Sonny recoiled behind his mother.Turning around, Liberty picked her son up and said, “Sonny, this is Mr. Lewis. You met him before.” Sonny simply stared at Duncan. As polite as he usually was, Sonny refused to say hello to Duncan. “The child is beautiful,” Mrs. Lewis complimented. Mrs. Stone’s elder niece was broad around the beam, but her son was rather handsome. “Duncan, your scary face scared the little guy. He won’t let you touch him.” Mrs. Lewis tore one into her youngest son. Since the incident when Duncan got a cut on his face, Mrs. Lewis was all for her son to go under the knife to remove the scar and get his good looks back. However, the headstrong b*stard refused to take her advice and do the surgery. He had no consideration for his mother who nearly had a heart attack and cried so many nights over the accident. Many years had passed, and the scar remained. The once hunk now found himself single at thirty-five… Hang on. Duncan was about to celebrate his th
“Don’t worry. I won’t give Mrs. Lewis a chance to make things difficult for me. Don’t be mad.” “You’re so forgiving, Liberty. I would never allow anyone to look at me that way if it were me. I’d make her pay.” Liberty smiled. How could she compare herself to Elisa? Elisa was an heiress born with a silver spoon.Liberty was an orphan who lost both parents at a young age. “I got your back from now on. You must let me know if anyone gives you an attitude or bullies you. I’ll kick their *sses for you.” “Jasmine’s here.” With Jasmine and her brother arriving at the scene, Liberty alerted Elisa and distracted her from the topic. Jasmine dragged her brother along to the event so she could get a free ride off him and feast to her heart’s content at the party. It was a pity that Serenity was not in Wiltspoon. “Jasmine.” Elisa and Liberty walked up to them. “Why did you take ages, Jasmine?” As Elisa drew close and intimately held Jasmine’s arm, many looked over and rec
It alerted Liberty’s internal alarm bells to ring. She callously asked, “Who told you that I got that much money? I didn’t work or have any income after I got married.” “Your mother-in-law said so. Liberty, my business has hit a rough patch and is in the red. I lost all the money I profited from over the years. I don’t have cash going into the business, so I was thinking if you could lend me a million bucks.” Liberty sneered in anger. There were no boundaries when it came to these people. They would not stop bugging her and Serenity. “You might want to look in the mirror and see if you can find your dignity, Mike. After all that you’ve done to me and my sister, you have the gall to ask me for money?! That’s right. I do have a million dollars, but I won’t lend it to you. I’d rather give the money to anyone else than you!” “Oh, come on, Liberty. We’re family after all. Look, you girls were stubborn then. You didn’t get your husband to pay us for family support. He married y
Despite John’s persistent questioning, the human resource managers would not reveal to him who else, apart from Stone Group, was putting an end to his professional career. John knew that someone had Serenity and her sister’s back. He thought it was Elisa at first, but now it seemed there was someone more powerful than Elisa standing behind the sister. Who could it be? The person had the power to stop anybody from hiring him in Wiltspoon. Having lost his confidence, John decided to wait until Grandmom was out of the hospital and send his grandparents back to their hometown before figuring something out in the new year. “What do we do now?” Stuart was anxious. “Whoever’s behind Serenity and her sister must be some sort of big shot. They’re the reason for our job losses and business failures. You’re feeling the pinch too even though you don’t run a huge business.“Mike, we can have a family meeting when your grandmom is out of the hospital. We should apologize sincerely as Se
Elisa was there to hear the entire conversation between Liberty and Mike. She angrily uttered, “I can’t believe they’re still hounding you for money.” “He wants to borrow money from me, saying that business is bad now, and he’s in the red. He needs to pump in a million bucks into operations.” “How shameless of him! And I thought I was the most brazen person in Wiltspoon. People called me shameless for going after Mr. York, but compared to your relatives, I’m considered modest.” Liberty ended up soothing Elisa instead. “Don’t get worked up over these people, Elisa. Serenity and I will never be on good terms with them. Those people can go to hell for all I care.” The hardship the Hunts faced right now was karma hitting back at them. “Come on, let’s enjoy the buffet and alcohol. Elisa, your pastry chef makes the best desserts. I’m going to eat to my heart’s content today!” Jasmine turned the subject of conversation elsewhere. Elisa laughed at her. “Desserts are fattening… Li
