Zachary’s mother came over before his father followed suit.Then, Austin, thinking that he had caused trouble, followed after them.Zachary figured it out without asking.Austin was silent for a moment before he said, “Mom disagreed at first. She said I already have my own business and I’m running it well. And this year, I started to help out with the family business. She said that no matter how much I liked cooking, I could just tinker around at home or the hotel and that there was no need for me to become a private chef.“Dad was supportive though. He said that as long as I liked it, I could do whatever I wanted. Mom tried to argue her side with Dad but couldn’t get through to him, and in her anger, she went back to her room and locked herself in it, not allowing Dad to go in.“Dad knocked for a long time, but still wasn’t allowed entry, so, thinking that he should let Mom calm down first, he left. We didn’t expect Mom to take advantage of Dad’s departure to sneak out and come h
“Zack, it’s late and you’ve been working the whole day too. You should head to bed. I’ll head home too.”Austin prepared to leave after talking it out with Zachary.Zachary said, “It’s already so late. Why don’t you just stay the night? It’s not like I don’t have a room for you.”Austin politely declined. “It’s not far for me and you might have a room here, but I don’t have clothes to change into.“Plus, it’s hard for me to fall asleep anywhere other than on my own bed.”He needed time to adapt to new places whenever he moved.People who were used to their beds would toss and turn constantly when they were in an unfamiliar place.Zachary recalled that Austin’s private villa was not far away. Since Austin mentioned having sleeping difficulty on foreign beds and no fresh clothes, Zachary did not insist on him staying. Instead, he only reminded Austin to not drive too fast and to text him once he got home.“Good night, Zack.”Zachary did not get up to walk him out.Once Austin l
“The alcohol smell isn’t that strong and even thunder can’t wake me when I’m asleep. You don’t have to resort to spending the night in the study,” Serenity said as she took Zachary’s hand that was on her stomach.“I’ve showered and drank two glasses of water as well as chewed two pieces of gum to get rid of some of the alcohol smell.”After a pause, he added, “And Austin said that I was reeking of alcohol.”Serenity grumbled a little about her brother-in-law.If Austin could hear her, he would swear that he was telling the truth.The moment Zachary opened his mouth, he could smell the alcohol. It indeed was strong and besides, Zachary himself had said that he was worried the smell would affect Serenity.“He was waiting for you. Did he manage to catch you?” Serenity asked.Zachary hummed in confirmation. “He said he wants to go to Satbury. The O’Connors are looking for a private chef and he wants to apply for it. “Nana has chosen Isabella O’Connor, their eldest daughter, for Au
“Good night,” Serenity said before closing the door. Zachary stood by the door outside. Although he was the one who suggested himself sleeping in the study, being pushed out by Serenity and watching her close the door made him feel like he was being chased out. After scratching his nose, he had no choice but to head toward the study. The night went by peacefully. When Zachary woke up the next day, Serenity was already awake and had prepared a glass of water with honey added for him. “Good morning, babe.”Serenity had already fed Sonny breakfast. She was leading Sonny out of the dining area while holding his bag when she spotted Zachary, who had come downstairs. After greeting him, she said, “I prepared some honey water for you. Remember to drink it.”Although Zachary was not drunk last night, he mentioned downing strong alcohol. Serenity had been worried that he would get a headache when he woke up, so she prepared honey water for him. ‘Zachary is really fortunate
Serenity’s usual car was already parked outside. A bodyguard opened the door and helped Sonny to get into the car. He fastened his seatbelt as well. Once Serenity was inside the car, she changed her high heels for flats. “Have you fastened your seatbelt, Sonny?”Serenity turned her head and asked. “The mister did it for me. You can start driving, Aunt Ser.”Serenity smiled and soon started the car. Twenty minutes later, two cars stopped at the preschool’s parking lot. Serenity got out of the car. Sonny had already unfastened his seat belt and carried his bag. When she opened his door, he got down and said, “Aunt Ser, remember to tell Dunc to bring my luggage along when he picks me up this evening.”“Aren’t you coming back home first?” Serenity teased him. “Why don’t you have dinner before leaving?”After some thought, Sonny said, “Dunc won’t let me go hungry. I don’t have to worry about anything when I’m with him.”Duncan had already become a father figure to Sonny
However, Serenity was still suspicious because she had not seen Mrs. Longbottom and Carrie appear at the same time. Her suspicions of Carrie pretending to be Mrs. Longbottom would not be cleared unless she saw the two women together. Carrie did not wait for Serenity to return. Since they met by coincidence, it would look intentional if she were to wait for Serenity. It would be suspicious as well. Mr. Longbottom had told Carrie that Serenity was investigating her. Of course, nothing useful was found. Serenity suspected that she was Carrie. Carrie thought of Camryn, whom she hated the most. Camryn was familiar with her voice. Serenity most likely only investigated her because Camryn had told Serenity something. Luckily, Mr. Longbottom was capable. Serenity could not discover anything. Everything she found was fake information that Mr. Longbottom had created for Carrie. They knew that Serenity and Jasmine were best friends; Jasmine being the missus of the Buchams,
