Dr. Carden’s name was well-known. Those who have not seen her before thought a doctor skilled in both medicine and toxicology with a good reputation would be middle-aged. “Dr. Carden, this is my fiancée, Camryn Newman,” Callum introduced. Lilian knew right away that Camryn was the patient when she saw Callum assisting an unfamiliar woman walking in. “Ms. Newman.”Lilian knew Camryn relied on her hearing to determine a person’s location. Therefore, she greeted Camryn. Camryn had been facing the stairs after she entered the house. She turned to Lilian’s direction upon hearing her voice. A smile appeared on her beautiful face. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Carden.”“Come here and sit, Ms. Newman. I’ll conduct a basic examination.”Lilian did not hesitate to ask Callum to help Camryn walk over and sit beside her. She would be conducting some simple checkups on Camryn. Callum quickly aided Camryn to walk over. Even Grandma May, who had been sitting beside Lilian, made way for Camr
Lilian said with a smile, “Don’t worry. It’s not untreatable. Since it’s coming from me, you know I don’t joke around.” She patted the back of Camryn’s hand. “Take it easy. The treatment will be no more than three months. If you can’t see clearly after three months, I’ll get my mentor to treat you, but my mentor can’t beat me when it comes to getting an antidote for poisons. Lilian had a vast knowledge of poisonous plants from growing them, far surpassing that of her mentor. That was how she earned her reputation in the medical and poison field. Heck, she would be called a miracle healer in ancient times. Everybody was overjoyed by the news. They knew there was hope for Camryn to see again with Dr. Carden working on her case. “Thank you, Dr. Carden.” Feeling relieved, Camryn took Lilian’s hands and thanked her profusely. Lilian uttered with a grin, “Don’t mention it. You should thank your Aunt Evelyn, her husband, and your fiancé. You are where you are today because o
Abel left the world in tears. Evelyn had no idea that Cain and Paige had something to do with Abel’s death… These people were cruel. Evelyn believed Cain and Paige deserved to be locked up and faced heavy penalties. They deserved no sympathy.For the things they did to Abel and her niece, Evelyn believed they should get a death sentence. Carrie would soon leave prison. However, so what if she could escape jail time? Without her parents to rely on, Carrie could be arrogant all she wanted, but she would not amount to anything when Camryn regained her eyesight. Evelyn’s mind wandered to her older sisters. They were vicious for attempting to impersonate Callum to deceive Camryn. Callum’s revenge pushed them over the edge, and now they were facing bankruptcy. Served them right! Overwhelmed with emotions, Evelyn and Camryn embraced each other and wailed out loud. Nobody stopped them to allow them to vent the pain and suffering within. Lilian opened her medical kit which
Dr. Carden’s arrival brought Grandma May’s presence at the manor too. The other family members, who were in Wiltspoon, made it back to the family residence as well. Dinner was provided by Callum’s side of the family. Since Callum invited Dr. Carden home, it was only right his family played the gracious host. Serenity blinked her eyes at the sight of Dylan and Peter. She whispered to her husband, “Babe, Dylan and Peter are in Wiltspoon. I thought they’d be chasing after their potential wives.” Zachary murmured a reply, “They got the photos from Nana, but they’re taking their sweet time. Dylan doesn’t seem to like the girl Nana picked out for him. I can’t tell what’s going on with Peter. He’s unfazed.” Meanwhile, Zachary’s younger brother, Austin, was only twenty-five years old but Grandma May had selected a wife for him. Still, Grandma May believed she could delay Austin’s case for another two years since in her eyes, a twenty-five-year-old man was not mature enough. Now tha
Nevertheless, Serenity could not pry information out of Dylan’s mouth if he refused to divulge anything. Dylan was bound to bring home the wife Grandma May had chosen for him. While picking out potential wives for Zachary’s younger cousins, Grandma May would consider whether these women would get along with Serenity. Of course, integrity was an important criterion in choosing partners for the family because only the nice women would have a great relationship with Serenity. At the end of the day, Grandma May favored Zachary and Serenity the most. Zachary was the eldest grandson after all. Of course, he was on a different level than the rest of them in his generation. Zachary was the head of the York family, and Serenity was his wife. Serenity must work to build a relationship with the other ladies too. She should lead by example to be a leader among the ladies. It was the way to go to earn their respect. “Zack, Seren, I’m going to say hello to my parents before they tell m
“I got it, Liberty. I’m almost there.” Serenity said with a smile, “Zachary’s driving. He’s steady behind the wheel.” Liberty felt assured as Zachary was trustworthy. The sisters ended the phone conversation. Duncan waited until Liberty put away the phone before asking, “Are Serenity and Zachary nearly here?” “They said they were five minutes away, so they should be here in no time. The ceremony will go on as planned. Mr. Lewis, do you want to go inside for a break?” The dark bags under Duncan’s eyes tugged on Liberty’s heartstrings. The man had put a lot of effort into getting her new restaurant set up. He often stayed up late with her. After the divorce, Liberty stopped believing in love and marriage. Now that she was faced with Duncan’s affection, she felt that she should not have tarred every man with the same brush. There were still good men around. Well, for starters, Zachary was a good man. Not everybody was like Hank. Duncan was way better than Hank. Ev
