Jasmine brought a glass of red wine to her lips and took a sip. “You read too many chick lits. There are so many people with the same first and last names under the sun, much less a surname. Bill Gates is one of the richest men, but do you think everybody with that last name is his family?” Jasmine smiled. “You have a point.” “My husband is a white-collar worker. He drives a national car that’s worth about a hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Do you think the heir of the Yorks would drive that sort of car? You have a wild imagination, don’t you?” Serenity never dreamed about becoming Cinderella. It was fine to daydream but not to the extent of being out of touch with reality. “Come to think of it, can the head of the York family swing the other way since he doesn’t want young females approaching him? Is he married?” Serenity was the least bit interested in the young heir’s appearance. Nevertheless, it was questionable that he shunned away from young women. Either he was c
Having eaten to her heart’s content, Jasmine gleefully said, “Shawn, I’m not interested in the eligible bachelors. Serenity and I are only here to check out the scene and taste the food. The place lives up to its name as a seven-star hotel. The food is amazing. It was a hearty meal.” Shawn was speechless.“We’re stuffed now. It’s getting late, Shawn. Serenity and I got to go. Please let my aunt know on my behalf.” Anxious, Shawn did a double take on Serenity and answered, “Leaving so soon? Jas, the party is only halfway through. It’s still early. The earliest would be eleven o’clock tonight before the party’s over.” Serenity chimed in. “We have a business to run tomorrow, so we can’t stay out that late.” With the pair getting up, Shawn followed behind them. “You know you can delay the opening time by a few hours.” Shawn hovered around Serenity, hoping to keep the girls around for a little longer. “That won’t do. Our busiest times are in the morning, afternoon, and evenin
Within the business community in Wiltspoon, anyone who had won Zachary’s favor would go places like the world was theirs to take. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe brought their son along to the dinner party so he could meet people and make friends. It was to lay the groundwork for their son’s future. “Mr. Lowe, you were…” “I was just returning from walking my family to get a ride.” Before Zachary could finish his sentence, Shawn jumped in to explain what he was doing in case Zachary might take it the wrong way that Shawn did not care for these social settings or was unhappy with the hotel service.The Wiltspoon Hotel was one of the many hotels under the Yorks’ flagship. “Oh.” Zachary then walked past Shawn, looking like he only greeted Shawn out of politeness. Shawn had no time to get over the situation as a crowd around Zachary walked right past him. Shawn became a nobody in an instant. Everybody was used to Zachary making a brief appearance at an event before taking off. The CEOs w
“Yeah.” Zachary answered in a deep voice. Serenity drew close, holding a carrier bag in hand. “I bought cranberries. Do you want some?” Black in the face, Zachary gave her a dirty look. All she did was eat at the dinner party. Yet, she still had room for more. She was such a glutton! “Cranberries can taste bitter when eaten raw, but there’s a sweet aftertaste that comes through. It was once the favorite of my most cherished man.” Taking the seat next to Zachary, Serenity opened the container of cranberries. Zachary discreetly scooted to the side to pull away from her. He did not want his clothes stained. “Your most cherished man?” “The man on the hundred-dollar bill.” Zachary was speechless. Money to him was a series of numbers in his account. “Do you want to try a bite? It’s tasty. For real. It’s delicious. I can’t get enough of it.” “No. Knock yourself out. One more thing. Can you take it to the dining hall? I can’t stand to see the furniture stained.” Seein
“I wasn’t at the shop tonight. My friend wanted to attend a dinner party and asked me to tag along. Oh, right. Mr. York, I want to ask you about something, but I’m not sure if it’s something you’re comfortable answering.” Taking the seat opposite Zachary, Serenity stared at the man with her big bright eyes. The man was aloof, distant, and nasty toward her. She knew he built a wall around him to keep nobody out but her. However, he was blessed with good looks. His face was aesthetically pleasing as if she was looking at a beautiful scenery. “The party was held at the Wiltspoon Hotel. I heard the hotel belongs to the wealthiest family in the city. Guess what? The heir of the family attended tonight too. His last name is York, but I think you’re unrelated to that family, right?” Without batting an eye, Zachary blasély replied, “We just so happen to share the same last name.” Serenity heaved a sigh of relief and responded with a smile, “I knew you have no relations to the wealthi
“I’m taking a trip back to my hometown after meeting your parents this weekend. I want to chop down a few bamboos to make the rails.” Zachary replied faintly, “No need, I’ll get someone to install the rails tomorrow.” The lady of the York house wanted to go all the way to her hometown to chop down some bamboo and haul them back for laundry-airing purposes. The only person who could come up with this is Serenity. “Sure. Thanks.” “This is also my home.” “Yeah,” Serenity answered before carrying her laundry to her bedroom. She pushed open her bedroom door before turning around to look at Zachary, “If you want, you can leave your dirty clothes out after shower. I’ll wash your clothes when I’m doing my laundry.” “It’s fine. Thank you. I’ll get someone to deliver two washing machines tomorrow. It’d be easy to have a washing machine in each of our bathrooms.” “Alright. Tell me how much you pay for the washing machines. I’ll split with you.” Serenity could not let him foot the
