“Mr. York, I’ll do it.” Serenity gestured for Zachary to move aside. Holding his tongue, Zachary gave way and handed the apron over to Serenity. However, he did not leave the kitchen. Standing in a corner, Zachary watched Serenity tackle the dishes and remarked, “We should have the next family event at a hotel. It’ll save us the trouble of cleaning.” “Okay.” Serenity had no objections to that. She only cooked up a storm to make a good impression with her in-laws since it was the first time both families came together. “What did Nana say to you?” Zachary asked suddenly. Pausing the dishwashing, Serenity turned her focus on Zachary. The couple’s eyes met as Zachary’s head was facing her too. Zachary caught a glimpse of the playfulness in her eyes when she blurted, “Nana asked if we’re sleeping in separate rooms. She said since we’re married, I should be bold and take the lead to throw myself at you, strip you naked, and bang you.”Zachary was speechless.That certainl
Well, too bad the young couple was not that close. Zachary and Serenity were only sharing a living space while still carrying on with their separate lives. Even if Zachary was p*ssed at her to kingdom come, Serenity could not care less so long as he did not kick her out. Serenity washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen before mopping the entire house. Finally, she sat on her recent purchase – the balcony swing – and enjoyed the cool night breeze in her hair. That was the life. Not to mention, the balcony was a mini garden. Looking at the flourishing greenery, Serenity was once again in awe of Zachary’s competence to get the job done. The sound of steady footsteps led to the balcony. Soon, Zachary came to the balcony. The sight of Serenity swinging leisurely only added grimacing lines to Zachary’s scowling face. He drew close and handed two sheets of paper to Serenity. “What’s this?” Serenity asked out of curiosity. Although Zachary buttoned his lips, he got the m
Taking the pen, Serenity got up from the swing and walked to the balcony railing to sign her name on the contract against the hard concrete. Zachary took out an ink pad for her to seal the agreement with a thumbprint. The couple kept one copy of the contract each. Serenity folded the contract nonchalantly and stuffed it in her pocket. Zachary was irked by her incuriosity, but who was he to judge? He wrote the contract after all. Even though the demands outlined were detrimental and worked to her disadvantage, Serenity did not try to add a clause to get more than what was already stated. “You had a tiring day. Get some rest.” “You too.” Serenity said with a smile. “I’m going to sit here for a bit and enjoy the flowers. It has always been my dream to have a balcony filled with plants. Now that my dream has come true, I just can’t get enough of the view.” She did not seem to hold the contract against him at all. Did she marry him without a hidden agenda? Was he just bein
Zachary and Serenity were merely a married couple on paper anyway. Even if the alcohol was getting to Zachary’s head, he did not need Serenity to tend to him. God knew if she would take advantage of him while he was intoxicated. At the age of thirty, Zachary had not lost his first kiss to anyone. Much less, had the sanctity of his modesty violated. Romance had never been in the cards for Zachary.Nana often called him a loveless and passionless man, but because of his lackluster expectation toward love, Zachary married Serenity to get Nana off his back. Despite searching all his pockets, Zachary could not find his house keys. He said, “… Jim, maybe you should wake the missus.” It appeared that he had left home without his keys. The bodyguard immediately pounded on the door. Although Serenity was asleep, she was a light sleeper, and the pounding woke her up. She pricked up her ears and realized someone was at the door. As she got up to see who it was, it dawned on her tha
It was not busy at the shop during weekends. In fact, the shop could be closed due to the lack of business. Yet, Serenity went to the shop anyway. The slow day made it the perfect time to make crafts to sell online. Jasmine was here too. Seeing that Serenity was in the shop, Jasmine asked in surprise, “Seren, what brings you here on a Sunday? You’re usually at the park with your nephew.” “It’s about time to replenish new stock for my online business.” While knitting, Serenity lifted her chin and looked at her best friend. She asked with a smile, “What about you?” “Ugh. I couldn’t stand my mom’s nagging, so I came to hide out here.” “What is it this time?” “She’s not happy that I didn’t find myself a husband at the dinner party that night. Does she think it’s that easy? She really thinks her daughter is a catch, that I’m Miss Universe or something.” Serenity burst out laughing. Jasmine just described most parents in the world. Parents fret over their children’s happy
Grandma May was a recipient of Serenity’s copper wire handicrafts as well. She displayed the life-like masterpieces in plain sight all over the house. Although the crafts were not worth much, they were her granddaughter-in-law’s gift from the heart. Visiting guests who had seen these craftworks were impressed by Serenity’s craftsmanship. That was when Grandma May came in with a sales pitch, bringing these people to Serenity’s online store to up her business sales. “Have some water, Grandma May.” Jasmine poured Grandma May a glass of water. “Thank you, Jas. You’re here too.” “Sigh. My mom’s pressuring me to get married, so I came to the shop to enjoy some peace and quiet. She keeps setting me up with guys like I’m some unsalable product. I’m supposed to go on a blind date at XX Coffee House tonight, and I’m begging Seren to come with me.” With a glint flickering in her eyes, Grandma May uttered with a friendly smile, “I can understand where your mom’s coming from. Marriage d
