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
“I understand, Grandma May.” Duncan was down in the dumps. Still, the frustration only lasted for two minutes, and he regained his fighting spirit. Duncan had not begun the pursuit yet, and for him to lose the will now, he might as well move on. “It’s late. You should go home.” Grandma May showed Duncan the door. Duncan said with a kill, “Are you kicking me out, Grandma May? I was going to have a drink or two with Zachary.” “I’m not drinking tonight.” Zachary was quick to say no.Duncan chucked. “I heard that you don’t really drink at business parties anymore. Apparently, you quit alcohol because your wife doesn’t like you drinking. You don’t smoke, drink, gamble, or solicit. Our Mr. York has become a model husband.” The grandmother and grandson blurted in unison, “Watch and learn.” Duncan was speechless, to say the least. In the end, Duncan left Wildridge Manor. Once he was gone, Zachary stayed to chat with his nana for a while. Since the grandmother and grandso
It took less than two minutes for Zachary to take a more active role rather than being passive. He carried his wife to the bed and demanded more. No words were needed for the rest of the night. The following day was when Jasmine would drop by her family home for a visit as Mrs. Bucham. Serenity and her sister were having lunch at the Soxes’ residence. Zachary would, of course, be with his wife. After the visit, Jasmine and Josh would travel for their honeymoon the next day. It would also mark the end of the brief public holidays. Then came the time to get back to work, back to school, and back to business as usual. For the mass public, they were to resume the normal routine. Apart from watching the shop, Serenity would find the time to return to her hometown with Elisa to check on agriculture progress. The seasonal vegetables had been planted as planned. Looking at the greens all around, Elisa told Serenity, “The administrator said that the vegetables will be read
Upon hearing Serenity’s words, Zachary knew she was not very satisfied with the name he had come up with. He said, “You’re right. There’s still time. We can think of a few better names.”After a pause, he added, “I think my parents and Nana will think of a name for the baby too. After all, it’s their first grandchild and great-grandchild, respectively.”The first child would always receive the most love. Since there was only one child, everyone would shower their love on the baby. Serenity smiled. “I’ll leave the naming of the baby to you. You can be the one worrying about it. I’ll stay out of it because I’m bad at coming up with names.”“Okay. Leave it to me.”After speaking, Zachary pecked her cheek. He said gently, “I just want you to be happy and not tire yourself out.”“I won’t ever have the chance to be tired with you around.“Do you want to have some rest, babe? You should rest. I’ll head downstairs to have a look at Sonny and Laurence.”Zachary said, “I’m not sleepy.
“There’s no rush. There’s still a month till the due date. We can take our time to think of a name.“We should think of a few names for a baby girl too. What if a miracle happens?”Zachary said, “Chloe has gotten more adorable over time. Connor also looks cute when he isn’t crying. Their eyes are huge and bright. I feel my heart melting whenever I look at them.“I’m so jealous of Ben for getting a son and a daughter in one go. His babies are so cute. I can finally understand why Nana’s eyes gleam whenever she sees Chloe. She’s always fighting to hold her.”Serenity leaned her head against Zachary’s shoulder. “Let’s not think that we’re having a daughter. I joined a new mothers’ support group when I went for a checkup last time and learned of some ways to determine the baby’s gender. Although they aren’t the most accurate, we can still use them as a reference. I’m 99 percent sure that we’re having a baby boy.“You should just stick to thinking of a boy’s name. You can still come
Soon, the baby did a kick again. Zachary grinned. “Lil’ Bun understands us, Seren. The baby gave a little kick as a reply.”Serenity said, “The baby must think you’re playing with it because your hands keep touching the bump.”“I think the baby understands what we say. I read in books that babies can hear in the womb. Otherwise, why do people bother talking, playing music, or reading to their unborn babies?”“Do you miss Dad, Lil’ Bun? I’ll be by your and Mom’s side from now on. I’ll watch you grow and wait till you’re ready to meet me.“You must be a good kid. Don’t kick your mom too hard. She’ll be in pain. If you like kicking, you can kick me after you’re born. I have thicker skin and a higher tolerance for pain.”Serenity beamed as she watched Zachary interact with the baby in her womb. She was happy. Having Zachary and the baby made her feel like she owned the entire world. It was surprising that a man as tough as Zachary had such a soft side to him. He had changed for
