Mrs. Torres, whose job was only to spend money, had transformed into a successful career woman within a few years.She smiled. “You’re the more impactful person, Mrs. York.”Serenity was the York family’s missus. She did not have an outstanding family background and only found Aunt Audrey after marrying Zachary. Although her aunt was Mrs. Stone, none of the Stone family’s assets belonged to Serenity. She simply gained a relative. To think that someone of Serenity’s background was able to be Zachary’s wife; she must have lucked out. Everyone remembered Serenity as she married Zachary and gained a foothold in the York family despite coming from a mediocre one herself. Before she got pregnant, the public criticized her for being infertile but the Yorks defended her. They would target anyone who dared to badmouth Serenity. Even though there were rumors that Tania disliked Serenity, Tania was willing to forego her image and fight those who criticized Serenity. Who would then not
Liberty was a divorced woman, while Mrs. Torres was a widow. They both had a son, but Mrs. Torres thought she was more capable than Liberty was. She felt she had to fight for what she wanted. She thought she had a greater chance of winning against Liberty. Besides, Liberty was not in Wiltspoon at the moment. Serenity remained silent. Duncan smiled and said, “If you’re not in a rush, we can meet another day. Sorry for your wasted trip.”Mrs. Torres returned the smile. “It’s okay. You should handle matters of higher priorities first.”Every business negotiation required several trips, or even over ten times going back and forth before it was finalized. Mrs. Torres’s secretary pressed the elevator button again while she walked toward the back of Duncan’s wheelchair, ready to push him into the elevator. Duncan refused her help, saying, “It’s fine, Mrs. Torres. This is an electric wheelchair. I can control it myself.”Mrs. Torres smiled and withdrew her hands. She watched a
Sonny said playfully, “I miss Jazz more.”He was close to Jasmine because of Serenity. Whenever Serenity brought him to the bookstore, Jasmine would take him out for good food and a shopping spree.Therefore, he liked Jasmine more as compared to Josh. “What a naughty kid.”Josh pinched Sonny’s cheek and put him down. He smiled and said, “I’m busy now. You can follow Serenity and play with Zachary first. Jasmine and I can take you to play when your winter vacation starts this weekend.”“Promise? You can’t lie to kids.”Every child loved playing outdoors, and Sonny was no exception. Josh laughed. “When have I ever lied to you?”Sonny thought about it. Indeed, Uncle Josh had never lied to him. After speaking to Duncan briefly, Josh led the senior managers out of the building. A few minutes later, Serenity and the rest showed up in the CEO’s office. Sonny acted like a spoiled child in front of Zachary for a while before being told to read and write on the sofa by Serenity.
Sonny hugged Zachary’s neck. He said, “I have something important to tell you, Uncle Zak.”Zachary asked in a curious tone, “What is it, Sonny?”“My winter vacation is coming soon.”Zachary hummed in agreement. Once winter vacation started, the new year would be arriving. The year flew by. “Can I play with Laurence during winter break?”Sonny looked toward Zachary in anticipation. His eyes were sparkling. “Who’s taking you there?”“I wanted Aunt Ser to go with me, but she said she couldn’t answer me. She told me to ask you for permission. Can I go, Uncle Zak? I miss Laurence. He said he’d be on vacation too.”Zachary looked toward Serenity. She smiled. “Sonny asked me about this right after school. I told him to ask you instead. I think it’s fine for me to accompany him because my bump won’t be too big yet.”She would be four or five months into her pregnancy by the time they were to go to FC Manor. It would not affect her traveling by flight. She would not dare to t
It was utterly embarrassing. “It’s okay. You’ll get more thick-skinned after each loss and eventually be able to brush it off.”After Zachary spoke, Serenity hit him lightly. He burst out laughing. Well, he was only speaking facts. Laurence was gifted. Not only did he have an extremely good memory, but he also had great teachers. Even if his teacher ignored him, his teacher’s mentor would train him. He also excelled in academics, martial arts, and medical skills. Great teachers would always produce brilliant students. While Sonny nevertheless had some advantages over Laurence, it was a fat chance for him to beat Laurence. Zachary was not trying to kill Sonny’s confidence. However, they sent Sonny to martial arts lessons primarily to strengthen his body and gain self-defense skills; not counting on him to become a master at it. “How could you say this to him? Sonny, don’t listen to him. You’re doing great. Although you can’t beat Laurence, you’re still much better than
Zachary’s expression told her that he had zero impression of Mrs. Torres.“I told you you wouldn’t know of her,” Serenity whispered. “Sonny’s coming. Let’s talk about it at home later. I have to give Liberty a heads-up later tonight too.”Liberty was currently stationed in Jensburg and Duncan still could not walk. They were not meeting as often as before. Even if they had eight hundred calls a day, it was still a long-distance relationship, and feelings could fade easily.It was hard to guarantee that Duncan would not have a change of heart if an attentive and considerate woman who could help him in his business appeared by his side at this time.Zachary spoke up for Duncan. “Duncan won’t have a change of heart. You don’t know him as well as I do. I’ve known him for over twenty years and he’s been a good buddy of mine for many years now. He’s very serious when it comes to relationships.“When he falls in love, it’s for life. He has never dared to fall for someone because of how se
Zachary was afraid of his wife—what of it then?At least he had a wife to be afraid of. There were so many sad single men out there who did not even have a girlfriend, let alone a chance to be a hen-pecked husband.Sonny gaped at him, speechless.It was impossible to expect Zachary to help him.“Uncle Zak, are you not coming home with us?” Sonny very naturally changed the subject.Zachary took his little backpack from him and then picked him up as he said, “I have a meeting later tonight, so I’ll get Uncle Bodyguard to send you guys home after I have dinner with you. I can only come home later.”Sonny pursed his lips and did not reply.The adults were so busy!“Are you unhappy?”Zachary pecked him on the cheek and said with a smile, “I’ll take you out to play this weekend, okay?”“I’m not unhappy. I know Uncle Zak’s busy because you need to earn money to buy milk powder for the baby. Okay! I want to go to the children’s amusement park this weekend.”Zachary said fondly, “Oka
“That’s right. Don’t listen to her, Sonny. Don’t take your Granddad or your Grandmom’s words to heart either. If your Dad says bad things about your Mom and Dunc, don’t listen to him either. They’re all just jealous.”“I know, Aunt Ser. They think I don’t know anything because I’m young, but I do.” Sonny was well aware of who was truly good to him and who was not.It was just that he was too young to express all of this clearly.Serenity patted Sonny’s head.She had to tell Liberty to limit Sonny’s contact with the Browns.That family would never change.She once saved Chelsea’s youngest son and thought that Chelsea would change because of it.Before Liberty started dating Duncan, Chelsea did treat the Hunt sisters much better and even turned around to pick on Jessica instead.Now, however, Chelsea had returned to her old habits.Zachary put Sonny down when they got into the elevator.Sonny held Serenity’s hand in one hand and Zachary’s in the other.Though his parents wer
“He will get better soon now that he’s taken the medicine. Don’t worry too much. When you're taking care of him, make sure you wear a mask so you don’t catch it from him. You’re pregnant, and if you catch a cold, it’ll be more troublesome.” Liberty was relieved, but she then reminded Serenity to take extra care of herself, worried that her son’s cold might spread to her.Pregnant women had limited options for medication, and many pregnant women endured mild colds without taking medicine out of caution.“I'm fine, really,” Serenity reassured her.“When Sonny is sick, he's especially vulnerable and relies on me. If I don't take care of him, I won’t feel at ease, and neither will he.”Zachary was busier than she was, so Serenity did not want to trouble him with such minor matters.“Don’t you worry, Liberty. Once Sonny is better, I'll send you a message. Even if Sonny begs me, I won’t let him eat anything too greasy from now on, to avoid aggravating his condition.”“Children are bo
Sonny weakly protested, “The medicine will be really bitter.”“Yes, but good medicine tastes bitter because it helps cure the illness,” Serenity comforted him.Under her coaxing, Sonny took the medicine, drank a glass of water, and went to the bathroom. He came back and fell into a deep sleep in his aunt's arms.Serenity wanted to carry him upstairs.“Let me carry him—you’re pregnant,” Lilian said considerately.Sam immediately interjected, “Dr. Carden, Missus, allow me to carry Mr. Sonny upstairs.”Dr. Carden was a distinguished guest of the family. How could he allow her to carry Sonny upstairs? Sam stepped forward and carefully took Sonny from Serenity's arms before carrying him back to his room.Serenity followed them upstairs.Lilian did not follow.To her, Sonny's common cold was not serious. She only personally took care of him because she quite liked Sonny.Serenity sat down on the edge of the bed and told Sam, “I can’t do it myself right now, so please make sure to t
After New Year’s celebration, Liberty left for Jensburg and told the teachers that if anything happened to Sonny, they should contact Serenity, which explained the teacher's call coming through to Serenity.“I’ll go pick him up right away. Thank you, Ms. Penny.”Sonny’s teacher Ms. Penny replied, "Alright, please come and take him to see a doctor. Recently, a lot of kids have been catching colds."After hanging up, Serenity said, “Jas, I can't stay here and chat with you. I need to go fetch Sonny from preschool. He's got a fever. Lately, he keeps kicking his blanket off at night.” Though she and Zachary often helped cover Sonny back up, they could not always catch it every time he kicked off the blanket, so he had probably caught a cold.“The temperature has been rising these days, so it's a bit hot sometimes. Look, I don’t even need to wear a coat now.” The temperature was around 68°F during the day. When the sun was out, it was really warm, and there was no need for a coat.
