“Seren, I might have to go on a business trip.”Serenity looked up while still in his arms and asked in confusion, “It’s only a few days till your company’s annual break, but you have to go on a business trip?”“It’s a short one to Annenburg. I’ll be back in a couple of days.”Zachary bowed his head and kissed her forehead. His dark eyes burned as they locked on her pretty face, and he asked in a low voice, “Miss me already?”“When are you leaving? I’ll help you pack your bags and send you to the airport.”Zachary was speechless.He thought she would miss him, but she was just confirming whether he was really going on a business trip. She then happily offered to pack his luggage and drive him to the airport. She did not even ask what the business trip was for.Zachary felt depressed.The couple tangled under the sheets several times already, so he thought their feelings were different now.However, it only seemed to be slightly better than before. She was not clingy toward him
Zachary took the time to answer. Seeing there was a nearby pergola, he walked toward it.The fake snow around the structure gave an illusion of a winter wonderland. There was a stone table at the center of the pergola. Zachary scanned the fake snow everywhere, somehow getting the chill of December. He said to Remy, “The fake snow adds a nice touch to the view.” It snowed in Meadspring. By now, the city would drop to freezing temperatures and be covered in a thick blanket of snow. The closest thing to snowflakes in Wiltspoon was fake snow. “Well, it’s only right to decorate during the festive season. The snow in the estate and on the ski slope is real. Can I interest you in going down the slopes?” Zachary faintly replied, “I prefer skiing up north.” Remy smiled. “Oh, me too. We can set a time to go together and admire the snow there. What better way to enjoy the view than up north on the slope?“It looks like something is on your mind, Mr. York. If I may ask if you’re down
Ten minutes later, Ben showed up at the pergola. “Mr. Young-Johnson.” Zachary got up. “I’m sorry to bother you.” Since Zachary was taking a flight back to Wiltspoon tonight, he had to steel himself and intrude on Ben with the little time he had. Ben smiled. “It’s fine. Do sit, Mr. York.” Once Zachary had taken a seat, Ben gave his brother the go-ahead, and Remy told the butler to bring out a pot of tea and snacks. “I wonder how I can help you, Mr. York.” Blushing in embarrassment, Zachary uttered, “Mr. York, it’s something personal. I need your advice on the matter because you and I basically rushed into our marriage.” Ben had no idea Zachary got married on such short notice. Remy had never informed the family of anything of that sort. Ben looked at Zachary in surprise. It was hard to believe that an aloof man like Zachary would choose the path of a whirlwind marriage. “How long have you been married? Have you fallen in love with your wife?” Ben already had an a
“How have you two been getting along since getting the marriage license?” Ben pried.He was swept into a whirlwind marriage with Jane, but they had known each other for eleven years. At least, they were old acquaintances. Besides, Ben had his eye on Jane from the very beginning. He had repressed his feelings for her and did not show affection of any kind as she was not of age. Things changed when Jane was pressured by her family to marry—she had to hire him as a boyfriend. Ben took the chance to set Jane up and make their contractual relationship official. He and Jane got married knowing each other, but it was different from Zachary who married a complete stranger. Ben had a yen for some hot gossip. “I made it clear to my nana before going ahead with the marriage that I could marry her, but it was my business how I managed the marriage thereafter. My nana wasn’t to interfere. “I didn’t tell my wife who I was, so I could observe her in her raw moments and see if she was a
“Mr. Young-Johnson, you’ve been through this. I need your advice. How did you confess to your wife about your identity? What was your wife’s reaction when she found out? What did you do that she wholeheartedly accepted you without running the risk of external factors?” Ben finally got to the bottom of Zachary’s internal conflict. Zachary did not have the guts to come clean because he feared the harm it would bring his wife. He got himself in a sticky situation with the heiress of the Stones as well. If handled wrongly, Ms. Stone might get jealous. The cousins may have a fallout or even turn against each other. It would, in turn, come between Zachary and his wife. Picking his cup for a sip of tea, Ben said, “Mr. York, my situation is different from yours though. Although my wife and I jumped into marriage right away, I set her up for it. I had a crush on my wife for eleven years. I fooled her into getting a marriage license with me. “In principle, we did get married in has
“It’s better you tell her the truth than she realizes it or hears it from someone else.” Ben had been there. Jane might not have reacted so strongly if he had been honest with her. It meant that he trusted her to bare his soul to her. Since Jane got the news from Yves’ mouth, Jane believed Ben had no confidence in her and walked on eggshells around her. Plus, his mother-in-law was convinced there was a social gap between them. Worried Jane would be treated like dirt by the Johnsons, his mother-in-law was once against the marriage. “She’ll take it that you trust her if it comes from your mouth, but the moment she finds out from someone else… She’ll be angrier by the minute, thinking the whole world but she knows about it. The deceit won’t sit well with her. In fact, she’ll conclude it to be a lack of trust and confidence. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” With Serenity’s temper coming into mind, Zachary timidly uttered, “I sounded her out to see under what circumst
The seniors of the Johnson family were most worried about Lee and Remy. Lee and Remy had different mothers, so the age gap between these brothers was not huge. Remy was well past the statistical age of marriage among ordinary people. Many men of Remy’s age were fathers of two children by now. Zachary uttered apologetically, “I would help matchmake Mr. Johnson if I could, but I don’t know many young girls. I might not be of much help, but I can ask my wife to keep an eye out, or I can let my nana know. She’s checking out girls for my brothers anyway. I could ask her to introduce a girl to Mr. Johnson too.” Remy was at a loss for words. He had never met Old Mrs. York, but stories that the old lady was young at heart and broadminded had traveled far. Old Mrs. York should be credited for Zachary’s marriage with Serenity. “Thank Old Mrs. York for me.” Ben believed it would be hard for Zachary to play matchmaker for Remy. Zachary and Tim were the same kinds of people—they cou
Zachary did not stay in Annenburg for long after leaving FC Manor. He flew back to Wiltspoon on the same day. He did not inform Serenity of his flight to surprise her with his return. While on the road, Zachary deliberated about Ben’s advice. Ben suggested that he come clean to Serenity about everything. Elisa’s feelings should not be in his consideration. It was Elisa’s business that she loved Zachary. It was not as if Zachary flirted with her. God knew how long before Zachary could let Serenity know about his identity if he waited until Elisa let go of her feelings as Clive mentioned. Besides, Elisa meant nothing to Zachary. Why should he listen to Clive? It was only a matter of time before Serenity and Elisa’s possible fallout. There was no avoiding it. Zachary should pick a special day when Serenity was happy, to be honest about who he was… “Jim,” Zachary called out solemnly. “Sir,” Jim respectfully responded, on standby for Mr. Zachary’s instructions. “Wha
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa
The Queen family was well-educated and had few members. Sophia had heard of other families fighting over power, but Caroline’s experience shocked her the most. Maybe it was because the Queens was close to her. Sophia quite liked Caroline as well. “How could they… You’re their biological sister!”Caroline smiled bitterly. “Are you having a fever, Carol? Your face is red.”Sophia touched Caroline’s forehead. She said, “You’re burning up. Have you informed the doctor, Mr. Fletcher?”Darren replied, “The fever started at dawn. Ms. Caroline caught a cold. Her fever subsided after taking medication once, but it returned.“It’s time for her to take her medicine.”Sophia spotted the lunch boxes. She told Darren, “Go have your lunch, Mr. Fletcher. I can look after Carol.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Queen. I can eat on my own,” said Caroline embarrassedly. It was her first time feeling cared for by someone her mother’s age. Although Sophia was not part of her family, the lady treated her
Caroline looked toward Darren. She said, “In my younger days, I often caught colds and coughs when the weather was too cold. The coughing will last throughout the changing of seasons. Therefore, I’ve been looking after my health since I grew up.“My immune system strengthened a lot. I haven’t been coughing for years.“I’m not worried.”Caroline stared at Darren lovingly. “I have nothing to be worried about with you here.”Darren pinched her face lightly with affection. “I’m still sulking. I didn’t want you to risk yourself, yet I couldn’t stop you. I’ll only feel better once you recover.”He was Caroline’s assistant and had to heed her orders. Even if they were dating, he still had to follow her arrangements.“Okay. Don’t be angry. I won’t take risks like this again in the future. You’ll age quickly if you get angry frequently. If that happens, your hair might turn gray before I even grow old.“We promised to grow old together.”Under Caroline’s gentle coaxing, Darren’s expre
Darren became an orphan when he was only a few years old. After losing everything, he was collected and trained by the training center to be an all-rounder assistant. He could not remember how he lost his parents as he was too young back then. Since he had no memories, there was no pain.Nevertheless, he had seen others interacting with their parents. He knew parents should love their children. There were not many parents who would not shower their children with love. Ms. Caroline was too unlucky to have met one. “I don’t care. I don’t care about my dad at all.”Caroline asked, “Has my dad asked you to give him money? He doesn’t need money. He just wants to know about his sons’ conditions.“Having lived for so many years, he was probably aware of the consequences of his sons’ plan and had advised them not to do it. They didn’t listen to him, so he’s just hoping to get lucky and waiting for some news.”Hunter must have known that her brothers were going to murder her. Sinc
“I’m not obliged to provide for you, Mr. Clark.”Darren would not give Hunter money. He also felt Hunter was trying to obtain some information through the call, not money. Hunter said furiously, “Aren’t you going to marry Caroline? You’ll be my son-in-law in the future. It’s like being half a son to me. Since you’re my son, you should look after your father. Quick. Give me the money.“Otherwise, I won’t let you marry my daughter.”Darren said without hesitation, “Ms. Caroline will decide for her marriage.“If we do get married, she’ll be the one in charge of the finances. I don’t have money.”“Fletcher! Are you a man? Can’t you revitalize the spirit of the Fisher family’s sons-in-law? You saw how I ended up like this. I didn’t have access to the finances and didn’t have money. I’ve been under strict control ever since I married into the family.“That was how I ended up in this miserable state. I’m telling you, the Fisher women are evil. It’s best if you don’t marry Caroline.
“Why would a husband have an affair if his wife could do well?”Ellie was exasperated. She ended the call without hesitation. “Old bastard. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. All your sons cheated on their wives because they have a perverted father like you.“I would’ve divorced Jason if it weren’t for my children being too young. Look at Emma now. She even received half of Adrian’s assets and doesn’t have to look after her children herself. How relaxed her life must be.”The wealth Belinda had left behind was sufficient to afford the children’s education. Ellie still had feelings for Jason. Otherwise, she would have gotten a divorce upon knowing he cheated on her. She would not have reconciled with him with just a little coaxing and advice from her family. Since Jason did not return home the entire night, Hunter guessed his sons’ plan had failed. As he had expected, Caroline was not an easy target. After all, she was Belinda’s biological daughter. Belind
Since the call ended abruptly, Adrian’s girlfriend, Irene, muttered, “Is Mr. Clark unsatisfied with me?”She was almost twenty years younger than Adrian. If he had not been rich and willing to spend his money on her, she would not have wanted to be his lover. Adrian promised to marry her after he was done fighting a legal battle against his sister and claiming his inheritance. He would make her the missus of the Clark family. As for the three children he had with his ex-wife, he had told Irene not to worry about them.Since his mother had left some money behind for her grandchildren, he did not have to pay child support. Irene knew Adrian used to be a young master of the Fishers and that Madam Fisher was extremely wealthy. She did not expect Belinda to be helping her son take care of his children even after her death. Considering Adrian would be able to receive a huge portion of inheritance in the future, Irene decided to be with him. If she did get married to him, and gave