Zachary picked up Laurence in his arms.Sonny ran over.“Uncle Zack.”Zachary smiled and carried Sonny too.Serenity stood up from the stone bench and looked in the direction of the voice. She saw her husband walking toward her with the kids in his arms.Why did he come here?He even knew Serenity was at FC Manor.Zachary walked over with the two children in his arms. He then bent down and put them down on the ground and told them, “Go enjoy yourself.”Sonny pulled Laurence and said, “Let’s go play, Laurence.”Laurence was a playful kid who loved playing the most.There were a few children at FC Manor. All of them except Laurence were still infants that could not speak or walk, which was not fun to play with as they could only cry.They got crazy together as Sonny seldom came to visit.Serenity and her husband looked at each other for a moment, and she asked him, “How did you know we were here?”Zachary reached out and lightly pinched her face, scolding her, “You didn't ev
A good husband knew his wife best.Every time she saw the children playing around, she would think about them not having babies yet.Serenity leaned her head on Zachary’s shoulder and responded with a grunt of agreement.The two children got tired of playing and ran over to them.Laurence ran too fast and tripped on a stone, falling down.Sonny hurried to help him up.Zachary and Serenity stood up quickly and walked over. Serenity was the one who picked him up as Sonny was still young and could not lift up the chubby Laurence.Laurence pouted his mouth and was on the verge of crying. He was held by Serenity, who asked him in a gentle and caring tone if he was hurt and where it hurt.Aunt Ser was so gentle, just like Mommy Jane, giving him a maternal feeling. Tears swirled in Laurence’s eyes, but he still shook his head and said he was not in pain.Serenity helped him pat off the dust on his clothes. She then took out a tissue and gently wiped away his tears after seeing them w
“Aunt Ser.”Sonny felt sour watching.He sensed that Aunt Ser was taken away by Laurence.Feeling a sharp pang of jealousy, Sonny could not help but also dive into Aunt Ser’s arms.Serenity smiled and hugged her nephew. She then let go of the two little ones and followed along, holding one in each hand saying, “We've played outside long enough, let’s go back inside.”Zachary held Sonny’s other hand.The couple and the two children were like a family of four.Back in the main house, Serenity told Jane that Laurence had taken a tumble.Jane hurriedly pulled her foster son over, intending to check him over in public. She remembered something and did not lift Laurence’s clothes. Instead, she held his shoulders and asked him with concern, “Did it hurt?”“It hurt, but it doesn’t hurt anymore after Aunt Ser hugged me.”The little one answered. After thinking about it, he added, “Aunt Ser has the same mommy scent as you, Mommy Jane. I really like Aunt Ser.”Jane laughed. “You like e
Ben greeted Zachary and his wife once more, before finally sitting down next to his beloved wife.They exchanged a few cold pleasantries until it was time for dinner.It was because of the arrival of an important guest, the Johnsons were dining in the main house. The dinner was lively and energetic.The two grannies were particularly happy. Perhaps it was because of their age, they both shared the same mindset of enjoying the scene of their children and grandchildren filling the house.Later that night, Serenity had just managed to get her nephew to sleep and was feeling drowsy herself.Hearing the sound of the door, she sat up and saw Zachary enter the room.“You are not asleep yet.”Gently, Zachary asked, “I was talking with Ben for quite a while, I thought you were asleep.”“I was putting Sonny to sleep, and I almost fell asleep too.”She then asked, “What are those patterns on Laurence’s back? They look like tattoos. Laurence had it done since he was younger, it must have h
Serenity decided and said, “Tomorrow. We will take Sonny back tomorrow. Children have short-term memory. Once the two of them are separated, sooner or later, Sonny will forget about the secret on Laurence’s back.”Zachary looked at her and said, “If I agree with that, then you will think I want you guys to leave. If I don’t, I’m afraid Sonny will ask Laurence or even lift his shirt to take a look. You know how strong the sense of curiosity little kids have.”“If I hadn’t accidentally found out about it, I would have wanted to stick to the original plan and go home as scheduled”.Serenity also did not expect that by lifting Laurence’s shirt, she could know the secret on his back. Without a doubt, the one who tattooed Laurence’s back was his own parents.Just like Zachary said, no one would willingly tattoo something on such a little kid unless it was absolutely necessary.“Don’t worry about it, just stay for another two days. The manor is a safe place.”Zachary comforted his wife
What was he doing at Queen Manor?Thinking about how much her parents liked Kevin, Hayden could not stay in bed any longer. She was afraid that if she did not go home, mealy-mouthed Kevin might charm her parents and make them happy enough to sell her off.Hayden knew her parents were now worried about her marriage.She had been living as a man for over twenty years and had long grown accustomed to the life of a man.Marrying a wife was impossible for her; she was a woman after all.Even if Hayden had a wife, she could not give her a real married life.She did not want to get married either. She was not used to being a woman and she had never worn a skirt her whole life.Moreover, she had never met a man who could make her heart skip a beat and make her take off her disguise.Her parents also thought she was so outstanding that men could rarely match her.They did not urge her although they were worried about her marriage.If it were not for Kevin coming into her life, she wou
With an irritated expression, Hayden said helplessly, “Mom, I only get to rest on weekends, and I want to sleep in until I wake up naturally. Besides, I usually only take one day off and go out to play, which is more tiring than working.“Moreover, Mr. York is also busy. How can I bother him all the time?”Donald took over the conversation and said, “It’s not that Kevin should take Hay out to play, it should be the other way round. This is Jensburg, Hay is more familiar with it than Kevin, no?”Hayden kept a straight face and did not say a word.Kevin laughed and said, “When there is a need, I’ll have to trouble Mr. Hayden to be my guide.”“Kevin, just tell Hay wherever you want to go. He may seem cold, but he knows everything about Jensburg, where the good places and the best food are in town.”“If that’s the case, Mrs. Queen, don’t mind if I do.”Sophia smilingly said, “Of course, go ahead. I like you the most.”Both of her children could not compare to Kevin’s eloquence. He
“I see.”Sophia laughed and said, “Kevin, don’t blame your parents. All parents are like this. I even urge Hay and her brother, but they don’t listen to me. Maybe it’s because we love to nag, and Hay rarely comes home.“As for Hugh, that boy has many female friends, but none of them are serious girlfriends. Sheesh, children really are a liability.”“Mom, didn’t you say we’d have breakfast together when I’m here? I came back on an empty stomach.”Hayden had to interrupt her mother again.“Yes, yes, let’s go have breakfast. You and Kevin had planned to go horseback riding, right? Kevin, there’s a hot spring near our ranch. In this kind of weather, you’ll be covered in sweat after horse riding. You can go get a good soak.”Hayden did not say a word.Her mom almost said it outright, “Kevin, Hay is actually a girl.”Kevin said with a smile, “Great! So there’s actually a hot spring near the ranch. I bet it’ll be comfortable taking a soak in the hot spring after our horse riding sessio
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
Callum was silent for a moment before he said, “I wanted you to get familiar with the route to my office, which is why I asked you to deliver the flowers yourself.”“Did you ever think about how difficult it was for me as a blind person? It was so hard for me to walk all the way to deliver those flowers,” Camryn retorted.Callum pulled her into an embrace and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Camryn. It was my fault for not thinking it through, which put you through a lot.”Camryn pushed him away, “We have customers constantly coming in. Don’t just hug me out of nowhere. You’re as thick-skinned as a rhinoceros, but I’m not. At that time, I was angry and silently cursed you a hundred thousand times, but your insistence actually did help me learn the way to your office and now, I can find my way there even with my eyes closed.”At that moment, Trenton returned. After Carrie left, he felt a bit down and stayed outside for a while to compose himself before coming back in. He did not wan
