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
Hank turned his head to look in the house. He returned by himself last night.He only made his way back home because he was persuaded by his parents and sister. Otherwise, he would have chosen to stay at his parents’ house for a few more days and go out with Jessica unscrupulously.Liberty would usually not go to her in-laws’ house since she would be nitpicked by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. She grew annoyed after so many times, so she refused to visit her in-laws unless absolutely necessary. That was the only reason Hank was audacious to shamelessly go out with Jessica.During the few days he took leaves of absence to recuperate at home, Jessica would come over to take care of him when she got off work. She bought him plenty of supplements and delicious food, and their relationship improved by leaps and bounds. If Jessica were to insist on him divorcing Liberty because she wanted to be with him officially, they would have rolled around in the sheets already.Although Hank
Liberty asked, “Why don’t you go after breakfast?”“No, I’ll just get take-outs. I have an appointment at noon and won’t be back for lunch. You can eat with Sonny.”Seeing how Liberty was merely asking and did not hand him his coat and briefcase like before to send him off like a king, Hank was quite upset. He felt like Liberty was not serving him despite eating and living under his roof.His sister was good to her husband. It could be said that she treated her husband like he was a king. Furthermore, she had a job to earn money.‘Liberty doesn’t do anything, yet she doesn’t treat me well either.‘No one can blame me for not loving her. She’s just not qualified.’Hank found a reason for his emotional infidelity.He went to get his suit jacket, briefcase, and car keys before saying to his son, “Daddy is going to work now, Sonny. Bye-bye.”He did not leave until his son waved at him.As soon as he left the house, he drove straight to Wiltspoon Hotel.Unexpectedly, Jessica was w
“After marriage, she didn’t go to work and had no income, so she relied on me to support her. Everything in the house was bought with my money. What qualifications does she have to split the assets with me?” Hank said arrogantly. “As long as I divorce her, she’ll definitely leave without a penny to her name. She won’t get anything from me.”Previously, Liberty told him that if they divorced, she wanted the money used for renovation back from him.However, Hank told her that he would not give her a single penny.He had not divorced her because his son was still young and needed someone to take care of him.He simply thought of Liberty as a free nanny. This free nanny was absolutely dedicated to taking care of his son, so he did not have to worry about his son being abused by a random nanny.Jessica wanted to tell him that his savings were considered marital property. If Liberty sued him, she would be able to take half of the savings. Furthermore, if Liberty found out about the mone
When Hank heard that it was Mr. York, he was stunned and said, “No wonder it was such a big commotion. So, it was Mr. York. Oh, what a shame. If I had known that it was him, I would’ve squeezed to the front to get a glimpse of his handsome face.”He heard that Mr. York was incredibly good-looking.The middle-aged man gave Hank a sidelong glance and laughed. “You don’t look too shabby either, but compared to Mr. York, you can’t hold a candle to him.”Hank did not get angry either. “How would I dare to compare myself with Mr. York? The only one who can compare to him is probably Mr. Stone. I’m quite lucky to have encountered Mr. York today. I’ll buy a lottery ticket later and see if I can hit the jackpot.”The middle-aged man was amused by Hank’s words.Jessica looked amazed. After the middle-aged man left, she took Hank’s arm and walked to the hotel restaurant, saying, “Mr. York is a god-like figure in Wiltspoon. I wonder what kind of man he is and the lucky lady to have his heart.
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa