How Liberty had hoped that everything bad was a dream and that when she woke up, her parents were still around and their family of four was fine. Nobody knew how much she had endured. Her sister could cry on her when she was sad, but who could she cry on when she had a hard time? “Mom, I don’t want to go. I want to be with you and Dad.” Liberty shook her head in her mother’s arms, not wanting to leave her parents. Lisa pushed her away. “Lib, think about Seren and your son, Sonny. They need you and are waiting for you to go back. Listen to me and quickly return. This isn’t the place for you. Go now!” said Lisa as she pushed her daughter away again. Liberty thought of her sister and her son. Yes, she still had to raise her son, and her sister was still there. What would happen to Sonny if she stayed with her parents? Also, if Serenity found herself in occasional quarrels with Zachary and wanted to go back to her maiden home, nobody would be there. “Lib, go back,” Sc
Liberty saw that her son was well and her sister was also present. She could not speak yet, so she mustered a smile to comfort her sister, but the tears in the corner of her eyes could not be stopped. She made the choice again. Liberty temporarily abandoned her parents and chose to come back to stay with her sister and take care of her son. “Doctor, how’s my sister-in-law doing?” Zachary asked. “The patient is awake and is out of danger. She doesn’t need to stay in the ICU anymore.” Everyone was finally relieved. Liberty was transferred to a general ward, and Zachary arranged for her to stay in a VIP ward. It was quiet and suitable for his sister-in-law to recover. Although Liberty was awake, her body was still very weak. After being pushed back into the ward, she quickly fell into a deep sleep again. Serenity sat in front of the bed with Sonny in her arms to watch over her sister. She would gently touch the end of her sister’s nose from time to time to make sure that s
Duncan stopped talking. After everyone saw Liberty, Grandma May asked his daughters-in-law to head home first and not to disturb Liberty here. Zachary and Serenity looked extremely tired as well. The Stones and the Soxes also came to visit Liberty after learning that she was out of the woods. Mrs. Stone stayed in the hospital until Liberty woke up for the second time and only then did she feel relieved. The Yorks’ bodyguards bought breakfast for everyone. After having breakfast, Zachary said to Duncan, “Duncan, you should get some rest at home first. We agreed to each keep watch for half of last night, but you stayed up the whole night by yourself.” “I’m fine. I’m neither sleepy nor tired. I’ll wait a bit more.” Duncan looked at Liberty, who was surrounded by her relatives and friends. When Liberty woke up for the second time, she still spoke weakly but was in a better spirit than when she first regained consciousness. She did not even notice Duncan, who was outside
Mrs. Lewis was silent on the other end of the line for a while before she asked, “Liberty is now awake and out of danger. When are you coming back? You must be tired after keeping watch the whole night in the hospital. Come home and rest.” “Mom, I’m not tired. I can still hold on, so you don’t have to worry about me.” Mrs. Lewis wanted to lash out at her son. Even so, she held back. She did not say anything else and silently hung up the phone. After his mom ended the call, Duncan put his phone back into his pocket and returned to the ward. He still stood outside the crowd and watched Liberty quietly. Although Liberty was no more at risk, she was still very weak. The doctor did not allow too many family members to stay in the ward as it would disturb her rest. As such, everyone had to leave one after another after seeing her. The last ones to stay in the hospital were Zachary, Serenity, and Duncan again. Liberty went back to sleep and could sleep more soundly. She was
Zachary and Serenity had a disagreement. Serenity even stayed overnight at the Soxes’ and followed her close friends back to her hometown the next day to check the progress of her investment project. That was why she was not with Liberty and her son. When something happened to Liberty yesterday, Serenity rushed back after receiving the call. The small interlude between Zachary and Serenity was captured by the paparazzi and exposed. Now, it was even trending. If Serenity saw this, she might even blame herself and think that she did not protect her sister well because of the conflict between her and Zachary. Zachary asked Josh to handle it. They had to try to hide it from Serenity and not let her know—at least not at this time. Duncan said, “Given your status, anything that has to do with you can easily become a trending topic… Especially after you got married, everyone became highly interested in your married life with Serenity. Those paparazzi are everywhere. They’re the most
Clive defended his cousin and pushed all the blame onto Zachary.Zachary wanted to ride on the radio waves to strangle Clive.“I’m telling you again, I’m fine! There’s no problem with me. Thank you for your concern!”He hung up the phone.Unexpectedly, the phone rang again.He thought it was Clive, answered it without looking, and yelled, “I told you there’s no problem with me, Clive!”“Mr. York… It’s me, Remy.”Zachary’s expression softened. “Remy?”“Yeah, it’s me. How is Ms. Hunt?”“Her life is no longer in danger. Thank you for your concern, Remy.”Remy said, “That’s a relief. Mr. York, you mentioned something about a problem? I know a miracle healer. If you need to see one, I can introduce him to you the next time I see him. He can help take a look at you.”Zachary was speechless.He took a deep breath in, breathed out, and forced himself not to get angry at Remy.“I’m fine, Remy. It was a cock-and-bull story made up by the paparazzi. My wife and I are very well. We ha
