“I’ve made the maneki-neko, but Ms. Stone saw and loved the creation when she suddenly came to visit me. I thought since we live together, I can make it up to you at any time.” Black in the face, Zachary fixated his profound eyes on her. Serenity asked cautiously, “Are you angry, Mr. York?” Zachary scowled and spoke in an icy tone, “How can I not be angry when you gave something meant for me to someone else without my permission?” To make things worse, Serenity gave it to Elisa! Did Serenity know that Elisa was chasing her husband? How could she give away his maneki-neko to her competition? That was generous of her! Serenity stopped looking at her phone. Holding her plate of mac and cheese, she made her way toward Zachary while eating. She sat down next to Zachary and said fawningly, “I’m sorry, Mr. York. It’s my fault. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. Don’t be mad.” Zachary glared at her rather grimly. His lips were pressed together tightly. Since Zachary had not c
Peering at Serenity’s pasta dish, Zachary was feeling bummed out. There she was, eating well. How could she be sitting next to him, enjoying her meal while he was upset? The girl… was heartless. Ultimately, they were different from other couples. Theirs was a marriage of convenience without feelings involved. Bottling up his frustration, Zachary asked glumly, “Isn’t Ms. Stone the heiress of Stone Group? Why did she look for you? Since when have you two been acquainted?” Zachary played dumb despite knowing the answer as he got his intel directly from Elisa. He never once mentioned Elisa in Serenity’s presence. Serenity recounted the story of how she met Elisa to Zachary. It aligned with Elisa’s version of events. “Ms. Stone came and opened up to me about her feelings for the heir of the Yorks. Her decision to chase after Mr. York wasn’t quite well received by her family. She was feeling down and asked me for ideas to make advances at Mr. York.” Zachary raised his brow.
Furthermore, Zachary was only thirty years old. How did that make him old? Serenity mentioned more than once that he was a middle-aged man. Zachary had his power of meditation to thank as Serenity’s words could have stung him to the point of blowing his cover. “My boss isn’t old. He’s not a middle-aged man!” Pulling himself together, Zachary defended himself. Serenity looked at him. “I thought you never met your boss. How do you know he isn’t a middle-aged man? Do you think someone young can run a huge company like York Corporation? Although the business world is not my thing, I know what a big deal York Corporation is in Wiltspoon. York Corporation is neck to neck with that something & Co. in Annenburg.” Zachary replied after what seemed like an imaginary eyeroll, “FC & Co.”Like York Corporation, FC & Co. of Annenburg was a giant in its respective city. Behind FC & Co. was the multi-billionaire Johnson family. The present CEO, Ben Young-Johnson was a year younger than Zach
“I have a suggestion, but I’m on Ms. Stone’s side, so I can’t tell you about it.” Grabbing her plate and utensils, Serenity got up and went to the kitchen. Zachary quietly watched as her figure disappeared into the kitchen. A while later, he rose to his feet and walked over. Leaning against the kitchen door frame, he asked solemnly, “You’ve only just met Ms. Stone. Why are you on her side already?” “Ms. Stone and I might not have known each other for a long time, but I’ve never even met your boss. Whose side would you think I’ll take? Ms. Stone is my type of gal. What’s wrong with supporting her to go for Mr. York?“Your boss must be a lofty person. Wait till Ms. Stone has him wrapped around her little fingers. He’ll be all over her. Hahaha. Let’s see if he’s going to be haughty then. Isn’t it a fun storyline? I can write a book out of it.“I have a lot of free time at the shop. If the sales of my online business aren’t doing too well, I should try to write a book. That’s ano
Josh would be the first to quit and stay as far away as possible if Zachary were interested in men. Problem with his manhood? Zachary had not fallen head over heels for Serenity. Well, he would show her once he took a fancy to her and consummate the marriage! It took a while before Zachary got up and made an abrupt exit to his room. He slammed the door behind him. The loud bang was a reflection of his foul mood. Serenity waited until he closed his bedroom door before getting up. She picked up the paper, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the bin while mumbling under her breath, “It was a good thing I thought it through. Otherwise, I’d have lost to him.” The lesson today was not to make a bet before getting full intel on the opponent. There was a risk of things blowing up in her face. As for her proposal of a wager and her sudden change of heart, Serenity was not concerned at all. It was normal to back out of a deal since they had not signed a contract. While hu
The couple walked down the stairs together. Zachary went for his morning run while Serenity rode her e-bike to the market. She was mounting the bike when Zachary reminded her, “Get extra groceries to bring to your shop. You can cook your lunch. You should stop ordering takeout.” “Got it.” “I’ll have the Wiltspoon Hotel deliver meals to you every day if I catch you with another takeout.” Serenity turned her head to shoot him an angry look. “Squanderer!” Zachary made a wry face. Not too far away, the bodyguard, who pretended to pass by, nearly snickered after overhearing Serenity. Refusing to spend another minute with the squanderer, Serenity rode her bike away. “The girl doesn’t know what’s good for her!” Zachary waited until she was long gone before making that snide comment. Serenity looked around the marketplace and bought a lot of fresh vegetables and long-lasting melons to stuff the fridge. The potatoes, carrots, and onions were placed in a ventilated bag on the flo
Now things were starting to get interesting. Serenity had no idea that her man nipped another one of her headaches in the bud in those mere minutes.After the spaghetti was cooked to al dente, Serenity plated it together with the tomato sauce base. She also sprinkled diced pork belly and basil on top, but only a dash of chili powder on her plate. It was only a quick sprinkle as Serenity was worried it might be too spicy than she could take. Statistics showed that Wiltspoonians were not fond of the extra pow in their meals. “Mr. York, breakfast’s ready.” Serenity carried her plate out of the kitchen while beckoning Zachary, who was on the swing, to the dinner table. Zachary was without a word, but he left the balcony. Seeing that his breakfast was not served on the dining table, he quietly went into the kitchen and brought out his share. “You can add as much chili powder as you like. My sister loves hot spices, so she put together a bunch of hot flavors to make her own.”
