“It might be my mom.”Zachary got up and said, “I called her after you fell asleep last night and asked her to come over to accompany you to buy an evening dress for the company’s annual dinner.”Upon hearing that, Serenity’s eyes snapped open. She sat up on the bed and said, “You go back to sleep. I’ll go get the door.”As she spoke, she quickly had a change of clothes and combed her hair.Zachary watched her as she moved swiftly and said, “When you go out, go to the kitchen first and put on an apron.”“Why?”“Just do as I say.”Zachary grinned. “Go on and get the door. Don’t keep your mother-in-law waiting.”Serenity turned to leave. After leaving the room, she followed Zachary’s instructions and went to the kitchen to get an apron. After putting it on, she jogged over to the door while calling out, “Coming.”The person standing in front of the door was indeed her mother-in-law, Tania.“Morning, Mom.”Serenity smiled sweetly and greeted her mother-in-law.Tania was carryi
“What time is it already? And he’s still not up?”“Zachary is always busy and has to work overtime for social engagements. Let him sleep a little longer.”Tania said, “It’s typical for him to work until midnight before coming home, and he still gets up early the next day for his morning run. He’s only lazy now because you’re here. Serenity, you shouldn’t spoil him. Whether it’s men or women, you’ll be the one suffering if you spoil them rotten.”“Mom, are you badmouthing me behind my back?”Zachary came out of the room dressed in a suit. He exuded a certain glow and looked dashing.However, he did not put on his suit jacket and his tie was not worn.He carried those in his hands.Tania got up and walked over. “You came out just as I called you lazy. It’s fortunate I wasn’t scolding you.“The weather has warmed up a bit these two days, but it’s still cold in the morning. Hurry up and put your jacket on so you don’t catch another cold, lest you tire out Serenity again.”Tania wa
Zachary’s words instantly ignited his mother’s anger.“Who said that a wife has to get up early to make breakfast for you? Who said that a wife has to clean up the house? It’s not natural at all. She doesn’t owe you anything and doesn’t need to serve you like a king. Zack, you said you learned from your father, but you couldn’t be more wrong about that.“You better correct yourself right now. Where did you learn those ideas from? All women who married into our family are spoiled by their husbands. You’re the only one who treats Serenity like a servant, and you dare say it’s only natural? Thank goodness I was the one coming over today. If your nana heard what you just said, she’ll knock you over with her cane and beat you half to death.“Serenity, Serenity!”After Tania scolded her son, she called out to Serenity, who was busy in the kitchen.Serenity quickly came out of the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”“Come here.”When Serenity approached Tania, the latter pulled off Serenity’s apr
Tania, who felt cheated by her son, deliberately treated Serenity well during breakfast. Her son got jealous and said bitterly, “Mom, was I adopted?”She gave him a sidelong glance and said, “This is how I treat my daughter and my son.”It was the brat’s fault for tricking her.Zachary was speechless.After the meal, Serenity sent Zachary off downstairs.“I actually have an evening dress, so there’s no need to buy a new one.”Serenity said to her husband, “Evening dresses are a little expensive, and I only wear one once a year. If I buy another, it’s just going to stay untouched at home. It’ll be a waste if I can’t wear it anymore. I think having one dress is enough, so there’s no need to buy a new one. We still need a lot of money to buy Christmas gifts.“You didn’t tell me about this earlier, and now you had Mom come over.”Zachary listened to his wife’s complaints. Before getting in the car, he gently brushed Serenity’s pretty nose and said, “Seren, I told you before that we
Tania had the intention to make her daughter-in-law the most dazzling woman in the room at the company’s annual dinner. The evening gown she selected for Serenity was the most beautiful one. Thanks to Serenity’s mien, she was able to flaunt the selling points of the dress.Tania stared at Serenity, who looked like a different person when she changed into the evening dress. She commented, “Seren, you bear a pretty decent aura. You’ll definitely become a celebrity if you’re willing to learn etiquette.”“Mom, my goal is to earn more money to buy a house. I’m not interested in becoming a celebrity. Celebrities have strong family backgrounds whereas I’m just a small bookseller who relies on collaboration with a school to earn a living. How would I dare dream of something that impossible?”“Zack already has two houses...”Honestly, Tania wanted to say but kept it to herself, ‘My son doesn’t have much of anything but money and houses.’“I want to buy a house in a school district in advan
Serenity and Tania got into the car with bags large and small before Serenity drove her mother-in-law home.Unbeknownst to Serenity, a luxury car came to a stop. The person in the car wound down the window to look at Serenity’s car in the distance now, and asked her daughter-in-law who was beside her, “Alice, was one of those two women Seren?”Alice nodded affirmatively.“It’s Seren.”“Was that woman with her the wife of the current head of the Yorks, Zachary’s mother?”Audrey’s eyes were very sharp.The York and Stone families did not see eye-to-eye. Audrey and Tania would oppose each other when they met, so Audrey could recognize Tania like the back of her hand.Just now, she saw her niece with Tania in the same car from a distance and urgently asked her daughter-in-law to stop so she could see clearly. It really was Tania!Why was her niece with Tania?“Mom, that person just looks like Mrs. York. She’s not her. I didn’t get a good look at her face since it’s a bit far away.
