“Josh!” Zachary was peeved. It was the truth when Zachary said it was all for his pride. Serenity was his wife. It would be a slap on his face if Serenity was harassed. He could not possibly let that happen. “Fine, fine. I let you be. It’s all for your pride and dignity. Alright, I’ll look into the matter. Your wife is Serenity Hunt, right? You could’ve asked Duncan to help you. As your administrative executive, I had a lot on my plate with the business side of things. I don’t even have time to get a drink of water.” Getting up, Zachary went to pour a glass of water. “Drink up. I don’t want you going around saying you don’t have time to even drink water.” “Well, that took you long enough.” “I thought you weren’t thirsty. You would’ve poured yourself a drink if you were. When have you ever asked for permission? Are we buddies or what?” Josh chuckled. “Duncan doesn’t know how to keep a tight lid.” “That’s true. He can be a blabbermouth.” Josh was smug. “Don’t forg
Nothing good ever came out of Zachary’s mouth, to be honest. Perhaps Zachary should show his apology through his actions. “What’s the matter? Were you wrong about your wife? What did you do to warrant an apology gift?” Josh was in the mood for gossip. “None of your business. Get back to work. You’re going to be speaking with Mr. Williams about the partnership tonight. I'll be busy tonight.” Zachary had dinner plans with his wife at his sister-in-law’s.“Why are you busy? Where are you going?” “You should know that a married man shouldn’t spend all his time on work, or else it’ll give his wife an excuse to cheat on him.” Josh, “…” He was speechless. At least Josh found out that the work was pushed to him so his boss could spend some time with his wife. Zachary sure thought he was all that just because he was married. Josh could get married too. He could then skip social engagements and overtime to go home to his wife. Alas, he did not have a girlfriend. There wa
Hank’s mom said Liberty’s education was for nothing. It was not like she could share the financial burden at home. A woman who could manage the house and earn an income suited Hank best. Most importantly, Liberty did not bother to primp herself. She lost her beauty and grace, content with becoming an overweight, unkempt blob. Liberty was no longer the person she was before marriage. Hank would not dream of taking Liberty to social engagements, worried that his colleagues and clients would make fun of him. Liberty had nothing on Jessica. Hank’s words saw Liberty’s blood pressure rising. Liberty hung up the call. She forgot to tell Hank that she had invited Serenity and her husband over for dinner tonight. If both the in-laws and newlyweds came for dinner, there was bound to be a huge fight between her and Hank once the in-laws were gone.If her in-laws could come to dinner whenever they wanted, so could her sister and her husband. Liberty had a say in the family too.
Zachary made an unexpected appearance at Serenity’s shop in the afternoon. Serenity and Jasmine were ready to dig into their takeout after finishing the task at hand when Zachary arrived at the shop. He went directly into the shop. Surprised, Serenity stared blankly as Zachary approached her. Zachary made a beeline to Serenity and lowered his gaze to her face. “Did you forget who I am?” Snapping out of the shock, Serenity replied with a smile, “I didn’t expect to see you here. What brings you here? Have you eaten? I can order you takeout if you’re hungry.” Jasmine said hello to Zachary before picking up her food and hiding behind a huge shelf to eat. She left the space to the couple. “I had lunch. Why did you wait until now to have yours?” Zachary raised his hand to look at the time. It was almost one o’clock. Furrowing his brows, he told Serenity off, “Take your meals on time. Your body won’t be the same once you develop indigestion.” He had an eleven o’clock lunch app
“Didn’t you say you were only going to help me with the deposit?” Serenity asked Zachary in a hushed tone. “I could afford the car you picked, so I paid in full.” “Oh.” Serenity whispered, “I’ll wire you half the money later.” Zachary glanced at her. “It’s fine.” Serenity blinked. By that, did he mean he was giving the car to her? Sure he could afford the car, but it was over a hundred thousand dollars. Although they were husband and wife, they barely knew each other in the short period they were married. Most importantly, they signed an agreement to go their separate ways six months later. It was a red flag to Serenity when Zachary suddenly splurged on a car worth over a hundred thousand dollars for her. There was no free lunch in the world. Serenity dragged him out of the dealership and confronted him away from the public eye. “Mr. York, can you tell me why you’re gifting me with a car? I won’t feel comfortable driving the car unless you clarify that. I don’t want to be
In a show of support, Jasmine circled Serenity’s new ride and complimented, “Not bad. How much was it?” “More than a hundred thousand bucks.” “Was it paid in full or are you taking up a loan?” “My man made the full payment.” Jasmine beamed and patted her best friend’s shoulder. “Wow, Serenity. It did not take long for you to bag that man and get him to buy you a car.“I knew you had it in you even though you didn’t know him before marriage. Mr. York must be blind if he didn’t fall for your charms.” Serenity was the best in Jasmine’s eyes. Once in the shop, Serenity poured herself a glass of water and chugged down half before replying, “You’re crazy. Zachary found out that Shawn drove me home last night. We nearly got into a fight because he thought I was cheating on him. So he felt he did me wrong after I cleared the air and gave me a car as an apology.”Jasmine, “…” Here she was, imagining a Lifetime movie out of Serenity’s life when reality gave her a rude awakening.
It did not sit well with Zachary.He pulled a long face the entire afternoon, leaving everyone at York Corporation on tenterhooks. It was a mystery who stepped on the toes of the stone-faced CEO. As if his usual aloof demeanor was not enough, the tensed lines running along his chiseled face only made him scarier. Even Callum and Josh refrained from hanging around Zachary. Despite feeling exasperated, Zachary kept his promise and waited for Serenity at the shop after work. Since Serenity was busy, he stepped into the shop to help out behind the cash register. However, the combination of his stern outlook, his quiet presence, and his towering build scared the students away from the cash register, so the students approached Serenity and Jasmine instead.Serenity said to him point-blank, “I’ll take over from here, Mr. York.” Tilting his head, Zachary stared into Serenity’s eyes with utmost profundity. It took a while before he got up with a sour face and walked around the ca
By the time Serenity parked her sweet new ride and got into Zachary’s car, Zachary adopted a milder tone. He asked her, “This will be the first time I have dinner at your sister’s. I should bring her a gift. What do your sister and brother-in-law like?” Serenity buckled up. “Get a toy for Sonny. My brother-in-law smokes, so get him a pack or two. We can just bring some fruit.” “Right,” Zachary replied. As the car drove out of Brynfield, he asked his wife, “Where should we get the stuff?” “There’s a store not too far from here. We’ll make a pit stop and get everything we need there. Mr. York, have you lived here before I moved in? I’ve noticed you don’t seem familiar with the vicinity.” Zachary took the time to pause before replying, “I bought this house ages ago, but I let it sit because I was staying with my parents. I thought I shouldn’t take up space at my family’s home after we got married, so I moved into this house.” “Does your family have a big house?” Since Zachar
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa