Clive felt terrible seeing his wife in pain and had gone as far as to suggest an abortion to alleviate her pain. Jasmine had heard of husbands who doted on their wives, but this was the first time she had ever heard of a husband who suggested something as drastic as abortion as a solution. Elisa said, “Of course she’s not going to get an abortion! She thinks it’s a ridiculous suggestion, understandably so, but that doesn’t stop my brother from trying to persuade her to get an abortion. He keeps harping about ever since she got pregnant, she hardly had any appetite at all, and would regularly throw up anything she ate, even vomiting bile at one point.“She’s lost a lot of weight and it’s causing my brother a lot of stress. Right now, my parents are at home every day to help keep an eye on her because they’re worried that one of these days, my brother is going to force her to go to a hospital for an abortion.” That explained why Mrs. Stone had not been seen lately. Jasmine e
Back when Liberty and Hank got married and their place was getting renovated, Hank had no time to monitor the progress. Liberty was the one who paid for everything but had no time to oversee the progress either since she was busy with work, so the task was left to Serenity who had time to help keep an eye on things. She experienced firsthand what it was like renovating a new place and could naturally relate to how Remy felt. Still, she had a sense that the true reason Remy came so often was that he wanted to see Elisa. Elisa was a rather sharp-witted person as well but this was an occasion where her perceptions failed her—she did not realize Remy had his eyes on her at all. Perhaps she stopped caring so much about these things since she failed to win over Zachary. Elisa drove to the main entrance of the villa and remarked, “Good point, he mentioned something about buying this villa for his sweetheart and went on about how they would spend their married life here. “I don’t
“Mr. Johnson, why don’t you wait at the gazebo for now.” The servant led Remy to the gazebo and apologized profusely for the inconvenience caused. Remy was a very understanding man, “It's okay, why don’t you get back to your work.” He sat down at a stone-carved table under the gazebo and placed the snacks he brought for Elisa on the table. He did not inquire what was going on inside the house. Ever since he bought the villa next to the Stones, it gave him an excuse to regularly come over and pay a visit to the Stones. At this point, most of the housemaids in the family recognized and treated him very politely. They would respectfully invite him into the house every time he came around. This time was the sole outlier where they did not invite him into the house immediately. He figured some sort of emergency must have happened and decided to not be too probing, especially since he was an outsider. If they would not tell him, he would not ask either. After all, he
How nice it would be if childbirth was simple and effortless. He would like for him and Alice to raise their child without Alice having to go through such a harrowing experience. If a man could get pregnant, he would be more than willing to bear the pain of pregnancy rather than let Alice suffer. A housemaid went up to Elisa and whispered something in her ear. Elisa told the servant something in a hushed voice and sent the maid away. After that, she turned to Alice and told her, “Alice, please don’t hold it against my brother. He’s a little out of it right now, you can see how even my mom is telling him off.” Alice could not deny that she was rather upset. She has been married to Clive for years now and the only reason they had pushed off having a child was that Clive was very possessive and wanted her all to himself. To appease him, she had been on the pill the entire time to avoid a pregnancy. It was to the point where rumors were beginning to surface that she was
“Liberty, you’ve done this before. Do you have any advice on how to stop her vomiting?” Now that he learned the risks of abortion, he relented from putting Alice through it. Liberty answered, “I can’t stop her symptoms, but I suggest if things don’t get any better, you can go to the doctor for more advice. When I was pregnant with Sonny, I didn’t vomit that much.” During her pregnancy, she had also heard tales of other mothers experiencing terrible and severe symptoms. She was glad that her pregnancy was a relatively easy and stable one. In severe cases, some people did not stop vomiting until the child was born. “We went to a doctor, but it’s not helping,” Clive said irritably. “Then she just has to tough it out and things will get better eventually. All I can tell you is that you should stop telling her to get an abortion. That’s only going to make her feel stressed which doesn’t help. Ideally, you should keep her in a relaxed state through the pregnancy both mental
Serenity said, “Aunt Audrey, Liberty wants to go to the car dealership to buy a car, and I have to go back to the bookshop later. Are you and Elisa free to accompany Liberty to look at cars? I don’t think it is safe to roam the streets every day riding her e-bike with Sonny. That’s why I suggested she buy a car. Zachary said he would give her one, but she didn’t want it.”“I am capable of buying a car myself. I don’t need Zachary to give me one. I know Zachary is my brother-in-law, but I can’t take his things just like that and be a freeloader. I don’t want people to say that our family wants to take advantage of your in-laws.”They were poor, unlike the rich Yorks. However, Liberty does not intend to be a burden to her sister.She did not want any benefits from the Yorks.Touched, Serenity said, “Liberty, Zachary wouldn’t think badly of it, and neither would my in-laws.”Serenity knew her sister would always be considerate toward her.“I know Zachary and the in-laws won’t think
All members of the Stone family including Mrs. Stone hoped that Elisa would pick a talented young man from Wiltspoon. It would be convenient for them to meet up frequently if she married someone from the same city.On top of that, they would know right away if Elisa got treated poorly at her in-laws' house. If she married and relocated far away, no one would know how Elisa was doing.Although the Johnsons were well-cultured and of influential standing like the Yorks, both Mr. and Mrs. Stone were still reluctant for Elisa to be married so far away.As Remy had not confessed his love to Elisa, it would be hard for them to discuss this topic with Remy.Zachary saw Remy sitting under the gazebo as he got out of his car.Remy stood up and greeted him with a smile.“Why are you sitting here alone, Mr. Johnson? Not going inside?”Zachary walked over casually upon seeing a familiar face who was also a major client of his company.“Seems like I came at an awkward time.” Remy replied wit
“It’s nearly time for lunch. I don’t suppose your kitchen is ready yet. Do you want to join us?” Remy was quite at home at the Stones’ residence since he had the pleasure of dining there a few times. He said, “My kitchen is still under renovation, so I don’t have any cooking facilities yet. There will be a lot of people dining in the hotel at this hour. I don’t think I can get a private dining room for myself. I’d love to have lunch at your place.” With a smile, Elisa welcomed him into the house. As for Zachary and his wife, Elisa needed not to attend to them. Standing next to Zachary, Serenity stared at the backs of Elisa and Remy before telling her man, “They look good together.” Zachary only had his eyes on Serenity. Following her comment, he took a quick glance at the pair and faintly uttered, “They do.” “It’s obvious that Mr. Johnson has the hots for Elisa, but he’s not being truthful to her about his feelings. Zachary—uh, I mean—Babe, can you try and put out feelers
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