Well, that killed the conversation. Without another word, Serenity quietly sat there and looked at the streetscape outside the window. Liberty had just arrived when Serenity and Zachary reached the shop. “Liberty,” Serenity said as she got out of the car. Liberty turned around and noticed that it was her sister and Zachary. With her plump face beaming, she asked, “Where were you and Zachary coming back from?” “I went to his workplace to call him over for lunch. How was it, Liberty? Did you find a job?” Zachary came down from his car and greeted Liberty, to which the latter responded with a smile. However, Liberty appeared beaten when her sister mentioned work. Shaking her head, she replied, “Not yet. I submitted a bunch of resumes, but I either hadn’t heard back or got a flat-out refusal.” After a pause, Liberty added, “When they heard I have a two-year-old at home, they said I’d be preoccupied and distracted since my kid is young. It got me so riled up. Who said a mot
After the meal, Liberty wanted to go home and rest.Liberty felt exhausted having looked for a job all morning.Her confidence took a hit as she did not get to find a job. Thus, she wanted to go home and rewrite a few resumes while mentally preparing herself to see if she could get hired.“Liberty, I’ll take you back,” Serenity said.Liberty looked at her brother-in-law.Zachary said timely, “I’ll head back to the office then.”“Okay. Drive carefully,” Liberty instructed. After her brother-in-law left, Liberty carried her son, who was still asleep, and got into her sister’s car. “If Zachary doesn’t have a long lunch break, you can send him back to his office so he doesn’t have to drive. Else he won’t get to rest during his break.”“Alright,” Serenity said as she started the car.She would never go to York Corporation again.However, Serenity did not say this aloud lest her sister lectured her. Serenity could tell how much Liberty approved of Zachary as a brother-in-law.Lunch
Zachary said lightly, “Remy’s self-defense isn’t up to par. The Johnsons, like my family in Wiltspoon, are the richest family in Annenburg. For safety reasons, Remy has no choice but to bring more bodyguards everywhere he goes. It’s not like you’re not aware of this fact, so why are you making a fuss now? If you’re envious of Remy’s ostentation, you can also hire eight to ten bodyguards to follow you around.”Josh did not have bodyguards because he was proficient in martial arts.Moreover, not many people knew of his identity, so it would be too conspicuous for him to go out with bodyguards.The two were talking about business when the secretary knocked on the door.“Mr. York, this is the coffee you asked for.”The secretary brought over the freshly brewed coffee and placed it gently in front of Zachary.After the secretary left, Josh joked with his friend-cum-boss. “You don’t have the energy to work after your little romantic rendezvous with your wife, huh? You should drink two
“Duncan asked us out for lunch tomorrow at our usual spot. That guy always goes back to the same place with us every time! I know the food at Grace’s Diner is delicious, but I wouldn’t bother to go if it wasn’t for Grandma May’s Beans and Cream next door. At least we can hang out at the cafe.”“We used to go there often. Duncan is such a nostalgic guy,” Zachary chimed in.Before they got to their current positions in the company, Zachary was not yet a manager and was still in training. Even then, he also did not like to reveal his identity, so he would often eat at regular diners with his friends.Beans and Cream was the largest and fanciest cafe in Wiltspoon. The clothing stores and restaurants nearby were not exactly low-end either.That was because low-end stores would not be able to receive the flow of customers coming from Beans and Cream.The patrons of Beans and Cream were mostly working professionals who liked to treat themselves. They would often try out other restaurants
After some thought, Zachary finally sat down at the dining table. He opened the lid of the disposable box and silently ate the breakfast burrito that he was not a fan of.Zachary had to admit that living with Serenity made him more like an ordinary person.He ate a lot of street food that he had never tried before.After breakfast, Zachary went to the balcony. He sat down on the swing and admired Serenity’s flowers and plants.He sat there until eleven o’clock when he received a phone call from Josh reminding him of their lunch appointment. Zachary then went back to his room, got dressed, and went out.Knowing that Serenity was at her sister’s house, Zachary thought they would not cross paths, so instead of driving the national MPV, he sat in his luxurious Rolls-Royce. As usual, he was ostentatiously escorted to Grace’s Diner by a convoy of bodyguards.The convoy parked in front of Grandma May’s cafe, and Zachary walked to the diner so it would not cause much of a commotion.Whe
Zachary went back to his table with a calm face. After the dishes were served, he ate quietly without joining in on his friends’ conversation.All he kept thinking about was Serenity smiling and putting food on Shawn’s plate.“Zachary, you’re acting a little weird today.”Duncan picked up a vegetable with a fork and ate it. He looked at Zachary, who was sitting across from him, and said, “Why are you so quiet today? You just kept shoving food into your mouth.”Josh nodded in agreement.Zachary said blankly, “I’m hungry.”He only ate a breakfast burrito that he did not like in the morning. It was not filling, and he was famished.Of course, Zachary was also in a bad mood.When he was in a bad mood, he would just eat non-stop.Zachary thought, ‘So what if she serves Shawn food? I don’t care. Did she think I’ll get jealous?’As he said before, he did not know what jealousy was and would never experience it!They were just husband and wife in name and had signed an agreement tha
