Serenity agreed. “I’m only reminding you. Don’t worry too much about finding a job.”Jasmine chimed in, “Look slowly and find a job that suits you. If you really can’t find one, why don’t you help me and Serenity out at the store? I’ll pay you well. Or… would you like to start your own business, Liberty?”Liberty watched her son play. She sounded helpless as she said, “I don’t have that much capital to start my own business, and I don’t know what kind of business I should take up. It’s hard to do business in brick-and-mortar stores now.”Serenity’s bookstore was right in front of Wiltspoon School, so their business was steady. If it was in a different location, it might not have survived.The small shops at the entrance of Wiltspoon School had a high rental, so not everyone could afford them. It took some connections to rent a shop there. Serenity only managed to rent that place only because Jasmine’s family helped out.“Liberty, why don’t I teach you to make some handicrafts? You
It had been one month since Zachary married Serenity and there were five months left before they would get a divorce and go their separate ways. They would have nothing to do with each other then.Josh and Duncan looked at each other.Duncan said, “I thought all the men in the York family can’t get a divorce?”“I’m an exception.” Zachary added coldly, “You know why I got married to Serenity. Even if I want a divorce, my nana can’t say anything about me, let alone other people. All of them know that I’ve suffered.”Yes, he had suffered.To repay the favor of saving his nana’s life, Zachary married Serenity, who was a complete stranger. After marriage, he was generous and tolerant of her, but what did she do?Serenity lied about going to her sister’s house when she was actually having lunch with Shawn.Zachary, who refused to admit that he was jealous, automatically ignored Jasmine’s presence. He also forgot that Jasmine and Shawn were cousins who were close to each other.Josh a
There was no reply from Zachary, so Serenity said to her sister, “Zachary’s probably having a good time with his friends. He didn’t reply to my message yet.”“You don’t have to come here tomorrow. Spend some quality time with Zachary.”Liberty had a failed marriage, so she hoped her sister’s marriage would be better and longer than her own.She approved of Zachary as her brother-in-law because he was genuinely kind to her sister and was more generous than Hank. Although Liberty had known Hank for a long time, Hank was reluctant to buy her a scooter even when he had ample savings.Serenity was the one who bought her the e-bike.“Alright,” Serenity said.“By the way, are the Hunts still looking for trouble with you?” Liberty asked about her money-hungry relatives. “I wonder what happened to them. Grandmom had probably undergone the surgery by now.” “They wanted to reconcile the last time they came over but didn’t return after that. They’re probably embarrassed. Besides, that tren
Zachary was seething.Serenity was rendered speechless.Did he think she wanted to find out?Serenity was only concerned because he was her husband on paper.She turned around and left.When Zachary saw that Serenity walked away from him without a tinge of care for him, he became more upset.“In the future, don’t open the door in your pajamas!”Serenity walked toward the kitchen.“I’m wearing underwear.”Now that she was living with Zachary, she only took off her underwear before turning in lest she encountered a similar situation and had to open the door for him again.“Mr. York, how I dress is none of your business. I remember the agreement you wrote stating that the two of us should not interfere in each other’s private affairs.”Zachary said nothing. His face was glum.The agreement Zachary drew up back then was completely in his favor. Every clause was restraining her, but why did Zachary feel that he was being restrained instead?Serenity went into the kitchen and po
Zachary grabbed Serenity’s hands and pinned them down next to her head. He swooped in for a kiss to seal her lips shut.The kiss was everything but gentle.He seemed to be venting his anger.Zachary forcibly bit Serenity.Serenity was agitated by his behavior and angrily bit his lips back until he was bleeding. Finally, Zachary let go of her when he felt the pain.While he was dumbstruck, Serenity quickly pushed him to the floor. She sprung up to retreat a few steps before looking at him defensively.Zachary got up slowly and wiped the blood from his lips.His expression was dismal.“Zachary, what the hell is wrong with you? You went crazy after a few glasses of wine!”Zachary stared at her gloomily.He said coldly, “Serenity, let me ask you again. Were you really at your sister’s house today?”“I was at my sister’s house…” Serenity suddenly stopped mid-sentence.Zachary sneered. “What, you remember now? You and Shawn were eating lunch at Grace’s Diner, talking and laughing
Serenity could not care less even if Zachary smashed everything at home since the house belonged to him anyway. He would be the one suffering if his house was wrecked.Zachary swept aside the glass of honey water and went into his room. He then rushed into the bathroom to draw a bath of cold water to sober himself up from the chill.He drank heavily today, but he was not completely drunk. He was still aware of his actions, but he was easily agitated after drinking too much.Serenity turned off the lights in the hall later to save on the electricity bills.That night, Zachary and Serenity tossed and turned around in bed. Neither of them could sleep because they were mad at each other.Serenity was angry at Zachary for questioning her.Zachary was mad that Serenity was with Shawn. He firmly believed what he saw was the truth. She said that she and Shawn had known each other for more than ten years and that she grew up with Shawn. She and Jasmine were good friends, and Shawn was Jas
