Only Lucas, who was still young and spoiled by the family, did not understand the situation. He was the youngest and used to bully Sonny all the time, often taking his belongings.However, since visiting his uncle’s house and not seeing Sonny there, Lucas no longer had anyone to bully or take things from.After a long time without seeing each other, when they finally met, Lucas’s mischievous nature started to emerge again. He found Sonny’s clothes quite cool and wanted them for himself.“The kids are used to calling you Aunt Liberty now,” Chelsea said as she took the bag of apples from Liberty’s hands. “You’ve come all this way, and you even brought gifts. You’re too courteous.”She glanced at the bag and saw only apples.Considering that apples were now several bucks per pound, this bag would only cost tens of bucks. Chelsea felt that Liberty was somewhat stingy compared to her previous visit, but she still appreciated the gesture. Since this meant they had something to eat for
Lucas walked over and tried to touch the flowers.Hank quickly said, “Don’t touch them, Lucas. This bouquet was given to me by Sonny.”“Uncle Hank, the flowers are pretty. I want one too. Please give me one.”Hank could not bear to do so. He placed the bouquet on his other side to prevent his nephew from plucking the flowers. “The bouquet won’t look pretty if you pluck the flowers, Lucas. Chelsea, rinse a few apples for Liberty, Mr. Lewis, and Sonny.”Lucas stopped insisting on the flower once he heard there were apples. Next, he eyed Sonny’s clothes and touched and tugged at them. He asked Sonny, “Sonny, did Aunt Liberty buy you these new clothes? They look good. I want new clothes too.”Lucas turned to Liberty and said, “Aunt Liberty, I want new clothes that look like Sonny’s. Buy me a few sets of them.”In the past, he would have a set of everything Aunt Liberty bought for Sonny. If she did not buy it for him, his mom and grandma would scold her. Since then, Aunt Liber
Although Duncan was laughing heartily, his words embarrassed Hank again. Hank switched his tone and asked concernedly, “How’s the recovery of your legs going?”He was hoping that Duncan could never recover.Hank knew he and Liberty could never remarry because she would never look back after moving on. However, he could not stand seeing her getting married to someone else, especially when that person was Duncan.He would have felt better if Liberty were dating an ordinary man. Unfortunately, Duncan was the one wooing her, and he was better than Hank in every aspect. His only downside was his slightly older age. Nevertheless, he had not been married before. People would still think he was out of Liberty’s league because she divorced and had a child. Even if Duncan were disabled, countless women would still be queuing up to marry him as long as he was willing to get a wife. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Brown. My injury is recovering well. I’m in rehabilitation now. If I perse
“I’ll let you know when I feel uncomfortable, Sonny. I won’t be hesitant to tell you.”After explaining, Duncan told Chelsea, “I’m fine, Chelsea. Sonny’s a child, but he’s very sensible. He would never sit on my lap when my legs were in pain. I’ve long been discharged from the hospital and have done rehabilitation for some time. I’m still able to hold Sonny.“Don’t scare him, Chelsea.”The Brown family did that to prevent Sonny from getting close to Duncan.However, he had spent lots of time with Sonny. It was not something that the Brown family could stop from happening as they wished.Chelsea said, “Don’t dote on Sonny so much, Mr. Lewis. You’ll spoil him rotten.”“Don’t worry. He won’t be spoiled rotten as his mom is strict with him. He knows what he can and can’t do. I like Sonny. He’s sensible and clever. Even with so many people adoring him, he never became unreasonable.”The Brown family did not feel good when they heard Duncan praising Sonny. However, they could not say
“It’s okay. My employees are experienced, and they have good character. I trust them. Besides, I’m still managing the breakfast diner in the meantime. One day when I have my restaurants all over Wiltspoon, I can hire you if I can’t handle everything myself.“There’s really no need to hire more people now. It’s a small business, so I try to save on salaries wherever possible.”Chelsea pouted. She knew Liberty was not going to hire her. Liberty even made excuses, such as not knowing how her business would turn out. However, with her identity as Mr. York’s sister-in-law, how could her business be bad?Chelsea knew how skilled Liberty was at cooking. The business at her restaurant would surely be booming if she managed it well. Chelsea heard that popular food businesses could earn a revenue of tens of thousands of dollars monthly. After subtracting the costs, the monthly profit would be a considerable amount. Chelsea was attracted when she thought of how much Liberty would be ea
After speaking, Liberty called her son, “We’re leaving, Sonny. Say goodbye to Dad.”“It’s a weekend today, Liberty. Sonny doesn’t have to go to school. Can we let him stay in the hospital for a day to accompany his dad and send him back to you tomorrow night?” Mr. Brown asked for Liberty’s permission. He wanted his grandson to stay behind. Mr. Brown did not say much, but he also felt a sense of crisis after seeing Sonny and Duncan’s overly intimate actions. He was worried Duncan would become Sonny’s stepfather. If so, they would definitely have a close relationship based on the affection they showed each other. His son, Sonny’s biological father, would be completely forgotten when that happened.It was fine if they could not get their ex-daughter-in-law back because they had hurt and bullied her in the past. However, Sonny was the Brown family’s child and their only grandson. They could not let their relationship with Sonny be estranged. Liberty said, “I’ll have to ask for So
