Zachary’s cell phone started ringing.Before Zachary even looked at his phone, he told Josh, “It must be my wife that's calling. Maybe she wants to pick me up after work.”Josh pouted. “Hey, I am doing pretty well myself. Heck, I even had my wedding before you. You don’t have to show off, I'm not provoked at all.”With a wide grin on his face, Zachary replied, “I’m not showing off. That’s just how my wife and I get along every day.” It became the daily routine for the couple that Zachary would pick up Serenity or the other way round.The moment Zachary took out his phone and realized that it was Remy calling, his ever-handsome face twitched.Zachary thought it was Serenity who called. He did not expect it to be Remy.With eyes as sharp as a hawk, Josh saw that it was Remy’s name on Zachary’s screen.Josh busted out laughing.Zachary shot him a mean glare, and Josh turned away to continue his gleeful laughter.Despite the humiliating circumstance, Zachary answered Remy’s call
“The Yorks have so many men. Even if you and I aren’t around, they’ll be able to hold up. Besides, I’m just going to be away for a few days. York Corp is a big group with mature management. Even if we’re not available for a month, the company will be fine,” Zachary said to Josh. The mid-level and senior managers in the company were not raised for nothing. Josh breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled as he said, “As long as you’re not asking me to stay in the office to work my butt off for you.” Zachary said with amusement, “I’m not an exploiter. Look how nervous you are. I’ve never ordered you around, have I?” “No, no, I’ve always volunteered to be ordered about by you.” Zachary was lost for words. Josh chuckled and said, “I should be glad to have worked hard for you. After finding your happiness, you didn’t forget about me and matched Jasmine to me. We’re good friends and brothers.” “You're as sweet as ever with your words. No wonder Ms. Sox fell for you and agreed to mar
Josh answered softly and whispered in Jasmine’s ear, “I came with Zachary. He knows he looks too cold and will scare your little customers away, so he’s standing guard in front of the store. He’s more useful than a surveillance camera.” Jasmine chuckled. Serenity heard the young couple’s conversation and knew her man was here too. She looked out and saw Zachary’s tall and robust body. Zachary and Josh came after work. It was past the busiest time in the store. The former stood in front of the store for a few minutes and then entered. “Seren, can we go now?” Zachary asked his beloved wife gently. Serenity looked at the time and replied to him, “Soon.” She then said to her best friend, “Jas, why don’t I leave first and you shut the door later before you leave?” Jasmine readily agreed to it. “Sure.” With that, Serenity went around the counter to go into the bathroom. She put on light makeup in the mirror before coming out of the bathroom. After picking up her bag, Se
Josh laughed and asked Jasmine, “Isn’t it good to be a landlady? I remember you said you didn’t have a big dream and will be content with living as a landlady as your parents did.” “Being a landlady is too boring. All I do is collect rent every day,” Jasmine replied to him. “You can ask me to collect rent for you.” Jasmine laughed. “You’re a landlord yourself.” Back then, she did not want to help her parents collect rent every day, so she rented this place and opened a bookstore with Serenity to pass the time. It did not matter if they made money as long as she did not need to go around collecting rent. “The people from our hometown found things to do to pass the time. My aunt drives a Porsche to work now, which is better than her boss’s car. She’s a cleaner and gets about three grand a month, but she does a serious job. “Her boss said her car was too good, so she drove a BMW instead the next day. Her boss still thought that it was still too nice of a car, so she could on
The table in the dining room was filled with Jasmine’s favorite dishes. “Sir, madam, enjoy your meal.” After Josh and Jasmine took their seats, the butler said respectfully and excused himself. He left the opportunity to take care of Jasmine for Josh. Josh had always taken great care of Jasmine, who was also a foodie. Even if they had dinner by themselves, they would enjoy their food very much. After the meal, Josh took Jasmine for a walk in the courtyard to get her familiarized with the environment. That night, the young couple stayed in the villa. In the following days, Josh picked up Jasmine after work every day and returned to their home. The happy days passed quickly. Another week was over in the blink of an eye. Josh began his marriage leave. After Liberty was discharged from the hospital, Zachary brought Serenity to Annenburg for a break and a vacation as he usually did in the past. Liberty still needed home rest after being discharged. Before flying to Ann
Liberty saw Callum walking over. She immediately said, “Ms. Newman, I’m going to the bathroom.” Before Camryn could reply to her, she hurriedly slipped away to make room for Callum. Liberty knew Callum was pursuing Camryn, but Camryn was not willing to accept him and had avoided him for half a month. As a result, Serenity had to go to Spring Blossoms countless times. “Liberty, I want to go to the bathroom too. Wait for me.” Camryn found her white cane and wanted to go to the bathroom with Liberty but did not get any response. “Liberty?” “Liberty walked away.” Callum’s low voice was heard. Camryn subconsciously squeezed her white cane. She regained her normal state right away. “Mr. Callum.” She greeted Callum politely and apologized, “Excuse me.” Callum reached out to grab her wrist. “Camryn!” He called out in a low and hoarse voice. “How long are you going to avoid me?” Camryn withdrew her hand and answered calmly, “Mr. Callum, I’m not avoiding you. I’ve b
Camryn was embarrassed. Callum took a few deep breaths and eased his tone as he said, “Hand me the end of your cane, and I’ll lead you there. We’ll take fewer detours so you won’t bump into other people.” There were too many people at the wedding dinner. Camryn could not see, so she could easily bump into others. “Mr. Cal—” “Call me Callum!” Camryn pursed her lips again and said, “Tell me the route. I can walk there by myself.” “I’ll count to three. If you don’t hand me the end of your cane, I’ll carry you there!” Camryn was speechless. She reached out the end of her cane to Callum to not anger him. With that, Callum grabbed the cane. Nonetheless, he slid his hand further to the middle to shorten the distance between him and Camryn. “Follow me,” Callum said in a low voice. He took Camryn to the bathroom. “I’ll wait for you at the door. If you don’t come out in half an hour, I’ll go in.” Camryn asked, “Aren’t you afraid of being embarrassed?” “You’re not af
“I’ll count to three. If you can’t make a decision, I’ll carry you away.” Seeing that Camryn still refused to compromise, Callum threatened her again. He started counting. Camryn was worried that Callum would actually knock her out and carry her away. She quickly interrupted him when he counted to two and said, “Then please send me home. That said, you must’ve drunk a lot. Don’t drive after drinking.” Callum curled his lips into a smile and said, “I purposely stayed away from any alcohol so I could take you home.” He was the most irresponsible groomsman for once. The other groomsmen more or less had drinks on behalf of Josh. Callum was the only one who did not drink. Camryn had nothing more to say. Soon, a warm and thick hand held her hand. Camryn wanted to shake it off. “The hotel is full of people, and your cane can easily poke someone. This is good.” Callum did not give her the chance to shake him off. Instead, he took her cane away and held her hand as they wa
Serenity’s embarrassed look made Zachary’s desire burn stronger. However, he still held himself back.After taking a few deep breaths, Zachary released her and said gently, “I’ll run the bath for you. You should wash up and rest early.”After speaking, he went to the bathroom to prepare the bath for her.Serenity watched him walk away. He reappeared a moment later and took her pajamas. He asked, “Do you want to wash your hair? I can help you with it.”It was inconvenient for Serenity to wash her hair with her big bump.“I washed my hair yesterday. I’ll pass tonight. When I was young, my mom often told me not to wash it daily. She believed the old wives’ tale that it’d cause frequent headaches when I got older. So, I always wash my hair on alternate days.”Like any old wives’ tale, Serenity did not know whether what her mother said was true but she had heard it from other adults in the past.She had long hair anyway. Even if her mom did not say such a thing, she did not like wash
Zachary smiled. “Everyone grows old. No matter how well we maintain our appearance, we’ll still get wrinkles and gray hair, and lose our teeth at a certain age.”“Even if you lose all your teeth, I’ll still love you. You’ll always be the best man to me.“To think that the best man in the world is my husband, who loves and spoils only me.“You can spare some of your love for the baby when the baby is born, but I must be your priority.”Serenity thought about how her children would be sharing Zachary’s love with her. Therefore, she requested him to continue loving her the most.Zachary kissed her and said lovingly, “You’re my wife and the only one I’ll dote on. My son will receive love from his wife in the future. I won’t be sharing my wife’s love with him.”Little did he know that he would be eating his words half a year later.As Grandma May had always mentioned, Zachary loved eating his words.“Don’t be angry, okay?”“Okay. Since you’re asking on behalf of Austin, I’m not mad
Who dared to offend Zachary York? Did that person not want to celebrate the new year?“Do you believe in my love for you, Seren?” Zachary asked instead of replying to her right away. Serenity laughed and said, “Why not? We’ve talked things out after I discovered your identity. Since then, I’ve never doubted your feelings for me.“Although I was mad at you for deceiving me back then, I didn’t question your love for me. I was just angry that you kept a secret from me. There were many opportunities to come clean, but you never did. You even made your family members cooperate with you to deceive me. That made me upset.“We’ve been married for quite some time, and our baby will be born in a few months. Did something happen for you to ask me this question all of a sudden? Tell me about it. Did someone spout nonsense to you?“Who’s the person with the big mouth? Reveal his name. I’ll scold him.”Serenity could not believe the person said something to offend Zachary right before the yea