Tania rarely went out shopping. If she needed something, she would tell the brand to make a delivery straight to her home. However, the one time she came out today, she was seen by Audrey.Zachary could fool Serenity, but he could not fool Audrey.Serenity was still in the dark about these things and laughed when she heard Audrey’s words. “Could you give me a moment? I’m with my mother-in-law now. I’m sending her home first.”Audrey said, “You can ask your mother-in-law to join us since we haven’t met yet. Let’s get acquainted and have a meal together.”“I’ll ask what she thinks.”Serenity also felt that it was time to let her aunt and mother-in-law meet. The elder in her family who treated Serenity and her sister the best was their aunt.Tania kept an ear out for Serenity and her aunt’s conversation. Before Serenity could ask, she said, “Seren, it’s been a while since I shopped and we had a long day shopping today. My feet are sore from walking. I don’t want to stroll anymore. S
Audrey was silent throughout the journey to the company. No one knew what she was thinking.Alice was a little worried that her mother-in-law would do something to Serenity because of Elisa.After all, as a niece, Serenity’s relationship with Audrey did not run that deep. Audrey would naturally favor Elisa, her own daughter.When they arrived at Stone Group, Audrey walked straight into the office building while Alice deliberately trailed behind. She called Clive.“Clive, Mom is here. She’ll be in your office soon.”After a moment of silence, Clive said, “All right. Don’t worry. Mom is angry, but she won’t do anything.”She might even think that Zachary was blind.Elisa was worthy of Zachary in every way, but of all the people Zachary fell in love with, he had to fall for Serenity.To aggravate the situation, Serenity had become their cousin now.If only they were not related by blood...Clive was also stumped about what to do. Most likely, they would not let Serenity off easy
Caroline had witnessed Belinda’s downfall and did not want to experience the same thing. She was still young and very much valued her life. “I’ll section out the money Mom left for my nieces and nephews. Those who’ve come of age can manage it themselves. For those who are underage, their parents will manage the money for them. When they become adults, the parents should hand the money over to them. “As parents, you guys won’t keep your children’s money for yourselves, right?”Even if they truly did such a thing, it would have nothing to do with her. After a moment of silence, Emma defended herself, saying, “I’m not here to ask for my children’s inheritance, Caroline. It should be distributed according to Mom’s will, and I think no better person can handle it than you.”Caroline was not Celine. If Celine were in charge, Emma would be worried that her children’s share would be embezzled. However, Caroline was trustworthy. She treated her nieces and nephews equally. While
After a pause, Emma continued, “But what did I get in the end? Your brother almost killed me for someone else. I lost hope at that point. I realized that a good marriage can make a woman happy, whereas a bad one will only hurt endlessly.“With my children's age, I have no plans to marry again. Remaining single isn’t too bad. If I meet someone with similar interests, I might date him, but I won’t get married.”Caroline said, “Although Adrian’s my brother, as a woman, I must say he’s a terrible man who isn’t worth entrusting yourself to. Since he cheated on you before, he’ll definitely do it again. I support you getting a divorce.“Live your own life from here on and ignore what others say. I believe your children will come to understand the divorce when they grow older.”Emma nodded. “They’re supportive of me too. Although there was a nanny, I took care of them most of the time after they were born. They’re closer to me. None of them are willing to stay with Adrian after the divorce
“Why are you here, Emma? To visit Dad? Or do you have relatives who are hospitalized?” Caroline asked. She used to feel neutral about her sisters-in-law. When she returned to the Fisher family, they did not treat her well and curried favor with Celine instead. They even joined Celine in bullying her. Later, Caroline discovered her brothers were having affairs. Her sisters-in-law made a huge fuss about it upon finding out. From a woman’s perspective, she naturally supported and spoke for her sisters-in-law. Although she had also warned her brothers, they did not take her seriously. They were punished and only broke things off with their lovers when Belinda caught Hunter cheating on her. Since then, Caroline’s sisters-in-law started treating her better. Many events happened thereafter, which brought them closer. Emma said, “Your brother and I are divorced, Caroline. I’m no longer your sister-in-law. You can call me Em from now on.“I’m here to look for you. I went to your c
“This is what Mom wanted. They’ll definitely lose if they take this matter to court. Offending me won’t do them any good either.“They should sell their houses and stores. After that, they can return to your hometown and treat the past decades as if they never happened.”Caroline stood and added, “You should get proper rest since your injury hasn’t recovered fully, Dad. Stop speaking ill of us before the caretaker. You should know your place and accept reality.“Your path was already destined the moment you chose to marry Mom. It was your choice, so you can’t resent anyone for it. The Clark family has also gained many benefits from your marriage. There’s nothing to complain about because it’s a fair trade.”Hunter was embarrassed. Caroline had clearly overheard him complaining earlier.“Call Darren over, Caroline. I want to talk to him.”Hunter forgot about his embarrassment and quickly spoke to Caroline as she was about to head out. She looked toward him and said, “Darren wi
Caroline was neither saying she did not trust Liberty nor that Liberty would definitely go after them, but people would change, so who knew what would happen tomorrow? It would be best to leave now, while Liberty and the others were not planning anything against her, so that no one could provoke her into opposing Liberty. This way, she would preserve the best impression and keep things amicable between them, so that if they encountered each other in the future, it would not feel like they were crossing paths with their enemy.“Adrian, Justin, and Jason’s families are their responsibilities. It’s none of my business. I’m not obligated to help them, or to support their children. As long as they raise their children well and teach them to be self-sufficient, isn’t that better than leaving them a pile of money? If they have no ability, even if I leave them money, they won’t be able to keep it.“As for the division of my mother’s assets, she arranged it all before she passed. I will dis
“If you still think it’s too little, Dad, after you recover, you can look for a job as a security guard or janitor. You’ll still earn a few thousand a month.”Hunter was speechless at this. He was already in his seventies and had never worked a day in his life. “I’m already over seventy. You want me to work? Which company would hire a seventy-year-old security guard?”Caroline replied coldly, “Since you know you’re no longer able to earn money, then whatever your children give you for living expenses, don’t complain that it’s too little. I’m your ungrateful daughter, after all, and giving you ten thousand a month is already a lot. If you’re not happy with that, I can reduce it to five thousand. If that’s not enough, you can go to your sons or sue your most dearly beloved daughter’s biological mother for her assets.”Hunter was silent before he gave in. “Fine, ten thousand it is. But remember to send it on time every month. Your brothers all have their own families and children to
“What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly. What was it?”Hunter stammered, “Nothing, I didn’t say anything.”His ungrateful daughter would not admit that she had heard his complaints, so he was not going to repeat himself. He was not dumb enough to do that.“Do you want an apple, Dad? I’ll wash one for you,” Caroline asked. Before her father could respond, she took two apples and began washing them. Soon, she returned to his bedside, handing one apple to her father and biting into the other herself. Hunter did not like apples, but he took it anyway. “Are you really planning to stay in the hospital for another half a month?”Hunter answered irritably, “If not, where else would I stay? Where will I live once I get discharged? The Fisher family mansion is off-limits to any of us other than you and Fletcher now. Caroline, can’t you have some backbone? That’s our home! How can you just bow down to them and give up our own home? If your mother knew, she’d be so angry that even the cof
Caroline was so unfilial! She inherited so much wealth, yet she did not even give him a little bit of money for retirement. At the very least, she could buy him a villa to live out the rest of his days and give him a monthly allowance. It did not have to be much; just thirty thousand a month for living expenses would be enough for him.“How's my dad been recovering these days?” Caroline casually asked.“Mr. Clark’s recovery has been going pretty well, but since he's in advanced age, he still needs to stay in the hospital for a few more days before he can be discharged,” answered the caretaker honestly.“The doctor suggested I stay in the hospital for at least another half a month,” Hunter added. He did not want to be discharged too soon. He feared that once he left the hospital, no one would take care of him. Once he was out, Caroline would definitely arrange for the caregivers to be transferred elsewhere. His sons were busy, and his daughters-in-law were superficially filial wi
When they arrived at the hospital, Caroline told Darren to wait outside the ward and not follow her in, so Darren waited by the door in the corridor. Caroline took a few deep breaths before entering the room, holding the bouquet of flowers.As soon as she entered, she heard Hunter complaining to the caretaker about Caroline’s cold-heartedness and Belinda’s bias. He also said that Belinda deserved to die, that she should have died sooner because if Belinda had died a few years earlier, the matriarchy would have been succeeded by Celine, who had a good relationship with the Clark men. If Celine were in charge, Hunter could walk all over the Fisher family.As the father of Fisher’s matriarch, he would not lack money. Celine, being filial, would just give him money if he asked for it. There would be no room for Caroline then.The caretaker spoke up in defense of Caroline. She said, “Mr. Clark, Ms. Caroline’s your actual daughter. And the late Madam Fisher did not treat you badly either