Serenity agreed empathetically, “You can offend anyone, but don't ever offend Nana. Luckily, she's my nana.”Out of all her in-laws, Grandma May was Serenity’s favorite because the old lady treated her the best. Whenever she had conflicts with Zachary, Grandma May would always stand by her side first. Only when she was ready to listen would Grandma May try to reason with her and speak up for Zachary. Even though Grandma May was Zachary’s grandmother, she treated Serenity like her own granddaughter; more so than Serenity's biological grandmother.“Are you going to help Dylan?” Jasmine asked.“How? He’s wooing his future wife. No one can help with that,” Serenity replied. “Zachary never meddles in his brothers' private matters. As long as they don’t ask him for help, he doesn’t care about anything.”In Zachary's words, he only wanted to take care of her. In his world, she was his priority.“True. Let’s just watch for now, unless Dylan comes to you asking you to speak well of him
“Now he's suddenly trying to pursue Imogen again? Did something happen to him? Or was it that his beloved turned him down, and then when he saw everyone else all coupled up, plus Grandma May’s pressuring him to get married, he decided to try to win Imogen back?“Who does he think Imogen is? Does he think he can just have her when he wants to, and throw her aside when he doesn't?”Even though Dylan was Serenity's cousin-in-law, Jasmine could not bring herself to take his side. Back then, when Imogen followed him from Huntington to Wiltspoon and even asked Serenity for help, all she ended up getting was an apology from Dylan that he could never love her. He even mentioned that he was in love with someone else, a woman he called Fox. How could a vixen be any good? Was she better than Imogen?Jasmine thought Dylan was out of his mind, but that was someone else's business. She was just a bystander. Even Serenity did not interfere much since she was only a cousin-in-law. After all,
Without a second thought, Leticia replied to her daughter.[Of course you should. As long as you can win that boy over, you'll be happy in the future. I’ve met so many young men, but I still think he’s the most suitable for you.]Despite her earlier anger, Leticia still hoped her daughter could win Dylan’s heart. She had always regarded him as a potential son-in-law, after all.Imogen smiled and left it at that. She had already made up her mind.In truth, when Dylan rejected her, she was not all that upset because the person he loved was still her. It was just that she had kept Dylan in the dark. One could say that he had been made to dance in her palm.However, when he realized that he could not love Imogen, he was honest with her and decisively left without bothering her further, not wanting her to fall even deeper when the situation was hopeless. In this aspect, she appreciated him.Now that she knew she was the one Dylan’s grandmother had chosen for him, Imogen was curious ab
When Dylan overheard Imogen’s phone conversation with Leticia, he realized that Leticia was trying to match her with someone named Kade. Now, he had a rival.Even though he was being asked to leave, Dylan did not get angry, nor did he shamelessly insist on staying. He stood up and said, “I’m sorry for disturbing you, Ms. Doyle. I know you’re Imogen Doyle. I also know what I’m doing, and I won’t make the same mistake again.“Ms. Doyle, you were on the nose earlier. Yes, I do want to pursue you again. Starting today, I will try to win your heart once more. No matter what your attitude is toward me, I’ll accept it.”The first time, she had offered her heart, but he did not accept it. That was his fault.This time, it was his turn to offer his heart. If it took more time to win her over, he was willing to be patient.“My nana isn’t forcing me.” He continued, “When it came to our generation, she only pushed Zachary to marry Serenity.”Zachary had been a special case. For the rest of
Imogen felt a surge of satisfaction when she saw Dylan was rendered speechless by what she said. She deliberately leaned closer to him, her beautiful face coming right up to his, and their gazes met.They were so close that Dylan could smell a faint, delicate fragrance on her. It was a little familiar, but it was not the same as Chameleon Fox’s scent, because she never used fragrance when she appeared—probably to avoid being recognized by scent.It was the scent he smelled on Imogen back when he was initially pursuing her—it was Sugar’s. Imogen smelled the same as Sugar, a scent he remembered when he was in close proximity to Sugar.Imogen was Sugar.Dylan was now sure of this, but he did not bring it up. Even if he asked, Imogen would not admit it anyway.Besides, he no longer needed her to confirm it. As Zachary had said, he only needed to trust his nana; she would not mislead him when it came to marriage. His nana knew very well that he loved Chameleon Fox, and yet still aske
Unexpectedly, Kade had to return to the country due to a work transfer and would be staying in Huntington long-term.Leticia’s best friend Jade immediately called her again to bring up the idea of a marriage match. Leticia then thought about it and decided to arrange for her daughter to fetch him from the airport.“Mrs. Doyle, the person Imogen likes is me, so please stop trying to match her with someone else.” Dylan boldly interjected.Imogen glanced at him but did not say anything.On the other side of the line, Leticia asked Imogen when she heard Dylan’s voice, “Jen, has that York scoundrel gone to look for you again? He came by once a few days ago, but you weren’t home. We didn’t even let him past the gate.“He didn’t show up again after that, so we thought he left, but he actually went to your office to look for you. Jen, what does he mean by this? Is he trying to pursue you once more? If that’s really the case, all the more you have to give Kade a chance—to make Dylan York