A lot of people were taking a stroll in the neighborhood. Most of them were parents bringing their children out for walks while others included young couples holding hands intimately.Despite seeing how affectionate other couples were, Serenity and Zachary just walked side by side, without taking the initiative to extend their hand to the other.However, many people turned to look at them because they were a good-looking couple.Finally, Serenity stopped by a children’s playground and said to the man beside her, “Let’s sit here to watch the kids play.”Serenity liked children.She loved her nephew, Sonny.Zachary did not speak and followed her silently to sit on a stone bench.“If Sonny was here, he’d definitely have a good time.”Zachary hummed in response.Serenity tilted her head to look at him. Zachary felt weird that she was looking at him like that, so he asked her defensively, “Why are you looking at me like this?”“You look exquisitely handsome, so I thought of soothi
Zachary was speechless again.He had no idea what he should talk with her about.The young couples around them were newlyweds and behaving intimately, interlocking their fingers as they walked together. The couples with children were focused on their kids, so they had more things to talk about; unlike them, who had neither feelings nor children.It was an onerous task for them to chat.Seeing that Zachary was at a loss for words again, Serenity smiled and stood up, before pulling him up too. “Let’s go back so you won’t feel uncomfortable, wondering if I’ll jump you at any moment.”“Serenity, you’re a girl!”“So what if I’m a girl? I’m just saying…”Serenity pulled him away, but she only pulled on his sleeve without touching his hand for fear he might wash his hands a hundred times when he got home.“Didn’t you see the trending story two days ago? It was about Ms. Stone and Mr. York. Ms. Stone really likes him, so she confessed to him and wooed him openly. Men will pursue the wo
“You’re a manager in the company, yet you barely have the chance to meet your boss. Your boss is truly… unattainable and mysterious,” Serenity said.There were no photos of Mr. York on the internet.Mr. York was followed around by a security squad. Last time at the dinner party, there were so many tall and brawny bodyguards surrounding him to the point where Serenity and Jasmine could not catch a glimpse of Mr. York’s face even when they tiptoed.Now knowing that Zachary who was a white-collar employee in York Corporation and yet he rarely saw Mr. York, Serenity felt much better about herself.Zachary did not carry on with the conversation.He did not care what others say about him and acted according to his own wishes.The couple chatted about Mr. York and returned to their block.Zachary’s bodyguards wandered nearby. Although they did not follow Zachary and Serenity closely, the guards were always watching the young couple and kept them within range of vision, wherever they we
Zachary finally felt the benefits of being married.He left for work with the insulated lunch box.While on the way to the office in the car, he savored the breakfast that his wife prepared for him with love.He ate it with much gusto and felt satisfied.The driver and the bodyguard who sat in the same car as Zachary were a little puzzled. The breakfast Serenity prepared was extremely simple, yet the picky Zachary relished it. Perhaps, Serenity’s cooking skills were excellent.After Zachary left, Serenity routinely called her sister and left the house knowing that her sister was fine.When she got out, it was already rush hour, so there was traffic congestion which eventually got heavier as she was halfway into her journey.Many who were rushing for work were feeling utterly anxious till they almost went berserk.Elisa Stone was one of them.While her brother and sister-in-law were behaving lovey-dovey during breakfast, Elisa quietly slipped out of the house and secretly packe
Serenity was unaffected by the traffic congestion as she rode her electric bike.It took more than ten minutes to arrive at York Corporation.She stopped the bike and turned to Elisa and said, “We’re here, Miss.”Elisa returned the helmet to Serenity and thanked her.“It’s just a small favor. No need to thank me.”Elisa looked at her and asked, “May I know what’s your name? You look really familiar for some reason. Have we met before?”“My last name is Hunt. I also quite like you, Miss. Unfortunately, we’ve never met before.”Beautiful women had always left an impression on her, but she had no recollection of this lady.“Your last name is Hunt? Oh, I remember now. There was news about an unfilial granddaughter that went viral before. The granddaughter’s last name was also Hunt, and there was a photo attached as well. I think you look a bit like one of the little girls in the photo. Was that you?”The “unfilial granddaughter” news had left a deep impression on Elisa, and she re
Elisa did not want to owe Serenity a favor, but also because she felt she could hit it off with Serenity. Thus, she gave the latter her business card.Serenity also saw the line of luxury cars and said understandingly, “You should get going, Ms. Stone. I wish you all the best.”“Thank you.”Elisa hugged the bouquet and carried the insulated lunch box. Instead of running toward the luxury cars, she went straight to the building’s entrance and stood in the middle of the gate.Serenity was dumbfounded.Ms. Stone was truly formidable.Zachary was late to arrive at the office. Although he left early today, he had to drop by the villa to get something. After leaving the villa, the car drove for a short while before getting stuck in a traffic jam. Regardless of the car one drove or the people in the car, it was equal in the eyes of a morning rush congestion; nobody could get away with it.The bodyguard sitting in the passenger seat happened to be Jim, who had brilliant eyesight. He saw
