“Zachary, maybe Serenity didn’t tell you because she didn’t want you to worry?”Duncan felt that he made a mistake and quickly offered an explanation.However, Zachary hung up the phone.Duncan said to himself, “Damn it. What am I supposed to do if the couple gets into a quarrel because of this?”Once Zachary cared about a person, he would want the other party to put him first. In simpler terms, he was overbearing.His domineering nature would sometimes let people feel like he cared about them, but other times, it made people feel suffocated as if they could not breathe.What was worse was that Zachary would feel like he was in the wrong. For example, he felt like he fell in love with Serenity, so he was willing to do everything for her. However, Serenity was independent and would not tell him everything for him to help her with. Thus, Zachary would feel that Serenity did not trust him and did not treat him as family.Duncan called Zachary again, but it went to the mailbox becau
After witnessing her sister and Hank getting to know each other, falling in love, and then ending up in such an ugly divorce, Serenity felt that it was better to rely on herself than on others. Even if he was someone she shared a bed with, she could not be completely dependent on him.That was because the person who shared her bed might become a person who shared someone else’s bed at any time.“Are you calling me narrow-minded?”Zachary’s voice was low and chilly, like the weather in this cold winter month.He wanted to know everything about her because he cared about her.However, she did not take the initiative to tell him, saying that he was narrow-minded and that he got angry over trivial matters.Was this trivial? Even someone like Duncan knew about it, but Zachary only found out because Duncan told him.If Duncan did not tell him and he did not ask, she might have never told him.He cared about her, but she was not touched. Instead, she felt that it was useless to tell h
A few minutes later, Serenity sat up from the bed and pondered. She then slid out of bed, began to pack her household goods, and took them back to her room.She would not sleep in his bed anymore.She angrily moved back to her room to sleep.Zachary was likewise still sulking.He received the message from Serenity and read it, but he did not reply. Instead, he deleted it instantly.He only had one thought in his mind, and that was how Serenity accused him of being narrow-minded and did not treat him as a family.Putting the phone on the desk, Zachary got up and paced back and forth in the office, incredibly annoyed.In the end, he went and made himself a cup of coffee.After drinking the coffee, he forced himself to calm down and got back to work.He intended to work through the night.Serenity was so angry that she tossed and turned, failing to fall asleep, but after an hour or so, she stopped being angry. It was not the first time he acted like this. If she got mad at him e
“Don’t worry, Ms. Hunt. Take your time with breakfast. Your sister just called me and said that she sent Sonny to the store. Ms. Sox is already there. She told us to head directly to the store later. There’s no need to drop by her new place.”Serenity sighed in relief and sat down at the dining table.Mrs. Lane prepared sandwiches for her today with all kinds of fillings, as well as a pot of black coffee.Black coffee...Serenity took out her phone and photographed the pot of coffee, then sent it to the petty man.Unsurprisingly, Zachary did not reply to her.Serenity grumbled.“Are the sandwiches not good, Ms. Hunt?”Mrs. Lane heard Serenity grumble and thought the sandwiches she made were lousy. She asked, “What kind of sandwiches do you fancy? Tell me and I’ll make them for you tomorrow.”“I’m not a picky eater, Mrs. Lane. I like all kinds of sandwiches.“You sit down too. Let’s talk while we eat.”With Zachary not at home, Mrs. Lane was a lot more comfortable.Although
“Zachary doesn’t fully treat me as a family either. What right does he have to demand me to be completely open with him when he can’t do the same for me? He’s being hypocritical. He has to have the final say in everything. When things don’t go his way, he gets angry and says I don’t think of him as family.“I got mad too and said that he was self-centered and narrow-minded, so he hung up on me. When I sent him a message, he refused to reply to me. He’s always like this. He stops replying to my messages every time he’s angry, and he doesn’t pick up my calls either. He’s like a petty woman.”Mrs. Lane was speechless.Zachary was indeed like that. Serenity’s analysis was spot on.Zachary was raised as a successor since he was young. All his younger brothers revolved around him.When he took the helm of York Corporation, whether it was Old Mrs. York or his parents, they relented and let him in complete charge of the company. In York Corporation, his word was law.His brothers and eve
Seeing that Mrs. Lane was mopping the floor, Serenity did not think much of it and went off by herself.Mrs. Lane sent her off at the door and watched her enter the elevator before returning to the house. She hurriedly got her cell phone to call Zachary.At first, he did not answer.Mrs. Lane called him three more times, but he still did not pick up.She sent him a message.[Mr. Zachary, the missus took some medicine.]In less than a minute, Zachary called Mrs. Lane.“What medicine did Seren take?”Zachary spoke in a voice that still sounded the same as usual, low and cold, but Mrs. Lane was familiar with him and could hear the nervousness in his tone.“She said she didn’t sleep well and had a headache and sore eyes, so she took a painkiller.”Zachary suddenly stopped talking.He got the fright of his life!Mrs. Lane was vague.He thought Serenity took some pills and attempted suicide.Well, he was obviously far off the mark.Serenity had a cheerful personality. There wa
