Serenity returned to her room and closed the door behind her. She leaned against it and touched her burning face. She had no clue why she blushed.Maybe she saw something when she accompanied Liberty to catch Hank and Jessica in the act last night.After standing there for a while, Serenity hurriedly went into the shower because she had to make breakfast for Zachary later.Before that, Serenity suddenly thought of Mrs. Lane and called her. After Mrs. Lane answered the phone, Serenity said, “Mrs. Lane, you can take Sonny to my store later, so you don’t have to rush back.”“Okay.”“How’s my sister?”“She’s acting like she’s okay and says she’s going to work after breakfast. I’m making a cup of coffee for her to boost her energy because she didn’t sleep well last night.”Serenity felt sorry for her sister, but she also knew that it was not appropriate for Liberty to take the day off. After all, Liberty had only just started work a few days ago.“Ask my sister to be careful when
Serenity had no recollection of it at all.She only drank two bottles of beer. Although she fell asleep afterward, she was not considered drunk. How could she vomit if she was not drunk?Did she vomit because she ate too much last night?Serenity was a little skeptical. However, it was just a drawing anyway, and Zachary had no reason to lie to her. Hence, Serenity dropped the subject.She would heed Liberty’s advice and drink less in the future.“Do you want to get it back?”“How can you get it back? Even if you do, it’s all mushed up. It’s okay, I’ll just redraw it.”Zachary said apologetically, “I didn’t know that drawing was so important. I just grabbed it without a second look. Next time, don’t put your drawing on the dresser. It’s too close to the bed.”“Okay.”Serenity thought to herself, ‘Well, this kind of thing can’t happen every day…’She would not drink every day either.“Mr. York, you don’t have to feel sorry. It’s my fault for not putting it away properly. Don’t
Josh was waiting for Zachary at the entrance of the office building.His pearly whites welcomed Zachary.“I thought you weren’t coming to the office today.”Josh followed Zachary inside while the bodyguards stopped at the entrance of the office building.“If I don’t come in and ask you to preside over the meeting, you’ll just complain about how much you must’ve owed me in the past life that you’re enslaved by me now.”“You’re quite self-aware and know that you’ve been enslaving me this whole time, huh?”Zachary turned his head to look at him. “I’m just providing a stage for you to perform. If I didn’t, would you be able to get the attention of your patriarch?”The younger generation of the Bucham family was not inferior to the York family.Josh stood out among the Bucham family’s younger generation mainly because of his capability, his friendship with Zachary, and his position in the top management of York Corporation.He was the most valued nephew of the Bucham family’s patri
Zachary looked at Josh speechlessly.Josh touched his nose embarrassedly and said, “I’m suddenly looking forward to the blind date with Ms. Sox.”“I’ll arrange for you two to meet this Saturday afternoon. You can decide on the location and let me know once you’ve booked the place. Then I’ll get Serenity to inform Ms. Sox.”“That’s the day after tomorrow! Zack, look at me now. Do I look good? Do I have acne on my face? Is my beard too long?”The elevator arrived at the top floor.Zachary waited for the elevator door to open and left without Josh, who was like a peacock ready to spread its train of feathers.Josh hurriedly followed in his footsteps.“Mr. York, Mr. Bucham.”Mr. Chaplin stood up and greeted the two bosses.Both of them nodded in response to Mr. Chaplin’s greeting.After entering Zachary’s office, Zachary pointed to the door of his lounge and said, “I have a mirror in the lounge, so you can go in and take a look in the mirror.”Josh pulled out his chair and sat i
“That's because she needs to get in shape. I told her to run five laps in the small park in front of the office every day before starting work. If she doesn't complete five laps, she can't begin her work. I want her to lose weight in a healthy way, but it won't show results after just one month. That's why I put her on a three-month probation.”Zachary was speechless, again.Duncan was being overly nosy. He hired Liberty for a job, and now he was getting involved in her health matters too."Duncan, cut her probation down to one month. If she successfully completes her probation, give her a salary raise. And if you don't think she deserves it, I'll personally cover the increment every month and give it to you discreetly."Duncan replied, “She’s only a clerk in the finance department, so no matter how much of an increment you give her, it won’t be much. At most, it’ll be a thousand dollars, so what’s the use of that?”Zachary said, “A thousand dollars might be nothing to you, but it
“Is Sonny alright?”Olivia was indeed a little concerned for her grandson after doing something like that and coming home.Her other grandson, having fallen sick this time, had made it so that the whole family could not have peace. Just having a recurring fever alone was enough to worry everyone.Sonny was younger than Lucas by a year. If he had fallen sick too, who knew how much suffering the family would have been put through?“He should be fine, I didn’t go home and didn’t see Sonny. I saw Liberty near the neighborhood going to work like normal.”After a whole night of suffering and having beaten up both him and Jessica, Liberty could actually still go to work like nothing had happened.He was alright. Jessica was still cooped up in the hotel, too scared to leave and meet anybody because the handprint on her face had not faded away. Last night, after Liberty and her sister left, Jessica hugged him and cried for a very long time, saying it was all his fault she had to suffer
Hank’s parents saw that their son was adamant about divorcing his wife. He had already done all sorts of things with Jessica before getting caught by Liberty. With Liberty’s character, there was no way she would just take that lying down.Olivia said, “Hank, after you married Liberty, it was all you going to work and earning money. She had no income at all. If you divorce her, you should ask her to pack her clothes and leave immediately after settling the divorce proceedings at City Hall.“Don’t allow her to take anything else.”Since the divorce was set in stone, they would attempt to reduce the losses brought about by it.“Mom, you don’t want me to let her take anything else? That’s not possible. She’ll only leave with nothing if she herself doesn’t want anything. After we married, she didn’t work, but my income will be considered both our shared assets. The moment she initiates the divorce proceedings, I’ll have to give her half.“Although I’ve been paying for the house and the
“Tell her that you won’t go halves on everything anymore and give her a little more allowance in the future, so don’t get divorced. You and Jessica should do your best not to let her see you two together.”“Mom, I want to divorce her!”Hank was insistent. “Jessica has never been married before and she’s dating me. I have to take responsibility for her. I don’t want Jessica to suffer any more grievances.”Olivia said unkindly, “Wasn’t Liberty a beautiful maiden too before she married you? I don’t see you taking responsibility for her to the end. And now you’re making her suffer for another woman?”“Mom, whose side are you on?”Olivia pursed her lips.Jessica was very good at buttering them up and making them like her, but Olivia felt that when it came down to it, Liberty was better at facing life than Jessica was. Liberty had gone through hardships and had tenacity. Jessica, on the other hand, was the youngest in her family, was coddled by her parents and her older brother, and ha
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa