Zachary went upstairs. He pushed the bedroom door and walked in to hear Serenity gagging in the bathroom. Today was no exception. As soon as Serenity woke up, she had to go and throw up in the bathroom. “Seren.” Zachary rushed over and approached Serenity from behind. He gave her gentle rubs on the back while feeling sorry for her. “Your morning sickness is happening every day. The baby’s not letting you rest.” The child might be a naughty one. “Pregnancy is a different experience for everyone. A difficult one with morning sickness does not dictate a child's personality.”Serenity stood up for her unborn child. After puking, Serenity washed her hands while Zachary grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth. “I wish I could bear the morning sickness for you.” “If you can do that, you might as well take over the whole pregnancy and save us women from childbirth.” Zachary was speechless. He helped Serenity out of the bathroom and sat her down on the bedroom sofa. He then pour
Minutes later, Serenity changed her clothes and went downstairs with Zachary, hand in hand. Dylan and Grandma May were having breakfast in the dining room. As the couple entered the space, he stopped eating and rose to his feet. “Hi, Serenity.” “Morning.” Serenity was used to the respect she got from Zachary’s cousins and brothers. She knew that they respected her because of Zachary. She gestured for Dylan to sit down. “Nana,” Serenity greeted. Grandma May lovingly asked, “Do you feel better today?” “Same as always. I wonder if things will be better in a month.” “They will.” Grandma May looked at Zachary. Her grandson must feel bad about Serenity’s persistent morning sickness. “Seren, Zachary got up early and made you breakfast. Thanks to you, I get breakfast too.” Grandma May smiled. “Don’t make it as though I’m a bad grandson, Nana. We will always cook for you if you ask,” Zachary refuted. Dylan complained to Serenity, “Look at Zachary. He’s so petty. He d
Snapping out of his thoughts, Sam answered, “I’ll bring the car around, ma’am.” “Go on. I won’t be back for dinner. I’ll return tomorrow. Let Zachary know when he comes back,” Grandma May urged. “Got it, ma’am.” She was always out and about, so Sam was used to it. Grandma May did not have to pack to go home. Out she walked with only her phone.Sam had a car brought to the driveway. She wanted to drive, but Sam was not going to have it. Even though Grandma May was in good health, she was getting old. Sam could not afford her getting into accidents on the road. Moreover, Grandma May loved the adrenaline rush of speeding. Zachary and the rest of the family had warned Sam and his team that under no circumstances could Grandma May drive. “Alright. I just can’t wait to get home. I won’t fight you on this. I won’t drive.” Since Grandma May could not argue over Sam, she relented. The household helper was stubborn when it came to her safety, and it was under Zachary’s orders
Julian gleefully said hello to all the kids, then invited them to have a buffet breakfast at the hotel café. Since the kids had been staying at Wiltspoon Hotel for a few days now, they were familiar with the place. They walked ahead in droves, knowing where to get breakfast. Julian and Quinn followed behind the kids. Seeing the children happy, Quinn said with a smile, “I envy them. They are a lot happier than I was when I was a kid. I competed frequently at their age. My father wouldn’t take me anywhere for fun. “The best I got was a free trip to the park after the competitions. I would get ice cream there too. I had to go straight home after though.” Now, Quinn would pay out of her pocket to give the kids a fun experience. Of course, she was enjoying it too. It was a rare trip, and she wanted to make the most out of it for herself. “You’re a great coach. Your students respect you.” Julian complimented, “Your sacrifices won’t go unnoticed. Your students will remember
“Don’t worry. I will promote your family gym after I learn from you. I won’t do anything to break the law.” Julian, who was a good fighter, pretended like he was a defenseless man. He showed his interest in joining the Crawfords’ gym. That way, he could be with Quinn every day and she was bound to fall in love with him. Only Quinn could make him feel like a man again. He was determined to keep her for himself, and not lose her to someone else.Quinn tilted her head and looked at Julian. While walking, she said with a smile, “You’re a little old, so training can take time. If you’re interested in building strength and nothing else, you can ask my dad or my brother if they would accept you as a student.” Julian asked, “You’re not going to teach me?” “I usually teach kids. My dad teaches the adults. As I’ve told you, late learners usually take up self-defense for fitness. My dad can teach you the basics. “The basics go a long way. You always work behind the desk. You will fee
By then, the kids had grabbed their favorites and sat down to eat at two tables. Quinn was a foodie, and the local cuisine was right up her alley. She grabbed two plates and loaded them with food. Since there was no vacant seat with the kids, she sat at a nearby table. She put her plates down and went to grab a plate for fruits and another for dessert. She also poured herself a cup of coffee.Julian had grabbed a lot of food too. Quinn would not enjoy her meal unless Julian did too. She might even try to be ladylike and stay hungry next time.Julian wanted to give his future wife everything even though they were not married yet. He could not possibly let her go hungry. After grabbing the food, Quinn sat down and realized that she might have taken too much to eat. However, she stopped feeling embarrassed when she saw the amount of food Julian took from the buffet. Quinn was not the only one who could eat. Her students were big eaters too. It must be due to all the exercis