Grandma May said with a smile, “Why can’t you? You’re legally married. Zack isn’t stepping up to the plate. It’s up to you to do so and give me a great-grandchild.” Rosiness crept onto Serenity’s cheeks. “Nana, I’ll be blunt. I just can’t when I stare at your grandson’s straight face.” Nana was speechless.Like his grandfather, Zachary was a no-nonsense and detached man by nature. It took Grandma May years before winning over the heart of Zachary’s grandfather when she first laid eyes on him. “Even if I want to, he’ll freeze me to death before I can get close to him. He gives me the chills.” Nana was at a loss for words. “Don’t worry about Zachary and me, Nana. Things will happen naturally.” Serenity saw their living arrangements as roommates. As if that could ever stop Grandma May from worrying. Since Serenity was Grandma May’s choice for a granddaughter-in-law, Grandma May even went so far as to make the union possible against her son’s and daughter-in-law’s wishes. Gr
Jasmine chuckled in amusement, loving Grandma May’s funny quips. Jasmine had never met Zachary in person but got to know his aloof nature from her best friend. It was a wonder that he was related to Grandma May. Soon, Callum arrived. He was here to bring his gallivanting grandmother home. Nana reminded him to drive a cheaper vehicle. The cheapest car in the house was a BMW used by the housekeeper to get groceries. However, it was worth over a million bucks. Since it was too late to buy one, Callum had to borrow the gardener’s pickup truck. “Serenity, I’m here to take Nana home.” Callum came into the shop and said hello to Serenity. “Drive safe. Nana, please give me a message when you get home,” Serenity urged and gave them the crafts she made today. She gave Callum a copper-wire miniature tree. Callum was glad to accept the gift as he had grown to admire Serenity’s work after seeing them around the house. He believed Serenity’s handicrafts might not be worth a lot, but th
“Although Caroline is our biological sister, she doesn’t treat us as her brothers. We only recognize Celine as our sister. I really wish we could turn back time.“We shouldn’t have allowed Caroline to return to the Fisher family. Ever since she came back, the family had been declining. Many things had happened. My mom’s dead, and my dad’s crippled. All of these are related to her.“Caroline’s an ungrateful bitch. I can’t believe she sided with the people from Wiltspoon. Even now, she’s constantly in contact with them and giving away Fisher Enterprise.“It should’ve belonged to Celine.”Jacob and Michael stayed quiet. They had known for a long time that their biological sister was not Caroline but Celine, the then-successor of the Fisher family. Therefore, they treated Caroline badly and often abused her.Although Caroline had learned to put up resistance after growing up, she was still bullied by Jacob and Michael.She hated them. She did not know the truth in the past and
The two men were Celine’s biological brothers, Jacob and Michael Dott. Adrian nodded. “That’s good to hear. Grieving is useless. Avenging Celine and seeking justice is more important.”Jacob and Michael remained silent. They could not do much. When their father was still the Fishers’ butler, he received a high salary with excellent benefits; the Dotts were the wealthiest family in their town. Since their family was rich, the brothers never put effort into studying. They spent time with questionable friends and led a life of debauchery. Jacob and Michael only matured after marrying and having kids. However, their father was already in prison. Meanwhile, Caroline, whom they used to abuse, had returned to the Fisher family. Celine had refused to return to the Dott family and simply gave them some money. Jacob and Michael had built houses in their town and furnished them well. The money they used was from Caroline and their parents’ savings. Since then, their financial crisi
In the afternoon, Duncan fetched Liberty from Fisher Enterprise for dinner. Caroline stood at the building entrance, watching Liberty and Duncan leave. She was envious. She missed Darren. Although he was still following her, he could not expose himself before others. She was not used to it. Nevertheless, she had to endure it to lure the Clark brothers into her trap. She thought, ‘Please make your move soon, brothers. Don’t keep me waiting.’At that moment, Adrian and his brothers exited the elevator. They were discussing something as they walked. When they saw Caroline standing at the entrance, they paused for a moment. However, they quickly pretended they did not see her and walked past her.Soon, three cars left the company.Caroline stood there for a few more minutes before heading to the parking lot. Her personal bodyguards were waiting at her car. They quickly went to her when they spotted her, while one of them opened the door for her. After Adrian left the com
“I’m used to him being by my side. Now that he’s hidden, it just feels weird.”Caroline added, “Even if I want to kiss him, I can only do it in my dreams.”Liberty was speechless. Seeing Liberty being at a loss for words, Caroline smiled. “Did I renew your impression of me?”“Yes. I didn’t know you were this kind of person.”Caroline giggled. “Darren’s too serious and respectful. If I don’t take the lead, we might sleep on opposite ends of the bed after getting married. He probably won’t even dare to turn in bed.”Liberty thought of Darren’s face, which constantly had a stern expression. He only looked normal around Caroline. He indeed treated her respectfully and never dared to offend her. Liberty said, “You’re still his master. It’s only natural that he’s acting that way.“When you two become husband and wife, he’ll change. However, you won’t have to doubt his love and loyalty for you.”The next thing Liberty knew, Caroline asked her private questions regarding married lif
Caroline moved first, exiting the elevator.Adrian blocked her path, refusing to give way.Caroline did not want to argue with her brothers, so she simply sidestepped and continued toward the CEO’s office. The Clark brothers watched her leave.“Let’s go, Adrian.” Justin entered the elevator first.Adrian withdrew his gaze and led Jason into the elevator.“I heard Darren’s out on a business trip and has been sent to another province to handle some matters, so he won’t be back for at least ten days to half a month,” Jason shared in a low voice. “And for the past few days, Caroline’s only been accompanied by those few bodyguards of hers. There really hasn’t been any sign of Darren with her. I’ve asked someone to look into it and verified Darren left Jensburg by flight a few days ago. What do you think, Adrian?”Adrian replied under his breath, “We’re at work. Don’t talk about that here. We’ll talk about it when we get home tonight.”Justin and Jason immediately shut their mouths.
“I’m in charge now, not your mother. If you can’t do the work, then don’t cling to your positions and collect a salary for doing nothing.”Liberty had no intention of tolerating their laziness any longer.The three brothers had tried investing and running their own businesses, but they mostly ended up losing money. The only stable income they had was from renting out the properties and shops they owned.That was why Hunter had advised his sons to return to Ashford, buy more properties and shops, and live off the rental income. It was much more stable than their business ventures.If the properties were hard to rent out, they could always sell them and recover some money, but with their business investments, not only did they lose money, they often ended up in debt by the time the businesses failed.It was a mystery how much of Belinda’s personal wealth had been spent helping her sons pay off their debts while she was alive.However, there were times when they made money. They wou
They had taken a few days of sick leave, but after receiving the news, they miraculously “recovered” and returned to work.However, their behavior did not improve. They continued strutting around the company, acting as if they owned the place, just as they had before.While others completed the tasks Liberty assigned on time, the three Clark brothers always dragged their feet. They only ever barely managed to finish them after repeated urging, and the results were still always far from satisfactory.“Look at the plans and reports you submitted. They’re a complete mess! What kind of work is this? You all sit in the positions of vice president, earning high salaries, and this is how you perform?“Do you think your work justifies your pay?”In the CEO’s office, Liberty sat behind her crescent-shaped desk. The three Clark brothers stood in front of her, having been summoned.Liberty slammed their work results onto the desk in front of them and her face was filled with anger as she be
Darren stopped walking.Caroline stopped as well.“What’s wrong?” Caroline looked at him. “You don’t want to follow my plan?”“I’ll do whatever you ask of me. It’s just, could we delay it for a couple of days? I’m worried…”“Darren.” Caroline’s expression turned serious. “Trust me! And trust yourself. I have the ability to protect myself, and you have the ability to protect me too. I might get hurt, but I won’t be in any life-threatening danger.”She glanced at Liberty and Duncan walking ahead, both had not noticed that the two behind had stopped. The distance between them had widened.Taking advantage of Liberty and Duncan’s oblivion, Caroline quickly cupped Darren’s face, tiptoed, and kissed his warm lips.Darren immediately tightened his arms around her, turning his passiveness into action, and deepening the kiss. The two were clearly in love, but Darren never took the initiative in intimate gestures. It was always Caroline who made the first move.In Darren’s eyes, Caroline
Among the younger generation of the Fisher family, very few could work at the headquarters of Fisher Enterprise. Most of them worked in subsidiaries, no different from ordinary workers.They worked themselves to the bone for a monthly salary of four to five thousand dollars as being part of the Fisher family did not guarantee them high-paying jobs. Those without ability and who were lazy could not even get into the subsidiaries.When Belinda was alive, she had made it clear that the Fisher family’s companies would not support idle people. Those who wanted to slack off and collect a paycheck for doing nothing were dreaming!The biggest benefit of being part of the family was that during holidays, they could receive gifts and a generous bonus from Fisher Enterprise.These holiday gifts and bonuses were distributed uniformly, regardless of age or seniority. Everyone received the same amount—a newborn baby received the same as an eighty-year-old elder.After some thought, Liberty said