Old Mrs. York was anxious and wanted to slip away, but thought, ‘Wait, I can’t slip away. Elisa is already at the entrance. If I try to leave, I’ll be caught red-handed.‘I need to hide.’Thus, she calmly put down her cutlery and said to Serenity and Jasmine, “I’m full now. I have to go to the washroom.”With that, she got up and walked toward the washroom while saying, “When you get old, every trip to the washroom will take at least half an hour.”Serenity and Jasmine were speechless.“Serenity, are you there?”Elisa appeared just as Old Mrs. York walked away.She rushed in with a mesh bag of sea shrimps in her left hand and a similar bag of sea crabs in her right hand.“Serenity, come take them. They’re too heavy for me!”Elisa was a rich and pampered young lady. She usually had everything handed over to her on a silver platter and never did any labor, so she felt the two big bags of shrimps and crabs were heavy.When Serenity and Jasmine saw this, they rushed forward and t
“We just finished.”Jasmine quickly cleaned up the dishes, and Elisa asked out of curiosity, “There are four sets of cutlery. Is there someone else?”Jasmine said while cleaning up, “Serenity’s grandmother-in-law came over. She’s in the washroom now.”Elisa hummed and stopped asking.She was aware of Serenity’s marriage. Due to the trending news before, she even told her brother to fire John Hunt. She understood Serenity and the Hunt family’s disputes more than others, so undoubtedly she knew Serenity was married too.Not many people from the outside world knew about it.Elisa was not a nosy person, so she did not ask about Serenity’s love life.After Jasmine cleaned up the table, Serenity poured a glass of water for Elisa.“Why are you back from vacation so soon, Ms. Stone?”“It’s because I’m worried about my sweetheart, of course. I was with my parents by the beach for two days and came back to the city last night. I have something to tell you, Serenity. This morning, I went
Serenity had no knowledge that Zachary was the heir of the York family, who was also Elisa’s crush.Elisa only mentioned Mr. York and did not say Zachary’s name, so the two did not know that they were talking about the same person.“Serves him right!” Old Mrs. York snickered in the washroom. “The show is getting more and more exciting.”Old Mrs. York, who had the mindset of watching a good show, perked her ears and continued to eavesdrop on the conversation between the two girls outside.Serenity had not forgotten about Nana. After chatting with Elisa for a while, she said to her best friend, “Jasmine, go check up on Nana. She’s been in the washroom for a long time.”Jasmine hummed and turned to walk to the washroom.Sonny was sitting by the side, playing with his toys. Even if there was no adult looking after him, he would simply play in the store instead of wandering out. He was a smart boy.Elisa had thought that her ploy did not work, but after hearing Serenity’s idea, she w
“It’s a pair of phoenixes, a male and a female.”Serenity got up and walked to the big box where she stored her crafts to bring out a delicate and beautiful box. She placed the box in front of Elisa and said, “They’re inside.”Elisa opened the box and retrieved two well-woven phoenixes from it, and complimented, “They’re so lifelike. Serenity, your hands are amazing. How much are these phoenixes? I’ll buy them.”“We’re close, and you think of me as a friend, so I’ll just charge you the cost for the materials.”Elisa placed the two phoenixes back into the box and said, “It’s precisely because we’re friends that I can’t take advantage of you. I’ll pay however much it’s worth. I can’t just pay you for the cost of the materials. I’ve seen the price of your goods on the online store. I don’t remember the exact number, but these two phoenixes seem to cost a few hundred.”She took out her purse from her Hermès bag and withdrew a small stack of cash. Without even counting, she shoved the
In a hotel not far from Wiltspoon Hospital, Noah Hunt’s parents knocked on the room door of the eldest son of the Hunt family, Stuart Hunt.When Stuart opened the door and saw his youngest brother with his wife looking worried, he asked with concern, “David, what happened? You two don’t look very good.”“Stuart, Noah hasn’t come back since he went out yesterday. We’re worried something might’ve happened to him.”Noah’s father was the youngest among the Hunt siblings, and his parents loved him the most, so they gave him the name David, which meant beloved.“Did Noah say what he was doing?” As the eldest of the Hunt family, Stuart was good at maintaining his composure.David hesitated for a moment and said, Noah said he was going to settle the score with Serenity and make her pay for Mom’s medical bills, but he hasn’t returned since he went out yesterday. His cell phone is turned off too.”Noah’s family did not know that he was being detained in the police station now, and his phon
“Sure, let’s call them.”Stuart also felt that it was better to have more people on their side and agreed with David to call his son and nephew.Unexpectedly, when David called his eldest nephew, Mike, he received news from Mike instead. “Uncle David, I was just about to call you. Something happened to Noah.”David’s face turned ashen, and he quickly asked, “What happened to Noah? He said he went to ask Serenity for money. Did she beat him up? If that damned girl dares to touch a single hair on my boy, I’ll end her! I’ll go back and dig up her mother’s grave!”Serenity’s father was David’s third brother, so David would not dig up his grave. However, his third sister-in-law was not related to him by blood. Since Serenity angered him, he would dig up his third sister-in-law’s grave for real.“Noah brought a few punks to intercept Serenity’s car in the middle of the night. They also brought iron bars and wanted to smash her car, but she fought back. The punks and Noah are being detai
Mike hung up the phone, ignoring his aunt’s scolding.He then let out a long sigh.He seriously felt he was unlucky because Serenity was unharmed even after he got help from so many people.Mike also felt that Serenity had a backer, but he did not know who that was.None of the mediators were willing to help Mike, which indicated that Serenity’s backer must be someone powerful in Wiltspoon. Through their investigation, Mike also did not notice that Serenity and Liberty knew any influential figures.Although Liberty’s husband was a manager in a large company, he was just an employee. Mike had no idea what kind of job Serenity’s husband had for a living, but he found out from the townspeople that Serenity’s husband only drove a national car worth around one hundred and twenty thousand dollars.Any of the Hunts’ scooters was better than the car belonging to Serenity’s husband.This showed that Serenity’s husband was not doing so well.If Mike were to guess who Serenity’s backer wa
Liberty returned to the bookstore and had another unsuccessful day at job hunting.Zachary was speechless when he heard what his grandmother told him.His grandmother sounded like she was gloating.“I won’t talk nonsense with you. Just come over for lunch now. Otherwise, I’ll tell Serenity that you’re the heir to York Corporation! Don’t try me. I found you a way to break this stalemate, but you don’t want to budge. By the way, I’ll tell you another secret. The gift that Elisa wants to give you is from Serenity. You’ll only know what it is when you accept it.”Zachary’s face turned even darker.His grandmother promised him that she would not interfere in his affairs with Serenity, but she threatened him by saying she would reveal his real identity to Serenity.Zachary hung up the call, but Grandma May did not care. She was also about to end the call anyway.“Mr. York, Ms. Stone refuses to give way,” the driver turned his head and said to Zachary.Zachary was silent for a minute.
“He doesn’t even want kids and said having Sonny was enough.”Duncan did not care about blood relations. Liberty believed him. He only cared about her. If Liberty had not had to manage the Fisher family, she probably would have taken more time to consider whether she wanted a second child. However, Duncan's love for her ran deep. She decided to try for another child so that he could have a child of his own. Liberty did not want to be selfish. She could not prioritize only herself and Sonny. She had to be considerate of Duncan as well. “By the way, there’s something that I need your help with.”Serenity said, “Oh you, don’t sound like a stranger. We’re sisters. I’m ready to help with whatever you need.”“I have to go to Jensburg next year. I think I’ll leave Sonny here in Wiltspoon for his studies. I’ll ask for Sonny’s opinion again once my situation in Jensburg is stable. If he wants to move to Jensburg to live with me, I'll bring him over.“If he says no, I’ll need y
“Morning, Liberty. The housekeeper said you weren’t out yet, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”Serenity stood and smiled when she saw Liberty enter. “I woke up when you arrived.”Liberty whispered, “Sonny is still asleep. Let’s go downstairs. You can accompany me on a walk outside too.”“What time are you and Duncan meeting?”Serenity was worried that Liberty would be late. Liberty said, “We still have to wait until the City Hall opens. Duncan and I agreed to meet at nine. It’s still early.”The three adults exited the child’s bedroom and went downstairs. Zachary remained in the house while Liberty and Serenity went on a stroll in the garden. Liberty’s villa initially belonged to Zachary. Although he sold it to Liberty, it was also considered a gift. She was the one who insisted on paying and refused to accept it as a gift. Therefore, Zachary accepted some money from her so that she would take it. The villas Zachary owned were never small. They usually came with garden
“As expected of a child’s skin. It’s so smooth,” said Serenity. “Catch me if you can, Isaac…”Sonny spoke in his sleep and even giggled. He dreamt of him and Isaac playing tag. When Isaac started running after him, he quickly turned to escape while laughing. He did not realize that he was dreaming. “I have two dads, Isaac…”Sonny spoke again.Serenity laughed and told Zachary, “Sonny must’ve had a blast yesterday. Even his sleep talking is related to playing.”She pinched Sonny’s face lightly. “You do have two dads, Sonny. They love you a lot, so you have double the love.”Serenity spoke gently, regardless of whether he could hear her. She bent over and left a soft kiss on his cheek. “That’s why you must be happy. I wish you a carefree life ahead.”She hoped he would grow up healthily and be worry-free. Sonny was in a deep sleep and did not reply to her. Liberty watched them from the door with an affectionate gaze. She felt content. Zachary and Serenity had a st
