Grandma May had mentioned that even though Elisa had a similar social status to Zachary, she was not suitable to be the wife of the York family’s head. “Let’s eat at a hotel. You still have a business engagement. We don’t have to travel a long distance back home.”“It’s up to you.”Serenity smiled. Although her relationship with Zachary was not dramatic, he started respecting her and prioritizing her wishes more. Their days were ordinary yet fulfilling and sweet. Zachary often said he still wanted to be with her in another life. Serenity got greedy too. She also thought of marrying him and being husband and wife again in their next lifetime. …While in the Lewis family’s house, Mrs. Lewis put down her phone with a grim expression. Although Mr. Lewis sat opposite her and was holding a newspaper, he had been paying attention to his wife’s expression. He heard the conversation between his wife and their youngest son too. “What happened again? You look awful. You’ve been
Derek said, “I disagree too, but what can I do? That’s Duncan’s decision. He has always disobeyed us.”“Well, do you think Liberty will let Serenity know that I talked to her?” Mrs. Lewis suddenly asked. “Why did you go and meet Liberty? Didn’t you say Liberty isn’t interested in our son at all? The problem lies with our son.”After a moment of silence, Mrs. Lewis replied, “I know the problem doesn’t lie with Liberty, but Duncan refused to listen to us. He’s very stubborn. I had no choice but to deal with it by approaching Liberty. I wanted to advise Liberty to cancel her tenancy agreement and move her breakfast place somewhere else so she can stay away from Duncan.“In the future, if Duncan visits the Yorks, tell Liberty not to visit the Yorks to prevent the two of them from meeting each other.“That said, it’ll be great if Liberty is willing to leave Wiltspoon and live in a place that Duncan is unaware of. I’m ready to pay her a hefty sum as long as she doesn’t meet Duncan.”M
Worried that his wife would screw things up, Derek had no choice but to meet Liberty with his wife since he could not stop her.In order to continue talking his wife out of meeting Liberty, Derek asked his chauffeur to drive.The couple was seated in the back. Along the journey, Derek kept advising his wife. He said, “If Duncan finds out that you go and meet Liberty, he’ll surely have a row with you. This will affect your relationship with him.“If Serenity finds out, it means Zachary will too. You know full well how much he protects and pampers his wife. Liberty is his sister-in-law. Forcing Liberty to leave Wiltspoon will stir up a hornet’s nest and greatly damage the relationship between the Lewises and the Yorks.” Mrs. Lewis tilted her head and glared at her husband before she said, “I’m just going to have a talk with Liberty. I’m not forcing her to leave Wiltspoon either. Why are you nagging at me non-stop? You’re annoying.“The Lewises and the Yorks are family friends. S
After moving closer, Liberty got a better sight of Jessica.Jessica had thinned down a lot. She had a dull complexion and was dressed in loose clothes. Only those who were sharp-eyed could tell that she was pregnant.“Let’s go, Hank,” Jessica said to her husband.Currently, she disliked seeing Hank being close to Sonny. She was afraid that if they got very close, Hank would not take care of her child wholeheartedly.Regardless of whether she gave birth to a son or daughter, the Browns would surely be biased toward Sonny.Jessica had to continue serving her sentence in the future, so she would not be able to watch her child grow. If her child turned out to be a girl who failed to please the family, who would know how much the child would suffer when Jessica was not by her side? Therefore, Hank was the child’s support.Sonny was a lot more fortunate than Jessica’s child.With so many people loving and supporting Sonny, there was no need to worry that he would suffer. “Sonny, w
“Dunc.”Sonny’s mannerism toward Duncan and his father, Hank, was the same.Once Sonny saw Duncan, he shook off Liberty’s hand and scurried toward Duncan.Hank’s expression became graver.His parents and elder sister had always nagged him, telling him that Liberty had a pursuer. If he was not going to divorce Jessica and go after Liberty again, Sonny’s father would be someone else.Duncan would most likely become Sonny’s new father.Hank knew full well that Liberty would not accept him anymore. As for Jessica, he still had feelings for her. He also felt sorry for her.He hurt two women because of his unfaithfulness. Liberty was already divorced from Hank and had started her life anew. She was leading a wonderful life. He did not want to hurt Jessica again, especially by divorcing her when she was in jail. If he did that, she would be homeless after she was released.Ever since Jessica was arrested, her brother and sister-in-law had established boundaries with her.Although h
“Sonny.“Sonny.”Something seemed to be wrong with Hank. He kept shouting his son’s name as he strode toward his son.“Sonny, I’ll play with you.”Hank hurriedly caught up with Duncan and blocked him.He stretched out his hand to snatch Sonny over.Sonny was Hank’s son!He shared the same surname as Hank, namely Brown!He had nothing to do with Duncan at all. There was no need for Duncan to play with Sonny.Sonny’s biological father was here!“Sonny, let Dad play with you, okay?”As Hank asked Sonny, his eyes were fixed on Duncan. He purposely stressed the word “Dad”.Hank would forever be Sonny’s father!If Duncan wanted to be Sonny’s father, he could dream on!Hank failed to stop Duncan from going after his ex-wife. After all, he was still married to Jessica. What was more, Jessica was pregnant with his child, which meant he could not divorce her at this point.If Liberty wanted to remarry, she had the freedom to do so.Besides feeling annoyed, there was really nothin
