Zachary hummed and said, “Don’t order takeout for lunch. I’ll send food over to your side. Let’s eat together.”Serenity was alone in the store, and Zachary could not bear to let his beloved wife eat takeout. He had already ordered food from Wiltspoon Hotel and a bodyguard picked it up. Then, he would bring the food over during lunch break so the couple could have lunch in the bookstore together.“Okay, I won’t order takeout. You get back to work. School is almost out, so I’ll be busy too.”Serenity hung up the phone after speaking.On the other side, Zachary looked at his phone and complained, “She didn’t even give me the chance to say bye.”Serenity began to work while Zachary finished his work and left the office.The bodyguard just came back from getting the insulated lunch boxes from the hotel. He rushed out to receive Zachary when he saw the latter come downstairs.A few minutes later, Zachary’s car drove out of York Corporation.He left ten minutes before lunch break, so
Serenity wiped the small dining table clean.Her heart warmed when she looked at the dishes. No matter the time, he always prepared her favorites.“What did Callum say to you? What trouble did he get into?” Zachary asked curiously as he filled his beloved wife’s plate with food.“He misunderstood Camryn and did something out of line, so he wanted me to help him apologize. I told him that he had to bear the consequences of his own actions.”Serenity did not go into detail because she felt that it was Callum and Camryn’s private matter. Her brother-in-law told her about it because he trusted her, so she could not tell anyone else about it. She did not tell Zachary lest Camryn felt embarrassed to see him in the future.Even though she did not go into detail, Zachary was a man who had also forced a kiss on Serenity before, so he quickly guessed what happened.He wisely did not continue to inquire.While the couple had lunch, Duncan went to the hospital after work. He stood outside t
Mrs. Lewis thought about it and decided to see Liberty before visiting her friend.With that in mind, she went to Liberty’s ward.When the York bodyguards saw Mrs. Lewis coming, one of them went into the ward to tell Liberty.The bodyguards did not stop Mrs. Lewis when she approached. They helped her knock on the door and opened the door for her.“Mrs. Lewis.”Mrs. Lane and another maid were dining in the small lounge. When they saw Mrs. Lewis come in, they quickly put down their lunch boxes, stood up, and greeted her respectfully.“Oh, you’re all eating? Don’t mind me and continue eating. I just came to see Liberty.”Mrs. Lewis left the house after eating.Mrs. Lane still escorted her into the ward.Liberty finished eating, but Sonny ate slowly. His mother fed him while saying, “Sonny, you can’t eat so slowly in the future. You’ll have to eat by yourself when you go to preschool.”“I know, Mom.”Seeing Mrs. Lewis come in, Liberty passed the bowl to her son to let him eat by
Mrs. Lewis saw that there were no freshly delivered flower bouquets or fruit baskets in the ward and completely believed Liberty’s words.She thought, ‘Did that boy really not come to see Liberty? But he admitted that he was here to visit her.’However, Liberty said that she did not see him.There was only one possibility—her son came but did not enter the ward.That was why Liberty did not see him.In the end, the problem lay with her son.“He was already here at the hospital and on the same floor anyway. Why didn’t he come see you?” Mrs. Lewis asked, pretending to be ignorant.Liberty smiled and said nothing.Duncan and her paths crossed frequently, but most of the time, it was because Duncan going to her store for breakfast.He helped her a lot, but that was only because she was Zachary’s sister-in-law.Mrs. Lewis looked at Sonny, who was eating by himself, and said, “I won’t bother you anymore, Liberty. You should continue feeding Sonny. I have to visit my friend now.”“
Serenity looked at the message her sister sent and was silent for a moment before replying, [Liberty, have you ever thought that Zachary isn’t the reason Mr. Lewis is good to you?]Liberty asked, [What other reasons would he have? He only helped me because of Zachary. When I joined his company, he hired me because of Zachary. I heard him call Zachary.][I originally wanted to wait until you recovered and got discharged from the hospital before talking to you about this, but I feel wronged on your behalf at the insinuations that Mrs. Lewis threw at you.]Serenity sent the message and called Liberty.Liberty swiftly answered the phone.“Tell me, Seren. What is it that I don’t know? Why did Mrs. Lewis say that?”“Liberty, you were unconscious for one night when you were injured. It was Duncan who watched over you all night outside the ICU. He was also the one who saw you in tears and called the doctor. He didn’t sleep at all that night. You were still weak when you woke up, so you d
“Seren!”Liberty said seriously, “I’ve never had such thoughts. I really don’t have any interest in Mr. Lewis, and Mrs. Lewis has already chosen a wife for him. Ms. Harmon is a very good lady.“Even if I want to remarry, I won’t marry Mr. Lewis. We’re worlds apart. Mrs. Lewis will never choose me to be her daughter-in-law. If I get together with Mr. Lewis, I’ll still have to endure my mother-in-law making things hard for me again.“Seren, I finally managed to jump out of the Brown family. You can’t expect me to jump into the Lewis family now, right?“My former mother-in-law was a horrible person, but she doesn’t hurt others. The ladies from affluent families are not that simple. Do you think everyone is like your mother-in-law? It’s hard enough being the missus of a wealthy family. There’s such a large gap between Mr. Lewis and I, and Mrs. Lewis doesn’t like me either. Who knows what she’ll do to me if I become her daughter-in-law?”Liberty’s head was crystal clear. She did not be
“I’m sorry, Liberty.”Serenity knew that she was wrong to keep her sister in the dark.Liberty was right. They were sisters who relied on each other for many years. She could not hide the truth from her sister, even if she thought that it was for her sister’s own good.Many people thought their actions were for the good of someone else’s sake, but was that really true? Had they ever asked what the other party thought?“I know you’re worried about me, so I don’t blame you. Just don’t hide anything from me again. You don’t have to worry about this for me. I can handle it.”“I believe in you, Liberty. You got this!”“Yes.”Liberty added, “Go back to work. I want to let Sonny take a nap.”“I’ll come see you after the students finish class in the afternoon.”“Okay.”After the call, Liberty looked at her son.Sonny was also looking at her.“Naptime, Sonny.”Liberty placed her phone back in the drawer and motioned for her son to lean forward. She wanted to pick her son up, but he
She had not heard from her family since resolving the problem of the house left behind by her parents.When they talked about their hometown, it was just her sister talking about the progress of her vegetable farms.Serenity predicted that their vegetable farms would be ready for planting in early June. She planned to start planting a batch of spinach, cabbages, lettuce, eggplants, pepper, and so on.Serenity knew more about what vegetables to grow than Elisa and Jasmine, so she decided on what vegetables to plant and how to manage them.Jasmine and Elisa were responsible for the business side of things and signing orders.“Let them in.”Liberty did not want to have any contact with her family, but since they were her elders who came all the way here, she told the bodyguard to let them in.It was Noah who came with their grandparents.The old couple walked in front while Noah followed behind with a bag of fruits.Sonny was still asleep, so Liberty went to the small lounge. Whe
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa