Dylan was speechless for a moment. “I’m your brother.”“I have so many brothers, but you’re the only one who’s done something like that. You’re about to embarrass the York reputation thoroughly.”Dylan was again shocked. It was a big deal, then! What had he done to embarrass his family?“Zack.”“Go wait at the corner!”Helplessly, Dylan went to the corner and obediently waited for time to pass. He finally experienced what it felt like to have minutes felt like years. It was excruciating.Finally, it was time for dinner. Zachary shut off his computer and made his way around his desk.Dylan immediately stood and went up to him like a dog after a bone, all smiles. “Are you tired, Zack?”Zachary threw him a side glance as he said, “Very. Can you split the burden with me?”“I-I do help out!”Almost every young man of York was helping out with the family business, though the bigger part of the burden was still Zachary’s to bear.The rest were more concerned with what they liked to
As for Grandma May—Dylan had gone looking for her once before and she told him to handle it himself.When he asked her to let him choose someone else, she said she had only picked a candidate for him. If he really did not like her choice, he could find someone he fancied, but the person had to pass the character test.Dylan felt Chameleon Fox’s character was not bad. She might be a little hot-tempered, but she was still reasonable. He just did not know her family background.“Are you done with work?” Serenity asked Zachary warmly. Her warm voice pulled Dylan out of his reverie.Zachary hummed. “Yeah. We can go now.”Serenity stood up and called out, “Sonny, put your book back. We’re heading for dinner now.”Sonny made a sound in acknowledgment and immediately shoved his book back into his bag before carrying it on his back. Then, he spread his arms out at Zachary, begging his uncle to carry him.Zachary picked him up and tapped his nose fondly. “You still want me to carry you, h
Serenity hung up and said to Zachary, “Let’s order when Ms. Doyle gets here.”“Sure, honey.” Zachary was indifferent.Ms. Doyle was Grandma May’s bride candidate for Dylan. If nothing unexpected happened, she would be his sister-in-law in the future. It was not a big deal for them to meet in advance.The only thing was they had no clue who Dylan would choose in the end.That was his business, though. Dylan could worry about it all by himself. Zachary could not be bothered.Serenity took Sonny to wash his hands while Zachary sat on the sofa. Dylan stood waiting at the entrance, not knowing who Serenity had invited for dinner.He texted Peter, but Peter had stopped replying to him.“That damned Peter stopped replying after hearing I got into trouble. Are you scared I’ll drag you down with me or implicate you too?” Dylan cursed Peter softly.Soon, he heard the sound of high heels. It sounded a little familiar, like…After some thought, Dylan remembered now. It sounded like Imogen
Imogen looked steadily at Dylan, trying to find any sign of a guilty conscience on his face.Dylan remained calm, not a hint of guilt to be seen.After a moment, Imogen said, “Is that so? No wonder you didn’t pick up or reply to my texts. You didn’t bring your phone with you, right? It’s been over ten days and your phone still has enough battery to ring though. What brand are you using? The battery’s so durable.”Dylan’s expression remained unchanged as he answered, “It’s not that durable. I plugged it in to charge before I left, so it stays fully charged.”Imogen knew Dylan was making excuses but did not press further. If he were hellbent on lying, he would have an excuse for every doubt she had.“You can’t be the esteemed guest my sister-in-law asked me to receive, can you?” Dylan asked with a smile. “When did you get to know her?”Imogen asked in return, “Why can’t it be me? That’s between me and Ms. Hunt. What does it have to do with you?”“Your tongue has gotten sharper in
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. York.” Imogen greeted Zachary politely and offered her right hand to shake.Zachary shook her hand out of politeness and consideration for Dylan.The husband-and-wife pair led Imogen over to the sofa to sit down.Dylan sat to one side. To hide his inner thoughts, he sat Sonny on his lap, teasing him occasionally and glancing at the rest out of the corner of his eyes.After a few moments, Zachary asked the hotel butler to come in and they moved over to the dining table. Serenity took the menu from the butler and handed it to Imogen as she said warmly, “Please have your pick, Ms. Doyle. The food here is highly ranked in Wiltspoon.”Imogen did not take it, smiling in return. “You can order whatever you like to share. I’m not picky and since I’m staying here right now, I’ve eaten at the restaurant too, and the food is truly good. All the different cuisines taste authentic.”Wiltspoon Hotel saw guests from all over the world every day, which was why
Serenity pretended she could not see the battle between the two happening in front of her.She smiled. “If that’s the case, I’ll order a bottle of whiskey then. I can’t drink right now for the sake of my baby and Zachary doesn’t drink much in the first place, so I can only get Dylan to drink with you.“Dylan, be a good sport. You guys can drink however much you like. You don’t have to worry if you get drunk, Zachary and I are around.” She even winked at Imogen.Imogen secretly gave her an ‘OK’ gesture in return. Serenity was relieved. Imogen’s tolerance would not be bad. She recalled Imogen wanting to ask Dylan what he really wanted, and worried that Imogen would get drunk. Since her guest said it would be fine, Serenity was not going to supervise them.Once the dishes and the bottle of whiskey were served, Imogen poured Dylan a glass of whiskey.“Here, Mr. Dylan. Let’s toast.”Instead of clinking glasses with her, he took her glass and placed it on the table before saying, “Ms.
“You finished eating so quickly, Serenity.”Serenity smiled and said, “The both of us are fast eaters because we’re normally really busy with work, and every second counts.”Imogen smiled in understanding.Serenity took Sonny’s hand and signaled for her husband to follow. The trio slipped out of the presidential suite and closed the door behind them considerately.Zachary informed their bodyguards that they could take their dinner break instead of keeping watch.Dylan and Imogen both understood that Serenity was purposely giving them space.Once the two were alone in the room, Imogen picked up her glass of whiskey and elegantly sipped at it, though her gaze was fixed on Dylan.Dylan inwardly sighed. What was meant to come would come. He asked, “Is there something you’d like to say to me, Ms. Doyle?”Imogen silently drank her whiskey as she looked at him. Dylan was very good-looking. She had heard that the Yorks were all handsome, and now that she had met Zachary, she concurred;
Dylan did not run. It was too late anyway. He had no choice but to sit and stay calm. He turned to look at Imogen with an intense gaze. She could not guess what he was thinking through his eyes. Imogen leaned toward Dylan. They were so close that he could smell her faint fragrance. He wondered what perfume she used. It was not overpowering and had a light and pleasant smell. “Dylan,” Imogen uttered softly. “I’m listening,” he replied. “I have one question. What do you feel for me now? Are you pursuing me? If you are, why are you ignoring me?”After pressing his lips, Dylan answered, “That was more than one question.”He paused before adding, “Will you scold me if I tell you I don’t know? Will you think I’m a jerk?”Dylan did want to pursue Imogen. He thought she was great and Grandma May’s choice was never wrong. If it had not been for that girl, he could have accepted spending the rest of his life with Imogen, even if he did not love her. However, that girl was bo
“Caroline wants to leave Jensburg, so she wants to finish the handover as soon as possible. She’ll leave once my sister is more familiar with everything. Since Fisher Enterprise resumes operations earlier than most, Liberty had to go to Jensburg earlier.“She’s about to be the Fisher’s matriarch, so she has to communicate with the family’s elders and show concern for them. There are just too many things to handle.”Serenity caressed her bump. “I could’ve helped Liberty if I wasn’t pregnant. She’s on her own now.”Audrey was getting older. While she would go over to Jensburg to see how things were going from time to time, she thought it was best for Liberty, the incoming matriarch, to handle everything herself. It was a test and a chance to establish her influence.Since Duncan was still in recovery, he could not go over with Liberty. It was to prevent her from being distracted. Liberty was truly single-handedly doing everything.Lilian said, “Even if you aren’t pregnant, you can
Serenity walked over and sat down. “I asked Duncan about it. He said Sonny’s grandparents brought him to eat fried chicken, fries, and chips when he was with them last Saturday. Eating too much of those makes the throat inflamed easily.”Before getting married, Serenity would eat some fried chicken occasionally. Her favorite was chicken wings. However, she would always drink lots of hot tea with honey and lemon afterward. Otherwise, she would get a sore throat within two days. That was why most people in Wiltspoon maintained a light diet; it could not be helped.“Is Camryn’s condition improving?”Serenity was concerned about Camryn. Camryn was nursing her body back to health. She had to do it so she could conceive and be a mother.Lilian lifted the cup of hot tea before her and took a few sips. She said, “It’s getting better. She can stop her medications at the end of this year and start trying for a baby six months after that.”By the time Camryn could get pregnant, she wou
After a moment of silence, Serenity said, “I’ll inform Mr. Brown and the rest not to let Sonny eat too much fried food the next time they pick Sonny up. Sonny can’t take it because he is susceptible to sore throats.”It would be better if she did it because she was Sonny’s aunt. She was also familiar with the Browns. Luke and Olivia would not feel offended because they would know she was simply concerned about Sonny. If it were to come from Duncan, the Browns would think he was trying to sour Sonny’s relationship with the Browns. Sonny joining the Lewis family, following Liberty’s marriage, had already become a thorn in the Browns’ hearts. However, they could not say anything for the sake of Sonny’s future. Olivia had talked to Hank about getting Sonny’s custody back.Hank rejected the idea. The Brown couple did not insist after Hank explained the pros and cons of Sonny living with either him or Serenity. Based on living conditions, Serenity was definitely the better choice
“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