It was nine o’clock at night in Wiltspoon. After ending the video call with Liberty, Serenity said to Sonny, “Are you all packed? Don’t forget to bring your present for Laurence.”Sonny replied, “Yeah, everything’s packed. I’m just bringing some toys and a gift for Laurence. I might forget to bring myself, but I’d never forget that.”Serenity laughed. “If you forget to bring even yourself, how will you give Laurence his gift?”Sonny laughed sheepishly. Serenity picked him up and placed him on the bed. “Your Uncle Zak is on a work trip, so tonight you’ll sleep with me. First thing tomorrow morning after breakfast, we’ll head to your Uncle Ben’s place. I told you to go with the elders, but you didn’t want to. They like you so much, they’d definitely take good care of you.”Sonny lay back on the bed, resting his head on Serenity’s thigh, and said, “They might like me a lot, but I don’t know them that well and you and Mom always say that I shouldn’t cluelessly follow anyone other than
Memories from before the age of three often disappear, but that scene was so traumatic for Sonny that he could never forget it. After the incident, he also had nightmares for a long time. He had also never forgotten the scene of his mother getting injured and covered in blood because she saved him."I only trust Mom, Aunt Ser, Uncle Zak, and Dunc," Sonny said seriously. "I can't trust my dad and the others."The little boy understood everything clearly.Serenity gently touched his little face, her gaze soft. "You are your mom's treasure. No matter what happens, I’ll never let you two be separated. Sonny, your mom has had a hard time, so when you grow up, you should take good care of her.""I will, Aunt Ser. When I grow up, I want to earn lots and lots of money to buy a big house and a new car for Mom so Mom doesn't have to work so hard, and also buy a big house for you."In Sonny's eyes, his mother worked so hard just to make money. So when he grew up, he wanted to work hard and e
“I’ll answer it.” Sonny chose to answer his father's call in the end. Serenity handed him the phone, letting him take the call. If she could avoid talking to Hank, she would.“Dad,” Sonny greeted.Hank responded with a smile that could be heard through his voice, “Sonny, still awake?”“If I were asleep, I wouldn’t be able to answer Dad’s call. Dad, have you finished work? It still sounds quite noisy over there.”Hank replied, “I’m not done yet, but I could get off work if I want to. Is your Aunt Ser there?”“Yes. Are you looking for her?”“Sonny, do you want to come over and stay for a few days? You’re on winter break now, so why not stay over for a couple of days? Your grandparents miss you.”Hank made this call to discuss with Serenity the possibility of having Sonny stay with the Browns for a few days. It was now the winter holidays and his parents missed their grandson. Chelsea had sent Lucas over, but it was too boring for Lucas as he was alone, so his parents thought it would be
Hank only had one son—Sonny—and it would remain that way in this life. The fact that the child still acknowledged him as his father and though they were not very close, it was some form of comfort.After ending the call, Sonny handed the phone to Serenity and said, “Dad wanted to have me stay with him for a few days, but I refused. We’re going to play with Laurence tomorrow. I really don’t want to go back and play with Lucas. He always bullies me. But I’m not afraid of Lucas anymore because I’ve learned self-defense.”Even though he was not particularly talented at self-defense, with time and practice, he had become stronger. His coach said that if he persisted for several years or even a decade, he would have the ability to protect himself. Sonny was not ambitious; he just wanted to be as capable as his Aunt Ser.Serenity hummed in acknowledgment. “If you don’t want to go back, then don’t.” She patted Sonny’s head and said gently, “It’s late now. Go to sleep. We’re leaving early to
“We’re not biased toward Lucas. Sonny is our only grandson through you, and we love him too. In the past, we were the ones who raised Lucas, so naturally, we were closer to him and ended up favoring him. That won’t happen again,” Olivia quickly assured. She knew Hank harbored grievances against them. He resented them for always favoring Chelsea. One particular incident was when Chelsea tried to make Serenity pay for an expensive dinner for her family, but naturally failed, and she called Olivia and asked for money. Not realizing Chelsea was trying to take advantage of her, she sent the money. It was only later that Sonny revealed what had happened.When Hank found out, he was furious and told them that if they continued to favor Chelsea, they would have to move in with her, and he would stop giving them financial support. He was now making a modest income from driving. It was much less than his previously high salary, and they could no longer afford to keep sending Chelsea money.“
“I’ll be back for Christmas with Aunt Ser. Uncle Zak said he’ll pick us up when he gets back from his business trip,” Sonny said.Tania smiled and said, “So we won’t see each other for more than ten days.”She drew Sonny close again, hugged him, and then kissed him on the cheek. “Have fun and when you come back, tell Grandma all about the games you played with Laurence, where you went, and what delicious food you had. And bring some souvenirs back from Annenburg for us.”If not for her worry that Serenity might discover they were hiding the situation in Jensburg, Tania would be reluctant to let Sonny leave for FC Manor so soon. Usually, Sonny would only come over for a day or two on weekends, and weekdays, he had to attend preschool, so they missed him a lot. Now it was the winter holidays, but he wanted to see his friend instead.“Seren, since you’re going out to have fun, just enjoy yourself and don’t worry about us at home,” Tania advised her daughter-in-law.Grandma May agreed
