“What blocks did he give to you? Let me see. I’ll help you put them together.”Sonny immediately slid down from his father’s arms, ran to a shelf that was filled with toys, and took out a box of Legos he had not been able to assemble.Hank saw the set of blocks and cursed Duncan for being sinister in his heart.Sonny was still young. He was not even three yet. Even if he was smart, how could he be able to put together something that difficult?Duncan deliberately gave Sonny a challenging set of Legos so he could have the opportunity to teach Sonny and get closer to Liberty, right?How shameless!He was using Sonny to get close to Liberty!Hank cursed Duncan a million times in his heart.Liberty invited the couple to sit down, poured them each a cup of warm water, and said, “I’m busy. Just leave the invitation there. If I have time that day, I’ll bring Sonny and attend your wedding.”Since they were not worried that she would ruin the wedding and invited her, she would join.W
Liberty could not be bothered less with Jessica. Jessica could not get any useful news, so she had no choice but to return to Hank’s side bitterly.At the same time, she looked around the place.Although the space was not large, Liberty tidied it up and decorated it in a cozy manner.Jessica had to admit that Liberty was much better than her at housekeeping.Hank was teaching Sonny how to piece up the building blocks since he seldom accompanied his son. When he looked at the pile of scattered blocks and the assembly instructions, he found that it really was difficult to build.He would never have the patience to construct something like this.“Do you really know how to build that?” Jessica asked him.“Why don’t you give it a try?”Hank was having a headache and snapped at his wife when he heard her.Sonny looked up at Jessica, then at his father, and asked an innocent and pure question, “Dad, why is she always following you?”Hank was speechless.Before he could answer, Jess
His dad was not able to piece together the blocks earlier.Sonny felt that Duncan was more amazing.It was the first time he missed Duncan.If Duncan knew that Sonny missed him so much, he would feel incredibly flattered.Liberty looked through the clothes and toys that Hank bought for Sonny, then let him open them up and play with them.She went back to the kitchen to work, but she kept thinking about Jessica’s attitude.It was impossible for Jessica to like Sonny because he was Liberty’s son.Jessica’s expression always turned hideous whenever she heard that the Brown family wanted to visit Sonny.Why did Jessica’s attitude change recently?Not only did she not stop the Brown family from visiting Sonny, but she would also accompany Hank when he came over. Furthermore, she bought new clothes for Sonny. That was a bit odd.Jessica might be trying to create a bond with Sonny because the Brown family was trying to regain custody of him. However, she could wait until after the B
After the call, Zachary immediately contacted Josh and told him about Liberty’s suspicion.Josh said, “I just received some news too, and was about to tell you when you called me.”Zachary asked in a low voice, “What news? Is it related to Sonny’s attempted kidnapping?”“Yeah. My brother told me that he found out that Mrs. Newman had a gang leader as a godfather more than twenty years ago. However, that leader got arrested and sentenced to death. Some of the leader’s men were also convicted, but some disappeared from the face of the earth.“I suspect they were taken in by Mrs. Newman. Those men under the leader back then were all ruthless outlaws. It was a large gang too. If Mrs. Newman took them in and made them into bodyguards, their numbers could form a large company.“That happened twenty years ago, so it’s difficult to find out their whereabouts. It’ll take some time to get confirmation. Besides, those men are probably old now after twenty years, but they might have inducted
Case in point, he just asked Josh to investigate Jessica.He could not afford to offend Josh.“Thanks in advance. You’re really a good boss who’s considerate of your subordinates.”Josh flattered Zachary.Zachary laughed. “Enough already. I don’t know you. Just go on your date and soak in the honey jar all day. Be careful not to get diabetes from all the sweetness.”“You also soak in your honey jar all day, but I don’t see you getting diabetes. I just started, so I have nothing to be afraid of. I’m going on my date now. My Jasmine likes BBQ, so I’m taking her out to eat BBQ.”Josh hung up the phone.He and Jasmine often went out to eat barbecue.“Babe, do you want some jackfruit?”Serenity opened up a jackfruit, placed the flesh on a plate, and asked Zachary while walking toward him.Zachary turned pale at the smell of the jackfruit.He immediately stood up and walked away. “Honey, I don’t like the smell of jackfruit. You can eat slowly over there.”Serenity stopped in her
“Although a stepmother is also a mother, Sonny won’t call you Mom. Saying something like that will only upset everyone.”Jessica ignored him.She went straight to the car after leaving Liberty’s apartment block.Hank got into the car.“How about I take you shopping, honey?”“Then drive already,” Jessica snapped.“I said all those things for you. I know your family and you want Sonny back. If you want to take custody of Sonny, he’ll be living with us in the future. I’m just trying to adapt to the role of being a mother in advance.”Hank said while driving, “My parents want Sonny back very much. They couldn’t bear to part with Sonny from the beginning. They’re old, and Sonny is the only Brown grandson, so of course they miss him. However, I don’t intend to regain custody of Sonny.”He looked into Jessica’s eyes and said, “Back then, it was you who persuaded me to give up custody. I feel that it’s good for Sonny to follow Liberty. The people around Liberty now are on a different l
