Corey responded, “It’s good that he woke up. That way, Sonny will still have a father. It’d be a pity if he lost his father at such a young age.”Duncan said, “Sonny isn’t close to his father. Hank used to toss him to Liberty and Serenity to raise. He did nothing himself and only teased the child when he felt like it. He even often made Sonny cry.“His parents are the same. Their relationship with Sonny is superficial, and they’re not that sincere about him. Children are closer to their caretakers. Sonny is as close to Serenity as he is to his own mother, whereas he’s not close to his grandparents and his paternal aunt.“Fortunately, Liberty won custody of Sonny. Sonny following her is the best outcome.”Corey hummed.“Now, the Brown family is desperately trying to get closer to Sonny. Although it’s not too late, watching them makes me want to ridicule them a little.”In fact, Duncan quite disliked the Brown family.He did not like the Browns very much.In particular, he found
Serenity waited at the entrance of the manor since she knew her sister was arriving.Zachary naturally accompanied her.However, she yawned incessantly.Zachary said, “It was a long distance from downtown to here. I told you to take a nap since your sister would arrive just as you woke up from the nap, but you refused to listen. Now, you can’t stop yawning.”Serenity yawned again and said, “I’m afraid I won’t want to get up if I lie down. When the AC is on during weather like this, I’ll feel lazier and want to sleep more. The more I sleep, the more I want to stay in bed.”She could sleep the entire afternoon away if no one came to wake her up.“It’s probably because the season is changing. People often feel lazy during such times.”Zachary held her hand, pulled it up, and kissed the back of her palm. He looked up at her with eyes full of tenderness and asked, “Seren, it’ll be our wedding anniversary soon. What gift did you prepare for me?”Serenity withdrew her hand and pinched
Liberty stopped her car at the entrance of the manor.“Sonny, wake up. We’re at Aunt Seren’s house.”Liberty turned her head to call her son.The little boy went with the sandman after getting in the car and slept the entire journey.He slept so soundly that not even his mother’s calls could wake him up.Liberty got out of the car first.“Liberty.”Serenity’s smile was as bright as the sun. Zachary also came over to greet Liberty.“It’s so hot out. Why are you two standing here waiting for me? Hurry inside. I’ll drive the car in.”Zachary smiled and said, “Your sister started counting down the time when she heard that you were coming. She thought you were almost here, so she insisted on coming out to wait.”Liberty admonished her sister, “If you wanted to wait outside, why didn’t you at least bring an umbrella for shade?”“It’s fine. We sat at the security booth for a while. There’s air conditioning inside. When we saw that it was almost time, we came out just in time to see
Liberty hummed.She drove straight to the main building.Soon after she arrived, she saw Tania coming out from inside the house just as she parked the car.Tania walked down the steps to the front of the car and asked Liberty, “Is Sonny here?”Liberty said with a laugh, “How would I dare not bring Sonny after how much you urged me on the phone? He’s in the back, but he fell asleep.”“It’s fine if he’s asleep. It’s just in time for an afternoon nap. I also just woke up from my nap.”When Tania heard that Sonny was in the backseat, she was just about to open the door when she saw her son coming out of the car. She quickly reached out when she saw Zachary carrying Sonny. “Let me carry him. Be careful not to bump him into anything.”Zachary said in a low voice, “Aren’t you worried about me bumping into anything?”“You have thick skin, so it doesn’t matter if you bump into something. You’ll get a scrape at most.”Tania gently took Sonny from her son.Then, she walked into the hous
The house turned lively after Sonny woke up.Serenity, his biological aunt, did not have the chance to get close to Sonny. She took her sister out of the manor to enjoy the scenery.The scenery at Wildridge Manor differed over the four seasons.Spring blossomed with beautiful flowers while summer let one admire the magnificent lotuses.Fall saw red leaves at the foot of the mountain and while there was no snow in Wiltspoon for one to enjoy the white blanket of scenery, that did not affect the lovely surroundings of the manor.“How is Hank?” Serenity asked her sister.“He’s recovering well. His mental state today was much better than when he just woke up, but he still can’t get out of bed and walk around. Jessica was really trying to kill him with every stab. The doctor said it was a miracle he survived.”Serenity said after a moment of silence, “If he’s alive, Sonny will still have a father. He can’t influence you anymore anyway, so you can just take Sonny to visit him occasiona
“After a few peaceful days, I learned about my true identity, and then it was a long road of investigation. Seren, don’t you think that we are ill-fated? Why do pain and suffering always find us?”Serenity comforted her. “Aunt Audrey, don’t say that. No one’s life can be smooth sailing all the time. We will encounter setbacks along the way. I’ve talked to Zachary, asking him to help investigate. With more people, we might be able to find some evidence.”“Okay.”Audrey had spoken those pessimistic words to her niece out of momentary frustration.“Has your sister arrived at your place?”“She just arrived not long ago. Do you have something to say to my sister, Aunt Audrey?”Audrey said, “Pass the phone to your sister. I want to talk to her for a moment.”Serenity handed the phone to her sister.“Aunt Audrey.”Audrey responded and asked Liberty, “Liberty, can you free up some time recently?”“Of course. What would you like me to do? Just let me know.”“In that case, free up a w
Serenity pondered for a moment and felt that her sister made sense.She was currently very busy with her own business, assisting Zachary with his personal matters, and also taking on some small tasks from her mother-in-law. She was learning how to juggle them.Serenity needed to work hard to become a competent lady of the house.The main issue was that she grew up in an ordinary family. Serenity would not need to work so hard, and she would have even less pressure if the Hunts and the Yorks were a perfect match.Serenity could not have anticipated that her aunt had the plan to push her sister into the head position of the Fisher family.The Wildridge Manor was a boisterous place. The Queen family far away in Jensburg, although not as lively, was relatively more bustling today compared to its usual quietness.Under their parents’ request, Hayden and Hugh had returned for the weekend.Hugh came back earlier and had gone to Jensburg Hotel with Kevin to pick up Hayden.The four o’c
As long as she returned home and Kevin was also there in her house, she felt as if her parents were conspiring to sell her to him.“Let’s go.”Kevin reached out and grabbed one of Hayden’s hands, trying to pull her along.Hayden instinctively shook off his hand, not letting him touch her. She coldly warned him, “Kevin, have some self-restraint. Don’t get handsy. Just because my parents side with you doesn’t mean I won’t dare to retaliate against you.”Kevin smiled and explained, “I’m not taking advantage of you. I just wanted to escort you downstairs.”“I have legs and I can walk on my own. No need for you to guide me.”Hayden pushed the bouquet back into Kevin’s arms and said indifferently, “I’ve told you, I don’t like flowers or things that girls like.”After speaking, she walked by Kevin and went downstairs.Kevin followed her with the bouquet in his arms, saying as they walked, “Then what should I do? I have a challenging task, Hayden. Mr. Hayden, since our relationship is
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