Alice would still throw up every day. She did not gain any weight other than the baby’s throughout her pregnancy. It hurt Clive to see her that way. He harped on about only having one child and refused to put Alice through another pregnancy again. Due to his nagging, Alice wished she would give birth to a son. Although Clive did mention that he preferred a daughter, she wished to have a son who could inherit the Stone family’s legacy. Serenity often told Zachary about Alice’s honesty. Many people would refrain from revealing their preference for a specific gender for fear of being accused of discrimination. However, Alice never failed to be straightforward in saying she wanted a boy.“Mom.”Speaking of the devil, Serenity and Liberty heard Sonny’s voice. At first, Liberty thought she was hearing things. It was still too early in the morning, and Sonny would usually not be up. After hearing his voice again, Serenity told Liberty, “It’s Sonny. He’s awake.”Liberty exited the w
Serenity and Sonny whispered to each other their complaints about Liberty being too scary as they walked. Liberty, who overheard them from behind, was speechless. She was like a mother figure to Serenity. She wanted to marry Serenity off extravagantly. “Missus.”The makeup artist Zachary hired stood and greeted Serenity with a smile when she saw her walking down the stairs. Serenity returned a smile. “Good morning, Ms. Gardner. Sorry to have made you wait. I woke up late this morning as I had gone to bed late last night.”“I didn’t wait long. Go ahead and have your breakfast. Then, we can start after you have a short rest.”Most people were not yet aware of Serenity being pregnant. As Ms. Gardner was the makeup artist, Zachary had disclosed Serenity’s pregnancy to her. He also reminded her to use skincare that was harmless for pregnant women. “Let’s eat together, Ms. Gardner.”Ms. Gardner refused politely, “I’ve eaten before coming over.”As she was a seasoned bridal mak
Noah continued, “But Serenity doesn’t need our support.”They thought time had dissipated Serenity’s anger since their last conflict was long ago. They wanted to mend their relationship with the sisters through the wedding. By doing so, they would be able to gain some benefits just by being related to the Yorks. The Hunts wanted to restore their family to its former glory. Everyone looked toward Old Mr. Hunt, awaiting his decision. If not for Serenity and Liberty having some respect left for him, they would have gone to the wedding without his approval. Word of Zachary and Serenity’s wedding had been made known to everyone in Wiltspoon through the entertainment news. It was definitely going to be the wedding of the century. The Hunts wished to witness such a grand event. Serenity’s aunts and uncles wanted to attend the wedding for the delicacies. They even thought of packing up the leftovers to bring home. Since Serenity and Liberty could not care less about them, they
Who knew how their children would treat them when they could no longer care for themselves?Old Mr. Hunt was cautious whether to attend Serenity’s wedding or not. Since she did not invite them, they should not attend and should refrain from causing any trouble on someone else’s big day. “We won’t do anything there, Granddad. Can’t we just show up and have a few drinks? It can mislead others into thinking that our relationship with Serenity has eased. You must be aware of how difficult our situation is now,” Mike asked unhappily. He and his family wanted to attend the wedding. “I believe though it may be difficult, it’s still manageable. Mr. York may have initially targeted you, but he has stopped, right? I see that you guys have been doing well lately. You don’t even give me any living expenses when you're faring well. When things aren’t going smoothly, you’d ask me how much pension I have left to spare for you.”After glaring at Mike, Old Mr. Hunt added, “Anyway, your grandm
“They’re also trying to get our remaining pension. The house we’re living in now belonged to Scott and his wife. We were only able to secure this place to stay because we’re Scott’s parents.“Although our children have been providing us with some living expenses every month, that’s actually the rent that Serenity requested them to pay. Without Serenity’s enforcement, they wouldn’t even give us a single penny. Ultimately, we’re just relying on Serenity and Liberty.“We’re old. We have to accept our fate and be realistic. Let’s stop making pointless struggles.”Old Mrs. Hunt wanted to refute him, yet she could not find any words. What Old Mr. Hunt said was true.“Don’t blame Liberty and Serenity for being cruel. What we did to them ten years ago was worse. Why were we so ruthless back then? They’re our granddaughters after all. Scott and Lisa passed away, leaving their daughters behind. How did we bring ourselves to chase them out and seize their inheritance?”As Old Mr. Hunt spoke,
Did her uncles ever think about the blood relation they had with her before hurting her?Serenity always had a clear line drawn between acts of kindness and cruelty she received. There was no way she would repay evil deeds with gratitude. She was not a saint who could smile and say everything was fine after being bullied. Back in the villa, Serenity sat before the dressing table and allowed Ms. Gardner to put makeup on her. She was sleepy. “Aunt Ser.”Sonny had been watching Ms. Gardner apply makeup on Serenity. He called Serenity loudly when he saw her dozing off. Liberty had told him to keep an eye on his aunt. Serenity opened her eyes. Sonny said, “Uncle Zak is on his way here, Aunt Ser. You can’t fall asleep.”Ms. Gardner said, “I’ve done makeup for many brides, but you’re the first bride who dozed off.”Serenity said embarrassedly, “I get sleepy easily. Sorry, Ms. Gardner.”“I understand. You didn’t get a good night’s sleep. Mr. York probably didn’t sleep well eit
