Liberty instinctively responded. She did not read too much into the situation. Firstly, Liberty was past the age of dreaming. Secondly, she was married, and thirdly, she was no longer the belle she was before marriage. Liberty had now gained some weight and her appearance had changed.Duncan grinned. âLetâs talk about the repairs.â It threw Liberty into a tizzy. She did not have much savings left. Judging by the damages this time, the repairs must cost a lot more. She would have to drain her bank account to pay Duncan and endure Hankâs name-calling for being pathetic. The stroller merely scraped Duncanâs vehicle in the last incident, but she had to fork out nine thousand bucks. âWhere do you live?ââBright Boulevard.â âThatâs a good catchment area. You made a good choice and bought the place quickly.â The houses at Bright Boulevard were all sold. âMy husband bought the house before we got married. Heâs still paying the mortgage. Mr. Lewis, how much would the repairs
Liberty looked at Duncan. Duncan knew that she was overthinking it again. The woman was rather distrustful of him. He explained, âMy point is, donât leave your son home alone while you come down to take the things if thereâs no one else in the house. Itâs not safe.â Her son looked to be around two or three years old. Kids that age tended to be active and cheeky, intrigued to touch and play with anything and everything. There was no turning back if something happened to the kid for fooling around with something dangerous. âThank you for your advice, Mr. Lewis. Iâll head upstairs now.â Liberty carried the packs of diapers and thanked Duncan before hurrying back upstairs. She thought to herself that Duncan might not look the part of a nice guy since he was big, strong, and had a terrifying scar on his face, but he was a considerate and attentive man. It was a reminder never to judge a book by its cover. Duncan waited until Liberty was gone before returning to his car and
Grandma May must have her reasons to take a shine to Serenity. Zachary fell silent for a while before replying, âWhatâs there to see? She has two eyes, a nose, and a mouth just like everyone else.â âHaha.â Duncan burst out laughing. He got the hint that his best friend had no intentions to let them meet with Serenity. Josh probably had met Serenity and knew her well because Josh was nosy and had an information network to get all the info on her.Duncan left the conversation at that. Knowing that his best friend was busy, he quickly hung up the call. Time passed quickly. It was soon dead into the night. Sitting inside the Rolls Royce, Zachary knitted between his brows as the weariness began to take its effect. He must be in over his head in the last few days for trying to cram three days of work into one. Of course, he was tired. âSir, should I drive to Regent Residences?â The chauffeur asked. Slumping against the seat, Zachary closed his eyes and took his time
Zachary picked up the maneki-neko once more as his wife said, âI made your maneki-neko bigger than the one I gave Ms. Stone. I put a lot of effort into it. What do you think? Doesnât it look lifelike?â The mention that his was bigger than Ms. Stoneâs made Zachary feel good. However, he did not show it on his face and simply hummed faintly, âYes.â Serenity grinned. âIâm glad you like them.â She put her car keys on the coffee table and turned around to head to the kitchen. âIâm making pasta for supper. Do you want any?â She then answered on her own before Zachary could reply, âOh, I forgot. You donât have the habit of eating supper because it adds pounds.â Zachary thought to himself, â⊠What more can I say? You said it all.âNevertheless, he was not hungry. Serenity was boiling a pot of pasta in the kitchen. Zachary stood there for a moment before making his way to the kitchen door. Instead of stepping into the kitchen, he stood by the door and watched as Serenity sliced the
Josh was able to figure it was Shawn mainly because the latter attended the business event at the hotel tonight. Shawn might only hold a small position at Lowe Enterprise, but he was the predetermined successor of the company. His title as the heir of the Lowes would put him like a duck to water at the center of flattery and snow jobs at social events. Zacharyâs silence was all the answer Josh needed. âHow about I deliver the file to you now? Are you staying at Brynfield?â Josh knew that his best friend kept the marriage under wraps and bought a furnished place at Brynfield to put Serenityâs character to the test. âNo need for that. Just give it to me tomorrow. Itâs late. You should rest. Iâm going to wash up and head to bed.â Although Josh had front-row seat to the progress of Zachary and Serenityâs relationship, Zachary was not in the mood to go into detail with Josh about it. Zachary quickly hung up the phone. Josh murmured under his breath, âCan you sleep well tonight?
While feasting on her pasta, Serenity sent a text message to her sister, asking if the latter was asleep. Instead of writing back, Liberty immediately rang Serenity. Since typing took a lot of time, Liberty would rather communicate directly on the phone. âSeren, Iâm awake. Did you just return home?â Liberty had a clear idea of her sisterâs routine. Back when Serenity was living in Libertyâs place, Serenity was the last to sleep but the first to wake up. Liberty was aware that to appease her husband, Serenity would get up first thing in the morning to prepare breakfast and manage some house chores. Her sister had done so much for the family, and yet Hank kicked up a fuss about Serenity mooching off him. Serenity had, in fact, chipped in on the household expenses⊠Judging by his cold and empty side of the bed, it did not matter to Liberty anymore. All she cared about was her sister. âYeah. Iâm having supper. Liberty, Shawn said he ran into my brother-in-law with a beau
Wiping away her tears, Liberty got a grip on herself and tried to sound normal. âI figured, but I didnât expect it to happen so soon.â Despite having an affair, Hank kept it from Liberty and had not brought up a divorce. If her guess was right, it was because of Sonny. Sonny was young and could not deal with separation anxiety. Libertyâs parents-in-law were helping Chelsea to look after her kids and cook while Hank only had eyes for his family. Even Hank put his sister as his priority over her. He did not think there was anything wrong with his parents assisting only his sister. Once they were divorced, the Browns would certainly fight for Sonnyâs custody. However, Hank would feel sorry to put the burden of child-raising on his parents unless Sonny was already in kindergarten. Hank was probably waiting for Sonny to start attending kindergarten before asking for a divorce. The only thing he could do now was to go passive-aggressive on her. âLiberty, you might want to keep
Liberty cried for a long time and only put away the tears when Hank came home. She pretended to be asleep, but her ears were pricked up for the noise outside. Ever since the domestic abuse, the couple had slept in separate rooms. Hank must be scared Liberty might cut him up in the middle of his sleep. The bedroom door was pushed open, but Hank did not enter. Instead, he looked in from the door. Seeing that his wife and child were asleep, he closed the door and went to the bedroom next door. With the door shut, he phoned Jessica. âMr. Brown.â âWeâre not in the office. Call me Hank.â Hank spoke in a hushed tone so his wife could not hear him from the next room. âAre you home, Hank? I was so worried about you. You drove home even though you had a lot to drink. I was worried sick. Donât do that again. Itâs dangerous to drink and drive. Youâll be in trouble if the traffic officer catches you driving under the influence.â Jessica expressed her concern for Hank over the phone
Isabellaâs bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austinâs handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austinâs face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.âMs. Isabella,â Austinâs warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?âDad, go home. When the trial starts, weâll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.âHunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, âAre we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.ââWhat can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we donât have the means. We know what Caroline is like. Sheâs not going to let this go lightly this time,â Ava replied. âAnyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?âRemembering the events from last year, Ellie said, âLet them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?ââWe should. Letâs go tomorrow. Weâll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. Sheâs always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belindaâs money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sonsâ names.After Belindaâs death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
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.âTheyâre not worth your tears,â he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. âDarren, youâre all I have now.âDarren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. âIâll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, Iâll hold it up for you.âIf youâre really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.âIt would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cryâa 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 Justinâs house and called Jasonâs wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, âBy no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. âBut you didnât die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and itâs not even serious.âCaroline 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, âDad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didnât die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them itâs just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?âHunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, Iâd have to let you serve a few years in prisonâŠâCarol, Iâm 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?âCaroline said coldly, âIâll provide for your living expenses. Iâll make sure you donât starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Carolineâs expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, âDad, 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.âTell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so youâre kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.âLetâs see if I give in.âHunter 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. âCarolâŠâ He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, âCarol, Iâm 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.âIf you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. âI do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just donât know if Iâll be kicked out when I get there.ââAnd 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, âHeâs doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they donât go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.âThe bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Cliveâs son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiaraâs great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.âDr. 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.Carolineâs 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.âCaroline, why are you out of bed?âLiberty scolded her, âGet back in bed and lie down. Youâre injured. If you donât rest properly and keep moving around, youâll aggravate your wounds, and youâll regret it.âShe 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.âIâve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and Iâm
The housekeeper replied, âYes, sir.âThey 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, âWe 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.âLuckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa