Corey was thinking that if her son was willing to be Sonnyโs stepfather, at least Duncanโs small family would have a child. Maybe because of Sonny, Liberty might even have another one in the future.Sonny always wanted a little sister.Everyone assumed that the baby in Serenityโs belly was a boy.Sonny, wanting a little sister, would pester his mother to give birth to one. This way, Duncan could have his biological child, even if it was a girl. Corey would be pleased as long as it was Duncanโs flesh and blood.Of course, Corey did not dare to reveal any of these thoughts.The car accident that Duncan had experienced had softened his parentsโ rigid views.โIโll head back now. Whenever youโre free, come over. Sonny should come over often.โSerenity insisted on taking the two children home. Corey gave her some nutritional supplements and asked her to take them to replenish her body.โMrs. Lewis, look at my waist, itโs getting thicker. If I keep taking these, Iโll end up with a bar
Serenity did not go home directly. She first took Laurence to Remyโs place, where Ben and his wife had been staying while in Wiltspoon. Upon arriving, Serenity handed Laurence back to Jane and Ben. Only then did Serenityโs tension relax.โAunt Ser, can I play a little longer?โRealizing that he was about to be separated from his friend, Sonny was reluctant to part ways and wanted to play a bit more with Laurence, even if it was just for half an hour.He said, โLaurence will be away for a very long time after this. Can I play a bit more with him?โSerenity looked at Jane, and Jane said, โWe still need to pack up things. Weโll be back home in about half an hour.โLet them play for another half an hour. Laurence is also reluctant to leave Sonny. However, we canโt let them play like this indefinitely. They might get carried away, making it difficult for them to settle down.โโThatโs true. If they get carried away, they wonโt want to go to preschool. If it werenโt for Laurence as a c
Serenity suddenly thought of the psychic who predicted her marriage with Zachary and said that the couple would be happy and have children of both genders. If she were to have a daughter, would she be able to raise her to adulthood?If her fate mirrored that of the York familyโs past generations, she would rather not give birth to a daughter. Serenity could not bear the thought of seeing her child gradually lose breath before her eyes. It would be an unbearable heartache. If there were concerns about the energy flow at Wildridge Manor, the psychic insisted that it was not about the manorโs layout or location. Rather, the psychic acknowledged that the family was divined to prosper for generations.โSeren, whatโs wrong? Your face suddenly changed.โNoticing Serenityโs change in expression, Elisa asked with concern.โIs it because of what I said about the York family losing their daughters? Donโt worry, youโre definitely having a son this time. Sonny mentioned it several times, sayi
Jane echoed, โThatโs true. Sometimes when Laurence plays alone, and no one is watching him, you canโt hear any sound. But when you find him, youโll discover heโs up to mischief. There was one time he even smeared my lipstick all over the floor.โElisa, having no experience with children except for Sonny, whom she always found sensible, adorable, and smart, was surprised to learn about another side of children she had not known.She regarded children as angels.As for her nephew, he did not look very cute when he was born, but he was getting cuter by the day.She took several photos of her nephew every day, claiming it was to create a growing-up documentary for him.Well, he cried a bit too much.He cried when he felt hungry or needed a diaper change. Babies who had not learned how to speak would just cry when they wanted something.After chatting about children for a while, Jane heard Connorโs cries, and both children were awake. She got up to pick up her son, while Chloe was alr
Sonny was going to be a big brother, and he needed to learn to take care of his younger siblings or cousins.โIโm not that fragile.โSerenity smiled as she lifted her nephew. โYouโre about three or four years old. How heavy can you be?โSonny was not chubby.Clearly tired, the little one fell asleep within minutes of being cradled by Serenity.After half an hour, two cars entered York Corporation.Serenity had initially planned to call Zachary to give him a surprise later.She informed him that she would fetch him from work in the evening and they would go home together for dinner. However, she decided to surprise him instead.Showing up in his office unannounced would surely be a pleasant surprise.As Jasmine had mentioned, creating surprises occasionally in a marriage could strengthen the bond.Having read many novels, Jasmine was adept at creating romance and surprises, and Serenity had learned a thing or two from her.โMissus, let me hold Sonny for you.โA bodyguard wan