Serenity pushed Zachary’s money away. “I didn’t know that you don’t eat food that's greasy, but I won’t put it on your plate next time. Put away your money. Can you stop flashing your cash? Do you think you’re made of money?” Zachary should dish out several million in cash by the way he was flaunting his money. She could then count the money and admit that he was made of money. “Why didn’t you say anything when I was cooking the pork? What’s the point of having a mouth? Well, that’s a waste of one of your five senses if you don’t know how to speak up…” A wad of notes was placed on her empty plate. Serenity’s rambling came to a screeching halt. Without giving her a chance to return the money, Zachary turned on his heel and left. Serenity took a glance at the money on the plate and moved the gaze to the man on the run. The man already had one foot out the door by then. “Zachary, do I look like a beggar to you?” The door slamming shut was his response. Now that the door
The security guard brought out a basket and handed it to Dylan.Dylan took the basket and poured the bag of chili peppers into it. Next, following the live broadcast team’s instructions, he walked in front of the camera and said, “Last year, I unintentionally hurt Imogen’s pride. It was my fault, and I apologize to her.“Imogen doesn’t have time to deal with me, but Ms. Layla Doyle said that as long as I eat chili peppers on this livestream, she’ll allow me to come here every day to wait for Imogen. I’m afraid of spicy food and usually don’t eat anything spicy at all.“But for the sake of seeing Imogen and having a chance to get her forgiveness, I’m willing to accept Ms. Layla’s challenge and eat these chili peppers.”The live broadcast team was at a loss for words.Layla had not prepared a script for Dylan, but he went ahead and explained the backstory. Was that okay?Someone secretly messaged Layla to ask for her opinion. Her reply was to allow Dylan to say whatever he wanted a
Isabella had invited him to sit at the dining table and eat with them, but Austin refused. He said he was the chef, so he could just have his breakfast in the kitchen.He always remembered his position as Isabella's personal chef and did not let the fact that the others saw him in a more favorable light now go to his head and cross the line. His adherence to his principles and awareness of his position only made Isabella respect him more.Though he was one of the extremely affluent Yorks, after accepting the job as her private chef, he completely discarded his identity as a rich heir and earnestly took on the role of her personal chef.By the time Austin finished his breakfast, Isabella and the two young boys had also finished eating. He came out to clear the table.Phillip slid off his chair and said to Louis, “Isa’s passing by my preschool today. She said she’ll take me there.”He was showing off. Sure enough, Louis looked enviously at his sister. Isabella did not even glance
Austin placed the two breakfast portions on the dining table and then walked over to Isabella, who was still reading the newspaper. “Ms. Isabella, breakfast is ready.”“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Louis’s voice came from the stairs. Then, they saw him quickly running down the stairs with his schoolbag in one hand.“Louis!” Isabella called out.Louis immediately stopped, then picked up his schoolbag to carry it on his back before slowly descending the stairs step-by-step, no longer daring to run.The two boys really did have very similar personalities.“Good morning, Isa. Good morning, Austin.”Louis walked over to Isabella’s side and respectfully greeted them.“If I ever see you running down the stairs again, I’ll punish you by making you miss a week of eating Austin’s meals.”“Isa, a week is too long!” Louis instinctively tried to negotiate.“You still dare to bargain with me, huh? That shows you don’t want to change. In that case, I’ll make it a whole month.”Louis was speec
“Isa, Austin promised me that he would make cartoon-shaped snacks for us this Saturday. You won’t mind, right? I’ve already told my classmates, and they’re all coming to our house!”The little boy was also concerned about his image. He was afraid his serious eldest cousin would refuse, and if that happened, he would be so embarrassed. After all, after Austin promised him, the other kids at preschool treated him so well. They all wanted to try the cartoon-shaped snacks Austin made. However, since Austin was Isabella’s private chef, if Isabella did not agree, there would be nothing even Austin could do about it.Isabella lightly pinched Phillip’s cheek. “Since Austin’s promised, he’ll keep his word. I’ll be resting at home this weekend and won’t stop you, but don’t make a racket here. Go do it at your own house. I need to rest.”“Thanks, Isa! I’ll tell my friends not to disturb your rest. Isa, has Louis not woken up yet?”With Isa’s promise, Phillip’s little face lit up with a smil
