Corey was thinking that if her son was willing to be Sonny’s stepfather, at least Duncan’s 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 Serenity’s 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 Duncan’s 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 parents’ rigid views.“I’ll head back now. Whenever you’re free, come over. Sonny should come over often.”Serenity insisted on taking the two children home. Corey gave her some nutritional supplements and asked her to take them to replenish her body.“Mrs. Lewis, look at my waist, it’s getting thicker. If I keep taking these, I’ll end up with a bar
Serenity did not go home directly. She first took Laurence to Remy’s 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 Serenity’s tension relax.“Aunt Ser, can I play a little longer?”Realizing 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, “Laurence will be away for a very long time after this. Can I play a bit more with him?”Serenity looked at Jane, and Jane said, “We still need to pack up things. We’ll be back home in about half an hour.“Let them play for another half an hour. Laurence is also reluctant to leave Sonny. However, we can’t let them play like this indefinitely. They might get carried away, making it difficult for them to settle down.”“That’s true. If they get carried away, they won’t want to go to preschool. If it weren’t 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 family’s 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 manor’s layout or location. Rather, the psychic acknowledged that the family was divined to prosper for generations.“Seren, what’s wrong? Your face suddenly changed.”Noticing Serenity’s change in expression, Elisa asked with concern.“Is it because of what I said about the York family losing their daughters? Don’t worry, you’re definitely having a son this time. Sonny mentioned it several times, sayi
Jane echoed, “That’s true. Sometimes when Laurence plays alone, and no one is watching him, you can’t hear any sound. But when you find him, you’ll discover he’s up to mischief. There was one time he even smeared my lipstick all over the floor.”Elisa, 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 Connor’s 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.“I’m not that fragile.”Serenity smiled as she lifted her nephew. “You’re about three or four years old. How heavy can you be?”Sonny 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.“Missus, let me hold Sonny for you.”A bodyguard wan
“Remy and Elisa have sent them off to take the plane.”Josh said, “They’ve only been here for a couple of days, and they’re already leaving. I haven’t had the time to invite Mr. Young-Johnson for dinner yet.”Serenity smiled and replied, “When 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.”“I don’t have any free time now. I can’t get away. Zachary just ended his honeymoon and returned to work today. I’m so busy that I don’t even have time for a cup of water.”Josh complained of his fatigue to Serenity. “I’m taking the day off tomorrow. I haven’t told Zachary yet. If he disagrees, Serenity, help me persuade him. It’s been non-stop for a month. Tomorrow’s leave is not for rest, it’s to accompany Jasmine to the hospital for the prenatal checkup.”Serenity readily agreed, “Sure, if Zachary disagrees with your leave, I’ll talk to him. You’ve been working hard lately. If needed
Hearing the last two sentences from Zachary, Josh chuckled. “I don’t nag you, but you have no idea how busy and tired I am. We agreed before that when you’re back, you’d let me take a few days off. I have to remind you so you’ll keep your word.“And also, you promised that next year when Jasmine gives birth, I get a two-month paternity leave.”Zachary replied, “It’s not like you’re 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.“Plus, so many members in your family are around. After postpartum, you won’t 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.”Josh retorted, “When Serenity gives birth, and if you manage to come to the office every day, work as usual, and don’t want to take care of your wife during her postpartum, then I’ll only take a one-month pate
“Then I’ll call Nana now and tell her and the butler that we’ll be home to eat Italian food after work. Let’s invite Callum and his wife, the more, the merrier. Everything tastes better with more company.”Serenity added, “You go ahead with what you were working on, I’ll call Nana. Or I’ll 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 it’ll be lively enough.”Zachary chuckled, “They’re all busy, let’s not tag everyone in the group. Just invite Callum and his wife.”“Alright, I’ll do as you say. Hurry and finish up. You need to get them done before you can relax tonight.”Having 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. At his wife’s repeated urging, Zachary begrudgingly returned to his desk and resumed work.Meanwhile, Serenity called Grandma May to inform her about the Italian
Upon hearing Serenity’s words, Zachary knew she was not very satisfied with the name he had come up with. He said, “You’re right. There’s still time. We can think of a few better names.”After a pause, he added, “I think my parents and Nana will think of a name for the baby too. After all, it’s their first grandchild and great-grandchild, respectively.”The first child would always receive the most love. Since there was only one child, everyone would shower their love on the baby. Serenity smiled. “I’ll leave the naming of the baby to you. You can be the one worrying about it. I’ll stay out of it because I’m bad at coming up with names.”“Okay. Leave it to me.”After speaking, Zachary pecked her cheek. He said gently, “I just want you to be happy and not tire yourself out.”“I won’t ever have the chance to be tired with you around.“Do you want to have some rest, babe? You should rest. I’ll head downstairs to have a look at Sonny and Laurence.”Zachary said, “I’m not sleepy.