Mr. Brown scolded his daughter. “Sonny’s going to his aunt’s house. Liberty will be busy with her work and won’t have time to look after Sonny, so she needs Serenity’s help to take care of him. If you want Lucas to go over, who’ll look after your child? Lucas is so naughty. If he were to damage something, would you be able to pay for it?”Wildridge Manor was a vast property that belonged to the wealthiest family. It was a place where ordinary people like them could never enter. They did hear about how beautiful and luxurious the place was. Every decoration in the York family’s house was valuable. Lucas was mischievous and loved to wreck things. If he were to damage something in that house, it would be impossible for them to compensate for it, even if Chelsea’s entire family sold themselves. Chelsea pouted and did not say anything else after getting scolded. Liberty would never bring Lucas to Wildridge Manor either. She still remembered how Lucas and his brother used to bully
“Chelsea and her mother continued to cause chaos even after Sonny’s dad married Jessica. I try to stay as far away as I can from her. I would be a fool to have a meal with her, let alone hire her as a supervisor for my store.”Liberty was traumatized by Chelsea’s shamelessness. Duncan replied with a hum and lowered his head to look at Sonny, who was sitting on his lap. He stopped talking to Liberty about the Brown family. After exiting the inpatient building, he asked her, “Where will we have our meal?”“We should go somewhere better since it’s my treat. Where do you usually go? If you’re used to dining at that particular place, I’ll treat you to a meal there.”Duncan smiled. “I usually had my meals at Wiltspoon Hotel in the past.”He was good friends with Zachary. It was a given that he would help Wiltspoon Hotel with its business. Duncan was not involved in the food and beverage industry. He felt the competition was too strong, and they could never compete against Wiltspoon
Liberty smiled. “Not yet. Maybe you can continue sleeping in the car until the sun rises.“We’re home. Let’s get out of the car. Even if you’re sleepy, you should still take a bath first. The year is ending in a few days. The weather isn’t that cold now. I checked the weather forecast. It says it’ll rain a little on New Year’s Day, so the temperature might drop slightly.”Duncan sat up and touched his forehead. Indeed, there was some sweat. “It really isn’t cold. I’m even sweating.”Liberty did not turn on the car’s air conditioning. In that weather, it would be cold if the air conditioning was turned on and hot if it was turned off. Thanks to the wind, it was still cooling when the car was moving. However, once the car stopped, it became stuffy inside. Liberty got out of the car and went to the passenger seat to help Duncan. Duncan declined her help and insisted on doing it himself. Then, he held her hand and walked into the house slowly. After heading upstairs, he belatedl
Liberty did have a fatty liver back then. However, that was resolved after she lost weight. Indeed, having an unhealthy weight could bring about health issues. Purchasing plus-sized clothes was also a problem. Once she started maintaining a healthy weight, she looked fantastic in whatever she wore and often received compliments for having a great figure when shopping for clothes. Most people marveled at her healthy and youthful complexion. She did not look like she was already in her thirties with a four-year-old son. “Do you want to take a nap? There’s heavy traffic ahead.”Liberty saw a stretch of road highlighted in red on the navigation app, signaling slow traffic. “Aren’t most people on holiday and traveling? Why is the traffic still congested?”Duncan muttered, “Maybe there was a car accident.“I don’t need a nap. I’m energetic now. I won’t be able to fall asleep.”He was extremely excited. “If you think I’m too talkative, you can play some music. We can liste
Since Audrey would take care of Sonny, Liberty and Duncan were in a good mood as they exited the Stones’ residence. Duncan’s bodyguards were to return home instead of following him around. He had Liberty anyway. Besides, it was his and Liberty’s wedding night. They even left Sonny with the Stones, so there was no way he would be letting his bodyguards follow him home. Liberty was the one who drove as Duncan’s legs were still recovering. She would glance at him from time to time. She said, “You’ve been staring at me the entire night. Haven’t you seen enough?“It’s not our first time meeting each other. What’s there to look at?”“You’re beautiful. You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.”Duncan was particularly generous with sweet words that night. To him, his wife was the most beautiful woman in the world. “I can’t get enough of watching you. I controlled myself in Aunt Audrey’s house because I didn’t want her to laugh at me. Now that there’s only the two of us,
Sonny asked Liberty, “Mom, is it okay? I want to stay at Grandaunt’s house for one night. Tomorrow, you can come pick me up and take me to Dad’s house.”After receiving a call from her former mother-in-law, Liberty had already asked Sonny after he woke up that morning if he wanted to stay with the Brown family for a couple of days, to spend time with his grandparents. Tomorrow, she would take him to the Browns.Liberty smiled, “You can stay the night if you want. Tomorrow, I’ll come pick you up and take you to your dad’s house for lunch.”She planned to call Hank soon and let him know that she was not taking Sonny there early in the morning, so the Browns would not have to get up early to wait.Sonny jumped up happily and said to Audrey, “Grandaunt Audrey, my mom agreed! I’m going to stay here tonight and play with Elias."With that, he rushed upstairs. Elias was getting cuter. When he talked to him, the baby would respond with cooing sounds, which was really fun.“Aunt Audrey, I
After a long while, Jessica finally asked, “You have swollen eyes because Liberty is getting remarried? You’ve lost your chance to remarry her.”“Jessica, I’ve never thought about remarrying Liberty. That’s impossible. I’ll wait for you to be released. No matter how many years it takes, I will wait for you,” Hank quickly explained. “It’s true that I’m upset that Liberty is remarried, but it’s mainly because of my son.“In the future, Sonny will call someone else ‘Dad’, and I’m not around him often. I’m afraid that one day, he’ll only end up closer to his other dad and not me, his biological father.”Jessica quietly looked at him for a moment before coldly replied, “If you have time, you should spend more time with Sonny. Even a biological father and son need to nurture their relationship.”“Who did Liberty marry?” Jessica asked. “Is it Duncan Lewis?”“Who else could it be? It’s Duncan. He kept Liberty close, never letting anyone else near her. Whenever any other man got close to L
Why was he crying? He knew the reason deep down but could not bring himself to say it out loud. Instead, he simply slumped over the steering wheel and cried his heart out. After he was done crying, he finally started the car and left the city hall, heading to the prison to visit Jessica.When Jessica saw him, she noticed his eyes were red and swollen. Thinking something bad had happened in his family, she immediately grabbed the phone and asked, “Hank, why are you crying? Your eyes are all swollen. Did something happen to your parents?”She still harbored hatred toward Olivia and Chelsea, hoping something would happen to that mother-daughter pair. Ideally, she wanted the old woman to face judgment in hell.Back when she stabbed Hank and Chelsea came to the rescue, Jessica felt she should have made sure to stab Chelsea to death. It was because of Chelsea’s incitement that she and Hank ended up like this. The two women had torn apart Hank and Liberty’s marriage, and now that Liberty’s
Liberty did not need them to push her husband. She continued to push Duncan toward the car, and only then did the bodyguards help him into the vehicle. Soon, the luxurious car carrying the family of three drove away from the city hall and merged into the street traffic, gradually disappearing into the distance.It was not until the car was out of sight that the car parked not far from the city hall slowly began to move.The driver was Hank.He would not stop Liberty and Duncan from registering their marriage and neither did he have the right nor the standing to do so. He had intended to take customers but had not received any orders, and without any particular destination in mind, he ended up at the city hall by chance, arriving before Liberty and Duncan.However, his car was parked farther away, and many other cars were occupying spaces near the city hall. After the divorce, Liberty no longer paid much attention to him and did not notice that Hank’s car was already there, waiting.
Liberty was his wife now.Sonny was completely confused. He had come here with his mother and Dunc. Everyone here was so friendly and smiled at them as they congratulated Liberty and Duncan. Why, though, did they not congratulate him?“Mom, Dunc is smiling so brightly. What’s so special about that paper? Mom, can I see it?” Sonny asked, looking up at Liberty, curious about what was so interesting about the marriage license that made Dunc smile so widely.Liberty glanced at Duncan and teased him, “Duncan, the corners of your mouth are almost reaching your ears.”“I’m happy. Very happy,” Duncan responded with an even brighter smile.The weather today was cloudy, though occasionally, the sun took a peek while sometimes it became overcast. Still, the power of the sun today certainly could not compare to the beam of Duncan’s smile.Liberty handed the marriage license to Sonny to view.Sonny eagerly took it and started reading it. Some of the words he recognized, but overall, he did n
“That brat is already at that age and still doesn’t think about settling down. Every time we pressure him, he hides away.” When Audrey talked about Anthony, who did not want to get married, she could not help but feel a headache coming. Out of her three children, the one who worried her the most was Anthony.Serenity walked over to Audrey and affectionately linked arms with her, smiling, “Aunt Audrey, you don’t need to worry. Anthony’s a good man. When the right person comes along, he’ll get married.”“Let’s hope so—he’s not young anymore. Children are always a worry, aren’t they? There’s always something to be concerned about. What about Sonny? Why didn’t he come along?” Audrey asked. “Didn’t you come from your sister’s place?” “Sonny went with my sister and Duncan to the city hall. They said they wanted to go as a family of three,” Serenity replied.Audrey laughed, “Duncan doesn’t mind bringing along a little third wheel, huh? Well, that’s fine. They’re going to be a family, aft