“I think, like us, you hope Liberty and Hank’s relationship will turn out fine. You know how couples are. They might have a tiny spat every now and then, but it will pass. Don’t fuss about it too much.” Serenity uttered coldly, “Did Hank break his legs or forget his way home? Why does my sister need to bring him home?” The Browns might come down hard on her sister if Liberty went to their residence to bring Hank home. Besides, it would show that Liberty was admitting her fault. Serenity would never allow her sister to admit anything she had not done wrong. Hank was free to return home as he pleased. He could stay at his parents’ place for all she cared. Her sister could enjoy some peace and quiet in the house. “Why are you being difficult?” Mrs. Brown told Serenity off. “Hank’s not giving a dime to your sister for the living expenses so long as he’s not living at his own home. Your sister can forget ever stepping in our house if she can support herself.” With that, Mrs. B
“I’ll have a talk with my sister. This can’t go on. She’ll only be treated like dirt.” Liberty would always be at a disadvantage without a source of income. “How about we ask your sister to work at our shop? I’ll pay your sister’s wages. You don’t have to fork out the money. Liberty would be able to take care of Sonny too. That’s an added bonus.” Jasmine had Liberty’s interest at heart. Serenity sighed. “My sister won’t come. She believes our business is not doing well because I run an online business for additional income.” As a matter of fact, the shop was making a bit of profit. However, Liberty refused to make money out of Serenity, and no amount of words could persuade Liberty otherwise. “Liberty used to work in finance. I’ll ask Shawn if Lowe Enterprise is hiring at the moment. It’d be great to get Liberty into my uncle’s company. Although the company can’t compare to York Corporation and Stone Group, it’s a big business. The employees’ perks and welfare aren’t to
Out of habit, Zachary took a moment of silence before asking, “Has the Brown family left? Did they do anything excessive?” “They didn’t do anything overboard, but they did say a lot of nasty stuff. I was so angry I nearly beat them up. They’re just as ridiculous as my relatives. All they did was blame my sister and say it was my sister’s fault. They want my sister to go to their place and apologize to Hank with gifts. As if that’s going to happen!” The mention of the Browns saw a rise in Serenity’s blood pressure. Before she knew it, Serenity clicked her tongue on the phone and quickly realized how embarrassingly she behaved. She said, “I got too angry, Mr. York. I hope you didn’t mind my language.” Zachary replied tenderly, “Did you have a stern word with them? You should chase them out with a broom. They had the audacity to tell your sister to apologize when she was a victim of abuse.” “I roasted them to kingdom come, and they fled the scene. Jasmine took out the broom, but I
Zachary said all the right words to console Serenity even if he did not believe them himself. Although he was in a high position, Zachary knew that the requirement had grown stricter when it came to talent acquisition. Liberty had been out of touch with society for three years, and even if she had experience, her skills would be rusty. It probably would not be easy for Liberty to find a job. “Are you at work? Carry on with your work. I’ll hang up.” “Sure.” Zachary waited for Serenity to disconnect the call. After the conversation with her husband, Serenity gave her sister a call to plan for her future. Serenity only ended the call when it was time for Liberty to start cooking. With her phone almost out of battery, Serenity pulled out a charger for her phone. As afternoon drew close, Zachary phoned the Wiltspoon Hotel’s manager to prepare two sets of lunch. He also ordered a few extra accompanying dishes to be delivered to Bookit, a bookshop near Wiltspoon High School. The l
Perhaps it would not be long before Serenity and Zachary turn into a real couple and live happily ever after. Snapping out of her thoughts, Serenity thanked the hotel manager and saw him off at the door. She watched as the manager got into the car and drove away before heading into the shop. As there were two lunch sets, the other share was without a doubt for Jasmine. By the time Serenity got back in, Jasmine had washed her hands and was seated behind the cash register. With her best friend approaching, she said with a smile, “Come on and eat. The Wiltspoon Hotel is a seven-star hotel. We tried their food at the dinner party the last time. I couldn’t stop thinking about the delicious food after I got home.“Thanks to you, I finally get to relive the taste.” Jasmine shoved the cutlery into Serenity’s hands while complimenting Zachary with glee, “I can’t believe Mr. York can be so thoughtful. He bought you lunch and had it delivered to you. He must feel bad that you’ve been hav
Surprised, the few CEOs immediately asked Josh, “Mr. Bucham, does Mr. York have someone he likes? Do you know who the lucky girl is?” Fancy that. Even Zachary had a shot at love. The probability was slim to none. “Shh… You gotta keep it a secret or Mr. York will reproach me for being nosy and a blabbermouth. Mr. York hasn’t fallen in love yet. He’s merely a bit interested in the girl. Judging by his character, Mr. York will tell the whole world once he’s fallen head over heels with a girl.” Mr. York would put the word out there so admirers like Elisa would not harass him. The CEOs nodded their heads. It was good enough for them to find out that Mr. York was interested in girls. It got one of the CEOs thinking as he had a daughter who had reached marrying age.Since Mr. York was a straight guy, the CEO intended to bring his daughter along to observe during business discussions at York Corporation. Who knows? His daughter might catch Mr. York’s attention. The girl, who Mr. Yor
