“I was afraid Zachary would say that I’m stingy and cheap such that I’m unwilling to get Sonny a more expensive bicycle,” Duncan added. He pulled Sonny over and pointed at the cardboard box as he said, “Sonny, I bought you a small bicycle. Do you like it? Do you want to ride it?” Sonny thought about the other children with bicycles he saw during his evening walks with his mom downstairs at their place. He nodded and answered, “Dunc, I like bicycles.” Duncan smiled. “Then I’ll unpack it now and assemble it for you. I’ll take you outside to ride it later, okay? I also bought you a windmill. If it’s attached to the head of your bicycle, it’ll spin when you ride. It’ll look great.” Sonny was full of anticipation. He could not hide his happiness at all. When Liberty heard Duncan say that the bicycle was just over a hundred dollars and that he also brought up his friendship with Zachary, she stopped asking him about the bicycle’s cost. She just thought she would let him dine at her
Hank said on the other end of the line, “Sonny is three years old and is my son, so what’s wrong with him being my flower boy? Where are you and Sonny? I’m at the door of your rented unit and have been hitting the door but nobody is answering. You’re not inside, right?” Jessica was standing next to him as she listened to his conversation with Liberty. She rested for a few days after her fight with her sister-in-law the other day, so the bruises on her face were gone. Hank bought two more sets of skin care products for Jessica and reluctantly gave her a jewelry set to coax her. Moreover, Hank told his parents and sister that he and Jessica had gotten their marriage license and that Jessica was set on living the rest of her life with him. Since their wedding was approaching, he asked his parents and sister not to pick on Jessica anymore. He also blamed them for his divorce from Liberty back then. He asked his parents, “Do you want me to divorce again? Think about the cost of my
Hank said, “Even if I buy a small suit for Sonny, I have to take him along. I don’t know what size he is. What if it’s too big or too small?” Liberty immediately told him Sonny’s size and said, “Buy his suit according to this size. It’ll fit him.” “Liberty, are you stopping me from spending time with my son? When we got divorced, we agreed that I can see my son whenever I want to. Now that I miss him and want to buy some clothes for him, you won’t even let me see him.” Liberty hung up the phone right away. Ever since she became suspicious of Jessica, she no longer dared let Hank take Sonny away again. Hank probably listened to Jessica because he did not know that she was being used. When Jessica suggested that Sonny become their flower boy, he agreed without much thought. He also felt that there was no need to find someone else to be the flower boy, so he let Sonny have the role.Sonny could talk well and was sensible. He was slightly taller than his peers, so he would be
Hank said with a solemn expression, “Sonny is my son and will always be my son. If Liberty won’t let me see him, I can go to court with her again to fight for his custody.” Jessica could not let Hank fight for Sonny’s custody. She immediately comforted him, “You’re an Uber driver now without a regular income. We’re having our wedding soon and will go on a honeymoon after that, so it won’t be wise for you to fight for his custody.” She only wanted to use Sonny and not take care of him. Jessica would still have a child in the future. If they were to take Sonny with them, Hank’s love would be split between them. “Liberty closed her store early today to go to her sister’s place. Let’s go to her diner earlier tomorrow and pick up Sonny to try on his suit. It doesn’t matter if we do it tomorrow.” Hank said angrily, “If not for Liberty, we wouldn’t have lost our jobs. After Liberty took a share of my property worth more than a million dollars, I thought we could earn the money back
Jessica was not able to complete the task given to her by the unknown woman. She was worried that the other party would act on her family again, so she wanted Hank to send her home. Her family was also in the countryside. Hank was not too fond of visiting his mother-in-law. Every time he went, his mother-in-law would say that she was feeling unwell and that she lacked some things at home. Whenever he heard her, he would give her some money as he felt sorry for her. Although he did not give much, this happened every time he visited. He felt uncomfortable about it as if his mother-in-law was taking him as an ATM. Luckily, Jessica truly liked Hank and wanted to spend her life with him. When his mother-in-law demanded a high amount for bride price, Jessica stood by his side and went ahead to get their marriage license behind her parents’ backs. There was nothing his mother-in-law could do. In the end, the bride price was reduced to tens of thousands of dollars. Even so, it was
“Your parents treat me as a dupe. Do they think I’m rich? I’m just an Uber driver now!” Hank said to Jessica. He had been in a bad mood since Liberty hung up on him. As such, he took it out on the Yateses. Jessica agreed that her parents were covertly asking for money. Her mom used to do the same when she went home to visit in the past. In any case, Jessica had always given half of her salary to her family. No matter what her mom said after that, she did not give more. Over time, her mom stopped trying. Even so, Jessica could not stand Hank complaining about her family. As bad as they were, they were her parents, her brothers, and her sisters-in-law. “Don’t complain about my parents. They’re my parents, and it was hard for them to raise me. Now that you’ve married me, you’re their son-in-law. A son-in-law is like half a son. What’s wrong with giving them some money for them to see the doctor? “Have your parents not asked you for money before? Also, your outrageous sister is