Regent Residences was a high-class villa neighborhood in Wiltspoon. The residents were either rich or nobles.Before Zachary got his marriage license with Serenity, he lived here almost every day and only occasionally returned to the old residence to accompany his elders.The villa he lived in used to be made up of several small villas, but he demolished them and rebuilt a large villa when he bought the land. The large villa had both front and back gardens. Although it was not as large as the old residence, he lived alone, so it was spacious.Sam knew Zachary was coming back before he had anything to eat, so Sam told the kitchen to prepare lunch in advance.Zachary got up late and had brunch at one go.After he finished eating at a home he was familiar with, his bad mood improved marginally.He sat on the sofa and called Josh.Josh had not woken up yet. Yesterday, Duncan and he went drinking with Zachary. Zachary could hold his liquor, so he was not drunk. On the contrary, Josh
As Serenity viewed the night sky, she gradually grew tired. She leaned back on the swing and thought of napping for a few minutes. Little did she know, she slept until five in the morning. It was almost dawn when she woke up.She had slept outside on the balcony the whole night.When she woke up, she knew Zachary had not returned last night. Otherwise, he would have woken her up.Although that man was cold and seemed to have a heart made of stone, he was kind to her. He gave her everything that she should have as his wife.Serenity got up from the swing and went into the hall to turn on the lights. The two handicrafts were still on the coffee table. She was silent for a moment before she went to Zachary’s room.The door was locked. She did not have the keys, so she could not open the door.He most likely did not come home.It was Monday, a new week.Although Zachary did not return during the night, Serenity did not call him. He was still angry at her, so why should she approach
Twenty million dollars!It was the Clark brothers’ turn to exchange glances. They did not expect Jacob and Michael to name such a high price. While they could pay that amount, they did not want to hand the money to Jacob and Michael. After all, it was no longer a small sum to them, given their situation. Adrian was nervous that he would have to fork out the money himself. While he had significantly more assets than an ordinary person, most were fixed assets, and he only had a few tens of millions of savings. Therefore, he was unwilling to pay twenty million dollars out of the blue. After exchanging glances, Adrian said, “Twenty million is too much. We don’t have that much. We may be wealthy people to you, but it’s all fake. We aren’t as rich as you think.“You’re aware of the Fishers family rules—only daughters can be the successors. Sons can’t even take on the Fisher surname, let alone inherit the family assets.“When my mom was alive, she would support us financially in
“If the plan fails, we have a backup plan—hit her bodyguards’ car and force her car to stop. That way, you two can take Caroline away and leave the rest up to us.”Adrian was prepared for various scenarios.If the car accident did not succeed, then they would first eliminate Caroline’s bodyguards. Without them, and with Darren on a business trip, they could easily take down Caroline, who did not know how to fight. After kidnapping her, they would kill and cut her to pieces before throwing her into the sea. No one would be able to find her. If Caroline were dead, the inheritance from Belinda would belong to the Clark brothers. They still could not take over Fisher Enterprise and the Fisher family or do anything to Liberty. However, with Caroline dead, there would be no one to teach the new and inexperienced Liberty. Whether Liberty could hold her ground was an unknown variable. After a discussion between Adrian and his brothers, they set two goals. Firstly, they would kill Car
“Caroline will definitely receive retribution for this.”Adrian said with spite, “I shall see how she meets her death. The people in Wiltspoon will kill her sooner or later.“Does she think they’ll treat her well just because she betrayed her family? They despise us. She’s still my parents’ biological daughter. There’s no way she can be spared.”“You’re absolutely right.”The three men kept cursing Caroline throughout their journey. Upon arriving at Adrian’s villa, he parked the car. Jacob and Michael looked around after getting out of the vehicle. They thought Adrian’s place was luxurious. Adrian mentioned it was a small place, but it was already a lavish place to them. It was many times bigger than their house in the countryside. Adrian invited Jacob and Michael into the villa and they followed suit.Jacob whispered to Michael, “The Clark brothers are fighting with Caroline for the inheritance, Michael. They must be up to no good, calling us here.“No matter what request
“Although Caroline is our biological sister, she doesn’t treat us as her brothers. We only recognize Celine as our sister. I really wish we could turn back time.“We shouldn’t have allowed Caroline to return to the Fisher family. Ever since she came back, the family had been declining. Many things had happened. My mom’s dead, and my dad’s crippled. All of these are related to her.“Caroline’s an ungrateful bitch. I can’t believe she sided with the people from Wiltspoon. Even now, she’s constantly in contact with them and giving away Fisher Enterprise.“It should’ve belonged to Celine.”Jacob and Michael stayed quiet. They had known for a long time that their biological sister was not Caroline but Celine, the then-successor of the Fisher family. Therefore, they treated Caroline badly and often abused her.Although Caroline had learned to put up resistance after growing up, she was still bullied by Jacob and Michael.She hated them. She did not know the truth in the past and
The two men were Celine’s biological brothers, Jacob and Michael Dott. Adrian nodded. “That’s good to hear. Grieving is useless. Avenging Celine and seeking justice is more important.”Jacob and Michael remained silent. They could not do much. When their father was still the Fishers’ butler, he received a high salary with excellent benefits; the Dotts were the wealthiest family in their town. Since their family was rich, the brothers never put effort into studying. They spent time with questionable friends and led a life of debauchery. Jacob and Michael only matured after marrying and having kids. However, their father was already in prison. Meanwhile, Caroline, whom they used to abuse, had returned to the Fisher family. Celine had refused to return to the Dott family and simply gave them some money. Jacob and Michael had built houses in their town and furnished them well. The money they used was from Caroline and their parents’ savings. Since then, their financial crisi
In the afternoon, Duncan fetched Liberty from Fisher Enterprise for dinner. Caroline stood at the building entrance, watching Liberty and Duncan leave. She was envious. She missed Darren. Although he was still following her, he could not expose himself before others. She was not used to it. Nevertheless, she had to endure it to lure the Clark brothers into her trap. She thought, ‘Please make your move soon, brothers. Don’t keep me waiting.’At that moment, Adrian and his brothers exited the elevator. They were discussing something as they walked. When they saw Caroline standing at the entrance, they paused for a moment. However, they quickly pretended they did not see her and walked past her.Soon, three cars left the company.Caroline stood there for a few more minutes before heading to the parking lot. Her personal bodyguards were waiting at her car. They quickly went to her when they spotted her, while one of them opened the door for her. After Adrian left the com
“I’m used to him being by my side. Now that he’s hidden, it just feels weird.”Caroline added, “Even if I want to kiss him, I can only do it in my dreams.”Liberty was speechless. Seeing Liberty being at a loss for words, Caroline smiled. “Did I renew your impression of me?”“Yes. I didn’t know you were this kind of person.”Caroline giggled. “Darren’s too serious and respectful. If I don’t take the lead, we might sleep on opposite ends of the bed after getting married. He probably won’t even dare to turn in bed.”Liberty thought of Darren’s face, which constantly had a stern expression. He only looked normal around Caroline. He indeed treated her respectfully and never dared to offend her. Liberty said, “You’re still his master. It’s only natural that he’s acting that way.“When you two become husband and wife, he’ll change. However, you won’t have to doubt his love and loyalty for you.”The next thing Liberty knew, Caroline asked her private questions regarding married lif
Caroline moved first, exiting the elevator.Adrian blocked her path, refusing to give way.Caroline did not want to argue with her brothers, so she simply sidestepped and continued toward the CEO’s office. The Clark brothers watched her leave.“Let’s go, Adrian.” Justin entered the elevator first.Adrian withdrew his gaze and led Jason into the elevator.“I heard Darren’s out on a business trip and has been sent to another province to handle some matters, so he won’t be back for at least ten days to half a month,” Jason shared in a low voice. “And for the past few days, Caroline’s only been accompanied by those few bodyguards of hers. There really hasn’t been any sign of Darren with her. I’ve asked someone to look into it and verified Darren left Jensburg by flight a few days ago. What do you think, Adrian?”Adrian replied under his breath, “We’re at work. Don’t talk about that here. We’ll talk about it when we get home tonight.”Justin and Jason immediately shut their mouths.
“I’m in charge now, not your mother. If you can’t do the work, then don’t cling to your positions and collect a salary for doing nothing.”Liberty had no intention of tolerating their laziness any longer.The three brothers had tried investing and running their own businesses, but they mostly ended up losing money. The only stable income they had was from renting out the properties and shops they owned.That was why Hunter had advised his sons to return to Ashford, buy more properties and shops, and live off the rental income. It was much more stable than their business ventures.If the properties were hard to rent out, they could always sell them and recover some money, but with their business investments, not only did they lose money, they often ended up in debt by the time the businesses failed.It was a mystery how much of Belinda’s personal wealth had been spent helping her sons pay off their debts while she was alive.However, there were times when they made money. They wou