Mrs. Brown grabbed the divorce paperwork for another look, feeling the pain every time she read the line on the payout to Liberty. “I thought the estate was split evenly. The amount doesn’t seem right.” “Liberty’s relinquishing her rights to the house and car, so I need to make it up to her monetarily. Altogether, that’s the total payout.” Mrs. Brown replied after a pause, “What about the renovation cost for the house?” Hank answered, “It’s not included. I’ve said it before. I won’t compensate her for that.” Although feeling a little better, Mrs. Brown said, “The renovation was tens of thousands of dollars. I guess we benefited a little since she didn’t ask you for the renovation cost.” It did not hurt as bad anymore for the money they were losing. “Hank, how did Liberty collect these photos?” Mr. Brown believed his daughter-in-law did not have such means. “Did someone help her?” “I asked her, but she wouldn’t say, nor did she know who helped her. The person’s pretty good
“Chelsea said she’s having problems at work. I wonder what happened. I thought she was doing well. What changed?” Mrs. Brown mumbled as she swiftly tapped the call button to connect to her daughter. During the call, Chelsea restlessly uttered, “I don’t know what’s going on, Mom. I have a feeling the people at work are out to get me. They have a bone to pick in everything I do. Not one good thing happened the whole day. Just let the divorce go through if Hank wants it, Mom. Your son is a great man. He’ll have no problems finding another wife.” “God knows where Liberty found dirt on your brother, and she got enough to threaten your brother to meet all her demands. Liberty gets over a million bucks in alimony, full custody of Sonny, and three thousand dollars a month for child support.” “Does Hank have that much money to give her?” Chelsea was shocked. “Hank had transferred his assets out, but Liberty somehow got proof of the transfer. Never mind. Since trouble at the workplac
Serenity’s phone fell on the bed. Sure, Serenity had waited for Zachary, but sleepiness got the best of her. It was a blow to Zachary’s exhilaration. He brought along two Eternal diamond rings that he bought from Nana with the intention to put one on Serenity’s finger. Yet, she was far off in dreamland. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Zachary reached out to pinch Serenity in the face. “You could sleep through an earthquake, little piggy.” After pinching her cheeks, he leaned down to kiss her face and hovered against her lips for a prod. He then grabbed her phone and put it on the bedside table. Although his wife fell asleep waiting for him, at least she was in his bedroom. That was what a certain Mr. York comforted himself with. The next day, Serenity woke up only to be blown away by a huge bouquet of flowers. Behind the flowers was Zachary’s handsome face. She blinked. Serenity sat up the moment she was certain she was awake, and it was Zachary before her eyes.
“Seren.”Serenity was putting the ring on Zachary’s finger when the latter tenderly uttered, “No matter what happens, we won’t talk about splitting up or a divorce, alright?” Thinking the wedding bands were perfect for them, Serenity was in awe of Zachary’s good taste. Zachary was able to pick out a suitable ring for her in her absence. Serenity heard what he had to say and picked her head up to look at him. “I can’t promise you this. What if you turn out to be like Hank? Am I not supposed to bring up divorce? Cheating men should be dumped as soon as possible. Why should women keep these disgusting men around?” Zachary wanted to bait a promise out of her in hopes she would not leave him when he came clean about his identity. To his surprise, she did not fall for it. Despite being caught in a tender moment, her head remained clear. She was deservingly the woman he fell in love with. “Um… In the context that I don’t have an affair, you can’t ask me for a divorce no matter
“That’s hard to say. I’ll be back once my work there is done.” “Let me know when’s your trip. I’ll help you pack and drive you to the airport.” Since Serenity did not have a change of clothes in his bedroom, she intended to return to her room to get dressed and wash up. With Serenity about to leave, Zachary reached out to pull her back. His dark eyes were fixed on her beautiful face. “That’s it?” Serenity was without a word.She blinked, unable to get the message he was trying to convey. What else if not that? Was he expecting her to see him off at the city he was conducting business in? “Can family tag along too?” Zachary was twitching by the corners of his mouth. “Since I can’t go with you, is it not enough that I’ll drive you to the airport?” Zachary’s hand over hers loosened. Serenity stared at his hand and uttered with a frown, “I thought you had been slick with your words lately, but you lost it now. You just keep me guessing by leaving things hanging. I’m
“I said nothing of that sort. You said it yourself.” Old Mr. Hunt replied, “Where are you? Look at the time, and your shop isn’t open yet. Other businesses would have made a lot of money by now.” “Zachary, my granddad’s so concerned as to what time I’m setting up my shop. Are pigs flying? Can you grab your phone and check from the balcony? You need to take a picture of this phenomenon.” With a scowl, Old Mr. Hunt lashed out, “Don’t change the subject, Serenity. I’m talking to you. Your uncles, aunts, and I are waiting for you at the shop. Hurry up and get over here to unlock the door! We haven’t even had breakfast. Get us takeouts on your way here.” “There are plenty of breakfast places around. You can go hungry if you don’t want to eat there.” Why should Serenity be so kind to get them takeaway? They would only tear into her after getting fed. Offended by Serenity’s attitude, Old Mr. Hunt wanted to let Serenity have it when John snatched the phone over. John sounded rather
Serenity smirked in her mind. No deed went past God himself. Karma was bound to strike back. The writing was on the wall. Granddad and Grandmom got it coming for them. “Regardless of their intentions, we’ll go there with you. You can use an extra pair of hands in a fight.” Grandma May insisted on going along. Serenity wanted to say that she could fight, but she could be outnumbered by all her relatives at her shop in a fight. Hence, she did not stop Grandma May from going with her. Liberty mentioned before that Grandma May could kick *ss. With the trio finishing off their breakfast, Serenity tried to clear the table when Grandma May gave her grandson a look. Zachary quietly got up and took the dirty plates from Serenity to carry into the kitchen for a wash. “Seren, don’t spoil him too much.” Grandma May showed Serenity the tricks. “You need to get him to help out with the house chores. This home belongs to you two, and you need to run it together. Sure, it’s taxing for
In the kitchen, Zachary heard every last word of Grandma May’s conversation with Serenity. Zachary was accustomed to his nana’s favoritism toward Serenity. Nana had been hoping for a granddaughter for far too long. Alas, she welcomed nine grandsons instead. Nana developed an instant liking for Serenity and saw Serenity as her own granddaughter. However, the old lady changed her mind at the thought that her granddaughter would have to marry somebody one day. Hence, Nana did everything in her power to make Serenity her granddaughter-in-law, so Serenity would be with the Yorks forever. Zachary washed the dishes and wiped the stove clean. He then cleaned the wiping cloth and washed his hands before coming out of the kitchen. Serenity got up to bring out his jacket and tie. Although she had not gotten the hang of putting a tie on him, Zachary was flattered by her initiative. Zachary felt it was worth it if washing the dishes could earn him a little sugar from the missus.
Imogen did not know that Dylan had woken up. She was still on the phone with Maria outside.Maria felt reassured when Imogen mentioned that the person she liked was a member of the richest family in Wiltspoon. All was good as long as he was not a social climber. Imogen asked, “Maria, when are you coming back? It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. Kade will be back soon. Are you really not coming back?“Maria, Kade and I are like siblings. Please don’t misunderstand or overthink it. Actually, you should know this—the person Kade likes is you. You two are the real childhood sweethearts, you grew up together.”Imogen and her mother’s godchildren had known each other since they were young, but the three of them had not actually spent much time together as she had always stayed with her master while she learned the trade, only returning home during the summer and winter holidays.Once the holidays ended, she would leave again. Even her formal education was completed in th
There were so many other possible choices. Why were they so fixated on him?Leticia sighed. “Alright, just pretend I never said that. You youngsters will decide for yourselves anyway, we don’t have a say in it. Remember to fetch Kade from the airport on Saturday.“I’ve already told him and he knows you’re supposed to be picking him up. And remember to get some flowers too. You two haven’t met in ages and you should give flowers at a reunion.” She reminded Imogen.“Mom, I can pick him up, fine, but I’m not giving him flowers. Who said you’re supposed to give flowers at a reunion?” Imogen refused to give Kade flowers when fetching him from the airport. “Oh, Mom, I gotta go. Bye!”Imogen quickly hung up, not allowing her mother the chance to speak further. Then, after a moment of thought, she texted Kade to ask when he was expected to arrive at Huntington Airport.It took a while before Kade replied that he would arrive around eleven in the morning on Saturday.Imogen replied wi
“I know you only view Kade as a brother, but who knows, if you nurture the relationship, those feelings might turn romantic? Jen, before you agree to be with Dylan, give yourself another option.“Make Dylan nervous. He’ll get jealous. He was jealous when he overheard our conversation that day.“You need to make him realize that even without him, you can still marry well. The Butchers like you a lot, and our families have a close relationship. You and Kade have known each other since you were young, so you guys could be considered childhood sweethearts.”Imogen said weakly, “Mom, I’m worried that if I get too close to Kade, not only will Dylan misunderstand, but even Maria might misunderstand. Kade and she are a thing, after all.“I really don’t understand what’s going on with Kade. He and Maria clearly have feelings for each other, they just haven’t made it official yet. Don’t their families see this?”She did not have any romantic feelings for Kade, but both families were trying
Although Leticia was angry over how Dylan had treated her daughter previously, at least he was not two-timing. He made things clear to Imogen right after realizing his feelings and stopped her from loving him. He still had a decent character.Besides, Imogen had also kept secrets from Dylan and she tricked him. Dylan still did not have sufficient evidence to prove that Imogen was the Chameleon Fox he loved. Dylan would start pursuing Imogen again after some time. Leticia heard that it was Serenity who had given Dylan a hint that Sugar was Fox. After that, Dylan sought confirmation from Old Mrs. York but only received a vague answer. However, he decided to continue pursuing Imogen because he believed his nana would not bring him harm.After going in circles, Dylan still ended up returning to Imogen.Actually, Leticia already viewed him as her son-in-law.Since Imogen’s happiness was on the line, she was concerned about her future son-in-law’s condition.“Dylan’s hospitalized.”
“Please look after Dylan, Imogen. Message me when he gets better. I just need to know that he’s alive.”Grandma May knew Dylan would be okay with Imogen by his side.Imogen quickly said, “Don’t hang up yet, Grandma May. Where are you now? Wiltspoon?“If it’s convenient, please get his parents to come and take care of Dylan. I’m busy with work. I can’t stay in the hospital to look after him.”Grandma May replied, “His dad is home, but he doesn’t know how to take care of others. I think Dylan will meet his death quicker under his dad’s care.“My daughters-in-law and I are at the Johnson family’s place in Annenburg. We won’t be back that soon because we just came not long ago. We’ll head back closer to Seren’s due date. That’s why we don’t have time to look after Dylan.“If you’re busy, you can return to work once Dylan’s fever breaks, Imogen. You don’t have to care about him. He can take care of himself. It’s just like a bad cold. He’ll be fine once his fever subsides.”Grandma Ma
Imogen should have gone to stop Dylan earlier than she had. Since Layla was helping Imogen to get revenge, Imogen thought she would let Dylan put on a show to display his sincerity. She could only stop Dylan once Layla was satisfied.After handling the hospitalization procedures, Dylan lay on the bed and received an IV drip. Meanwhile, Imogen brought him water and told him to take his medicine.“Take this medicine for your fever. Your face is red from the heat.”Dylan’s temperature was close to 103 degrees Fahrenheit when they measured it at the hospital. He would cough constantly, and his face was flushed red from the fever. He looked tired and weak as well. Dylan sat up and accepted the glass of water. Imogen handed him the right dosage of medicine according to the doctor’s prescription.“Make sure you’re hydrated.”Imogen refilled his glass and told him to drink more water.“I don’t want to drink water.”Dylan lay back down.Perhaps because he was on an IV drip, his
Dalton said, “Callum spoils you a lot too. Many people are envious of you two.”Camryn smiled. “You’re right. Our lives are objects of envy to other people.“You can head back to work, Dalton.”“Okay.”Camryn saw Dalton out. She sat for a few minutes before returning to her desk to continue working.Meanwhile, in Huntington, Dylan was coughing badly. He quickly grabbed the glass of water Imogen had just offered him and took a few sips. After moistening his throat, he stopped coughing. However, he started coughing again after a few minutes. Imogen said, “Why is your cough getting worse after seeing the doctor and taking medicine?”“Ah…”Dylan pointed at his throat. He could not speak. His throat was badly inflamed from eating excessive chili peppers. His voice was so hoarse that he could not talk, and he was hacking non-stop. Imogen had already brought him to a doctor, who had prescribed some medication for him. However, his condition was so bad that the medication was no
“Did you think of your mother again?”Dalton said gently, “It wasn’t your fault, Camryn. You don’t have to overthink it or care about how she treated you. You have loving in-laws now. You’re like a daughter to them.“Your husband dotes on you a lot too. I believe there’ll be better days ahead of you. As for your mother… Let her regret what she did.”He had never seen a mother like Mrs. Newman. There were many biased mothers, but not many of them were as evil as Mrs. Newman.“She does feel regret. However, it isn’t because she had hurt me, but because she gave birth to me. She regretted not getting an abortion or strangling me to death after giving birth to me.“She said I was the bane of her existence. She had gone to a psychic when she was pregnant with me. The psychic said I was an unlucky child who would bring bad luck to my parents and that if she didn’t kill me after I was born, I would become her downfall.“My mom was just finding excuses for herself. How would I be her d
“It’s getting better. Don’t worry, Dal. Dr. Carden will be here to check on me after some time and adjust my prescription. She said I’d be able to get pregnant after two years.“Dr. Carden is the legendary doctor’s best student. I trust her skills. She was the one who helped me to regain my sight.”Camryn reassured Dalton. “You just have to take good care of Melissa and tell her not to worry about me. I believe the heavens won’t take away my right to be a mother.”If Dr. Carden said she was infertile, then it would be impossible to get pregnant. However, Dr. Carden had guaranteed that Camryn could give birth after two years of recuperation. Therefore, Camryn was at ease.“Even if I can’t get pregnant, Callum won’t divorce me. He said we could adopt if it didn’t work out.“He and his family didn’t give up on me when I was blind. I believe my in-laws won’t abandon me just because I can’t get pregnant, Dalton. Besides, I’m not actually infertile.”Camryn knew Dalton and Melissa we