“Aunt Rachel, I didn’t drive and took Shawn’s car here. It’d be great if you could arrange for the chauffeur to drive me back to the shop.” Holding back her anger, Mrs. Lowe summoned a maid to arrange the ride for Jasmine with the chauffeur. Once Jasmine was gone, Mrs. Lowe slapped her son and lashed out, “Shawn, are you trying to infuriate me? Serenity is three years older than you. She doesn’t come from a good family. Are you blind to fall for her?” “Aren’t you fond of Serenity, Mom?“So what if she’s older? It’s not like she’s thirty years older than I am. How is it that she doesn’t come from a good family? Her family isn’t involved in the mafia. She comes from a family of farmers, not criminals.” Mrs. Lowe grimaced. “I like her and see her as another niece of mine because of Jasmine. I’m only fond of her on the condition that she doesn’t get involved with you.“I wouldn’t have allowed you two to spend time together had I known what was going on in your head.“You better
There were certain things that although Shawn was unwilling to face, he was aware of them. Serenity did not have an influential figure to lean on, but his mother was Mrs. Lowe. The Lowes were considerably wealthier and more powerful than Serenity. There was no way Serenity could survive against his mother’s tactics. The only thing left to do would be to leave Wiltspoon. “I don’t want you to try. You must let go of your feelings for her!” Mrs. Lowe ordered. Keeping to her word, Mrs. Lowe summoned two bodyguards and instructed them, “You are to follow Shawn wherever he goes from now on. Report to me if he ever goes near Wiltspoon School.” Shawn turned ashen. Meanwhile, the Lowes’ chauffeur drove Jasmine to the shop. Serenity had moved all the display racks into the shops and packed up her crafting tools and materials. She even cleared the unfinished groceries out of the fridge and bagged them along with the snacks. She was ready to bring them all back to her house. The sh
Zachary, who was dubbed the petty guy by Serenity, took a few hours of sleep at the office before waking up. He opened his eyes and found a thick jacket draped over him. Removing the jacket, he looked at the time. “It’s nine at night,” Zachary cried, unable to believe that he slept that long. There were a few thermal lunch boxes on his desk. It must be the dinner brought by the manager of the subsidiary company. The manager must have seen him asleep and did not want to wake him. The thick jacket over Zachary must be from the manager too. Straightening his back, Zachary sat in silence for a while before heading to the bathroom to freshen himself up with a good splash of cold water to his face. He walked out of the bathroom several minutes later. Having returned to his seat, he opened the food containers. The food was still warm. He sat behind his desk and dug in. Zachary pulled out his phone and checked his messages. Other than the messages from his senior executives about
Josh had no words. He commented, “What’s up with you two? You were getting along just fine and giving us front-row seats to your public display of affection, but now another fight broke out. No wonder Serenity went to a bar. It was all because of you.” Zachary replied, “Look into where they are right now and how long they’ve been there. Are they drunk? Give me a reply if you hear anything back.” “Alright. I’ll get right to it.” Josh swiftly hung up the call and dove into investigating the girls’ whereabouts. While waiting for an answer, Zachary contacted his private plane crew and instructed them, “Prepare to fly back. I want to return to Wiltspoon in a few minutes.” He did not want Serenity to drop him off at the airport when he needed to go away for business. One reason was he had to return to the office, and the second was he did not have a plane ticket ready. Zachary took a private plane abroad. Following Zachary’s last-minute notice, the crew started flight preparati
Zachary gave up on dialing Serenity’s number. A call from Josh could not come at a better time. “Where are they drinking, Josh?” Zachary went right to the question the moment the call was connected. Hearing the anxiousness in his tone, Josh took the chance to tease Zachary. “Feeling desperate? Do you have ants in your pants? Can’t wait to get back here?” “Josh!” This was the worst possible time to make fun of him. Zachary was so desperate, he wished he had wings to fly all the way back to Wiltspoon. Josh chuckled. “I couldn’t pass up on the chance. Only Serenity can bring the anxiousness out of you.” Zachary had always remained stoic in the face of adversity. To get Zachary restless was not something Josh could see every day. “They’re at Neon Nights. They arrived half an hour ago. Jasmine and her young brother are with Serenity.” Zachary frowned. “How old is Jasmine’s brother?” Why did Jasmine have so many brothers? Although Shawn was her cousin, they shared
“I’m still sober. Another couple of drinks won’t make me drunk.” “You should quit while you’re at it.“We came here to have a drink or two. Too much is not good for you.” Serenity stared at her eerily. Jasmine fell silent for a moment before getting up to leave. She reminded her brother to watch Serenity. A while later, Jasmine returned with a pen, papers, and a glass of wine in hand. “This is your last drink. I asked for a few sheets of paper for you to draw on.” “Jas, Serenity’s drunk. Can she still draw?” Serenity claimed that she was sober but the truth was, she was drunk. Instead of answering his brother’s question, Jasmine handed the pen and papers to Serenity. Serenity took the stuff and started drawing on the paper without taking the drink. First, she drew a ball. Drake was speechless. It was not hard to draw a circle in a drunken state. Drake believed it was a no-brainer. Serenity then drew a lake with way too many wavy lines along the shore. Following