“There’s no rush. There’s still a month till the due date. We can take our time to think of a name.“We should think of a few names for a baby girl too. What if a miracle happens?”Zachary said, “Chloe has gotten more adorable over time. Connor also looks cute when he isn’t crying. Their eyes are huge and bright. I feel my heart melting whenever I look at them.“I’m so jealous of Ben for getting a son and a daughter in one go. His babies are so cute. I can finally understand why Nana’s eyes gleam whenever she sees Chloe. She’s always fighting to hold her.”Serenity leaned her head against Zachary’s shoulder. “Let’s not think that we’re having a daughter. I joined a new mothers’ support group when I went for a checkup last time and learned of some ways to determine the baby’s gender. Although they aren’t the most accurate, we can still use them as a reference. I’m 99 percent sure that we’re having a baby boy.“You should just stick to thinking of a boy’s name. You can still come
Soon, the baby did a kick again. Zachary grinned. “Lil’ Bun understands us, Seren. The baby gave a little kick as a reply.”Serenity said, “The baby must think you’re playing with it because your hands keep touching the bump.”“I think the baby understands what we say. I read in books that babies can hear in the womb. Otherwise, why do people bother talking, playing music, or reading to their unborn babies?”“Do you miss Dad, Lil’ Bun? I’ll be by your and Mom’s side from now on. I’ll watch you grow and wait till you’re ready to meet me.“You must be a good kid. Don’t kick your mom too hard. She’ll be in pain. If you like kicking, you can kick me after you’re born. I have thicker skin and a higher tolerance for pain.”Serenity beamed as she watched Zachary interact with the baby in her womb. She was happy. Having Zachary and the baby made her feel like she owned the entire world. It was surprising that a man as tough as Zachary had such a soft side to him. He had changed for
Jane suggested. Antonia added, “You guys can even leave for Wiltspoon tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. You must be tired after your business trip, Mr. York. You should rest at our manor. Besides, it’s the weekend tomorrow. You can meet Ben.”Zachary smiled. “I thought about that as well, but I didn’t want to intrude.”Antonia said, “Not at all. We would love to host you. Sonny probably doesn’t want to go home yet.”She waved at Sonny, who then walked to her. She pulled him into her arms and lifted him, asking, “Do you want to play for another day or two?”“I’m fine with anything. I’ll go back when Aunt Seren does. I’ll follow her.”His mother was not back yet. Sonny did not mind either arrangement. Zachary told him, “I bet you’re having so much fun that you don’t want to go home, but your mom will return soon. Duncan has already gone to Jensburg to bring her home.”Sonny replied with a grunt. He knew about that. He was unhappy that Duncan did not bring him along to
Zachary laughed. The kids were fighting to do something so trivial. Conflicts arose often between the two boys. In the past, he, Josh, and Duncan also got into fights. However, they always reconciled quickly. No one ever took their quarrels to heart. After the bodyguards took all the gifts, Zachary led them to the courtyard. At that moment, Serenity stepped out of the house. She and Zachary stopped at the same time and stared at each other.A day apart felt like three years to them. Since they had been apart for some time, it felt as if a lot of time had passed. During those days, Serenity had been extremely worried about her husband and sister. Luckily, everything was over. “Seren.”Zachary smiled and walked toward his wife. Serenity snapped back to her senses and went to him in quick steps. The couple hugged each other tight. “You’re finally back, Zachary.”“I said I’d come to take you and Sonny home. Of course, I’d be back.”Zachary pulled away from Ser