The night went by peacefully. The next morning, Liberty could hear her gates opening when she stirred in her bed. Soon, she heard her housekeeper talking. “You’re early, Mrs. York.”“Mm. My sister is getting married today. I couldn’t go back to sleep after I woke up, so I decided to come over.”While Serenity could not help Liberty and Zachary out with anything, she was excited to the point she could not sleep. It took Zachary a lot of effort to persuade her to sleep. However, she woke up at dawn after having a dream about her parents. She could not go back to sleep afterward and insisted on going to her sister’s place. Zachary thought he could sleep in since he was on break, but his wife just could not fall asleep. There was no helping it. The doting husband accompanied his wife to her sister’s house early in the morning. The housekeeper smiled. “Ms. Hunt isn’t awake yet.”“It’s okay. I won’t wake my sister.”Serenity finally felt at ease when she was at Liberty’s ho
After a pause, she said, “Let’s meet at nine in the morning. Seren and Zachary will come over to my place. They’ll be looking after Sonny for me. I’ll head out after they arrive. You can wait for me at the City Hall’s entrance.”“No. I want to go to the City Hall with you.”Duncan did not want to wait for her at the City Hall. He wanted to go together.“Bring Sonny along.“We’ll be a family of three from tomorrow onward. We should bring him along.”He would officially become Sonny’s father tomorrow. It did not matter that he was a stepfather. It was Duncan’s first time adoring a child that much, and he did not expect that he would later become that child’s father.After giving it some thought, Liberty said, “Okay. Let’s take Sonny with us.“By the way, Sonny won’t change his surname after we get married. That was Hank’s condition when we got divorced. Since I promised him, I’ll keep to my word.”Sonny would still be the grandson of the Browns. He would not become a Lewis.
Although Sonny was backed by a few wealthy families and would be well-supported even if he was incompetent, they still hoped he would turn out to be an outstanding individual. That way, he could be independent and achieve his goals without much help. Duncan had not thought about Sonny’s education plan. However, he knew Liberty had high hopes for Sonny. Even Serenity had never neglected Sonny’s nurturing. Despite only being in preschool, Sonny had started various hobby classes. It was to build a solid foundation and develop his interest in certain hobbies while still young. The only time he could fully enjoy playing was during winter and summer vacations. Liberty and Serenity had similar philosophies when it came to children’s education. They believed children had to study hard and play hard. Liberty nodded and said, “Sonny can have all the fun he wants when he’s young. Once the situation in Jensburg is stable, he’ll have to study and live there.“I wonder if he’ll be willing
Although Corey’s daughters-in-law were not her biological children, she would love them as if they were. After all, they had married into the family and gave birth to the family’s future generation. The jewelry she gave them would be passed down to her grandchildren anyway. Her daughters-in-law came from wealthy families themselves and had many assets to their names. They had more than enough jewelry. Nevertheless, they still happily accepted their mother-in-law’s gift and promised to pass it down to their future daughters-in-law.Of course, they would also gather sufficient wealth and jewelry to be given to their daughters. Anyway, the Lewises treated boys and girls equally in the family. There was no gender discrimination. However, Corey preferred having granddaughters. She had only given birth to four sons and no daughters. After her sons got married, their first children were all sons. She had been afraid that men would outnumber the women in the Lewis family, just like how it
After Corey scolded Ezra, she looked toward Duncan and Liberty. She said gently, “When are you two planning to get your marriage license? Tomorrow?“The City Hall will be closed at the end of the year. It’s best to get the procedure done within these few days.”Getting their marriage license soon would also reassure Duncan. The wedding could be held later. Once they got their marriage license and became legitimate husband and wife, Duncan would no longer have to be alone. He and Liberty could love each other as a married couple. There was also a chance that Liberty might already be pregnant with Corey’s grandchild by the time the wedding was held. Corey wished Liberty could give birth to a child for Duncan. The gender did not matter so long as the baby was Duncan’s biological child. If Liberty truly did not want to get pregnant again, Sonny would probably take care of Duncan in his old age. Duncan had always treated Sonny well, and Sonny was a reasonable child. Sonny would no
Liberty looked at him again. To be honest, she had not known that Duncan had already arranged for a tailor to custom-make a wedding dress for her. As for her size, well, Duncan probably knew.He had sharp eyes and could probably estimate her measurements just by looking at her, not to mention how many times he had hugged her. He could also have asked her sister for her clothing size and preference.As for her preference, he probably had not needed to ask. They had known each other for two years, and Duncan knew very well what she liked and did not like. Serenity had not mentioned anything about the dress to her, so it seemed like they were keeping it from her as a surprise.Duncan met her gaze and softly explained, “After you agreed to register our marriage before Christmas, I immediately contacted the fashion designer Zachary and Josh recommended me. I asked Serenity about your clothing size, and I also secretly took your measurements myself to make sure there wouldn’t be mistakes