Upon hearing that Phillip might be coming, Louis moved much faster.Isabella did not wait for her brother. She said, “Head downstairs by yourself later, and make sure to check your schoolbag to see if you’ve packed your books and water bottle.”She would not help her brother check those things. Every day, she made sure her brother checked everything himself because it was his responsibility. If their parents or employees tried to help, she would scold them.Now, their parents no longer dared to help Louis with things he could do himself. They let her take charge of him. Her parents had Louis when they were in their forties, and he was their only son. If they were the ones raising him, Isabella was sure her brother would have been spoiled beyond reason.“I know, Isa,” Louis replied, already starting to brush his teeth.After leaving her brother’s room, Isabella headed downstairs. As soon as she reached the first floor, she saw Phillip running in with his little schoolbag on his
Isabella patiently said, “No, you can’t. If you sleep for ten more minutes, time will be too tight, and we’ll hit the worst of rush hour when everyone’s heading to school or work. There’ll be too much traffic and you’ll be late. You mustn’t be late.” If her brother was constantly late, he would get used to it and start liking to sleep in. Isabella would not let him develop such a bad habit.“Isa, I won’t be late. Every day when I arrive at school, there are still plenty of classmates who haven’t arrived. I can just tell the driver to speed up.”“Absolutely not! It’s not safe to drive too fast. It doesn’t matter if the other students are late, but you can’t be late. Get up now, or I’m going to get angry.”Louis pouted.Amused, Isabella pinched his lips, saying, “Come on, get up. In two more days, it will be the weekend, and you’ll get another two days off.”“This holiday was too short.”Under his sister’s urging, Louis reluctantly sat up. “It feels like we just got let out for w
The O'Connor family, due to a predominance of daughters rather than sons, was extremely cautious about their sons-in-law.Even though they did not have a son-in-law yet, it was clear from the way Isabella’s uncles were not allowed to interfere in the family business that they were worried about a son-in-law taking control of the O'Connor family’s wealth.Even Isabella’s aunts were forbidden from involving themselves in the family business. This was to protect their love-obsessed selves from being easily manipulated or influenced by their in-laws.At twenty-seven, Isabella had not even considered dating, as she knew once she had a partner, her elders would put their guard up against her and her partner.It was not just the elders who would be cautious, Isabella herself would be wary of her own husband.Too many men had used their wives’ family wealth to rise to power, only to later swap their wives out for younger and more beautiful women. Some even swallowed the entire family fort
“If the woman’s side minds her moving so far away and wants us to go to her family, except for Zack, who can’t move because he’s the head of the family, the elders in our family don’t really care. As long as we’re happy, they’re fine with it.”They had the powerful York Corporation backing them, and each of them was highly capable. Even if one of them married into another family, they would not be bullied by the woman’s family. If the woman wanted to push them around, she would have to think twice, with the York family’s influence behind them.However, so far, none of his brothers had done so.Austin thought to himself that he might just set a precedent.Isabella now bore a heavy burden. Her brother was too young, and it would take at least a decade before he could take over. Isabella would have to manage the family business for many more years.Isabella’s eyes sparkled. “Your family’s so open-minded. With your family’s wealth and standing, there’s really no need for you guys to l
“Zack is much more at ease now, but honestly, the person who was the biggest help to him wasn’t any of us—it was Josh. He and Zack are really good friends, and after graduation, Zack brought him into York Corporation.“He’s Zack’s right-hand man, and he’s really impressive.“Zack is incredibly efficient too. Back then, no one in the company could keep up with his work speed. He slowed down a bit after marrying my sister-in-law and starting a family. Now, he likes to stick close to her, and he’s not as crazy about work as he used to be.“He also goes to fewer networking events now. He used to attend these events and work late into the night, but now he’s home before ten at night. No one can stop him.“Those CEOs who work with our family know this too. If they have a business to discuss with him, they try to get it done during the day. They don’t want to drag it into the night.”Isabella laughed softly, her eyes showing a hint of envy. “Before, I didn’t know you were a York. But aft