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
Ever since the start of the school’s winter holidays, Jasmine had been holing up at home. Her daily routine consisted of eating, sleeping, and reading romance novels on her phone. Her brother would get the occasional phone call from Josh to dine out, and Jasmine would invite herself to the get-together in case her brother might sell her out behind her back. Now that Jasmine received a message from Serenity that the latter was back, Jasmine quickly replied with a voice message. “How about Italian tonight? Mr. Bucham took my brother to an Italian place, and the food was great. I’ve been waiting for you to come back so we can try out the place. You have no idea. I couldn’t binge when dining with my brother and Mr. Bucham because I’d eat more than them.” Serenity responded to her with a smile, “I can’t tonight. I just got back with Mr. York. We’re going to have a slow night. How about tomorrow night? Get my sister and Elisa to join us.” “We don’t have to include Elisa since she e
Zachary would usually take his Rolls Royce, but the chauffeur drove the sedan back to the old residence and was on standby during his business trip. “Your company’s parking lot is like a car show. You can see an array of cars here.” Serenity commented as she got into the car. She saw many luxury sedans. “We have a lot of senior executives in the office. People tend to get better cars when their incomes are high. No man can resist cars. Well, you know I prefer properties to cars. The value will only increase with time.” Serenity would not take Zachary’s word for it if she knew the cars in his garage could rival a car exhibition. “Men love cars, and women love properties. You can make a home out of a house.” Serenity had been saving up to buy a house. The car she had was a gift from Zachary. Her usual mode of transportation to work was her e-bike. “Have you texted your sister?” “I sent her a text, but I haven’t received a reply. She must be occupied with something. Ja
After unlocking the gate, Zachary got back into the car and started the engine. He drove into the villa compound and parked on the empty driveway. He replied without Serenity pressing for answers. “My parents and Nana prefer living in the old residence and away from the bustle. They’re used to the place because they have been there for decades. They prefer their peace away from us kids. Nana would stay with us for a few days and disappear somewhere else.” Serenity concurred, “Yeah. Sounds like it.” She got out of the car and strolled around the front lawn. The landscape was great. The estate had a front lawn and backyard. There was a swimming pool, some pruned trees, and a pergola in the front. The tree near the pergola had a swing installed onto the branch. It was perfect to enjoy a good book or the view while sitting there. The backyard was lush with scenic and fruit trees. There were homegrown Wiltspoonian trees like apple and mango trees. Serenity observed the open spac
“This is our home. We can spend the rest of our lives here, so there’s no rush to look around.” With his arms around Serenity, Zachary ushered her into the house, even picking her up in between to rush up the stairs. “I’ll prepare a sumptuous dinner for you downstairs once I get my fill.” Serenity was at a loss for words. They entered the master bedroom on the second floor, but before Serenity could check out the room, the desperate man put her down on the bed. With his muscular body pinning her down, Serenity lifted her arms and nudged him. She said, “You’re heavy.” Holding himself up with his elbows, Zachary lowered his gaze to meet hers. He did not hide the burning passion in his eyes as he inquired in a gruff voice, “Can I, Seren? “It’s not too late for you to change your mind. I can just take another cold shower.” Serenity caressed his face. “You got your good looks from your parents combined. To have a piece of meat hanging around me every day, I could’ve turned int
Having been caught searching the web, Serenity could not stop the burn in her cheeks. She sat up and snatched her phone back. Locking the screen, Serenity pretended like nothing ever happened and said, “I was just looking around because I was bored. Where’s the alcohol?” Zachary brought two glasses of alcohol over and gave one to Serenity. He uttered, “We didn’t have dinner, so we can’t drink much. Just a little will do.” “That’s so little. I’ll finish this in two gulps before I can taste the alcohol.” Serenity whined before taking the glass from Zachary. She took a sip to savor the taste. As expected, the liquor was not strong enough. He must be afraid she would get wasted. She downed the drink like it was water. Zachary took a sip and stared at her. Since he was not self-conscious, he did not need alcohol to psyche up. “Aren’t you going to drink that? I’ll have it if you’re not going to.” Serenity reached out to grab his wine glass. His glass was bigger and had mor
Zachary appeared rather delighted as he strolled down the stairs. Anyone near him right now could hear that he was humming to a tune. It had been a while since they got married, but Zachary was no longer just Serenity’s husband by name. He took strides into the kitchen and grabbed the apron hanging off the door. Zachary put on the apron and opened the fridge to check for ingredients. He took out a few ingredients for the dishes he planned to make. First things first, Zachary wanted to make a broth suitable for women after their first time. He got the ingredients ready and dumped them in a slow cooker set on high. He then went on to prepare the next dish. After much thought, he gave Sam a call. With the line connected, Zachary instructed, “Sam, deliver some live shrimp over. I don’t see any fresh seafood in the fridge.” The other dishes did not matter as Serenity’s favorite was shrimp. It was a must-have. “Have you and the missus had dinner yet?” Sam felt bad. “You shoul
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