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
Jim reminded Mr. Zachary. Mr. Zachary did not pay any attention to the missus at the time, so the security team had to remember the missus’s name for him. Jim and his team had to remind Mr. Zachary all the time. Jim would not count on Mr. Zachary to remember a day like the wedding anniversary. Mr. Zachary was not the least bit romantic. Zachary asked, “Are you sure it’s October the 10th?” “I remember it because of the same digits.” It made sense to Zachary now that he thought about it. “A quick check on the marriage license should confirm it.” Seeing that Zachary was in a better mood, Jim boldly asked, “Sir, are you planning to give the missus a surprise?” “Are you expecting me to throw you a surprise too?” Jim replied, “I’ll get more of a horror than a surprise, Sir.” Zachary shot him a glare. Jim bit his tongue. Since Serenity did not receive any message of Zachary’s return, she went Christmas shopping with her sister. Zachary was taking Serenity back to h
Following Hank’s words, Jessica said, “I’m not saying you can’t give your son a hug. I just don’t want you to go alone. I need to be with you.” She intimately wrapped her hands around Hank’s arm. Hank dabbed her forehead amid chuckles. “Silly girl. Don’t be jealous. I divorced her because I wasn’t in love with her. Don’t listen to my mom and sister. I won’t get back together with Liberty.” His mother and sister believed Liberty would be a huge help to his career since Liberty now had a wealthy aunt. Hank had to say that things were not working out for him at Waltham Electronics, but he would not leave so long as his boss did not fire him or take away his perks. He also upped the kickbacks to earn more prior to leaving the company. Hank needed a lot of money since he was about to marry Jessica. Although Liberty welcomed a wealthy aunt in her life, her aunt never offered a helping hand. In fact, Liberty used Hank’s money from the divorce to rent a place to set up a restaura
Ever since Belinda passed away, they were worried their cruel sister would cancel their bank cards. Therefore, they withdrew all the remaining money from the accounts from which they received their monthly allowance. Adrian rarely used the money on that particular card of his because it was a meager sum to him. Tens to hundreds of thousands a month was not even enough to buy a high-quality watch. In the past, he would only transfer the money from that card to another account every one or two years. Otherwise, he would withdraw the money and use it to flirt with women; cash could always draw many gorgeous women to him. Not many people could resist someone who could take out bundles of cash. Adrian recalled that he had withdrawn a few million dollars. He kept it all in a safe. When their mother was still alive, they spent money extravagantly. When they switched cars, they would get cars that cost millions and pay for them in full. They also made full payment when buying houses.
Jacob said, “Add one more million to it and make it six. My brother and I will get three million each. We won't do the job if you offer anything less than this.“After all, we’re the ones solving a problem for you guys. The benefits you’ll obtain from this are more than ten times the amount you’re offering us.“Besides, you three are adamant about killing Caroline, not us. We might even go to prison for this.“If we get three million each, we can consider helping you out.”Michael added, “That’s right. We may be poor, but our lives aren’t worth any less. There’s no such thing as wanting us to sacrifice our lives for you without giving us money.”Adrian went to take a fine bottle of wine and poured a glass each for Jacob and Michael. Meanwhile, he took a sip of his juice and told them, “We won’t be drinking alcohol since we have to drive and go to work. This is a precious wine I’ve been keeping. It’s sold for a high price outside.“Help yourselves to it. If you think it’s good,
It could not satisfy their appetites. After all, the Clark brothers were asking them to commit a crime. If they were caught, they had to pay the price and go to jail for several years. Losing their freedom for a few years in exchange for a million dollars was not worth it at all. “Mr. Adrian, we do hate Caroline, but she won’t do anything to us if we remain in the countryside away from Jensburg and avoid offending her.“We can still live a peaceful life. Although we’ll face financial difficulties, we can still afford basic necessities and be free.“You guys are the ones in a rush to eliminate Caroline. Her existence affects your benefits the most. Of course, you can choose to accept reality by resigning from Fisher Enterprise, selling your assets, and leaving Jensburg.“If you flee to the countryside like us, you can enjoy a comfortable life away from Caroline’s control. You won’t have to reward us for doing your bidding and can save that money.”Jacob could accept not gett