Duncan would not be happy even if it was just a nominal marriage that was kept hidden.Zachary listened to his two friends joking around and kept silent while continuing to eat his meal.Soon, he was full.“I’m going to my nana’s cafe. You two can take your time eating here.”Zachary put down his cutlery and wiped the oil stains around his mouth with a tissue before getting up to leave.“We’re done eating. We’ll go with you!”Duncan and Josh also put down their cutlery and went to Beans and Cream next door with Zachary.The bodyguards had gotten their fill too. Seeing that their boss was leaving, they silently got up and walked out quietly to protect their boss.They were afraid of disturbing the boss’s wife.Serenity was eating with Shawn, who had seen Zachary before, so the bodyguards could not alert Serenity. Otherwise, Zachary’s identity would be compromised.Duncan went to pay the bill.Josh waited for Duncan to settle the bill and walked out with him. He whispered, “Du
Serenity did not know that Zachary was having lunch at Grace’s Diner with his friends.Serenity, Jasmine, and Shawn chatted while they ate and spent quite some time there.Shawn received a call and had to excuse himself by leaving early, so Serenity said, “Jas and I are done eating. I’ll get the bill soon. Shawn, you can go ahead and deal with whatever you need to. Jas and I will go to the cafe next door.”Serenity fell in love with Beans and Cream’s tranquility the last time she accompanied Jasmine on a blind date there.This street was busy, so surrounding businesses were booming. The owner of the cafe was willing to spend money on sound insulation, so when customers walked into the cafe, the noise outside would be filtered out.Shawn thought that his cousin drove, so she could take Serenity home later. He said, “Jas, Serenity, I’ll get going then.”“Go ahead! Drive carefully on the road,” Jasmine urged her cousin.“Jas, please send Serenity home later.”Serenity had a car, b
Caroline had witnessed Belinda’s downfall and did not want to experience the same thing. She was still young and very much valued her life. “I’ll section out the money Mom left for my nieces and nephews. Those who’ve come of age can manage it themselves. For those who are underage, their parents will manage the money for them. When they become adults, the parents should hand the money over to them. “As parents, you guys won’t keep your children’s money for yourselves, right?”Even if they truly did such a thing, it would have nothing to do with her. After a moment of silence, Emma defended herself, saying, “I’m not here to ask for my children’s inheritance, Caroline. It should be distributed according to Mom’s will, and I think no better person can handle it than you.”Caroline was not Celine. If Celine were in charge, Emma would be worried that her children’s share would be embezzled. However, Caroline was trustworthy. She treated her nieces and nephews equally. While
After a pause, Emma continued, “But what did I get in the end? Your brother almost killed me for someone else. I lost hope at that point. I realized that a good marriage can make a woman happy, whereas a bad one will only hurt endlessly.“With my children's age, I have no plans to marry again. Remaining single isn’t too bad. If I meet someone with similar interests, I might date him, but I won’t get married.”Caroline said, “Although Adrian’s my brother, as a woman, I must say he’s a terrible man who isn’t worth entrusting yourself to. Since he cheated on you before, he’ll definitely do it again. I support you getting a divorce.“Live your own life from here on and ignore what others say. I believe your children will come to understand the divorce when they grow older.”Emma nodded. “They’re supportive of me too. Although there was a nanny, I took care of them most of the time after they were born. They’re closer to me. None of them are willing to stay with Adrian after the divorce
“Why are you here, Emma? To visit Dad? Or do you have relatives who are hospitalized?” Caroline asked. She used to feel neutral about her sisters-in-law. When she returned to the Fisher family, they did not treat her well and curried favor with Celine instead. They even joined Celine in bullying her. Later, Caroline discovered her brothers were having affairs. Her sisters-in-law made a huge fuss about it upon finding out. From a woman’s perspective, she naturally supported and spoke for her sisters-in-law. Although she had also warned her brothers, they did not take her seriously. They were punished and only broke things off with their lovers when Belinda caught Hunter cheating on her. Since then, Caroline’s sisters-in-law started treating her better. Many events happened thereafter, which brought them closer. Emma said, “Your brother and I are divorced, Caroline. I’m no longer your sister-in-law. You can call me Em from now on.“I’m here to look for you. I went to your c