Jessica could not help but squat on the ground. She covered her face and cried. After crying for a while, she stood up and took out a piece of tissue to wipe away her tears and snot. She then walked forward. Divorce? She would not divorce for the time being. If she did, what would she do if she could not complete the task given to her by the unknown woman? What would happen to her family? Besides, Jessica had snatched Hank from someone else. If she simply separated from him, she would be laughed at for getting what she deserved. Jessica gritted her teeth and told herself that she could not bow down or retreat. She must teach the Browns a lesson. She definitely would not follow in Liberty’s footsteps! Liberty was clueless about the conflict between Hank and Jessica. She had only hung up rudely because she did not like the tone of Hank’s speech. She did not want to care about her ex-husband anymore. If he truly wanted to buy clothes for Sonny, he should be able to buy
“Mr. Lewis?” With Duncan staring at Liberty without blinking, Liberty skeptically called him back to earth. Snapping out of his thoughts, Duncan said with a smile, “I guess I see you every day, so I don’t see the difference. I’m only realizing now that you’ve lost a lot of weight. You look good. You can give Lily a run for her money.” Duncan was stunned by what came out of his mouth. Why was he comparing Liberty to Lily? Liberty answered with a grin, “Thanks for the compliment, but I’m just an ordinary girl. Ms. Harmon is beautiful.” “Liberty, Lily is… the daughter of my mom’s best friend. She’s staying with me for the time being as she’s here on business. My mom loves her like a daughter. You know, we only have boys in my family. My mom doesn’t have a daughter, so she really likes girls. It’s like how Grandma May looks forward to having a great-granddaughter. That’s how much my mom likes girls too. They’re the same.“Lily is a little younger than me. We met before when w
Chelsea muttered, “Even if you do that, Sonny isn’t close to you, Mom.”Olivia was speechless for a second. She said, “Even if we aren’t close, he’ll call me grandmom when he sees me. He doesn’t even greet me now.“Sonny may be young, but he’ll be four years old next year. He knows everything he needs to and is clever. He must’ve inherited Hank and Liberty’s best genes because they used to be smart people.”Liberty was not stupid. She even had a better career than Hank before she got married. What were they thinking back then?The Browns wanted to suppress Liberty to ensure she was less dominant than Hank. Therefore, Liberty was persuaded to leave her job after marriage to stay home throughout her pregnancy. She ended up becoming a housewife and lost the sharp edge she had in her workplace. Her world only revolved around her husband and son, causing her to lose her identity gradually. The Browns were changing Liberty bit by bit, yet they were not treating her well. Ultimately
“I’m not using Sonny. Since Hank and I are siblings and he only has one son, Sonny and Lucas can get along as cousins. If Sonny hangs out with his cousins more often, he’ll have brothers who have his back in the future.“If he runs into any problems, we can help him. He won’t be alone.”Chelsea guessed Hank must have told their parents something to have caused the change in their mother’s attitude. Olivia favored Sonny and no longer wished to work toward the future of Chelsea’s children.Olivia glanced at her daughter and chuckled. Then, she looked toward Lucas, the grandson she raised. Lucas was a naughty boy. He would never stay still and had already made a mess of the house in a short period. “Look at how Lucas behaves now and compare it to Sonny’s personality. Although Sonny can get mischievous sometimes, he’s more mature and sensible despite his young age. He’ll only be more composed in the future.“Even if he does run into trouble, he won’t require your help. You guys
“Even if my husband and I work tirelessly for another decade, we can never achieve the wealth of the Lewises.”Chelsea was mentally cursing Hank for being ignorant and not mending his relationship with Sonny. He even brainwashed their parents until they stopped siding with her. She could only imagine Sonny’s bright future, where he would be living in a large villa, driving luxury cars, and inheriting a megacorporation. Meanwhile, her children could only get a decent nine-to-five job. Their monthly salary could even be lower than the price of one of Sonny’s meals.Chelsea was jealous. She was anxious about getting her son to build a close relationship with Sonny.“Why don’t we file a case to regain Sonny’s custody, Mom? Liberty and Serenity won’t ignore us so long Sonny is in our house. They’ll help us so that Sonny lives a good life too.“That way, Sonny will have a deeper connection with us. He won’t forget us when he becomes a capable person.”Chelsea had a pipe dream. O
