After Zachary parked the car, he remembered the evidence of Hank’s asset transfers and called out to Serenity who was about to get out of the car.“I asked a friend to help look into Hank’s asset transfers. My friend was very helpful and sent me the evidence last night. I put it in the backseat. It’s in that yellow folder.”“Your friend truly was very helpful. He managed to gather the evidence so quickly.”Serenity was not only grateful to that friend of his. She was curious about him and really wanted to meet him.She thought it would take a long time to gather the evidence, since Hank had not just started doing this recently.Yet, Zachary’s friend managed to gather all the evidence in just a day’s time.“Zachary, it’s such a waste if that friend of yours doesn’t open his own detective agency.”After Serenity got out of the car, she opened the door to the backseat and picked up the yellow folder that had been placed there.“He has a relative that specializes in information gat
“Mrs. Lane, it wasn’t easy for Sonny and my sister to fall asleep, so don’t wake them up yet. Just keep some porridge warm on the stove for them to eat when they wake up.”Mrs. Lane nodded. “Alright.”The three ate breakfast together. Serenity made herself a cup of instant coffee to wake herself up.Once Mrs. Lane finished eating, she left the little dining area. Zachary took advantage of this to reach out and hold Serenity’s hand.“Seren.”Zachary said warmly, “You should stay home and rest. I’ll go alone.”Serenity held her hand back and reassured him, “I’m fine. I’ll be able to hold up as long as I finish this cup of coffee. And anyway, you’re going to the Reptons’. You might have to continue arguing with them, and you’re not as good as I am in that department. Even if you brought all your cousins, you might not be able to win against Chelsea Repton in an argument.”All the Yorks were cultured people. Arguing was definitely not in their DNA.“I’m Sonny’s aunt. I definitely h
While Serenity was feeling uneasy, Elisa spoke. Her voice was abnormally calm when she asked Serenity, “Serenity, my mom will come home around noon. Can I go to your place to pick up Sonny?”Elisa did not have much of an impression of her aunt, and could not tell much from the photos of her. In Serenity’s words, children were all cute when they were young.If Sonny looked like her aunt, even if it was just a little, she could not just let it go. She had to let her mother see him.Elisa recalled the moment she first met Serenity. Something inexplicable had made her want to get closer to Serenity.The first time she met Sonny, she liked him right away too.If Sonny was her aunt’s grandson, that might explain why she liked Sonny from the moment she met him.It was not like she had never seen a kid of Sonny’s age before, but only Sonny made her like him from the very first moment. He made her want to kidnap him to be her own nephew and when she bought toys for him, she was not stingy
“Yeah, they’re a pretty big family. Thank you, Elisa.”Elisa felt relieved after hearing that Serenity’s husband had brought backup. “Serenity, you had a shotgun marriage with that husband of yours, right? It seems like he’s not that bad. At least he’s willing to help out when you run into trouble.”Unlike Liberty’s husband. So what if they had known each other for twelve years?He still could not match up to Serenity’s husband from a shotgun marriage.“Alright. I won’t go this time, but the next time, if you run into trouble again, you have to tell me, or else I’ll consider you’re no longer thinking of me as a friend. Send your sister’s address to me. I’ll visit Sonny there.”Serenity did not deny this request.After she ended the call, Serenity sent her sister’s address to Elisa Stone.Zachary had been partially paying attention to Serenity’s conversation with Elisa.When he heard Elisa wanted to bring people over, his hands that were placed on the steering wheel tightened.