Duncan frowned when he saw his mother. He felt that his mother’s visit to the hospital was not a good thing.Mrs. Lewis saw the two men standing at the door of the ward and walked straight over.“Mrs. Lewis.”Zachary greeted her politely.Mrs. Lewis smiled gently and responded to his greeting.The way she looked at Zachary made him uncomfortable. He knew what that look meant.Even if he told Josh to take down the trending search immediately, she had most likely seen it. Those who should not see it would have probably seen it.There might be many people who took screenshots too.There was no question about it. Mrs. Lewis was looking at him in concern because she saw the trending search.Those damned paparazzi just had to expose every little thing.In the past, tabloids did not dare reveal information about his private affairs without his permission. Now that he was married and appeared softer, did they think they could appeal to Serenity for mercy and escape disaster if they e
Since Mrs. Lewis came all the way and said such words, Duncan could not stay any longer.Serenity personally escorted Mrs. Lewis out of the ward.She stood at the door of the ward and watched Mrs. Lewis and Duncan walk away.After a long time, she sighed and turned back in with Zachary. She looked at her sleeping sister with worry.Zachary held her shoulder and comforted her in a low voice, “Seren, everything will be fine. We don’t have to worry too much.”As long as Duncan realized his feelings, Zachary believed that he could convince his parents to let him be together with Liberty.“Besides, your sister isn’t interested in Duncan in that way. Duncan liking your sister is his business, and there’s no guarantee that your sister will accept him. Let’s see how it goes for now.”Serenity leaned on his shoulder and said softly, “Putting aside Mr. Lewis’s status, he’s a good man. If my sister wants to remarry, I’m very much in favor of them getting together, not because of Mr. Lewis’
“Mom! Mom,” Sonny shouted from the stairs.Both of them looked up at him. “What's wrong?” Liberty asked with concern.“I can't carry so many toys. Can you come up and help me carry some of them?”Liberty smiled. “Okay, you should pick out the gifts for Isaac and the rest first.”“I've already picked them.”Liberty then said to Duncan, “Can you help me out? I'll go upstairs to help him carry the things.”“Sure.”Liberty had several helpers at home who helped look after the house and clean it. Before the mother and son came back, these helpers took turns working. With Christmas approaching, only one couple stayed behind while the others went home for the holiday. Liberty had not told this couple she would be back today and had only sent them a message after they arrived home. The couple was out shopping for Christmas goods, so they had not returned yet. Thus, Sonny had to ask his mom for help.After a while, the two came downstairs, each carrying a lot of items—all toys that So
“Or we could invite Laurence to come visit us in Wiltspoon.” Duncan had already considered the next time the two little ones would meet.Liberty said, “If we invite Laurence over, I’m afraid we won’t be able to protect him. If something happens, we won't be able to bear the consequences. It would be better to send Sonny to Annenburg to play with him. Laurence’s seniors have set up a solid protection network in Annenburg to safeguard him and ensure that his enemies won't even have a chance to find him.” She admitted that she did not have the ability to fully protect Laurence.Laurence was the only one left of his entire family, and it was only thanks to several caretakers who risked their lives that he was able to survive. Now, he lived freely. While his childhood was not without its share of struggles and hardships, everyone tried their best to give him joy. Behind the scenes, there were many people silently watching over him. Once he left that protective circle, there was a risk
“It’s just that we’ve only just come back, and we didn’t prepare any gifts. If we go empty-handed, I’ll feel embarrassed.” Liberty felt that she could not visit the Lewis family without bringing something.“I’ll see what I have at home that I can give. Oh, there are still quite a few bottles of nutritional supplements. I’ll take those to your parents. I’ll also go out and buy gifts for your nieces and nephews, but I’m not sure what to prepare for your brothers. As for your sisters-in-law, I can send them some jewelry and skincare products.”She had some jewelry and skincare items that were new and unused, so she could give those away first. Since it was last-minute, she was worried that going out to buy something might take too much time. Luckily, Serenity often gifted her jewelry and beauty items, and so did Audrey and Elisa. She, on the other hand, rarely bought those things for herself. The jewelry she was currently wearing had been a gift from Duncan, and the skincare products
Audrey and the rest had returned to Wiltspoon before Liberty. Patrick was resting at the Stones’ residence. Liberty wanted to meet him too. Corey said, “Right, she should do that. What about your and Liberty’s marriage?”Duncan looked toward Liberty. He replied, “We can probably make some time to finish the procedures at City Hall tomorrow. Liberty hasn’t said anything yet, but I think we can do it tomorrow.”“Try doing it tomorrow. City Hall will be closed for the holidays too. When you’re back, I’ll let you have a look at the list of wedding gifts we prepared. We can deliver them to Liberty’s house if you're okay with it. As for the wedding date, I’ve asked someone to choose a few dates. We have to discuss this with Audrey and Serenity. “You and Liberty can choose a convenient date for you two. I think we’ll have to look at Liberty’s availability.”Corey knew Liberty was extremely busy. She had a heavy responsibility on her shoulders. Indeed, Liberty had always shouldered
“You can call my mom if you miss me, Great-Nana. Mom and I will visit you. However, I think we’ll come over every day. Aunt Ser is here. We’ll miss her.”Since the new year was approaching, Serenity and Zachary stayed in Wildridge Manor. Other members of the York family were also heading back here. It was a rule set by Grandma May. The others disliked living in the manor because it was far from the city and inconvenient for them to travel to work. Therefore, they bought houses in the city center and lived there. Grandma May did not mind that. However, they had to return to the manor for a family gathering during special occasions, especially Christmas and New Year's Day. Grandma May did not care where the youngsters wanted to be on other days. There was a tradition whereby the daughters-in-law of the Yorks would visit their families the day after the New Year’s. Since Grandma May did not have daughters or granddaughters, she would follow and visit her daughters-in-law’s hous
With the escort of security vehicles, the two luxury cars left the airport parking lot and drove toward the city center. Liberty dropped off her luggage at her home and had a brief rest before going to Wildridge Manor with Serenity and Zachary. She had a meal and talked to Yorks about what happened in Jensburg. With that, half a day had passed. Since Liberty was back, Sonny would be returning home to live with her. After having lunch, he ran to his room and started packing his clothes and toys. While the adults were talking, the boy dragged his luggage downstairs with two stuffed animals in hand. “Are you leaving, Sonny?” Tania asked sadly upon seeing him coming down with all his stuff packed. “Can’t you stay here for a few more days?”She went over to Sonny and asked softly, “Can’t you stay longer? We’ll miss you if you leave.”Having a child in the house had brightened the atmosphere. The York family adored Sonny. Tania took Sonny’s luggage from him and used her oth
“I’ve informed Mrs. Lewis that there was no need to arrange for someone to pick you two up. Zachary and I will do it.”After speaking, she smiled at Duncan and greeted him. Duncan usually gave off a rough demeanor, but he looked gentler after experiencing love. Serenity was glad that her sister was finally back. Liberty put Sonny down but he continued clinging to her after crying. Even Duncan did not get to carry Sonny and could only touch his little face. Sonny was still pouting. With a sulking face, he complained, “You didn’t wait for me to come back before going to look for Mom.”Duncan replied, “You said you’d be away for a long time, so I went ahead. Aren’t your mom and I back now? I’ll invite you before heading out next time, okay? Don’t be angry. I bought many new toys for you.”“Come and give me a hug. I missed you.”“I don’t believe you. You didn’t miss me at all. You only think about Mom. I missed Mom too. I want to be with her.”Sonny had not missed his mother
Everything would be done according to their divorce agreement. The money would be given to his children anyway. Hunter was the one who said to leave the children to Emma. A mother would always love her children. Without his children by his side, it would be more convenient for Adrian to remarry. Adrian’s flirtatious heart was already tempted. He was divorced, and his mother had passed away. No one could control him anymore. He was a free man who could flirt with any woman openly. If he happened to meet someone he liked, he could be a groom again and marry that woman. He could have more children as well. He was rich anyway. Emma stood up. “I’ve told you everything Caroline said. You can make your decision. From now on, don’t disturb me unless you need to. If you want to meet the children, call them and obtain their permission first. Then, you can meet them anytime.”She would not stop the children from meeting Adrian. Adrian nodded and did not ask Emma to stay. Hu
“There’s a cafe outside the hospital. Fancy a cup of coffee, Emma? We can sit and chat.”Emma quickly replied, “No, thank you. I need to return and ensure my kids are doing their homework. They have plenty to finish this winter. They’ll be on their phones or gaming if I don't watch them.”“It’s best if you can keep an eye on them to prevent them from getting addicted to games and doom scrolling. Supervise them if you have the time to do so. Don’t expect them to be disciplined enough because even we adults can’t control ourselves from using our phones.”Children getting addicted to their phones was a bad habit the adults allowed them to develop. Some adults were focused on using their phones instead of spending time with their children. When the kids threw tantrums, their parents would hand them mobile devices to pacify them. That way, they would focus on their screens instead of making noise. However, that would lead to the children getting addicted to these devices. It would