Even when Dolly heard a car honk, she only glanced over for a moment before going back to devouring her barbecue. “I’m back, Nana.”It was Dylan’s voice. He got out of his car with a bouquet and called out to Grandma May as he walked over. He said, “It smells great. This weather is perfect for a barbecue.”Winter in Wiltspoon had always been weird. Grandma May did not even want to go outside yesterday as it was too cold. However, the temperature rose that day. It was nearing afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly. It even began to feel a little warm. The Yorks would have barbecues occasionally throughout winter, but only during vacations, of course. On the other hand, Grandma May could have a barbecue whenever she wanted. Dylan thought, ‘When I get married and have a son, I’ll pass my business to him the moment he’s old enough to take over. I want to retire early and enjoy a relaxed life like Nana.’Living a happy life was more important than becoming immortal. “Mr.
Grandma May freed a hand to pass a freshly grilled fish to Dylan. She said, “Small fish tastes best when you eat them fresh from the grill. It won’t taste as good when it’s cold. You should eat it while it’s hot.”“Thank you, Nana.”Dylan took the fish his nana handed to him and dug in. While he ate, he even took a picture and sent it to Austin. Dylan and Austin were of similar age. He liked playing with Austin the most back when they were young. Even after they grew up, they remained close. He loved showing off to Austin. When Austin received the picture from Dylan, he immediately sent a voice message to the family chat, “Did you go fishing, Nana? You even grilled the fish. Are there a lot of them? I want some. I’ll head back right now.”Dylan said on purpose, “They’re all gone. Nana kept it for me. There’s nothing left for you, Besides, are you really coming back just for the fish? You’ll be losing a lot of money.”“Money can be earned anytime, but Nana’s grilled fish is
Dylan barely ate during breakfast as he slept poorly last night. He put all the food in a resealable bag before following Grandma May out. “Have a drumstick, Nana.”Dylan passed a drumstick to her. He turned toward Dolly, who sat before the table and had a greasy mouth from eating, and said, “Who’s that girl, Nana? She’s definitely enjoying her food.”“She’s Dolly. Her parents take care of the garden. I like her a lot.”Dylan ate the fish Grandma May cooked. He said, “You like every little girl you meet. You even tried to steal Chloe back the last time you visited the Johnsons.”Grandma May regretfully said, “Our family is just as good as the Johnsons. Even if Clo-clo were to live with us, it’d be a similar environment. Unfortunately, the Johnsons weren’t willing to let her go. I guess Ben was scared that I’d kidnap his daughter. He was at home every day when I visited and kept staring at me.”“Of course, they wouldn’t be willing. Chloe is their only great-granddaughter. If I
Dylan still wiped the chair for Grandma May. As for his own, he could not be bothered. “You’re a genius. You know everything without even stepping out of the house.”Grandma May side-eyed Dylan and said, “Stop flattering me. Tell me. What don’t you like about Imogen?”“She’s great. I never said she had a problem. I tried falling in love with her. Even now I’m trying to develop some feelings for her, but she’s the one who ended up falling in love with me. She even traveled here just to demand an explanation from me.“She said I’m toying with her. I feel wronged. I did try my best to love her, but I couldn’t,” said Dylan innocently. Even when he was speaking, he did not stop chewing his barbecue.“You chose Imogen. I admit that she’s outstanding and suits me in various aspects. I don’t hate her, but I think there isn’t enough excitement whenever I’m with her. It has been like that for some time. I can tell you for sure that I can never fall in love with her.“However, if I can
“You’re more important to me than Mom and Dad, Nana. You can definitely live a long life. Don’t you want a great-granddaughter? With the nine of us, you’ll have nine granddaughters-in-law in the future. Surely, there’ll be one from us nine.“You have to hold your great-granddaughter, raise her, and choose good in-laws for her.”Grandma May laughed. “I want to ask for an extra five hundred years of life as well, but let’s be realistic.“I’ll be content with seeing my great-granddaughter born. How can I possibly wish to live until the day she gets married?”No matter how healthy, she was already eighty years old. Meanwhile, her great-granddaughter was still nowhere in sight. She probably would not even be alive to see Rowan get married.Grandma May said, “I was just teasing you. Didn’t I say that I’d accept another girl aside from the one I chose as long as she had good character and values? The problem is whether you know her identity.“It’s been some time, yet you don’t even
Grandma May stared at Dylan in silence. Since the truth was out, he simply spoke his mind and revealed everything. The reason he returned to the manor was to tell her everything. He could not marry the woman she picked for him like his brothers did. He had someone else he wanted to pursue. After Dylan spoke, Grandma May sighed. She said, “You have a point. It’s better to end things earlier. Ms. Doyle’s feelings for you shouldn’t be that deep yet. You should talk to her and make her give up. It’s better that way. “Don’t hold her back.”After a pause, she continued, “Are you really not going to consider Ms. Doyle anymore? You don’t believe in my choice?”Dylan said, “I trust your eye for people, Nana. Ms. Doyle is great, but I don’t have romantic feelings for her. Even if I do marry her, we’ll only be husband and wife who respect one another without any love between us.“She's smart. She definitely doesn’t want a future like that either.“Love can’t be forced, Nana. There’s
Imogen would not even know that Dylan was the one who bought the souvenirs. After thinking about it, Dylan decided to go with Grandma May’s suggestion. If he were to tell Imogen that he bought the gifts, she probably would think that he had some lingering feelings for her and feel hopeful. It would be troublesome if she refused to give up. “Aren’t you heading home to eat, Nana?”Dylan looked at his watch. It was almost mealtime. Grandma May said, “I’m full from eating so much barbecue. I’ll have a simple lunch at their quarters later. She would go for a light lunch after having too much chicken and fish. “You should dine with your parents back home.”“Okay.”Since Grandma May did not want to go home yet, Dylan did not insist. The old lady enjoyed spending time with the ladies. She would not go hungry anyway. He did not have to worry about her not having anything to eat. “I’ll call the ladies over to admire the flowers here.”Grandma May took out her phone. Dylan o
Rosella also came from wealth. She had never lacked jewelry her entire life. When she married into the York family, the amount of jewelry she had received from her family was enough to stock up a jewelry store. They were kept in her safe. After Callum married Camryn, Rosella had given quite a few of her prized jewelry to her daughter-in-law. Dylan answered, “I don’t have a wife yet anyway. I just bought them for you because I saw some new designs.”“Did you buy any for your nana?”Dylan handed the velvet box to his mom and replied, “Nana doesn’t want jewelry from us, so I bought her a bouquet. Even so, she said I was wasting my money and that there’s plenty of flowers in the garden.”Rosella accepted the box. She smiled. “She may look like she doesn’t like it, but she’ll be secretly happy. If she didn’t tell you to bring the flowers back, it meant she liked them a lot. She won’t come home before showing off the flowers to everyone there.”Rosella knew Grandma May well enough
“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