“This is what Mom wanted. They’ll definitely lose if they take this matter to court. Offending me won’t do them any good either.“They should sell their houses and stores. After that, they can return to your hometown and treat the past decades as if they never happened.”Caroline stood and added, “You should get proper rest since your injury hasn’t recovered fully, Dad. Stop speaking ill of us before the caretaker. You should know your place and accept reality.“Your path was already destined the moment you chose to marry Mom. It was your choice, so you can’t resent anyone for it. The Clark family has also gained many benefits from your marriage. There’s nothing to complain about because it’s a fair trade.”Hunter was embarrassed. Caroline had clearly overheard him complaining earlier.“Call Darren over, Caroline. I want to talk to him.”Hunter forgot about his embarrassment and quickly spoke to Caroline as she was about to head out. She looked toward him and said, “Darren wi
Caroline was neither saying she did not trust Liberty nor that Liberty would definitely go after them, but people would change, so who knew what would happen tomorrow? It would be best to leave now, while Liberty and the others were not planning anything against her, so that no one could provoke her into opposing Liberty. This way, she would preserve the best impression and keep things amicable between them, so that if they encountered each other in the future, it would not feel like they were crossing paths with their enemy.“Adrian, Justin, and Jason’s families are their responsibilities. It’s none of my business. I’m not obligated to help them, or to support their children. As long as they raise their children well and teach them to be self-sufficient, isn’t that better than leaving them a pile of money? If they have no ability, even if I leave them money, they won’t be able to keep it.“As for the division of my mother’s assets, she arranged it all before she passed. I will dis
“If you still think it’s too little, Dad, after you recover, you can look for a job as a security guard or janitor. You’ll still earn a few thousand a month.”Hunter was speechless at this. He was already in his seventies and had never worked a day in his life. “I’m already over seventy. You want me to work? Which company would hire a seventy-year-old security guard?”Caroline replied coldly, “Since you know you’re no longer able to earn money, then whatever your children give you for living expenses, don’t complain that it’s too little. I’m your ungrateful daughter, after all, and giving you ten thousand a month is already a lot. If you’re not happy with that, I can reduce it to five thousand. If that’s not enough, you can go to your sons or sue your most dearly beloved daughter’s biological mother for her assets.”Hunter was silent before he gave in. “Fine, ten thousand it is. But remember to send it on time every month. Your brothers all have their own families and children to
“What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly. What was it?”Hunter stammered, “Nothing, I didn’t say anything.”His ungrateful daughter would not admit that she had heard his complaints, so he was not going to repeat himself. He was not dumb enough to do that.“Do you want an apple, Dad? I’ll wash one for you,” Caroline asked. Before her father could respond, she took two apples and began washing them. Soon, she returned to his bedside, handing one apple to her father and biting into the other herself. Hunter did not like apples, but he took it anyway. “Are you really planning to stay in the hospital for another half a month?”Hunter answered irritably, “If not, where else would I stay? Where will I live once I get discharged? The Fisher family mansion is off-limits to any of us other than you and Fletcher now. Caroline, can’t you have some backbone? That’s our home! How can you just bow down to them and give up our own home? If your mother knew, she’d be so angry that even the cof
Caroline was so unfilial! She inherited so much wealth, yet she did not even give him a little bit of money for retirement. At the very least, she could buy him a villa to live out the rest of his days and give him a monthly allowance. It did not have to be much; just thirty thousand a month for living expenses would be enough for him.“How's my dad been recovering these days?” Caroline casually asked.“Mr. Clark’s recovery has been going pretty well, but since he's in advanced age, he still needs to stay in the hospital for a few more days before he can be discharged,” answered the caretaker honestly.“The doctor suggested I stay in the hospital for at least another half a month,” Hunter added. He did not want to be discharged too soon. He feared that once he left the hospital, no one would take care of him. Once he was out, Caroline would definitely arrange for the caregivers to be transferred elsewhere. His sons were busy, and his daughters-in-law were superficially filial wi
When they arrived at the hospital, Caroline told Darren to wait outside the ward and not follow her in, so Darren waited by the door in the corridor. Caroline took a few deep breaths before entering the room, holding the bouquet of flowers.As soon as she entered, she heard Hunter complaining to the caretaker about Caroline’s cold-heartedness and Belinda’s bias. He also said that Belinda deserved to die, that she should have died sooner because if Belinda had died a few years earlier, the matriarchy would have been succeeded by Celine, who had a good relationship with the Clark men. If Celine were in charge, Hunter could walk all over the Fisher family.As the father of Fisher’s matriarch, he would not lack money. Celine, being filial, would just give him money if he asked for it. There would be no room for Caroline then.The caretaker spoke up in defense of Caroline. She said, “Mr. Clark, Ms. Caroline’s your actual daughter. And the late Madam Fisher did not treat you badly either