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
Zachary might pull a long face, but a rush of blood crept to his ears. He was blushing for getting the wrong idea about Serenity, not because he was shy. There was no way he could be shy! “It was the question of a man’s pride!” “Ha!” Serenity scoffed. Zachary’s handsome face went completely red. “I don’t like or love you, so why would I be jealous? I couldn’t care less who you’re with if it weren’t an affair.” “You don’t have to stress that you don’t like or love me multiple times as if I’m all over you. This is only a marriage of convenience. To be honest, I was in a hurry to move out because I didn’t want my sister and her husband to fight because of me. I agreed to your nana’s proposal to get a marriage license with you so I had a place to stay.“If you want to talk about an ulterior motive, then it would be your house. I get free accommodation and save on rent while still putting my sister at ease.” Zachary was lost for words. His house was more appealing to her than
It was a silent night. The following morning, Serenity got up and watered the plants on the balcony. Nothing beat the view of mother nature. Serenity had to say that spending a little bit of time in the mini garden had always put her in a good mood. At least, it cleared her mind and soul of the lingering annoyance she had for Zachary. The mini garden was only made possible by Zachary. After getting over last night, Serenity went into the kitchen to make breakfast. It did not take long before Zachary was up as well. He walked to the kitchen door and watched Serenity at work. His pursed lips moved slightly. “Morning, Serenity.” Serenity turned her head around to look at him. “Morning.” “Can I help you with anything?” “I’m good. You can put the laundry out and sweep the place if you have nothing to do.” Zachary was taken aback. Well, she was not shy to order him around. Yet, a word slipped past his lips. “Sure.”He turned on his heel and walked away. Zachary hung th
Zachary had his doubts about Serenity’s aesthetics. Sure, Shawn was good-looking, but Shawn had nothing on him; he was way more attractive than Shawn. Zachary wondered what name he was saved as in Serenity’s list of contacts. The curiosity was eating Zachary up inside. Serenity took Shawn’s call. “Morning, Serenity.” “That’s early. What’s up?” “Have you had breakfast, Serenity? I’ll pick you up for work, and we can have breakfast together. My treat or you can buy me breakfast if you want to.” Shawn’s voice reflected hopeful anticipation. Since he was a huge help to Serenity last night, Shawn now had an excuse to drive Serenity around and buy her breakfast. “That’s okay. I’m nearly finished with my breakfast. My husband will be taking me to work later, so you don’t have to make the long trip.” Oblivious to Shawn’s feelings for her, Serenity simply did not want Shawn to brace the long drive from his home to Brynfield while risking himself getting stuck in the morning
Austin said, “He’s definitely here to discuss a potential partnership with your company.“He's just the acting head of the Longbottoms. He doesn’t truly control the family. If the real head returns, everything he’s worked for will go to someone else.“The downfall of Belinda Fisher probably gave him a wake-up call and he doesn’t want to end up like that.“He’s definitely seeking to cooperate with you regarding his personal business. He’s just using the Longbottoms’ name, since their influence in Windermere is enormous.”In terms of wealth, the O'Connors and the Longbottoms were on equal footing, but the O'Connors had fewer members and did not have the same level of influence in Windermere as the Longbottoms.Isabella said, “He’s very ambitious. A partnership would only just be the beginning. Once it’s established, he’ll start thinking about how to cheat us and steal our business.“Plus, he’s very lecherous. Nobody can put a number to how many women he’s toyed with. Some even lost
Tony was aware that whenever his wife had to play the villain, it was always to protect him. He said, “You're right, I misspoke. Your mother isn’t that kind of person.”“Manny, I’ll be leaving soon. You stay here, and I’ll leave half of my men with you. If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me. I’ll be waiting to hear good news from you.” Tony decided to fly to Wiltspoon in the afternoon. He would only stay for two or three days before returning to Havenmill to handle business.However, as he thought about how he was working like a horse for Longbottom Corporation when many of the benefits did not even belong to him personally, Tony felt a bit disgruntled.“Got it.” Manny did not reject his father’s arrangement.As the Longbottom father and son were discussing how to deal with the O’Connors, Austin entered Isabella’s office.Isabella was busy, so Austin did not disturb her. He quietly sat at the tea table and made some tea.“It seems you’ve learned the art of tea-
Manny had never been to Wiltspoon, but he knew from his father that several prominent families in Wiltspoon had close ties with the Johnsons from Annenburg. It was possible that the child adopted by the Johnsons’ young missus was Laurence. Unfortunately, he could not meet that child, so he could not be a hundred percent certain. The child was currently out of sight and well-protected, hidden so effectively that even the Longbottoms’ information network could not find anything. The other prominent families in Wiltspoon were also helping to keep the child hidden, so Manny deeply disliked the people from these families. Even though they were thousands of miles away, they were still an obstacle to him and his father in their pursuit of becoming the true head of the family.“That's right. If we can conquer the O’Connors, we’ll have a backup plan,” his father said. “You must put your all into it, son. If you need help, just let me know, though this is also an opportunity for you to ge