Elisa blocked the entrance to the building, so the driver had no choice but to stop the car.“Mr. Zachary, shall I go down and pull Ms. Stone away?” The driver turned his head and asked for Zachary’s instruction.After a moment of silence, Zachary wound down the car window.As soon as Elisa saw his window down, she was overjoyed and immediately bounced over, carrying the bouquet of flowers and an insulated lunch box.“Zachary.” She finally met the man she had been longing for. Although she often came here to profess her love, the truth was she had not seen him in person for a long time.She missed him so much!He still had the same cold look, but he was still the most handsome man in her mind.Her gaze trickled down to his tightly pursed lips, and she felt the urge to give him a kiss or two.She wondered how soft his lips would be.Elisa looked at Zachary like he was her prey and that made him frown.“Ms. Stone.”“Zachary, just call me Elisa.”Elisa smiled brightly and stuf
“I ate in the car.”Josh was speechless.“By the way, I saw something interesting earlier. Do you want to hear about it?”Zachary gave him a look and walked ahead. His handsome face remained expressionless, and his lips pursed into a line as he stayed silent.Josh hated that attitude, but he could not stop his chatty mouth from saying, “I arrived early and just so happened saw your missus send Ms. Stone here, so I stopped to figure out what was going on.“Before your car arrived at the company, your missus and Ms. Stone chatted rather amicably. Boss, your wife and admirer seem to like each other and are ready to be good friends. What do you think of it?”Zachary could not be bothered to even look at Josh, so he simply entered the elevator, leaving behind the chatty administrative executive.Josh did not get angry either and chuckled in his heart, ‘This will definitely be the drama-of-the-year.’He really wanted to know what Serenity Hunt would do if his boss’s identity was reve
Mr. Longbottom thought he was not so inferior to men younger than him.More accurately, he was far superior. He had status, money, and power.Which of the younger men could be on par with him unless they came from a wealthy family?Many sons of wealthy families could not compete with him.“I can’t go over because I’m busy these days. But I do miss you too.“It’s more difficult because of the festive season. There are many events, and I have to accompany my family. My wife doesn't care about me, but her request is that I be with her during the holidays because we have to meet our friends and families. Do you understand?”Mr. Longbottom had a wife and children. Carrie knew about it. He had never hid that fact.Carrie did not know if he was close to his wife. Although he said they no longer had feelings for each other, Carrie dared not believe him because he had never let other women take his wife’s place.He also never allowed other women to become pregnant with his children.Mr
Carrie thought she had matured since she could figure out that much. In the past, she would not have understood a thing. Love was about accepting everything about someone. Most people could tolerate their partner’s shortcomings when they were deeply in love. However, without love, even a person’s strength would seem like a fault. Carrie smiled. “Mr. York is a workaholic. Serenity must’ve gotten the habit from him and turned into one herself. I can’t believe she’s working so hard even though she’s pregnant.”“She’s still in the early stages of pregnancy. Going to work is fine.”“Do you need anything else, Mrs. Longbottom?” Jasmine asked.“No. I shall take my leave now, Mrs. Bucham.”Jasmine was on guard and unwilling to reveal much about Serenity. Therefore, it would be better for Carrie to leave. She was not close to Serenity and her friends yet. “Bye, Mrs. Longbottom.”Jasmine saw Carrie out and watched as she got into her car.Once Carrie got far enough from the booksto
Mr. Longbottom had been surprised by her question. He told her coldly that she should refrain from asking unnecessary questions.One who knew too much would not live long. Carrie got intimidated and dared not ask another question. Although she got more curious, she did not try to gather more information for fear Mr. Longbottom would choke her again if he found out. “Nothing. I just asked because I haven’t seen her in a while.”Of course, Carrie could not reveal that she was looking for Serenity. Jasmine would get suspicious if she did. No one around Serenity was a fool. “Seren is busy with work. I rarely see her these days,” Jasmine said.Carrie knew it was a lie. She was aware that Serenity's closest friends did not trust her yet. It made her feel defeated. It had been months since Mr. Longbottom found her and asked her to approach Serenity. Despite her efforts, she still had not obtained Serenity’s trust, let alone become her friend.However, Jasmine and Serenity go
The day ended peacefully. The following day, Zachary ate breakfast and had Kevin drive him and his bodyguards to the airport. They were taking an airplane to Annenburg. Before boarding, Zachary texted Serenity to tell her he would soon arrive in Annenburg. Serenity would be returning from the Murphys’ place. On the other hand, Liberty brought Duncan to Queen Manor to visit Mr. Donald. They would soon become related to each other. Since Duncan was in the city, it was only proper that he visited the Queens. Meanwhile, in Wiltspoon, Jasmine had returned to the bookstore despite it being the winter holidays. She found it rather dull being at home all the time. At the bookstore, even when there were no customers, she could chat with the owners of the nearby stores. While some had closed their stores to celebrate the festive season, many chose to stay open. Jasmine was a month further into her pregnancy than Serenity. Her bump was huge. Luckily, it did not restrict her moveme
After half an hour, Liberty and Duncan finally arrived at the hotel. They bumped into Zachary and Kevin, who had also just returned.“You’re here, Duncan.”Zachary walked toward them. “Hi, Liberty.”Kevin walked over as well. “I told Zachary that you’d be here in no time. Being apart from your girlfriend isn’t easy, right?” Kevin teased.“You’ve experienced it yourself,” replied Duncan as he laughed. Kevin did not respond. He did miss Hayden a lot in the early stages of their relationship. “You two bought so many things.” Kevin saw the items in Duncan’s arms and on his thighs. They were all toys. “Sonny’s getting new toys again, eh?” “Yeah. We bought him some new clothes and toys. I’ve been giving him windmills all the time. It’s time to change it up.”Even Duncan found it slightly ridiculous. He thought Sonny loved windmills just because he saw Sonny playing with them once. That was why he kept getting more windmills for Sonny.Sonny used to be scared of him, but
She would wear light make-up for work to accentuate her beauty. Sometimes, she could not believe the glowing, confident woman looking back at her in the mirror was herself. She had changed a lot after her divorce two years ago. “I’m letting myself enjoy tonight because I’m with you. I won’t have late-night snacks anymore. Going on a diet is too difficult. I don’t want to do it again.”If she gained too much weight, it would be difficult to get fit again because she was happy and did not lack money. In addition, she had Duncan spoiling her. Since she no longer wanted to go on a weight loss journey, she had no choice but to control her appetite and exercise daily to maintain her figure. “I heard the others saying that you have many admirers here. Although they’ve not said anything, even a fool can tell that they’ve fallen for you just from their gazes.”The men who had a crush on Liberty knew she had a fiance who was the young master of the Lewises from Wiltspoon. While they
Liberty smiled. “We don’t have to have that many things. We can simply get our marriage license and choose a suitable date for a wedding.“I’m fine with just getting a marriage license. But, as it’s your first marriage, I don’t want you to miss out on anything, so let’s have a wedding.”Duncan did not want Liberty to feel slighted while at the same time, Liberty did not want Duncan to miss out on a wedding celebration.Liberty was about to get married for the second time while it was Duncan’s first. He was also a young master of the Lewises. Not holding a wedding for his first marriage seemed inappropriate. Duncan raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. His eyes were filled with affection as he said, “Let’s not let each other miss out on anything. We’ll have everything every other couple has and more.“I’ve said that I’d make sure you are the envy of everyone.”Liberty laughed. “I’m already envied by many. They’re saying that my luck is out of this world because I’m able to m
Now, everything was fine.However, this time, he was still unable to be by Liberty’s side. Even though it should have been much safer than when Sonny was kidnapped because he had arranged for people to protect her, he was still worried.He was afraid, feeling paralyzed as all he could do was just wait for news of her.Fortunately, everything went smoothly. No, it was more like there were scares but no real danger. When Belinda wanted to capture someone as a hostage, the first person she thought of was Liberty. First, Liberty did not know any martial arts. Second, she was the successor that Audrey had put forward, making her Caroline’s competitor. Moreover, Liberty was very significant to Audrey. If she were captured, the members of the York, Lewis, and Stone families would not dare act recklessly.Thanks to Dr. Carden’s quick actions, Liberty was pulled back, and she did not fall into Belinda’s hands as a hostage. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.After
“It’s just that when I saw you, I was so happy that I forgot everything else. I even forgot that I’m still disabled,” Duncan said.As he spoke, he pressed her hand against his lips.Liberty looked at him disapprovingly. “Don’t say you’re disabled again. You’re just temporarily impaired, and you will get better.”Duncan smiled. “Okay, okay, from now on, I won’t say I’m disabled. I’ll get better for you. I’ll stand up again.”“You already have—you just can’t walk very far yet,” Liberty said as she supported him. “Should we head back to my office first?”“Are you done with work?” Duncan looked up at the darkening sky. “It’s almost completely dark.”“It’s only five o’clock. It just gets dark quickly in winter, plus today was a cloudy day. It feels gloomy even before six. Anyway, I’m done with work.”“If that’s the case, let’s get something to eat. I’m hungry,” Duncan said.He did not want to go into her office because if he did, he might end up staying for a while. He thought it wo