When Serenity arrived at the store, she just so happened to see Josh coming out.He turned his head and waved goodbye as he walked away. Serenity did not have to ask to know that he was speaking to Jasmine.He greeted Serenity politely when he saw her.Serenity smiled back. She was not familiar with Josh but was aware of his true identity, so she was a bit reserved.Josh and Serenity had nothing to talk about either, and she was his friend’s wife. It was inappropriate for him to interact much with her when his friend was not around.“I’ll head back to the office, Ms. Hunt.”“Bye, Mr. Bucham.”Josh smiled, got into the car, and quickly drove away.Only then did Serenity enter the store.As soon as she did, she saw a large bouquet of flowers placed on the cashier’s desk. At a glance, there seemed to be ninety-nine roses. In addition to the bouquet, there was a large bag beside it that was filled with a variety of snacks Jasmine ate regularly.There were also a few sets of Jasmi
Finally, Jasmine mustered the courage to shamelessly ask Elisa about Josh. She found out that if Josh truly wanted to mess with someone, that person’s fate would be worse than death.His play was to let that particular person lose everything bit by bit and taste despair one drop at a time. It was a slow torture to the mind.Therefore, Jasmine was a little worried she would offend him if she rejected him, and he would unleash his anger on Zachary instead.“I’ll give it a try. Don’t worry, I won’t force myself.”Although she was worried, she would not actually force herself when it came down to it.“Seren, did you not go to the Stone residence last night? I was shocked by your sister’s face when she brought Sonny over.”Serenity’s expression turned resentful at the mention of that incident. She cursed the entire Brown family in her heart.If not for Olivia and Chelsea picking a fight with Liberty, she would not have gotten into a fight with Zachary again.Well, with a character l
“If Mom said she would create an opportunity for you to get with the king, would you really believe her? It’s just talk—nothing actually happened.” Trenton could not resist poking Carrie’s forehead a few times. “Carrie, can you please come back to earth? In your current state, forget about finding a great guy like Callum—even a regular, decent guy would be turned off by you.”Carrie swatted away her brother’s fingers, irritated and embarrassed. “Am I really that bad? I’m young, beautiful, have a great figure, and a dignified heiress. If the monarchy still existed, I could marry the king and be his queen without a problem.”“Carrie, you have sky-high ambitions, but be careful, don’t fly too close to the sun and end up like Icarus.”As soon as he said that, Trenton was met with a smack from his sister.“Is there a brother who curses his own sister like that? What do you mean by that? I’m destined to have the princess life. I’ll be fine.”However, deep down, she was still worried bec
Camryn was right—he was just too soft-hearted. If he were as ruthless as her, Carrie would have found a job long ago after running out of money.To encourage Carrie to become independent, Trenton decided that after Christmas, he would stop giving her living expenses. He would also tell their parents during his visit to prison that Carrie was truly hopeless.“Trenton, you keep siding with her, and one day you'll regret it. She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing who has deceived who knows how many people. Do you really think she cares about you? She just wants to win your complete trust to take everything that belongs to you for herself. By driving us out of our home, she’s not only seeking revenge on Mom and Dad but also on us—especially you. She’s just pretending to be nice to you to sow discord between us siblings.”“Carrie!” Trenton said seriously, “Don’t talk about Camryn like that. She’s not that kind of person. I believe in her, one hundred percent.”Carrie was so furious she wanted
“Alright, alright, I can't win with the two of you against one,” Carrie sulked. “Give me money to spend. I'm out of money.”She reached out her hand toward Camryn, wanting her to give her money. Camryn slapped her hand away. “Even Trenton knows to take advantage of the winter break to find a part-time job and earn some pocket money. You’re perfectly capable, yet you don’t look for a job.“To put it bluntly, if you’ve gone to sweep the streets, you'd still have a source of income. I have money, but I won’t give it to you. Don’t think that just because we’re sisters—estranged, too, at that—I have an obligation to support my adult sister. I’ve said it before: if you want money to spend, earn it yourself.” With that, Camryn walked away to tend to her plants.As Christmas approached, the flower market was bustling. Every day, many people came to buy flowers, and all her employees were out delivering flowers to clients. Sometimes, when it got too busy, she even had to ask her two bodyguar
Trenton was relieved that Dalton was indebted to Camryn. That was why Dalton had been loyal to Newman Enterprise.If Newman Enterprise did not fall into Camryn’s hands, there was no doubt that Dalton would leave the company. If that happened, the company was doomed.When his parents went to prison, he was merely 18, and Carrie only knew how to spend money. Not only that, their relatives were hungry to get a share of the Newman family’s assets. He and Carrie could not have protected their family’s wealth alone.After Camryn regained her sight, she still could not strain her eyes for long hours. Therefore, Dalton remained in charge of the company.Luckily, they had Callum as well. Even if anything were to happen, Callum would not leave Newman Enterprise to fall because many of the Newman family’s assets belonged to Camryn.He would not let Camryn lose anything.“You’ve been brainwashed by Dalton after working with him. Our dad treated him well and trusted him, yet Dalton betrayed
Camryn said, “She’s just using her lack of money as an excuse to start a fight with me.“Do you really think she has no money?”Carrie had somehow become Mrs. Longbottom yet she was still hiding her identity. Camryn had not understood the entire situation yet.Nevertheless, she was certain that Carrie did not need money.After she spoke, a familiar car arrived.It was the car Carrie had always used in the past.When she returned to the Newman family’s villa after getting out of prison, she only drove that car. She could not take other cars. The cars were still parked in the garage. “Come out, Camryn.”Carrie had gotten out of the car and started shouting for Camryn.When the York family’s bodyguards saw her, they simply glanced at her and did not stop her from entering the store. They knew Camryn had always been lenient with her younger sister.Since Camryn did not give any orders to stop Carrie from entering, the bodyguards simply kept an eye on Carrie to ensure that sh
“I want to go to Spring Blossoms as Carrie,” she told the bodyguard who was driving. “Your sister’s people are keeping an eye on your apartment. She’ll get suspicious again if you head over in your outfit. Everything Mr. Longbottom arranged will go to waste,” the bodyguard reminded her.Carrie thought it over. “Okay. Let’s head home first. I’ll change my clothes and remove my makeup before heading over.”She would also check if her stand-in had damaged any of her stuff.If she did, Carrie would tell the stand-in to compensate her.The bodyguard remained silent.Once they arrived at Longbottom Villa, Carrie took off her hyper-realistic mask and removed her makeup. After changing her clothes, she returned to being Carrie and went out with her bag.Her two bodyguards did not stop her from leaving.She could do anything as long as it would not rouse Camryn and other people’s suspicions.Besides, Carrie had just gotten scolded by their boss on the phone. Although Mr. Longbottom
Mr. Longbottom thought he was not so inferior to men younger than him.More accurately, he was far superior. He had status, money, and power.Which of the younger men could be on par with him unless they came from a wealthy family?Many sons of wealthy families could not compete with him.“I can’t go over because I’m busy these days. But I do miss you too.“It’s more difficult because of the festive season. There are many events, and I have to accompany my family. My wife doesn't care about me, but her request is that I be with her during the holidays because we have to meet our friends and families. Do you understand?”Mr. Longbottom had a wife and children. Carrie knew about it. He had never hid that fact.Carrie did not know if he was close to his wife. Although he said they no longer had feelings for each other, Carrie dared not believe him because he had never let other women take his wife’s place.He also never allowed other women to become pregnant with his children.Mr
Carrie thought she had matured since she could figure out that much. In the past, she would not have understood a thing. Love was about accepting everything about someone. Most people could tolerate their partner’s shortcomings when they were deeply in love. However, without love, even a person’s strength would seem like a fault. Carrie smiled. “Mr. York is a workaholic. Serenity must’ve gotten the habit from him and turned into one herself. I can’t believe she’s working so hard even though she’s pregnant.”“She’s still in the early stages of pregnancy. Going to work is fine.”“Do you need anything else, Mrs. Longbottom?” Jasmine asked.“No. I shall take my leave now, Mrs. Bucham.”Jasmine was on guard and unwilling to reveal much about Serenity. Therefore, it would be better for Carrie to leave. She was not close to Serenity and her friends yet. “Bye, Mrs. Longbottom.”Jasmine saw Carrie out and watched as she got into her car.Once Carrie got far enough from the booksto
Mr. Longbottom had been surprised by her question. He told her coldly that she should refrain from asking unnecessary questions.One who knew too much would not live long. Carrie got intimidated and dared not ask another question. Although she got more curious, she did not try to gather more information for fear Mr. Longbottom would choke her again if he found out. “Nothing. I just asked because I haven’t seen her in a while.”Of course, Carrie could not reveal that she was looking for Serenity. Jasmine would get suspicious if she did. No one around Serenity was a fool. “Seren is busy with work. I rarely see her these days,” Jasmine said.Carrie knew it was a lie. She was aware that Serenity's closest friends did not trust her yet. It made her feel defeated. It had been months since Mr. Longbottom found her and asked her to approach Serenity. Despite her efforts, she still had not obtained Serenity’s trust, let alone become her friend.However, Jasmine and Serenity go