Zachary only came out of the bathroom when he heard Shawn’s footsteps fade into the distance.He was thankful for two things right then and there. One for Nana calling him over, and two for himself resisting his pride and taking the out that Nana offered him. Otherwise, Shawn would have the chance to be alone with Serenity.Shawn walked out of the bookshop, got into his car, and drove away. However, just as he reached a junction, he stopped his car and called Serenity.Serenity quickly picked up his call.“What’s up, Shawn?”“Serenity, are you free later? Around 7:30 pm.”“Why?”Serenity did not say if she was free but instead straightforwardly asked him why.Shawn hesitated before saying, “I have to attend a business reception at Wiltspoon Hotel in a while. I need a female companion. You know me, I don’t have a girlfriend yet, so I wanted to ask for your help to accompany me to the reception.”“Get Jasmine to go with you. I’m not free. My husband’s still waiting in the booksh
Despite Zachary having said there was no need to get anything else to eat, Serenity still ordered two freshly cooked dishes and two portions of white rice to go.After paying for the food, she walked out of the restaurant carrying the packed food and got into her car.Ring, ring, ring…Her phone started ringing again.This time, the call was from Zachary.Shawn came and went, but Zachary was overly sensitive about it, so he could not resist making a call to Serenity.“I’m coming back now,” Serenity immediately said without waiting for Zachary to speak first, and promptly hung up. Zachary, who was almost immediately hung up on by his wife, looked at his phone in silence for a long while.He knew Serenity was still mad at him in her heart.The two of them had not actually made up. Their current situation was only due to Nana’s interference and out of respect for her.Serenity did indeed return to the bookshop in a jiffy.“Have the leftovers been heated up? We can eat now.”S
“If you want to, we can take a weekend trip to the seaside too and have seafood freshly caught from the sea.”This was Zachary’s first time suggesting that they take a weekend trip.“It’s already November.”“As long as the sun behaves normally, November in Wiltspoon is still hot, especially during the day. It’s even more suitable to go to the seaside for a holiday then. It won’t be too cold nor will it be too hot.” Serenity rubbed her stomach. “We can talk about this later. I can’t be sure now that I won’t have something else on that weekend.”Zachary gave a hum in response.As he cleared the table and brought the dishes into the kitchen to wash them, he heard his great and mighty wife remind him, “Don’t pour too much dishwashing liquid in and end up filling the sink with bubbles.”Zachary kept a straight face and did not respond.After ten minutes, Zachary was done with the dishes.Having looked in the fridge earlier, he knew there were some fruits in the fridge.He washed
Zachary saw that Serenity’s attention was entirely focused on her phone and had the impulse to snatch her phone away.The good thing was he had great self-control, so he did not actually do that, lest the relationship deteriorated again.He walked closer, stood in front of Serenity, and said in his deep voice, “Honey.”Bam!Serenity was so shocked by him calling her “honey” that she dropped her phone on the floor.She quickly bent over to pick her phone up. When she saw that her phone screen cracked really badly, she immediately said in dismay, “My phone case cost a hundred bucks.”Zachary took the phone from her and had a look at it. Yeah, it was broken pretty badly. When he heard her words of dismay about the phone case, he said, “I’ll buy you ten in compensation.”“You should buy a few more for me. I’m worried I’ll drop my phone case and break them multiple times when you lose your marbles and call me ‘honey’.”The corner of Zachary’s mouth spasmed. He looked at her in silen
Zachary was speechless for a moment. “Can’t you see the sincere emotions in my eyes? Shawn looks at you the same way I just looked at you. I’m a man so I understand how other men are. He has a crush on you, and he’s been crushing on you for a very long time.”It was just this silly woman who foolishly thought of him as a younger brother.Shawn did not want to be her younger brother, he wanted to be her man.As for her teasing, Zachary did not stop Serenity from teasing him again and taking advantage of him.“Are there emotions in your eyes? I can only feel killing intent.”Zachary’s expression darkened.His performance had been in vain.Serenity laughed embarrassedly. “Maybe your acting just wasn’t good enough. Any emotion in the eyes has to come from the heart. You don’t love me, so your gaze when you look at me naturally wouldn’t have any emotions then.”Zachary raised his hand.He finally smacked away her mischievous pair of hands.“Mr. York.”“Say it.”“I— Um, I think,
Zachary’s expression immediately returned to its usual ice-cold state.He walked out from behind the counter with a perfectly calm expression.Serenity stood up straight and smoothed her slightly messy hair. She cursed Zachary a hundred times over in her heart when she saw Zachary act like nothing just happened.Then, she sat down, waiting for the trash to roll in.The only people who would yell at her like that had to be her trashy relatives.Not even a minute had passed when David Hunt and his wife entered in a threatening manner.Following behind them were Serenity’s four aunts and uncles.The corners of Serenity’s mouth rose upward. It looked like they were all in attendance.David Hunt and his wife rushed in and were about to rush toward Serenity who was sitting behind the counter when Zachary blocked their way.Zachary was tall and handsome but was extremely cold and aloof. Just standing there, his body exuded a cold and noble aura that made others feel small in comparis
Stuart Hunt was speechless.That damned brat Serenity was very hard to deal with. Unexpectedly, the man she married was also just as hard to deal with.Zachary leaned against the counter and put his hands into his pockets.Serenity’s eyes sparkled. Wow! That was so charming of him!Cough, cough. This was not the time to be appreciating handsome men.Serenity hurriedly looked seriously at her uncles and aunts.“So tell me, what were you planning to do with Serenity? Beat her up because you have the numbers? Or were you going to intimidate her and pressure her to fork out a huge sum to pay for your old lady’s medical bills and even pay for your room, gas, and bridge tolls?”“How could we beat her when she’s a barbarian?”Abigail cried in anger. She was here to settle the score with Serenity.After finding out her son Noah had been detained by the police, everyone agreed to first get Noah bailed out before looking for Serenity.However, when they tried to bail Noah out, they wer
David Hunt was the first to react, and he immediately turned to run after his wife and check on her.“Honey, are you alright?”Abigail was dragged out by Zachary and was pushed down to the ground without pain, but she looked like a wretch and felt like Zachary had held her face down and rubbed it against the ground.“Are you dead? Is this how you act as my husband? You didn’t even stop him when he dragged me out of the shop! You didn’t help me either and just watched him bully me, drag me out, and push me to the ground!”Abigail immediately pushed her husband away and started yelling at him while pointing at him after he helped her up.“After bullying my kid, you’re now bullying me! Is there any reason in this world? God, open your eyes and see. Strike these unfilial and vicious people who are disrespectful to their elders down with thunder!”David Hunt was the youngest of his brothers and sisters and had always been doted on by his parents and older siblings. And after his wife
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
“I’m not obliged to provide for you, Mr. Clark.”Darren would not give Hunter money. He also felt Hunter was trying to obtain some information through the call, not money. Hunter said furiously, “Aren’t you going to marry Caroline? You’ll be my son-in-law in the future. It’s like being half a son to me. Since you’re my son, you should look after your father. Quick. Give me the money.“Otherwise, I won’t let you marry my daughter.”Darren said without hesitation, “Ms. Caroline will decide for her marriage.“If we do get married, she’ll be the one in charge of the finances. I don’t have money.”“Fletcher! Are you a man? Can’t you revitalize the spirit of the Fisher family’s sons-in-law? You saw how I ended up like this. I didn’t have access to the finances and didn’t have money. I’ve been under strict control ever since I married into the family.“That was how I ended up in this miserable state. I’m telling you, the Fisher women are evil. It’s best if you don’t marry Caroline.
“Why would a husband have an affair if his wife could do well?”Ellie was exasperated. She ended the call without hesitation. “Old bastard. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. All your sons cheated on their wives because they have a perverted father like you.“I would’ve divorced Jason if it weren’t for my children being too young. Look at Emma now. She even received half of Adrian’s assets and doesn’t have to look after her children herself. How relaxed her life must be.”The wealth Belinda had left behind was sufficient to afford the children’s education. Ellie still had feelings for Jason. Otherwise, she would have gotten a divorce upon knowing he cheated on her. She would not have reconciled with him with just a little coaxing and advice from her family. Since Jason did not return home the entire night, Hunter guessed his sons’ plan had failed. As he had expected, Caroline was not an easy target. After all, she was Belinda’s biological daughter. Belind
Since the call ended abruptly, Adrian’s girlfriend, Irene, muttered, “Is Mr. Clark unsatisfied with me?”She was almost twenty years younger than Adrian. If he had not been rich and willing to spend his money on her, she would not have wanted to be his lover. Adrian promised to marry her after he was done fighting a legal battle against his sister and claiming his inheritance. He would make her the missus of the Clark family. As for the three children he had with his ex-wife, he had told Irene not to worry about them.Since his mother had left some money behind for her grandchildren, he did not have to pay child support. Irene knew Adrian used to be a young master of the Fishers and that Madam Fisher was extremely wealthy. She did not expect Belinda to be helping her son take care of his children even after her death. Considering Adrian would be able to receive a huge portion of inheritance in the future, Irene decided to be with him. If she did get married to him, and gave