The Soxes had just had their dinner. Since Serenity was not in the best of moods, Jasmine had a walk with her nearby after dinner. “Seren, I remember you saying that your in-laws didn’t pressure you to have children. Why are you taking in all the stress?” The pair were best friends who could pass as sisters. Jasmine had been there throughout Serenity and Zachary’s journey together. She had never heard about the York family rushing Serenity to have a baby. “They did not pressure me, but I’m worried I might be the problem that I’m not expecting yet.” Serenity sighed and added, “No one is giving me pressure, but I can’t help putting the strain on myself. Even if my in-laws are from an ordinary family, I would be worried about not getting pregnant despite being married for a while. I won’t feel much of it if we have been using protection.” Jasmine’s mind flew to the families she knew. The women usually got pregnant soon after the wedding, but most of them had a shotgun wedding no
Ring, ring, ring…Jasmine’s phone rang. She looked at the caller on the display screen before telling her best friend, “It’s Josh. I think your man might have sought help from Josh. Josh must be calling to ask where you are.” Serenity faintly uttered, “Just ignore him. Does he think he’s the only one with a temper? I have a temper too.” Always having Serenity’s back, Jasmine believed her best friend was not in the wrong. Serenity was a confident and cheerful person, but for her to be worried about not being pregnant, the pressure had to somehow come from her man, Zachary. Jasmine felt sorry for her best friend. She wanted to help her best friend give Zachary a taste of his own medicine. Ring, ring, ring…With the phone ringing endlessly, Jasmine had to pick up the call. “What are you busy with, Jasmine? Don’t you miss me? It took you a long time to pick up. I miss you so much. I thought about driving to your place to check on you if you take any longer to take my call
“Oh, you didn’t dig into it?” Josh immediately said, “I didn’t because you didn’t like that everything was in my control while you know nothing. I won’t use my connections to investigate if it has anything to do with you. I’m just guessing that Serenity is with you. You guys are bosom buddies. She tells you anything that’s going on in her life.” “Seren is with me. Tell Mr. York that Seren is staying with me for the night. She’s not going home for the time being.” Josh answered, “Okay, I’ll let him know later. Is there anything you want to say to me, my dearest wife?” “Your boss should serve as a cautionary tale. Don’t learn from him.” Josh uttered with a smile, “Don’t worry. I do the opposite of what he does. I won’t copy the things that he angered his wife with.” “You gave me no reason to worry. I love you, Josh. I love you to death!” “Me too.” Jasmine said, “You better reply to Mr. York before he freaks out. He loves Seren so much, but the little things he does… I’m g
Serenity turned over and gave Jasmine a light pinch. “Alright, I’ll sleep. I’m not flipping pancakes.” Jasmine hugged her and offered comforting words. “You’re basically an elderly couple now. Mr. York loves you a lot. It’s just a miscommunication. It’ll be over before you know it. Relax and go to bed. You’re able to face another day once you get a good night’s sleep.” “I’m so lucky to have you, Jasmine. At least I have someone to talk to when I don’t feel good.” “Duh, we go way back. I come to you when I’m feeling down too. Come on. Let’s sleep. Don’t torture yourself with all those thoughts.” “Okay,” Serenity answered. Her best friend’s assurance soothed Serenity to dreamland. It was dark and quiet all around by the time Zachary arrived at the Soxes’ residence. Everybody was deep in slumberland. He pulled up at the gate of Jasmine’s family home. Zachary parked the car and gave Serenity another call. Since Serenity was asleep, and her phone was on silent mode, she di
Zachary believed that Serenity would go home with him so long as he made it inside without bothering the Soxes from their rest. With that in mind, a certain somebody got into action. He had no idea that the Soxes’ hounds were spying on him in a corner. Zachary climbed up the gate, ready to jump off when he turned and saw two wolfhounds fixating on him. Zachary nearly lost his wits. He knew that the nearby neighbors had dogs. These dogs were barking as he drove past their houses to get to the Soxes’ residence. However, he had no clue that the Soxes kept dogs. The dogs belonging to the neighbors stopped barking when he pulled up in front of the Soxes’ residence and the Soxes’ dogs did not make a sound either. It never occurred to him that these hounds were not barkers. The saying was all bark and no bite, but if it were the other way round… These dogs would have ripped him apart if he jumped without turning over to look. Woof! Woof—Seeing that Zachary had no int
Zachary watched as Mrs. Sox returned to the house and closed the door behind her. He stood in front of the gate for a while before waltzing back to his car. He sat in silence for a few minutes before starting the engine and driving off. Zachary arrived at the Soxes’ residence first thing in the morning. The gate to the Sox family’s home was wide open, and the two hounds were tied to a leash. Zachary had a bad feeling that he arrived too late. He pulled up and before he could even get out of the car, Mrs. Sox, who was sweeping the yard, approached him with a broom. “Mr. York, Jasmine and Serenity are out. They went to Liberty’s diner.” Zachary asked, “How long have they been gone?” “Around twenty minutes. Serenity woke up and said she needed to pick Sonny up from her sister’s, so they left early.” Zachary thanked Mrs. Sox and uttered, “I’ll head to my sister-in-law’s breakfast place then.” “Okay,” Mrs. Sox answered. Zachary quickly drove away from the Soxes’ reside