Jane suggested. Antonia added, “You guys can even leave for Wiltspoon tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. You must be tired after your business trip, Mr. York. You should rest at our manor. Besides, it’s the weekend tomorrow. You can meet Ben.”Zachary smiled. “I thought about that as well, but I didn’t want to intrude.”Antonia said, “Not at all. We would love to host you. Sonny probably doesn’t want to go home yet.”She waved at Sonny, who then walked to her. She pulled him into her arms and lifted him, asking, “Do you want to play for another day or two?”“I’m fine with anything. I’ll go back when Aunt Seren does. I’ll follow her.”His mother was not back yet. Sonny did not mind either arrangement. Zachary told him, “I bet you’re having so much fun that you don’t want to go home, but your mom will return soon. Duncan has already gone to Jensburg to bring her home.”Sonny replied with a grunt. He knew about that. He was unhappy that Duncan did not bring him along to
Zachary laughed. The kids were fighting to do something so trivial. Conflicts arose often between the two boys. In the past, he, Josh, and Duncan also got into fights. However, they always reconciled quickly. No one ever took their quarrels to heart. After the bodyguards took all the gifts, Zachary led them to the courtyard. At that moment, Serenity stepped out of the house. She and Zachary stopped at the same time and stared at each other.A day apart felt like three years to them. Since they had been apart for some time, it felt as if a lot of time had passed. During those days, Serenity had been extremely worried about her husband and sister. Luckily, everything was over. “Seren.”Zachary smiled and walked toward his wife. Serenity snapped back to her senses and went to him in quick steps. The couple hugged each other tight. “You’re finally back, Zachary.”“I said I’d come to take you and Sonny home. Of course, I’d be back.”Zachary pulled away from Ser
“Honey, you have me, and my parents treat you like their own. They care for you more than they do for me and I’m their son.”Camryn shook off the pain in her heart and smiled lightly, “Yes, God has been kind to me by giving me such an excellent husband and open-minded in-laws, and sisters-in-law who I get along with like real sisters.”This had somewhat compensated for her lack of familial affection. She was especially grateful to Grandma May. If the old lady had not chosen her, Callum would not have even known who she was, let alone pursue her. The Camryn of today would not exist, and she could not imagine how many more years she would have spent living in darkness if she had not married Callum. Even if Aunt Evelyn had heard of the legendary doctor, she had no way to contact him.Right then, a customer entered the store. The couple aptly stopped their conversation there and moved on from the heavy topic.Meanwhile, in Annenburg, Serenity knew her husband would be flying here tod
Camryn smiled, “You spoil me too much. You’ll turn me into an absolute sloth who only waits around for you to take care of me, and it might tire you out.”“That won’t happen. I enjoy taking care of you,” Callum assured as he reached to help her with the snacks, but she would not let him feed her anymore. Callum had no choice but to hand her the snacks.“Although Trenton is young, he has mettle. When we put his parents away, it was hard for him to accept, but in the end, he did. As long as he has the right values, even the hardest things can be accepted over time and he won’t resent anyone else for it either.”Camryn pushed the snack box closer to her husband, indicating that he should have some too. “If Trenton didn’t have the right values, I wouldn’t care for him so much. Given the hurt and pain I suffered during the twenty-odd years under his parents, if I hated them, they’d have nothing to say in defense.“Because Trenton has treated me well since he was little, respects me as
Just now, Carrie came here and made a scene, and he had given her fifty thousand dollars. Although he had not spent much time with her, they were siblings. He could at the very least still recognize her. However, when Camryn asked him that, Trenton's heart started to race, not daring to confidently say that the lady really was Carrie.As for the young lady beside her? He had watched the video a few times but had not paid much attention to her. All he could see was a beautiful, young woman dressed in luxurious attire. In the video, he heard Camryn refer to her as Mrs. Longbottom, so her husband’s family name had to be Longbottom.Mrs. Longbottom had a good attitude toward Camryn and even supported her. He was not familiar with Mrs. Longbottom at all, though. Why did Camryn ask him that? Should he know her? Trenton watched the video two more times but could not find anything unusual about her. It was just that he was not acquainted with Mrs. Longbottom. If he had not seen the video,
The young couple looked at Trenton, then exchanged smiles.“How much did you give Carrie?” Camryn asked her brother gently. Camryn could harden her heart to completely ignore Carrie and not give her a single cent, but Trenton could not be as ruthless as she was, mainly because while Carrie had not been particularly kind to Trenton, she also had not bullied him outright. She had treated Camryn very poorly though and had never shown her any respect at all, so their sisterly bond had deteriorated to the extreme. It was already generous of Camryn not to completely destroy Carrie after taking charge, which was probably out of consideration for the fact that they shared a mother.“I-I gave her fifty thousand. She said it was almost Christmas, and she wanted to buy gifts and new clothes, so I-I gave her fifty thousand.” Trenton looked down as he spoke, not daring to look at Camryn, afraid she would scold him.Camryn gave her brother a long look but did not scold him. Instead, she took o