Liberty watched the situation indifferently.Jessica was faking it, yet Hank could not see through it?Perhaps it was because Hank was concerned about Jessica and her baby.Soon, Hank left with Jessica by car.He did not even bid goodbye to Liberty and the rest.Liberty and Duncan wished Hank could quickly leave.However, Sonny was dejected.Hank said he would play with Sonny. However, once Jess said she was unwell, Hank instantly ignored him and left with Jess.“Mom.”Sonny walked toward Liberty. He extended his hands to ask for a hug from Liberty.Liberty carried him. Seeing his dejected look, she fell quiet for a moment before explaining on Hank’s behalf.“Sonny, Jess isn’t feeling well, and your dad is worried about her. He had to send her to the hospital for a check-up, and that’s why he can’t play with you. It’s not because he doesn’t want to play with you or he doesn’t love you.”Duncan’s lips twitched. He felt that Hank did not love Sonny dearly.Hank loved Jessica
“It’s on the third floor, huh? There’s a lot of food on the first floor. Do you want to buy something to eat?”Sonny shook his head.Currently, he was not keen on eating or playing.With Aunt Ser around, he had all kinds of good food.Upon noticing that Sonny was not interested in buying things, Duncan took him straight to the third floor of the mall.On the third floor, the kids’ playground occupied one side whereas the other was a fashion store. When some parents came here to buy shoes, they would drop their children off at the playground and leave them to play there. There was an entrance fee with staff members keeping an eye on the kids. The kids would not run out unless they wanted to stop playing.Even if they wanted to run out, the staff members would not allow the kids to do so without the presence of their parents.Therefore, the parents would feel at ease. By placing their children at the playground, they could shop around the mall freely without being annoyed by the
Once Maria hung up, Imogen glared at Kade.With an innocent look, Kade asked her obliviously, “Why are you glaring at me like that, Jen? Did I do something wrong?”“You didn’t do anything wrong. I just know now why Maria’s lost hope and said stuff like she’s entrusting you to me. You couldn’t even call or text her? You seriously only posted on your Story? If she had muted your Story, she wouldn’t have seen anything.”Kade replied without thinking, “She probably wouldn’t have muted my Story, would she? If she did…”He was suddenly at a loss for words.Listening to their conversation, Dylan was sure that Kade was an indecisive man when it came to his feelings. A man like that was probably not a very big threat to him.Still, he did not dare be careless and would continue viewing Kade as his rival in love, staying on guard against him.Imogen took up the thread of conversation and replied to Kade, “If Maria had muted your Story, that would mean she’s on the verge of blocking you an
Seeing that Imogen was protective of Dylan, Kade did not say anything else. The three of them chatted while eating, but it was mainly Kade and Imogen talking. Dylan rarely spoke. Only Imogen would talk to him from time to time. At that moment, Imogen’s phone rang.Looking at the caller ID, she told Kade, “It’s Maria. She must be calling to ask if you’ve arrived.”Kade’s smile faded. “I already posted on my Story once I landed. She must’ve known I’ve already arrived safely.”Imogen glared at him. She decided not to scold him and answered the call first.“I just picked Kade up, Maria. He arrived safely.”Imogen immediately told Maria not to worry as she had picked Kade up.“Oh. I wasn’t going to ask about him though. I just thought of talking to you since you’re free this weekend.”Maria denied that she was concerned about Kade. She had seen Kade’s Story on Instagram. She did not comment or like the post, but simply swiped upon seeing that he had arrived safely. Howev
Kade patted Imogen’s head again. “Thanks, Jen, but no one can help with relationship problems.”He had patted her twice. Whenever Dylan saw that intimate action, he desperately wanted to chop Kade’s hand off and feed it to the dogs.Dylan had not even touched Imogen’s head before. He had only held her hand. They had held hands many times and were near each other when she was Chameleon Fox, but they never did anything beyond that. Although Dylan was jealous, he did not rush forward to push Kade away. Kade’s and Imogen’s mothers were best friends who had known each other for a long time. Dylan was at a disadvantage, so he would not do anything rashly. Not only did he not push Kade away, he simply walked behind them quietly with Kade’s luggage in tow. He did not butt in their conversation either. Imogen brought the men to a restaurant. They sat down. Dylan placed Kade’s luggage beside him. He wanted Kade to look after his own luggage. The three of them ordered a se
