Serenity hurried Zachary while grinning.Zachary watched her fasten her seatbelt before he started driving.He drove around leisurely before returning to their house in Brynfield.Although it had been ages since the couple stayed at their Brynfield home, Mrs. Lane would come over daily to clean the house. She would also look after the plants that Serenity grew on the balcony.Upon entering the house, Serenity switched on the lights. Then, she headed straight to the swing on the balcony and sat on the swing. Sighing, she said, “This is the swing I’ve been dreaming of.”The hilltop villa had a swing too but what she missed about the house was the swing. Perhaps this was where Zachary and her relationship developed.After all, it was not the same.Zachary poured her a glass of warm water. After that, he switched on the lights on the balcony and sat beside her. Once he lifted his head, he saw the two bamboo poles used for drying clothes.He remembered that Serenity went all the w
That night, the couple was chatting till the wee hours. Eventually, Serenity was so tired that she fell into a slumber, which put an end to their conversation.The next day, Serenity was woken by some door knocks.The knocks were similar to those that happened at midnight a year ago. She was under the impression that Zachary would not return, so she locked the door. However, she ended up being awakened by Zachary’s knocks on the door.She opened her eyes, tilted her head, and looked at her side. Zachary was not around.She supposed that he had gotten up early to make her breakfast.The knocking soon ceased as the door was opened.Zachary opened the door, only to see his nana. He greeted her.Grandma May pushed him away and entered the house directly while asking, “Where’s Seren?”“She’s still sleeping. Did you spend the night traveling over here? You came at such an early hour. How do you know we’re here?”Upon learning that Serenity was still sleeping, Grandma May softened he
Just as Zachary entered the kitchen, someone knocked on the door.Grandma May said, “Carry on with your work. I’ll open the door.”She rose to her feet and opened the door, only to see Liberty standing there.Liberty was holding a few bags filled with groceries. One could tell that she had just bought them from the market.“Grandma May, when did you come over?” Liberty asked with a grin. She was delighted to see the old lady here.“I just got here. As soon as I heard Seren got pregnant, I hurried over as I was worried that Zachary didn’t know how to look after Seren. I can’t stop worrying unless I look after her personally.”Grandma May smiled cheerfully. She moved aside to let Liberty in. After checking out Liberty from head to toe, she praised with a smile, “Liberty, you’re looking prettier, and every movement of yours carries confidence.”“Thank you for the compliment, Grandma May. I was born with good looks.”Grandma May burst into laughter. “You’re right. Serenity and you
Liberty laughed before she replied to the old lady’s remark, “Grandma May, since you’re old, you’d better not be out and about. You should stay at home so that we can always see you, which will lessen our worries. They say elders are treasures, and you’re our treasure.”Grandma May grinned. “Even if you kick me out now, I won’t leave. I’ll stay here to take care of Seren’s basic needs. I’m worried my eldest grandson knows nothing.”Zachary’s handsome face reddened and said, “Nana, even though I have no experience, I’ll learn. Later, I’ll go to the bookstore to buy several books and read through them. Parents usually raise their first kid by referring to books.”When raising the second kid, parents could make use of their prior experience.It was not easy for Zachary and Serenity to have a child. For now, they would not think about getting another child. Zachary was hoping that Serenity could be as lucky as Jane to give birth to fraternal twins. In that case, his wife would only n
Liberty said, “It was through your Facebook story that I knew you both have come back. Zachary called me yesterday. After he ended the call, I finally digested his message. He didn’t say you both were already back.“Aunt Audrey and I planned to head over to you, but we thought you were still in FC Manor, so we were thinking about visiting you in the Wildridge Manor after you returned.“We had something on yesterday, so I texted to ask you. You didn’t let me know that you’re back.”Caroline came yesterday.After Caroline left, Audrey used Caroline’s blood for DNA testing in the hospital.Serenity said awkwardly, “We were too happy to make things clear.”“You can talk to Grandma May. I’ll go to the kitchen and make breakfast with Zachary. What do you want to eat? I’ll prepare it for you. My cooking has improved a lot compared to before.”Liberty was in the food industry. No matter how busy she got, she must not stop cooking.Previously, all she could make was home-cooked meals. N
Zachary did not need Liberty’s help but Liberty was someone who could not sit idly, so she went ahead and helped out in the kitchen.While holding Serenity’s hand, Grandma May chatted with her.In the end, Grandma May said, “That psychic is brilliant. As I said, those words aren’t meant to just comfort you. Look, they’re true, aren’t they?”Serenity grinned and responded, “Yes, yes. The psychic is an expert. He’s skillful.” “Yeah. If he weren’t capable, I wouldn’t have trusted him.”Grandma May continued, “In fact, I believe in fate. I think fate determines the course of our lives. We can’t force things.“The Yorks have never done anything evil, and what’s more, you’re good-hearted. How could God possibly not grant you a child? Having said that, it depends on luck too. Just relax and nurture your baby. Don’t get overstressed.“Continue doing what you can do. I won’t demand you to stay at home and grow the baby without doing anything else. Most importantly, you should stay in a
Mrs. Lane said, “When I left yesterday, the door was locked. I was wondering why it’s not locked today. It turned out that you’re back, Missus.”The moment the pet dog saw Serenity, it wagged its tail and scurried toward her.Serenity said with a smile, “Snowball.”She touched Snowball’s head and it lay obediently by the side of her leg.“Mrs. Lane, we came back last night.”Mrs. Lane grinned and said, “Missus, you should’ve given me a call so I could prepare great food for you.”“No worries. This place is close to the market.”Mrs. Lane had been working for Serenity, so the both of them were close. Mrs. Lane knew that Serenity would not put on airs. Even if Serenity did, Mrs. Lane dared not act unscrupulously.When Mrs. Lane noticed that Zachary was busy preparing in the kitchen, she promptly went over to help him out.Zachary said, “I’ve cooked pulled pork with sauerkraut. Mrs. Lane, you don’t need to help out. You can go to the balcony and see to the plants. You’ve been loo
“Nana, Gramps is watching from above. He’s at peace,” Zachary chimed in after hearing Grandma May’s words.She replied with a smile, “As long as you get married and have a child, your gramps would be at ease. He was most worried about you. His attention was all placed on you.“When he was a father, he didn’t care for his sons as much as he did his grandsons when he became a grandfather. Back then, your gramps would criticize your father and all other sons. When it came to your generation, he’d be cheerful no matter what you did.” This showed that the intergenerational relationship between Old Mr. York and Zachary was better than the one he had with the generation before Zachary.Serenity had never seen Old Mr. York, so it was not her place to comment.As Zachary’s grandparents were the ones who raised him, he was the closest to the two of them.Zachary walked over to bring Grandma May to the dining table and seated her. He said with a smile, “Do I look like the younger version
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