Zachary’s team of bodyguards responsibly opened a path for him and Serenity. They prevented anyone from approaching them as they wished. The husband and wife followed behind their parents and walked toward the Marshalls.Everyone greeted each other. The Marshalls’ gaze focused on Serenity in the end. Serenity was charming. Her aura was not inferior either. She was elegant and graceful without being petty. Zachary and Serenity had gone public with their marriage long ago. However, they had not attended any event of the elite circle together. Serenity usually attended banquets with Mrs. Stone, while Mrs. Marshall did not show up much. Therefore, it was the Marshalls’ first time meeting Serenity.The famous figure of Wiltspoon for the past six months, Mrs. York, was not as inferior as the rumors described so to the Marshalls. On the contrary, they felt she was a good match for Zachary when they stood together. They looked as if they were made for each other. Those who said S
Mrs. Marshall thought Serenity’s voice was pleasant. She held her hand in a friendly manner and complimented her. Serenity responded to everyone’s compliments with grace, which disappointed those who wanted to see her make a fool of herself. Some people thought Mrs. Stone was indeed good at teaching. Serenity had only attended a few banquets with Mrs. Stone, yet she had managed to train a country bumpkin into a graceful missus of a wealthy family. The York family of four went on to meet Old Mr. Marshall. After looking at Serenity for some time, Old Mr. Marshall did not say a word. However, he gave her a generous gift in front of everyone. He even told Zachary, “You two must live a happy life. Your nana won’t go wrong.”Zachary was soft toward Old Mr. Marshall. “Thank you, Old Mr. Marshall. I’ll cherish and love Seren a lot.”Old Mr. Marshall smiled kindly. He was much older than Old Mrs. York, and his energy could not compare to hers. He would only meet youngsters of higher
After greeting the hosts, everyone started looking for their friends to chat with or discuss business. At first, Serenity stayed by Zachary’s side. He did not have to go to other people to discuss collaborations as there were many CEOs who wished to collaborate with him. Serenity watched as Zachary became the spotlight no matter where he went. Everyone revolved around him. She whispered to her husband, “I overestimated myself when I said I wanted to be on equal standing as you.”Rather than thinking of being on par with him, running behind him would be good enough for her. Zachary raised their interlocked hands. He stared into her with smiling eyes and said gently, “We’re holding hands and standing shoulder to shoulder now.“Honey, to me, there’s no distance between us. If there were any, it would be me being a man and you being a woman.”Serenity smiled. She had learned socializing from Aunt Audrey for some time. She figured out and learned many things along the way and gai
It turned out that Zachary had been using Serenity as an excuse for some time. No wonder he smelt nice and fresh when he came home recently. Of course, Serenity did not want Zachary to drink so much alcohol. His stomach had been unwell before, and she had spent time nursing him back to health. It would be better if he avoided drinking whenever he could. However, he deliberately created an image of him being bossed around by his wife…Zachary held onto Serenity’s waist. He scolded Josh with a smile and said to Jasmine, “You shouldn’t be laughing happily, Ms. Sox. Josh uses you as an excuse too.”Jasmine said, “I’m okay with it. He can use me as an excuse as much as he wants to as long as he’s healthy. You two are the same. Serenity and I have never been strict and given you guys enough freedom. You’re the ones labeling yourselves as men who’re afraid of their wives.” Serenity grinned. “They’re not even scared of being ridiculed.”“No one dares to laugh at me for being afraid
Zachary clinked glasses with Josh, but he did not drink. He replied, “Clive’s wife is pregnant. You didn’t just find out about this. If it were you, would you have brought your wife to such a venue tonight?”After a moment of silence, Josh said, “I forgot about it. People of no importance are none of my concern. If my Jasmine were pregnant, I wouldn’t even let her walk. I’ll carry her around.”Zachary found it funny and said, “Being pregnant isn’t the same as falling sick. There’s no need to be so nervous. Pregnant women have to have sufficient exercise too.”Josh pouted. “You’re talking now, but wait till your wife gets pregnant. If you can maintain the same opinion when that time comes, I’ll treat you to a meal.”“You’re talking as if I don’t have food. I cook for Seren whenever I have time. My cooking skills have leveled up.”They chatted in low voices as they walked toward the crowd. Many people raised their glasses in their direction as a form of greeting. Josh smiled and
Otherwise, even Mrs. Stone would have wanted to bring Jasmine and her son together.Josh would have thought, ‘I was lucky that Zachary introduced me to Jasmine first.’Zachary deserved a reward for playing matchmaker. Elisa breathed a sigh of relief after getting away from the mothers. She complained that Serenity and Jasmine rescued her too late. “You’re exaggerating.”Serenity found it funny. She said, “You even used the word ‘rescue’.”“The ladies seemed easy going though.”Jasmine smiled and said, “Their gazes on you were so gentle.”Elisa shuddered. She said, “They were looking at me as if I was their daughter-in-law.”That statement made Serenity and Jasmine laugh. “Seren, look.”Elisa suddenly nudged Serenity and stuck her lips out in a direction. “What’s wrong?”Serenity and Jasmine looked in the direction Elisa indicated. Jasmine saw Duncan was with an unfamiliar woman. Serenity did not find anything unusual because she had seen Duncan and Lily before. She
“Mrs. York.”They were stopped by Mrs. Newman and Camryn just after taking several steps. Camryn was being dragged by Mrs. Newman. When Serenity saw Camryn was about to fall, she instinctively stretched her hand to support her. “Be careful, Camryn.”Serenity steadied Camryn before looking toward Mrs. Newman. Mrs. Newman squeezed a smile. “Thank you for helping Camryn, Mrs. York. She can’t see, so she falls easily.”Elisa said, “She’s blind, yet you keep dragging her.”Mrs. Newman’s smile faltered. “I guess the sun will rise from the west tomorrow,” Elisa said sarcastically. She gave Mrs. Newman a sidelong glance. “This is your first time bringing Camryn to a banquet, Mrs. Newman. How rare. Do you guys think the sun will rise from the west tomorrow?”Elisa’s mockery infuriated Mrs. Newman, but she did not let it show on her face. She maintained her smile and said, “Camryn is blind, and I can’t always be by her side even if I brought her to banquets. I was afraid of her ge
Serenity asked Camryn softly, “Is she trying to arrange a marriage for you and some rich man’s son?”After pressing her lips together, Camryn replied softly, “She won’t let me get married to a rich man. She’ll only give me to someone else. She can give me to anyone who’ll benefit her.”Serenity was furious upon hearing that. Sensing her anger, Camryn smiled unexpectedly. She said, “Don’t worry. I can protect myself.” She had a small blade with her wherever she went. Serenity still wanted to say something, but Camryn poked her palm again. Therefore, she did not say anything else. Mrs. Newman chose a quiet and relatively remote spot. She gestured to Serenity to sit. “Do you want anything to eat, Mrs. York? I’ll take some food for you.”“No, thank you. You can talk about what you want, Mrs. Newman.”Mrs. Newman laughed sheepishly. She said, “Mrs. York, you and Camryn clicked right away and are friends. Carrie is Camryn’s biological sister. Can you not sue Carrie for Camryn’s s
All he could do was hold it in. However, he soon sneezed again.Imogen commented, “My dad told you to stand in the cold without your coat, and you really did it, like an idiot. It’s not like you feel anything for me or you’re trying to win my affection, so there’s really no need for you to listen to my dad.”Luckily, she came out quickly enough. Otherwise, he would have turned into an icicle.“It was my fault before. I hurt you, so it's only natural that Mr. and Mrs. Doyle are angry with me. They didn’t hit me or scold me, and they just made me stand out in the cold for a while; they’re already being very lenient,” said Dylan, sneezing again.He was usually in good health, but this time, he was afraid he might really catch a cold.Imogen glanced at him without saying anything. She led Dylan into the house and asked their housekeeper if the soup was ready.Wendy replied, “Almost.”Imogen nodded and asked Dylan to sit down. Then, she poured him a cup of tea and asked, “Have you ea
Dylan finally put his coat on after Imogen said that. He had only been standing there for half an hour but even in that short time, he had become so cold.Once he put his jacket on, Imogen turned around and began walking inside. “Come with me.”“Okay,” Dylan quickly bent down to grab the gifts before quickening his steps to catch up with Imogen. “Thank you, Ms. Doyle.”Imogen glanced at him for a moment before turning away. “I was just afraid you might freeze to death at my doorstep, and then your family would come after mine. Plus, since your sisters-in-law are my good friends, I couldn't just let you die at my gate.”After leaving Wiltspoon, Imogen had not gone back there under her real name, but she had stayed in touch with Serenity and the others and was still on very good terms with them.Dylan smiled and said, “Serenity will give birth in a few months, and Josh’s wife is also pregnant, but she's a month ahead of Serenity. Liberty and Duncan have already registered their marr
Her daughter’s excellence was all thanks to Silver’s influence.“What I wanted to tell you was that Dylan is standing at our doorstep. He said he wanted to see you. Your dad and I refused and told him to leave, but he’s not budging.”Imogen was not surprised by this, but she still pretended to be surprised, so as not to raise her mother’s suspicion.“Why’s he here?” Imogen asked, feigning ignorance.“Who knows? He didn’t say. He only said he wanted to see you. The way he treated you, playing with your feelings—your dad and I have been holding in a lot of anger for a long time. “But you didn’t want us to confront him, so we couldn’t vent it. Now he’s come knocking, wanting to see you? It won’t be that easy.”Imogen was not planning to meet Dylan either.“Your dad told him to stand outside for two hours with his coat off and that if he doesn’t freeze to death, he’ll let him see you.”Imogen was speechless for a moment. “Mom, it’s freezing outside. Even wearing a thick coat, it’s
“Still not up yet?” Leticia smiled and said as she entered her daughter’s room after the door opened. Imogen’s room was decorated in a warm style, but the furniture was minimal. Aside from the bed, a computer desk, and a set of sofas, she preferred things to be simple. Her room was also the smallest. She said that if the room was too big, it felt empty and she could not sleep well. Leticia thought it was because when her daughter learned self-defense from her master, she lived in a small room with her fellow disciples, so she had gotten used to smaller spaces.Compared to the average person, Imogen's room was actually quite large, but against the rooms of the other family members, hers looked smaller.Leticia sat down on the sofa.“Mom, let me change first.” With her mother here, Imogen could no longer lie in bed. She went to change and wash up, then came out of the bathroom. She poured her mother a cup of water and placed it in front of her before sitting next to her. “Mom, a
Dylan was speechless.Leaving the warm indoors, he felt Huntington's winter was really cold. It was below freezing, and the temperature was as low as 14°F to 32°F. He had never experienced such low temperatures in Wiltspoon.In Wiltspoon, the moment the temperature dropped to 50°F, everyone would start saying it was freezing.Winston and Leticia headed back. Leticia whispered to her husband, “What if he really stands there for two hours without his coat and freezes to death?”They wanted to stand up for their daughter, but they did not want to kill Dylan. That would make them enemies of the Yorks. Even if they could not become in-laws, they definitely did not want to become enemies.Winston replied, “If he really does it, in half an hour, I’ll let Jen come out and call him inside. If he doesn't follow my request, he won’t freeze to death.”At most, he would just catch a cold. If he did not do it, nothing would happen.“I don’t think he’s here for love this time either. I’m not s
Leticia harrumphed as well. “Mr. York, why are you here?” Leticia asked coldly. “We don't welcome you here. Go back to wherever you came from.”Dylan smiled awkwardly, “Mrs. Doyle, I just want to see Ms. Imogen.”“Imogen doesn't want to see you. Hurry up and leave, or we'll let the guard dogs out.” Leticia rejected him outright. “And you’d better stay as far away as possible. Do you think our Imogen is someone you can just toy and flirt with just because you want to, then say you haven't fallen for her and play with her feelings?“What's the matter? Has the Mr. York, whose heart belongs to someone else, still not managed to win his lady love over?” Leticia mocked, though she was actually probing into the reason for Dylan's visit.Dylan just took the insults without getting angry. He knew he had hurt Imogen. Even though she was someone who could take things in stride, the fact remained he had flirted with her and turned to claim he did not like her, which had hurt her feelings.
Otherwise, the Old Mrs. York would not have taken a liking to her in the first place.“I'll go out and have a look.” Leticia could not sit still and stood up to leave. She wanted to mock that York boy. Winston replied, “I'll go with you.”He was worried that his wife might soften her heart because she was quite pleased with Dylan at first. Well, to be honest, he was too.It was mainly because everyone in Huntington knew of the Wiltspoon Yorks’ reputation. The men of the York family were devoted and loyal to their marriages, and once they married, it was for life.For women, the York family was an excellent family for marriage. Who would not want to marry into it? Families with daughters also hoped their daughters would marry York men, or those who were as devoted as them. Leticia hummed in assent and the couple hurried out.Dylan's car was parked in front of the Doyles’ residence. He had switched to a different car, afraid the security guards might recognize his vehicle, eve
“Goodnight, Mom,” Imogen said.As Leticia turned the doorknob to enter her room, Imogen suddenly asked, “Mom, if Dylan comes looking for me again, would you let him in?”“I'd set the guard dog on him.”Imogen chuckled softly, “Mom, you’re all talk. If he really does, you might just smile from ear to ear and think he’s realized he actually loves me.”Leticia was silent for a moment before she said, “Regardless, I have to make him sweat a little.” After saying that, Leticia quickly closed the door, feeling too embarrassed to face her daughter. She internally sighed. Dylan was the son-in-law she had hoped for. If Dylan really did realize that he actually loved Jen and came back for her, Leticia wondered if she should forgive him for the things he had done months ago. Dylan had hurt her daughter, but… never mind. It was between the two young ones. She should let them handle it themselves. There was no way Dylan would come back anyway.Leticia did not expect her daughter’s hypothet
Leticia then heard faint footsteps. When she went out to check, she saw it was her daughter. That was why she asked.“My friend invited me out for a late-night snack.” Imogen lied, not telling her mother that she had gone to meet that thief. She knew that Dylan wanted to break in by climbing the wall, but she kept to herself because she did not want her mother to have a bad impression of him.Leticia had met Dylan back when he was deliberately approaching her and knowing he was one of the Wiltspoon Yorks, she was very pleased with him. Since Leticia thought so highly of Dylan and said a lot of good things about the York family before her, Imogen took this into consideration and saw him as a potential partner. However, when she started to have feelings for him, he told her that after trying for two or three months, he still could not fall for her.“I thought you didn’t like eating late-night snacks? Anyway, you should just eat what you want at home. Why go out? It’s so cold,” Let