“Let’s go.” Zachary drew close and faintly uttered. “Kay.” Serenity went with him. As the couple walked together without a word, Serenity wanted to make conversation. However, that ever solemn and tensed face with an invisible “keep out” sign on that forehead of his was off-putting. His talent would go to waste if he did not become a school teacher. With a face like that, he could easily keep the children in check. A short while later, they arrived at the market. Serenity directed Zachary to park the car in an empty lot. After getting down from the car, she told him, “Come on. Let’s have breakfast.” Without a word, Zachary followed behind her. The great Zachary York was out of place for his first trip to the market, but he rolled with it and hid his discomfort from Serenity. The pair ordered a bagel sandwich each, and Serenity requested extra toppings for herself. Still, the bagel sandwich did not quell Serenity’s hunger. Zachary took his time with his food, observi
Zachary watched as Serenity picked the flowers and haggled with the florist. She lowered the price by half from fifty bucks for a potted plant. Not to mention, she made it seem like the florist would not get a better deal than what she was offering. It was intriguing, to say the least. He was not one to look at the price tag or bargain when shopping. Too bad for the florist though because his wife could drive a hard bargain. The look on the florist’s face was priceless. After paying up, Serenity carried the flowerpots one by one into Zachary’s car. At first, Zachary stood by the car and watched but later realized he was standing out for the wrong reasons as the girl was doing the heavy lifting herself. He then helped Serenity transport the flowers until his vehicle was filled to the brim. It was a good thing the florist gave them some flattened cardboard to lay on the seats. That was better than getting his seats soiled. “Do you need anything else?” Zachary asked his wife a
“Well, Rowan can play for a couple of days, but he has to start working on his homework soon. The college entrance exam is around the corner, and we can't let him relax too much.”“Rowan's grades are very stable and good. It won’t be hard for him to get into college, so don't put too much pressure on him. It's not necessary for him to get into the same university you and the others went to.”Serenity still remembered the pressure she had felt in high school, though it was not as much as Rowan felt, and her sister's expectations for her were more relaxed; she was only expected to do her best. No matter what the results were, Liberty would accept it. Of course, if she could get into an Ivy League university, that would be great. Otherwise, getting into an Ivy Plus university would also be fine. If that did not work out, she could go to a public university or even take a gap year. Liberty would have been okay with any of it. Her sister always told her that as long as she was physica
Zachary would not do such a thing. Julian laughed. “It’s my first time getting married. I’m asking around because I’m inexperienced. That way, I can make a plan.”Zachary turned to look at him. He said, “How many more times do you intend to get married? I didn’t have any experience either back then. It was my first time going to City Hall. Besides, Seren and I got married in a rush and did not even know each other well. After getting our marriage license, I completely forgot that I was a married man.“You’re in a better situation than I was. At least you and Quinn have feelings for each other and a stable relationship.”Julian chuckled. He caught up to Zachary and placed his arm on his shoulder. He said, “We all know what we should avoid after you’ve set an example.”Zachary was speechless. “You and Serenity are an enviable couple now.“I want to learn from you and make people jealous of Quinn as well.”Zachary brushed Julian’s hand off. “I think you’ll do a better job than m
Zachary and Julian exited the house with two housekeepers behind them, holding a tray each with snacks and drinks. The two men had excellent eyesight and quickly spotted the love of their lives sitting at a bench some distance away. Zachary knew that it was because Serenity got tired from walking. In the past, some pregnant female employees would return to work despite being pretty far along in their pregnancies. Their workload was only slightly lighter. Since Zachary had seen those employees insisting on working even though they were pregnant, he used to think being pregnant and giving birth were not that difficult. He had never put himself in the shoes of the female employees. They insisted on working because they feared being replaced if they took an extended maternity leave. When they returned, they could be discriminated against and had to start all over again. While there were opportunities to be promoted in a megacorporation, one had to climb the corporate ladder ste
Quinn burst out laughing. “You’re right. There’s a higher chance of success with more people. However, having a daughter of your own is more satisfying.“Everyone will be fighting to dote on your daughter. That’s better than you cooing over someone else’s daughter.”Serenity looked at Quinn for a while before smiling. “You have a point there.“But I don’t know if Zachary and I are fated to have a daughter.”“Technology is advanced now. It’s definitely possible with IVF,” suggested Quinn. However, upon recalling what Grandma May mentioned earlier, she quickly added, “Never mind. I guess it’s better not to go for artificial methods in your family. If something were to happen… it’ll be devastating.”The Yorks could be destined to have sons only. Even if a daughter were to be born into the family, it would be painful if she could not survive till adulthood. Regret lingered in the absence of what the heart desired; yet to hold it briefly, only to lose it, birthed deeper despair.
“Does this mean you and Julian are getting your marriage license before the year ends?”Quinn nodded. “We’ll head to the City Hall at nine tomorrow morning.”Serenity immediately congratulated her. “Congratulations, Quinn. You’ll find happiness with Julian. You don’t have to worry about him having a change of heart because you’re the only woman for him.”Quinn blushed. “This may sound funny, but I’m glad that he can only get aroused when he’s with me. As you said, he won’t ever have a change of heart because his body won’t react to other women.”She was aware of Julian’s condition and found it acceptable. Besides, they had gotten along well ever since they met each other. She was satisfied with every aspect of him. He was the ideal husband candidate for her. Not only that, her family members had observed Julian. Her father even flew to Wiltspoon to ask around about the Bucham family. He agreed to her dating Julian because he had a positive impression of the Buchams’ personali
Before Rowan took Sonny away, he did not forget to inform Serenity about it. He even told Quinn, “Sonny and I are going to play, Quinn.”Serenity nodded with a smile. She told Quinn, “Let’s go over too.”Although she could not enjoy the facilities at the playground, she could watch them play. Quinn was more than happy to accompany her. She loved having fun. “When are you and Mr. Julian getting married?” Serenity asked Quinn. Quinn blushed. She said, “Julian wants it to be as soon as possible. I’m not in a rush because I think I’m still young.”After a short pause, she added, “I’ll go with his decision. My family likes him.”Serenity laughed. “I heard all about it. Mr. Julian has done a great job with your family. Mr. and Mrs. Bucham are nice people. They’ve been looking forward to having a daughter-in-law for the longest time.”Walter and Stacy were indeed friendly toward the people they knew. With the Buchams and the Yorks’ relationship, the Bucham couple treated Sereni
It turned out that she was greedy too. Serenity had been really stressed about getting pregnant and only succeeded after a year of marriage. She had not given birth, yet she was already thinking of getting pregnant with a daughter to build her ideal family. “I’m going out for a walk, babe.”Serenity added, “I’ll check on Sonny and Rowan too.”Zachary replied, “You can take Ms. Crawford with you. Come back in the evening. The wind gets stronger once the sun sets, so it’ll be colder.”“I know. You don’t have to be so worried. We’re in our house,” said Serenity as she walked out of the dining area. Zachary used to be a man of few words. However, when it came to her, he would nag a lot and make many arrangements for her. Quinn accompanied Serenity on her walk outside. She had been talking to Grandma May since arriving at Wildridge Manor with Julian and had not been able to admire the winter view yet. Winters in Wiltspoon were not snowy. To Quinn, it was too warm there. Never
“I can’t eat that much. You made so many dishes that I got full just by tasting a little of each. I even had a bowl of soup.”Serenity started cleaning up and refused to eat more. Zachary immediately stopped her. “I’ll clean up. You can head out and talk to Nana. Josh and Jasmine will come over for dinner tonight.”“You can leave some soup for Jasmine tonight.”Serenity was delighted to hear that her friend was coming. There was finally someone who could share her nutritional meals with her. Serenity’s in-laws were less strict about food than Josh’s dietician cousin, Rebecca. However, Rebecca had also recently lifted some restrictions on Jasmine. Jasmine’s bump was bigger than Serenity’s, and she was a month ahead of Serenity. Rebecca said there was no need to follow a nutritional meal plan since the baby had already grown a lot. Jasmine could eat normal meals, but she was still not allowed to have junk food and certain foods that should be avoided during pregnancy. She dare
“Most pregnant women gain some weight, but in Seren’s case, only her baby bump is growing. She hasn’t been gaining weight at all.”Zachary replied, “You were the one who called Seren over. How could you blame me?”His nana was being unreasonable. Serenity defended her husband, saying, “Don’t blame Zachary, Nana. I’m just not losing or gaining weight. I don’t want to gain too much weight anyway. It’ll be difficult to return to my pre-pregnancy weight afterward.”She remembered that Liberty did not manage her recovery well after giving birth to Sonny and ended up in an unhealthy state. Even if Zachary promised he would not be like Hank, Serenity still wanted to maintain her figure. Men’s words… Well, she did trust Zachary. Nevertheless, she still wanted to remain beautiful throughout her pregnancy. “You’re not chubby at all. You should eat more if you can. Go and have something to eat. Don’t starve.”Grandma May quickly urged Serenity to eat. She did not want to distract Se