“Sure. I-I won’t rush you or force you. Think carefully about it. Even if you can’t accept my feelings right now, I can wait. It just means that I haven’t done enough to move your heart and satisfy you.“I’ll keep striving my best to make you fall for me and make you happy.”Quinn smiled and said, “It’s not that you haven’t done enough. It’s just—I saw you as a friend but you saw me as a wife. It’s too sudden. I need some time to digest this since this is a major life decision and does concern my happily ever after. I have to think carefully about this.“Julian, this is between the two of us. Don’t tell my parents about this before I’ve given you an answer. If they knew I didn’t immediately say yes, they’d probably yell my head off. Unfortunately, I am that person who’s been stood up countless times by my blind dates.“My dad doesn’t really care. It’s not like I’m that old either—I’m only in my twenties. But my mom’s anxious and keeps thinking that I might be able to defend myself
Before Julian could respond, Quinn’s voice traveled from the top of the stairs.“Food’s ready!”Zoey called from the kitchen.Everyone immediately entered the kitchen and clambered over each other to carry out the ingredients Zoey had prepared for the meat fondue.Apart from Dave, who was not around, everyone sat around the table and dug into the piping-hot fondue.Will even grabbed a bottle of good liquor from his dad’s collection and four small cups, asking Zoey, “Mom, is it okay if we have a bit to drink tonight?”“If you don’t plan on going out after this, I’ll allow you to have a small glass each. Any more than that is a no-go.”If they had too much and got drunk, their work tomorrow would be affected.Will hummed in acknowledgment and said, “Okay, just a small glass then.”A little was better than nothing.“Quinn is a girl, so you should drink less.”Will only poured half a glass for his little sister.Quinn was very dissatisfied with this. “Yeah, I’m a girl, but my a
After dinner, Quinn and Julian went out for a walk.After the two left, Mark asked, “Will, do you feel like Quinn was a little weird tonight? Like she was unnatural and kept blushing at the drop of a hat. It seemed like she didn’t quite dare to look at Julian either. She was really different from usual.“This is the first time I’ve seen Quinn embarrassed ever since she was born. So it turns out that even she gets embarrassed. That’s the only time she looks like a girl. Normally, she’s just like a boy—carefree and shameless.”Will poured a cup of tea for himself, not responding to his brother immediately.Zoey was in the kitchen doing the dishes.When she heard her younger son’s remarks, she suddenly came out of the kitchen and said to them both, “Come here, you two. I want to talk to you guys about something while Julian isn’t here.”“What is it? You’re being so mysterious, Mom. And your expression is really serious. Is it something bad?” Mark asked as he walked over to her curio
After a moment of thought, Zoey said, “You guys do have a point, but when Julian comes back, I still think you’d better ask to be sure and to ease my worries. Also, Julian might like Quinn and the two are a good match, but Julian is the heir of a rich family and there is still a gap between our family and theirs.“Who knows if his parents can accept her? Once your dad’s back, I’ll talk to him. Will, you should make a trip to Wiltspoon with him and see if you can find anything about Julian’s parents and their characters.”Will nodded. “I can go by myself. I’ll book the flight tickets tonight and head to Wiltspoon first thing tomorrow morning.”“Go with your dad. You’re still young and still lack a keen eye for people. Your dad’s old enough and has decades of experience in the industry. His eye for people is still pretty good and it’s his daughter’s marriage at stake. He should help his daughter find out if her future in-laws are alright and if they’re dependable.”Zoey would have go
Julian said indulgently, “If you like them, I’ll give you flowers every day from now on.“Why don’t I go to the gym with you now to grab the flowers?”Quinn said, “Let’s go and get them. You don’t have to give me flowers every day. Just occasionally as a surprise will do. It’ll lose its novelty if I get flowers every day.”Julian chuckled. “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”He gave her flowers, but she thought of flower pancakes instead.Julian was afraid too that if he gave her a bouquet every day, she would only have flower pancakes on her mind and not think of how much he loved her.Women liked two things the most—having money and the freedom to spend it at will.He could give her money folded into flowers so that she had money to spend.“Let’s go shopping for clothes first. I want to buy an outfit for you.”Quinn felt that she had to give him something in return for the bouquet of flowers he had given her.Thus, she decided to give him a thick coat.“You want to buy an outfit f
Mark glanced at Quinn. Seeing that she seemed normal, he lamented to himself that no matter how he looked at it, the two of them did not seem like lovers. Quinn still saw Julian as a buddy, did she not?And what on earth was Julian afflicted with?Zoey had cut some fruit. When she saw the two come in, she called, “I’ve just finished cutting some fruits. Come have some since you guys are back.”“Quinn bought me some clothes.”Julian was all smiles as he walked over to his future brothers-in-law with the bags in hand and sat beside them before starting to show off the clothes Quinn bought for him.Quinn felt her face heat up as she watched him show off and knew without looking in a mirror that she was blushing. She did not even sit down and said to her family, “Mom, Will, Mark, I’m heading upstairs to rest first.”Then she went upstairs with the bouquet of flowers in her arms.She did not want her family to see her blushing shyly.Quinn’s brothers were very accommodating to Julia
Walter checked the time and said, “We are a little bit early. If this was summertime, most people would be up by now. Why don’t we wait in the car for a while before knocking on the door?”Stacy said, “I’ll call Julian to wake him up first.”Then she proceeded to do just that.Julian had just started kissing Quinn in his dream and had not gotten a deeper taste of it yet when he was woken by the piercing sound of his ringing phone. When he woke up, he touched his lips, reminiscing about the kiss in his dream, and then realized it had been a dream.It was not real.Although Quinn had not run away and graciously faced his confession head-on, she had said she needed to think about it.She had not given an immediate response to his feelings.It was just that the dream had been so sweet. Damn the phone call. Who was the insensible person who called him so early in the morning and interrupted his sweet dream?Julian instantly felt irritated.Grabbing his phone, he picked up the call
Julian chuckled. “You always look okay. Don’t worry, there’s no need to be nervous. My parents are very easygoing.”“I’m not nervous! I just think that I should look presentable for our first meeting even if I don’t dress up. I’ll get the door.”As Quinn said so, she rushed out and made her way through the yard to open the gate before Julian could.A black van was parked at the gate.When they saw her open the gate, someone in the van wound the window down and soon, someone got out of the car. It was a beautiful middle-aged woman who looked somewhat similar to Julian. She could tell without asking that this was Julian’s mother.Quinn internally gasped about how Stacy had taken such good care of herself that she looked like she was Julin’s elder sister. When the two stood next to each other, they did not look like they were mother and son at all.Stacy walked over with a small smile. “You must be Quinn. I’ve seen a photo of you before. Hello, I’m Julian’s mother.”“Hi, Mrs. Buc
Since Serenity was also an owner of the villa, she assigned rooms to Hayden and Camryn before returning to the master bedroom. She kept feeling that something was missing as Zachary was not around.Carrying the baby bump around was tiring.Although Serenity was used to having Zachary by her side, she fell asleep quickly as she was exhausted. The night passed peacefully. New Year’s Eve had arrived. It was a busy day. After a family dinner in the evening, people who were close acquaintances of the Yorks went to Wildridge Manor to watch the fireworks. The atmosphere was lively. However, fun times would always go by quickly. Soon, it was the second day of the new year. It was the day when the York family’s daughters-in-law would visit their families. The fact that their families resided in Wiltspoon made the trip convenient. Zachary, Serenity, Liberty, and Duncan went to the Stones’ residence. Since Audrey was Serenity and Liberty’s aunt, they would visit the Stone
While Grandma May and her granddaughters-in-law had settled down, Zachary and his two brothers were still waiting for their wives. As the sky was getting darker, Zachary could not help but give Serenity a call. “Why are you and Nana not back yet, Seren?”“We won’t be going back tonight, babe. Nana said we’ll return after breakfast tomorrow. We’re staying in your villa in the high-end neighborhood now.”Zachary replied, “I already had a bad feeling when Nana brought you guys out.”As expected, Nana had “kidnapped” their wives.Serenity laughed. “Go to bed early. We’re singing now. Hayden is a pretty good singer.”“You should rest earlier. Don’t stay up too late. You’re still pregnant.”Zachary reminded her.“Mm. I will. I’ll hang up now. Let’s talk again tomorrow.”“Okay. Sonny came over this evening and asked where you were. I said you went shopping, and he said why you didn’t wait till he came and if you didn’t miss him.”Serenity smiled. “He called me afterward and told
Grandma May brought her daughters-in-law to Zachary's villa. The butler did not go home to celebrate the new year. Instead, he had brought his family over upon obtaining Zachary’s permission. Sam was a disciplined person. Although he had brought his family over, he would still watch over the house properly and not let his family enter the main house.He was Zachary’s butler and had his own quarters. He did not live in the main house. Sam was surprised to see Grandma May and her granddaughters-in-law coming over late at night.“Have you all come by yourself, missus?”Sam opened the gates for them and asked Serenity, who had lowered her window. He was worried that Mr. York might have made Mrs. York angry and that she had come over to escape him. It would be New Year’s Eve tomorrow. Logically speaking, Serenity should have been at Wildridge Manor. However, upon seeing Grandma May, Camryn, and the rest, Sam finally figured it out. Grandma May must have been feeling mischievo
