“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
Sam was snickering to himself.Zachary had completely become a slave to his wife.Serenity laughed on the other side of the line. “I’ll be home soon. Are you home?”“Yeah, I just got home. Where are you now? Let me pick you up.”“It’s okay, don’t trouble yourself. I can drive myself home. Besides, it’s too much of a hassle for you to come all the way from home just to bring me home. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Just wait for me at home, babe.”“Sure. Drive safe. Remember that you’re driving a car, not flying a jet.”Serenity chuckled. “I don’t even know how to fly a plane.”During late nights when there was less traffic, Serenity would sometimes speed on the way home and would soon be dissuaded by her two bodyguards.When Zachary knew of it, he gave her an ear-lashing. He then told Liberty about it too, which resulted in Serenity being reprimanded by Liberty.Serenity realized Zachary loved complaining to her sister.He would turn to Liberty whenever his advice for Serenity f
“Babe, I’m home!”Serenity yelled as she entered the room with some snacks.Zachary walked over to meet her.He saw that she was carrying a bag containing several disposable boxes.“I thought you said that you don’t eat at this hour. Why did you still pack supper home? Are you disgusted by my poor cooking skills? Is that why you rejected the idea of me making supper for you?”Zachary was petty and would magnify a small matter to the point where he thought Serenity loathed him.“No way! Babe, your cooking skills have surpassed mine. When I was passing by the night market, I just felt nostalgic and couldn’t help but stop by and buy some of the few snacks I used to eat.”Zachary did not know how to make these local delicacies. He only ate what the common folk ate for breakfast because he was pretending to be poor. Serenity was in the dark back then, so she always packed a local breakfast for him, and he ate it because he did not want his secret to get exposed.He still remembered
“Babe, I love you.”Serenity said the words that Zachary liked to hear the most.“From now on, I’ll buy you flowers every day, okay?”Buying flowers was easy.Serenity just had to tell Camryn to prepare a bouquet of flowers for her every day, then she would just give it to Zachary.“I only have one vase in my office. Alternate days will be good enough.” Zachary’s expression finally eased.Serenity said, “Why don’t I buy a few more vases for your office?”“I don’t want people to see me as a vase.”Serenity laughed and said, “You’re a man. Who would regard you as a vase? Alright, so instead of buying you more vases, I’ll just send you a bouquet of flowers every other day. It’s Friday tomorrow. Shall we go shopping on Saturday? I’ll buy you new clothes.”Zachary had plenty of new clothes in his closet. Every once in a while, a fashion designer would tailor new clothes for him.However, a certain someone still liked to receive clothes from his wife.Since Serenity learned of Zac
“You should get enough sleep. Health is more important than anything,” Liberty said in distress.“Liberty, I’m fine.”Serenity did not sleep enough last night because of her attention-seeking husband, and Serenity did not want to share what happened in their bedroom last night.“Has Jessica been released?” Serenity suddenly asked.Liberty was silent for a moment before she said, “She’s pregnant.“She had just conceived before she was arrested. After she was in jail, she was in a bad mood and didn’t find out until now. It’s been three months now, and Hank is helping her to apply for bail.”However, Jessica would still have to be sentenced after giving birth.Serenity said, “Her child came just in time.”Hank still had feelings for Jessica.He was pressured by his parents and sister to divorce Jessica, but he refused.He also wanted Liberty to issue a letter of understanding so that Jessica could have a lighter sentence.Hank was cognizant that even if he divorced Jessica, Lib
Duncan walked in but turned around and left before he said hello to the Hunt sisters.Serenity was puzzled and thought, ‘What does this mean?‘Is he retreating?‘Or did he leave because he saw me here?’Just as Serenity was guessing what Duncan meant by leaving so quickly, Duncan came in again.This time, he had a bouquet of flowers in his hand.It turned out that he forgot to take the bouquet from his car.Serenity was stunned.She looked at her sister, but she saw that Liberty’s face was stoic.Since it was still early, there were no other customers in the diner except Serenity. The two shop assistants were sitting beside them eating their breakfast.Seeing that there was a customer, the two of them wanted to get up and tend to the customer, but when they saw that it was Duncan, the two of them sat down again and continued to eat their breakfast.Duncan’s pursuit of Liberty was so obvious that they could not even pretend not to know.“Liberty.”Duncan came over holding t
