Zachary and Serenity gifted Liberty a villa, but she refused the generous gift. The property had yet to be transferred to her name, and she had not moved in either. Liberty was without a word. Faced with Liberty’s silence, the Lewises’ bodyguard knew better than to offer more unsolicited advice. As Liberty opened the door to her home, he said, “Ms. Hunt, don’t forget to lock the door. I got to go.” “Sure, thank you. Drive safely,” Liberty urged. She laid her son down on the sofa before checking the front door. By then, the bodyguard had already left. She quickly locked the door and returned to the sofa to pick her son up and take him to the bedroom. “You’re out like a light. You haven’t even showered.” Liberty gave her son a gentle squeeze on the cheek. She let him sleep instead of waking him up. Sonny could have a nice, hot shower when he wakes up in the morning. “Sonny.” Liberty leaned forward to kiss her son on the cheek. “It must have been hard for you to leave
Serenity was only ten when her parents passed away and since then, Liberty had practically raised her. The bond between the sisters went deep beyond that. Liberty was like a mother to Serenity.Since Serenity became Mrs. York, Liberty was glad to accept help from her sister and Zachary on major matters. However, she firmly refused any handouts when it concerned her everyday life. Zachary and Serenity were at their wit’s end when it came to Liberty’s stubbornness. No one, not even Audrey, could shake her attitude and talk her out of it. “Mr. Lewis, I’ve been living here for a long time. It’s a safe area, and nothing ever happened. I ran into a drunk man tonight, but that’s all. I’ll be careful not to come home late like this again. Today’s incident was an exception. “It’s bad enough I can’t be a safety net my sister can fall back on, but you can’t expect me to mooch off her. A property in The Oasis cost tens of millions, and Zachary bought the biggest villa in the area. I belie
“Mr. Lewis, it’s late. You should get some rest.” “Okay. You should rest soon too. I don’t really have much to do, so I can sleep late and have a lie-in tomorrow.” The pair said their good nights. Duncan needed to exit the car. His bodyguard first removed the wheelchair from the trunk before helping Duncan out of the car. Once Duncan was seated in the wheelchair, the bodyguard wheeled him into the main residence. His parents, Derek and Corey, should be fast asleep at this hour. Nevertheless, the light came on before the bodyguard could reach for the switch after they stepped inside the house. Corey turned on the lights. She just came downstairs. “Mrs. Lewis,” the bodyguard greeted with respect. “It’s late, Mom. Why aren’t you asleep?” Corey drew close and relieved the bodyguard of his duty. She proceeded to push the wheelchair. “I couldn’t rest until I knew you were home safe. I kept my ears peeled for any outside noise and checked the balcony when I heard the g
Now that Liberty was a businesswoman, she upgraded her wardrobe to reflect the change. Liberty was gorgeous, to begin with. She managed to shed the extra pounds and shine through it all like a phoenix rising from the ashes. She was radiant and became the center of attention wherever she went. A beautiful woman always attracted attention. Besides, Liberty was a divorcee who lived alone with her son; a fact those who knew her were aware of. This made her more desirable to many men. One of them might act with ill intent, but there was no way to know for sure.“I advised her to accept Zachary’s gift and move into The Oasis. I have a villa there too, so I can live in the area if she decides to move there. We can look after each other. I can keep her company or have our bodyguard escort her.” “Liberty can be stubborn.” Corey remembered the time she met with Liberty to persuade her to leave Wiltspoon. Liberty refuted her to the point of speechlessness. She knew Liberty was a woma
The mention of Sonny softened Duncan’s facial muscles. Duncan said to his mother, “I held Sonny to sleep tonight. My heart just melted when I saw him settling down in my arms. The kid is cuter by the day, and I can’t help but grow fonder of him. I don’t expect him to call me Dad. It makes me happy enough when he calls me Dunc.” Hank was still alive. Even though Sonny was not close to his father, it did not change the fact that Hank was his father. In the past, Duncan would comfort Sonny, expressing his desire to be his stepdad. However, Sonny said he already had a father and did not need another one. Sonny mentioned he was not greedy enough to have two dads. Sonny showed Duncan that the boy would never call him dad. That was why Duncan would not ask for more. It was enough for Duncan if he could marry Liberty and raise Sonny together with her. Sonny could call him Dunc since he did steal the boy’s mommy.“Sonny is the most adorable thing. He is such a delight and a ball of sun
“Is Duncan home?” “Yeah, he’s back. He’s resting in his room.” Corey drew near. “Why are you up?” Derek closed the magazine. “You’re worried about our son, and so am I. I can’t get a good night’s rest until Duncan is home. I need to hear the sound of his car to know he’s back before I can sleep.” “I know, right? Neither of us can sleep until he’s home.” “Did he say why he was late home tonight? What did you talk to him about?” Corey sat in bed and pulled the covers while saying, “He was waiting for Liberty. He came home from escorting Liberty home after she was finished with work. Liberty was really busy today, but she won’t work this late anymore. Our son is doing well. Don’t worry. It’s late. Get some sleep. We didn’t talk much, only a little about his future with Liberty.” Derek waited until his wife was down and cozy before killing the lights. “What’s the point of talking about that? Duncan hasn’t fully recovered yet. He won’t be together with Liberty for fear he woul