“Dylan didn’t really disobey you, Nana. It’s simply because his partner is Imogen.“If it weren’t for Zachary telling me, I wouldn’t have thought Imogen would have that many identities. She hid all of them well. Dylan couldn’t find a thing even after investigating it for a long time.”Serenity smiled and added, “As expected of Silver’s best student. She’s definitely different.”Grandma May was being extremely nice to Dylan.She had chosen Silver’s student for him. The legendary masters and their students were the true big bosses. Any one of them could rival Julian. “Dylan was trapped by his dream. He couldn’t escape it.”Grandma May sighed. “I don’t know what happened. He never met Sugar before. I can’t believe he dreamt of her before I gave him a picture of her. He even had the same dream several times.“Maybe they were just fated to be together.”Camryn smiled. “It must be fate. Maybe they were husband and wife in their past lives.”“You’re amazing, Nana. How did you know
Once Dylan arrived home, he went looking for his nana first. Grandma May was not in the manor. She was in one of the houses at the foot of the hill. Dylan did not search the houses one by one. He simply gave her a call. Grandma May picked up the call after some time. “You’re back, Dylan? I thought you weren’t planning to come back.”She chuckled. “How are things going? Have you found your little fox? Your elder brothers have already succeeded in getting their women. The three of you are the only ones left.“Peter is quicker than you. He said he could bring his fiancée back in a few months. Austin is probably doing better than you too. They aren’t you.”“When are you coming back, Nana? I have something to tell you.”Dylan requested Grandma May politely as he did not want other people to be present.Grandma May could roughly guess what Dylan wanted to do. She said, “I’m not in the manor. I’m out shopping with Serenity and won’t be back so soon. If you have something to say,
“The wind is strong, Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Please return home. We’ll be heading back as well.”After Liberty took everything her ex-in-laws had prepared for Sonny, she said goodbye to them, and under their gazes, she walked toward Duncan and Sonny, who were waiting for her.Sonny had already gotten off Duncan’s shoulders.Duncan had also returned to his wheelchair and held Sonny in his arms. They waited for Liberty to return. When Duncan saw the bags in Liberty’s hand, he told Sonny, “Help Mom hold some of the stuff, Sonny.”“Okay.”Sonny slid down and went to grab his luggage. He could pull the luggage along since it had wheels.Liberty let him.On the other hand, Duncan took some bags from Liberty’s hands and placed them on his thighs. He said, “Why are there so many things? I remember there wasn’t this much when we sent Sonny over.”“Dad bought me new clothes and toys. I really can’t take all the toys, so some of them were left in Dad’s house. I can play with them the next t
Hank pulled Sonny’s luggage over. Luke and Olivia had many bags in their hands too. They were presents they had prepared for Sonny and Liberty. Although the stuff they prepared was not as expensive as the supplements Sonny had brought back, it still contained their sincerity. “Liberty,” Hank called and handed the luggage over. “Sonny’s belongings are all inside. He can’t take that many toys, so there’s some left at my place. He said he can play them the next time he comes.“We bought him a few sets of clothes. They can’t fit into the luggage, so we put them in bags.”After speaking, Hank took the bags from his parents’ hands.Aside from the clothes and toys they had bought for Sonny, the rest were presents for Liberty. “My parents prepared some snacks for you. You can have them while celebrating the new year. It’s nothing expensive, just a token of our sincerity.“Although we aren’t husband and wife anymore, we’re still Sonny’s parents. We can still be friends or relative
Liberty and Duncan had only gotten their marriage license for a few days. They were newlyweds. Even with Liberty by his side, Duncan still wanted to have video calls with Sonny several times a day. He missed Sonny more than she did. He would worry about whether Sonny was eating and sleeping well at the Browns’ place.He also worried whether Chelsea’s son would bully Sonny.While Sonny had learned martial arts, he was not exactly skilled yet. Besides, he was taught well and would not fight under normal circumstances. Therefore, Duncan was worried that Sonny would be at a disadvantage. Liberty thought Duncan was acting more like Sonny’s biological father than Hank. “Sonny’s here,” said Duncan. He got up and walked toward Sonny, leaving his wheelchair behind. He could walk short distances. Liberty was anxious that he might fall. She quickly left her neighbors behind and followed him. She reminded him, “Walk slowly. Be careful.”They did not have their bodyguards with them
“Dunc is nice, Dad. He treats me well. He’s not a bad guy.”Sonny tried his best to clear Hank’s misunderstanding toward Dunc.Hank felt bitter, but he kept a smile on his face. He replied, “Mm. Duncan isn’t a bad person. He treats you and your mom well. I feel at ease knowing you and your mom are living with him.”No matter how jealous he was, he had to admit that Duncan had dedicated his heart and energy to Liberty and Sonny. Duncan was better than him, Sonny’s biological dad. Liberty had made a great choice marrying Duncan.Although Duncan was still in a wheelchair, he would eventually recover. Once he recovered, he could take on any challenge and be the pillar Liberty and Sonny needed. “Sonny, Sonny,” Olivia called out from the living area. Hank told Sonny, “Your grandmom is calling you. Go out and have a look.”Sonny hummed in agreement and left the room. “Grandmom.”Hank smiled when he heard Sonny saying that. He liked being with his son and parents. He truly