It could also be that Elisa Stone could not envision how her aunt might appear as an adult.Serenity considered that once she returned from the Reptons', she would immediately work on sketching a portrayal of Elisa's aunt as an adult. Would there be a resemblance to her sister?“Does that mean your mother is Ms. Stone’s aunt?”Zachary could only sum it up in one word: melodrama!It was just too much melodrama!To top everything off, it had to happen to his wife.The worst part was, Elisa Stone had publicly confessed her love to him before and openly pursued him too. Serenity had even helped her pursue him before.If it were not for him putting on his ring and showing it off, Elisa Stone would still be coming to his office to make a fuss every day and annoy him.At first, he wanted to teach Elisa Stone a harsh lesson, but unexpectedly, she became good friends with Serenity, which stopped him from being able to do anything.He had to give special treatment to people who were sin
First things first, they had to deal with the problem at hand and that was seeking justice for Sonny.The issue of his identity being exposed could probably be delayed a little more because he would be leaving for Annenburg soon to attend Ben Young-Johnson and Jane Murphy’s wedding.Anyway, it could be delayed for a while.He also had to confess the truth to Serenity before Mrs. Stone saw him.He hoped Serenity’s reaction would not be too fierce.In the beginning, when he did not feel anything for her at all and did not understand her either, he thought it was normal for him to hide his identity in order to test her character.After all, with his status, who knew if the women who approached him did so for the money or for him as a person?Now that he had learned about Serenity’s character, way of handling things, self-confidence, strength, and independence, they were very much to his liking, and he was unconsciously attracted to her.On Elisa’s side, once she ended the call wit
Mrs. Stone was stunned to hear that. “Zachary has a partner?”“He’s already married and he’s really good to his wife. He spoils her and is so protective of her that Clive can’t even find out who she is.”Mrs. Stone was silent for a moment. “Since he already has a wife, you should give up then. He wasn’t yours in the first place. It’s always been one-sided on your part.”Mrs. Stone was very appreciative of Zachary, but she knew Zachary did not like her daughter at all.It was her daughter who just wanted to give it a try.Once she hit an insurmountable wall, she would have to turn back.“Mom, I have to tell you about something.”Elisa did not want her mother to bring Zachary up again. Every mention of him was a stab to her heart.It would be a lie to say it was not painful to suddenly find out the man she had loved for years was already married, and that she almost became the third party in a marriage, so she had no choice but to give up on her feelings abruptly.Now she tried
If Serenity and her sister really were her nieces…At the thought of what her two nieces had been through, Mrs. Stone felt even more distressed.“I’ll be home very soon. Wait for me. I’ll go with you to visit Sonny.”This was the strongest lead yet. She definitely had to see the child that looked like her sister with her own eyes.……Meanwhile at The Reptons, Chelsea was still trying to stop her parents from moving out of her home.“Dad, Mom, please don’t move out! I won’t try to ask Serenity to compensate anymore, okay?”Last night, after her parents returned, they started packing up their things, but Chelsea had managed to get them to stay one more night after much begging, crying, and promising.She thought her parents would calm down after a night.She did not expect them to once again say they were moving out.The main issue was, her father was furious.George also advised, “Father, Mother, Chelsea’s right. If you move out, there’ll be no one to take care of you? How co
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
Zachary said those words, but in his heart, he was thinking that he had to keep an eye on the younger generations of the major families in Wiltspoon, particularly those who stood out. He would make note of any promising boys, so that when he had a daughter, he could arrange for that boy to grow up alongside her. If they became childhood sweethearts, she would not have to marry far away. Of course, once he had a daughter, he would not want her to get married too early. He would still be fine even if she was unmarried at thirty.Zachary drove his beloved wife to the Stone residence. Audrey was walking in the yard with Patrick. The weather was nice today, and the temperature had risen a few degrees. Patrick had been ordered by Audrey to stay inside and avoid the cold wind, but he was now finally able to get out and walk around.Elisa had gone to Annenburg with Remy to celebrate Christmas. Anthony, afraid of his parents’ constant nagging to settle down, had bought a plane ticket abroad
“Duncan is a good man. Being with him, you will definitely be happy, Liberty. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness, growing old together, and may you have children soon.” After a pause, Hank added, “Or maybe don't have children, I'm afraid that if you have your own kids, you might not love Sonny as much.”He was still quite selfish. He hoped that Sonny would be Liberty’s only child. As long as Liberty and Duncan did not have children, the fortune and empire Duncan built would eventually become his son's legacy. Then again, thinking about Liberty’s current status, Hank sighed quietly, knowing that his selfish prayer would never come true. Liberty would definitely have another child. She would need a daughter to take her place and eventually take over the Fisher matriarchy in Jensburg.What if Duncan had a biological child? Would he still treat Sonny well?Hank was actually quite worried that if Duncan had his own child, he might not treat Sonny well. That was why, when he last s
“Go cook some food. It's rare for Hank to be resting at home, so don't say those unpleasant things in front of him. Honestly, if he hadn’t gone after Jessica, she wouldn't have ended up like this. As a married man, Hank shouldn't have pursued a young, innocent girl in the first place. Everything that happened to him is his own fault—it’s all self-inflicted.”Ever since Hank divorced Liberty, and after seeing how Liberty had turned her life around and was living a better life, Luke had changed a lot because of regret. It made him realize many things and change a lot.Olivia opened her mouth as if to say something, but said nothing in the end. After a heavy sigh, she stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare food for her husband and son.In the past, when Liberty was still part of the Brown family, every time Olivia came to her son’s house, she never had to cook. She only had to mention what she wanted to eat, and Liberty would prepare it for her. All she had to do was eat and still
“She lost the child when she fell on her own. That was our family’s flesh and blood, too!”Since Sonny did not live with the Browns, and despite her many objections, Olivia did not voice her criticisms toward Jessica when she was pregnant, out of consideration that Jessica was carrying the Brown family’s child.It was Jessica’s bad luck that she fell and lost the child, which made Olivia lose a grandson. If she had just one more grandson, she would not be waiting so eagerly for Sonny to return. It was all karmic retribution! “Mom, that's all in the past. I'm doing fine now. If the child wasn't meant to be, then it wasn't meant to be. They just didn't want to come into our lives. Anyway, Jessica is still my wife. I should go and see her. If I hadn’t corrupted her, she wouldn’t have ended up like this. It’s my fault, I ruined her.”When Jessica first became his secretary, she was still innocent and never thought of seducing him. It was he who fell for Jessica, and it was also he wh
Unfortunately, their regret and realization came too late. “I heard from Sonny that you and Mr. Lewis are getting married soon. When will the marriage be?”Olivia tried to make herself sound calmer. “We’ll be heading to the City Hall to complete the procedures later.”Olivia went silent. After some time, she said, “Oh, today? Congratulations, Liberty. I wish you both a happy marriage.”“Thank you.”Olivia initially had a lot of things to say. However, upon discovering Liberty and Duncan were getting their marriage license that day, the words got stuck in her throat. Saying anything was meaningless.Soon, Olivia hung up. Once the call ended, Luke, who had been sitting beside his wife, asked, “How did it go? Did Liberty agree to Sonny staying with us for a few days?”Olivia was still stunned and did not immediately reply to her husband’s question. At that moment, Hank came out of his room in his pajamas. When he saw his parents sitting on the sofa, he yawned and asked, “Wha
Serenity asked, “Duncan has no comments about it, right?”“No. He said that Hank would always be Sonny’s biological father. Sonny’s surname won’t be changed to Lewis as well. He’ll remain a Brown. That’s part of Hank’s and my divorce agreement.”Since Liberty had signed the agreement, she would keep her promise. No matter Sonny’s surname, the fact that he was a member of the Brown family would not change. If so, there was no point in changing his surname. “Duncan is so easygoing.”At that moment, Liberty’s phone rang.It was Olivia. When Liberty recognized her voice through the phone, she whispered to Serenity, “Speak of the devil. Olivia is calling me.”“What did you say, Liberty?”Olivia heard Liberty whispering but could not hear her clearly. She asked Liberty to repeat herself.“I was talking to my sister, Olivia. Why did you call?”It was still early in the morning. “You’re back from Jensburg, right, Liberty?”“Yes.”“That was what I heard. Look. The year is almo