Zachary only had eyes for Serenity. He did not fancy any woman other than her. While Zachary did scold Austin badly, he would not actually distance himself from his brother.After all, he only had one biological brother.However, Zachary decided that he would never say another word about Austin’s love life. If Austin were to look for him to talk again, Zachary would only lend an ear to his issues.It had been exasperating.“Alright. You’re twenty-seven. You can think for yourself. You shouldn’t tell me about your love journey in the future though. What do you take me for? You all come looking for me whenever you face problems. Am I a love advisor?“None of you can replicate my love story with Seren, so don’t tell me anything from now on.”Austin smiled sheepishly. He knew Zachary’s anger had not completely subsided.He quickly asked after Serenity and the unborn baby to change the topic, which softened Zachary’s tone. After some time, their call finally ended.Austin si
On the other hand, Austin closed and locked his door as soon as he returned to his room to prevent anyone from peeking. Then, he called Zachary.When Zachary picked up, Austin whispered, “My identity is exposed, Zachary.”“Exposed? What did you do?”Zachary’s voice was deep without betraying his emotions. “Isabella knows that I’m a young master of the Yorks. Her previous classmate had been to Wiltspoon with her husband who was there on a business trip and lived there for half a month. She knows about York Corporation and started asking questions once she heard my surname.“Isabella asked me why I hid my identity from her after I admitted to it. I replied that she never asked about my family tree. Besides, she already did a background check on me twice.”Zachary said, “You didn’t hide it from her on purpose anyway. You simply didn’t go about announcing that you’re from the York family. That doesn’t count as lying.“You were hired by the O’Connors based on your true abilities. Yo
“I think Austin gives you special treatment, Isa. His gaze and smile are different when it comes to you. You’re a clever person. I’m sure you felt something.“Have you ever thought that the person his nana has chosen for him is you?”Isabella frowned. “I don’t even know what his nana looks like, nor have I met her before. How could she possibly choose me? Besides, he said he’d be resigning to pursue that woman.“Anyway, I’m glad that you’re not sad. Just stay away from him and enjoy the food he cooks. Don’t think about anything else.”Tati was speechless.Isabella never believed her when she said she was not interested in Austin at all.However, when Tati thought of the way she acted around Austin, she could not blame Isabella for the misunderstanding. She had been expressing her admiration for Austin too outwardly. Since Isabella was giving her advice, she would do as Isabella said to reassure her.Tati decided not to go over to Isabella’s place for meals and keep a distance
Tati had made it clear that she did not love Austin, and purely admired him. Why was Isabella looking at her like that? Austin’s fiancée would never be her. If it were, Austin would have treated her differently. So who on earth was Austin’s fiancee?Why would Old Mrs. York choose someone from Windermere for him?Austin came to be a chef before pursuing his future wife. Which city in Windermere was his fiancée from? Was it Satbury?If it were Satbury, which elite daughter could it be?There were many elite daughters in Satbury, but not many were superior to the O’Connor daughters. Tati recalled Austin’s special treatment toward Isabella. A thought crossed her mind, ‘Is Isabella the lady Old Mrs. York has chosen for Austin?’“Tati, I want to discuss something work-related with you.”Isabella thought Tati remained silent because of Austin’s news. Therefore, she used work as an excuse and brought Tati to the study on the second floor. After closing the door, Isabella poured
Louis and Phillip were not the only ones worried. Even Delphine and the rest were anxious too. While they did think it was inappropriate for someone of Austin’s status to be their chef, the food he made was truly delicious. They had already gotten used to his cooking. If he were to leave, they would have to adjust their tastes to another chef’s cooking. Tati had even more concerns. Isabella admired capable people. Austin was highly skilled in cooking and had a head for business too. Moreover, he was a young master of a wealthy family. That made him more suitable for Isabella. Would Isabella be attracted?Isabella probably could feel how differently he treated her, right?“Did you chase Austin away, Isa? Why didn’t he come back with you?”Louis continued asking questions. He was worried that Isabella might have fired Austin. Not only could Austin make delicious food, but he would also play with the boys. Louis and Phillip really liked Austin. They thought he was fun,
Austin knew her question was related to Tati.He was aware of Tati’s admiration for him.Nevertheless, he recognized Tati’s feelings as pure admiration. On the contrary, Tati must have noticed that he treated Isabella differently. She probably told Isabella about it in private, but Isabella simply did not have plans for marriage due to her heavy responsibilities. Austin said with certainty, “No. Although I haven’t succeeded in pursuing her, I’ve set my heart on her. She’s my fiancée, and she’ll become my wife in the future. The York family doesn’t allow divorce unless our wives cheat on us. However, that definitely won’t happen.“Every woman Nana chose has a good character and values.“I’ll be loyal to my marriage and family. I’ll only love my only wife for my entire life. How outstanding other women are is none of my business.”Austin did not want to be like Dylan. He would rather spend more time inventing recipes. Isabella said with a hint of regret, “Okay.”She had to te