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
“Let’s go inside. You must have dinner with us tonight,” Mr. Sox said to his future son-in-law. For Josh to propose to his daughter before everybody, Mr. Sox was pleased with his future son-in-law. Unlike Mrs. Sox who took to Josh immediately, Mr. Sox needed some warming up. Despite Mr. Sox’s approval of Josh, the man kept a stoic face and remained courteous to Josh. “I will stick around for dinner even if you don’t invite me,” Josh brazenly commented. He said hello to Mrs. Lowe and nodded with a smile at Shawn. “Call your father, Shawn. Tell your dad to join us for dinner here after work.” Mrs. Lowe happily informed her son to call her husband over. Dinner together would be pleasant. She had always hoped her niece would find a rich husband. To make it happen, Mrs. Lowe had been playing the matchmaker. It was a pity her niece was not too keen about it. Jasmine went so far as to lie prostrate on the floor at a banquet to stop her chances of marrying up. Since then, Mrs. Lowe
Josh’s statement made Jasmine blush. The guy just could not wait. “Alright. We’ll have the engagement party, then the visit to city hall, and finally the wedding.” Josh respected Jasmine’s wishes and only wanted the best for her. Doing things in the right order would make the Soxes happy. The engagement party was bound to be a huge event since Josh was a man of position. The attendees were the movers and shakers of Wiltspoon’s higher society.Josh gave a call to his parents and told them that he proposed to Jasmine. Of course, Jasmine said yes. He asked his parents if they were free to come over and discuss the wedding details with his future parents-in-law. Delighted by the news, Mrs. Bucham replied, “I’m busy right now, but nothing comes before my son’s marriage. Alright, I’ll ask your dad and uncle to prepare the gift and head over to your in-laws’.” “Thank you, Mom.” Mrs. Bucham answered with a smile, “Don’t mention it. I’m happy for you. Josh, be nice to Jasmine.