Zachary threatened the lady coldly. The apple of the Stones’ eye, Elisa was the princess of Stone Group’s chairman and the twin sister of the CEO, Clive Stone. Elisa was the most eligible bachelorette. “Hang on, Zachary.” Struck by a thought, Elisa turned around and ran back to the sports car to grab a huge bouquet of roses. She returned with the bouquet and shoved it through Zachary’s open window while saying, “These are for you, Zachary. I know you and my brother don’t get along, but I love you. I feel the need to confess my love to you, so you know I’m your one true love.” Stone Group and York Corporation might not be sworn enemies, but they were certainly business rivals due to clashing trades. Both groups were not on the best of terms, to say the least. Yet, it was love at first sight for Clive’s sister, Elisa, when she first laid her eyes on Zachary at an event many years ago. Due to the conflict of interest between both giants, Clive and her parents disapproved of El
“Don’t let the missus know about today.” Zachary told the people around him. The bodyguards heeded his instruction. Mr. Zachary was married. Yet, Ms. Stone openly professed her love to him. The missus should never find out about it. Elisa’s brazen stunt did not go unnoticed among those in York Corporation. The employees stole a few glances at their boss as Zachary walked into the building. Bearing a straight face with his lips pursed as always, Zachary took strides while being surrounded by his bodyguards. There was just a regal air about him. Such a man was a heartthrob to most young women. Many young female employees in the company would be swept off their feet after catching a glimpse of the young CEO. However, nobody had the guts to come clean about their feelings toward Zachary, let alone chase after him. The way ordinary people saw it was that the Yorks were far beyond reach. Even if the boys of the York family were known for their commitment to their partners, the
“Zachary isn’t someone she can handle. Try and get her to move on. You don’t see other young women hanging around Zachary other than his family. He’s a heartless man. Why can’t Elisa listen to reason?” Clive threw in the towel on his sister. “I’m too busy to deal with her now. Honey, I’ll leave Elisa in your hands.”“Carry on with your work. I’ll pick Elisa up now and take her to go shopping with Mom. Mom’s been feeling down lately.” Clive’s wife, Alice, had a great relationship with her mother-in-law. Seeing that her mother-in-law was feeling blue, Alice persuaded her to go out and get some sunshine. A bit of retail therapy might do her good. Clive fell silent. He knew the reason behind his mother’s melancholy. There had not been any news about his aunt. It was the one thing Mom could never stop talking about. Clive’s mother, Audrey, grew up in an orphanage. Her parents passed away when Audrey was young, survived by Audrey and her sister who was four years younger. The s
Elisa was picked up by her sister-in-law in the end while the smashed car was towed away. When Alice came by, Elisa even said, “Since Zachary wrecked my car, I have an excuse to cling to him. Alice, now that I made the first move, I need to keep going. I won’t forgive myself if I don’t put in the years to pursue Zachary.“Alice, you’re the best. Clive only listens to you. Please talk to him for me. I just need him off my back from my pursuit of happiness.” Elisa was envious of her brother and sister-in-law’s love story. Alice went after Clive, and it took a year before Alice won his heart. The roles were reversed after marriage as Clive spoiled Alice crazy. It was not the first time Alice mentioned that she would not have her happy ending if she did not bravely go after the love of her life. While driving, Alice uttered, “Elisa, I’m all for you pursuing your happiness, but it’s Zachary we’re talking about. Aren’t you aware of his reputation in Wiltspoon? He’s known for keeping
Shawn said with a smile, “I don’t know. I’ll get your bike fixed. I promise to return a fully functioning bike to you.” Since Shawn was Jasmine’s cousin and a friend for many years, Serenity knew she could trust him. “Thank you.” Happy to be of assistance to Serenity, Shawn dialed a number and made a call. Serenity heard him sharing their location. The only thing next was to wait for the tow truck. …“Sir.” The driver’s keen eyes picked up on the sight of a familiar woman opposite the traffic lights. It appeared to be the missus judging by the build. While waiting at the traffic lights, he turned around and said to Mr. Zachary who was resting his eyes. “Sir, the woman looks like the missus.” Zachary opened his eyes and turned toward the man and woman standing by the road. He could not recognize the man, probably due to the distance, but the woman did seem like his wife. After living under the same roof for a while, Zachary grew familiar with Serenity’s silhouette. “S
“Even if Mr. York's a normal man, he won’t engage with ordinary people like me.” Serenity might be nosy about the heir of the York family at the dinner party, but that was about it before she lost interest. As normal as Mr. York could be, he would not interact with regular people like her. Serenity was not the lowest class in society, nor was she that high up on the hierarchical pyramid. The richest people she knew were Jasmine and Shawn. Shawn qualified as an heir to a wealthy family. Since Serenity and the heir of the richest family did not belong in the same world, their paths would not cross. Shawn grinned without a word. Although he never looked down on Serenity, it did not mean other privileged men would not turn their noses up at her. Shawn knew wealth and social standing stood above the rest among the upper crust. Despite Shawn’s efforts to rub shoulders with the veterans in the business at the dinner party, he was met with lukewarm responses. “The truck’s he