“Honey, you have me, and my parents treat you like their own. They care for you more than they do for me and I’m their son.”Camryn shook off the pain in her heart and smiled lightly, “Yes, God has been kind to me by giving me such an excellent husband and open-minded in-laws, and sisters-in-law who I get along with like real sisters.”This had somewhat compensated for her lack of familial affection. She was especially grateful to Grandma May. If the old lady had not chosen her, Callum would not have even known who she was, let alone pursue her. The Camryn of today would not exist, and she could not imagine how many more years she would have spent living in darkness if she had not married Callum. Even if Aunt Evelyn had heard of the legendary doctor, she had no way to contact him.Right then, a customer entered the store. The couple aptly stopped their conversation there and moved on from the heavy topic.Meanwhile, in Annenburg, Serenity knew her husband would be flying here tod
Camryn smiled, “You spoil me too much. You’ll turn me into an absolute sloth who only waits around for you to take care of me, and it might tire you out.”“That won’t happen. I enjoy taking care of you,” Callum assured as he reached to help her with the snacks, but she would not let him feed her anymore. Callum had no choice but to hand her the snacks.“Although Trenton is young, he has mettle. When we put his parents away, it was hard for him to accept, but in the end, he did. As long as he has the right values, even the hardest things can be accepted over time and he won’t resent anyone else for it either.”Camryn pushed the snack box closer to her husband, indicating that he should have some too. “If Trenton didn’t have the right values, I wouldn’t care for him so much. Given the hurt and pain I suffered during the twenty-odd years under his parents, if I hated them, they’d have nothing to say in defense.“Because Trenton has treated me well since he was little, respects me as
Just now, Carrie came here and made a scene, and he had given her fifty thousand dollars. Although he had not spent much time with her, they were siblings. He could at the very least still recognize her. However, when Camryn asked him that, Trenton's heart started to race, not daring to confidently say that the lady really was Carrie.As for the young lady beside her? He had watched the video a few times but had not paid much attention to her. All he could see was a beautiful, young woman dressed in luxurious attire. In the video, he heard Camryn refer to her as Mrs. Longbottom, so her husband’s family name had to be Longbottom.Mrs. Longbottom had a good attitude toward Camryn and even supported her. He was not familiar with Mrs. Longbottom at all, though. Why did Camryn ask him that? Should he know her? Trenton watched the video two more times but could not find anything unusual about her. It was just that he was not acquainted with Mrs. Longbottom. If he had not seen the video,
The young couple looked at Trenton, then exchanged smiles.“How much did you give Carrie?” Camryn asked her brother gently. Camryn could harden her heart to completely ignore Carrie and not give her a single cent, but Trenton could not be as ruthless as she was, mainly because while Carrie had not been particularly kind to Trenton, she also had not bullied him outright. She had treated Camryn very poorly though and had never shown her any respect at all, so their sisterly bond had deteriorated to the extreme. It was already generous of Camryn not to completely destroy Carrie after taking charge, which was probably out of consideration for the fact that they shared a mother.“I-I gave her fifty thousand. She said it was almost Christmas, and she wanted to buy gifts and new clothes, so I-I gave her fifty thousand.” Trenton looked down as he spoke, not daring to look at Camryn, afraid she would scold him.Camryn gave her brother a long look but did not scold him. Instead, she took o