had not seen for a long time.Shawn had taken two days of leave before the weekend, so he had a total of four days off to come back and see his parents.After learning that Serenity was not in the store, he came over to see his cousin.Jasmine did not know when Serenity would return. Shawn had just come in to sit for a while and was just about to leave. However, he bumped into Serenity just as he was leaving.“Serenity.”Shawn greeted Serenity with a smile, just like before.“Shawn?”Serenity checked Shawn out from head to toe before politely asking, “When did you come back? It’s been a long time. You look much more mature and steadier.”“I just got back today. My mom isn’t feeling well, and the factory isn’t too busy for the time being, so I took two days off before the weekend to visit my mom. Yes, it’s been a long time. You look even pre
Jasmine rubbed her forehead and said, “I know you never loved Shawn. I was just worried that you’d feel guilty. Shawn is fine the way he is now. He’s the successor of the family, so he has to suffer a little. He needs to face some setbacks in order to grow and become steady.”“Aunt Rachel did all that for his own good. It’s good that he was sent away to train himself. What do I have to be guilty about?”Serenity sat at the counter and took out her phone. “I’ll tell my man about this lest he gets jealous and misunderstands again.”Taking the initiative to tell Zachary was better than him finding out from the bodyguards.With Zachary’s personality, he was sure to get jealous again if he found out from his bodyguards that Shawn and she had met.Jasmine went into the kitchen.After a while, she came out with a plate of grapes and placed it on the counter, saying, “Shawn bought these—the seedless grapes we often eat.“So, how was it? Was your dad your grandparents’ biological son?” J
Jasmine sighed and said, “Some parents can be quite baffling. They disapprove of their grateful children but play favorites with other children who can’t care less about them.” Serenity took a moment in silence before saying, “These parents hurt the kids who care while their favorite children hurt them instead. Some siblings never get close and even cut contact after their parents pass away because of the deferential treatment among siblings.”“I’m lucky my family is not like that. My grandparents treat us all equally. There are no favorites or least liked. My uncles are nice too. We get along well with our cousins,” Jasmine said. Serenity did not add to the conversation after that. She wished she had a family like Jasmine’s. She was not on good terms with her cousins. Ring, ring, ring…Jasmine’s phone rang. Thinking it was Josh, Jasmine pulled out her phone and said to her best friend, “He didn’t call me the whole day today. I think he’s starting to get bored of me.” Se
Drake was not going to say more. “Jas, hand the phone to Serenity. I need to talk to her.” Jasmine mumbled, “I’m your sister, and you’re saying something happened at home. You don’t want to tell me, but you plan to tell Serenity? Do you think you can hide it from me, b*stard?” Despite the nagging, Jasmine passed the phone to Serenity and told her best friend, “Drake is keeping me guessing. I don’t know what’s going on, but he wants to speak to you.” Taking the phone with a smile, Serenity asked Drake who was on the other end of the line, “What’s up, Drake? You can talk to me. I promise to keep it a secret. I won’t let your sister know.” Truth be told, Jasmine had stuck her ear against the phone so she could get the message straight from Drake. Her brother piqued her curiosity. Now, Jasmine was dying to find out what was going on at home. All she was told was that it was good, but it was not enough for her to go by. “Serenity, is my sister eavesdropping next to you? Go outsi
“Jasmine’s back.” Someone spotted Jasmine and shouted out loud. The crowd at the gate of the Soxes’ residence gave way by parting into two rows. Jasmine got a good look at the people at the gate. Most of them were the townspeople and nearby tenants. They looked at her, all smiles. With everybody moving out of the way, Jasmine found out what everybody was looking at from the gate. It was a humongous display of flowers. Josh, who had not called or texted her all day, stood next to the flowers with a bouquet of roses in his hands. He was smiling widely at her. Jasmine stopped her bike. “Go on, Jas.” Drake drew close and dragged his sister to walk ahead. Jasmine was pulled to the floral display. Those were roses. Josh used thousands of roses to spell out something. [Marry me, Jasmine!]Josh was proposing. After giving it a lot of thought, Josh decided to go the cheesy way and form words with flowers. It would be beautiful and romantic. He could then propose to Jasmin
Seeing that Jasmine took her time to respond to Josh, Mrs. Lowe said to Mrs. Sox, “Why isn’t Jasmine saying anything? Josh is such a good man. She won’t find another man like him. I wish I could say yes on her behalf.” Shawn uttered, “She shouldn’t answer too quickly. She needs time to consider. It will seem like Jas is too eager if she gives an answer too soon.” Jasmine was happy to give her hand in marriage. No longer playing it coy, she reached out to take the roses from Josh and loudly responded, “Yes, Josh. I’ll marry you.” Josh was overjoyed. He pulled out the engagement ring and took Jasmine’s hand to put the ring on her finger. Jasmine pulled him up. Josh put his arms around her, lowered his gaze to meet hers, and kissed her lips. A thundering applause broke out. Jasmine closed her eyes and indulged in the brief mingle of hot breaths before opening her eyes. She beamed as Josh held her. “When did you start planning this?” she whispered while resting in his arm
“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