Clive relayed the whole phone conversation he had with Zachary to his wife, clearing any doubts that he swung both ways. Zachary did not tell Serenity about the call from Clive to meet up. He went back into the house and joined his wife on the sofa to watch TV. They enjoyed the TV program until Serenity started to yawn. Zachary eagerly turned off the TV and carried her upstairs. Back in the bedroom, Zachary lay in bed with Serenity to chat for a while. The conversation ended when the person next to him stopped speaking. Tilting his head, Zachary realized Serenity had drifted into slumberland. Zachary heaved himself up and drew close to her before murmuring, “Seren. Seren.” Serenity was asleep to realize what was going on around her. With his mind at ease, Zachary kissed her cheeks and tenderly uttered, “Goodnight, Seren.” He then lifted the covers and tiptoed out of bed. Zachary tucked Serenity in, grabbed his coat, and snuck out of the bedroom. Out of the villa, Z
“Mr. York.” The bodyguard spoke up once more. Zachary turned his attention to the bodyguard. The bodyguard uttered, “Mr. Stone said you need to get it yourself to show your sincerity. You can’t let your bodyguards run the errand for you. Your respect for Mr. Stone represents your love for Ms. Hunt.” In other words, Zachary would be insulting Clive if he did not make the purchase himself. It meant he did not love Serenity enough to give Clive basic respect. Clive’s terrorization saw Zachary seething with rage. Yet, Clive got him where it hurt. Although Serenity and Mrs. Stone had not known each other for long, they were related by blood. Zachary could not take the Stones lightly. Without another word, Zachary turned on his heel and left. He went to get a gift for Clive. The major supermarkets were closed. Zachary had to go to a convenience store that operated 24/7. He did not take his time to pick a gift. Instead, he led his security team into the convenience sto
Zachary could not hide the embarrassment on his handsome face when he got a good look at the item. Clive gave Zachary hell. Zachary reacted by going all the way to the convenience store and clearing the shelves. He did not even look at what he grabbed, so he had no idea the sanitary pads were caught among the stuff. “You have a wife.” Zachary threw the pack of sanitary pads back to Clive. Clive burst into laughter. Clive laughed so hard that Zachary wanted to pounce on him and strangle him! In all the years of fighting, Zachary had never been so awkward before Clive. Clive could not stop guffawing for a long time. Rubbing his belly, he said, “Zachary, are you trying to make me laugh to my grave so you can inherit my family’s fortune? Man, you’re killing me.” “You better have a will written out to pass down your inheritance to me before you die laughing.” Clive’s laughter mellowed into a chuckle. “You probably won’t think much about my fortune. I’m not as wealthy as yo
Zachary fell silent for a while before gruffly uttering, “I believe you should be on top of keeping Elisa away.” He could not possibly be the one to get rid of Elisa. “We’ll make arrangements. You need to text me before coming, so I can distract her away from seeing you. I’ll keep my parents in the loop too.” Zachary had no problems with the plan. He did not want Elisa to know about him and Serenity for now. They were in the honeymoon period of their relationship. God knew what Elisa would do in a moment of madness when she found out. “I probably can’t make time before New Year, but I’ll find time to visit your family with Serenity after.” Serenity had lost her parents. There was no way she would visit her money-hungry relatives back in her hometown. Family to Serenity was Liberty and the Stones. Clive asked, “What are you doing before New Year? Isn’t your office closed by Christmas Eve?” Stone Group was giving its employees time off around that time. Major corpora
Clive’s and Zachary’s bodyguards trailed behind without a word. People would think they saw ghosts if this group of people did not make a sound while striding ahead. Clive stopped right before getting into the lift. “Zachary,” he said in a low voice. Zachary turned his head to look at him. Clive took a long pause before saying, “Stop stealing my business.” Zachary nonchalantly replied, “People have a choice to change their minds before they seal the deal. Some even back out after signing the contract. That’s how business is. You can’t say that I steal your business. You should recognize that Stone Group is not strong enough to convince clients from choosing York Corporation instead.“Business is business. Favor is another thing. Don’t mix personal with business.” Clive remarked, “Zachary, you have balls.” Zachary remained offhanded. “Of course, I have balls, but you… You’ve been married for years now. When are you going to have a baby? Are you unwell or something? Since
Who was here bright early in the morning? Serenity went downstairs and found the keys to open the main door. She then walked out of the house to find a figure standing at the gate. The person was carrying two bags. By the looks of it, he must be a food deliveryman. “Morning, Ms. Hunt.” Mr. Zen gleefully greeted her. “Oh, it’s you. Good morning.” It never occurred to Serenity that it was the lobby manager of Wiltspoon Hotel. Raising the bags in his hands, Mr. Zen uttered with a smile, “Mr. York called me last night to order two sets of breakfast. I’m here to deliver the food at the requested time. Sorry to bother you this early in the morning, Ms. Hunt.” Serenity wondered when Zachary found the time to order breakfast from Mr. Zen as she was with him the whole night. Zachary often got Wiltspoon Hotel to do the delivery too. Although Zachary enjoyed discounts at the hotel as an employee of York Corporation, he should not pour all his money into the place. Serenity kep
