Shawn believed the Hunts were unbelievable. Their shamelessness was on a whole new level. “Serenity, I got your conversation with them on tape,” Jasmine said. “I’ll send the voice recording to you in case they make things up about you again online.” Serenity gave her best friend the thumbs up. The Hunts got her so riled up that it slipped her mind to record on her phone. “Shawn, aren’t you going to work?” After sending the voice recording to her best friend, Jasmine realized her cousin was still at the shop. She urged him to hurry to work. Reluctant to leave, Shawn uttered, “I’m working in my family’s company. It doesn’t make a difference if I’m a little late.” “All the more you should put in the effort and abide by the company’s rules and regulations since you’re working in your family’s company. Set a good example so no one can find fault with you. Hurry along now. You’ll get it if Aunt Rachel finds out you’re not in the office.” As Shawn was the firstborn, Jasmine’s aunt
Zachary was a little worried that Serenity could not deal with the Hunt cousins, but he said nothing about it. He did not even give Serenity a call. Now that they had been married for nearly a month, Zachary had a bit more of an idea of Serenity’s personality now than before. Serenity would call him for help if things were more than she could handle. Since there were no calls from her, it meant she could manage. Besides, she would not lose since she had a leg to stand on. With this in mind, Zachary switched to another car after work and drove to Wiltspoon School. When Zachary was leaving the office, Josh complained that Zachary had recently pushed all the business dinners onto him. Zachary replied, “I have a wife. I should go home to spend some time and bond with my wife after work.” Josh was speechless. ‘As if! ‘It’s clearly an excuse!‘It’s just his excuse to slack off!’Josh protested in his mind. Zachary had been neglecting his work since he got married. It was so u
After a pause, Zachary added. “I’ll drive you to work tomorrow morning.” Since Zachary was being thoughtful, Serenity left her e-bike at the shop and took a ride in Zachary’s car. Jasmine watched the couple as they left while mumbling to herself, “They’re acting more like a couple now.” Although Zachary was aloof and antisocial, his care for Serenity was in the details. “I’d be happy to marry immediately if a man like Mr. York comes into my life.” It was a pity that her blind dates had nothing on Zachary. The supposed fine men were only placed above the rest because of their high income. However, they were far from being labeled fine men. The man Jasmine went on a blind date with at Beans and Cream had taken a fancy to Serenity. The man even made a private call to the matchmaker to ask about Serenity, only to find out that Serenity was taken. The man must be living in Lalaland. Jasmine called the man to give him a piece of her mind, threatening to ruin him if he were to
Everybody in the neighborhood knew how close the sisters were. Liberty kept the matter from her sister to save her the worry. “Thank you, Mrs. Zaks.” Serenity thanked Mrs. Zaks before continuing her quick walk toward her sister’s residential building while dragging Zachary along. “My brother-in-law was angry that my sister hadn’t cooked lunch for him when I dropped her off the other day. Hank looked like he wanted to hit my sister, but he wiped that look off his face when he saw me,” Serenity babbled to Zachary. “Why didn’t my sister let me know?” Serenity felt bad for her sister. Women gained a second chance in life when they got married. Her sister’s second chance in life did not seem smooth sailing. Hank’s attitude toward Liberty changed for the worse less than three years into the marriage. Zachary replied firmly, “Your sister doesn’t want you to worry. Mrs. Zaks said that your sister chased your brother-in-law down a few streets with a knife. It means your sister had
Serenity’s sister was her rock. Now that Serenity was all grown up and had the means, it was her turn to protect her sister. “Seren.” Liberty held onto her sister and said, “Don’t go. The injury is only superficial. Plus, I didn’t let him get away with it. I chased him down a few streets with a knife and scared him out of his wits. I trust he won’t be violent to me anymore.” “If he has done it once, he will do it again, Liberty. He won’t know fear if you don’t fight back when he lays his hands on you. He’ll only assault you again.” There should be zero tolerance toward domestic violence! “I know. That’s why I didn’t give in and beat him up too. I even went after him with a knife. You should’ve seen the scared look on his face. His legs were shaking. I heard that you must win the first fight between couples, and I won! He should think twice before laying his hands on me next time.” Liberty pulled her sister back firmly, keeping Serenity from getting even with Hank. “He’s bac
As the sisters only had each other for many years, Liberty understood Serenity well enough to know that her sister would stick up for her. In a deliberate effort to get her sister to stick around, Liberty took out a bottle of wine and enjoyed a glass with Serenity until midnight before letting the couple leave. Serenity was a lightweight, and Liberty took out a stiff drink. After a glass of wine, Serenity found herself tipsy. She was feeling dizzy and staggering in her footsteps by the time she left her sister’s place. Liberty saw the young couple off at the door. She used to attend social engagements with her boss when she was working back then. Having learned to hold her liquor, Liberty could handle a glass of wine just fine. “Zachary, Seren’s drunk. Please take good care of her,” Liberty urged her brother-in-law. She got her sister drunk, so Serenity would not go after Hank for payback. Liberty was afraid the Browns would gang up on Serenity if she went to the Browns’ r
With Zachary waking her up, Serenity sat up and rubbed her eyes innocently before staring straight at Zachary without blinking. Suddenly, she extended her arms and said with a sparkle in her beautiful eyes, “Carry me out of the car, Handsome.” Wincing his face, Zachary reached his hand out to knock her head. His tone turned chilly. “I warned you. Don’t act drunk and take advantage of me. You might be intoxicated, but you’re not wasted. You’re aware of your actions.” Serenity was indeed aware. However, the alcohol made her rather impulsive. Despite his multiple warnings, Serenity could not keep her hands to herself. No way a big man like him was scared of a young lady’s harassment. He would be made a laughingstock if word were to get out. “Zachary…” Serenity giggled and asked, “Do you have some sort of problem like the heir of the Yorks?” He was more innocent than her in the affairs between men and women. With alcohol getting to her head, Serenity could not help bu
On the contrary, Zachary was not the least bit angry. He just did not want Serenity to catch him smiling. It was only when he walked into the residential building that he realized his wife did not keep up with him. Stopping in his tracks, he turned around and asked solemnly, “Are you planning to spend the night standing there?” Snapping out of her thoughts, Serenity ran over compliantly. “No hard feelings, Mr. York?” Zachary gave her a chilly look. Well, his face tended to give out that vibe, to begin with. Poking her forehead, he remarked, “It better not happen again!” Acting like a disciplined child, Serenity raised her hand and promised, “I promise it won’t happen again.” Without another word, Zachary turned around and walked on. Serenity quickly followed behind him. Staring at his muscular back, Serenity felt the alcohol wearing off. She muttered to herself, ‘Nana told me to pounce on him, but I don’t have the confidence to warm the heart of an ice prince.’ However,
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