It was morning when Serenity finally woke up. She thought the sun had not set before looking at the time only to realize that she slept through the night when she saw her phone screen.On the other hand, Zachary was already awake. She knew he was preparing breakfast for her downstairs. Serenity was hungry after having slept for so long but feeling recharged from the sufficient rest she had. When she was about to get up, she noticed someone lying at the end of the bed. It was Sonny. Serenity was dumbfounded. Why was the little guy in her room?He had changed out of his suit and was sleeping without a blanket on. She guessed he might have entered after Zachary woke up earlier and probably fell asleep while waiting for her.Serenity went to the edge of the bed to shift Sonny into a more comfortable sleeping position. However, he opened his eyes the moment she lifted her. When he saw Serenity, he said softly, “Aunt Ser.”Then, he hugged her with both hands. “Do you want t
Sonny immediately shook his head. “No. I don’t want to go back with you tomorrow. Mom will send me to school.”Serenity was speechless. She reminded Sonny, “It’s Saturday tomorrow. You don’t have to go to school even if you go home. How much do you dread going to preschool, Sonny?“You were so happy when you first started. Do you dislike it after just a month?”Sonny pouted and whispered, “I don’t hate it. I just think it’s much more fun staying at home.”“You’ll get scolded if your mom hears that. You should work hard and play hard.”Sonny lowered his head and replied, “I know, Aunt Ser. Mom said the same thing. I’ll be hardworking in school and be better than Laurence. I’ll also play hard when it’s time to have fun.“Will you take me to Laurence when the next holiday comes, Aunt Ser?”Sonny missed his playmate. “The next break will be in winter. You have to study hard. When winter break comes, I'll take you to FC Manor if I don’t become too bulky by then. Laurence will be
Serenity was already entrusting their children’s education to Zachary before the baby was born.She would rather take care of her children’s daily lives than be in charge of their schoolwork while he could put on a stern face and teach their children well. Zachary smiled. “Okay. I’ll be a full-time dad.”He had already bought many parenting books to prepare himself to be a stay-at-home dad. “Are you hungry? I made breakfast.”“I’m famished. You came in when I was about to take Sonny downstairs.”Zachary lifted Sonny with one arm and held Serenity’s hand with the other. “Let’s go and have breakfast.”Serenity noticed the house was still silent once they left the room. Everyone was still asleep. She asked Zachary softly, “What time did you return last night? Did everyone party until late at night?”“I came back as soon as night fell. This morning, the butler told me that many guests were wasted last night. The alcohol was good and strong, so it was easy to get drunk with it.”
“Go on, Nana. I’ll have a stroll outside later too.” The good thing about marriage leave was it granted Serenity and Zachary from waking up early to work or bother with work. All they needed to do was rest and eat well. Grandma May said with a smile, “We can enjoy a nice walk together after my breakfast.” Serenity happily agreed and Grandma May went out. By the time Zachary and Serenity had their fill, Grandma May returned from outside. As Serenity waited for Grandma May to have her breakfast, Sonny fell asleep in her arms. “The boy just woke up, and now he’s asleep again.” Serenity caressed Sonny’s face lovingly and said, “The last two days must have been tiring on him.” “Since he’s asleep, I’ll carry him upstairs to rest. You can go for a walk with Nana. I’m not going. I’m going to enjoy my time in bed with Sonny,” Zachary said.He went to bed early last night but was too excited to fall asleep. It took a while before the sandman took him away, and he woke up early t
“Let’s go out for a walk. It’s not sunny today, but it’s a little windy. We can walk around the yard and enjoy the breeze and the scenery. That’s the life.” “Nana, you just had your breakfast.” Grandma May said, “We can take it easy. It won’t be around the estate. We’ll just take a short walk nearby.” Since Grandma May insisted, Serenity accompanied her for a stroll. “Did you have morning sickness today?” Grandma May asked with concern. Serenity was about to give her usual answer when she realized she had not thrown up this morning. She exclaimed in surprise, “Nana, I don’t think so. I didn’t feel nauseous when I woke up this morning.” She changed her clothes, washed up, then left the bathroom, and took Sonny downstairs for breakfast. She was so busy with the routine that she did not realize she had not puked. Did this mean that her nausea days were over? Grandma May said with a smile, “It’ll get better. It seems you won’t have morning sickness until your due date like Al
Serenity said, “Nana, I’m not giving myself pressure. I’m just keeping an open mind.” Grandma replied, “Yeah, just stay open-minded. It’s a blessing to have a child, regardless of gender.” “You have nine grandsons, Nana. You will have nine granddaughters-in-law. I’m sure one of us will give you a great-granddaughter.” Serenity comforted Grandma May. Grandma May said with a smile, “I might not live long enough to see them get married and start a family.” Rowan was still a student. It would be another decade before he would marry. Grandma May was not sure whether she would be around ten years or so later. She believed she had another eight to ten years before she was reunited with her husband. Her sons and grandsons had their destinies. She could only do so much for them. It was their path to walk now. “Nana.” “Alright. I won’t talk about that.” Grandma May said dotingly, “Let’s walk to the foot of the hill.” “Will you be tired?” “No. You’ll be tired sooner than I
