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
After walking a few steps, Hugh turned around to look.It had been a while since Hugh last saw Caroline. Now, seeing her, he found her more attractive than before. There was a change in her aura—she seemed more confident, more astute, and capable.He thought he might be seeing things.Hence his momentary pause.Hugh almost did not recognize Caroline when he saw her.“If she were like this from the beginning, my brother might have set us up, and I might not have refused,” Hugh muttered to himself. However, even though Hugh could start liking Caroline now, he did not want to. He disliked the Fisher family.Caroline was a product of the Fisher family, but her upbringing away from them had toughened her up, making her resilient.Caroline was pretending to be someone she was not.Hugh preferred simpler girls and kept his distance from those who acted or deceived as Caroline did. Such girls suited Hayden. If they were a pair, the world would be in trouble.Fortunately, Hugh did
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. Isabella’s 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 Austin’s 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 Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did 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 Austin’s 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 fiancées. 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 fiancée. 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, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After 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 fiancée, 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. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There 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 fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée 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. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us
“You can drink it now. It’ll turn cold if left aside for longer.”Isabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. “I’m drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what I’m doing and saying.“I’ve had enough ginger ale.”She did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. “Which family is your fiancée from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?”Isabella was insistent on getting answers. Austin had never told her when she had asked him about it before. He kept saying he would focus on working and that he was not in a rush to get married. After all, he was only in his twenties; Zachary only got married at thirty years old. If he was unsuccessful in wooing his fiancée that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austin’s fiancée, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austin’s fiancée had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabella’s eyes. He could detect some feelings in her gaze, but it was not obvious enough. What she felt for him was still mostly admiration. It was not the right time for him to confess yet. He would continue to wait. “You’re the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.”Austin added gently, “You give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but you’re always a nice person in my eyes.”Isabella had treated him well ever since he became her private chef. It only got better after she discovered he was a young master of the Yorks. Austin believed her when she said she viewed him as a friend because her actions reflected it as well. However, he was not content with being just friends. He wanted to be her husband. He wanted her to trust him and love him forever. He would also reciprocate her feelings and trust. Isabella smiled. “Even my parents are scared and avoid me when I’m in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, “Don’t worry, Ms. Edith. I’ll take good care of Ms. Isabella.”Edith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousin’s words was not lost on Isabella, but she did not comment on it.She allowed Austin to accompany her into the house. The lights were still on inside, but the first floor was empty. Everyone else had already gone to bed.Since Isabella had not returned yet, the housekeeper had left the lights on for her.The house was warm, so once inside, Isabella took off Austin’s coat and handed it back to him.Austin accepted the coat and followed her to the sofa. After she had sat down, he asked gently, “Ms. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?”Isabella rubbed her temples and said, “Yes, please. I don’t want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.”Austin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austin’s