Serenity asked Liberty multiple times whether she was short of cash after putting her money into All You Can Eat. Liberty was supposed to let Serenity know if her bank account was drained. Liberty poured her profits back into the restaurant chain and kept some as savings. Nevertheless, Liberty did not run out of funds. She did not need financial assistance from her sister. Serenity and Zachary knew Liberty well and held back from giving Liberty handouts. Liberty would not accept the cash even if they gave it to her anyway. The opening of a new restaurant gave them a good excuse to stuff money to Liberty. Hence, the couple slipped money inside the cards and gave them to Liberty individually. “It’s time to cut the ribbon.” “Okay.” Liberty stood front and center of the ribbon since she was the owner. She shared a moment with her parents in her mind. ‘Mom, Dad, I opened another restaurant. I hope you will look over me and my business from Heaven. Please watch over me as I g
Chelsea expressed her displeasure to her husband and was tempted to take out three thousand dollars from the gift of five thousand dollars. George gave Chelsea a lecture about how short-sighted she was in taking steps to repair the family’s relationship with Serenity and Liberty. To think she wanted to take her parents’ gift to Liberty for herself. Well, she was not one to hesitate when it came to making decisions. Chelsea handed the card with five thousand dollars inside to Liberty even if it hurt her. “Liberty, my parents sent their regards, and here is a card from them. Mom, Dad, and Hank hope your business goes well.” Chelsea was hoping Liberty would refuse the card. She could go back and tell her parents that Liberty took the card, and Chelsea would keep the five thousand dollars. Liberty took the card from Chelsea and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Brown are too kind.” Chelsea forced a smile as Liberty accepted the gift. “Have a spot to sit down, Chelsea. Enjoy the drinks and
Serenity laughed and said, “I hope I’ll be toasting at your wedding soon.”Peter replied, “I think I'll get married before Dylan does.”Dylan’s romantic path had been much more complicated because he had not wanted to follow the smooth, well-paved road that Grandma May had arranged for him.“We have lots of happy occasions lined up after Christmas, then,” Camryn remarked.“Yes, lots,” Serenity agreed.The courtyard was lively, with the elders occasionally joining in on the fun. Meanwhile, inside the house, Dylan was thinking about what Serenity had told him. She had repeatedly said that the person Grandma May picked for him would definitely be the right one, someone who would suit him well.She also suggested that he look into Imogen and that there might be a pleasant surprise in store for him, but that he was not to let Imogen know. The implication in Serenity’s words was that Imogen might be Fox and that Fox’s real identity was Imogen Doyle herself.After understanding Serenit
Dylan frowned as he pondered deeply.“The scent from outside is wafting in. I think the food’s ready. I’m going out to have a couple of skewers to satisfy my cravings. You can stay here and think things through.”Seeing that Dylan had finally grasped the main point, Serenity stopped the conversation and went out to have some barbecue. It had been a long time since she had eaten barbecue.After getting pregnant, although she was not as strictly monitored as Jasmine was, she still paid close attention to her diet and would do her best to avoid things she could not eat or had to limit. Liberty called her every few days to remind her to be careful.When Zachary saw Serenity come out of the house, he immediately picked up a plate of freshly grilled skewers to his beloved wife, saying, “I deliberately used less seasoning on these for you, so you can eat them with peace of mind. Sonny’s asleep now, right?” “He fell asleep long ago, after playing so hard today,” Serenity replied, then gr
In that case, Grandma May would not even need to step in to teach him a lesson. His older brothers would beat him up multiple times for tarnishing the York family’s reputation and dragging their names in the mud with his own.“Dylan, I told you that if you didn’t trust Nana, you’d face the consequences. Look, you’re starting to suffer now, aren’t you?” Serenity said. Who was Grandma May? She was a kind-hearted but cunning old fox who could sell someone out and still make them feel grateful for it as they counted the money she made for her. How could she pick a bad match for her grandsons? There was no way they would be unsuitable. “Serenity, it’s not that I don’t trust Nana, it’s just that I really couldn’t fall in love with Imogen. I feel like if I couldn’t fall for her in almost three months then I just won’t. And I always thought about Fox when I was with Imogen. I’m not some naïve kid who doesn’t understand what that means.” Dylan smiled bitterly. His family always compla
“Callum and Camryn came with Trenton, so they’re all having a barbecue together.”Serenity hummed in response. She closed the door to Sonny's room and said to Dylan, “Is it something you don’t want Zachary to know? If so, let’s go to his study to talk." “It’s not that. It’s fine if he knows, but I’ve talked to him, and he couldn’t be bothered. Then I asked Julian, but he said he was busy. He’s taking Ms. Crawford to register their marriage tomorrow. I just wanted a little help from him; I didn’t need him to do it personally.” Dylan grumbled a little about Julian being unhelpful.If Julian could hear this, he would retort, “Why should I help you? Even Zachary isn’t that demanding.”If it were not for the fact that Zachary and his cousin, Josh, were best buddies, Julian would not be so obliging either. Among the Yorks, Grandma May was the person the Buchams most respected. Of course, if it were something important, the Bucham family would definitely help, but Dylan’s request se
“I haven’t felt like snacking lately.”“Is the stuff made at home not to your taste anymore?” Whenever Serenity said she did not want to eat something she usually loved, Zachary would wonder if it was because the chef’s skills had declined, causing his beloved wife to lose her appetite. “It’s not that, I just don’t feel like eating them. I think maybe the baby is like you and doesn’t like sweets.”Zachary smiled. “If our son is like me, that’s fine. He’ll be steady, and in the future, the two of us will protect you.” If they had a daughter, he hoped she would be like Serenity. If she had his personality… Well, it would not be the most charming. Zachary wanted his daughter to be very likable. “I don’t need you guys to protect me, I can protect myself.”“Honey, don’t say that. I’m your husband, your man. You have to give me a chance to show off, or else people will say you married a useless husband. That would be so unfair to me.”Serenity chuckled.“Do you want to go watch So
“I can be just as considerate and attentive to you.”Quinn looked at him and could not help but laugh. “I don't mean anything else by that, you don’t need to be so defensive.”“You envy Serenity,” Julian said. “I don't want you to envy anyone. I want you to be someone others envy.”Uh, this sounded exactly like something Zachary would say. It looked like, occasionally, he really had learned a thing or two from Zachary.Quinn instantly felt smitten. She looped her arm through Julian's and whispered, “I already am someone others envy. I’m not envious of Serenity—I was just making an observation. They say Mr. Zachary dotes on his wife, and Serenity is very lucky. Now that I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes, I believe it. So, I genuinely sighed with admiration. I know I’m very lucky as well. You treat me so well, and I am content. I really don’t envy anyone.”The young couple’s conversation went unnoticed by Zachary. He waited for his wife to settle before answering a call from Dylan.
“Well, Rowan can play for a couple of days, but he has to start working on his homework soon. The college entrance exam is around the corner, and we can't let him relax too much.”“Rowan's grades are very stable and good. It won’t be hard for him to get into college, so don't put too much pressure on him. It's not necessary for him to get into the same university you and the others went to.”Serenity still remembered the pressure she had felt in high school, though it was not as much as Rowan felt, and her sister's expectations for her were more relaxed; she was only expected to do her best. No matter what the results were, Liberty would accept it. Of course, if she could get into an Ivy League university, that would be great. Otherwise, getting into an Ivy Plus university would also be fine. If that did not work out, she could go to a public university or even take a gap year. Liberty would have been okay with any of it. Her sister always told her that as long as she was physica
Zachary would not do such a thing. Julian laughed. “It’s my first time getting married. I’m asking around because I’m inexperienced. That way, I can make a plan.”Zachary turned to look at him. He said, “How many more times do you intend to get married? I didn’t have any experience either back then. It was my first time going to City Hall. Besides, Seren and I got married in a rush and did not even know each other well. After getting our marriage license, I completely forgot that I was a married man.“You’re in a better situation than I was. At least you and Quinn have feelings for each other and a stable relationship.”Julian chuckled. He caught up to Zachary and placed his arm on his shoulder. He said, “We all know what we should avoid after you’ve set an example.”Zachary was speechless. “You and Serenity are an enviable couple now.“I want to learn from you and make people jealous of Quinn as well.”Zachary brushed Julian’s hand off. “I think you’ll do a better job than m
Zachary and Julian exited the house with two housekeepers behind them, holding a tray each with snacks and drinks. The two men had excellent eyesight and quickly spotted the love of their lives sitting at a bench some distance away. Zachary knew that it was because Serenity got tired from walking. In the past, some pregnant female employees would return to work despite being pretty far along in their pregnancies. Their workload was only slightly lighter. Since Zachary had seen those employees insisting on working even though they were pregnant, he used to think being pregnant and giving birth were not that difficult. He had never put himself in the shoes of the female employees. They insisted on working because they feared being replaced if they took an extended maternity leave. When they returned, they could be discriminated against and had to start all over again. While there were opportunities to be promoted in a megacorporation, one had to climb the corporate ladder ste