Sonny said smugly, “I knew chili was useful. You’re not dozing off anymore.”Serenity patted Sonny’s head and told him, “You can go out to play and check if Zachary is here.”“Okay,” Sonny agreed happily before exiting the room and going downstairs. Everyone on the floor below was busy. Duncan was the only one sitting because he could not be of help. He would have joined Zachary’s groomsmen entourage to fetch Serenity from the villa if he were mobile. Although he could not yet walk, he wished to help Liberty, and so he came to Liberty’s villa and would follow the rest to Wildridge Manor after Zachary arrived. When Duncan saw Sonny running down, he suddenly thought of something he could do. He called Sonny and the little guy hopped to Duncan and greeted sweetly, “Dunc.”“Why did you come down? Didn’t your mom tell you to accompany Serenity upstairs?”“Aunt Ser told me to come out and play. I also have to check if Uncle Zak’s here.”Duncan looked at the time and said, “He
Duncan’s warm voice rang. Sonny turned his head. When he saw Duncan, he asked concernedly, “Why did you come out alone, Dunc? I’ll look for someone to push your wheelchair.”Duncan had a personal bodyguard, but he had assigned the bodyguard to help with the preparations as things were hectic in the house. He did not need to be looked after anyway.Although he could not walk normally, he could manage to stand and walk several steps. “You don’t have to do that. I can take care of myself.”Sonny immediately said, “I’ll take care of you then. Mom told me to watch Aunt Ser and stop her from sleeping. I saw Aunt Ser dozing off and took some chili flakes out. Aunt Ser did not dare to fall asleep again after that.”He looked like he was asking for a compliment because he had accomplished the task assigned by his mother. Duncan pulled Sonny over and lifted him. He praised, “Smart boy. Where did you get the chili flakes? How did you know it could wake someone up?”“I saw it in the kit
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
The Queen family was well-educated and had few members. Sophia had heard of other families fighting over power, but Caroline’s experience shocked her the most. Maybe it was because the Queens was close to her. Sophia quite liked Caroline as well. “How could they… You’re their biological sister!”Caroline smiled bitterly. “Are you having a fever, Carol? Your face is red.”Sophia touched Caroline’s forehead. She said, “You’re burning up. Have you informed the doctor, Mr. Fletcher?”Darren replied, “The fever started at dawn. Ms. Caroline caught a cold. Her fever subsided after taking medication once, but it returned.“It’s time for her to take her medicine.”Sophia spotted the lunch boxes. She told Darren, “Go have your lunch, Mr. Fletcher. I can look after Carol.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Queen. I can eat on my own,” said Caroline embarrassedly. It was her first time feeling cared for by someone her mother’s age. Although Sophia was not part of her family, the lady treated her
Caroline looked toward Darren. She said, “In my younger days, I often caught colds and coughs when the weather was too cold. The coughing will last throughout the changing of seasons. Therefore, I’ve been looking after my health since I grew up.“My immune system strengthened a lot. I haven’t been coughing for years.“I’m not worried.”Caroline stared at Darren lovingly. “I have nothing to be worried about with you here.”Darren pinched her face lightly with affection. “I’m still sulking. I didn’t want you to risk yourself, yet I couldn’t stop you. I’ll only feel better once you recover.”He was Caroline’s assistant and had to heed her orders. Even if they were dating, he still had to follow her arrangements.“Okay. Don’t be angry. I won’t take risks like this again in the future. You’ll age quickly if you get angry frequently. If that happens, your hair might turn gray before I even grow old.“We promised to grow old together.”Under Caroline’s gentle coaxing, Darren’s expre
Darren became an orphan when he was only a few years old. After losing everything, he was collected and trained by the training center to be an all-rounder assistant. He could not remember how he lost his parents as he was too young back then. Since he had no memories, there was no pain.Nevertheless, he had seen others interacting with their parents. He knew parents should love their children. There were not many parents who would not shower their children with love. Ms. Caroline was too unlucky to have met one. “I don’t care. I don’t care about my dad at all.”Caroline asked, “Has my dad asked you to give him money? He doesn’t need money. He just wants to know about his sons’ conditions.“Having lived for so many years, he was probably aware of the consequences of his sons’ plan and had advised them not to do it. They didn’t listen to him, so he’s just hoping to get lucky and waiting for some news.”Hunter must have known that her brothers were going to murder her. Sinc