After Serenity and Sonny left, Tania called Audrey, who quickly answered.“Has Seren left?” Audrey asked.“She just did. I watched her and Sonny board the private helicopter, and I saw the helicopter take off and fly away before I called you. She won’t be able to hear our conversation unless she has super-hearing,” Tania replied.“Alright, thank you for letting me know.”“No need to be so formal—we’re family now. We all have the same goal,” Tania said politely.Audrey laughed, “You’re very polite too. Once this matter is settled, let’s have a meal together. My treat.”Although both were among the most esteemed ladies in Wiltspoon, they had not shared a meal yet. Even after Serenity married into the York family and they became in-laws, the two leading ladies had never grabbed a meal together. They were not as close as Tania’s ties with Mrs. Bucham and Mrs. Lewis. However, the Buchams and the Lewises had always been friendly with the Yorks, so it was natural that Tania was close to
Grandma May was not offended by the complaints and said, “Travel is so convenient now with planes and high-speed trains everywhere. You could start the morning in Wiltspoon but be in another country by noon. Why worry about distance? As long as the person is good and suitable for them, that’s what matters.“You guys must be so gleeful, but still have the cheek to complain about how far away the partners I chose for them are. If you had to worry about their marriages, you’d have gray hair all over your head too. There’s no way you would still be as carefree and easygoing as you are now.”Grandma May touched her white hair and added, “It’s precisely because I worry about their marriages that I’ve gotten all this gray hair.”Tania looked at her mother-in-law’s white hair and teased, “Mom, you could totally dye it black. You take such good care of yourself, you look like someone just over sixty. If you dyed it black, you’d look even younger.”“I’m not going to dye it. I need to face re
Liberty smiled. “Not yet. Maybe you can continue sleeping in the car until the sun rises.“We’re home. Let’s get out of the car. Even if you’re sleepy, you should still take a bath first. The year is ending in a few days. The weather isn’t that cold now. I checked the weather forecast. It says it’ll rain a little on New Year’s Day, so the temperature might drop slightly.”Duncan sat up and touched his forehead. Indeed, there was some sweat. “It really isn’t cold. I’m even sweating.”Liberty did not turn on the car’s air conditioning. In that weather, it would be cold if the air conditioning was turned on and hot if it was turned off. Thanks to the wind, it was still cooling when the car was moving. However, once the car stopped, it became stuffy inside. Liberty got out of the car and went to the passenger seat to help Duncan. Duncan declined her help and insisted on doing it himself. Then, he held her hand and walked into the house slowly. After heading upstairs, he belatedl
Liberty did have a fatty liver back then. However, that was resolved after she lost weight. Indeed, having an unhealthy weight could bring about health issues. Purchasing plus-sized clothes was also a problem. Once she started maintaining a healthy weight, she looked fantastic in whatever she wore and often received compliments for having a great figure when shopping for clothes. Most people marveled at her healthy and youthful complexion. She did not look like she was already in her thirties with a four-year-old son. “Do you want to take a nap? There’s heavy traffic ahead.”Liberty saw a stretch of road highlighted in red on the navigation app, signaling slow traffic. “Aren’t most people on holiday and traveling? Why is the traffic still congested?”Duncan muttered, “Maybe there was a car accident.“I don’t need a nap. I’m energetic now. I won’t be able to fall asleep.”He was extremely excited. “If you think I’m too talkative, you can play some music. We can liste
Since Audrey would take care of Sonny, Liberty and Duncan were in a good mood as they exited the Stones’ residence. Duncan’s bodyguards were to return home instead of following him around. He had Liberty anyway. Besides, it was his and Liberty’s wedding night. They even left Sonny with the Stones, so there was no way he would be letting his bodyguards follow him home. Liberty was the one who drove as Duncan’s legs were still recovering. She would glance at him from time to time. She said, “You’ve been staring at me the entire night. Haven’t you seen enough?“It’s not our first time meeting each other. What’s there to look at?”“You’re beautiful. You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.”Duncan was particularly generous with sweet words that night. To him, his wife was the most beautiful woman in the world. “I can’t get enough of watching you. I controlled myself in Aunt Audrey’s house because I didn’t want her to laugh at me. Now that there’s only the two of us,