Chelsea swore to herself that she would never let Jessica live a happy life while she was around!Jessica stopped, turned her head, and asked coldly, “What?”Chelsea put down the TV remote control, got up, and walked over. She glanced at the numerous bags in Jessica’s hands. “What did you buy? There are so many bags. Spending money is the only thing you know. Hank and you are both unemployed and have no source of income now. Don’t you know how to be frugal?“Now, everything you eat and use comes from Hank’s pocket. You worked for so long but can’t bear to spend your own money, but you always spend Hank’s money. Do you think his money grows on trees?”Chelsea criticized Jessica for not knowing how to save money while forcefully seizing the bags from Jessica’s hands.“Chelsea, what are you doing?” Hank asked.Chelsea glared at him and snapped, “Can’t I have a look? Move aside. She saw me when she came in but didn’t bother greeting me at all. You spoiled her so much that she has no
“Wouldn’t it be humiliating for me if I left just because you told me to? This isn’t your house. Are you paying the rent? If you are, I’ll go out immediately and never come back.”Chelsea did not back down.Jessica was young and used to sitting in an office. She had not much strength and simply could not compete with Chelsea.Seeing that it was impossible to drive Chelsea out, Jessica turned and shouted angrily at her husband, “Hank Brown, can’t you see your sister is bullying me? Why aren’t you helping me to kick her out? I’m telling you now, between me and her, only one of us can stay in this house!”“Chelsea. Jessica. Will you two just stop arguing? You might not get tired of fighting all day, but I’m sick of it.”Hank was fed up with this state. He had no peace at home.As soon as he got home, it was either his mother or sister quarreling with his wife—not a single day of peace.Smack!Jessica was so angry that she slapped Hank.Hank was stunned by the slap. He clutched hi
Serenity’s embarrassed look made Zachary’s desire burn stronger. However, he still held himself back.After taking a few deep breaths, Zachary released her and said gently, “I’ll run the bath for you. You should wash up and rest early.”After speaking, he went to the bathroom to prepare the bath for her.Serenity watched him walk away. He reappeared a moment later and took her pajamas. He asked, “Do you want to wash your hair? I can help you with it.”It was inconvenient for Serenity to wash her hair with her big bump.“I washed my hair yesterday. I’ll pass tonight. When I was young, my mom often told me not to wash it daily. She believed the old wives’ tale that it’d cause frequent headaches when I got older. So, I always wash my hair on alternate days.”Like any old wives’ tale, Serenity did not know whether what her mother said was true but she had heard it from other adults in the past.She had long hair anyway. Even if her mom did not say such a thing, she did not like wash
Zachary smiled. “Everyone grows old. No matter how well we maintain our appearance, we’ll still get wrinkles and gray hair, and lose our teeth at a certain age.”“Even if you lose all your teeth, I’ll still love you. You’ll always be the best man to me.“To think that the best man in the world is my husband, who loves and spoils only me.“You can spare some of your love for the baby when the baby is born, but I must be your priority.”Serenity thought about how her children would be sharing Zachary’s love with her. Therefore, she requested him to continue loving her the most.Zachary kissed her and said lovingly, “You’re my wife and the only one I’ll dote on. My son will receive love from his wife in the future. I won’t be sharing my wife’s love with him.”Little did he know that he would be eating his words half a year later.As Grandma May had always mentioned, Zachary loved eating his words.“Don’t be angry, okay?”“Okay. Since you’re asking on behalf of Austin, I’m not mad
Who dared to offend Zachary York? Did that person not want to celebrate the new year?“Do you believe in my love for you, Seren?” Zachary asked instead of replying to her right away. Serenity laughed and said, “Why not? We’ve talked things out after I discovered your identity. Since then, I’ve never doubted your feelings for me.“Although I was mad at you for deceiving me back then, I didn’t question your love for me. I was just angry that you kept a secret from me. There were many opportunities to come clean, but you never did. You even made your family members cooperate with you to deceive me. That made me upset.“We’ve been married for quite some time, and our baby will be born in a few months. Did something happen for you to ask me this question all of a sudden? Tell me about it. Did someone spout nonsense to you?“Who’s the person with the big mouth? Reveal his name. I’ll scold him.”Serenity could not believe the person said something to offend Zachary right before the yea