Should Serenity call Zachary to wake him up? Nana mentioned that Zachary would be furious if anyone were to disrupt his sleep. Serenity looked at the time. It was past midnight. Zachary must still be awake since he usually came home around this time. Serenity took the plunge and called Zachary. Zachary was wide awake. In fact, he locked the door from the inside on purpose, albeit he had no idea of the reason behind his own actions. Anyway, it triggered Zachary to see Serenity and Shawn together, looking like a match made in heaven. The conniving woman was in a rush to look for her next sugar daddy since she could not get much out of him. She had Nana completely fooled. At the end of the day, Nana had only known Serenity for three months. How well could Nana know Serenity? Yet, Nana, driven by gratitude, put a lot of trust in Serenity and nagged Zachary to marry her… Zachary’s phone rang but he refused to pick up Serenity’s call. The ringing stopped after a while b
“Serenity, we have an agreement. We’ll divorce after six months, so can’t you wait until then before moving on to the next guy? I don’t know why you’re on the prowl when we’re still legally married. You’re basically cheating on me right now.“I might not have any feelings for you, nor will I ever, but no man will stand by being cheated on.” He was only acting weird because he was angry. Zachary was furious that Serenity was so quick to have an affair. Shawn had a crush on Serenity. He had his eye on Zachary’s woman. This had nothing to do with the matters of the heart, but everything to do with a man’s pride and dignity. Serenity looked around as if searching for something. Unable to find anything handy, she grabbed her purse, filled with her phone and keys, and hurled it at Zachary. Since Serenity had learned self-defense, she got a pretty aim. Caught off guard by the attack, Zachary was smacked right in the face. The keys and phone in her purse turned into weapons and
Duncan quickly said, “I’m just happy, really happy. It won’t affect my sleep, babe. I’m just so happy mainly because you rarely say such sweet words to me. I feel insecure and I always feel like you don’t love me that much.“I always worry that you accepted my feelings out of guilt.”Liberty laughed and said, “Duncan, I’m not a three-year-old child. I’m in my thirties and have been through a divorce. When it comes to getting married again, I’m extremely cautious.“It’s definitely not something I take lightly. If I didn’t have feelings for you, I wouldn’t have married you. It’s not out of guilt. I didn’t cause your car accident, so I couldn’t possibly marry you out of guilt.”Liberty was very rational. As she put it, she was a woman who had been through a divorce and had stumbled once in love. When it came to remarrying, she was extremely cautious.There had to be mutual affection, a solid emotional foundation, and the other person and their family had to fully accept her and her s
Zachary laughed. “That’s true. There’s no two ways about it then, he’s born to be our successor from the get-go.”“Who knows, our kid might just be average.”Zachary kissed her again and said confidently, “That’s impossible. The apple never falls too far from the tree. Even if he weren’t as outstanding as I am, he would never be average.”Serenity lightly pinched his cheek. “You’re really confident, aren’t you? It’s way too early to say all this, the kid hasn’t even been born yet. Anyway, let’s go to sleep now, babe.” Serenity yawned.Zachary hummed in concession, “You go to sleep first. I want to watch you sleep.”Serenity closed her eyes and quickly fell back asleep.Elsewhere, Liberty was still on the phone with her husband. They had talked for about half an hour and after receiving support and encouragement from Duncan, the anxiousness that had been suppressed deep down in a corner of her heart vanished.It was true that she did not have prior experience being the matriarch
Although the York brothers respected and were filial to their parents, they were not as close to their parents compared to their grandparents. Tania once told Zachary about his first day at preschool. When he arrived home from school, his parents, grandparents, and uncles were waiting for him. After he got out of the car, he ran toward them. Tania was the first to squat and open her arms, waiting for him to enter her embrace.However, he ended up running past her and went straight toward his nana. After Grandma May held him, he asked his grandfather to lift him, ignoring his parents and uncles. That was because his parents and uncles were busy with work and rarely spent time with him. Kids would get closer to whoever took care of them. Sonny was another example. He and Duncan were like father and son because Duncan often took him out to play and accompanied him. As a result, the Browns felt a sense of danger, worried about Duncan snatching Sonny away. Serenity replied, “Of c
