Knock, knock.Knocks were heard and the people inside the house commented, “That was quick.” Somebody hurried to look out the window. Zachary's bridal convoy had pulled up at the driveway, but Liberty’s driveway was too narrow to accommodate the long line of cars, especially with so many guests already parked there.Hence, half of the fleet had to park outside the estate. From above, the driveway and entrance looked like a car show, packed with fancy cars.Zachary’s usual Rolls-Royce was the wedding car. It was beautifully decorated with a large banner that read “Just Married” in bold letters.Dressed in a black suit, Zachary looked tall and handsome. He was usually solemn and unapproachable with his bodyguards surrounding him. Today, he was beaming at everybody. No wonder Elisa said Zachary would be on his best, most tolerant behavior today. The bridesmaids were free to do whatever they wanted to him. Of course, Elisa was not going to take the lead. She did not want Zachar
Since Sonny was in the room with the bridesmaids, Elisa decided to put Sonny as the first line of defense. She told Sonny, “Zachary will be up soon. Sit outside the door and stop Zachary from coming in, okay?” Sonny did not get it. He lifted his face and asked, “Uncle Zak is here to pick Aunt Ser up. Why can’t he take Aunt Ser to the ceremony? I want to see Aunt Ser walk down the aisle.” He could not be the page boy and ring bearer if Zachary did not take Serenity to the wedding ceremony. Elisa explained, “Zachary can take Serenity to the wedding, but we can’t make it easy for him. We should let him go through some hoops to get to Serenity to make sure he will cherish and be nice to her.” “But Uncle Zak is good to Aunt Ser. Why must we make things difficult for Uncle Zak?” Elisa was speechless. She slapped her hand to her forehead and said to Serenity, “Why don’t you talk to Sonny, Seren? He doesn’t need to do anything. He can just sit outside the door and stop Zachary fr
“How much is the fee?” Sonny played along because it was his favorite game to play. The boy would not say no to money. “You can collect the fee until you are satisfied.” “I don’t get satisfied easily.” Elisa grinned. “It’s all up to you, Sonny. Watch the door. Call me if you need me.” She then closed the door. Sonny looked at Zachary and said, “Uncle Zak, I need to collect the fee until I’m satisfied before you can see Aunt Ser.” Zachary took a few steps forward and gave Sonny a few bills. When Sonny took the money, Zachary picked Sonny up and said, “Sonny, I don’t want to be late to the wedding ceremony with Serenity. You’re our page boy and ring bearer. You have to go with us too. “You must help me. Don’t make it hard for me, okay?” “But I like the task Aunt Elisa gave me. I want to collect the fee. Aunt Elisa said to collect until I feel satisfied. I’m not satisfied yet.” “Come on. Here’s my fee, Sonny.” Julian gave Sonny some cash. The other groomsmen did
Zachary’s breath was taken away when he saw Serenity sitting in bed with a bright smile. He knew that his wife was beautiful, but Serenity was not one to dress up often. Today, she wore her tailored wedding dress and the jewelry he had given her. He could not take his eyes away from her lightly painted face. “The groom is blown away.”Everybody snickered. “Zachary, you must look for Seren’s glass slipper before you can whisk her away,” Elisa spoke, referring to Serenity’s wedding shoes. Zachary approached to give his wife a loving hug. After releasing her, he felt Serenity’s jewelry and asked, “Does the jewelry feel heavy?” Serenity was like the display unit of a jewelry store. She nodded her head with a smile. “I can still handle the weight.” There were a lot more jewelry pieces that she could not put on. She kept the pieces in the jewelry box, which was open for everybody to see.When Serenity first found out about Zachary’s identity, the anger of being lied to drove he
Today, Wildridge Manor opened its doors to a multitude of guests. Everybody had big smiles on their faces. The Yorks rarely hosted parties, and even if they did, the event would be held at Wiltspoon Hotel. The late Old Mr. York built Wildridge Manor for his beloved wife. Only the wedding of Zachary’s parents was held at Wildridge Manor while the rest had their weddings at their hotel. Now that it was Zachary’s turn, Grandma May insisted on having her eldest grandson’s wedding at the manor. Wiltspoon Hotel would not be open for business either. Nevertheless, York Corporation employees were invited for a celebration at the hotel. The employees could enjoy the buffet at Wiltspoon Hotel and wedding favors from attending the joyous occasion. Zachary was generous. He spread joy throughout the company to celebrate his marriage.Quinn did not know anyone, but Julian asked a lady friend to watch over Quinn for him. Of course, Quinn was not supposed to find out that he was the heir of
“Mr. Queen.” Quinn came to know from Julian that Hayden was the President of Queen Enterprise in Jensburg.Hayden was Kevin’s rumored boyfriend.Quinn was surprised that Kevin was gay. Besides, she was surprised that the Yorks were open-minded about Kevin’s sexual orientation, and the family did not even try to break them apart. Nevertheless, Quinn had to admit that Hayden was a hunk. A man of power and wealth like Kevin must have seen it all. Perhaps Hayden's aloofness was what attracted him in the first place.Quinn studied Hayden for a while, debating in her mind the reason Kevin would fall in love with Hayden. “Ms. Crawford.” Hayden was older and wiser than Quinn, having dabbled in the business world for years. She quickly picked up what was going on in Quinn’s mind. She did not try to explain anything, though. Hayden was there to attend Zachary’s wedding as the President of Queen Enterprise, not as Kevin’s girlfriend. She was representing her family. Besides, Ha
Hayden pursed her lips and said, “Next year is far away. Things don’t always go as planned.” Quinn smiled. “That’s true. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Nothing ever goes as planned.“Do you mind if we walk together, Mr. Queen?” Hayden thought about it and declined Quinn. She was blunt. “Everybody sees me as Kevin’s rumored boyfriend, and you’re Mr. Bucham’s guest. It might not look good on you to walk with me.” Quinn was not expecting Hayden to say such a thing. She replied with a smile, “I won’t insist then, Mr. Queen. You’re not what I thought you’d be, Mr. Queen.” “Were you surprised that I admitted I am Kevin’s rumored boyfriend?” Quinn nodded her head. “Yes.” Hayden smiled and said, “From the moment Kevin pursued me, people started seeing us together. The public has seen how relentless he was in his pursuit. I can give that to him.” “Mr. Queen, have you accepted Kevin as your boyfriend?” Seeing that Hayden owned up to reality without running away or get
Hayden glared at Hugh and warned him, “Don’t try anything with her. She’s with Mr. Bucham. Quinn is the daughter of a gym owner. She learned self-defense as a child and can really pull a punch. She’s a coach at her family gym, Power Fitness. “She’s a straightforward girl. She doesn’t play any games. It’s been years since I’ve met such an honest person.” Hayden saw nothing but scheming people around her, except for children but even so, some kids were cunning.Perhaps people in her social circle wore masks. Hugh was not around when Julian brought Quinn over, so he did not know Quinn was with Julian. After hearing Hayden out, Hugh regrettably said, “Oh, she’s with Mr. Bucham. I wouldn’t approach her. It’s a shame because she’s my type… Doesn’t Mr. Bucham have an illness? I thought he’d swear off any men or women.“Medically, he has hypoactive sexual desire disorder, but he basically can’t perform in the bedroom.” Hugh would only talk about it with Hayden. He would not blatant
“Yeah. I thought of that old man. He left me alone in this world so soon.”Grandma May wiped her tears. “I’ll stop thinking about him. I’m more fortunate than him to be able to see my grandsons get married. If I am luckier, I might even live to see Rowan married too.“However, I want nothing more than to have a great-granddaughter before I die. My husband’s biggest regret before he passed away was not having a daughter or granddaughter.”Rosella consoled her. She said, “You’ll definitely be able to live a long life, Mom. You’ll live till you’re a hundred and twenty years old, see Rowan get married, and carry your great-granddaughter. You have nine grandsons and granddaughters-in-law. Surely one of the pairs will be able to give birth to a daughter.”Actually, Rosella was not too confident about it.After all, the York family had not had a baby girl born into their family for three generations. While there were a few daughters before that, they all passed away at a very young age.
Grandma May was truly the anchor of the York family.Nine of her grandsons were nurtured into talented young men who could hold their own. Even if York Corporation was gone, they could start anew and rise again with their capabilities.Of course, with such capable grandsons, York Corporation would only reach greater heights. It would never fall.Grandma May did not have other wishes aside from hoping she could live to see a daughter being born into the York family and Rowan growing up into an adult.After completing her late husband’s wishes, she could meet him in the afterlife without regrets.Grandma May recalled her marriage with Old Mr. York. She had accompanied him to build an empire when they were young, and they educated their grandchildren after they retired. She thought they could grow old together. Well, they did grow old together, but he passed away before she did.Time flew, and a few years have passed since then.When Old Mr. York passed away, none of the York bro
Imogen knew many powerful people.She had great connections.Upon learning that Dylan had told Grandma May that he could not fall in love with Imogen last year, Rosella complained to her husband that it was Dylan’s loss. How could he give up on an elite daughter and choose a fox instead?Moreover, he still did not know that woman’s name or background even after pursuing her for over half a year.His brothers also refused to help him to obtain any information.Clearly, they wanted Dylan to have a hard time. His elder and younger brothers had listened to their nana. He was the only one who went against her arrangements. It was no surprise that the York brothers did not want to help Dylan.It was only in the new year that Rosella found out Imogen was the Chameleon Fox that Dylan had been pursuing all along and she was also Silver’s student, Sugar.Imogen had even been to Wildridge Manor several times as Sugar. At that time, Rosella could sense that Grandma May was playing matchma
Immediately, someone brought a large cup of water for Dylan. Imogen took the cup and handed it to him, urging him to drink. Dylan accepted the cup and drank it all in one go, which eased the spiciness in his mouth a little. “Imogen, your cousin said I need to finish these peppers, but I haven’t even eaten half yet.” Dylan looked at the basket of peppers and saw that he had not eaten even half of them. He had never eaten this much spice in his life. Right now, his throat felt like it was on fire, and his voice was hoarse. The intense heat was affecting him badly.If this had happened in Wiltspoon where the climate was warmer, after eating so many peppers, his throat would have been terribly inflamed, and he probably would have an upset stomach and a serious case of indigestion. Then, he would be stuck in the toilet for half a day.However, since it was cold in Huntington, eating a little chili every day was not a problem, though not as much as Dylan had just eaten. His stomach
“Did you need me for something, Layla?” Imogen, despite being in a rush to stop Dylan from continuing to eat the chili peppers, asked Layla.“Of course, I came to talk to you about work,” Layla replied.“But the discussion might take a while. Are you going to discuss work with me first, or go downstairs to stop Dylan from eating more peppers first?”Imogen hesitated for a moment but decided to stop Dylan first. Layla guessed that her cousin would choose Dylan and sighed inwardly. Imogen was already wrapped around Dylan's finger. However, Dylan had not entirely escaped Imogen’s influence either. Though he had not fallen in love with Imogen herself, he had fallen for her alter ego, who was still her cousin in the end.Fortunately, the woman Dylan loved was her cousin's alias. If he had chosen another woman, Layla would never have allowed her cousin to take him back. The Doyle ladies did not settle for second place.“Layla, give me about ten minutes.”“Alright, I’ll wait for you
It was already so spicy, there was no way it could get worse. Thus, following his family's advice, he began grabbing huge handfuls of chili peppers and stuffed them into his mouth. The heat made his eyes water, and it felt like his mouth was swelling from the spice. Imogen also saw the comments and watched as Dylan continued to eat the peppers in large mouthfuls. She turned off the livestream, not wanting to keep watching. However, her heart was in such a mess that she could not focus on her work. A few minutes later, she tossed her pen aside, pushed her chair away from the table as she stood up, and walked out quickly. She ran into Layla as soon as she left the office.“Layla,” Imogen called out. “You heading out?” To be honest, Layla knew the answer without asking. “He’s eaten quite a lot of chili peppers already. He doesn’t usually eat spicy food. And eating so much at once will harm his stomach.” Imogen still felt sorry for Dylan. Layla smiled, “If you're worried
The security guard brought out a basket and handed it to Dylan.Dylan took the basket and poured the bag of chili peppers into it. Next, following the live broadcast team’s instructions, he walked in front of the camera and said, “Last year, I unintentionally hurt Imogen’s pride. It was my fault, and I apologize to her.“Imogen doesn’t have time to deal with me, but Ms. Layla Doyle said that as long as I eat chili peppers on this livestream, she’ll allow me to come here every day to wait for Imogen. I’m afraid of spicy food and usually don’t eat anything spicy at all.“But for the sake of seeing Imogen and having a chance to get her forgiveness, I’m willing to accept Ms. Layla’s challenge and eat these chili peppers.”The live broadcast team was at a loss for words.Layla had not prepared a script for Dylan, but he went ahead and explained the backstory. Was that okay?Someone secretly messaged Layla to ask for her opinion. Her reply was to allow Dylan to say whatever he wanted a
Isabella had invited him to sit at the dining table and eat with them, but Austin refused. He said he was the chef, so he could just have his breakfast in the kitchen.He always remembered his position as Isabella's personal chef and did not let the fact that the others saw him in a more favorable light now go to his head and cross the line. His adherence to his principles and awareness of his position only made Isabella respect him more.Though he was one of the extremely affluent Yorks, after accepting the job as her private chef, he completely discarded his identity as a rich heir and earnestly took on the role of her personal chef.By the time Austin finished his breakfast, Isabella and the two young boys had also finished eating. He came out to clear the table.Phillip slid off his chair and said to Louis, “Isa’s passing by my preschool today. She said she’ll take me there.”He was showing off. Sure enough, Louis looked enviously at his sister. Isabella did not even glance
Austin placed the two breakfast portions on the dining table and then walked over to Isabella, who was still reading the newspaper. “Ms. Isabella, breakfast is ready.”“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Louis’s voice came from the stairs. Then, they saw him quickly running down the stairs with his schoolbag in one hand.“Louis!” Isabella called out.Louis immediately stopped, then picked up his schoolbag to carry it on his back before slowly descending the stairs step-by-step, no longer daring to run.The two boys really did have very similar personalities.“Good morning, Isa. Good morning, Austin.”Louis walked over to Isabella’s side and respectfully greeted them.“If I ever see you running down the stairs again, I’ll punish you by making you miss a week of eating Austin’s meals.”“Isa, a week is too long!” Louis instinctively tried to negotiate.“You still dare to bargain with me, huh? That shows you don’t want to change. In that case, I’ll make it a whole month.”Louis was speec