“Is that you, Ms. Sox?” a voice interrupted the trio. Jasmine and her brother turned their heads toward the source of the voice. Serenity calmly drank her wine as though she did not see Josh. “Mr. Bucham?” Jasmine was surprised to find Josh here. Josh explained, “I got together with a few buddies to let loose here since it’s the weekend. I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Ms. Sox.“Do you mind if I sit here?” Jasmine replied with a smile, “Well, you already sat down. Are you waiting for your friends?” She saw that he was alone. Josh sat down and said hello to Serenity. Serenity merely bobbed her head as an acknowledgment to his greeting. “My friends have left.” Looking at the drawing, Josh asked Jasmine, “Who drew this? Can I have a closer look?” With Jasmine’s eyes turning to her best friend, Josh got an idea of the artist behind the artwork. Serenity went on drinking without a word. Taking it as a no, Josh did not pick the drawing up, but he was still able to
“Seren.” Jasmine immediately went to help Serenity up. “I can still drink…” Despite being held up, Serenity was mumbling away about having more drinks. Looking at the state Serenity was in, Josh did not feel right to pull out his phone and take a video of her. Nevertheless, there was security surveillance in the place. He could pull the security footage and show it to Zachary. Zachary married a wonderful wife but could do better at cherishing her. They often fought and got into silent wars while the people around him were dragged into the crossfire. “You’re drunk, Serenity. I’ll take you home.” Jasmine got up and said to Josh apologetically, “Serenity had too much to drink, Mr. Buchan. I’m going to take her home now.” “I don’t think you can drive since you had something to drink too. I didn’t drink, so I can drive you home.” As Josh came here for Jasmine, he did not have a drop of alcohol. He was looking for a chance to get Jasmine in his car. “Thank you, Mr. Bucha
Serenity laughed and said, “I hope I’ll be toasting at your wedding soon.”Peter replied, “I think I'll get married before Dylan does.”Dylan’s romantic path had been much more complicated because he had not wanted to follow the smooth, well-paved road that Grandma May had arranged for him.“We have lots of happy occasions lined up after Christmas, then,” Camryn remarked.“Yes, lots,” Serenity agreed.The courtyard was lively, with the elders occasionally joining in on the fun. Meanwhile, inside the house, Dylan was thinking about what Serenity had told him. She had repeatedly said that the person Grandma May picked for him would definitely be the right one, someone who would suit him well.She also suggested that he look into Imogen and that there might be a pleasant surprise in store for him, but that he was not to let Imogen know. The implication in Serenity’s words was that Imogen might be Fox and that Fox’s real identity was Imogen Doyle herself.After understanding Serenit
Dylan frowned as he pondered deeply.“The scent from outside is wafting in. I think the food’s ready. I’m going out to have a couple of skewers to satisfy my cravings. You can stay here and think things through.”Seeing that Dylan had finally grasped the main point, Serenity stopped the conversation and went out to have some barbecue. It had been a long time since she had eaten barbecue.After getting pregnant, although she was not as strictly monitored as Jasmine was, she still paid close attention to her diet and would do her best to avoid things she could not eat or had to limit. Liberty called her every few days to remind her to be careful.When Zachary saw Serenity come out of the house, he immediately picked up a plate of freshly grilled skewers to his beloved wife, saying, “I deliberately used less seasoning on these for you, so you can eat them with peace of mind. Sonny’s asleep now, right?” “He fell asleep long ago, after playing so hard today,” Serenity replied, then gr
In that case, Grandma May would not even need to step in to teach him a lesson. His older brothers would beat him up multiple times for tarnishing the York family’s reputation and dragging their names in the mud with his own.“Dylan, I told you that if you didn’t trust Nana, you’d face the consequences. Look, you’re starting to suffer now, aren’t you?” Serenity said. Who was Grandma May? She was a kind-hearted but cunning old fox who could sell someone out and still make them feel grateful for it as they counted the money she made for her. How could she pick a bad match for her grandsons? There was no way they would be unsuitable. “Serenity, it’s not that I don’t trust Nana, it’s just that I really couldn’t fall in love with Imogen. I feel like if I couldn’t fall for her in almost three months then I just won’t. And I always thought about Fox when I was with Imogen. I’m not some naïve kid who doesn’t understand what that means.” Dylan smiled bitterly. His family always compla
“Callum and Camryn came with Trenton, so they’re all having a barbecue together.”Serenity hummed in response. She closed the door to Sonny's room and said to Dylan, “Is it something you don’t want Zachary to know? If so, let’s go to his study to talk." “It’s not that. It’s fine if he knows, but I’ve talked to him, and he couldn’t be bothered. Then I asked Julian, but he said he was busy. He’s taking Ms. Crawford to register their marriage tomorrow. I just wanted a little help from him; I didn’t need him to do it personally.” Dylan grumbled a little about Julian being unhelpful.If Julian could hear this, he would retort, “Why should I help you? Even Zachary isn’t that demanding.”If it were not for the fact that Zachary and his cousin, Josh, were best buddies, Julian would not be so obliging either. Among the Yorks, Grandma May was the person the Buchams most respected. Of course, if it were something important, the Bucham family would definitely help, but Dylan’s request se
“I haven’t felt like snacking lately.”“Is the stuff made at home not to your taste anymore?” Whenever Serenity said she did not want to eat something she usually loved, Zachary would wonder if it was because the chef’s skills had declined, causing his beloved wife to lose her appetite. “It’s not that, I just don’t feel like eating them. I think maybe the baby is like you and doesn’t like sweets.”Zachary smiled. “If our son is like me, that’s fine. He’ll be steady, and in the future, the two of us will protect you.” If they had a daughter, he hoped she would be like Serenity. If she had his personality… Well, it would not be the most charming. Zachary wanted his daughter to be very likable. “I don’t need you guys to protect me, I can protect myself.”“Honey, don’t say that. I’m your husband, your man. You have to give me a chance to show off, or else people will say you married a useless husband. That would be so unfair to me.”Serenity chuckled.“Do you want to go watch So
“I can be just as considerate and attentive to you.”Quinn looked at him and could not help but laugh. “I don't mean anything else by that, you don’t need to be so defensive.”“You envy Serenity,” Julian said. “I don't want you to envy anyone. I want you to be someone others envy.”Uh, this sounded exactly like something Zachary would say. It looked like, occasionally, he really had learned a thing or two from Zachary.Quinn instantly felt smitten. She looped her arm through Julian's and whispered, “I already am someone others envy. I’m not envious of Serenity—I was just making an observation. They say Mr. Zachary dotes on his wife, and Serenity is very lucky. Now that I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes, I believe it. So, I genuinely sighed with admiration. I know I’m very lucky as well. You treat me so well, and I am content. I really don’t envy anyone.”The young couple’s conversation went unnoticed by Zachary. He waited for his wife to settle before answering a call from Dylan.
“Well, Rowan can play for a couple of days, but he has to start working on his homework soon. The college entrance exam is around the corner, and we can't let him relax too much.”“Rowan's grades are very stable and good. It won’t be hard for him to get into college, so don't put too much pressure on him. It's not necessary for him to get into the same university you and the others went to.”Serenity still remembered the pressure she had felt in high school, though it was not as much as Rowan felt, and her sister's expectations for her were more relaxed; she was only expected to do her best. No matter what the results were, Liberty would accept it. Of course, if she could get into an Ivy League university, that would be great. Otherwise, getting into an Ivy Plus university would also be fine. If that did not work out, she could go to a public university or even take a gap year. Liberty would have been okay with any of it. Her sister always told her that as long as she was physica
Zachary would not do such a thing. Julian laughed. “It’s my first time getting married. I’m asking around because I’m inexperienced. That way, I can make a plan.”Zachary turned to look at him. He said, “How many more times do you intend to get married? I didn’t have any experience either back then. It was my first time going to City Hall. Besides, Seren and I got married in a rush and did not even know each other well. After getting our marriage license, I completely forgot that I was a married man.“You’re in a better situation than I was. At least you and Quinn have feelings for each other and a stable relationship.”Julian chuckled. He caught up to Zachary and placed his arm on his shoulder. He said, “We all know what we should avoid after you’ve set an example.”Zachary was speechless. “You and Serenity are an enviable couple now.“I want to learn from you and make people jealous of Quinn as well.”Zachary brushed Julian’s hand off. “I think you’ll do a better job than m
Zachary and Julian exited the house with two housekeepers behind them, holding a tray each with snacks and drinks. The two men had excellent eyesight and quickly spotted the love of their lives sitting at a bench some distance away. Zachary knew that it was because Serenity got tired from walking. In the past, some pregnant female employees would return to work despite being pretty far along in their pregnancies. Their workload was only slightly lighter. Since Zachary had seen those employees insisting on working even though they were pregnant, he used to think being pregnant and giving birth were not that difficult. He had never put himself in the shoes of the female employees. They insisted on working because they feared being replaced if they took an extended maternity leave. When they returned, they could be discriminated against and had to start all over again. While there were opportunities to be promoted in a megacorporation, one had to climb the corporate ladder ste