Sonny asked Liberty, “Mom, is it okay? I want to stay at Grandaunt’s house for one night. Tomorrow, you can come pick me up and take me to Dad’s house.”After receiving a call from her former mother-in-law, Liberty had already asked Sonny after he woke up that morning if he wanted to stay with the Brown family for a couple of days, to spend time with his grandparents. Tomorrow, she would take him to the Browns.Liberty smiled, “You can stay the night if you want. Tomorrow, I’ll come pick you up and take you to your dad’s house for lunch.”She planned to call Hank soon and let him know that she was not taking Sonny there early in the morning, so the Browns would not have to get up early to wait.Sonny jumped up happily and said to Audrey, “Grandaunt Audrey, my mom agreed! I’m going to stay here tonight and play with Elias."With that, he rushed upstairs. Elias was getting cuter. When he talked to him, the baby would respond with cooing sounds, which was really fun.“Aunt Audrey, I
After a long while, Jessica finally asked, “You have swollen eyes because Liberty is getting remarried? You’ve lost your chance to remarry her.”“Jessica, I’ve never thought about remarrying Liberty. That’s impossible. I’ll wait for you to be released. No matter how many years it takes, I will wait for you,” Hank quickly explained. “It’s true that I’m upset that Liberty is remarried, but it’s mainly because of my son.“In the future, Sonny will call someone else ‘Dad’, and I’m not around him often. I’m afraid that one day, he’ll only end up closer to his other dad and not me, his biological father.”Jessica quietly looked at him for a moment before coldly replied, “If you have time, you should spend more time with Sonny. Even a biological father and son need to nurture their relationship.”“Who did Liberty marry?” Jessica asked. “Is it Duncan Lewis?”“Who else could it be? It’s Duncan. He kept Liberty close, never letting anyone else near her. Whenever any other man got close to L
Why was he crying? He knew the reason deep down but could not bring himself to say it out loud. Instead, he simply slumped over the steering wheel and cried his heart out. After he was done crying, he finally started the car and left the city hall, heading to the prison to visit Jessica.When Jessica saw him, she noticed his eyes were red and swollen. Thinking something bad had happened in his family, she immediately grabbed the phone and asked, “Hank, why are you crying? Your eyes are all swollen. Did something happen to your parents?”She still harbored hatred toward Olivia and Chelsea, hoping something would happen to that mother-daughter pair. Ideally, she wanted the old woman to face judgment in hell.Back when she stabbed Hank and Chelsea came to the rescue, Jessica felt she should have made sure to stab Chelsea to death. It was because of Chelsea’s incitement that she and Hank ended up like this. The two women had torn apart Hank and Liberty’s marriage, and now that Liberty’s
Liberty did not need them to push her husband. She continued to push Duncan toward the car, and only then did the bodyguards help him into the vehicle. Soon, the luxurious car carrying the family of three drove away from the city hall and merged into the street traffic, gradually disappearing into the distance.It was not until the car was out of sight that the car parked not far from the city hall slowly began to move.The driver was Hank.He would not stop Liberty and Duncan from registering their marriage and neither did he have the right nor the standing to do so. He had intended to take customers but had not received any orders, and without any particular destination in mind, he ended up at the city hall by chance, arriving before Liberty and Duncan.However, his car was parked farther away, and many other cars were occupying spaces near the city hall. After the divorce, Liberty no longer paid much attention to him and did not notice that Hank’s car was already there, waiting.
Liberty was his wife now.Sonny was completely confused. He had come here with his mother and Dunc. Everyone here was so friendly and smiled at them as they congratulated Liberty and Duncan. Why, though, did they not congratulate him?“Mom, Dunc is smiling so brightly. What’s so special about that paper? Mom, can I see it?” Sonny asked, looking up at Liberty, curious about what was so interesting about the marriage license that made Dunc smile so widely.Liberty glanced at Duncan and teased him, “Duncan, the corners of your mouth are almost reaching your ears.”“I’m happy. Very happy,” Duncan responded with an even brighter smile.The weather today was cloudy, though occasionally, the sun took a peek while sometimes it became overcast. Still, the power of the sun today certainly could not compare to the beam of Duncan’s smile.Liberty handed the marriage license to Sonny to view.Sonny eagerly took it and started reading it. Some of the words he recognized, but overall, he did n
“That brat is already at that age and still doesn’t think about settling down. Every time we pressure him, he hides away.” When Audrey talked about Anthony, who did not want to get married, she could not help but feel a headache coming. Out of her three children, the one who worried her the most was Anthony.Serenity walked over to Audrey and affectionately linked arms with her, smiling, “Aunt Audrey, you don’t need to worry. Anthony’s a good man. When the right person comes along, he’ll get married.”“Let’s hope so—he’s not young anymore. Children are always a worry, aren’t they? There’s always something to be concerned about. What about Sonny? Why didn’t he come along?” Audrey asked. “Didn’t you come from your sister’s place?” “Sonny went with my sister and Duncan to the city hall. They said they wanted to go as a family of three,” Serenity replied.Audrey laughed, “Duncan doesn’t mind bringing along a little third wheel, huh? Well, that’s fine. They’re going to be a family, aft