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
After much silence, Zachary said, “I don’t have much savings left after purchasing the villa and the apartment in Brynfield. The car is only a mode of transport. I don’t need a luxury car since the one I have now does the job.” Zachary was flustered as he was making up more lies to cover up the web of lies from before. Serenity gave him another push. “Let go of me.” “Are you going to run?” “Where can I run to? I won’t tell you if I plan to run away. I can just pack my stuff and leave. I would be bluffing and trying to scare you if I made a huge commotion to leave. I’d be quiet if I wanted to leave for sure. It will be without hesitation, and you won’t be able to find me.” With his heart beating out of his chest, Zachary cautiously asked, “Seren, in what circumstances would you leave me?” “You must be guilty of doing me dirty to ask that question.” Zachary was quick to deny, “I just want to know, so that I won’t make that mistake and hurt you. I don’t want to give you a ch
“Yeah, right.” Zachary went on to pack his bags. Serenity sat down, carrying on with her money counting. York Corporation was the top company in Wiltspoon for sure. The corporation had deep pockets that even the subsidiary company was generous. Serenity earned a few thousand dollars for the few days of caring for Zachary. Mr. Tank would have given Serenity more money, but she might suspect something. After counting the cash, Serenity got up and grabbed her go-to purse. It was a cheap canvas purse that cost a few dollars if bought in bulk online. Nevertheless, the purse was useful and could hold bills worth tens of thousands. Serenity stuffed the cash into the purse and watched Zachary pack the suitcase. There was not a lot of stuff. She packed his bags before Zachary went on his business trip. Since Serenity came in a hurry, she only brought along two changes of clothes. The daily necessities were bought here. It did not take long for Zachary to finish packing. He appro