Zachary went back to their little home with Serenity in his arms.As soon as the door was open, the pet dog rushed over.“Get out of the way!”Zachary gave a hushed roar, and the little thing lay on the ground obediently, not daring to come any closer.It knew that its male owner did not like it very much.Fortunately, he did not abuse it or deprive it of food and water.Ring ring ring...Zachary’s phone rang.He was still carrying Serenity and could not spare a hand to answer the phone.The phone stopped ringing.It should be from Josh. Zachary instructed him to call every ten minutes so he would have an excuse to leave.However, there was no need for that now.Audrey and her daughter had already left Liberty’s house.He carried Serenity back to her room, placed her on the bed, and covered her with the quilt before calling Josh. “You don’t have to call anymore.”“I don’t? I was thinking about whether to spam you.”Zachary’s lips twitched.“Have you eaten? Do you want
Zachary said stubbornly, “No!”“Really?”“Really!”Serenity straightened her back and said with a regretful expression, “I was thinking that if you didn’t want me to leave, I could tell Mrs. Lane to stay at my sister’s house while I accompany you. Since you don’t need it, I’d better go keep my sister company.“The weather is getting colder. It sure feels like winter is approaching. I always feel uncomfortable sleeping alone during this time.” Serenity sighed.Zachary was speechless.‘Is she implying that if I said I didn’t want her to leave, she would hug the pillow and quilt and hog my bed?’Serenity was still carrying a regretful look. She reached out and patted his face twice, before trailing her finger down to his neck, and finally rubbing his chest. When Zachary’s eyes deepened and he stared intently at her, she withdrew her wandering hand.“I’m hungry. Let’s eat. I want to see if the dishes my husband cooked for me are any good.”Serenity was done teasing him and left.
After flirting with each other before and over dinner, Zachary showered Serenity with meticulous care.Serenity was a little overwhelmed by it.At the same time though, she thought, ‘Sure enough, a good husband has to be trained by oneself.‘I hope the husband that I’ve trained won’t be snatched away by others.’The couple went to Liberty’s house together after dinner.Sonny had woken up but refused to play by himself. He stuck to his mother like a piece of gum.Serenity was the only other person he allowed to hold him. He even refused Mrs. Lane to carry him.“Liberty, are you going to work tomorrow?” Serenity asked while she was hugging her nephew.Liberty looked at Sonny and deliberated before saying, “Seren, I want to quit and start my own business.”She was feeling uneasy with the way Sonny was now. However, she had just started her job. It would be easy to lose her job if she took a leave of absence.After a day of consideration, she decided to take her son with her to s
“Seren, you should go to work tomorrow or open your shop. You don’t have to come over. I can take care of Sonny.”Serenity was still worried. “Then I’ll ask Mrs. Lane to stay here.”Mrs. Lane was hired with the priority to take care of Sonny during the day anyway, and cleaning up Zachary’s and her home was secondary.Liberty felt a little embarrassed.Her brother-in-law hired Mrs. Lane because he did not want his wife to be tired, but Mrs. Lane was always helping her instead.“We’re sisters, Liberty. We should support each other.”Serenity did not want her sister to be burdened psychologically. “As long as Sonny and you are doing well, nothing else is more important.”“You pay Mrs. Lane’s salary for now. I’ll pay you back when I’m back on my feet.” Liberty was grateful for her sister’s help, but she could not take it for granted.Zachary said warmly, “Liberty, we’re family. Don’t be such a stranger. Serenity and I have a good income now with no children yet, so we don’t have ma
After comforting Serenity, Grandma May yawned gracefully. She put down the TV remote control, got up, and said to the young couple, “I’ll head in to rest up. I’m old and can’t stay up late.”She took a few steps and stopped before turning around to ask Serenity, “Seren, should I bring your pillow out?”Serenity smiled and said, “No need. There are pillows in the guest room for me.”Grandma May glanced at her grandson twice, but did not say anything. She proceeded into Serenity’s room.By the time Serenity went in to take a shower, the old lady was already snoring loudly.Serenity was speechless.Ten minutes later.She came out of the room in her pajamas. Just after closing the door, she saw her man in his robe, leaning against the door of his room with his arms across his chest.“Not sleeping yet? You have to work tomorrow.”Serenity casually said to him, pretending to not remember teasing him earlier. She walked past him toward the guest room.However, when she pushed open t
Serenity climbed into his bed and lay down comfortably, saying, “I’ve only slept in your bed once, but I feel like it’s particularly warm. Maybe it’s my imagination.”She pulled the quilt up to cover herself and smiled. “Good night, Zachary.”Zachary’s dark eyes flashed. He stared at her for a long time before suddenly lifting the quilt off her and was about to pin her down.However, she sat up and removed herself from the bed at once. She put on her slippers and left.“Serenity.”Zachary reached out to pull her back.“I, uh—I need to use the bathroom.”Aunt Flo might have come to ruin the atmosphere.The man did not understand. “There’s a bathroom in my room.”“Your bathroom doesn’t have what I need. I’ll come back to sleep in your bed after I use the bathroom, but—I won’t be able to sleep with you for a while.”Serenity playfully pinched his face. "Put on a little weight."No matter how slow Zachary was, he finally understood and slowly let go of his hand, letting her retu
Audrey took the tissue handed to her by her husband and wiped her tears. She then finally said, “Sonny does look somewhat similar to my sister. His mother, Liberty, would resemble my sister more if she was a little thinner.“When Elisa first met Serenity, she said she had a feeling of wanting to be close to the latter. I had that feeling too when I met Liberty and her son.“I think it’s because of our blood relation.“Darrell, maybe this time, I have really found my sister...”Audrey’s tears slipped down again when she thought about the fact that her sister was long gone.“But she’s no longer here. She died fifteen years ago. It’s no wonder I couldn’t find her despite searching for so long. How could I find her when she’s no longer in this world?”Darrell comforted her. “It’s just a feeling. Sometimes, fate acts in mysterious ways. Don’t cry yet and wait for the DNA test.”If his sister-in-law whom he had never met was dead, Darrell would feel shaken too.When he first met his
“I have no appetite.”“You haven’t eaten or drank anything all day. Do you know how worried I am about you? Your children are worried too. Even Anthony came back after hearing that you were feeling down.”They had three children. Their eldest was mature and steady, their second-born was never at home, and their youngest was the apple of their eye, who used to hover around Zachary all day in the past and only revert to her normal self a few days ago.“Think of it as me going on a diet.”Audrey then lay down on the bed. “I’m going to sleep.”Darrell was helpless when it came to Audrey.She did not want to eat, and he could not coax her into it.Her temper had always been very stubborn, and their daughter took after her.She loved Zachary for many years and refused to give up no matter how many people persuaded her to. She only turned around after hitting a dead end.The night passed without a word.The next day, it was drizzling again, turning the already cool morning into a ch
“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