She loved Dylan, not Kade. “You, Maria, and I are best friends. In my heart, you two will always be my older brother and sister.”Imogen emphasized the words “older brother and sister.”She truly viewed them as siblings. She had never had a crush on Kade, nor would she have feelings for him in the future. Their families were only thinking about their own benefits. However, her parents knew the man she truly loved was Dylan. The York family was better than the Butchers and more suited for her.To be honest, if Imogen and Kade were to be together, she would be used by the Butchers. The Doyles would also have to aid the Butchers financially. If she were with Dylan, she would not have to worry about being used or giving away money. York Corporation was slightly superior to Davidson Group. Even Leticia wanted Dylan as her son-in-law. Kade understood Imogen’s words. She did not want to follow her family’s arrangements. She liked another man, and that man was more capable
“It’s lunchtime, Kade. Let’s find a restaurant and have some food.“It’ll take an hour or two to return to the city center, and there’s also the weekend traffic. If we head back without eating, you might get very hungry.”Imogen was already hungry. Kade smiled. “Okay. Let’s go with that.”Imogen led the way. Kade pushed his luggage to Dylan and said, “Please help me with my luggage, Dylan.”Without giving Dylan a chance to refuse, Kade quickly went after Imogen with a small bag, probably a laptop bag.Dylan had the urge to kick the luggage away. However, he held it in to maintain a good image before Imogen.Imogen’s attitude toward Kade was likened to that between siblings and friends. There were no romantic feelings involved as her gaze was too calm. It made Dylan feel reassured. Although Kade and Imogen looked intimate, Dylan could sense their intimacy was due to them reuniting after a long time. After Kade caught up to Imogen, she turned back and saw Dylan pulling
Kade did not know if what he felt for Maria was love or friendship. There were two reasons behind his return to Huntington—his career and the time for himself to analyze his feelings. He had been friends with Maria for over two decades. They had a close relationship. In the past, when their families had similar social status, they wished Kade and Maria could get married. However, Kade and Maria seemed to be just friends and had no romantic feelings for each other. He had never even confessed to Maria. As Maria’s family business declined and they went bankrupt, the Butcher family’s attitude changed. They no longer allowed Kade and Maria to hang out because they were worried about Maria’s family dragging them down. Kade had helped the Sprearings a lot in private. Despite having a successful career, Kade was poor. Maria’s father had borrowed all of Kade’s money to salvage his company. If the company made a profit on the borrowed money, Kade could get his money back. The
“Okay.”Kade said gently, “I’ll hang up and send you my location. We can talk when we meet.”Soon, Kade ended the call and sent Imogen his location. It took Imogen and Dylan about ten minutes to find him. “Kade.”Imogen was happy when she saw him. She ran toward him elatedly.Dylan saw a man about his age or a few years older than him. The man looked handsome and gentlemanly. He wore a gray suit without a tie, which made him look like a successful person. From Imogen, Dylan knew his love rival was a senior executive of a multinational company. He was competent since he was assigned to return and handle the business in the country. Kade’s mother and Leticia were best friends. Kade was also Leticia’s godson. Imogen had known him since he was young, and the parents of the two families intended to bring their kids together. Upon seeing Kade in the flesh, Dylan felt threatened. If he wanted to win, he had to put effort into pursuing Imogen. If Imogen loved him and was will
“You can decide what we have for dinner, Mom. I don’t have any opinions.”Some of the Doyles were busy during the weekends, while others would take a rest. Either way, they still had time to have dinner together. After ending the call with her mother, Imogen told Dylan, “When we meet Kade at the airport, we can have lunch there first. We’ll only eat with my family during dinner.”Dylan had heard Leticia’s words through the phone. He said, “Will Mr. Butcher be staying with your family?”Dylan found it normal for them to have dinner together. After all, that Kade guy was his future mother-in-law’s godson. Since he was finally back in the country, it was customary for Leticia to invite him over for a meal. However, Dylan could not help but feel jealous about Kade staying at the Doyles’ mansion. When he could not even enter their mansion most of the time, Kade could immediately move in. If Kade got closer to the Doyles, he would be a more significant threat to Dylan. Imogen
“We can head there in my car.”Dylan was delighted that Imogen allowed him to go to the airport with her. “Any car is fine.”Imogen led him out of the house. Dylan quickly followed after her and opened the car door for her. He even hovered his hand above her head to prevent her from hitting the roof of the car.“You’re so attentive.”Imogen complimented him as she fastened her seatbelt in the car. “I’ll only be gentlemanly to you aside from my family members.”Imogen glanced at him but did not say a word. A few minutes later, Dylan drove out of the Doyle residence with Imogen in his car.Not long after they left, Leticia went downstairs.She noticed the gifts on the table but did not see Imogen anywhere. Thinking he had kidnapped her daughter, she quickly called Wendy over and asked, “Did Jen head out?”“Yes. Ms. Imogen had gone out with Mr. Dylan. She said they were heading to the airport to receive someone.”Wendy had overheard Imogen and Dylan’s conversation, so she