Duncan and Serenity did not have a lot in common to talk about. With Serenity here, Duncan could not have a private moment with Liberty. After Liberty made him his order, customers started coming into the diner. Nevertheless, the menu items ordered were already made in advance, so the workers could serve the customers without needing the boss to be in the kitchen. Liberty went back to her spot and continued her breakfast. “Duncan.” The voice made Duncan lose his appetite. Liberty and Serenity turned their heads and watched a beautiful woman walk through the opened glass door. Serenity did not recognize Lily, but Liberty had seen a picture of Lily before. Liberty thought Lily looked better in person than in the picture. Lily made a good match with Duncan. “Ms. Harmon, would you like something to eat?” Liberty put down her utensils and got up to serve the customer. Lily moved her gaze from Duncan to Liberty. She had observed Liberty a few times in the dark, and this w
Lily was not at all offended. She and Duncan had long known each other, but there was barely any interaction between them. More accurately, they never really hung out together. It was not strange that Duncan had little knowledge of her past. “Here you go, Ms. Harmon.” Liberty made the food and brought over Lily’s order. She put it in front of Lily and said with a smile, “Enjoy, Ms. Harmon.” Lily gave Liberty a smile. Liberty returned to her seat. “How did you get to know her, Liberty?” Serenity whispered. “Mrs. Lewis came by the other day and had a chat with me. She told me she was trying to pair Ms. Harmon and Mr. Lewis up. She showed me Ms. Harmon’s picture, and that was how I recognized her.” Liberty kept her voice down when replying to her sister. She added. “Don’t you think they make a cute couple? It feels relaxing to be around her. She doesn’t have the arrogance of the upper crust.” Serenity looked into her sister’s eyes before burying her head in her food. S
While it was a cooking spree at Liberty’s diner, Zachary woke up back at home and as always before opening his eyes, he turned to his side and reached out to hold his wife. Alas, all he grabbed was air. Zachary opened his eyes. Serenity was no longer in the room. He looked at the sky outside. The sun was high. Turning over, Zachary grabbed his phone on the bedside table to look at the time. “Nine o’clock?!”He jolted up. Even during the weekend, Zachary had never gotten up this late. Maybe he came home a little too late last night. Zachary washed up and got dressed in record time. He even picked an outfit Serenity had bought for him. He opened the bedroom door to find Mrs. Lane watching TV on the sofa with a cat on her lap. With the door swinging open, Mrs. Lane cocked her head to look at him. She then rose to her feet and said with a smile, “You’re awake, Mr. Zachary. Should I get a start on breakfast?” “It’s after nine now.” Zachary mumbled as he walked out of
Serenity bent over to hold the cat up. “Missus, you might want to sweet-talk Mr. Zachary. He hasn’t eaten anything since he got up.” Mrs. Lane had no words for her boss’s sudden tantrum. She would not know Zachary had a childish side to him if she did not work here. While stroking the cat, Serenity remarked, “Mrs. Lane, you must let me know why he’s angry before I can calm him down. I didn’t do anything.” Mrs. Lane whispered, “I think Mr. Zachary is angry that you went out early in the morning. He must be hoping you would spend time with him since he’s home for the weekend.” Serenity replied, “I went to help my sister at her diner… Although it’s the weekend, many factories are not closed. The workers still went to work. My sister’s breakfast place was going to be packed, so I left early to help her. But I came home early. I’m back before ten o’clock.” It did not cross her mind that Zachary would sulk over a trivial matter.Mrs. Lane was at a loss for words. “I’ll go in
“When’s Nana coming back? I miss her so much.”Serenity missed the days when the old woman lived with them.Mrs. Lane said, “It was too late by the time I wanted to remind you. You already pushed the door and went in.”Serenity sighed again. “I’ll go wash my hands.”She washed her hands twice with antibacterial soap and went back to the room where she used to sleep. She then took a set of clean clothes from the closet and changed before she re-entered the master bedroom.“Babe, I washed my hands twice with antibacterial soap and changed my clothes too. There won’t be a single cat fur on my body.”Serenity walked behind Zachary and reached out to encircle his waist.“I’m sorry, okay? I really just forgot that I was holding the cat. In fact, they’re really cute, and you were the one who gave them to me. I treasure everything that you give me. You said you’d treasure it even if I gave you grass, and it’s the same for me. I’ll treasure whatever you give me.”Zachary did not turn ar
“Putting aside all the things we have to do, even if we retire in the future, there’s no guarantee that we’ll wake up every day and see each other right when we open our eyes.”There would always be one of them who would wake up earlier than the other.Zachary knew that he was being absurd.“Mrs. Lane said that you haven’t eaten yet. You must be hungry. Come on, let’s go eat. I’ll accompany you.”Serenity refuted him until he was speechless, and she could tell that he realized he was being unreasonable. Thus, she stopped dwelling on the topic and took the initiative to change the subject.The couple would just end up arguing if they dwelled on it further.“Okay.”Zachary hummed and let go of his beloved wife.Serenity pulled him out.Mrs. Lane already served Zachary’s breakfast on the table.Zachary was fussy, but in front of Serenity, he would always have to bow his head and compromise.Mrs. Lane was not worried at all that the breakfast she made would be wasted.“Why didn
