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
Josh was a little dumbfounded when he saw this.Was Zachary merely acting all this while when he showed off about his wife?However, Grandma May no longer cared about the company affairs and rarely went to the office, so there was no need for Zachary to act in front of Josh.Josh was confused.Forget it. That was Zachary’s private affairs, so Zachary could manage it himself. They were just Zachary’s friends and would just wait to watch the drama unfold with some popcorn in hand.If there was no drama to watch, Josh would just go home and sleep.Two hours later, Serenity looked at the time and saw that it was already three o’clock in the afternoon. She said to her friend, “Jas, let’s go back. I have to go to my sister’s house.”“Alright.”Jasmine also looked at the time and did not object to Serenity wanting to go home. “Let’s drop by the supermarket later to buy some fruit and toys for your sister and Sonny. I want to visit your sister’s house with you. I don’t want to go home
Jasmine asked in surprise, “Really? Brynfield is a high-end neighborhood, but I didn’t expect someone who drives a Rolls-Royce would live there. If they’re so rich, why not live in a villa?”“Mr. York said that perhaps some rich kid went to a nearby school, so the parents bought an apartment for the kid in Brynfield. That way, it’s more convenient for the kid to travel to school. That family might have countless villas.”Jasmine smiled. “True. Let’s go to the supermarket. By the way, didn’t Grandma May say that she’s coming over?”“Not anymore.”“Why now?”“The owner of the house disagreed.”Jasmine was speechless.The owner of the house was Zachary, Grandma May’s grandson. Grandma May wanted to come over for the weekend, but her grandson did not allow it. What an unfilial child!The two got into Jasmine’s car and left Beans and Cream.Shortly after, Jasmine parked the car in a large shopping mall.After strolling around the mall, the two of them came out with many bags of go
Jasmine and Serenity went to Liberty’s apartment.Serenity got out of Jasmine’s car. Her face stiffened when she saw a familiar car parked there.“What’s wrong?”“That car belongs to Liberty’s sister-in-law. She must’ve come to trouble my sister again. Liberty’s sister-in-law is definitely one of the worst people I know. She’s comparable to the relatives from my hometown.”Jasmine said, “Let’s hurry up, then. If she bullies Liberty, we’ll kick her out together!”Serenity had already grabbed her things to head inside.Jasmine quickly followed.The Browns visited again. As usual, it was just Chelsea and Mrs. Brown.They came to persuade Liberty to take Hank back from their house.Hank went to live at his parents’ house but ate his meals at his sister’s house because his parents took care of Chelsea’s children and cooked at her place.Fortunately, both his parents’ and sister’s houses were close by. They were in the same neighborhood but opposite blocks.Chelsea watched as her
Instead of answering whether he missed his father, Sonny only said, “Daddy work!”Liberty and Serenity raised Sonny, and Sonny only got to see his father on weekends. When Sonny woke up, his father had already gone to work, and when Sonny fell asleep at night, his father had not come home.Thus, Sonny did not have much of a bond with his father.Even when Hank was at home, Hank would not play with Sonny and rather play with his phone.“Liberty, look! Sonny grew distant from his dad after being apart for a few days. That’s not good for his growth. A boy can’t grow up without fatherly love. There are many things that fathers need to teach their sons.”Mrs. Brown initially thought that her grandson would say that he missed his father, so she could use it as an excuse to make Liberty compromise for Sonny’s sake. However, to her surprise, Sonny did not miss Hank.Fortunately, Mrs. Brown was quick-witted and made up a conversation, picking up from where her grandson left off.Liberty
Serenity put the bags on the coffee table before hugging Sonny and asking him gently, “Sonny, are you eating porridge?”Sonny nodded. “Yes.”“Are you full?”Sonny rubbed his belly, thought about it, and shook his head. He felt that he had not had enough and was still a little hungry.Serenity smiled. She sat down in front of the sofa and took the half-eaten bowl of porridge from her sister and said, “I’ll feed Sonny, okay?”“Okay.”Jasmine greeted Liberty and put the things she was carrying on the coffee table too. She also nodded to the Browns in greeting.Liberty only turned around to talk to her in-laws after Serenity took over the task of feeding Sonny. “I won’t pick up Hank. He can come back whenever he wants. If he doesn’t want to, you two will just need to take care of him.”Hank even asked Liberty to refund his share of the food expenses. What else could she say when they have already come to this point?Liberty knew she was also at fault.Her mistake was trusting Han
Hearing Liberty’s rebuttal, Mrs. Brown opened her mouth to say something but could not speak.After all, Mrs. Brown was the one who suggested that her son split the household expenses with her daughter-in-law. She knew that even without splitting it, her daughter-in-law had no control over her son’s money.“Mom, let’s go.”Chelsea was displeased with Liberty’s attitude and refused to let her mother waste another breath. She dragged her mother away and glanced at the things Serenity and Jasmine bought for Liberty on the way out.As they arrived downstairs, Chelsea said to her mother, “Mom, you mentioned Serenity’s husband works in a large company, right? Does he have a high income? Since Serenity married him, her every visit came with lots of gifts. I glanced at the bags and saw all those fruits she bought were very expensive.“They’re all imported and pricey fruits like durians and cherries. A durian costs at least two hundred dollars and a pound of cherries cost tens of dollars.”
Mrs. Brown said, “I’m a little worried about how much Hank listens to Jessica. That girl knows how to play hard-to-get and still hasn’t given herself to Hank. The more Hank waits, the more he wants her. She’s making Hank go head over heels for her.“If they get married and Hank lets her take charge of his bank account, our life will be tougher.”Chelsea thought about the monthly allowance her brother gave her parents and how it was used on her own family. She benefited a lot from that and did not want this benefit to be taken away by her new and soon-to-be sister-in-law. Thus, she said, “Forget it, then. That’s Hank and Liberty’s business. Let them deal with it.”“As long as Hank can keep his affair hidden from Liberty, I won’t interfere with it. Men aren’t reliable. They’ll fool around if they are rich and capable.”Mrs. Brown felt that her son was capable enough to attract a young and beautiful girl even when he was a father.Anyway, her son would not be at a loss no matter what
“Mom! Mom,” Sonny shouted from the stairs.Both of them looked up at him. “What's wrong?” Liberty asked with concern.“I can't carry so many toys. Can you come up and help me carry some of them?”Liberty smiled. “Okay, you should pick out the gifts for Isaac and the rest first.”“I've already picked them.”Liberty then said to Duncan, “Can you help me out? I'll go upstairs to help him carry the things.”“Sure.”Liberty had several helpers at home who helped look after the house and clean it. Before the mother and son came back, these helpers took turns working. With Christmas approaching, only one couple stayed behind while the others went home for the holiday. Liberty had not told this couple she would be back today and had only sent them a message after they arrived home. The couple was out shopping for Christmas goods, so they had not returned yet. Thus, Sonny had to ask his mom for help.After a while, the two came downstairs, each carrying a lot of items—all toys that So
“Or we could invite Laurence to come visit us in Wiltspoon.” Duncan had already considered the next time the two little ones would meet.Liberty said, “If we invite Laurence over, I’m afraid we won’t be able to protect him. If something happens, we won't be able to bear the consequences. It would be better to send Sonny to Annenburg to play with him. Laurence’s seniors have set up a solid protection network in Annenburg to safeguard him and ensure that his enemies won't even have a chance to find him.” She admitted that she did not have the ability to fully protect Laurence.Laurence was the only one left of his entire family, and it was only thanks to several caretakers who risked their lives that he was able to survive. Now, he lived freely. While his childhood was not without its share of struggles and hardships, everyone tried their best to give him joy. Behind the scenes, there were many people silently watching over him. Once he left that protective circle, there was a risk
“It’s just that we’ve only just come back, and we didn’t prepare any gifts. If we go empty-handed, I’ll feel embarrassed.” Liberty felt that she could not visit the Lewis family without bringing something.“I’ll see what I have at home that I can give. Oh, there are still quite a few bottles of nutritional supplements. I’ll take those to your parents. I’ll also go out and buy gifts for your nieces and nephews, but I’m not sure what to prepare for your brothers. As for your sisters-in-law, I can send them some jewelry and skincare products.”She had some jewelry and skincare items that were new and unused, so she could give those away first. Since it was last-minute, she was worried that going out to buy something might take too much time. Luckily, Serenity often gifted her jewelry and beauty items, and so did Audrey and Elisa. She, on the other hand, rarely bought those things for herself. The jewelry she was currently wearing had been a gift from Duncan, and the skincare products
Audrey and the rest had returned to Wiltspoon before Liberty. Patrick was resting at the Stones’ residence. Liberty wanted to meet him too. Corey said, “Right, she should do that. What about your and Liberty’s marriage?”Duncan looked toward Liberty. He replied, “We can probably make some time to finish the procedures at City Hall tomorrow. Liberty hasn’t said anything yet, but I think we can do it tomorrow.”“Try doing it tomorrow. City Hall will be closed for the holidays too. When you’re back, I’ll let you have a look at the list of wedding gifts we prepared. We can deliver them to Liberty’s house if you're okay with it. As for the wedding date, I’ve asked someone to choose a few dates. We have to discuss this with Audrey and Serenity. “You and Liberty can choose a convenient date for you two. I think we’ll have to look at Liberty’s availability.”Corey knew Liberty was extremely busy. She had a heavy responsibility on her shoulders. Indeed, Liberty had always shouldered
“You can call my mom if you miss me, Great-Nana. Mom and I will visit you. However, I think we’ll come over every day. Aunt Ser is here. We’ll miss her.”Since the new year was approaching, Serenity and Zachary stayed in Wildridge Manor. Other members of the York family were also heading back here. It was a rule set by Grandma May. The others disliked living in the manor because it was far from the city and inconvenient for them to travel to work. Therefore, they bought houses in the city center and lived there. Grandma May did not mind that. However, they had to return to the manor for a family gathering during special occasions, especially Christmas and New Year's Day. Grandma May did not care where the youngsters wanted to be on other days. There was a tradition whereby the daughters-in-law of the Yorks would visit their families the day after the New Year’s. Since Grandma May did not have daughters or granddaughters, she would follow and visit her daughters-in-law’s hous
With the escort of security vehicles, the two luxury cars left the airport parking lot and drove toward the city center. Liberty dropped off her luggage at her home and had a brief rest before going to Wildridge Manor with Serenity and Zachary. She had a meal and talked to Yorks about what happened in Jensburg. With that, half a day had passed. Since Liberty was back, Sonny would be returning home to live with her. After having lunch, he ran to his room and started packing his clothes and toys. While the adults were talking, the boy dragged his luggage downstairs with two stuffed animals in hand. “Are you leaving, Sonny?” Tania asked sadly upon seeing him coming down with all his stuff packed. “Can’t you stay here for a few more days?”She went over to Sonny and asked softly, “Can’t you stay longer? We’ll miss you if you leave.”Having a child in the house had brightened the atmosphere. The York family adored Sonny. Tania took Sonny’s luggage from him and used her oth
“I’ve informed Mrs. Lewis that there was no need to arrange for someone to pick you two up. Zachary and I will do it.”After speaking, she smiled at Duncan and greeted him. Duncan usually gave off a rough demeanor, but he looked gentler after experiencing love. Serenity was glad that her sister was finally back. Liberty put Sonny down but he continued clinging to her after crying. Even Duncan did not get to carry Sonny and could only touch his little face. Sonny was still pouting. With a sulking face, he complained, “You didn’t wait for me to come back before going to look for Mom.”Duncan replied, “You said you’d be away for a long time, so I went ahead. Aren’t your mom and I back now? I’ll invite you before heading out next time, okay? Don’t be angry. I bought many new toys for you.”“Come and give me a hug. I missed you.”“I don’t believe you. You didn’t miss me at all. You only think about Mom. I missed Mom too. I want to be with her.”Sonny had not missed his mother
Everything would be done according to their divorce agreement. The money would be given to his children anyway. Hunter was the one who said to leave the children to Emma. A mother would always love her children. Without his children by his side, it would be more convenient for Adrian to remarry. Adrian’s flirtatious heart was already tempted. He was divorced, and his mother had passed away. No one could control him anymore. He was a free man who could flirt with any woman openly. If he happened to meet someone he liked, he could be a groom again and marry that woman. He could have more children as well. He was rich anyway. Emma stood up. “I’ve told you everything Caroline said. You can make your decision. From now on, don’t disturb me unless you need to. If you want to meet the children, call them and obtain their permission first. Then, you can meet them anytime.”She would not stop the children from meeting Adrian. Adrian nodded and did not ask Emma to stay. Hu
“There’s a cafe outside the hospital. Fancy a cup of coffee, Emma? We can sit and chat.”Emma quickly replied, “No, thank you. I need to return and ensure my kids are doing their homework. They have plenty to finish this winter. They’ll be on their phones or gaming if I don't watch them.”“It’s best if you can keep an eye on them to prevent them from getting addicted to games and doom scrolling. Supervise them if you have the time to do so. Don’t expect them to be disciplined enough because even we adults can’t control ourselves from using our phones.”Children getting addicted to their phones was a bad habit the adults allowed them to develop. Some adults were focused on using their phones instead of spending time with their children. When the kids threw tantrums, their parents would hand them mobile devices to pacify them. That way, they would focus on their screens instead of making noise. However, that would lead to the children getting addicted to these devices. It would