Since no children were in the picture yet, the couple could enjoy the finer things in life. The expenses would become costly when the family grew. It would take a lot of money to raise children. “I have an income, and I’m part of the family. I’ll pay for some of the household expenses. Save some money and clear the mortgage early if you can. At least then you’ll have spare cash once the house loan is out of the way.” Serenity did not propose chipping in on the mortgage. Zachary bought the villa before they were married, and he was still paying the mortgage like Hank. Even though Serenity and Zachary were no longer married in name and could not be in a better place in their marriage, Serenity did not want to end up on the same path as her sister. It was his house, and she would not covet it nor help with the mortgage. What if she and Zachary were not meant to be? The divorce would be ugly with the division of assets and quarrels. It was better to keep their assets apart ri
“It’s my company’s annual dinner in a few days. I’ll get an invitation for you. You need a gown for the event. I can come back and pick you up, or you can drive there.“Why should I go to your company’s annual dinner? I’m not an employee.” Serenity was not keen on attending social events. The only reason she would ever go was for the food. Nevertheless, as Jasmine said, Serenity would have to curb her eating if she was there as Zachary’s plus-one.Serenity would rather check out new eateries with Jasmine. “We can bring a family member to the company’s annual dinner. Others would bring theirs, so why can’t I?” Serenity had no words as she stared at Zachary. “I’ll be helping out a little at the dinner. It might be a little later if you want me to pick you up. I’ll come straight after I’m done.” “Alright. Let me know on that day itself. I’ll head over myself, so you don’t have to rush back. You can come out to bring me in when I reach your office. You can’t expect me to en
“Still not up yet?” Leticia smiled and said as she entered her daughter’s room after the door opened. Imogen’s room was decorated in a warm style, but the furniture was minimal. Aside from the bed, a computer desk, and a set of sofas, she preferred things to be simple. Her room was also the smallest. She said that if the room was too big, it felt empty and she could not sleep well. Leticia thought it was because when her daughter learned self-defense from her master, she lived in a small room with her fellow disciples, so she had gotten used to smaller spaces.Compared to the average person, Imogen's room was actually quite large, but against the rooms of the other family members, hers looked smaller.Leticia sat down on the sofa.“Mom, let me change first.” With her mother here, Imogen could no longer lie in bed. She went to change and wash up, then came out of the bathroom. She poured her mother a cup of water and placed it in front of her before sitting next to her. “Mom, a
Dylan was speechless.Leaving the warm indoors, he felt Huntington's winter was really cold. It was below freezing, and the temperature was as low as 14°F to 32°F. He had never experienced such low temperatures in Wiltspoon.In Wiltspoon, the moment the temperature dropped to 50°F, everyone would start saying it was freezing.Winston and Leticia headed back. Leticia whispered to her husband, “What if he really stands there for two hours without his coat and freezes to death?”They wanted to stand up for their daughter, but they did not want to kill Dylan. That would make them enemies of the Yorks. Even if they could not become in-laws, they definitely did not want to become enemies.Winston replied, “If he really does it, in half an hour, I’ll let Jen come out and call him inside. If he doesn't follow my request, he won’t freeze to death.”At most, he would just catch a cold. If he did not do it, nothing would happen.“I don’t think he’s here for love this time either. I’m not s
Leticia harrumphed as well. “Mr. York, why are you here?” Leticia asked coldly. “We don't welcome you here. Go back to wherever you came from.”Dylan smiled awkwardly, “Mrs. Doyle, I just want to see Ms. Imogen.”“Imogen doesn't want to see you. Hurry up and leave, or we'll let the guard dogs out.” Leticia rejected him outright. “And you’d better stay as far away as possible. Do you think our Imogen is someone you can just toy and flirt with just because you want to, then say you haven't fallen for her and play with her feelings?“What's the matter? Has the Mr. York, whose heart belongs to someone else, still not managed to win his lady love over?” Leticia mocked, though she was actually probing into the reason for Dylan's visit.Dylan just took the insults without getting angry. He knew he had hurt Imogen. Even though she was someone who could take things in stride, the fact remained he had flirted with her and turned to claim he did not like her, which had hurt her feelings.
Otherwise, the Old Mrs. York would not have taken a liking to her in the first place.“I'll go out and have a look.” Leticia could not sit still and stood up to leave. She wanted to mock that York boy. Winston replied, “I'll go with you.”He was worried that his wife might soften her heart because she was quite pleased with Dylan at first. Well, to be honest, he was too.It was mainly because everyone in Huntington knew of the Wiltspoon Yorks’ reputation. The men of the York family were devoted and loyal to their marriages, and once they married, it was for life.For women, the York family was an excellent family for marriage. Who would not want to marry into it? Families with daughters also hoped their daughters would marry York men, or those who were as devoted as them. Leticia hummed in assent and the couple hurried out.Dylan's car was parked in front of the Doyles’ residence. He had switched to a different car, afraid the security guards might recognize his vehicle, eve
“Goodnight, Mom,” Imogen said.As Leticia turned the doorknob to enter her room, Imogen suddenly asked, “Mom, if Dylan comes looking for me again, would you let him in?”“I'd set the guard dog on him.”Imogen chuckled softly, “Mom, you’re all talk. If he really does, you might just smile from ear to ear and think he’s realized he actually loves me.”Leticia was silent for a moment before she said, “Regardless, I have to make him sweat a little.” After saying that, Leticia quickly closed the door, feeling too embarrassed to face her daughter. She internally sighed. Dylan was the son-in-law she had hoped for. If Dylan really did realize that he actually loved Jen and came back for her, Leticia wondered if she should forgive him for the things he had done months ago. Dylan had hurt her daughter, but… never mind. It was between the two young ones. She should let them handle it themselves. There was no way Dylan would come back anyway.Leticia did not expect her daughter’s hypothet
Leticia then heard faint footsteps. When she went out to check, she saw it was her daughter. That was why she asked.“My friend invited me out for a late-night snack.” Imogen lied, not telling her mother that she had gone to meet that thief. She knew that Dylan wanted to break in by climbing the wall, but she kept to herself because she did not want her mother to have a bad impression of him.Leticia had met Dylan back when he was deliberately approaching her and knowing he was one of the Wiltspoon Yorks, she was very pleased with him. Since Leticia thought so highly of Dylan and said a lot of good things about the York family before her, Imogen took this into consideration and saw him as a potential partner. However, when she started to have feelings for him, he told her that after trying for two or three months, he still could not fall for her.“I thought you didn’t like eating late-night snacks? Anyway, you should just eat what you want at home. Why go out? It’s so cold,” Let
It was already two in the morning by the time she returned to the Doyle residence.Fox changed her clothes in the car, the one she frequently used that always carried several outfits, multiple hyper-realistic masks, and various makeup supplies.Sometimes, she would simply wear a mask and transform herself into someone else.Other times, she would change her outfit and use her exceptional makeup skills to alter her appearance.However, makeup would sometimes reveal small flaws, so wearing a mask was much safer.Imogen moved as quietly as possible when she went upstairs, not wanting to wake her family.Although it was the holidays, her mother was still exhausted from all the preparations.Imogen no longer felt the same anticipation for the holidays as she did in childhood.When she was little, she always looked forward to the holidays when she could take a break from homework. Receiving gifts was secondary.Children of the Doyle family, whether boy or girl, faced extreme pressur
“Sugar is a young and beautiful woman like you. She’s also skilled in self-defense.”Dylan walked toward her.“Little fox, are you Sugar? Silver once had ‘Fox’ as his nickname too. You’re one of Silver’s disciples, right?”Dylan did not know if Imogen was Fox, but he had long suspected Sugar was.That was because Sugar had small details that mirrored Fox’s.He was not able to confirm it because Sugar noticed that he suspected her and no longer gave him the chance to test her.That only made him more certain that Sugar was Fox.“Does he have to be my master just because his nickname used to be ‘Fox’? There are plenty of people with nicknames like that.“I’m not Sugar, so stop guessing. However, I’ve heard of Silver before. The York family is quite impressive to know of him even though he’s been in seclusion for decades. That means your family is quite close to him.”Dylan stared at her intently.Her expression was calm without a trace of guilt.The more she acted like that, t
“Dylan York, are you trying to pursue Ms. Doyle again?” Fox asked.Dylan denied it. “No. I made it clear to Ms. Doyle before. It’s my fault for not being able to love her. That was months ago, so she should’ve moved on from me. I won’t go looking for her again just to stir things up. Little fox, the person I like is you. You’re the only one I’ll marry in my lifetime.”Dylan declared that he would not marry anyone other than Fox.He had only set his eyes on Imogen because he suspected that she and Fox were the same person.Imogen never noticed, but Fox did.She was sharp as ever.Dylan did not mind that his future wife was better than him. He was confident in himself as a man. Besides, there was nothing embarrassing about being defeated by his wife.For example, Hayden was more capable than Kevin, but was Kevin embarrassed about it?Not at all. Kevin doted on his wife like she was the center of his world.Hayden was an amazing woman who lived more than two decades as a man, but