“I got my salary today. I’ll wire you the living expenses later. Spend it on food and everything necessary. Don’t be too frugal,” Zachary said.“It’s fine. We still have a chunk of change left from the hundred thousand dollars you gave me the last time. We kept our household expenditures low, so not much of the money was used.” The furniture took away tens of thousands, but that was a one-time purchase. The remaining dozens of thousands could last the household for several months. Besides, Serenity was not going to spend his money all the time. “Just save the unused portion. Men can be extravagant with their spending. Just keep the money that I’ve wired to you. It can serve as an emergency fund. Otherwise, I’ll burn through all my money.” Serenity gave it a thought before answering, “Alright then.” She would keep a record of all the transactions. The money Zachary wired to her every month would be saved and put in writing. It would be easy to divide the money when they w
“Serenity, did you make these? They’re beautiful.” Elisa complimented Serenity’s handicraft. Picking up a newly made maneki-neko for a closer look, Elisa praised, “Wow, it’s so pretty.” “I can give you a few if you like, Ms. Stone. They’re not worth much though.” “I love them. I love them a lot.” Elisa nodded her head incessantly. “Thank you.” She then asked, “Do you sell these, Serenity?” “Yes, I do. I have an online business, selling these knick-knacks. Sales have been pretty good, and this month has been the best month yet.” Elisa replied with a smile, “Send me the link to your online business later. I’ll share it on Facebook to drum up your business. They’re really beautiful.” Having learned of Serenity’s business, Elisa was more than happy to advertise Serenity’s products. If a woman of her standards found Serenity’s crafts appealing, others were bound to love her creations too. Those who might not share the same aesthetics would also help with Serenity’s business
Chelsea muttered, “Even if you do that, Sonny isn’t close to you, Mom.”Olivia was speechless for a second. She said, “Even if we aren’t close, he’ll call me grandmom when he sees me. He doesn’t even greet me now.“Sonny may be young, but he’ll be four years old next year. He knows everything he needs to and is clever. He must’ve inherited Hank and Liberty’s best genes because they used to be smart people.”Liberty was not stupid. She even had a better career than Hank before she got married. What were they thinking back then?The Browns wanted to suppress Liberty to ensure she was less dominant than Hank. Therefore, Liberty was persuaded to leave her job after marriage to stay home throughout her pregnancy. She ended up becoming a housewife and lost the sharp edge she had in her workplace. Her world only revolved around her husband and son, causing her to lose her identity gradually. The Browns were changing Liberty bit by bit, yet they were not treating her well. Ultimately
“I’m not using Sonny. Since Hank and I are siblings and he only has one son, Sonny and Lucas can get along as cousins. If Sonny hangs out with his cousins more often, he’ll have brothers who have his back in the future.“If he runs into any problems, we can help him. He won’t be alone.”Chelsea guessed Hank must have told their parents something to have caused the change in their mother’s attitude. Olivia favored Sonny and no longer wished to work toward the future of Chelsea’s children.Olivia glanced at her daughter and chuckled. Then, she looked toward Lucas, the grandson she raised. Lucas was a naughty boy. He would never stay still and had already made a mess of the house in a short period. “Look at how Lucas behaves now and compare it to Sonny’s personality. Although Sonny can get mischievous sometimes, he’s more mature and sensible despite his young age. He’ll only be more composed in the future.“Even if he does run into trouble, he won’t require your help. You guys
“Even if my husband and I work tirelessly for another decade, we can never achieve the wealth of the Lewises.”Chelsea was mentally cursing Hank for being ignorant and not mending his relationship with Sonny. He even brainwashed their parents until they stopped siding with her. She could only imagine Sonny’s bright future, where he would be living in a large villa, driving luxury cars, and inheriting a megacorporation. Meanwhile, her children could only get a decent nine-to-five job. Their monthly salary could even be lower than the price of one of Sonny’s meals.Chelsea was jealous. She was anxious about getting her son to build a close relationship with Sonny.“Why don’t we file a case to regain Sonny’s custody, Mom? Liberty and Serenity won’t ignore us so long Sonny is in our house. They’ll help us so that Sonny lives a good life too.“That way, Sonny will have a deeper connection with us. He won’t forget us when he becomes a capable person.”Chelsea had a pipe dream. O
Hank’s parents had always been biased toward his sister, Chelsea. It would be difficult to change them. Their father, Luke, was a slightly better case because he had felt regretful ever since knowing Serenity was the York family’s missus. He regretted letting Hank date Jessica. After going through so much, he was more convinced that Liberty suited Hank better. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Hank could no longer return to the past. On the day Serenity and Zachary brought Sonny to the Browns’ place for a meal, Chelsea also brought Lucas back to visit her family. When Chelsea entered the house, Olivia was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She said, “I heard Liberty and Duncan getting married soon, Mom. The Lewises are preparing for the wedding. The couple will most likely get their marriage license after she returns from Jensburg.”Olivia looked indifferent. “That’s bound to happen sooner or later. Why are we still talking about her?“Even if she gets a boost in her
Next, she posted the pictures on social media. Many of her followers were her students’ parents. Only a minority of them were her friends or ex-classmates. She was flooded with blessings from them as well. One of Zoey Crawford’s worries was finally resolved. Since her daughter had gotten married, she would continue urging her sons to do the same. Zoey had been anxious that Quinn could never find a suitable partner because of her easy-going personality and proficiency in martial arts. Although she was introduced to a few men through matchmaking services, the men usually refused to show up. They were scared of the potential domestic abuse they could face since Quinn was good at fighting. They had heard of her countless accomplishments as well. Therefore, no one was interested in Quinn despite her decent figure, looks, and family background. This was where Zoey’s constant urging for her to find a life partner came from. Quinn had felt frustrated about Zoey’s nagging. She did not
Julian said gently, “You can meet Serenity, Jasmine, and Elisa often in the future.“By the way, don’t trust anything Elisa says. Take her words with a grain of salt.”Quinn asked, “What will Ms. Stone say to me? Why are you specifically asking me not to listen to her?”Julian cleared his throat. As he drove, he said embarrassedly, “I pretended to pursue Elisa for some time to help Remy back then.”Quinn said, “I didn’t know I had a love rival.”“Elisa isn’t your love rival. She and her family don’t fancy me anyway. When they knew I was pursuing her, Mrs. Stone immediately changed her mind and agreed to Remy and Elisa’s marriage. To her, I’m like a fierce beast unsuited for her baby daughter.”Quinn got invested and asked, “Why did helping Remy involve pursuing Elisa?”Julian came clean and recounted everything to Quinn. He did not want her to misunderstand.“Even your parents fell for your acting. I didn’t think you’d do such a thing.”“Don’t misunderstand, honey.”Quinn smi
Fortunately, Quinn herself was strong, and her family was not pushovers either. She turned to look at Julian.Without asking, Julian knew exactly what she was thinking, and he quickly reassured her, “Quinn, you don’t have to worry. That kind of thing won’t happen to us. I’m your rock. As long as I’m around, no one can bully you. In my family, apart from my parents, everyone else has to accede to me, and you know how my parents feel about you. They’re so grateful to you that they practically worship you like a goddess.“You’re familiar with the York family now and have seen the way they operate, right? Well, my family and the Yorks are old family friends. Birds of a feather flock together. The reason our two families are so close is we have similar family values.“Setting aside the fact that your family is powerful enough and supportive of you—even if you were like Serenity in the beginning, my family would never look down on you or mistreat you. They would only love and cherish you.
Stacy was actually hoping that Julian and Quinn could get their marriage license today and hold the wedding right away. However, the date they had picked was after Christmas and they still had to wait over a month for the actual wedding. At least once they signed the papers, there was no need to worry about Quinn changing her mind. Stacy was afraid that Quinn and her family might have second thoughts, especially since her son was afflicted with a disorder.“Hey, sweetie.”When Stacy addressed Quinn, her tone was very gentle. Quinn thought that her future mother-in-law was even kinder and more considerate than her own mother. Her father had looked into the Buchams' character and knew that Stacy was actually quite formidable. To Quinn though, Stacy appeared so gentle and kind that she did not seem like the kind of person who would be overly strict or tough. Of course, anyone who could hold fast the position of the Buchams’ head missus and secure her husband’s love for decades as if
Quinn could not stop laughing when she saw him.Julian blushed a little in response. He asked, “What are you laughing at? Is my outfit ugly? Does it not look good?”He was used to wearing black clothes all the time. Although he had a white suit, he rarely wore it. Today, for the special occasion of legally getting married to Quinn, he had specifically chosen to wear white, a color symbolizing purity, to proclaim how his feelings were as pure as snow.“It’s not ugly, it looks great! You look even more handsome than usual. I’m just not used to seeing you in a white suit. Now, you look like a prince from a fairy tale—my prince.”Julian smiled indulgently. “That’s right. I’m your prince charming and yours alone. You look great in white, too, my dear wife.”It was Quinn’s turn to blush slightly. She was not used to being called his wife, especially since they had not even registered yet. Since they were about to go get their marriage license though, she might as well start getting used