“Mrs. Lewis, is there anything else? If not, I’ll take my leave. Sonny is still in the mall. I need to pick him up.”Deep down, Liberty was slightly bitter about it.She had never thought of being in a relationship with Duncan. However, in the face of Mrs. Lewis’s request, it was only natural to feel bitter.All Liberty did was rent Duncan’s store. Besides Duncan being good friends with Zachary, Duncan had helped her a lot, which was why she treated him enthusiastically. Even so, she had never thought of being with Duncan, yet she was compelled to leave.She did not do anything wrong, so why must she leave?“You may take your leave. Be careful while riding on the road since there’s heavy traffic,” Mrs. Lewis said with fake gentleness.Liberty took the key to her e-bike before she bade Mrs. Lewis goodbye. Then, she rose to her feet and left.Soon after Liberty left, Derek came in.Seeing his wife seated in a corner, he walked toward her.“How was the talk? It ended so quickly?”
Mrs. Lewis said, “I wonder what’s wrong with Liberty’s taste. My son is outstanding, yet she’s not interested in him. What kind of man does she want to marry?”“Is it a must for divorced women to remarry? I guess Liberty is frustrated. It’s not easy for her to accept a new relationship. If Duncan doesn't give up, he might spend several years trying to move Liberty. Perhaps you won’t be stopping them from getting together. Instead, you might be the one begging Liberty to be with Duncan.” Mrs. Lewis’s face darkened.“It’s impossible for me to beg Liberty to be with Duncan unless pigs can fly.”Derek was teasing her inwardly, ‘Don't jinx it. It might be a slap to your face. You might beg Liberty to marry your son in the future, and pigs can actually fly.’…Duncan, who was keeping an eye on Sonny in the mall, was absent-minded. He wanted to meet his mother and Liberty very badly. He wanted to hear about the conversation between the two of them. Would Liberty be more reluctant to
“Your mom has something to deal with. She’ll be back soon,” Duncan lied.“We’ll wait outside for your mom to come back.”Sonny acknowledged it.After carrying Sonny to the first floor, Duncan asked him, “Sonny, is there any snack you want to eat? I’ll buy it for you.”“Thanks, Dunc. But there are a lot of snacks at Aunt Ser’s house. I don’t need it.”Nowadays, Sonny stayed the nights at Aunt Ser’s house. Jim would send Sonny to class in the morning. It was only when Sonny did not need to go to class that he would stay with his mother.Aunt Ser and Uncle Zak loved him dearly. They always bought him a lot of tasty snacks.“That’s Aunt Ser’s business. I simply want to buy it for you to express my kindness. Sonny, give me a chance to do this.”Sonny stared at Duncan.He did not quite catch Duncan’s meaning.Duncan did not explain further but asked Sonny, “Sonny, have you thought of allowing me to be your father?”“I have a father.”Duncan choked before he replied, “I know you h
Duncan had no idea what to say.Sonny was such a stubborn kid.“Sonny.”Having caught sight of Duncan and Sonny, Liberty walked toward them.Still worried, Duncan reminded Sonny once again not to expose their discussion earlier. Sonny seemed to turn a deaf ear to his words and struggled out of his arms. He slid down and ran toward his mother. “Mom.”Once Sonny ran toward Liberty, she held his hand and asked with a smile, “Don’t want to play any longer?”“No. I want to go home.”“Alright. Let’s go home.”Looking at Duncan in front of her, Liberty expressed her gratitude to Duncan calmly. “Mr. Lewis, thank you for looking after Sonny on my behalf.”“You’re welcome. I’m more than ready to help you look after him.”Duncan stretched out his hand to touch the top of Sonny’s head. “Sonny is easy to handle.”Liberty grinned before she said to Duncan, “Mr. Lewis, we’ll leave first since Sonny wants to go home now.”Duncan instantly replied, “Let me send you home.”“It’s fine.”L
Duncan was embarrassed because of Sonny’s words, and so was Liberty.She turned her gaze to Duncan.Duncan grinned at her.Liberty was speechless. She kept quiet, thinking about how to answer her son’s question.“Mom.”Sonny’s childish voice rang out again.“Mommy, do you disagree?”“Sonny.”Liberty said tenderly, “You already have a father. Dunc is your uncle, and he’ll forever be your uncle.”“Liberty.”Duncan called her.“Mr. Lewis, Sonny is still young and immature. Don’t say these things to him. Sonny isn’t the one to decide on my life.”Liberty was solemn when she spoke.Duncan said apologetically, “Liberty, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have said these things to Sonny at this point. But my feelings for you are real, Liberty. I’m genuinely fond of Sonny and will treat him like my biological son.”“Mr. Lewis, as I said, I don’t want to get into a relationship now.”In Duncan’s face, Liberty said composedly, “Mr. Lewis, I hope you can understand. I also hope that you’ll
Sonny was obstinate.When Hank badmouthed Dunc in front of Sonny, Sonny insisted that Dunc was scary. However, Dunc was not a bad guy. No matter what his father told him, Sonny would not change his perception of Dunc.To him, there was a clear boundary between good and bad people. He would not call a bad person good, and vice versa. “I’m not unhappy. Something just crossed my mind.”Liberty smiled. “Look, I’m smiling.”The kid was clever and sensitive.Seeing his mother smile, Sonny believed that his mother did not get angry at what he said.“Mom, Dunc wants to marry you and make you his wife. Is that true?” Sonny asked after feeling relieved from earlier. Liberty was speechless.Duncan actually told Sonny everything.Considering Sonny’s age, would he understand it?Even if Sonny could accept Duncan as his father, his decision would not change Liberty’s mind.“Dunc was just kidding with you. You don’t need to take it seriously.”Sonny hummed in acknowledgment. “So Dunc w
When Zachary came out and saw Sonny kissing Serenity’s face, he was actually jealous of the three-year-old kid.Zachary carried Sonny into the house while speaking to him.“What do you want to tell me?”A look of curiosity washed over Sonny’s face.Then, Zachary gave him a lengthy lecture.Sonny was at a loss for words.He could not understand most of Zachary’s words. However, he managed to grasp one point, namely that he should not always kiss his aunt’s face since he was a boy.However, Serenity was his aunt.Even Serenity could kiss his face.In the end, Sonny thought, ‘The adult world is so complicated.’What Zachary said to Sonny left Serenity feeling speechless. She had no choice but to say to her husband, “Babe, take Sonny upstairs for a shower.”“Okay.”Zachary took Sonny upstairs and said to him, “I’ll help you shower tonight.”“I want to bring along my toys for a shower.”“You can take your water gun.”“Alright.”While heading upstairs, the two of them were ne
“Seren, sure enough, we’re sisters. I refuted Mrs. Lewis this way too. Why should I leave? Why should I make such a sacrifice?”“I think running away from the problem won’t solve it. Liberty, don’t move out of that street now. Your shop has been operating there for quite a while, and you finally have some regular customers. If you relocate, you’ll need to start everything from scratch.“As long as you stick to your decision and don’t be convinced by Mr. Lewis, he can’t do anything to you no matter how hard he tries. If you fulfill Mrs. Lewis’s request and leave Wiltspoon with Sonny, Mr. Lewis might never be able to get over you. He might spend his remaining life searching for you and Sonny.“By then, despite having gone after you for a long time, he still hasn’t won your heart. With his mother’s disapproval and persuasion over time, he’ll give up and leave you alone.”Liberty thought so too.She would not be able to solve the problem by leaving.Serenity’s thinking was the same a
“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