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
If Grandma May knew what Zachary was thinking, she would say, “I’m only going to dote on my great-grandson!”Once the elevator reached the first floor, Zachary picked Sonny up again.“Let him walk on his own,” Serenity said. “You spoil him too much.”Sonny hugged Zachary around the neck as he said childishly, “Uncle Zak loves me the most. You’re just jealous, Aunt Ser.”Serenity could not help but laugh as she pinched his cheek lightly. “Yes, yes. Your Uncle Zak loves you the most. Who doesn’t?”From the York family elders to the Stones, even the Lewises, all of them doted on Sonny a lot.She and Liberty were stricter with Sonny so he would not be spoiled rotten.Zachary was cold by nature, but he doted on kids very much when he loved them.She wondered what Zachary would be like when their baby was born.Sonny said that it was a boy.Her in-laws hoped it was a baby girl, but they would love the baby all the same. After all, the baby would be the eldest in his or her generati
After dinner, Zachary sent Serenity and Sonny home with his bodyguard while he continued working.Once they got home, Sonny practiced the piano and then his drawing, while Serenity sat on the sofa flipping through a magazine about jewelry.She and her partners were planning to start a jewelry business.Jane had started one too, and it was already turning a profit. Her mother was helping her design most of it.Serenity did not know how to design jewelry, but Elisa did.Elisa mentioned that she wanted to design her own jewelry and open her own store.It was just that she was too busy chasing after Zachary and gave no thought to earning money. Her entire family doted on her so much that she was never short of money.Her monthly allowance alone was an amount regular people would never earn in their lifetimes.Later, when Serenity started her fresh produce company, Elisa temporarily set her jewelry business idea aside.Now that they had made some profit and were looking for somethi
Nevertheless, the blood relation between Caroline and Belinda could not be erased. If Belinda had indeed murdered Tiara, Caroline would be an enemy to Serenity and the rest. After a short silence, Liberty asked, “Where’s Sonny?”“He’s drawing now. He was practicing on the piano for a while just now when we got home.”“No homework?”Serenity smiled. “No. Even if he does, he can finish it within a minute. He simply needs to draw with a pencil. At his age, having fun at school is the main priority.”Learning how to write was a task they assigned to Sonny. Although most children were having fun in school, those enrolled in Wiltspoon’s most expensive and best preschool were from wealthy or influential families. They would succeed their families in the future, so tutors were hired by their families to educate them separately. Quite a number of Sonny’s classmates could recognize many words. Despite their young age, they were brimming with talent. Not wanting Sonny to lag behin
“I believe Duncan won’t fancy Mrs. Torres. He only has eyes for you.”Liberty smiled. “That’s why you don’t have to be worried about me. If there’s a love rival, then it’ll be a trial for Duncan and me.“You don’t have to keep an eye on Mrs. Torres for me, Seren. Let nature take its course. If she can secure Duncan’s heart, then I have nothing to say. If she fails, she might look for me instead.”Liberty had experience in facing love rivals. Before Liberty and Hank divorced, he cheated on her with Jessica. Even so, Liberty did not lose. She was the one who suggested they get a divorce. She could not accept any dishonesty. Hank did not treat Liberty well. He was generous with Jessica but not her. As such, Liberty granted their wish. Divorcing was not that bad after all. Liberty was living a better life now than before. She received help from Serenity, but she believed she could have pulled through those tough times after divorcing even without Serenity’s help. After exp
Sonny nodded. “Your dog isn’t as big as before, but Chunky is still fat.”Although Mrs. Lane had the pets’ meals under control, Chunky would still sneak some food. “Let’s go for a walk and have a look at the dog.”Serenity put the drawing down and brought Sonny out for a walk. Zachary’s private villa was so huge that even a stroll in the garden could take a long time. Since Sonny visited often and Serenity was pregnant, Zachary had modified a part of the garden into a playground. It was smaller than the one in Wildridge Manor, but sufficient for one or two kids to play. The dog, Snowy, came running at Serenity and Sonny the moment they exited the house. Sonny released Serenity’s hand and ran toward Snowy. The child and the dog soon started playing together. Sonny even rode Snowy like a horse. Snowy allowed him to sit on it but stood still, afraid Sonny might fall. Therefore, it remained static while Sonny was on it. Serenity watched them with a smile. She could not he
After parking the car, Rhea changed out of her flats into high heels. She took her bag and got out of the car. “Mom.”Dean hugged her. “I missed you, Mom.”They would only meet each other every morning and night. During the day, Rhea would not be home for lunch as she was busy with work. Her in-laws or housekeepers would take care of Dean. Although Dean was a sensible child, he was unhappy. He felt like he had lost his mother alongside his father because she had not been spending much time with him.Even during weekends when he did not have to go to school, she would still work. It was either eating or golfing with her clients or attending various banquets. Rhea’s heart ached. She hugged her son back. Her nine-year-old son had the body of a seven-year-old. She always thought Dean’s slim figure was a result of her disregard for him because she was preoccupied with her business. Unlike Liberty, Rhea did not have a kind sister who would look after Dean for her. Liberty coul
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