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
Mr. and Mrs. Newman wanted to wipe Camryn off the face of the earth because she was suspicious about her father’s death. Camryn was a nobody in the Newmans’ residence anyway. No one would bother investigating her cause of death even if Camryn had a terminal illness. Camryn would have died in her mother’s hands ten years ago if her aunt did not drop in for a visit and taken Camryn to the hospital. Of course, Callum and Camryn heard about Mr. and Mrs. Newman’s talks about getting Callum to marry Camryn. Callum watched as Camryn sat in silence. Camryn clasped her hands together without a word for a long time. Although she had suspected her father’s death had to do with Mr. and Mrs. Newman, it was all speculation she made in her head as there was no proof. Now that she got it from the horses’ mouths, her mind was blank, and her limbs felt cold. Camryn could not wrap her head around why her father’s wife and brother would want him dead. Had the affair between Mr. and Mrs. Newm
Callum looked into Camryn’s eyes for a while before uttering, “Serenity is right. You should get your eyes fixed first if you want to collect evidence. I’ll keep the voice recorder safe for you here so it doesn’t fall into their hands. It’ll only put you in danger.” “Thank you, Mr. Callum.” Camryn never thought about asking for the voice recorder back. As Callum put it, Camryn might lose her life over the voice recorder. “I’m going to play along if they plan on using me to save that sister of yours. Do you have a problem with that?” Camryn looked confused. “What do you mean by ‘play along’?” “Your stepfather wants me to marry you. They must think I’m not for it and will use it as leverage to get your sister out of jail. Well, they have another thing coming.” Callum was a proud member of the York family. He was not one to be messed with. Mr. and Mrs. Newman must be desperate to try anything. They adored Carrie so much. “What do you think about me marrying you?” “
Hank’s mental state was heading in an unhealthy direction as things got better for Liberty in life. He could not help but make Liberty jump through hoops. For example, Hank could buy a mini suit for their son, but with Jessica egging him on, Hank believed Liberty was deliberately driving a wedge between him and his son. Liberty refused to let him see his son. Hence, Hank insisted on taking Sonny to try out clothes. He made a huge fuss the moment Liberty disagreed with him. “Where’s Sonny? Where did you hide him?” Hank looked around the breakfast diner, but his son was nowhere to be found. “Did you hide Sonny at Serenity’s place?” That was not right. Serenity’s bookshop was closed for two days. He had been to the bookshop. “Sonny is in a class. He’ll be back soon.”Liberty faintly added, “I’m not stopping you from meeting with Sonny, Hank. If you really want to take Sonny along, then fine. I’m almost done anyway. I’ll go with you when Sonny is finished with his clas
The security guard brought out a basket and handed it to Dylan.Dylan took the basket and poured the bag of chili peppers into it. Next, following the live broadcast team’s instructions, he walked in front of the camera and said, “Last year, I unintentionally hurt Imogen’s pride. It was my fault, and I apologize to her.“Imogen doesn’t have time to deal with me, but Ms. Layla Doyle said that as long as I eat chili peppers on this livestream, she’ll allow me to come here every day to wait for Imogen. I’m afraid of spicy food and usually don’t eat anything spicy at all.“But for the sake of seeing Imogen and having a chance to get her forgiveness, I’m willing to accept Ms. Layla’s challenge and eat these chili peppers.”The live broadcast team was at a loss for words.Layla had not prepared a script for Dylan, but he went ahead and explained the backstory. Was that okay?Someone secretly messaged Layla to ask for her opinion. Her reply was to allow Dylan to say whatever he wanted a
Isabella had invited him to sit at the dining table and eat with them, but Austin refused. He said he was the chef, so he could just have his breakfast in the kitchen.He always remembered his position as Isabella's personal chef and did not let the fact that the others saw him in a more favorable light now go to his head and cross the line. His adherence to his principles and awareness of his position only made Isabella respect him more.Though he was one of the extremely affluent Yorks, after accepting the job as her private chef, he completely discarded his identity as a rich heir and earnestly took on the role of her personal chef.By the time Austin finished his breakfast, Isabella and the two young boys had also finished eating. He came out to clear the table.Phillip slid off his chair and said to Louis, “Isa’s passing by my preschool today. She said she’ll take me there.”He was showing off. Sure enough, Louis looked enviously at his sister. Isabella did not even glance
Austin placed the two breakfast portions on the dining table and then walked over to Isabella, who was still reading the newspaper. “Ms. Isabella, breakfast is ready.”“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Louis’s voice came from the stairs. Then, they saw him quickly running down the stairs with his schoolbag in one hand.“Louis!” Isabella called out.Louis immediately stopped, then picked up his schoolbag to carry it on his back before slowly descending the stairs step-by-step, no longer daring to run.The two boys really did have very similar personalities.“Good morning, Isa. Good morning, Austin.”Louis walked over to Isabella’s side and respectfully greeted them.“If I ever see you running down the stairs again, I’ll punish you by making you miss a week of eating Austin’s meals.”“Isa, a week is too long!” Louis instinctively tried to negotiate.“You still dare to bargain with me, huh? That shows you don’t want to change. In that case, I’ll make it a whole month.”Louis was speec
“Isa, Austin promised me that he would make cartoon-shaped snacks for us this Saturday. You won’t mind, right? I’ve already told my classmates, and they’re all coming to our house!”The little boy was also concerned about his image. He was afraid his serious eldest cousin would refuse, and if that happened, he would be so embarrassed. After all, after Austin promised him, the other kids at preschool treated him so well. They all wanted to try the cartoon-shaped snacks Austin made. However, since Austin was Isabella’s private chef, if Isabella did not agree, there would be nothing even Austin could do about it.Isabella lightly pinched Phillip’s cheek. “Since Austin’s promised, he’ll keep his word. I’ll be resting at home this weekend and won’t stop you, but don’t make a racket here. Go do it at your own house. I need to rest.”“Thanks, Isa! I’ll tell my friends not to disturb your rest. Isa, has Louis not woken up yet?”With Isa’s promise, Phillip’s little face lit up with a smil
Upon hearing that Phillip might be coming, Louis moved much faster.Isabella did not wait for her brother. She said, “Head downstairs by yourself later, and make sure to check your schoolbag to see if you’ve packed your books and water bottle.”She would not help her brother check those things. Every day, she made sure her brother checked everything himself because it was his responsibility. If their parents or employees tried to help, she would scold them.Now, their parents no longer dared to help Louis with things he could do himself. They let her take charge of him. Her parents had Louis when they were in their forties, and he was their only son. If they were the ones raising him, Isabella was sure her brother would have been spoiled beyond reason.“I know, Isa,” Louis replied, already starting to brush his teeth.After leaving her brother’s room, Isabella headed downstairs. As soon as she reached the first floor, she saw Phillip running in with his little schoolbag on his
Isabella patiently said, “No, you can’t. If you sleep for ten more minutes, time will be too tight, and we’ll hit the worst of rush hour when everyone’s heading to school or work. There’ll be too much traffic and you’ll be late. You mustn’t be late.” If her brother was constantly late, he would get used to it and start liking to sleep in. Isabella would not let him develop such a bad habit.“Isa, I won’t be late. Every day when I arrive at school, there are still plenty of classmates who haven’t arrived. I can just tell the driver to speed up.”“Absolutely not! It’s not safe to drive too fast. It doesn’t matter if the other students are late, but you can’t be late. Get up now, or I’m going to get angry.”Louis pouted.Amused, Isabella pinched his lips, saying, “Come on, get up. In two more days, it will be the weekend, and you’ll get another two days off.”“This holiday was too short.”Under his sister’s urging, Louis reluctantly sat up. “It feels like we just got let out for w
The O'Connor family, due to a predominance of daughters rather than sons, was extremely cautious about their sons-in-law.Even though they did not have a son-in-law yet, it was clear from the way Isabella’s uncles were not allowed to interfere in the family business that they were worried about a son-in-law taking control of the O'Connor family’s wealth.Even Isabella’s aunts were forbidden from involving themselves in the family business. This was to protect their love-obsessed selves from being easily manipulated or influenced by their in-laws.At twenty-seven, Isabella had not even considered dating, as she knew once she had a partner, her elders would put their guard up against her and her partner.It was not just the elders who would be cautious, Isabella herself would be wary of her own husband.Too many men had used their wives’ family wealth to rise to power, only to later swap their wives out for younger and more beautiful women. Some even swallowed the entire family fort
“If the woman’s side minds her moving so far away and wants us to go to her family, except for Zack, who can’t move because he’s the head of the family, the elders in our family don’t really care. As long as we’re happy, they’re fine with it.”They had the powerful York Corporation backing them, and each of them was highly capable. Even if one of them married into another family, they would not be bullied by the woman’s family. If the woman wanted to push them around, she would have to think twice, with the York family’s influence behind them.However, so far, none of his brothers had done so.Austin thought to himself that he might just set a precedent.Isabella now bore a heavy burden. Her brother was too young, and it would take at least a decade before he could take over. Isabella would have to manage the family business for many more years.Isabella’s eyes sparkled. “Your family’s so open-minded. With your family’s wealth and standing, there’s really no need for you guys to l
“Zack is much more at ease now, but honestly, the person who was the biggest help to him wasn’t any of us—it was Josh. He and Zack are really good friends, and after graduation, Zack brought him into York Corporation.“He’s Zack’s right-hand man, and he’s really impressive.“Zack is incredibly efficient too. Back then, no one in the company could keep up with his work speed. He slowed down a bit after marrying my sister-in-law and starting a family. Now, he likes to stick close to her, and he’s not as crazy about work as he used to be.“He also goes to fewer networking events now. He used to attend these events and work late into the night, but now he’s home before ten at night. No one can stop him.“Those CEOs who work with our family know this too. If they have a business to discuss with him, they try to get it done during the day. They don’t want to drag it into the night.”Isabella laughed softly, her eyes showing a hint of envy. “Before, I didn’t know you were a York. But aft