Mrs. Stone said to Clive, “If you’re going to talk to Remy, talk to him before it’s too late. Don’t let the two of them fall deeply in love. In particular, your sister still feels uncomfortable when she thinks about Zachary now. Don’t think that I don’t know.” It was just that Zachary became her niece’s husband, so she could not say more. Therefore, Zachary would not come to visit the Stones unless he had to. He would only come for Serenity. Clive said, “Mom, Elisa has let go of Zachary. She’s calm when she faces him now.” Following that, he added, “Mom, was it an accident that you sprained your foot? What’s going on with Andrew? Were you trying to create an opportunity for him and Elisa? Andrew is Zachary’s cousin. Even if the Readings keep a low profile, they’re related to the Yorks by marriage. That’s a hard fact.” Mrs. Stone choked and looked at the door to make sure her daughter would not come in. She responded, “There aren’t many families in Wiltspoon that are well-matc
“You’re the first and only person who moved me.” Remy was serious. He looked at Elisa with affection. He was growing fonder of her. “Remy, I never questioned your feelings for me. I just think that it’s too sudden and that I need some time to think about it.” Remy was understanding. He responded, “I know.” He did not dare to force Elisa. “I’ll go back first. You should go on with your stuff.” Elisa was a little shy being looked at by Remy like that. Uh. She could be shy too. Elisa had always been blunt and straightforward. She would easily offend people. She could not believe that she would be shy like a little girl. Remy did not make her stay. After walking her out of his villa and sending her back to the Stones’ residence, he stopped and watched her go in. He only turned around and walked back when Elisa was out of sight. At the same time, he took out his phone to call Zachary. Yes, he called Zachary right away. Andrew was Zachary’s cousin. Zachary knew
Zachary found his voice after a cat got his tongue. He said with a smile, “Mr. Johnson, you got me confused here.”“How did Andrew become your rival in love? He broke up with his girlfriend of five years three years ago and has since been single.” Was Remy not in love with Elisa? While Andrew did know Elisa, he had no interaction with the girl whatsoever. Andrew did not have romantic feelings for Elisa, so he was no threat to Remy. “Mr. Reading met Elisa today, so it’s too early to say that he likes her. I’m just a worry wart, but Mrs. Stone’s attitude today gave me something to think about. I’m sorry you have to see me asking around about Mr. Reading.” Zachary was nosy for once. It was mainly because his wife drew close to listen in on the conversation. He asked, “Can you enlighten me on what’s going on, Remy?“What are you interested to know about Andrew?” Remy relayed the whole story to Zachary and said, “The fact is Mr. Reading is your cousin, single, and without a gi
“Andrew drove your aunt home, and Remy caught Elisa seeing Andrew out. Remy overreacted by seeing Andrew as a potential love rival. He called to get information on Andrew.” Serenity asked, “Did my aunt hurt her ankle badly?” “It’s a sprain. She’s wrapped up and doing okay. They have a family doctor. Remy mentioned that Mrs. Stone didn’t summon the family doctor, so I guess it’s not a bad sprain. Don’t worry too much about it.” Serenity sent a text message to ask Elisa before giving Aunt Audrey a call. Serenity could only let go of the matter when she was sure it was merely a sprain. Aunt Audrey should be better in a few days. “Remy seems to care a lot about Elisa. It explains the extreme lengths he goes to.” Showing understanding, Zachary said, “In fact, he’s not the only one to act that way. Anyone would be on high alert if their crush interacted with someone of the opposite sex, even if it was just a brief encounter.” Zachary kept his eye on Shawn back then. It turned
On the other end, Remy continued watching the builders work after the phone call with Zachary. Remy also called the florist for a delivery of a bouquet of roses in the evening. Time passed quickly. The sun went over the horizon. The florist delivered the large bouquet of roses as Remy had ordered. After paying for the flowers, Remy carried the bouquet and took strides to the Stones’ residence. Since the two houses were close by, it only took less than two minutes on foot for Remy to get to the front gate of the Stones’ residence. Remy was about to ring the doorbell when Clive walked out of the house. Ditching the idea of pressing the doorbell, Remy waited for Clive to come over. Two minutes later, Clive stood before Remy. Both were around the same height and imposing in presence. They engaged in a stare-down. “These flowers are… blinding.” Clive broke the silence. Sure, he admired Remy for the man he was, but Clive took a protective stance for Elisa now that Rem
Clive fell silent for a bit before answering, “It’s not far, but…” “Mr. Stone.”Putting on a serious face, Remy earnestly said, “I like Elisa. I’m after a serious relationship with the intention of marrying her. I won’t give up on her.“I understand your family’s concern. That was why I bought this villa. My main responsibility is FC & Co.’s business in Wiltspoon, so I’m a permanent resident here. I rarely return to Annenburg. We’ll be staying in Wiltspoon and living in this house if Elisa chooses to marry me.” Remy believed he had done enough to provide the assurance. “No one can say what will happen in the future. My mom will only consider you as Elisa’s husband candidate if you marry into the family.” “I can do that if that is Mrs. Stone’s wish. My brother can fulfill his duty as a son to our parents.” Clive was speechless. His mother had never said such a thing. She would not budge on giving Remy the stamp of approval though. The last thing his mother wanted was f