Zachary only had eyes for Serenity. He did not fancy any woman other than her. While Zachary did scold Austin badly, he would not actually distance himself from his brother.After all, he only had one biological brother.However, Zachary decided that he would never say another word about Austin’s love life. If Austin were to look for him to talk again, Zachary would only lend an ear to his issues.It had been exasperating.“Alright. You’re twenty-seven. You can think for yourself. You shouldn’t tell me about your love journey in the future though. What do you take me for? You all come looking for me whenever you face problems. Am I a love advisor?“None of you can replicate my love story with Seren, so don’t tell me anything from now on.”Austin smiled sheepishly. He knew Zachary’s anger had not completely subsided.He quickly asked after Serenity and the unborn baby to change the topic, which softened Zachary’s tone. After some time, their call finally ended.Austin si
On the other hand, Austin closed and locked his door as soon as he returned to his room to prevent anyone from peeking. Then, he called Zachary.When Zachary picked up, Austin whispered, “My identity is exposed, Zachary.”“Exposed? What did you do?”Zachary’s voice was deep without betraying his emotions. “Isabella knows that I’m a young master of the Yorks. Her previous classmate had been to Wiltspoon with her husband who was there on a business trip and lived there for half a month. She knows about York Corporation and started asking questions once she heard my surname.“Isabella asked me why I hid my identity from her after I admitted to it. I replied that she never asked about my family tree. Besides, she already did a background check on me twice.”Zachary said, “You didn’t hide it from her on purpose anyway. You simply didn’t go about announcing that you’re from the York family. That doesn’t count as lying.“You were hired by the O’Connors based on your true abilities. Yo
“I think Austin gives you special treatment, Isa. His gaze and smile are different when it comes to you. You’re a clever person. I’m sure you felt something.“Have you ever thought that the person his nana has chosen for him is you?”Isabella frowned. “I don’t even know what his nana looks like, nor have I met her before. How could she possibly choose me? Besides, he said he’d be resigning to pursue that woman.“Anyway, I’m glad that you’re not sad. Just stay away from him and enjoy the food he cooks. Don’t think about anything else.”Tati was speechless.Isabella never believed her when she said she was not interested in Austin at all.However, when Tati thought of the way she acted around Austin, she could not blame Isabella for the misunderstanding. She had been expressing her admiration for Austin too outwardly. Since Isabella was giving her advice, she would do as Isabella said to reassure her.Tati decided not to go over to Isabella’s place for meals and keep a distance
Tati had made it clear that she did not love Austin, and purely admired him. Why was Isabella looking at her like that? Austin’s fiancée would never be her. If it were, Austin would have treated her differently. So who on earth was Austin’s fiancee?Why would Old Mrs. York choose someone from Windermere for him?Austin came to be a chef before pursuing his future wife. Which city in Windermere was his fiancée from? Was it Satbury?If it were Satbury, which elite daughter could it be?There were many elite daughters in Satbury, but not many were superior to the O’Connor daughters. Tati recalled Austin’s special treatment toward Isabella. A thought crossed her mind, ‘Is Isabella the lady Old Mrs. York has chosen for Austin?’“Tati, I want to discuss something work-related with you.”Isabella thought Tati remained silent because of Austin’s news. Therefore, she used work as an excuse and brought Tati to the study on the second floor. After closing the door, Isabella poured
Louis and Phillip were not the only ones worried. Even Delphine and the rest were anxious too. While they did think it was inappropriate for someone of Austin’s status to be their chef, the food he made was truly delicious. They had already gotten used to his cooking. If he were to leave, they would have to adjust their tastes to another chef’s cooking. Tati had even more concerns. Isabella admired capable people. Austin was highly skilled in cooking and had a head for business too. Moreover, he was a young master of a wealthy family. That made him more suitable for Isabella. Would Isabella be attracted?Isabella probably could feel how differently he treated her, right?“Did you chase Austin away, Isa? Why didn’t he come back with you?”Louis continued asking questions. He was worried that Isabella might have fired Austin. Not only could Austin make delicious food, but he would also play with the boys. Louis and Phillip really liked Austin. They thought he was fun,
Austin knew her question was related to Tati.He was aware of Tati’s admiration for him.Nevertheless, he recognized Tati’s feelings as pure admiration. On the contrary, Tati must have noticed that he treated Isabella differently. She probably told Isabella about it in private, but Isabella simply did not have plans for marriage due to her heavy responsibilities. Austin said with certainty, “No. Although I haven’t succeeded in pursuing her, I’ve set my heart on her. She’s my fiancée, and she’ll become my wife in the future. The York family doesn’t allow divorce unless our wives cheat on us. However, that definitely won’t happen.“Every woman Nana chose has a good character and values.“I’ll be loyal to my marriage and family. I’ll only love my only wife for my entire life. How outstanding other women are is none of my business.”Austin did not want to be like Dylan. He would rather spend more time inventing recipes. Isabella said with a hint of regret, “Okay.”She had to te