Serenity said, “You’re right. Aunt Audrey will be our pillar. We don’t know much about the Fisher family’s matters, nor do we feel any connection to that family. On the other hand, Aunt Audrey belongs to the Fisher family. She’s Tiara’s daughter.“Although she and my mom left when they were very young, the Fisher family was still her home.“More importantly, Aunt Audrey is very capable. I’ve heard of her stories before I even got married to you. She has contributed to half of Stone Group’s achievements up to this day.“I was worried about Liberty, but your words reassured me.”Zachary hugged her. “There was no need to worry in the first place. We’re all experienced in managing a large company. We can simply teach Liberty.”Serenity smiled. “I think you won’t be needed. Duncan will do it. Stop taking my brother-in-law’s job.”Zachary laughed. After that, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and hugged her tight. “Seren, I’m glad that I listened to Nana and married you.“Duncan
Serenity looked at her bump and touched it. She sighed. “I haven’t been able to go anywhere after getting pregnant.“Okay. I’ll listen to you. I’ll have Zachary go over to record videos for me.”Serenity compromised. She did not want to worry her sister. She stopped insisting on heading to Jensburg to congratulate Liberty. “Sleep, Seren. Duncan’s calling me.”Liberty sent another voice message, saying, “Don’t reply to my message. I’ll continue fighting with this bed after talking to Duncan.”Serenity replied with a thumbs-up emoji and stopped sending messages.“Who are you talking to this late instead of sleeping?”A gentle voice was heard. Zachary was behind Serenity, draping a jacket over her shoulders. “It’s chilly at dawn, and you’re not wearing a jacket. What if you catch a cold?” Zachary scolded softly. Serenity pulled the jacket closer and said, “My pajamas are thick, and it isn’t cold in the room. My sister has moved into Fisher Manor. She said she couldn’t slee
“If they can’t change their habits, they shouldn’t affect Sonny and ruin his relationship with Duncan.”Sonny would be living with Liberty and Duncan in the future. It would be terrible if he came to dislike his stepfather due to the Brown family’s influence. Serenity replied, “Sonny’s smart. The Browns won’t easily influence him. We raised him ourselves. The only way it’ll happen is if the Browns’ genetics are stronger than yours.”She knew her nephew was intelligent despite his age and he knew how to differentiate between good and evil.The Brown family would not be a bad influence on Sonny unless he inherited their personality from Hank. “Try to prevent Sonny from staying with the Browns as much as possible. We both know Mr. and Mrs. Brown’s characters. There’s no telling whether they’ll change Sonny or not.“Once this semester ends, Sonny will be transferred to a preschool in Jensburg. We won’t have to be as worried as he’ll be away from the Browns and can only communicate
Serenity said, “Our mom lived in that manor when she was young. Maybe she’ll visit you in your dreams when you sleep. If she were alive, she would’ve been happy that you moved into the manor and inherited her mother’s legacy.”Serenity wished to go to Jensburg and live in Fisher Manor for a short period because it was where their mother was born and lived for several years. The position of matriarch was passed from Tiara to Liberty, skipping Audrey and their mother. Upon hearing Serenity’s words, Liberty replied, “Mom probably doesn’t remember the way home.”Her voice was filled with regret.Lisa had passed away at a young age. She was unable to find Audrey, let alone her biological parents’ house. She probably did not remember a thing.Serenity sent another voice message, saying, “Mom will be able to find the way since you’re there. Zachary had accompanied me to visit our parents’ graves. I told them you had gone to Jensburg to work and would take on the Fisher surname. I aske
“Without Mom and Fisher Enterprise as their safety nets, they’ll be cautious about investments. It’ll take time. What I want is to end this as soon as possible.”Caroline said, “Just do as I say. It’s the simplest and quickest method.”She could not be bothered to trick the Clark brothers into committing a financial crime. Their intelligence, or lack thereof, was not worth her trouble. Since they wanted to kill her, she would give them a chance to do so. If she did not die, they would be the ones in trouble. When Belinda was alive, she told Caroline not to show mercy if her brothers were disobedient and troublesome. Belinda also said she could never bring herself to harm her sons. At that time, Caroline thought Belinda was truly cruel. Well, she was not wrong. Her mother could even kill her biological sisters. Belinda had always prioritized the Fisher family. She would not spare anyone who would negatively affect Fisher Enterprise, not even her own sons. Upon recallin
“My brothers think I’m the cause of my family’s downfall. They never had any brotherly love for me to begin with and are desperate to eliminate me now. Between the two of us, I’ll be their final target.“While they can’t get any of the family’s items after killing me, they’ll be able to inherit my mom’s private assets.”Caroline sneered. “I’m going to make a will. If something happens to me, everything I own will be split into three portions. A portion goes to Darren, the other will be yours, and the remaining will be donated.”“Caroline!”“Ms. Caroline!”Liberty and Darren exclaimed at the same time. Liberty said sternly, “Don’t say such disheartening words. I don’t want your assets. You can leave them for your kids in the future.”Darren chimed in. “I’ll always be with you no matter where you go, Ms. Caroline. I’ll continue breathing as long as you’re alive. If something happens to you, I shall also leave this world.”He would stay with her, whether alive or dead. Caroline