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
“If it’s something you like, I’ll do my best to satisfy you as long as it’s within the scope of what I can tolerate. Don’t thank me. I don’t like to hear you thank me. If you really want to thank me, give me something practical.”Serenity laughed. “You don’t lack anything, and I wholly belong to you. What else can I give you?”Zachary liked what she had just said very much.Ring, ring, ring…Serenity’s phone rang.When she took out her phone to look at the caller ID, she excitedly answered the call.Zachary tried to guess who the person calling was. Why was Serenity so eager to answer their call?Was she also this excited whenever he called her?Zachary tended to be jealous of her loved ones and compared himself to them. He hoped that in the end, she would consider him to be the most significant.“Nana.”Serenity did not know that the man beside her was being jealous because she answered the phone so quickly.The call was from Grandma May.When Zachary heard Serenity’s gree
Serenity chuckled along. “Nana, Zachary is very good to me.”Grandma May said the same thing her sister always nagged her about.The old woman laughed on the other side of the phone.Zachary asked, “When are you coming back?”“I’m still lying in the hospital now. I won’t be back soon.”Zachary and Serenity both asked with concern at the same time, “What happened?”Even after chatting for so long, Grandma May did not mention that she was in the hospital. She acted like everything was fine and talked with a smile, so the couple did not expect her to be hospitalized.“I went out alone and fell when I was startled by Mr. Queen’s car. I just bumped my hip bone a little. Mr. Queen sent me to the hospital and helped me to notify my family. The only family I have in Jensburg is Kevin.”Zachary was speechless. “Nana, can’t you use a different method?”His nana was not young anymore. If she was not careful enough, she might actually hurt herself from the fall.Grandma May appeared aggr
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa
The Queen family was well-educated and had few members. Sophia had heard of other families fighting over power, but Caroline’s experience shocked her the most. Maybe it was because the Queens was close to her. Sophia quite liked Caroline as well. “How could they… You’re their biological sister!”Caroline smiled bitterly. “Are you having a fever, Carol? Your face is red.”Sophia touched Caroline’s forehead. She said, “You’re burning up. Have you informed the doctor, Mr. Fletcher?”Darren replied, “The fever started at dawn. Ms. Caroline caught a cold. Her fever subsided after taking medication once, but it returned.“It’s time for her to take her medicine.”Sophia spotted the lunch boxes. She told Darren, “Go have your lunch, Mr. Fletcher. I can look after Carol.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Queen. I can eat on my own,” said Caroline embarrassedly. It was her first time feeling cared for by someone her mother’s age. Although Sophia was not part of her family, the lady treated her
Caroline looked toward Darren. She said, “In my younger days, I often caught colds and coughs when the weather was too cold. The coughing will last throughout the changing of seasons. Therefore, I’ve been looking after my health since I grew up.“My immune system strengthened a lot. I haven’t been coughing for years.“I’m not worried.”Caroline stared at Darren lovingly. “I have nothing to be worried about with you here.”Darren pinched her face lightly with affection. “I’m still sulking. I didn’t want you to risk yourself, yet I couldn’t stop you. I’ll only feel better once you recover.”He was Caroline’s assistant and had to heed her orders. Even if they were dating, he still had to follow her arrangements.“Okay. Don’t be angry. I won’t take risks like this again in the future. You’ll age quickly if you get angry frequently. If that happens, your hair might turn gray before I even grow old.“We promised to grow old together.”Under Caroline’s gentle coaxing, Darren’s expre
Darren became an orphan when he was only a few years old. After losing everything, he was collected and trained by the training center to be an all-rounder assistant. He could not remember how he lost his parents as he was too young back then. Since he had no memories, there was no pain.Nevertheless, he had seen others interacting with their parents. He knew parents should love their children. There were not many parents who would not shower their children with love. Ms. Caroline was too unlucky to have met one. “I don’t care. I don’t care about my dad at all.”Caroline asked, “Has my dad asked you to give him money? He doesn’t need money. He just wants to know about his sons’ conditions.“Having lived for so many years, he was probably aware of the consequences of his sons’ plan and had advised them not to do it. They didn’t listen to him, so he’s just hoping to get lucky and waiting for some news.”Hunter must have known that her brothers were going to murder her. Sinc
“I’m not obliged to provide for you, Mr. Clark.”Darren would not give Hunter money. He also felt Hunter was trying to obtain some information through the call, not money. Hunter said furiously, “Aren’t you going to marry Caroline? You’ll be my son-in-law in the future. It’s like being half a son to me. Since you’re my son, you should look after your father. Quick. Give me the money.“Otherwise, I won’t let you marry my daughter.”Darren said without hesitation, “Ms. Caroline will decide for her marriage.“If we do get married, she’ll be the one in charge of the finances. I don’t have money.”“Fletcher! Are you a man? Can’t you revitalize the spirit of the Fisher family’s sons-in-law? You saw how I ended up like this. I didn’t have access to the finances and didn’t have money. I’ve been under strict control ever since I married into the family.“That was how I ended up in this miserable state. I’m telling you, the Fisher women are evil. It’s best if you don’t marry Caroline.
“Why would a husband have an affair if his wife could do well?”Ellie was exasperated. She ended the call without hesitation. “Old bastard. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. All your sons cheated on their wives because they have a perverted father like you.“I would’ve divorced Jason if it weren’t for my children being too young. Look at Emma now. She even received half of Adrian’s assets and doesn’t have to look after her children herself. How relaxed her life must be.”The wealth Belinda had left behind was sufficient to afford the children’s education. Ellie still had feelings for Jason. Otherwise, she would have gotten a divorce upon knowing he cheated on her. She would not have reconciled with him with just a little coaxing and advice from her family. Since Jason did not return home the entire night, Hunter guessed his sons’ plan had failed. As he had expected, Caroline was not an easy target. After all, she was Belinda’s biological daughter. Belind
Since the call ended abruptly, Adrian’s girlfriend, Irene, muttered, “Is Mr. Clark unsatisfied with me?”She was almost twenty years younger than Adrian. If he had not been rich and willing to spend his money on her, she would not have wanted to be his lover. Adrian promised to marry her after he was done fighting a legal battle against his sister and claiming his inheritance. He would make her the missus of the Clark family. As for the three children he had with his ex-wife, he had told Irene not to worry about them.Since his mother had left some money behind for her grandchildren, he did not have to pay child support. Irene knew Adrian used to be a young master of the Fishers and that Madam Fisher was extremely wealthy. She did not expect Belinda to be helping her son take care of his children even after her death. Considering Adrian would be able to receive a huge portion of inheritance in the future, Irene decided to be with him. If she did get married to him, and gave