In fact, Duncan could have returned to his place. He owned a property at The Oasis. He was simply worried about Liberty. He did not want Liberty to be alone, so he stayed the night at her residence. Liberty did not kick him out, and this made Duncan happy. Although Liberty had not taken their relationship further, she had gradually gotten used to him being around as time went by. He did not talk about love, and neither did she. However, anybody could feel the chemistry between them when they were together. “I’m used to getting up early. I went to bed early last night anyway. I woke up the moment the sun was up. I can’t even sleep in even if I try.” Duncan smiled at Liberty. She seemed to be in a better mood today. He was relieved that her eyes were not as swollen as yesterday.Liberty had been carrying a heavy burden for a long time. Now that it was finally gone, she felt like she could collapse all at once. Liberty cried, letting out all the pain and sadness that she had
“Don’t rush yourself. Just take it easy. You have made great progress. Many people like you find it hard to stand up on their own. You’re amazing that you can take a couple of steps. Don’t push yourself too hard. Take care of yourself. Nothing is more important than your health.” Liberty wheeled him to the lawn and added, “You can try to walk on the grass. Even if you fall, it won’t hurt as much.” Back at the Lewises’ residence, Duncan usually practiced walking on grass too. Duncan lifted his head and looked at her before uttering, “I will fall, and I won’t look good falling. Don’t laugh at me, Liberty. Don’t feel sorry for me either. It’s the pain I have to go through to get better.” Liberty knew he had a strong pride, so she nodded and replied, “I won’t laugh at you. If you feel my presence here is giving you a lot of pressure, I can leave.” “It’s okay. It gives me pressure and motivation when you are here. I will hang in there for you.” If it was not for Liberty and to
All he could do was hold it in. However, he soon sneezed again.Imogen commented, “My dad told you to stand in the cold without your coat, and you really did it, like an idiot. It’s not like you feel anything for me or you’re trying to win my affection, so there’s really no need for you to listen to my dad.”Luckily, she came out quickly enough. Otherwise, he would have turned into an icicle.“It was my fault before. I hurt you, so it's only natural that Mr. and Mrs. Doyle are angry with me. They didn’t hit me or scold me, and they just made me stand out in the cold for a while; they’re already being very lenient,” said Dylan, sneezing again.He was usually in good health, but this time, he was afraid he might really catch a cold.Imogen glanced at him without saying anything. She led Dylan into the house and asked their housekeeper if the soup was ready.Wendy replied, “Almost.”Imogen nodded and asked Dylan to sit down. Then, she poured him a cup of tea and asked, “Have you ea
Dylan finally put his coat on after Imogen said that. He had only been standing there for half an hour but even in that short time, he had become so cold.Once he put his jacket on, Imogen turned around and began walking inside. “Come with me.”“Okay,” Dylan quickly bent down to grab the gifts before quickening his steps to catch up with Imogen. “Thank you, Ms. Doyle.”Imogen glanced at him for a moment before turning away. “I was just afraid you might freeze to death at my doorstep, and then your family would come after mine. Plus, since your sisters-in-law are my good friends, I couldn't just let you die at my gate.”After leaving Wiltspoon, Imogen had not gone back there under her real name, but she had stayed in touch with Serenity and the others and was still on very good terms with them.Dylan smiled and said, “Serenity will give birth in a few months, and Josh’s wife is also pregnant, but she's a month ahead of Serenity. Liberty and Duncan have already registered their marr
Her daughter’s excellence was all thanks to Silver’s influence.“What I wanted to tell you was that Dylan is standing at our doorstep. He said he wanted to see you. Your dad and I refused and told him to leave, but he’s not budging.”Imogen was not surprised by this, but she still pretended to be surprised, so as not to raise her mother’s suspicion.“Why’s he here?” Imogen asked, feigning ignorance.“Who knows? He didn’t say. He only said he wanted to see you. The way he treated you, playing with your feelings—your dad and I have been holding in a lot of anger for a long time. “But you didn’t want us to confront him, so we couldn’t vent it. Now he’s come knocking, wanting to see you? It won’t be that easy.”Imogen was not planning to meet Dylan either.“Your dad told him to stand outside for two hours with his coat off and that if he doesn’t freeze to death, he’ll let him see you.”Imogen was speechless for a moment. “Mom, it’s freezing outside. Even wearing a thick coat, it’s
“Still not up yet?” Leticia smiled and said as she entered her daughter’s room after the door opened. Imogen’s room was decorated in a warm style, but the furniture was minimal. Aside from the bed, a computer desk, and a set of sofas, she preferred things to be simple. Her room was also the smallest. She said that if the room was too big, it felt empty and she could not sleep well. Leticia thought it was because when her daughter learned self-defense from her master, she lived in a small room with her fellow disciples, so she had gotten used to smaller spaces.Compared to the average person, Imogen's room was actually quite large, but against the rooms of the other family members, hers looked smaller.Leticia sat down on the sofa.“Mom, let me change first.” With her mother here, Imogen could no longer lie in bed. She went to change and wash up, then came out of the bathroom. She poured her mother a cup of water and placed it in front of her before sitting next to her. “Mom, a
Dylan was speechless.Leaving the warm indoors, he felt Huntington's winter was really cold. It was below freezing, and the temperature was as low as 14°F to 32°F. He had never experienced such low temperatures in Wiltspoon.In Wiltspoon, the moment the temperature dropped to 50°F, everyone would start saying it was freezing.Winston and Leticia headed back. Leticia whispered to her husband, “What if he really stands there for two hours without his coat and freezes to death?”They wanted to stand up for their daughter, but they did not want to kill Dylan. That would make them enemies of the Yorks. Even if they could not become in-laws, they definitely did not want to become enemies.Winston replied, “If he really does it, in half an hour, I’ll let Jen come out and call him inside. If he doesn't follow my request, he won’t freeze to death.”At most, he would just catch a cold. If he did not do it, nothing would happen.“I don’t think he’s here for love this time either. I’m not s
Leticia harrumphed as well. “Mr. York, why are you here?” Leticia asked coldly. “We don't welcome you here. Go back to wherever you came from.”Dylan smiled awkwardly, “Mrs. Doyle, I just want to see Ms. Imogen.”“Imogen doesn't want to see you. Hurry up and leave, or we'll let the guard dogs out.” Leticia rejected him outright. “And you’d better stay as far away as possible. Do you think our Imogen is someone you can just toy and flirt with just because you want to, then say you haven't fallen for her and play with her feelings?“What's the matter? Has the Mr. York, whose heart belongs to someone else, still not managed to win his lady love over?” Leticia mocked, though she was actually probing into the reason for Dylan's visit.Dylan just took the insults without getting angry. He knew he had hurt Imogen. Even though she was someone who could take things in stride, the fact remained he had flirted with her and turned to claim he did not like her, which had hurt her feelings.
Otherwise, the Old Mrs. York would not have taken a liking to her in the first place.“I'll go out and have a look.” Leticia could not sit still and stood up to leave. She wanted to mock that York boy. Winston replied, “I'll go with you.”He was worried that his wife might soften her heart because she was quite pleased with Dylan at first. Well, to be honest, he was too.It was mainly because everyone in Huntington knew of the Wiltspoon Yorks’ reputation. The men of the York family were devoted and loyal to their marriages, and once they married, it was for life.For women, the York family was an excellent family for marriage. Who would not want to marry into it? Families with daughters also hoped their daughters would marry York men, or those who were as devoted as them. Leticia hummed in assent and the couple hurried out.Dylan's car was parked in front of the Doyles’ residence. He had switched to a different car, afraid the security guards might recognize his vehicle, eve
“Goodnight, Mom,” Imogen said.As Leticia turned the doorknob to enter her room, Imogen suddenly asked, “Mom, if Dylan comes looking for me again, would you let him in?”“I'd set the guard dog on him.”Imogen chuckled softly, “Mom, you’re all talk. If he really does, you might just smile from ear to ear and think he’s realized he actually loves me.”Leticia was silent for a moment before she said, “Regardless, I have to make him sweat a little.” After saying that, Leticia quickly closed the door, feeling too embarrassed to face her daughter. She internally sighed. Dylan was the son-in-law she had hoped for. If Dylan really did realize that he actually loved Jen and came back for her, Leticia wondered if she should forgive him for the things he had done months ago. Dylan had hurt her daughter, but… never mind. It was between the two young ones. She should let them handle it themselves. There was no way Dylan would come back anyway.Leticia did not expect her daughter’s hypothet
Leticia then heard faint footsteps. When she went out to check, she saw it was her daughter. That was why she asked.“My friend invited me out for a late-night snack.” Imogen lied, not telling her mother that she had gone to meet that thief. She knew that Dylan wanted to break in by climbing the wall, but she kept to herself because she did not want her mother to have a bad impression of him.Leticia had met Dylan back when he was deliberately approaching her and knowing he was one of the Wiltspoon Yorks, she was very pleased with him. Since Leticia thought so highly of Dylan and said a lot of good things about the York family before her, Imogen took this into consideration and saw him as a potential partner. However, when she started to have feelings for him, he told her that after trying for two or three months, he still could not fall for her.“I thought you didn’t like eating late-night snacks? Anyway, you should just eat what you want at home. Why go out? It’s so cold,” Let