Facing Zachary, Camryn probingly said hello, “Is that Mr. York?” There was a glimmer in Zachary’s dark eyes. The girl could determine the person by their footsteps. “Ms. Camryn.” Zachary greeted back in a low voice, “Are you here to deliver flowers to Callum, Ms. Camryn?” Camryn nodded with a smile. “Mr. Callum ordered a bouquet from my shop. He asked me to make the delivery right now.” Zachary asked, “Did you come here on your own?” “Yes.” Zachary believed Callum was on his way to his own undoing. He knew Camryn could not see, and yet he expected Camryn to deliver the flowers all by herself. Nevertheless, Zachary said nothing. This was Callum’s business. Zachary could stay out of it and observe from the sidelines. “Do you need help to get upstairs?” “Thank you, Mr. Zachary. That won’t be necessary.” She remembered the route as she had been here twice. Camryn could get to Callum’s office without guidance. Without another word, Zachary went ahead into the offic
“No.”Camryn faintly added. “I’m never included in whatever discussion they have.” She picked up her cane. Her cane had been lying in her mother’s bedroom since the latter kicked it away the other night. The following day, the maid returned the cane to Camryn. Camryn was told that the cane was found in front of her mother’s bedroom door. She assumed that her mother had thrown her cane out. Camryn handed the cane to Callum. Thinking Camryn was going to hit him on the head with the cane, Callum reached out to grab the cane. However, Camryn loosened her grip. It then hit Callum. She was trying to pass the cane to him. “The inside of my cane is hollow. A voice recorder is hidden inside,” said Camryn in an unfluctuating tone. Callum’s dark eyes sparkled as his opinion of her began to change. He stopped the teasing. He held the cane high for a look and flicked on the wood. He managed to pry open a hollow spot and shake it to deliver a voice recorder from inside. “The v
Although they had the two hundred thousand dollars, it did not change the fact that Liberty was fifteen and Serenity was ten—they were still just children. Having been pampered by their parents and never having experienced hardship, after their sudden death and being tossed out into the street, Serenity often cried, saying that she missed their mom and dad. Whenever Liberty tried to comfort her sister, they would end up crying together in each other's arms instead.Liberty could understand Caroline's feelings, though she also accepted that Caroline was much luckier as she was of age, had a father and three older brothers, and no one could kick her out of her home. “Yeah, I’ll go out once in a while. Please thank Audrey for me and ask her to let me know when she’d like to come over so that I can hand over all my responsibilities related to the company and the family. I’ll work with her schedule. And…I don’t blame any of you for my mother’s death.”That was her mother’s own doing
They were aware of everything Caroline had done for the family. To be honest, Caroline had indirectly saved Liberty. If she had not warned Liberty, Liberty’s bodyguards alone would not have been able to protect her when Belinda sprung that surprise attack on her. Liberty had already had a good impression of Caroline, but after that incident, that impression only grew stronger.Caroline’s smile faded a bit as she said, “There’s no rush for Darren and me. At the earliest, it’ll be at the end of the year. It’s too chaotic right now.”Liberty nodded in understanding. “As long as you and Darren are on the same page, that’s enough.”“He’s a good man. We haven’t really gone out on dates, but we know how we feel about each other. He suggested we date first, get engaged, and finally register our marriage. “He wants to take it step by step and promises I’ll have everything I want.”“Aunt Audrey and I are very reassured about your relationship with Darren. He’s a man worth spending a
At the mention of Liberty’s wedding, Caroline congratulated her. “Have you decided to register your marriage with Mr. Lewis? Congratulations in advance! I wish you both a long life together and hope you have a precious daughter soon.”Liberty already had a son, so it seemed normal to wish for a child the second time around.However, when Liberty became the head of the Fishers in the future, Caroline understood that Liberty would need a daughter to take over from her.Liberty smiled. “It hasn’t been easy for Duncan and me to get to this point. Considering we’re not young anymore, we decided to just get it done. Thank you for your well-wishes, Caroline, but we’re not in a hurry when it comes to kids.” She did not have the energy to raise a child at the moment. Whether she took over the Fisher family or not, she was too busy right now. Even though her new company seemed to be doing well, it had not truly stabilized yet and was only temporarily so through the influence of her brot