Serenity once again sighed at her fortune. Although the man she married liked to throw tantrums, he was very good to her. He never raised his hand against her, and she did not have to worry about him cheating on her.More importantly, his family was great. Having open-minded and tolerant in-laws like the Yorks was rare among wealthy and influential families.She remembered Grandma May saying that since Serenity saved her life, she would never introduce a bad grandson to Serenity.In fact, all of her grandsons were exceptional.Zachary was just the oldest and thought to be the most exceptional by his elders.“Mrs. Lewis already helped pick a wife candidate for Mr. Lewis. Her name is Ms. Lily Harmon. She’s young and beautiful, but she also seems to be smart and competent. I could tell at a glance that she was an experienced person. The self-confidence and nobility that emanates from her gestures show that she came from a wealthy background. Furthermore, she must be good if she could
“I think Mrs. Lewis showed your sister Ms. Harmon’s picture deliberately to test whether your sister has any ideas about Duncan. In the end, she found out that Liberty has absolutely no interest in her son and was purely focused on her store and making money.”Zachary’s analysis was more thorough than Serenity’s.“If Liberty showed the slightest hint that she was interested in Duncan, Mrs. Lewis would not allow her to continue operating her store.”Serenity agreed with her husband.Mrs. Lewis was testing Liberty, but Liberty did not know anything. However, that was good. At least Liberty would not be influenced.“Babe, do you think I should tell my sister about all this?”“Mrs. Lewis’s hands are tied, which means she’s on the same boat as we are. She only has speculations but no way to prove them. You don’t need to say anything to Liberty. I’ll talk to Duncan and tell him not to go to your sister’s store for breakfast so often in the future.”Zachary grumbled about Duncan in his
Austin said, “He’s definitely here to discuss a potential partnership with your company.“He's just the acting head of the Longbottoms. He doesn’t truly control the family. If the real head returns, everything he’s worked for will go to someone else.“The downfall of Belinda Fisher probably gave him a wake-up call and he doesn’t want to end up like that.“He’s definitely seeking to cooperate with you regarding his personal business. He’s just using the Longbottoms’ name, since their influence in Windermere is enormous.”In terms of wealth, the O'Connors and the Longbottoms were on equal footing, but the O'Connors had fewer members and did not have the same level of influence in Windermere as the Longbottoms.Isabella said, “He’s very ambitious. A partnership would only just be the beginning. Once it’s established, he’ll start thinking about how to cheat us and steal our business.“Plus, he’s very lecherous. Nobody can put a number to how many women he’s toyed with. Some even lost
Tony was aware that whenever his wife had to play the villain, it was always to protect him. He said, “You're right, I misspoke. Your mother isn’t that kind of person.”“Manny, I’ll be leaving soon. You stay here, and I’ll leave half of my men with you. If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me. I’ll be waiting to hear good news from you.” Tony decided to fly to Wiltspoon in the afternoon. He would only stay for two or three days before returning to Havenmill to handle business.However, as he thought about how he was working like a horse for Longbottom Corporation when many of the benefits did not even belong to him personally, Tony felt a bit disgruntled.“Got it.” Manny did not reject his father’s arrangement.As the Longbottom father and son were discussing how to deal with the O’Connors, Austin entered Isabella’s office.Isabella was busy, so Austin did not disturb her. He quietly sat at the tea table and made some tea.“It seems you’ve learned the art of tea-
Manny had never been to Wiltspoon, but he knew from his father that several prominent families in Wiltspoon had close ties with the Johnsons from Annenburg. It was possible that the child adopted by the Johnsons’ young missus was Laurence. Unfortunately, he could not meet that child, so he could not be a hundred percent certain. The child was currently out of sight and well-protected, hidden so effectively that even the Longbottoms’ information network could not find anything. The other prominent families in Wiltspoon were also helping to keep the child hidden, so Manny deeply disliked the people from these families. Even though they were thousands of miles away, they were still an obstacle to him and his father in their pursuit of becoming the true head of the family.“That's right. If we can conquer the O’Connors, we’ll have a backup plan,” his father said. “You must put your all into it, son. If you need help, just let me know, though this is also an opportunity for you to ge
Tony Longbottom was the only person who would put on such a parade. The big shots in Satbury usually had entourages of their own, but none would put on a spectacle as big as Tony would.As they departed in their car, Tony’s gracious demeanor utterly shattered.His face twisted into an ugly, cruel expression as he said, “I’ve never been treated like this before, even when the legitimate branch of the family still lived, and those two ignorant little girls actually refused to see me multiple times.”Manny was very angry too and he said, “Pops, since they refuse to go about this the easy way, we’ll have to show them the hard way. We can approach it from other angles, and once they’re completely out of business and they have nowhere else to turn to, they’ll be at our mercy.“Won’t they have to do as we please then? I want to marry them, they’ll have to marry me, and if I don’t, I’ll just make them my mistresses. Don’t the O’Connors have plenty of daughters? I’ll fuck every one of them
“Isabella O’Connor is so outstanding, so why are you asking me to go for Tati O’Connor instead?” Manny said under his breath in puzzlement.He had seen photos of the two ladies and Isabella’s appearance was more striking. She had a cold and aloof aura that easily triggered his desire to conquer her, and after just a few glances, he was captivated.If it were up to him, Manny would choose Isabella.Tony looked at his son, smiled, and said, “You can’t control her. Of course, if you manage to make her fall for you, we can talk about switching. But for now, focus on Tati O’Connor.”Tati was also beautiful. However, she did not have Isabella’s cold demeanor. She seemed much gentler, like she smiled often.“Marrying Tati O’Connor would be a big advantage for both you and our family.”Manny thought for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “Got it, Dad.”Manny’s good looks, wealth, honeyed tongue, and generosity toward girls made him good at winning them over. Pursuing a rich youn
After testing the O’Connor sisters and realizing they were not like other women, Mr. Longbottom thought of having his son marry Tati.He knew that his son would not be able to handle or control Isabella, so he set his sights on Tati. Tati probably did not realize she was considered an easy target. Most people underestimated her because she had always kept a low profile.At that moment, a young man got out from the other side of the Rolls-Royce. He resembled Mr. Longbottom. Indeed, he was Mr. Longbotton’s eldest son, Manny.“Dad.”Manny went to his father’s side and glanced at the building before him. He asked, “Aren’t we driving inside?”In Havenmill, Manny could do whatever he wished because his father was the interim head of the Longbottom family. While he had no respect for ordinary people at all, he was clever enough not to offend people he should not.He never parked his car outside the places he wanted to go and simply drove his car through the gates. However, Manny
Meanwhile in Satbury, a few luxury cars stopped at the entrance of Costa Corporation. The door of the first car, a Rolls-Royce, opened. A bodyguard came out of the car.He waited for his boss, who was sitting in the backseat to exit.Mr. Longbottom got out of the car. Although he was over fifty years old, he looked like he was in his forties as he maintained his appearance well.He wore a white tailored suit with a tie, which made him look more youthful.The bodyguards in the other cars alighted as well.They quickly stood behind Mr. Longbottom to protect him. It was also his display of power.A few bodyguards grabbed many gift boxes from the trunks. Mr. Longbottom stood in front of the company and raised his head to look at the sixty-eight-storey office building. It was a symbol of the O’Connor family’s abilities.Costa Corporation was not the family’s only business. They were involved in many industries and were successful in all of them.The O’Connors were wealthy and powe
Jasmine added, “In some cases, the divorced women can get married to a better man, while the divorced men can’t even find a new wife. There are many single men now.“Isn’t there a saying nowadays that men who have wives are extremely lucky?”When Jasmine was at the bookstore, she would also visit the neighboring stores to listen to juicy gossip. Many of the store owners were not locals and they had many stories to tell. Someone said there was an evil mother-in-law in a rural area who looked down on her daughter-in-law. She would egg her son on to abuse his wife and get a divorce. She would also tell her son that she could find a better and younger wife for him. However, once the divorce went through, news of the mother-in-law’s evil deeds and the son’s domestic abuse spread far and wide. Who would dare marry off their daughters to a man like that?Besides, holding another wedding would require a lot of money. The cost of a wedding had increased a lot compared to the past.Whe
“Sonny’s fine. He has recovered. You want to get Sonny from school?”After thinking about it, Serenity agreed and said, “Okay. I’ll message Sonny’s teacher later to tell her you’ll be taking him.”“Okay, Serenity. Thank you.”Hank was thankful that Serenity did not make things difficult for him. Serenity and Liberty had great character. Liberty had a new relationship and already let go of her resentment for Hank. She could coexist with him peacefully. On the other hand, Serenity still held grudges against Hank. However, since he and Liberty had divorced, he could no longer hurt her. He was also Sonny’s father. Serenity was willing to tolerate him for Sonny’s sake. Therefore, she always said yes whenever Hank requested to meet his son. “You’ll be taking Sonny out to eat after picking him up, right? Remember not to let him eat too much fried food, especially fried chicken and fries. He’ll get a sore throat.“He got a fever that day due to a throat inflammation.”“Got it. I’ll