“Hand over every valuable item you have on your body and in your car. Quick!”Quinn could not see what the driver looked like but she could vaguely hear the robber’s words. She ran over immediately. When the man handed his wallet to one of the robbers with trembling hands, Quinn rushed over and kicked the wallet out of the robber’s hand. Her actions were incredibly swift. She turned and sprinted to catch the falling wallet. Next, with a flick of her wrist, the wallet went inside the car through the open door, bounced off the windshield, then landed on the passenger seat, Everyone was stunned. Quinn’s movements were too fast. She did everything in quick succession. When everyone returned to their senses, Quinn had already kicked two motorbikes over. Before the riders could get up, she picked up the metal bat and beat them up. They howled in pain as they writhed on the floor. A few robbers, whose motorbikes had not been kicked over, jumped off and surrounded Quinn with
Julian fancied women like that. He did not like delicate ladies at all and was unable to develop feelings for them either. Actually, Julian was afraid when he confirmed that Quinn was his fated one, fearing that she would be a soft and delicate woman. However, the results of his investigation were a pleasant surprise. The surprise Quinn had given him after meeting her in person was greater. Her martial arts skills were most likely on par with his. As a young master of the Buchams, his wife had to be someone as skilled as Quinn. That way, she would be able to exercise her authority. “Are you okay, sir?”While Julian was staring at Quinn blankly, she was eyeing him too. Her first impression of Julian was that he was extremely attractive. She had never seen such a good-looking man before. Before coming to Wiltspoon, she heard that there were a few popular handsome guys in Wiltspoon. One of them was the CEO of York Corporation, Zachary York. It was difficult to spot
Fortunately, Quinn herself was strong, and her family was not pushovers either. She turned to look at Julian.Without asking, Julian knew exactly what she was thinking, and he quickly reassured her, “Quinn, you don’t have to worry. That kind of thing won’t happen to us. I’m your rock. As long as I’m around, no one can bully you. In my family, apart from my parents, everyone else has to accede to me, and you know how my parents feel about you. They’re so grateful to you that they practically worship you like a goddess.“You’re familiar with the York family now and have seen the way they operate, right? Well, my family and the Yorks are old family friends. Birds of a feather flock together. The reason our two families are so close is we have similar family values.“Setting aside the fact that your family is powerful enough and supportive of you—even if you were like Serenity in the beginning, my family would never look down on you or mistreat you. They would only love and cherish you.
Stacy was actually hoping that Julian and Quinn could get their marriage license today and hold the wedding right away. However, the date they had picked was after Christmas and they still had to wait over a month for the actual wedding. At least once they signed the papers, there was no need to worry about Quinn changing her mind. Stacy was afraid that Quinn and her family might have second thoughts, especially since her son was afflicted with a disorder.“Hey, sweetie.”When Stacy addressed Quinn, her tone was very gentle. Quinn thought that her future mother-in-law was even kinder and more considerate than her own mother. Her father had looked into the Buchams' character and knew that Stacy was actually quite formidable. To Quinn though, Stacy appeared so gentle and kind that she did not seem like the kind of person who would be overly strict or tough. Of course, anyone who could hold fast the position of the Buchams’ head missus and secure her husband’s love for decades as if
Quinn could not stop laughing when she saw him.Julian blushed a little in response. He asked, “What are you laughing at? Is my outfit ugly? Does it not look good?”He was used to wearing black clothes all the time. Although he had a white suit, he rarely wore it. Today, for the special occasion of legally getting married to Quinn, he had specifically chosen to wear white, a color symbolizing purity, to proclaim how his feelings were as pure as snow.“It’s not ugly, it looks great! You look even more handsome than usual. I’m just not used to seeing you in a white suit. Now, you look like a prince from a fairy tale—my prince.”Julian smiled indulgently. “That’s right. I’m your prince charming and yours alone. You look great in white, too, my dear wife.”It was Quinn’s turn to blush slightly. She was not used to being called his wife, especially since they had not even registered yet. Since they were about to go get their marriage license though, she might as well start getting used
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.