Just then, a customer came in wanting to buy a bouquet. Camryn first brought over some sample pictures for the customer to choose from. “No need to choose, just help me arrange a bouquet of roses. I’m going to confess my feelings,” said the young boy, a hint of shyness on his face as he spoke.Camryn smiled gently. “Alright, please wait a moment while I prepare it for you.”Callum assisted by inviting the young boy to sit down and poured him a glass of water.The boy glanced between Camryn and Callum and quietly asked, “Are you and the boss married or dating?”“We’re married. She’s my wife.”The boy expressed his envy. “You both seem very happy.”“Yeah, we are very happy. I love my wife very much, and she loves me too.”Thinking about the girl he was pursuing, the boy’s face lit up with anticipation. “I also have someone I like, and I’m going to confess to her, though I just don’t know if she feels the same. I’m a bit nervous.”Callum, drawing from his own experience, advised
“She hasn’t paid. Stop her.” Camryn was not going to let her get away with it. With a command, her two bodyguards stopped Carrie.Carrie said furiously, “Camryn, I only took a few flowers from you! You have so many flowers here. What's the big deal if I take a few? You still want me to pay? I’m your sister! Don’t you know that blood is thicker than water?!”“Blood might be thicker than water, but business is business. Anyone who buys flowers from me has to pay, including you. Besides, you’ve never treated me like an older sister. You always bring up how we’re sisters when you want to take advantage of me, but that won’t work here. My roses are freshly transported, and since you’re my sister, I’ll let you have them for twenty bucks each. You took about five stems, so just give me a hundred. I won’t rip you off.”Carrie’s expression changed in an instant. “Camryn, why don’t you just rob a bank? You’re charging twenty bucks each? You’re just a thief! Here! I don’t want them! I’d rather
“If Mom said she would create an opportunity for you to get with the king, would you really believe her? It’s just talk—nothing actually happened.” Trenton could not resist poking Carrie’s forehead a few times. “Carrie, can you please come back to earth? In your current state, forget about finding a great guy like Callum—even a regular, decent guy would be turned off by you.”Carrie swatted away her brother’s fingers, irritated and embarrassed. “Am I really that bad? I’m young, beautiful, have a great figure, and a dignified heiress. If the monarchy still existed, I could marry the king and be his queen without a problem.”“Carrie, you have sky-high ambitions, but be careful, don’t fly too close to the sun and end up like Icarus.”As soon as he said that, Trenton was met with a smack from his sister.“Is there a brother who curses his own sister like that? What do you mean by that? I’m destined to have the princess life. I’ll be fine.”However, deep down, she was still worried bec
Camryn was right—he was just too soft-hearted. If he were as ruthless as her, Carrie would have found a job long ago after running out of money.To encourage Carrie to become independent, Trenton decided that after Christmas, he would stop giving her living expenses. He would also tell their parents during his visit to prison that Carrie was truly hopeless.“Trenton, you keep siding with her, and one day you'll regret it. She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing who has deceived who knows how many people. Do you really think she cares about you? She just wants to win your complete trust to take everything that belongs to you for herself. By driving us out of our home, she’s not only seeking revenge on Mom and Dad but also on us—especially you. She’s just pretending to be nice to you to sow discord between us siblings.”“Carrie!” Trenton said seriously, “Don’t talk about Camryn like that. She’s not that kind of person. I believe in her, one hundred percent.”Carrie was so furious she wanted
“Alright, alright, I can't win with the two of you against one,” Carrie sulked. “Give me money to spend. I'm out of money.”She reached out her hand toward Camryn, wanting her to give her money. Camryn slapped her hand away. “Even Trenton knows to take advantage of the winter break to find a part-time job and earn some pocket money. You’re perfectly capable, yet you don’t look for a job.“To put it bluntly, if you’ve gone to sweep the streets, you'd still have a source of income. I have money, but I won’t give it to you. Don’t think that just because we’re sisters—estranged, too, at that—I have an obligation to support my adult sister. I’ve said it before: if you want money to spend, earn it yourself.” With that, Camryn walked away to tend to her plants.As Christmas approached, the flower market was bustling. Every day, many people came to buy flowers, and all her employees were out delivering flowers to clients. Sometimes, when it got too busy, she even had to ask her two bodyguar