Remy fell silent for a moment before giving his two cents. “Our parents want what’s best for us, but we may not approve of their methods. We might take it the wrong way and think they’re making our lives difficult.” “That’s right. Do your parents do the same too?” Elisa asked. “My parents stay out of my business once I reach adulthood. Then again, they don’t really get involved because my eldest brother is the boss of me. The seniors in my family don’t interfere with the younger generation’s business. Though, they might say something if we haven’t settled down.” Elisa smiled. “That’s right. I heard the elders of the Johnsons are pretty liberal like the Yorks. No wonder you guys are the 1% of the population. Everything seems to be going well for your lives.” “Elisa, is your mom forbidding you to date me?” Elisa gave an honest answer. “That’s right. My mom said you’re from out of town. She doesn’t want me to marry off to a faraway place. She is forceful and determined to separa
After dinner, Serenity returned to her room to take a shower before heading to the guest bedroom where her sister was. Liberty was carrying her son out of the bathroom. “Sonny is just done with his shower.“He had a blast today, and now he’s sleepy. I quickly gave him a wash, and he was nodding off in the showers.” Liberty lay her son down on the bed as the little man was asleep. Serenity pinched Sonny’s cheek with a smile. Sleeping like a log, Sonny had no reaction to his aunt getting a good squeeze of his face. “He and Rowan were really running around the place today. It’s a good thing. The pressure to do well in his studies is real even though he’s only in tenth grade. His cousins and brothers performed well academically, so he will be lagging behind if he doesn’t put in the work. His cousins and brothers won’t be pleased about that.“All that fun is a good stress reliever.” Serenity’s heart went out to the youngest member of the York family. The kid was a sweet talk
“He will get better soon now that he’s taken the medicine. Don’t worry too much. When you're taking care of him, make sure you wear a mask so you don’t catch it from him. You’re pregnant, and if you catch a cold, it’ll be more troublesome.” Liberty was relieved, but she then reminded Serenity to take extra care of herself, worried that her son’s cold might spread to her.Pregnant women had limited options for medication, and many pregnant women endured mild colds without taking medicine out of caution.“I'm fine, really,” Serenity reassured her.“When Sonny is sick, he's especially vulnerable and relies on me. If I don't take care of him, I won’t feel at ease, and neither will he.”Zachary was busier than she was, so Serenity did not want to trouble him with such minor matters.“Don’t you worry, Liberty. Once Sonny is better, I'll send you a message. Even if Sonny begs me, I won’t let him eat anything too greasy from now on, to avoid aggravating his condition.”“Children are bo
Sonny weakly protested, “The medicine will be really bitter.”“Yes, but good medicine tastes bitter because it helps cure the illness,” Serenity comforted him.Under her coaxing, Sonny took the medicine, drank a glass of water, and went to the bathroom. He came back and fell into a deep sleep in his aunt's arms.Serenity wanted to carry him upstairs.“Let me carry him—you’re pregnant,” Lilian said considerately.Sam immediately interjected, “Dr. Carden, Missus, allow me to carry Mr. Sonny upstairs.”Dr. Carden was a distinguished guest of the family. How could he allow her to carry Sonny upstairs? Sam stepped forward and carefully took Sonny from Serenity's arms before carrying him back to his room.Serenity followed them upstairs.Lilian did not follow.To her, Sonny's common cold was not serious. She only personally took care of him because she quite liked Sonny.Serenity sat down on the edge of the bed and told Sam, “I can’t do it myself right now, so please make sure to t
After New Year’s celebration, Liberty left for Jensburg and told the teachers that if anything happened to Sonny, they should contact Serenity, which explained the teacher's call coming through to Serenity.“I’ll go pick him up right away. Thank you, Ms. Penny.”Sonny’s teacher Ms. Penny replied, "Alright, please come and take him to see a doctor. Recently, a lot of kids have been catching colds."After hanging up, Serenity said, “Jas, I can't stay here and chat with you. I need to go fetch Sonny from preschool. He's got a fever. Lately, he keeps kicking his blanket off at night.” Though she and Zachary often helped cover Sonny back up, they could not always catch it every time he kicked off the blanket, so he had probably caught a cold.“The temperature has been rising these days, so it's a bit hot sometimes. Look, I don’t even need to wear a coat now.” The temperature was around 68°F during the day. When the sun was out, it was really warm, and there was no need for a coat.
Serenity agreed empathetically, “You can offend anyone, but don't ever offend Nana. Luckily, she's my nana.”Out of all her in-laws, Grandma May was Serenity’s favorite because the old lady treated her the best. Whenever she had conflicts with Zachary, Grandma May would always stand by her side first. Only when she was ready to listen would Grandma May try to reason with her and speak up for Zachary. Even though Grandma May was Zachary’s grandmother, she treated Serenity like her own granddaughter; more so than Serenity's biological grandmother.“Are you going to help Dylan?” Jasmine asked.“How? He’s wooing his future wife. No one can help with that,” Serenity replied. “Zachary never meddles in his brothers' private matters. As long as they don’t ask him for help, he doesn’t care about anything.”In Zachary's words, he only wanted to take care of her. In his world, she was his priority.“True. Let’s just watch for now, unless Dylan comes to you asking you to speak well of him
“Now he's suddenly trying to pursue Imogen again? Did something happen to him? Or was it that his beloved turned him down, and then when he saw everyone else all coupled up, plus Grandma May’s pressuring him to get married, he decided to try to win Imogen back?“Who does he think Imogen is? Does he think he can just have her when he wants to, and throw her aside when he doesn't?”Even though Dylan was Serenity's cousin-in-law, Jasmine could not bring herself to take his side. Back then, when Imogen followed him from Huntington to Wiltspoon and even asked Serenity for help, all she ended up getting was an apology from Dylan that he could never love her. He even mentioned that he was in love with someone else, a woman he called Fox. How could a vixen be any good? Was she better than Imogen?Jasmine thought Dylan was out of his mind, but that was someone else's business. She was just a bystander. Even Serenity did not interfere much since she was only a cousin-in-law. After all,
Without a second thought, Leticia replied to her daughter.[Of course you should. As long as you can win that boy over, you'll be happy in the future. I’ve met so many young men, but I still think he’s the most suitable for you.]Despite her earlier anger, Leticia still hoped her daughter could win Dylan’s heart. She had always regarded him as a potential son-in-law, after all.Imogen smiled and left it at that. She had already made up her mind.In truth, when Dylan rejected her, she was not all that upset because the person he loved was still her. It was just that she had kept Dylan in the dark. One could say that he had been made to dance in her palm.However, when he realized that he could not love Imogen, he was honest with her and decisively left without bothering her further, not wanting her to fall even deeper when the situation was hopeless. In this aspect, she appreciated him.Now that she knew she was the one Dylan’s grandmother had chosen for him, Imogen was curious ab
When Dylan overheard Imogen’s phone conversation with Leticia, he realized that Leticia was trying to match her with someone named Kade. Now, he had a rival.Even though he was being asked to leave, Dylan did not get angry, nor did he shamelessly insist on staying. He stood up and said, “I’m sorry for disturbing you, Ms. Doyle. I know you’re Imogen Doyle. I also know what I’m doing, and I won’t make the same mistake again.“Ms. Doyle, you were on the nose earlier. Yes, I do want to pursue you again. Starting today, I will try to win your heart once more. No matter what your attitude is toward me, I’ll accept it.”The first time, she had offered her heart, but he did not accept it. That was his fault.This time, it was his turn to offer his heart. If it took more time to win her over, he was willing to be patient.“My nana isn’t forcing me.” He continued, “When it came to our generation, she only pushed Zachary to marry Serenity.”Zachary had been a special case. For the rest of
Imogen felt a surge of satisfaction when she saw Dylan was rendered speechless by what she said. She deliberately leaned closer to him, her beautiful face coming right up to his, and their gazes met.They were so close that Dylan could smell a faint, delicate fragrance on her. It was a little familiar, but it was not the same as Chameleon Fox’s scent, because she never used fragrance when she appeared—probably to avoid being recognized by scent.It was the scent he smelled on Imogen back when he was initially pursuing her—it was Sugar’s. Imogen smelled the same as Sugar, a scent he remembered when he was in close proximity to Sugar.Imogen was Sugar.Dylan was now sure of this, but he did not bring it up. Even if he asked, Imogen would not admit it anyway.Besides, he no longer needed her to confirm it. As Zachary had said, he only needed to trust his nana; she would not mislead him when it came to marriage. His nana knew very well that he loved Chameleon Fox, and yet still aske
Unexpectedly, Kade had to return to the country due to a work transfer and would be staying in Huntington long-term.Leticia’s best friend Jade immediately called her again to bring up the idea of a marriage match. Leticia then thought about it and decided to arrange for her daughter to fetch him from the airport.“Mrs. Doyle, the person Imogen likes is me, so please stop trying to match her with someone else.” Dylan boldly interjected.Imogen glanced at him but did not say anything.On the other side of the line, Leticia asked Imogen when she heard Dylan’s voice, “Jen, has that York scoundrel gone to look for you again? He came by once a few days ago, but you weren’t home. We didn’t even let him past the gate.“He didn’t show up again after that, so we thought he left, but he actually went to your office to look for you. Jen, what does he mean by this? Is he trying to pursue you once more? If that’s really the case, all the more you have to give Kade a chance—to make Dylan York