Duncan smiled and said, “Oh.”Serenity looked at her sister’s back, lowered her voice, and asked Duncan, “The florists aren’t even open at this hour. Did you bring this bouquet from home?”Duncan replied, “Yeah, I cut all the flowers that I could in the yard and made them into a bouquet myself.”“No wonder.”Serenity glanced at the bouquet of flowers.There were all kinds of flowers in the bouquet, not just roses.Duncan was a rough man. Although there were flowers and trees in his villa, he never once admired them. The butler had arranged for someone to buy them so as to add a bit of color to the landscape.Thus, not all of them were roses.Duncan cut all the flowers that bloomed in the villa to make this bouquet.The butler felt distressed when he found out that Duncan had cut off all the blooming flowers in the villa. However, he supported Duncan in pursuing his crush. Thus, the butler decided to go to the flower field at Wildridge Manor to buy a full load of roses to put i
Zachary said those words, but in his heart, he was thinking that he had to keep an eye on the younger generations of the major families in Wiltspoon, particularly those who stood out. He would make note of any promising boys, so that when he had a daughter, he could arrange for that boy to grow up alongside her. If they became childhood sweethearts, she would not have to marry far away. Of course, once he had a daughter, he would not want her to get married too early. He would still be fine even if she was unmarried at thirty.Zachary drove his beloved wife to the Stone residence. Audrey was walking in the yard with Patrick. The weather was nice today, and the temperature had risen a few degrees. Patrick had been ordered by Audrey to stay inside and avoid the cold wind, but he was now finally able to get out and walk around.Elisa had gone to Annenburg with Remy to celebrate Christmas. Anthony, afraid of his parents’ constant nagging to settle down, had bought a plane ticket abroad
“Duncan is a good man. Being with him, you will definitely be happy, Liberty. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness, growing old together, and may you have children soon.” After a pause, Hank added, “Or maybe don't have children, I'm afraid that if you have your own kids, you might not love Sonny as much.”He was still quite selfish. He hoped that Sonny would be Liberty’s only child. As long as Liberty and Duncan did not have children, the fortune and empire Duncan built would eventually become his son's legacy. Then again, thinking about Liberty’s current status, Hank sighed quietly, knowing that his selfish prayer would never come true. Liberty would definitely have another child. She would need a daughter to take her place and eventually take over the Fisher matriarchy in Jensburg.What if Duncan had a biological child? Would he still treat Sonny well?Hank was actually quite worried that if Duncan had his own child, he might not treat Sonny well. That was why, when he last s
“Go cook some food. It's rare for Hank to be resting at home, so don't say those unpleasant things in front of him. Honestly, if he hadn’t gone after Jessica, she wouldn't have ended up like this. As a married man, Hank shouldn't have pursued a young, innocent girl in the first place. Everything that happened to him is his own fault—it’s all self-inflicted.”Ever since Hank divorced Liberty, and after seeing how Liberty had turned her life around and was living a better life, Luke had changed a lot because of regret. It made him realize many things and change a lot.Olivia opened her mouth as if to say something, but said nothing in the end. After a heavy sigh, she stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare food for her husband and son.In the past, when Liberty was still part of the Brown family, every time Olivia came to her son’s house, she never had to cook. She only had to mention what she wanted to eat, and Liberty would prepare it for her. All she had to do was eat and still
“She lost the child when she fell on her own. That was our family’s flesh and blood, too!”Since Sonny did not live with the Browns, and despite her many objections, Olivia did not voice her criticisms toward Jessica when she was pregnant, out of consideration that Jessica was carrying the Brown family’s child.It was Jessica’s bad luck that she fell and lost the child, which made Olivia lose a grandson. If she had just one more grandson, she would not be waiting so eagerly for Sonny to return. It was all karmic retribution! “Mom, that's all in the past. I'm doing fine now. If the child wasn't meant to be, then it wasn't meant to be. They just didn't want to come into our lives. Anyway, Jessica is still my wife. I should go and see her. If I hadn’t corrupted her, she wouldn’t have ended up like this. It’s my fault, I ruined her.”When Jessica first became his secretary, she was still innocent and never thought of seducing him. It was he who fell for Jessica, and it was also he wh
Unfortunately, their regret and realization came too late. “I heard from Sonny that you and Mr. Lewis are getting married soon. When will the marriage be?”Olivia tried to make herself sound calmer. “We’ll be heading to the City Hall to complete the procedures later.”Olivia went silent. After some time, she said, “Oh, today? Congratulations, Liberty. I wish you both a happy marriage.”“Thank you.”Olivia initially had a lot of things to say. However, upon discovering Liberty and Duncan were getting their marriage license that day, the words got stuck in her throat. Saying anything was meaningless.Soon, Olivia hung up. Once the call ended, Luke, who had been sitting beside his wife, asked, “How did it go? Did Liberty agree to Sonny staying with us for a few days?”Olivia was still stunned and did not immediately reply to her husband’s question. At that moment, Hank came out of his room in his pajamas. When he saw his parents sitting on the sofa, he yawned and asked, “Wha
Serenity asked, “Duncan has no comments about it, right?”“No. He said that Hank would always be Sonny’s biological father. Sonny’s surname won’t be changed to Lewis as well. He’ll remain a Brown. That’s part of Hank’s and my divorce agreement.”Since Liberty had signed the agreement, she would keep her promise. No matter Sonny’s surname, the fact that he was a member of the Brown family would not change. If so, there was no point in changing his surname. “Duncan is so easygoing.”At that moment, Liberty’s phone rang.It was Olivia. When Liberty recognized her voice through the phone, she whispered to Serenity, “Speak of the devil. Olivia is calling me.”“What did you say, Liberty?”Olivia heard Liberty whispering but could not hear her clearly. She asked Liberty to repeat herself.“I was talking to my sister, Olivia. Why did you call?”It was still early in the morning. “You’re back from Jensburg, right, Liberty?”“Yes.”“That was what I heard. Look. The year is almo
“He doesn’t even want kids and said having Sonny was enough.”Duncan did not care about blood relations. Liberty believed him. He only cared about her. If Liberty had not had to manage the Fisher family, she probably would have taken more time to consider whether she wanted a second child. However, Duncan's love for her ran deep. She decided to try for another child so that he could have a child of his own. Liberty did not want to be selfish. She could not prioritize only herself and Sonny. She had to be considerate of Duncan as well. “By the way, there’s something that I need your help with.”Serenity said, “Oh you, don’t sound like a stranger. We’re sisters. I’m ready to help with whatever you need.”“I have to go to Jensburg next year. I think I’ll leave Sonny here in Wiltspoon for his studies. I’ll ask for Sonny’s opinion again once my situation in Jensburg is stable. If he wants to move to Jensburg to live with me, I'll bring him over.“If he says no, I’ll need y
“Morning, Liberty. The housekeeper said you weren’t out yet, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”Serenity stood and smiled when she saw Liberty enter. “I woke up when you arrived.”Liberty whispered, “Sonny is still asleep. Let’s go downstairs. You can accompany me on a walk outside too.”“What time are you and Duncan meeting?”Serenity was worried that Liberty would be late. Liberty said, “We still have to wait until the City Hall opens. Duncan and I agreed to meet at nine. It’s still early.”The three adults exited the child’s bedroom and went downstairs. Zachary remained in the house while Liberty and Serenity went on a stroll in the garden. Liberty’s villa initially belonged to Zachary. Although he sold it to Liberty, it was also considered a gift. She was the one who insisted on paying and refused to accept it as a gift. Therefore, Zachary accepted some money from her so that she would take it. The villas Zachary owned were never small. They usually came with garden
“As expected of a child’s skin. It’s so smooth,” said Serenity. “Catch me if you can, Isaac…”Sonny spoke in his sleep and even giggled. He dreamt of him and Isaac playing tag. When Isaac started running after him, he quickly turned to escape while laughing. He did not realize that he was dreaming. “I have two dads, Isaac…”Sonny spoke again.Serenity laughed and told Zachary, “Sonny must’ve had a blast yesterday. Even his sleep talking is related to playing.”She pinched Sonny’s face lightly. “You do have two dads, Sonny. They love you a lot, so you have double the love.”Serenity spoke gently, regardless of whether he could hear her. She bent over and left a soft kiss on his cheek. “That’s why you must be happy. I wish you a carefree life ahead.”She hoped he would grow up healthily and be worry-free. Sonny was in a deep sleep and did not reply to her. Liberty watched them from the door with an affectionate gaze. She felt content. Zachary and Serenity had a st