Tony Longbottom was the only person who would put on such a parade. The big shots in Satbury usually had entourages of their own, but none would put on a spectacle as big as Tony would.As they departed in their car, Tony’s gracious demeanor utterly shattered.His face twisted into an ugly, cruel expression as he said, “I’ve never been treated like this before, even when the legitimate branch of the family still lived, and those two ignorant little girls actually refused to see me multiple times.”Manny was very angry too and he said, “Pops, since they refuse to go about this the easy way, we’ll have to show them the hard way. We can approach it from other angles, and once they’re completely out of business and they have nowhere else to turn to, they’ll be at our mercy.“Won’t they have to do as we please then? I want to marry them, they’ll have to marry me, and if I don’t, I’ll just make them my mistresses. Don’t the O’Connors have plenty of daughters? I’ll fuck every one of them
“Isabella O’Connor is so outstanding, so why are you asking me to go for Tati O’Connor instead?” Manny said under his breath in puzzlement.He had seen photos of the two ladies and Isabella’s appearance was more striking. She had a cold and aloof aura that easily triggered his desire to conquer her, and after just a few glances, he was captivated.If it were up to him, Manny would choose Isabella.Tony looked at his son, smiled, and said, “You can’t control her. Of course, if you manage to make her fall for you, we can talk about switching. But for now, focus on Tati O’Connor.”Tati was also beautiful. However, she did not have Isabella’s cold demeanor. She seemed much gentler, like she smiled often.“Marrying Tati O’Connor would be a big advantage for both you and our family.”Manny thought for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “Got it, Dad.”Manny’s good looks, wealth, honeyed tongue, and generosity toward girls made him good at winning them over. Pursuing a rich youn
After testing the O’Connor sisters and realizing they were not like other women, Mr. Longbottom thought of having his son marry Tati.He knew that his son would not be able to handle or control Isabella, so he set his sights on Tati. Tati probably did not realize she was considered an easy target. Most people underestimated her because she had always kept a low profile.At that moment, a young man got out from the other side of the Rolls-Royce. He resembled Mr. Longbottom. Indeed, he was Mr. Longbotton’s eldest son, Manny.“Dad.”Manny went to his father’s side and glanced at the building before him. He asked, “Aren’t we driving inside?”In Havenmill, Manny could do whatever he wished because his father was the interim head of the Longbottom family. While he had no respect for ordinary people at all, he was clever enough not to offend people he should not.He never parked his car outside the places he wanted to go and simply drove his car through the gates. However, Manny
Meanwhile in Satbury, a few luxury cars stopped at the entrance of Costa Corporation. The door of the first car, a Rolls-Royce, opened. A bodyguard came out of the car.He waited for his boss, who was sitting in the backseat to exit.Mr. Longbottom got out of the car. Although he was over fifty years old, he looked like he was in his forties as he maintained his appearance well.He wore a white tailored suit with a tie, which made him look more youthful.The bodyguards in the other cars alighted as well.They quickly stood behind Mr. Longbottom to protect him. It was also his display of power.A few bodyguards grabbed many gift boxes from the trunks. Mr. Longbottom stood in front of the company and raised his head to look at the sixty-eight-storey office building. It was a symbol of the O’Connor family’s abilities.Costa Corporation was not the family’s only business. They were involved in many industries and were successful in all of them.The O’Connors were wealthy and powe
Jasmine added, “In some cases, the divorced women can get married to a better man, while the divorced men can’t even find a new wife. There are many single men now.“Isn’t there a saying nowadays that men who have wives are extremely lucky?”When Jasmine was at the bookstore, she would also visit the neighboring stores to listen to juicy gossip. Many of the store owners were not locals and they had many stories to tell. Someone said there was an evil mother-in-law in a rural area who looked down on her daughter-in-law. She would egg her son on to abuse his wife and get a divorce. She would also tell her son that she could find a better and younger wife for him. However, once the divorce went through, news of the mother-in-law’s evil deeds and the son’s domestic abuse spread far and wide. Who would dare marry off their daughters to a man like that?Besides, holding another wedding would require a lot of money. The cost of a wedding had increased a lot compared to the past.Whe
“Sonny’s fine. He has recovered. You want to get Sonny from school?”After thinking about it, Serenity agreed and said, “Okay. I’ll message Sonny’s teacher later to tell her you’ll be taking him.”“Okay, Serenity. Thank you.”Hank was thankful that Serenity did not make things difficult for him. Serenity and Liberty had great character. Liberty had a new relationship and already let go of her resentment for Hank. She could coexist with him peacefully. On the other hand, Serenity still held grudges against Hank. However, since he and Liberty had divorced, he could no longer hurt her. He was also Sonny’s father. Serenity was willing to tolerate him for Sonny’s sake. Therefore, she always said yes whenever Hank requested to meet his son. “You’ll be taking Sonny out to eat after picking him up, right? Remember not to let him eat too much fried food, especially fried chicken and fries. He’ll get a sore throat.“He got a fever that day due to a throat inflammation.”“Got it. I’ll