It was said that the old ladies in the gentry were not easy to get along with, but Grandma May was affable, just like an ordinary old woman. She also usually dressed plainly and did not seem like she was part of the gentry at all.Zachary’s gaze was deep. He touched the top of her head and said in a low voice, “You’re a very realistic person who doesn’t dream.”“I’m a person who lives in real life. Even if I want to dream, it depends on the dream. It’s a waste of time dreaming that kind of unrealistic dream, not to mention it’ll affect my sleep too.”Zachary pursed his lips and said nothing.After strolling for half a day, the couple met up with Grandma May and the rest.They settled on lunch in an interesting restaurant. If not for the modern facilities inside, Serenity would have thought they traveled back to a tavern from bygone times.Sonny was especially happy today.Grandma May and Mrs. Lane took him to feed the fishes and bought him as much fish feed as he wanted to feed
Time flew by when having fun.The day was over in the blink of an eye.Serenity strolled all day, arrived home, took a shower, and fell asleep.Grandma May saw Serenity going back to her room and thought of repeating her trick. Unexpectedly, when she entered Serenity’s room, the latter was already sleeping soundly, leaving the old woman with no chance to play her acting skills.After leaving Serenity’s room, she came out to see her grandson sitting on the sofa watching TV. Even though her heart was disappointed, she could not help but get angry.She walked over and snatched the TV remote control from Zachary’s hand. “Have you forgotten what to say and do after coming home?”Zachary looked at his grandmother and said innocently, “We’re already back. What do I have to say or do?”He made a lot of progress today.He held Serenity’s hand for the whole day.Serenity also talked to him about anything now. Her trust in him was growing.Grandma May was speechless.“Nana, you must be
Josh said casually, “When do you want it?”“The sooner the better, of course.”“I’ll give it to you tomorrow. Is that too late?”“That’s fine.”Tomorrow was when Liberty and Hank would be talking about divorce. It would be advantageous for Liberty if she held evidence of Hank’s assets.“You’re really going all out for your sister-in-law. I don’t see you working so hard for your own company.”Zachary was silent for a moment and said, “Serenity is full of gratitude to me now.”“Gratitude is not love. You have to do more for her to fall in love with you. However, if you can help solve her sister’s problem, she’ll feel that you’re an amazing person. She’ll grow more dependent on you, and her heart will be moved subconsciously.”Josh did not have a girlfriend, but his analysis was clear and logical.After the analysis, he asked Zachary, “Did you fall in love? Don’t try to make your wife fall in love with you without the intention of loving her back. That’s called playing with her f
Alas, Zachary only thought about it and did not act on it. His pride stopped him from doing something that sneaky.Thus, he tossed and turned, and finally got taken away by the sandman.Meanwhile, in an apartment, Hank was fumbling around the bedside table for a pack of cigarettes. He then pulled out a stick, and was just about to light it up when the woman next to him reached over. “Give me one too.”Hank handed the cigarette to Jessica and helped her light it.“Just smoke once in a while.”Hank was not a heavy smoker and only smoked when he talked business with clients. Usually, he did not smoke unless he had something on his mind.Liberty did not like men who smoked all the time because she felt their breath stink.Jessica smoked, but she pretended to be virtuous and never smoked in front of Hank. However, Hank and her had gone all the way, and he was also preparing to divorce Liberty for her sake.Thus, Jessica did not think it was necessary to hide it anymore. Hank would f
Jessica was upset but did not show it. After all, she was not his wife yet, so she could not say too much lest Hank resent her. Her future husband’s family might also have a problem with her.Sonny was just over two years old. He was not sensible yet and could not take care of himself. If he lived under her hands, she had plenty of opportunities to deal with him, so there was no hurry.“No problem.”Jessica handed the divorce agreement back to Hank. “I’ll print two copies for you. Take them to Liberty tomorrow and have her sign them, one for each of you. On Monday, hurry and go to the City Hall to file for divorce.”Hank laughed. “I’m more impatient than you are.”“I’m not impatient.”Jessica laughed as she helped Hank print the divorce papers.That night, the two people dreamed beautifully, thinking about their happy life after marriage.The night passed without a word.The next day, Serenity woke up and saw the note Zachary left on the dresser. She quickly picked up her phon
Serenity asked, “Where can we send Sonny to?”Hank knew where Serenity lived.They did not have anyone they could depend on in their hometown either. Not to mention Liberty, even Serenity would not be at ease.Jasmine reminded Serenity. “What about Elisa? You can ask Elisa for a favor. She’s the Stone Group’s heiress and lives in a large villa with high security. Moreover, with the Stone Group’s prestige, the Browns wouldn’t dare go and make a scene.“They wouldn’t expect Sonny to be with the Stones. Elisa likes Sonny very much too, so she’ll definitely take good care of Sonny.”Serenity’s eyes lit up. “Right! I forgot about Elisa. I’ll discuss it with my sister later. If she agrees, then I’ll ask Elisa to help take care of Sonny for the time being.”“Elisa has already said that you can go to her if you need help. Serenity, sometimes we’ll have to give in to reality. In this unfair world, it’s easier for the rich and powerful to get things done compared to ordinary people like us
Serenity said, “Liberty, it doesn’t matter whether the police will be of help, just call them first.”“Okay, I’ll call the police now.”“What about your in-laws?”“They left after Sonny was carried into the car. They probably went to find Hank. He didn’t come home last night.”Serenity thought about it for a while and said, “Liberty, you should call the police first. Zachary and I will go to Hank’s hometown and Chelsea’s house now. They probably took Sonny back to their hometown.”Liberty and Hank were about to divorce, and the custody was not yet determined. The Browns took Sonny away without Liberty’s permission, so if she called the police, the police would most likely be mediators. If none of them compromised, they would just have to wait for the court to resolve it together with the divorce proceedings.Although the Browns were also Sonny’s relatives, Liberty and Serenity had taken care of Sonny since his birth. Sonny did not have a close relationship with the Browns. If Son
Zachary called Callum while he walked out.It was early in the morning, so Callum was still in dreamland.The phone rang for a while before Callum answered.“Zack, what’s up?”Callum opened his eyes to look at the caller ID, then closed his eyes after answering the call.On weekends, Callum had nothing to do and would not wake up until noon.“Callum, please inform everyone except Rowan to go to… Serenity, which expressway do we need to take to Liberty’s in-laws’ house?”“We’ll need to take the XX expressway for around forty minutes.”Zachary said to his cousin on the phone, “You all can wait for me and Serenity at the intersection of the XX expressway. Something happened, and I need your help.”Callum heard that Zachary wanted to gather all nine of the York brothers, except Rowan because he was still a minor.Callum asked with concern, “Zack, what happened?”Why was it necessary to gather all the York brothers?“Serenity’s nephew was kidnapped. Her sister is going through a
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