โRemy and Elisa have sent them off to take the plane.โJosh said, โTheyโve only been here for a couple of days, and theyโre already leaving. I havenโt had the time to invite Mr. Young-Johnson for dinner yet.โSerenity smiled and replied, โWhen you have time, you can fly to Annenburg to have dinner with Ben. His visit this time was simply to bring Laurence and play with Sonny for a couple of days.โโI donโt have any free time now. I canโt get away. Zachary just ended his honeymoon and returned to work today. Iโm so busy that I donโt even have time for a cup of water.โJosh complained of his fatigue to Serenity. โIโm taking the day off tomorrow. I havenโt told Zachary yet. If he disagrees, Serenity, help me persuade him. Itโs been non-stop for a month. Tomorrowโs leave is not for rest, itโs to accompany Jasmine to the hospital for the prenatal checkup.โSerenity readily agreed, โSure, if Zachary disagrees with your leave, Iโll talk to him. Youโve been working hard lately. If needed
Hearing the last two sentences from Zachary, Josh chuckled. โI donโt nag you, but you have no idea how busy and tired I am. We agreed before that when youโre back, youโd let me take a few days off. I have to remind you so youโll keep your word.โAnd also, you promised that next year when Jasmine gives birth, I get a two-month paternity leave.โZachary replied, โItโs not like youโre the one giving birth. Why do you need that long of a paternity leave? Taking one month off is enough to take care of your wife during her postpartum recovery.โPlus, so many members in your family are around. After postpartum, you wonโt need to take care of her. I indeed promised to give you two months of leave at that time, and I thought it was quite generous. Yet, you still find it insufficient.โJosh retorted, โWhen Serenity gives birth, and if you manage to come to the office every day, work as usual, and donโt want to take care of your wife during her postpartum, then Iโll only take a one-month pate
โThen Iโll call Nana now and tell her and the butler that weโll be home to eat Italian food after work. Letโs invite Callum and his wife, the more, the merrier. Everything tastes better with more company.โSerenity added, โYou go ahead with what you were working on, Iโll call Nana. Or Iโll invite in the family group chat, whoever is in Wiltspoon who is free tonight to come over for dinner. That should be enough people, and itโll be lively enough.โZachary chuckled, โTheyโre all busy, letโs not tag everyone in the group. Just invite Callum and his wife.โโAlright, Iโll do as you say. Hurry and finish up. You need to get them done before you can relax tonight.โHaving just returned to work today, Zachary naturally would not entertain guests or work overtime.He would leave work on time and head home to be with his wife.ย At his wifeโs repeated urging, Zachary begrudgingly returned to his desk and resumed work.Meanwhile, Serenity called Grandma May to inform her about the Italian
Austin replied, โBoth Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. Itโs really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.โSometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, โPhillip is just afraid heโll get here too late and that youโll assume heโs not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.โThe house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabellaโs room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, โAre you up yet, Ms. Isabella? Itโs time to have breakfast.โIsabella w
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabellaโs private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austinโs cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louisโs place with his bag. โAustin.โLouis suddenly asked, โDid my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austinโs perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancรฉes. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancรฉe. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, โMs. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.โIโm polite to other women when I need to be. If theyโre unimportant, Iโll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I wonโt cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.โGet some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. Iโll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.โAfter speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancรฉe, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. โMs. Isabella.โIsabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, โThis may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?โIsabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?โSomeone like Austin,โ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, โI like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isnโt as financially well-off as mine, I donโt mind so long as heโs honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.โOf course, itโll be great if we have the same social status. That way, weโll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, weโll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.โโAlthough you can accept someone who isnโt from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, โItโs okay. I know I was forcing it.โThere was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancรฉe was. He was already so protective of his fiancรฉe even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. โYou werenโt forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. Itโs only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.โAustin said gently, โItโs not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancรฉes for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.โTo be honest, we didnโt even know Nana had been choosing fiancรฉes for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us