Kevin smiled. “No. You’d say it was a waste of money every time I gave you flowers. You told me not to give you bouquets, and that hasn’t changed even though I’ve done it for half a year. Your sudden change in attitude surprised me, but I’m happy. You finally like a bouquet from me.”Hayden stared at him for some time. Without saying anything, she stood up and put the bouquet in a vase. She took a few steps back to observe the vase and said, “This vase fits the bouquet nicely.”“Everything I give you is always perfect.”Hayden agreed. She returned to her desk and started packing up. She always ensured that her desk was organized before and after work. “Come on. Let’s not make Liberty and Mr. Lewis wait.”Kevin walked by her side and said, “I called Duncan on my way here. He said he and Liberty were heading to the hotel. They’re further away and will probably arrive later than us.“It’s peak hour now as well. The roads will be congested.”Kevin and Hayden exited the office.
“Mom.”Hayden answered her mom’s call. “Has your work ended, Hay?”“Mm. I’m about to leave. What’s the matter?”Sophia asked, “Should I buy some casual clothes for you aside from the dress?”Hayden rejected her offer without thinking twice. “No.”She was only wearing a dress to the banquet tomorrow night to announce that she was a woman. It was also to clear any doubts about her love for Kevin and his sexual preferences. No one would ever look at him differently again. They always thought Kevin had ruined her. That was why those people harbored prejudice against him but not her. “Why not? Aren’t you going to live your life as a woman from now on?”Sophia was puzzled. She asked again, “So you’re only planning to wear a dress tomorrow night and continue wearing men’s clothing afterward?”“I’m not changing my usual style.”Hayden just needed not put on fake pecs anymore. However, she was flat-chested. Even if she wore a suit without fake pecs, she would still look like a m
Kevin did not ask more. They took the elevator to the first floor. Kevin could not even kiss her while they were in the elevator. He still did not dare to act as he wished in Queen Enterprise. Hayden needed to maintain her image, and he wanted to protect her dignity. After all, she was the CEO. Kevin drove Hayden out of Queen Enterprise with her driver and bodyguards following behind. She still had a meeting with Mr. Williams after the meal. Liberty and Duncan were not there when they reached Fortress Hotel. After waiting for about half an hour, Liberty and Duncan arrived. Liberty was in a bad mood. She pushed Duncan into the hotel and barely responded even though he kept turning his head to talk to her. Duncan knew why she was in a bad mood. Knowing that comforting words would not be able to improve her mood, he stopped consoling her. Liberty had to adjust her emotions herself. She felt slightly better when they went to the private room Kevin had booked upstairs.
Everyone laughed. Kevin had arranged for the food to be served upon Duncan and Liberty’s arrival. It was a pleasant meal. After that, Hayden left first as she had to go to Jensburg Hotel for her meeting with Mr. Williams. Luckily, the two hotels were nearby. They were just diagonally opposite each other. However, Kevin insisted on escorting Hayden over. Meanwhile, Liberty pushed Duncan out of the hotel. They took a stroll on the nearby streets while admiring Jensburg’s night attractions and scenes. “Are you feeling better?” Duncan asked Liberty. After a brief silence, she said, “I’ve calmed down. The things that I’ll experience will only be worse in the future. If I can’t even face this, I don’t have to stay here any longer. I should just return to Wiltspoon and manage my restaurants.”If she did so, she would be failing Audrey’s expectations of her.“It’s great that you can overcome this. We’ve been strolling for some time. Has anything caught your eye?”Duncan turn
Liberty asked, “What do I have that Serenity doesn’t?“You must persist in going for rehab. When I’m not in Wiltspoon, you have to take care of yourself. If you have time, you can visit Sonny. He’ll probably visit you too. He’s treating you better than how he treats his own father.”Duncan said smugly, “That’s because I love him with my heart and soul. His father only badmouths me in front of him. Sonny is clever. He knows how to differentiate between the bad guys and the good guys.“The more Hank badmouths me, the lesser Sonny wants to be with him.”After speaking, Duncan turned to look at Liberty. Her expression was calm. Her emotions remained stable even when Hank was mentioned. “What are you looking at? Do you think I still care for that man? He’s just Sonny’s dad now.”Liberty said, “Do you think I still love him and that I’ll feel down when we talk about him? A long time has passed. How can I still love and be affected by him? I wouldn’t have divorced him if my love for hi
“Hank probably still has feelings for you,” said Duncan. He did not mind Hank bad-mouthing him in front of Sonny. The more Hank did that, the more Sonny disliked him. That only further strengthened Duncan and Sonny’s relationship. Duncan finally understood why Sonny would always treat him extra well after returning from visiting the Brown family. The kid probably felt sorry for him because of Hank’s mean words. “He has fallen out of love with me long ago. If he loved me, he wouldn’t have hurt or betrayed me or even allowed his family to bully me during our marriage. A man will never let the woman he loves be bullied.“Even if his wife has conflicts with his parents, he’ll think of ways to solve the problem instead of letting his family accuse her.“Hank just finds it unfair. It’s just as I said previously—if he and Jessica had a happy life and never lost their jobs while awaiting the baby’s birth, they wouldn’t even care if I was dead or alive.“His love for Sonny will onl
“Yeah. I’ll be heading back tomorrow. Liberty is busy. I don’t want to take up too much of her time. I’ll take care of Sonny well when I’m back. Liberty won’t have to worry about a thing and just focus on winning the battle for Sonny and me.”Duncan laughed after speaking. Liberty heard Duncan and said, “I’m afraid I might end up in a heavy debt instead.”Duncan replied boldly, “What’s there to be scared of? You have me. As long as the debt isn’t in hundreds of billions, I can pay it off for you. You can explore as much as you want. I’ll support you no matter what. You don’t have to worry about suffering a loss or being in debt.”Liberty was speechless. A debt amounting to hundreds of billions?She would never think of it. With the assets she had, having such a debt would only make her hair gray from stress. Zachary sent another voice message, “With you backing her up, Liberty can surely carve a path to success in Jensburg.”Duncan played the message for Liberty. He said,
Liberty did not know what to say. She simply hugged Duncan in silence. After some time, Duncan pushed her away and said gently, “Go rest. It’s late. Good night.”“Good night. Rest well. You still have to travel back to Wiltspoon tomorrow.”After wishing each other, Liberty left Duncan’s room. He saw her out in his wheelchair and only closed the door when she entered her room next door. The night passed. Duncan left Fortress Hotel after breakfast the next morning with Liberty seeing him off. She did not send him to the airport. She just watched from the hotel’s entrance as he got into the car and left. If she followed him to the airport, she would probably find the separation more unbearable. When Duncan’s car was no longer in sight, Liberty brought her bodyguards to the two cars she was temporarily using. Duncan left for Wiltspoon. She had to continue working as well. Time passed quickly when one was immersed in work. Daylight was consumed by the night sky in the bl
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