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
Zachary retorted in his mind, ‘The company does belong to me.’ Serenity went on saying, “Is Mr. Tank the manager here at the subsidiary company? That’s how he introduced himself. “He said you’ll need to remain in the hospital for a few days. You don’t need to do anything but rest. You might appear healthy, but all the work and tiredness finally caught up to you. Your immune system went down, and now you got one nasty cold. “You’re on paid medical leave. Mr. Tank asked me to look after you and will be paying me on the clock. At least, they had everything thought out for you.” Serenity was impressed by the subsidiary company of a huge corporation. Every aspect was considered thoroughly as family members were offered some form of remuneration without needing to ask for it. Zachary enjoyed his chicken soup while thinking to himself, ‘It’s my money nonetheless.’ However, it was not something he had the guts to blurt out. “How long do I have to be in the hospital? It’s only a c
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
The day ended peacefully. The following day, Zachary ate breakfast and had Kevin drive him and his bodyguards to the airport. They were taking an airplane to Annenburg. Before boarding, Zachary texted Serenity to tell her he would soon arrive in Annenburg. Serenity would be returning from the Murphys’ place. On the other hand, Liberty brought Duncan to Queen Manor to visit Mr. Donald. They would soon become related to each other. Since Duncan was in the city, it was only proper that he visited the Queens. Meanwhile, in Wiltspoon, Jasmine had returned to the bookstore despite it being the winter holidays. She found it rather dull being at home all the time. At the bookstore, even when there were no customers, she could chat with the owners of the nearby stores. While some had closed their stores to celebrate the festive season, many chose to stay open. Jasmine was a month further into her pregnancy than Serenity. Her bump was huge. Luckily, it did not restrict her moveme
After half an hour, Liberty and Duncan finally arrived at the hotel. They bumped into Zachary and Kevin, who had also just returned.“You’re here, Duncan.”Zachary walked toward them. “Hi, Liberty.”Kevin walked over as well. “I told Zachary that you’d be here in no time. Being apart from your girlfriend isn’t easy, right?” Kevin teased.“You’ve experienced it yourself,” replied Duncan as he laughed. Kevin did not respond. He did miss Hayden a lot in the early stages of their relationship. “You two bought so many things.” Kevin saw the items in Duncan’s arms and on his thighs. They were all toys. “Sonny’s getting new toys again, eh?” “Yeah. We bought him some new clothes and toys. I’ve been giving him windmills all the time. It’s time to change it up.”Even Duncan found it slightly ridiculous. He thought Sonny loved windmills just because he saw Sonny playing with them once. That was why he kept getting more windmills for Sonny.Sonny used to be scared of him, but
She would wear light make-up for work to accentuate her beauty. Sometimes, she could not believe the glowing, confident woman looking back at her in the mirror was herself. She had changed a lot after her divorce two years ago. “I’m letting myself enjoy tonight because I’m with you. I won’t have late-night snacks anymore. Going on a diet is too difficult. I don’t want to do it again.”If she gained too much weight, it would be difficult to get fit again because she was happy and did not lack money. In addition, she had Duncan spoiling her. Since she no longer wanted to go on a weight loss journey, she had no choice but to control her appetite and exercise daily to maintain her figure. “I heard the others saying that you have many admirers here. Although they’ve not said anything, even a fool can tell that they’ve fallen for you just from their gazes.”The men who had a crush on Liberty knew she had a fiance who was the young master of the Lewises from Wiltspoon. While they
Liberty smiled. “We don’t have to have that many things. We can simply get our marriage license and choose a suitable date for a wedding.“I’m fine with just getting a marriage license. But, as it’s your first marriage, I don’t want you to miss out on anything, so let’s have a wedding.”Duncan did not want Liberty to feel slighted while at the same time, Liberty did not want Duncan to miss out on a wedding celebration.Liberty was about to get married for the second time while it was Duncan’s first. He was also a young master of the Lewises. Not holding a wedding for his first marriage seemed inappropriate. Duncan raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. His eyes were filled with affection as he said, “Let’s not let each other miss out on anything. We’ll have everything every other couple has and more.“I’ve said that I’d make sure you are the envy of everyone.”Liberty laughed. “I’m already envied by many. They’re saying that my luck is out of this world because I’m able to m
Now, everything was fine.However, this time, he was still unable to be by Liberty’s side. Even though it should have been much safer than when Sonny was kidnapped because he had arranged for people to protect her, he was still worried.He was afraid, feeling paralyzed as all he could do was just wait for news of her.Fortunately, everything went smoothly. No, it was more like there were scares but no real danger. When Belinda wanted to capture someone as a hostage, the first person she thought of was Liberty. First, Liberty did not know any martial arts. Second, she was the successor that Audrey had put forward, making her Caroline’s competitor. Moreover, Liberty was very significant to Audrey. If she were captured, the members of the York, Lewis, and Stone families would not dare act recklessly.Thanks to Dr. Carden’s quick actions, Liberty was pulled back, and she did not fall into Belinda’s hands as a hostage. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.After
“It’s just that when I saw you, I was so happy that I forgot everything else. I even forgot that I’m still disabled,” Duncan said.As he spoke, he pressed her hand against his lips.Liberty looked at him disapprovingly. “Don’t say you’re disabled again. You’re just temporarily impaired, and you will get better.”Duncan smiled. “Okay, okay, from now on, I won’t say I’m disabled. I’ll get better for you. I’ll stand up again.”“You already have—you just can’t walk very far yet,” Liberty said as she supported him. “Should we head back to my office first?”“Are you done with work?” Duncan looked up at the darkening sky. “It’s almost completely dark.”“It’s only five o’clock. It just gets dark quickly in winter, plus today was a cloudy day. It feels gloomy even before six. Anyway, I’m done with work.”“If that’s the case, let’s get something to eat. I’m hungry,” Duncan said.He did not want to go into her office because if he did, he might end up staying for a while. He thought it wo