Josh looked solemn. “Zachary has always been as fit as a fiddle though. I don’t think he has the flu and fever. Take it easy. I’ll contact someone to drive him to the hospital and make travel arrangements for you to get there. Pack up. You can leave in half an hour.” Now that Zachary was ill and Serenity was worried sick, it was the perfect chance for the couple to bond. While feeling concerned about Zachary’s well-being, Josh secretly moaned about Zachary’s timing to be sick. “Thank you, Mr. Bucham.” Serenity was grateful for Josh’s help to get her to Zachary. Josh uttered in a gentle voice, “Zachary is my colleague. I’m worried that he’s sick, and he can be stubborn. He won’t say a word when he’s sick. The bosses and I will feel better if you head there and take care of him.“You might want to get ready now. I’ll give the colleagues there a call to send Zachary to the hospital.” “Sure.” After the phone call, Serenity got up and picked up the bag with two sets of fresh
Alice’s uncle was a doctor who specialized in alternative medicine. Whenever a family member was not feeling well, Alice would go to her uncle and ask for a remedy. Clive really could not stand the awful taste of alternative medicine. Hence, he looked after himself and tried not to get sick. He would hide from his wife if he had the occasional sniffles. Serenity’s worry for Zachary was like Alice’s worry for him. Clive soothed Serenity, “Don’t let your nerves get the best of you. You want to get to the Buchams’ residence? I’ll drive you there.” “Thank you, Clive.” Tilting his head, Clive told his wife, “Wait for me at home, Alice. I’ll drive Serenity to the Buchams’. I don’t feel good getting someone else to drive her.” Alice replied, “Sure. Go ahead.” “Clive, Alice, the chauffeur can drive me if you have something to do.” “What’s the matter?” Liberty had just gotten her son out of the shower when she heard her sister talking in the hallway. With Sonny in her arms,
“His boss made arrangements for me to get there. I need to rush there now,” Serenity replied. “You should hurry there then. His boss will probably have a private plane ready for you if he approves the arrangement. You’ll get there quicker. Clive, you should take Seren there.”Mrs. Stone thought the boss Serenity mentioned was Zachary. Knowing that the Yorks had a private jet, she felt assured enough to let Serenity go. Several minutes later, Clive drove Serenity out of the Stones’ residence. While on the way, Clive said to Serenity, “I have a somewhat unreasonable request to ask of you, Serenity.” “Do say, Clive.” While behind the wheel, Clive said, “You must know that Elisa was in love with Mr. York. Although she said she would let go of her feelings for him, you can’t stop loving someone after going at it for years. It would take some time before she could embrace reality wholeheartedly.” Serenity’s mind harked back to Shawn. This was the case with Shawn toward her as
The only person that Serenity was wrong about was Zachary. Then again, Serenity was fooled by Zachary’s whole family. The cousins shared a pleasant conversation along the way that the journey felt short to Serenity. Soon, they arrived at the Buchams’ residence. Josh was not back. He was still having dinner with Jasmine and her brother. Jasmine was concerned about her best friend, but her mind was at ease since Josh had everything sorted out. Serenity had just arrived at the Buchams’ residence when Jasmine gave her a call. Jasmine felt better after confirming Serenity was at the residence. “Thank goodness Mr. Bucham stepped in to help tonight, Jasmine. Please thank him for me. I’ll personally express my gratitude to him when I return.” Sure, Josh was Zachary’s colleague. He could simply do his due and inform a colleague there to send Zachary to the hospital. However, Josh went above and beyond at sorting everything out when Serenity said she wanted to be there. Josh even
The manager would be to blame if anything were to happen to Mr. York.The headquarters had full confidence in him and entrusted him with a managerial role at the subsidiary company. Yet, the subsidiary company went south fast to the point the CEO had to be here to deal with it. The CEO caught a bad cold and fever from tiring himself out. Thankfully, it was detected early. Otherwise, the CEO’s life would be at risk if the illness dragged on. The manager had lingering fears at the mere thought of it. “Where am I?” Zachary tried to sit up. “Don’t get up, Mr. York. Lie down, lie down. You still have a fever. You’re on IV drips.” Furrowing his brows, Zachary’s memory came back to him. He took a cold medicine from the pharmacy, but it did not work. His temperature kept rising until he passed out in the end. Zachary was on a video call with Serenity before he blacked out. He ended the call before Serenity could catch him passing out on her. Zachary wondered if Serenity was wo
“Mr. York, don’t try to adjust the drip. The nurse mentioned that you can’t rush the IV drip.” The manager stopped Zachary from adjusting the speed of the IV drips. Zachary helplessly gave up. “We’ll wait until your wife is here before heading home, Mr. York.” Zachary abruptly lifted his head and stared at the two men. “Is Seren coming over?” The two men nodded in unison. “Mr. Bucham said that your wife is worried about you and insisted on coming here to take care of you. Mr. Bucham arranged for a private plane to fly her here. She should be arriving any minute now.” Zachary tried to get out of bed. “The missus will give me a call when she gets off the plane, Mr. York. Mr. Bucham has given her my phone number. Don’t worry, Mr. York. I’ll get the missus here safe and sound.” Zachary sat back down and gave Serenity a call. He intended to wait until dawn before contacting her. It never occurred to him that Serenity would rush here. It gave Zachary a feeling that
Serenity said, “Okay. We’ll do as the doctor said. We’ll keep him in the hospital for a few days until he’s well enough to be discharged. His work… His salary…” With Zachary in the hospital, Serenity was hoping to get him to rest for a few days. His boss owned the company. The company was not Zachary’s, so why must he devote his everything when he was sick? The manager jumped in. “Don’t worry, Ms. Hunt. We’ll take over Mr. York’s work. We promise that we won’t bother him about work while he’s in the hospital. Mr. York is on a business trip, so his salary is not affected.” York Corporation belonged to Mr. York. Yet, the CEO’s wife was asking about Mr. York’s salary. She was worried whether his salary would be cut since he had to remain in the hospital.“Thank you.” Serenity expressed her gratitude, under the impression that she got her man a few days of paid leave. “Ms. Hunt, do you need us here to look after Mr. York?” Serenity asked, “How many bags of IV fluid does he n
With the messages sent out, Serenity stuffed the phone back into her pocket. Everybody must be asleep since it was late at night. She did not count on receiving an immediate reply. Zachary gradually came around. Opening his eyes, Zachary deliberately made a bewildered face as if he could not believe Serenity was here. He lifted his free hand and rubbed his eyes while mumbling to himself, “Is the fever getting to me? Are my eyes deceiving me? Why is my Seren here?” Serenity pulled his arm away from his face and gave him a hard pinch on the hand. “Ow!” “Does it hurt?” Serenity asked him. Zachary pulled those cute puppy dog eyes. “It hurts. It hurts so bad.” “It’s good that you felt the pain. You’re not dreaming. This is reality. I told you I’ll make my way here if you don’t get a doctor’s appointment.” Zachary was about to sit up. “Lie down. You’re in a hospital. You’re still burning up. I don’t know why you want to tough it out.” Serenity pressed him down. “Now lie
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
The Queen family was well-educated and had few members. Sophia had heard of other families fighting over power, but Caroline’s experience shocked her the most. Maybe it was because the Queens was close to her. Sophia quite liked Caroline as well. “How could they… You’re their biological sister!”Caroline smiled bitterly. “Are you having a fever, Carol? Your face is red.”Sophia touched Caroline’s forehead. She said, “You’re burning up. Have you informed the doctor, Mr. Fletcher?”Darren replied, “The fever started at dawn. Ms. Caroline caught a cold. Her fever subsided after taking medication once, but it returned.“It’s time for her to take her medicine.”Sophia spotted the lunch boxes. She told Darren, “Go have your lunch, Mr. Fletcher. I can look after Carol.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Queen. I can eat on my own,” said Caroline embarrassedly. It was her first time feeling cared for by someone her mother’s age. Although Sophia was not part of her family, the lady treated her
Caroline looked toward Darren. She said, “In my younger days, I often caught colds and coughs when the weather was too cold. The coughing will last throughout the changing of seasons. Therefore, I’ve been looking after my health since I grew up.“My immune system strengthened a lot. I haven’t been coughing for years.“I’m not worried.”Caroline stared at Darren lovingly. “I have nothing to be worried about with you here.”Darren pinched her face lightly with affection. “I’m still sulking. I didn’t want you to risk yourself, yet I couldn’t stop you. I’ll only feel better once you recover.”He was Caroline’s assistant and had to heed her orders. Even if they were dating, he still had to follow her arrangements.“Okay. Don’t be angry. I won’t take risks like this again in the future. You’ll age quickly if you get angry frequently. If that happens, your hair might turn gray before I even grow old.“We promised to grow old together.”Under Caroline’s gentle coaxing, Darren’s expre
Darren became an orphan when he was only a few years old. After losing everything, he was collected and trained by the training center to be an all-rounder assistant. He could not remember how he lost his parents as he was too young back then. Since he had no memories, there was no pain.Nevertheless, he had seen others interacting with their parents. He knew parents should love their children. There were not many parents who would not shower their children with love. Ms. Caroline was too unlucky to have met one. “I don’t care. I don’t care about my dad at all.”Caroline asked, “Has my dad asked you to give him money? He doesn’t need money. He just wants to know about his sons’ conditions.“Having lived for so many years, he was probably aware of the consequences of his sons’ plan and had advised them not to do it. They didn’t listen to him, so he’s just hoping to get lucky and waiting for some news.”Hunter must have known that her brothers were going to murder her. Sinc