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
However, Remy felt that his niece, Chloe, seemed even more outstanding than her brother. Perhaps in the future, it would be Chloe who would take charge of the family.“I miss Clo-clo so much. I don’t know why, but lately, whenever I see little babies, I feel especially fond of them. Maybe it’s because as I get older, I’m becoming more maternal.”“You’re not old at all. I’m older than you, so don’t talk about being old in front of me.”Remy did not like hearing her say she was getting old. If she was old, then he was even older. Remy felt that he was still in his prime, especially since he had not even married Elisa yet.“I’m older than Seren, and her baby is due in two months.“Oh, by the way, earlier, besides complaining that I was making you cook and worrying that I was tiring you out, my mom also suggested that we start preparing for pregnancy. She said that by the time we hold the wedding in the fall, it could be a double celebration.”Remy turned to look at her, his eyes bur
“Just like how Grandma May taught Zachary and the others, being able to cook isn’t just about earning points when looking for a wife—it’s also about rewarding your own stomach.” His own grandmother had not said anything like that. All she said was that flowers did not stay in bloom forever. Although the Johnsons were currently at their peak and were wealthy beyond measure, the world was unpredictable. Who knew in which generation the family might decline?Having more skills never hurt. Learning an extra skill meant that if the family ever fell on hard times, they would at least have the ability to support themselves.That was why their family elders encouraged them to develop a wide range of skills. They did not need to master everything, but they should at least have a basic understanding of many things. In truth, his cooking skills used to be quite average.It was only after he developed feelings for Elisa and learned that she had once had a crush on Zachary, who was skille
Audrey heard the cry of her precious grandson and immediately forgot about her daughter. She called out loudly, “You two enjoy your time together then. My grandson is crying, so I’m heading back inside.“You and Remy can start preparing for pregnancy too. When it’s time for the wedding, it’ll be a double celebration.”Hearing someone else’s daughter had given birth, Audrey was eager for her daughter to do so too. Though she was already a grandmother, she wanted to be a grandmother to her daughter’s child too. That was simply how elderly people with both sons and daughters were.Elisa was speechless. She heard the hurried footsteps of her mother heading back into the house, calling out before even entering, “Darling, don’t cry. Grandma’s back.”Elisa muttered, “Now that she has a grandson, even I, this precious daughter of hers, have been pushed aside. When I give her a grandson, I doubt there’ll be any room left for me.”She and Remy would definitely have children, but they were n
“Remy, Remy!” a voice called from outside. It sounded like Audrey. Remy came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron.“You keep at it, I’ll go out. My mom must have seen the lights and knew you were back, so she’s calling you over for dinner at our house.”At this time, her family was probably halfway through their meal.Elisa put down the remote control and walked out of the house with a packet of snacks in hand, munching as she went.“Mom.” Elisa walked to the fence and responded to her mother.“Elisa? You’re back too? You came back and didn’t even come home for dinner? We’re eating right now. Hurry up and bring Remy over. Grandpa True was just saying that Remy hasn’t come over for dinner in a few days.”Remy had been busy entertaining clients lately, so he had not had time to join his in-laws for meals.Elisa replied, “Mom, I feel like eating Remy’s cooking tonight, so we won’t be coming over. You guys go ahead.”“Oh, you. It’s so late already, and you’re still making Remy c
Elisa said, “Although cousins can be as close as siblings, it’s still better to have another child. After all, we won’t be living at your family home permanently, and our children might not have much time to bond with their cousins in the future.“I have two older brothers, and the three of us have always been close. My brothers have always doted on me, and I can always talk about things with them. My sister-in-law has been very kind to me even after they got married too.“I’m used to having siblings around. It’s lively, and no matter what happens, we can always talk things through. It’s nice not having to face everything alone. I don’t want my children to feel lonely in the future.”Elisa continued, “Most importantly, I love children. If you could be the one to carry and give birth, sparing me the exhaustion of pregnancy, I’d even consider having three kids. But unfortunately, you can’t.“If I have to carry the baby myself, even though I love children, I’d only have two—preferably
Jasmine smiled. “I can’t tell. He’s so tiny. I’m scared when I have to carry him. I’m afraid of hurting him. What if he slips from my arms?”As a first-time mother, Jasmine was inexperienced. She was not like Serenity, who had raised a baby before. Josh and Zachary had secretly taken classes on how to look after a baby. The way Josh held the baby was more accurate than hers. “You’ll get better at it after learning slowly. I didn’t dare to carry my nephew either because I was scared of hurting him, but I’m an expert now.”Elisa could not resist touching the baby’s face again. She really liked babies.“Has the baby been fed?”Camila replied, “He was fed an hour ago.”The baby had been ravenous. Everyone was relieved when they saw the baby could feed normally. The doctor said the baby might experience jaundice a few days later and that premature babies should be monitored closely. Jaundice usually appeared when the baby was a few days old. It would reach its peak after
Remy gave it some thought. If he were to become a father, he would also be extremely happy, to the point that he would forget about posting on social media.They were usually busy people and did not have the habit of posting regularly anyway. Josh only started sharing a lot on Facebook after he got married. He simply wanted to show off his life after marriage and irritate his friends who were still single. Even Zachary would post about his love life on Facebook occasionally. Remy suddenly felt he had to keep up with the trend and post something on Facebook during his free time. Remy and Elisa went to buy some supplements before heading to the hospital. There were still many people in Jasmine’s ward. Most of the men were sitting in the small living area while the women were chatting with Jasmine or looking at the baby in the room. The baby boy was already fed and in fresh diapers. He was sleeping soundly. “Jasmine.”Elisa walked over with the supplements she had brought.
The secretary wished she could skip work and visit Jasmine at the hospital with Elisa. However, that could never happen. She was simply an employee, while Elisa was her boss. The only alternative was if Elisa invited her along. Nevertheless, the employees could meet Jasmine during their break or visit her at her house. Elisa left excitedly. A Maybach was parked at the entrance of the company. When Remy spotted Elisa exiting, he stuck his head out and waved at her. Upon seeing him, she was no longer in a hurry to get to her car. She quickly walked over. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you go inside?”Elisa was beaming. As she had received good news, she had a smiling face regardless of who she met.“I just arrived. I didn’t drive inside when I saw you coming out. Where are you going?”Remy got out of the car.“Jasmine gave birth. I want to go to the hospital to visit her and her baby. You came at the right time. We can head over together, but let’s get some supplemen
“Yes. Health is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. With the York family’s wealth and numbers, they won’t have to worry about not having a successor even if your child is slightly more ordinary.”Of course, Elisa personally hoped the next successor of the York family would be her nephew.The Stones and the Yorks could be considered relatives because Elisa and Serenity were cousins.The successor of the Stone family was most likely Clive’s son. If the York family’s heir was not Serenity’s child, would the two families’ relationship that was finally mended become strained again?After all, the head of the York family would no longer be a relative of the Stones if that were the case. However, Elisa did not voice her thoughts. She did not want Serenity to feel pressured. As an aunt, she also thought her nephew’s health was more important than anything else.“You must be busy, Elisa. You should go on with your work. I shall not disturb you. I appreciate your