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
Zachary took the breakfast that Jim packed and placed them on the dining table. He had second thoughts and entered the kitchen again.He was brewing hot cocoa for Serenity.“I thought you made the breakfast yourself, but it turned out to be takeouts.”A teasing voice came through and Zachary did not even need to look back to know that it was his nana, neither did he say anything.“What are you making? It smells sweet and chocolatey.”Grandma May walked into the kitchen, uncovered the saucepan, and took a look.“I thought there was some progress.”The old woman muttered and glanced at her grandson in disdain before turning to leave.Zachary’s handsome face tensed. He could not help but defend himself, “I tried very hard.”There was originally a chance last night, but God played a trick on him.“The heart. You have to go after the heart first. Didn’t you see that all of Serenity’s ten fingers are still empty?”Zachary was speechless.He tried very hard to go after her heart.
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
The Queen family was well-educated and had few members. Sophia had heard of other families fighting over power, but Caroline’s experience shocked her the most. Maybe it was because the Queens was close to her. Sophia quite liked Caroline as well. “How could they… You’re their biological sister!”Caroline smiled bitterly. “Are you having a fever, Carol? Your face is red.”Sophia touched Caroline’s forehead. She said, “You’re burning up. Have you informed the doctor, Mr. Fletcher?”Darren replied, “The fever started at dawn. Ms. Caroline caught a cold. Her fever subsided after taking medication once, but it returned.“It’s time for her to take her medicine.”Sophia spotted the lunch boxes. She told Darren, “Go have your lunch, Mr. Fletcher. I can look after Carol.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Queen. I can eat on my own,” said Caroline embarrassedly. It was her first time feeling cared for by someone her mother’s age. Although Sophia was not part of her family, the lady treated her
Caroline looked toward Darren. She said, “In my younger days, I often caught colds and coughs when the weather was too cold. The coughing will last throughout the changing of seasons. Therefore, I’ve been looking after my health since I grew up.“My immune system strengthened a lot. I haven’t been coughing for years.“I’m not worried.”Caroline stared at Darren lovingly. “I have nothing to be worried about with you here.”Darren pinched her face lightly with affection. “I’m still sulking. I didn’t want you to risk yourself, yet I couldn’t stop you. I’ll only feel better once you recover.”He was Caroline’s assistant and had to heed her orders. Even if they were dating, he still had to follow her arrangements.“Okay. Don’t be angry. I won’t take risks like this again in the future. You’ll age quickly if you get angry frequently. If that happens, your hair might turn gray before I even grow old.“We promised to grow old together.”Under Caroline’s gentle coaxing, Darren’s expre
Darren became an orphan when he was only a few years old. After losing everything, he was collected and trained by the training center to be an all-rounder assistant. He could not remember how he lost his parents as he was too young back then. Since he had no memories, there was no pain.Nevertheless, he had seen others interacting with their parents. He knew parents should love their children. There were not many parents who would not shower their children with love. Ms. Caroline was too unlucky to have met one. “I don’t care. I don’t care about my dad at all.”Caroline asked, “Has my dad asked you to give him money? He doesn’t need money. He just wants to know about his sons’ conditions.“Having lived for so many years, he was probably aware of the consequences of his sons’ plan and had advised them not to do it. They didn’t listen to him, so he’s just hoping to get lucky and waiting for some news.”Hunter must have known that her brothers were going to murder her. Sinc
“I’m not obliged to provide for you, Mr. Clark.”Darren would not give Hunter money. He also felt Hunter was trying to obtain some information through the call, not money. Hunter said furiously, “Aren’t you going to marry Caroline? You’ll be my son-in-law in the future. It’s like being half a son to me. Since you’re my son, you should look after your father. Quick. Give me the money.“Otherwise, I won’t let you marry my daughter.”Darren said without hesitation, “Ms. Caroline will decide for her marriage.“If we do get married, she’ll be the one in charge of the finances. I don’t have money.”“Fletcher! Are you a man? Can’t you revitalize the spirit of the Fisher family’s sons-in-law? You saw how I ended up like this. I didn’t have access to the finances and didn’t have money. I’ve been under strict control ever since I married into the family.“That was how I ended up in this miserable state. I’m telling you, the Fisher women are evil. It’s best if you don’t marry Caroline.
“Why would a husband have an affair if his wife could do well?”Ellie was exasperated. She ended the call without hesitation. “Old bastard. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. All your sons cheated on their wives because they have a perverted father like you.“I would’ve divorced Jason if it weren’t for my children being too young. Look at Emma now. She even received half of Adrian’s assets and doesn’t have to look after her children herself. How relaxed her life must be.”The wealth Belinda had left behind was sufficient to afford the children’s education. Ellie still had feelings for Jason. Otherwise, she would have gotten a divorce upon knowing he cheated on her. She would not have reconciled with him with just a little coaxing and advice from her family. Since Jason did not return home the entire night, Hunter guessed his sons’ plan had failed. As he had expected, Caroline was not an easy target. After all, she was Belinda’s biological daughter. Belind
Since the call ended abruptly, Adrian’s girlfriend, Irene, muttered, “Is Mr. Clark unsatisfied with me?”She was almost twenty years younger than Adrian. If he had not been rich and willing to spend his money on her, she would not have wanted to be his lover. Adrian promised to marry her after he was done fighting a legal battle against his sister and claiming his inheritance. He would make her the missus of the Clark family. As for the three children he had with his ex-wife, he had told Irene not to worry about them.Since his mother had left some money behind for her grandchildren, he did not have to pay child support. Irene knew Adrian used to be a young master of the Fishers and that Madam Fisher was extremely wealthy. She did not expect Belinda to be helping her son take care of his children even after her death. Considering Adrian would be able to receive a huge portion of inheritance in the future, Irene decided to be with him. If she did get married to him, and gave