Therefore, Sonny wanted to pass his luggage to Duncan beforehand. Serenity replied with a smile, “Okay.”She only walked toward her car once Sonny and the teacher were out of sight. When she arrived at the parking lot, she saw Mrs. Longbottom, who had just gotten into her car. As usual, there were two bodyguards with her. One of them closed her door with a solemn expression. Mrs. Longbottom spotted Serenity when she turned to look outside the window. She waved at her with a grin. Serenity waved back out of courtesy. Soon, Carrie’s luxury car left. Serenity quickly sent a message to Camryn: [I saw Mrs. Longbottom again, Camryn. Did Carrie look for you?]Camryn had not left her home yet. She would not be going to the flower store as she had an online meeting in the morning. Some company matters still required her attention. Anyway, she was busy. Later in the evening, she would be returning to Wildridge Manor with Callum. It was the weekend again. She usually did
Camryn: [Stop bragging.]Serenity could not hide her grin. She replied: [Callum spoils you too.]The two women were basked in love. Since Camryn was busy, Serenity did not send another message. When she was about to get into her car, she heard someone calling her. She turned and saw Hank. “Serenity.”Hank walked over. Seeing her alone, he asked, “Has Sonny gone in already?”“Yes. You wanted to meet him?”Hank smiled. He said, “I was passing by the area with a customer, so I thought I’d have a look at Sonny. I didn’t think you guys would arrive so early.” “Sonny’s doing well.”Serenity remained indifferent toward Hank. He smiled again. “I know he’s okay. Liberty and I know that we can entrust him to you. I heard that Liberty is on a long business trip?”“Do you need anything?”“Nothing. I was just asking.”After a moment of silence, Hank asked again, “Will your sister only be back after a long time?”“I’m not sure.”“Oh.”Hank looked disappointed. Serenity sa
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
Callum was silent for a moment before he said, “I wanted you to get familiar with the route to my office, which is why I asked you to deliver the flowers yourself.”“Did you ever think about how difficult it was for me as a blind person? It was so hard for me to walk all the way to deliver those flowers,” Camryn retorted.Callum pulled her into an embrace and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Camryn. It was my fault for not thinking it through, which put you through a lot.”Camryn pushed him away, “We have customers constantly coming in. Don’t just hug me out of nowhere. You’re as thick-skinned as a rhinoceros, but I’m not. At that time, I was angry and silently cursed you a hundred thousand times, but your insistence actually did help me learn the way to your office and now, I can find my way there even with my eyes closed.”At that moment, Trenton returned. After Carrie left, he felt a bit down and stayed outside for a while to compose himself before coming back in. He did not wan
Just then, a customer came in wanting to buy a bouquet. Camryn first brought over some sample pictures for the customer to choose from. “No need to choose, just help me arrange a bouquet of roses. I’m going to confess my feelings,” said the young boy, a hint of shyness on his face as he spoke.Camryn smiled gently. “Alright, please wait a moment while I prepare it for you.”Callum assisted by inviting the young boy to sit down and poured him a glass of water.The boy glanced between Camryn and Callum and quietly asked, “Are you and the boss married or dating?”“We’re married. She’s my wife.”The boy expressed his envy. “You both seem very happy.”“Yeah, we are very happy. I love my wife very much, and she loves me too.”Thinking about the girl he was pursuing, the boy’s face lit up with anticipation. “I also have someone I like, and I’m going to confess to her, though I just don’t know if she feels the same. I’m a bit nervous.”Callum, drawing from his own experience, advised
“She hasn’t paid. Stop her.” Camryn was not going to let her get away with it. With a command, her two bodyguards stopped Carrie.Carrie said furiously, “Camryn, I only took a few flowers from you! You have so many flowers here. What's the big deal if I take a few? You still want me to pay? I’m your sister! Don’t you know that blood is thicker than water?!”“Blood might be thicker than water, but business is business. Anyone who buys flowers from me has to pay, including you. Besides, you’ve never treated me like an older sister. You always bring up how we’re sisters when you want to take advantage of me, but that won’t work here. My roses are freshly transported, and since you’re my sister, I’ll let you have them for twenty bucks each. You took about five stems, so just give me a hundred. I won’t rip you off.”Carrie’s expression changed in an instant. “Camryn, why don’t you just rob a bank? You’re charging twenty bucks each? You’re just a thief! Here! I don’t want them! I’d rather