There were very few people left of Patrick’s generation. After a moment of silence, Caroline said, “Yes, he’s just returned to his hometown, so he should stay for a while longer. “Liberty, please tell my cousin to just give me a few days. I’ll clear the mansion out for you to move in. What I said before still stands!” Liberty elegantly sipped her coffee and did not respond immediately. Half a cup later, she set it down and looked at Caroline, who was also looking back at her.The two of them held each other's gaze for a full two minutes before Liberty averted her eyes and said calmly, “There’s no need to rush. Let’s discuss it after Christmas. My aunt hasn’t laid out a concrete schedule yet.”Caroline also set her coffee cup down. “It still needs to be cleared out and cleaned. It’s fine if you don’t move in immediately; letting it be for a bit will help disperse my mother’s lingering presence, so you won’t feel uncomfortable.” Fisher Manor did not belong to the head of th
Caroline did not care what her father and brothers thought of her. She could hazard a guess— they were most certainly not happy with her. With that in mind, she had Darren drive her back to the office. Just as she returned to her office and poured herself a cup of water, her secretary called her on the intercom to say that Liberty had arrived.“Let her in,” Caroline said. She had not expected Liberty to come looking for her so quickly but did not think the visit was to ask her to vacate her position. Perhaps it was to check on her. A few minutes later, the secretary led Liberty in.“You can go ahead with your work,” Caroline said as she dismissed her secretary. Once the secretary left, Caroline and Liberty exchanged glances before Caroline awkwardly said, “Liberty, I don’t know how to face all of you.” “Well, I’m not here to kill you, so there’s no need to be nervous,” Liberty replied as she walked over to sit on the sofa.“Killing me would only dirty your hands,” Caro
Not to mention the antiques. If they sold it all off, even at a conservative estimate, it could fetch them several billion dollars. That did not even include the jewelry Belinda had accumulated. Women, even the iron ladies, loved jewelry. Belinda was no exception. Many of her jewels were passed down through generations of the Fisher family, making them more valuable than the ones on the market today.Adrian’s eyes sparkled greedily but darkened just as quickly. “Dad, no one but Caroline is allowed inside the manor now.”“What? Who decided on that?” Hunter asked, alarmed.“Audrey Fisher left people to guard it. She’s even arranged for her people to take over and all the employees have been replaced, including the housekeeper.” Hunter was momentarily stunned before he spluttered, “What right does she have to do that?” Adrian was silent. Audrey was a Fisher and the eldest daughter of the previous family head, who should have inherited the title but was prevented from doing so
Hunter signaled for the caregiver to leave and even got Adrian to make sure the caregiver exited. Once the caregiver was gone, Adrian closed the door and sat down by the hospital bed. He reached for some grapes from the fruit plate and ate them.“Dad, has Caroline mentioned anything about taking over the company?” With their mother gone, Adrian felt that Caroline should step up.“The whole company is waiting. We don’t know what her plans are. Although the company isn't in danger, it’s just like a dynasty. Just as a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, a company cannot function without someone in charge.”Hunter's face darkened in displeasure. “Don’t even mention her taking over. That girl is not on our side. Your mother was infuriated by her countless times when she was alive. If she weren’t your mom’s biological daughter, her grave would be overgrown with weeds by now.“She even said she wants to return everything to the Fisher family, including your mother’s assets. S
It was no wonder that he was upset after hearing her say such things. “Darren, let’s go with the flow. There’s no need to force anything. We’ll let everything happen naturally.”She was not that young anymore so if she was going to get married, it would be just about time.Darren was a few years older than she was and was in his early thirties. Caroline thought that if she married him, they could get their marriage certificate after Christmas and maybe have a child the following year. Once they had completed life’s milestones, she could focus on her business.“Darren? Do you know how to take care of kids?” she asked suddenly.“I’ve never done it before, but it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?” he replied.He wondered if she was already thinking about having kids so soon.“Once we have a child, you might need to be a stay-at-home dad for a while. I’ll be busy with work and you can’t help with the actual pregnancy, but you can help with the baby afterward.”Darren chuckled,
“Miss... Caroline, no matter what decision you make, I will support you regardless. Even if you don’t take over the Fisher family, you have enough assets of your own and your companies are doing well,” Darren assured Caroline.Darren had read up on Caroline's private businesses before and knew that the companies under her name were thriving. Even after returning to the Fisher family, she only occasionally visited, and still, the businesses ran smoothly. Caroline was an amazing woman to Darren. She did not need to inherit a family fortune to forge her own path. Still, what he loved most was Caroline’s confidence.“And you still have me,” he added.With his support, Caroline’s career would reach new heights.Caroline turned to look at him. After a beat, she smiled. “When I first came back, I really regretted it and wished I hadn’t returned to the Fishers because I couldn’t stand them. But ever since you came into my life, I’m grateful that Celine and I returned to our rightful