“I couldn’t sleep and was bored, so I strolled around the block. There are quite a lot of shops nearby. It’s really convenient to buy whatever you need.” Imogen was about to help Serenity sit down, but Serenity smiled and waved her off. “It’s fine. I can sit on my own. I’m not yet at the stage where it’s difficult to move around.”They both sat down. Imogen pulled the bags over to her and said, “I bought some fruits and a few types of snacks. I’ve tried all of them and made sure they tasted fine before buying them.”“I’m not picky.” Serenity put her glass down and scooted closer to see what Imogen had bought.Imogen laughed. “I’m not picky either, but I still prefer eating good food.”“Everyone’s the same. If there’s something good to eat, of course we’ll have that, but otherwise, anything edible will do.” Serenity had lived a hard life. Even if she was filthy rich now that she was the eldest Mrs. York in her generation, she still maintained some habits.She picked up one of the
“Since we’re going to the bookstore, let’s not eat these yet. We’ll bring them to share with Jasmine. She likes the same things as I do and can eat more than I can at the moment. She’s already showing. It’s exactly the time she needs more nutrients and has to eat more than three meals a day.”Imogen asked, “Has she put on a lot of weight? The pregnant ladies at my company gained weight super fast after they got pregnant. They said that if you get morning sickness, you won’t be able to eat much, if at all, but once it’s gone, their appetites increase tremendously and they gain weight because they can’t control themselves. They said many ladies end up with big babies.”Serenity hurriedly asked her, “Do I look fat?” She had quite the appetite too.“You’re not obviously showing right now. You look a bit round, but not fat.”Serenity sighed in relief and said, “Luckily, I still work. If I stayed home all day, I’d definitely be as round as a watermelon right now.”She insisted on workin
While Serenity worked in her office, her bodyguards would stay nearby the building, constantly keeping an eye out so they could immediately follow after her when she left to protect her.On the way to the bookstore, Serenity texted Jasmine. When they arrived, Jasmine came out to greet them with a smile.The moment Serenity got out of the car, Jasmine went up to her to affectionately take her arm as she said, “I thought you weren’t coming today, you busy, busy girl.”“I don’t think I’m that busy. Elisa is, though.”Jasmine said a little apologetically, “The work should have been divided among us three, but now a lot of things have ended up on Elisa’s plate.”Imogen got out of the car, carrying the two bags of fruits and snacks as Jasmine happened to ask Serenity, “Didn’t you say you were going to introduce me to a pretty girl?”“There—she just got out of the car.”Jasmine looked at Imogen.Imogen walked up to her and introduced herself confidently. “Hello, Mrs. Bucham. My name’s
Serenity brought the fruits into the kitchen to wash them. After offering a seat to Imogen, Jasmine asked, “Do you prefer coffee or tea, Imogen?”Since Imogen had called her Jas, Jasmine decided to call her by her name as well. “Just water will do. Thank you, Jas. I drank a cup of coffee at Seren’s place. I can’t take more caffeine. If I do, I might not be able to sleep tonight.”Jasmine said, “I haven’t drunk coffee in months. I miss the days when I had a cup per day. I’m also the type who can’t fall asleep after drinking too much coffee. I usually have one cup when I arrive at the bookstore, and it’s enough to keep me awake till evening and not affect my sleep at night.”She brought Imogen a glass of water. “How many days are you intending to stay in Wiltspoon?”Jasmine bookmarked her unfinished read with a dog ear and kept it away. She would continue reading it in her free time. “I’m leaving in two days. Things are busy at the company.”“Everyone’s busy at the end of th
Jasmine’s baby bump was showing.Serenity and Imogen laughed. After a moment of confusion, Jasmine finally realized what was going on. She hit her friend lightly and said, “How dare you tease me, Seren.”“Look at 'em thicc thighs. All the better for Imogen to cling to them to ask for your help.”Serenity took a piece of fruit and fed it to Jasmine. Jasmine looked at Imogen and said, “I don’t think Imogen needs my help. Yours is more than enough.”Imogen was Dylan’s future wife and the York family would be her strongest supporters. She would not need to rely on anyone else. Serenity winked at Jasmine. Jasmine noticed it and knew there must have been some development between Imogen and Dylan. She quickly changed the topic. Any questions for Serenity would have to wait until Imogen left. At ten minutes to four, Serenity left to pick Sonny up from preschool. Imogen chose to stay at the bookstore and chatted with Jasmine. Since Jasmine loved reading, Imogen asked her to re
Once Serenity fetched Sonny from school, they did not go to York Corporation to look for Zachary. He was busy that day and did not even have time to have a meal with her. She did not want to distract him. Duncan was busy too, so Serenity brought Sonny back to the bookstore. Imogen was still around. When she saw Serenity entering with Sonny, she smiled and waved at him. “Come here, Sonny. Let me carry you.”Sonny remembered Imogen. When Serenity let him go, he jogged toward Imogen and greeted her before she carried him. Sonny greeted Jasmine as well. Jasmine patted his head and told Serenity, “Has Sonny grown taller? I think he has.”“Yes. He gained some weight too. Zachary said he would not be able to win a fight against Laurence when they meet up during winter break if he did not start eating more.”Jasmine laughed. “He’s right. You should eat more, Sonny. Once you get taller and heavier, you can crush your opponent even if you can’t beat him.”Sonny said, “Laurence is s
Imogen could not relate to the topic of children. She had not even gotten married yet. Although she had a target, the marriage probably would not happen. After they chatted for a while, the school bell rang and the students were off.Sonny played behind the cashier counter while the three adults got busy. When the sky turned dark, and the students had left, Serenity told Jasmine and Imogen, “Let’s go have dinner together.”“I want to have Italian food,” Jasmine suggested. Serenity said, “Italian again? Have you been craving that lately?”“I’ve always liked to eat Italian in this weather.”Serenity looked toward Imogen. Imogen said, “I’m fine with anything.”“I guess the pregnant woman gets priority. Let’s go have Italian.”Jasmine laughed. “You’re speaking as if you aren’t pregnant yourself. Your baby is just a month younger than mine.”“A month still counts. My baby will still be in my stomach when you give birth.”Serenity took Sonny’s bag and called out, “Let’s go, S
On the way to the Italian restaurant, Serenity got a call from Jane. She heard Connor's voice the moment she picked up the call. “What’s Connor doing, Jane?” Serenity asked amid laughter. Jane was holding her son with one arm and her phone in the other hand. “He wants to snatch my phone when he sees me making a call. If I don’t give it to him, he’ll start screaming, demanding that I give him the phone.”Serenity smiled. “You can get a toy phone that can emit sounds for him.”“He has one, and he likes it a lot. He’s just playful and wants to snatch mine the moment he sees it. He probably mistook my phone for his.“Have you eaten, Seren?”After speaking, Jane spoke to someone else, “Take Connor out for a walk. He’s too noisy.”Connor was always crying or screaming. He was truly a crybaby like Tim’s son.A nanny carried Connor away. One of the elders had taken the obedient Chloe away early on. Everyone loved well-behaved babies. More importantly, the Johnson family did not