Twenty million dollars!It was the Clark brothers’ turn to exchange glances. They did not expect Jacob and Michael to name such a high price. While they could pay that amount, they did not want to hand the money to Jacob and Michael. After all, it was no longer a small sum to them, given their situation. Adrian was nervous that he would have to fork out the money himself. While he had significantly more assets than an ordinary person, most were fixed assets, and he only had a few tens of millions of savings. Therefore, he was unwilling to pay twenty million dollars out of the blue. After exchanging glances, Adrian said, “Twenty million is too much. We don’t have that much. We may be wealthy people to you, but it’s all fake. We aren’t as rich as you think.“You’re aware of the Fishers family rules—only daughters can be the successors. Sons can’t even take on the Fisher surname, let alone inherit the family assets.“When my mom was alive, she would support us financially in
“If the plan fails, we have a backup plan—hit her bodyguards’ car and force her car to stop. That way, you two can take Caroline away and leave the rest up to us.”Adrian was prepared for various scenarios.If the car accident did not succeed, then they would first eliminate Caroline’s bodyguards. Without them, and with Darren on a business trip, they could easily take down Caroline, who did not know how to fight. After kidnapping her, they would kill and cut her to pieces before throwing her into the sea. No one would be able to find her. If Caroline were dead, the inheritance from Belinda would belong to the Clark brothers. They still could not take over Fisher Enterprise and the Fisher family or do anything to Liberty. However, with Caroline dead, there would be no one to teach the new and inexperienced Liberty. Whether Liberty could hold her ground was an unknown variable. After a discussion between Adrian and his brothers, they set two goals. Firstly, they would kill Car
“Caroline will definitely receive retribution for this.”Adrian said with spite, “I shall see how she meets her death. The people in Wiltspoon will kill her sooner or later.“Does she think they’ll treat her well just because she betrayed her family? They despise us. She’s still my parents’ biological daughter. There’s no way she can be spared.”“You’re absolutely right.”The three men kept cursing Caroline throughout their journey. Upon arriving at Adrian’s villa, he parked the car. Jacob and Michael looked around after getting out of the vehicle. They thought Adrian’s place was luxurious. Adrian mentioned it was a small place, but it was already a lavish place to them. It was many times bigger than their house in the countryside. Adrian invited Jacob and Michael into the villa and they followed suit.Jacob whispered to Michael, “The Clark brothers are fighting with Caroline for the inheritance, Michael. They must be up to no good, calling us here.“No matter what request
“Although Caroline is our biological sister, she doesn’t treat us as her brothers. We only recognize Celine as our sister. I really wish we could turn back time.“We shouldn’t have allowed Caroline to return to the Fisher family. Ever since she came back, the family had been declining. Many things had happened. My mom’s dead, and my dad’s crippled. All of these are related to her.“Caroline’s an ungrateful bitch. I can’t believe she sided with the people from Wiltspoon. Even now, she’s constantly in contact with them and giving away Fisher Enterprise.“It should’ve belonged to Celine.”Jacob and Michael stayed quiet. They had known for a long time that their biological sister was not Caroline but Celine, the then-successor of the Fisher family. Therefore, they treated Caroline badly and often abused her.Although Caroline had learned to put up resistance after growing up, she was still bullied by Jacob and Michael.She hated them. She did not know the truth in the past and
The two men were Celine’s biological brothers, Jacob and Michael Dott. Adrian nodded. “That’s good to hear. Grieving is useless. Avenging Celine and seeking justice is more important.”Jacob and Michael remained silent. They could not do much. When their father was still the Fishers’ butler, he received a high salary with excellent benefits; the Dotts were the wealthiest family in their town. Since their family was rich, the brothers never put effort into studying. They spent time with questionable friends and led a life of debauchery. Jacob and Michael only matured after marrying and having kids. However, their father was already in prison. Meanwhile, Caroline, whom they used to abuse, had returned to the Fisher family. Celine had refused to return to the Dott family and simply gave them some money. Jacob and Michael had built houses in their town and furnished them well. The money they used was from Caroline and their parents’ savings. Since then, their financial crisi
In the afternoon, Duncan fetched Liberty from Fisher Enterprise for dinner. Caroline stood at the building entrance, watching Liberty and Duncan leave. She was envious. She missed Darren. Although he was still following her, he could not expose himself before others. She was not used to it. Nevertheless, she had to endure it to lure the Clark brothers into her trap. She thought, ‘Please make your move soon, brothers. Don’t keep me waiting.’At that moment, Adrian and his brothers exited the elevator. They were discussing something as they walked. When they saw Caroline standing at the entrance, they paused for a moment. However, they quickly pretended they did not see her and walked past her.Soon, three cars left the company.Caroline stood there for a few more minutes before heading to the parking lot. Her personal bodyguards were waiting at her car. They quickly went to her when they spotted her, while one of them opened the door for her. After Adrian left the com