Liberty said to Mrs. Stone, “Aunt Audrey, Seren and I are young and able. We don’t need your help. Don’t worry too much about us. Have faith in us. We will get to the top with our own effort.“I do have one thing to ask of you. Try not to let everybody know that Seren and I are your nieces. We have seen all kinds of people and the ugly side of humanity. I’m worried that others might use us against you or the Stone Group.” After much thought, Mrs. Stone replied, “I’m happy that you think that way, Liberty. You are both strong-willed like me. I’ll take a step back since you don’t need my help, but you must let me know if things get tough for you. “It doesn’t matter if others don’t know about our relationship, but your relatives must know of that fact, or they’ll continue to pester you girls for money.” Stone Group’s reputation came in handy at times. “They already know Elisa stands behind us.” Elisa got into it with the Hunts at the shop. “I won’t go out of my way to tell th
Even though Serenity had been hanging around Zachary every day, he could not kiss his wife, the love of his life. Zachary had trouble keeping it in his pants. Now that the ban was lifted, he could not keep his hands off Serenity and demanded kisses. A while later, Serenity rested against his chest and caught up on her breathing. “Seren.” Serenity lifted her chin to meet him at eye level. With Zachary looking rather solemn, Serenity blinked her eyes. That was quite a quick change of mood. She asked, “What’s the matter? Why do you have that teacher look?“Do you still remember the first time you came to my shop to help? The students didn’t even dare set foot into the shop because you were there.” Zachary put his hand on her face, caressing his thumb against her soft skin. There was a smile across his face. “You rushed me to go back to the office. I was furious because you didn’t appreciate that I was trying to help you. You even tried to hurry me along.” In the past, he
To think Zachary owned a villa there and it was on the hilltop with the best view too. Stuffing her phone back into her pocket, Serenity turned around and walked to the sofa for a seat. She did not break gaze with Zachary. Zachary was looking at her. He wondered if she was angry or pleasantly surprised. Serenity appeared surprised, but not the good kind. “Seren, w-we rushed to get married, so I…” Zachary drew close and sat next to her. The moment he took a seat, Serenity scooted to the side, pulling a distance between them. She told him off, “Stay right there. Don’t come too close to me.” Tensing her facial lines, Serenity uttered furiously, “I know why you kept it from me. Do you think I'll go after your money when I find out you own a villa?“How much do you make annually as a senior executive in York Corporation? I bet it’s a few million dollars. You’re always busy at work, either working overtime or going to business parties. Do you claim the spending and hours from
Hank’s parents had always been biased toward his sister, Chelsea. It would be difficult to change them. Their father, Luke, was a slightly better case because he had felt regretful ever since knowing Serenity was the York family’s missus. He regretted letting Hank date Jessica. After going through so much, he was more convinced that Liberty suited Hank better. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Hank could no longer return to the past. On the day Serenity and Zachary brought Sonny to the Browns’ place for a meal, Chelsea also brought Lucas back to visit her family. When Chelsea entered the house, Olivia was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She said, “I heard Liberty and Duncan getting married soon, Mom. The Lewises are preparing for the wedding. The couple will most likely get their marriage license after she returns from Jensburg.”Olivia looked indifferent. “That’s bound to happen sooner or later. Why are we still talking about her?“Even if she gets a boost in her
Next, she posted the pictures on social media. Many of her followers were her students’ parents. Only a minority of them were her friends or ex-classmates. She was flooded with blessings from them as well. One of Zoey Crawford’s worries was finally resolved. Since her daughter had gotten married, she would continue urging her sons to do the same. Zoey had been anxious that Quinn could never find a suitable partner because of her easy-going personality and proficiency in martial arts. Although she was introduced to a few men through matchmaking services, the men usually refused to show up. They were scared of the potential domestic abuse they could face since Quinn was good at fighting. They had heard of her countless accomplishments as well. Therefore, no one was interested in Quinn despite her decent figure, looks, and family background. This was where Zoey’s constant urging for her to find a life partner came from. Quinn had felt frustrated about Zoey’s nagging. She did not
Julian said gently, “You can meet Serenity, Jasmine, and Elisa often in the future.“By the way, don’t trust anything Elisa says. Take her words with a grain of salt.”Quinn asked, “What will Ms. Stone say to me? Why are you specifically asking me not to listen to her?”Julian cleared his throat. As he drove, he said embarrassedly, “I pretended to pursue Elisa for some time to help Remy back then.”Quinn said, “I didn’t know I had a love rival.”“Elisa isn’t your love rival. She and her family don’t fancy me anyway. When they knew I was pursuing her, Mrs. Stone immediately changed her mind and agreed to Remy and Elisa’s marriage. To her, I’m like a fierce beast unsuited for her baby daughter.”Quinn got invested and asked, “Why did helping Remy involve pursuing Elisa?”Julian came clean and recounted everything to Quinn. He did not want her to misunderstand.“Even your parents fell for your acting. I didn’t think you’d do such a thing.”“Don’t misunderstand, honey.”Quinn smi
Fortunately, Quinn herself was strong, and her family was not pushovers either. She turned to look at Julian.Without asking, Julian knew exactly what she was thinking, and he quickly reassured her, “Quinn, you don’t have to worry. That kind of thing won’t happen to us. I’m your rock. As long as I’m around, no one can bully you. In my family, apart from my parents, everyone else has to accede to me, and you know how my parents feel about you. They’re so grateful to you that they practically worship you like a goddess.“You’re familiar with the York family now and have seen the way they operate, right? Well, my family and the Yorks are old family friends. Birds of a feather flock together. The reason our two families are so close is we have similar family values.“Setting aside the fact that your family is powerful enough and supportive of you—even if you were like Serenity in the beginning, my family would never look down on you or mistreat you. They would only love and cherish you.
Stacy was actually hoping that Julian and Quinn could get their marriage license today and hold the wedding right away. However, the date they had picked was after Christmas and they still had to wait over a month for the actual wedding. At least once they signed the papers, there was no need to worry about Quinn changing her mind. Stacy was afraid that Quinn and her family might have second thoughts, especially since her son was afflicted with a disorder.“Hey, sweetie.”When Stacy addressed Quinn, her tone was very gentle. Quinn thought that her future mother-in-law was even kinder and more considerate than her own mother. Her father had looked into the Buchams' character and knew that Stacy was actually quite formidable. To Quinn though, Stacy appeared so gentle and kind that she did not seem like the kind of person who would be overly strict or tough. Of course, anyone who could hold fast the position of the Buchams’ head missus and secure her husband’s love for decades as if
Quinn could not stop laughing when she saw him.Julian blushed a little in response. He asked, “What are you laughing at? Is my outfit ugly? Does it not look good?”He was used to wearing black clothes all the time. Although he had a white suit, he rarely wore it. Today, for the special occasion of legally getting married to Quinn, he had specifically chosen to wear white, a color symbolizing purity, to proclaim how his feelings were as pure as snow.“It’s not ugly, it looks great! You look even more handsome than usual. I’m just not used to seeing you in a white suit. Now, you look like a prince from a fairy tale—my prince.”Julian smiled indulgently. “That’s right. I’m your prince charming and yours alone. You look great in white, too, my dear wife.”It was Quinn’s turn to blush slightly. She was not used to being called his wife, especially since they had not even registered yet. Since they were about to go get their marriage license though, she might as well start getting used
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