Hank’s parents had always been biased toward his sister, Chelsea. It would be difficult to change them. Their father, Luke, was a slightly better case because he had felt regretful ever since knowing Serenity was the York family’s missus. He regretted letting Hank date Jessica. After going through so much, he was more convinced that Liberty suited Hank better. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Hank could no longer return to the past. On the day Serenity and Zachary brought Sonny to the Browns’ place for a meal, Chelsea also brought Lucas back to visit her family. When Chelsea entered the house, Olivia was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She said, “I heard Liberty and Duncan getting married soon, Mom. The Lewises are preparing for the wedding. The couple will most likely get their marriage license after she returns from Jensburg.”Olivia looked indifferent. “That’s bound to happen sooner or later. Why are we still talking about her?“Even if she gets a boost in her
Next, she posted the pictures on social media. Many of her followers were her students’ parents. Only a minority of them were her friends or ex-classmates. She was flooded with blessings from them as well. One of Zoey Crawford’s worries was finally resolved. Since her daughter had gotten married, she would continue urging her sons to do the same. Zoey had been anxious that Quinn could never find a suitable partner because of her easy-going personality and proficiency in martial arts. Although she was introduced to a few men through matchmaking services, the men usually refused to show up. They were scared of the potential domestic abuse they could face since Quinn was good at fighting. They had heard of her countless accomplishments as well. Therefore, no one was interested in Quinn despite her decent figure, looks, and family background. This was where Zoey’s constant urging for her to find a life partner came from. Quinn had felt frustrated about Zoey’s nagging. She did not
Julian said gently, “You can meet Serenity, Jasmine, and Elisa often in the future.“By the way, don’t trust anything Elisa says. Take her words with a grain of salt.”Quinn asked, “What will Ms. Stone say to me? Why are you specifically asking me not to listen to her?”Julian cleared his throat. As he drove, he said embarrassedly, “I pretended to pursue Elisa for some time to help Remy back then.”Quinn said, “I didn’t know I had a love rival.”“Elisa isn’t your love rival. She and her family don’t fancy me anyway. When they knew I was pursuing her, Mrs. Stone immediately changed her mind and agreed to Remy and Elisa’s marriage. To her, I’m like a fierce beast unsuited for her baby daughter.”Quinn got invested and asked, “Why did helping Remy involve pursuing Elisa?”Julian came clean and recounted everything to Quinn. He did not want her to misunderstand.“Even your parents fell for your acting. I didn’t think you’d do such a thing.”“Don’t misunderstand, honey.”Quinn smi
Fortunately, Quinn herself was strong, and her family was not pushovers either. She turned to look at Julian.Without asking, Julian knew exactly what she was thinking, and he quickly reassured her, “Quinn, you don’t have to worry. That kind of thing won’t happen to us. I’m your rock. As long as I’m around, no one can bully you. In my family, apart from my parents, everyone else has to accede to me, and you know how my parents feel about you. They’re so grateful to you that they practically worship you like a goddess.“You’re familiar with the York family now and have seen the way they operate, right? Well, my family and the Yorks are old family friends. Birds of a feather flock together. The reason our two families are so close is we have similar family values.“Setting aside the fact that your family is powerful enough and supportive of you—even if you were like Serenity in the beginning, my family would never look down on you or mistreat you. They would only love and cherish you.
Stacy was actually hoping that Julian and Quinn could get their marriage license today and hold the wedding right away. However, the date they had picked was after Christmas and they still had to wait over a month for the actual wedding. At least once they signed the papers, there was no need to worry about Quinn changing her mind. Stacy was afraid that Quinn and her family might have second thoughts, especially since her son was afflicted with a disorder.“Hey, sweetie.”When Stacy addressed Quinn, her tone was very gentle. Quinn thought that her future mother-in-law was even kinder and more considerate than her own mother. Her father had looked into the Buchams' character and knew that Stacy was actually quite formidable. To Quinn though, Stacy appeared so gentle and kind that she did not seem like the kind of person who would be overly strict or tough. Of course, anyone who could hold fast the position of the Buchams’ head missus and secure her husband’s love for decades as if
Quinn could not stop laughing when she saw him.Julian blushed a little in response. He asked, “What are you laughing at? Is my outfit ugly? Does it not look good?”He was used to wearing black clothes all the time. Although he had a white suit, he rarely wore it. Today, for the special occasion of legally getting married to Quinn, he had specifically chosen to wear white, a color symbolizing purity, to proclaim how his feelings were as pure as snow.“It’s not ugly, it looks great! You look even more handsome than usual. I’m just not used to seeing you in a white suit. Now, you look like a prince from a fairy tale—my prince.”Julian smiled indulgently. “That’s right. I’m your prince charming and yours alone. You look great in white, too, my dear wife.”It was Quinn’s turn to blush slightly. She was not used to being called his wife, especially since they had not even registered yet. Since they were about to go get their marriage license though, she might as well start getting used