Mr. Brown continued to say, “It’s fine even if you give a little more money to Liberty. We shouldn’t be too unrelenting and should leave a way out for ourselves. Then we’ll be able to meet amiably in the future, but Sonny must return to us!”Sonny was a Brown, after all!“Dad, I guarantee you that I’ll definitely get custody of Sonny.”“Before the two of you are divorced, I don’t believe your guarantee. It’s better if you get Sonny to come and stay with us and let your mother and I take care of him. I’ll only stop worrying then.”Hank said helplessly, “Dad, you and Mom have never taken care of Sonny. If I bring him over, and he can’t get used to it and makes a fuss, what then?Olivia rallied. “That’s exactly why we have to take him in now to nurture the bond. In the future, when you get married again, will that Yates woman be willing to take care of him? Sonny will definitely end up with your dad and I. We’re his biological grandparents, after all.”“How many kind stepmothers are
Zachary instantaneously picked up her call.“Mr. York, were you alright this morning? Can you hold up? If not, you should get the remaining day off to come back and rest after your meeting.”Hearing her concern, Zachary felt happy. He leaned back on the black swiveling chair. He said as he spun, “I only managed to hold up because I had a cup of coffee after I got back to the office. Work is almost over. I can sleep for a bit soon.”“Aren’t you going to eat?”“I’m too sleepy and I don’t have an appetite. I don’t feel like it.”“That won’t do. You’ve worked the whole morning. If you don’t eat lunch, you’ll get gastric problems. It’ll be very hard to recover fully afterward.”Zachary said softly, “I just don’t feel like eating.”“After you finish work, you should get some sleep first. I’ll send some food over to you in a bit. I’ll call you once I’ve reached your office.”He only lost his sleep because of her sister’s issue. Whether it was for their public image, or in private, Ser
Nana dragged her luggage and walked straight to the sofa. She sat down and said, “Zachary, I want to move in with you and Seren.”Zachary’s face stiffened. “Nana, you promised me—”“I’m not stirring trouble, so what are you so nervous for? What are you worried about?” Nana rebutted. Following that, she said stubbornly, “I’ve already been chased out of home by your dad and uncles. I have nowhere else to go, so I wanted to seek refuge with my grandson. Is that not okay? Are you going to learn from your dad and uncles and chase me out too?”Nana sighed. “When you get old, you get hated. Wherever I go, I get chased away. What’s the point of raising sons? What’s the point of raising grandsons too? It’s better to raise a sweet granddaughter.”Zachary’s expression was dark. “Nana, my dad and uncles would never chase you away.”Even if she wanted to move in with him, she should not tag his dad and uncles with a giant label of being unfilial.Nana smiled cheerily. “I can’t say it was my
“Who was the one who said ‘I don’t get jealous, it’s unbecoming!’ and ‘I don’t chase after women!’? Zack, do you know who said that?”Zachary’s face did not twitch from its glum expression. His lips were pursed tightly as he kept quiet.Nana laughed until she was content, and only then changed the subject. “Isn’t Elisa Stone waiting for you there?”“She won’t come and disturb me anymore.”Elisa had not come to the office to lie in wait for him for the past two days.She had once told Serenity that as long as Zachary already had a girlfriend or was married, she would definitely stop bothering him.That made Zachary’s impression of her increase in favorability by two points.The unruly young lady was indeed much better than many others just by not trying to break apart a marriage in the pursuit of true love.“Has she found out about you and Serenity?”“Nope. I just showed my left hand off, and she backed off.”Nana harrumphed. “What do you think your left hand is? If she backed
Callum brought Nana downstairs and the two prepared to go to the hotel to have lunch.The moment they exited the office building, Callum spotted Serenity with his sharp eyes.“Nana, now I understand why Zachary asked me to bring you out for lunch.”He pointed at the entrance of the office building and said to Nana, “Serenity’s here and she’s even carrying an insulated lunch box. She brought him lunch.”No wonder Zachary was burning with anxiety about getting him to take Nana and leave. He did not want Nana to third-wheel them.Nana stopped in her tracks and squinted for a while, saying, “That really is Seren. Hurry and give your cousin a call and remind him to change rooms. Let him use yours, and don’t let Seren find out.”Callum hummed in acquiescence and called Zachary.Even without Callum’s heads-up, Zachary knew long ago that Serenity had arrived.There was a pair of binoculars in his drawer. Once he had sent Nana on her way, he had gone to stand by the window, staring down
“I’ve already eaten.”Serenity answered without hesitation, then thought for a second before saying, “Why don’t I accompany you as you eat? Once you’re done eating, I’ll go back.”A light sparked in Zachary’s eyes. “Let’s go to my office then.”Serenity glanced once more at the crowd of people in black and tentatively asked, “I’m not an employee of your company. Can I enter just like that?”“It’s fine since I’m bringing you in.”He reached his hand out to Serenity, and after a moment of hesitation, she put her hand in his.As he held her hand, a hint of a smile appeared on Zachary’s face that escaped Serenity’s notice.With one hand carrying the insulated lunch box Serenity had personally sent over and the other holding her hand, he led Serenity into the building under everyone’s astonished and speculative gazes.“Mr. York.”“Mr. York.”Everyone who saw Zachary would greet him respectfully.They would also smile and nod at Serenity but they greeted her bearing a sense of won
Zachary opened the lid of the insulated lunch box as he said, “If you join my company and work here, you’ll realize that everyone addresses each other this way regardless of position. Our company culture places respect as a priority. Anyway, I’m just an average existence here.”Serenity stuck her tongue out at him. “Luckily, I don’t have the capability to join your company and work here, or else there’d be too many names to remember.”Zachary looked at her meaningfully. “You’re in a pretty good position right now. You have freedom, and you earn quite a bit too. You don’t know how many people would envy a self-employed person with freedom like you.”“I couldn’t get used to being managed by someone, so I opened my shop with Jasmine right after graduation. Jasmine’s family helped a lot, or else we wouldn’t have been able to get the operating rights to our shop.” It was not easy to open a shop right at the entrance of a school.“Was that copper wire tree bought from my online shop?”
“It won’t make Nana any happier if it’s just her and me. Nana moans that I’m not much of a talker. She prefers you.” Serenity nonchalantly said, “We can take Nana for a vacation together.” Having gotten what he wanted, Zachary responded, “Sure.” “There’s a resort in the western suburb. I’ll take you and Nana there tomorrow for some fresh air,” he added.Liberty and Hank would begin the divorce proceedings the day after tomorrow, so as Liberty’s side of the family, they must be there to have her back. Hence why Zachary only had a day to have a date with his wife. The resort was one of the Yorks’ many estates, but it was a profit-making business that was open to the public. There was always a high influx of vacationers, there for a getaway every year. “I heard the place is beautiful and fun.” “I’ve never been there. I wonder what it’s like.” Serenity whipped out her phone to search for pictures of the resort. After looking at the pictures, she began to look forward to to
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
When Dylan overheard Imogen’s phone conversation with Leticia, he realized that Leticia was trying to match her with someone named Kade. Now, he had a rival.Even though he was being asked to leave, Dylan did not get angry, nor did he shamelessly insist on staying. He stood up and said, “I’m sorry for disturbing you, Ms. Doyle. I know you’re Imogen Doyle. I also know what I’m doing, and I won’t make the same mistake again.“Ms. Doyle, you were on the nose earlier. Yes, I do want to pursue you again. Starting today, I will try to win your heart once more. No matter what your attitude is toward me, I’ll accept it.”The first time, she had offered her heart, but he did not accept it. That was his fault.This time, it was his turn to offer his heart. If it took more time to win her over, he was willing to be patient.“My nana isn’t forcing me.” He continued, “When it came to our generation, she only pushed Zachary to marry Serenity.”Zachary had been a special case. For the rest of
Imogen felt a surge of satisfaction when she saw Dylan was rendered speechless by what she said. She deliberately leaned closer to him, her beautiful face coming right up to his, and their gazes met.They were so close that Dylan could smell a faint, delicate fragrance on her. It was a little familiar, but it was not the same as Chameleon Fox’s scent, because she never used fragrance when she appeared—probably to avoid being recognized by scent.It was the scent he smelled on Imogen back when he was initially pursuing her—it was Sugar’s. Imogen smelled the same as Sugar, a scent he remembered when he was in close proximity to Sugar.Imogen was Sugar.Dylan was now sure of this, but he did not bring it up. Even if he asked, Imogen would not admit it anyway.Besides, he no longer needed her to confirm it. As Zachary had said, he only needed to trust his nana; she would not mislead him when it came to marriage. His nana knew very well that he loved Chameleon Fox, and yet still aske
Unexpectedly, Kade had to return to the country due to a work transfer and would be staying in Huntington long-term.Leticia’s best friend Jade immediately called her again to bring up the idea of a marriage match. Leticia then thought about it and decided to arrange for her daughter to fetch him from the airport.“Mrs. Doyle, the person Imogen likes is me, so please stop trying to match her with someone else.” Dylan boldly interjected.Imogen glanced at him but did not say anything.On the other side of the line, Leticia asked Imogen when she heard Dylan’s voice, “Jen, has that York scoundrel gone to look for you again? He came by once a few days ago, but you weren’t home. We didn’t even let him past the gate.“He didn’t show up again after that, so we thought he left, but he actually went to your office to look for you. Jen, what does he mean by this? Is he trying to pursue you once more? If that’s really the case, all the more you have to give Kade a chance—to make Dylan York
“Why are you looking at me like that, Mr. York?”Just as Dylan was about to respond, Imogen’s phone rang from her desk where she had left it. She looked at the caller ID and saw it was her mother calling, so she had no choice but to answer.“Hey, mom.” She was busy with work and usually would not answer personal calls during office hours unless it was from her family, which usually meant something urgent. If there was no urgency, her parents would not call her.“Are you free this weekend?” Leticia asked over the phone. “What’s going on?”“Tell me if you’re free first. I need you to do something for me.”Imogen replied, “Does it have to be me? If not, please ask someone else. I have a client meeting scheduled for the weekend.”“You're still meeting clients this weekend? Is Davidson Group really lacking business? Can’t you even rest on the weekend?” Leticia complained. Her daughter went out early and came home late every day. Sometimes, even though they lived under the same r
The one who was hurt was her. The one who would suffer was also her. When it came to love, the one who fell first was the one who lost. She had lost once and did not want to lose again.Even though she still had feelings for Dylan, Imogen did not want to be in a passive position anymore. She wanted to be the one in control, making Dylan the one who was passive. “Ms. Doyle, I’m here today to apologize.”“Apologize? Apologize for what?”Dylan then took out the set of jewelry and placed it in front of Imogen. “Ms. Doyle, months ago, I pursued you first. When you were moved, I withdrew and said that I didn’t love you. That was my fault, and I’m here to apologize for that. This bouquet and this set of jewelry are my way of offering an apology.”Imogen put down the bouquet and took the red velvet box. She opened it right in front of Dylan. Inside was a set of ruby jewelry.With trained eyes to recognize valuable items, she could immediately tell that they were very expensive when
Huntington was having another bout of snow.When Dylan arrived, he spent the first day at the hotel to rest. Afterward, he picked up the gifts that Sam had prepared for him, rented a luxury car, and drove to the Doyles’ residence with a car full of presents.However, Imogen and her older sister, along with several younger cousins, had gone on a trip. Dylan did not even get the chance to go past the Doyles’ gate and the gifts he brought were refused by Winston.Once Winston learned that the woman Dylan truly loved was actually his own daughter, he guessed that Dylan would soon return to pursue her again. To make sure Dylan left with nothing to show for it, he persuaded his daughter to go on a trip.Imogen also missed her master and her fellow disciples. So, she took her cousins and went to visit her master. All of them together enjoyed a lively reunion, and she completely forgot about Dylan.It was not until after Davidson Group resumed work after the holidays that Dylan would have