Josh was the administrative executive to the CEO of York Corporation. He was well-known in Wiltspoon, appearing on TV more often than Julian. It was easy for the public to search for his photos and basic information on the web. Julian was a different story. He had always been elusive. Whenever Zachary wanted to meet with Julian, he would have to book an appointment through Josh. There were no pictures of Julian on the internet. People who had not met Julian in person would walk by him, unaware that he was the heir to the Buchams. Josh assumed that Julian was afraid of Quinn learning his identity and getting cold feet. “Did you see the group of men in suits? The man in the front looked awfully familiar,” Quinn said as she looked back at the hotel.Julian answered, “Those men were executives from York Corporation. They are probably here on business. Wiltspoon Hotel belongs to the same company. Zachary and his employees have meetings with clients at the hotel.” “Oh. That explai
“Mr. Bucham.” Julian had brought along two bodyguards to act as drivers. With Julian stepping out of the hotel, they immediately drew close. They were instructed not to tell Quinn that Julian was the heir to the Bucham family for fear of scaring her away. The bodyguards believed Julian was paranoid as his future wife feared nothing. Quinn would not be afraid to learn who Julian was. Julian gave a nod and told Quinn, “My car can’t fit everybody, so I hired two drivers. We can all travel comfortably in three cars instead of one.” “Thank you for going through all that trouble, Mr. Bucham. You have everything thought out.” Julian grinned. “It was no trouble at all. You weren’t afraid about getting into trouble when you saved me. You didn’t even know me then. All I did was help with the logistics and the pleasure’s all mine.” Quinn smiled. “Alright. We should stop thanking each other like we’re strangers. I’m not used to it.” She would rather cut to the chase. The pair w
Dalton said, “Callum spoils you a lot too. Many people are envious of you two.”Camryn smiled. “You’re right. Our lives are objects of envy to other people.“You can head back to work, Dalton.”“Okay.”Camryn saw Dalton out. She sat for a few minutes before returning to her desk to continue working.Meanwhile, in Huntington, Dylan was coughing badly. He quickly grabbed the glass of water Imogen had just offered him and took a few sips. After moistening his throat, he stopped coughing. However, he started coughing again after a few minutes. Imogen said, “Why is your cough getting worse after seeing the doctor and taking medicine?”“Ah…”Dylan pointed at his throat. He could not speak. His throat was badly inflamed from eating excessive chili peppers. His voice was so hoarse that he could not talk, and he was hacking non-stop. Imogen had already brought him to a doctor, who had prescribed some medication for him. However, his condition was so bad that the medication was no
“Did you think of your mother again?”Dalton said gently, “It wasn’t your fault, Camryn. You don’t have to overthink it or care about how she treated you. You have loving in-laws now. You’re like a daughter to them.“Your husband dotes on you a lot too. I believe there’ll be better days ahead of you. As for your mother… Let her regret what she did.”He had never seen a mother like Mrs. Newman. There were many biased mothers, but not many of them were as evil as Mrs. Newman.“She does feel regret. However, it isn’t because she had hurt me, but because she gave birth to me. She regretted not getting an abortion or strangling me to death after giving birth to me.“She said I was the bane of her existence. She had gone to a psychic when she was pregnant with me. The psychic said I was an unlucky child who would bring bad luck to my parents and that if she didn’t kill me after I was born, I would become her downfall.“My mom was just finding excuses for herself. How would I be her d
“It’s getting better. Don’t worry, Dal. Dr. Carden will be here to check on me after some time and adjust my prescription. She said I’d be able to get pregnant after two years.“Dr. Carden is the legendary doctor’s best student. I trust her skills. She was the one who helped me to regain my sight.”Camryn reassured Dalton. “You just have to take good care of Melissa and tell her not to worry about me. I believe the heavens won’t take away my right to be a mother.”If Dr. Carden said she was infertile, then it would be impossible to get pregnant. However, Dr. Carden had guaranteed that Camryn could give birth after two years of recuperation. Therefore, Camryn was at ease.“Even if I can’t get pregnant, Callum won’t divorce me. He said we could adopt if it didn’t work out.“He and his family didn’t give up on me when I was blind. I believe my in-laws won’t abandon me just because I can’t get pregnant, Dalton. Besides, I’m not actually infertile.”Camryn knew Dalton and Melissa we
Although Callum had started viewing Dalton as a brother after Dalton got married, he still kept his guard up around Dalton. He only let his guard down a little after Melissa got pregnant.It was also because Dalton treated his wife with utmost sincerity and love. Dalton had nothing to worry about and could focus on his life after knowing Camryn was doing well and had the York family supporting her. Not only that, her husband and in-laws adored her. Camryn would come over to handle more important company matters, while Dalton could deal with smaller ones. He rarely attended business engagements at night and chose to accompany his pregnant wife most of the time. Melissa was kinder to Camryn as well. Although they were not sisters-in-law, they shared a close relationship. “Melissa’s baby probably has a sweet tooth. Tell her to be careful and not eat too many sweet things at once.”Camryn wanted to say that Melissa was probably pregnant with a girl. However, she did not say it ou
After her call with Leah ended, Camryn put down her phone and leaned against her office chair. She rotated her chair back and forth. She was at Newman Enterprise.At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Dalton entered soon after.“Dal.”Camryn stood up when she saw him. “Are you daydreaming?”Dalton asked softly, “Are you tired? Go and rest if you are. You should return to Wiltspoon soon. I can handle things here.”“Melissa is pregnant. You should spend more time with her.“I’m not really tired. I was on the phone with an employee of my flower shop earlier and thought of some things that made me feel unhappy.”Dalton and Camryn sat on the sofa in the guest lounge. “Why are you upset? Is the flower shop not doing well?”Camryn had put in a lot of effort in Spring Blossoms. It had accompanied her through her tough times. No matter how her identity had changed, it would always have an important place in her heart.Despite becoming rich, she still kept the store up and
To Louise and Leah, Mrs. Longbottom looked too young.Carrie caressed her stomach. She sighed and said, “I was pregnant before, but it was a high-risk pregnancy and ended up in a miscarriage.“My husband told me to recuperate first before we try for another baby a few years later. We’re still young anyway,” Louise consoled Carrie. She picked two jade plants and two money trees for her. After paying, Carrie got her two bodyguards to carry the plants. Before leaving, she handed Louise and Leah her calling card and said, “Please call me if your boss or Mrs. York comes over. I want to make an appointment with them, but it’s too difficult to do so.”Leah accepted the card. After taking a look at it, one of them replied, “Mrs. York is heavily pregnant, so she rarely drops by. She’s usually resting at home. I can inform you if our boss comes.“You should probably have Ms. Camryn’s number if you wish to make an appointment with her. You can try calling her.”Carrie replied, “I’m not
Since Carrie was approaching Spring Blossoms, she decided to drop by. It was a pity she could not wreck the store as she was heading there as Mrs. Longbottom.When she arrived, Camryn was not in the store. Only Louise and Leah were there. Carrie asked casually, “Where did your boss go?”“Our boss is very busy. Usually, we’re the ones looking after the store. She only comes by when she’s free. Are you looking for her, Mrs. Longbottom?”Louise and Leah recognized Mrs. Longbottom. “No. Your boss is always around whenever I’m here to buy flowers, so I’m just curious since she isn’t here today. Get me two jade plants. The ones I have aren’t growing well. I want to change them,” said Carrie. She really had jade plants at her villa and she was the one who bought them. In fact, they were growing well. It symbolized her having great luck with wealth.Indeed, she was doing well financially. Mr. Longbottom had never mistreated her in terms of living standards.Carrie wanted to get
Tati kept trying to match her with Austin.As soon as Austin left, Tati came in. Isabella could tell, just by the timing, that it had to be related to Austin.If she had not known how loyal Austin was to her, Isabella might have suspected her cousin was being bribed by him.Tati smiled. “I happened to see Austin leaving when I came in. He was very polite to me and his smile was gentle, and the way he looked at me was respectful. But it’s completely different from how he looks at you, Isa.“I noticed it long ago. When he looks at you, there’s light in his eyes, there’s affection, and tenderness. He’s utterly devoted to you, or rather, he dotes on you.”Isabella was quiet.“Isa, the first time I saw Austin, I knew he was no ordinary person, and I thought you two made a great match. You know me, I don’t joke around about these things, but when I saw him, I just couldn’t help it.“I really think you two are perfect for each other. Before, we didn’t know his real identity, so you mig
Tati hummed in agreement.After her cousin reviewed the documents, Tati said, “Isa, why don’t you try dating? Neither of us has a boyfriend, so outsiders are always thinking they can take control of us through marriage alliances.“You could just date. There’s no need to get married. Or you could even just pretend to date. Make them give up.”Isabella looked up at her cousin, amused. “What? That’s a crazy idea.“I haven’t been in a relationship until now because they all know I’m hard to deal with. They think I don’t even have feelings. If I start dating, they’ll realize I’m just like any other girl who dates and wants to get married. Then, they’ll get even more ideas.”Unless her boyfriend was someone so powerful that no one would dare to touch him. He would have to come from a family strong enough to protect the O'Connor family, and he would need to love only her and not be after her family’s money.Power, status, wealth, and good character were all essential.There were men