Based on the Bucham family’s network, Josh was extremely clear about her entire family history stretching back eighteen generations. He even knew about how many children her grandmother had had and how many had survived to adulthood. She did not even know that.She only knew her father had four siblings and thought her grandparents had only had five children.Once, she had no idea what they had been talking about before that, but Josh mentioned her father had eight siblings. It was just that only five of them reached adulthood, while the remaining four had died when they were infants.At the time, Jasmine was struck dumb.She then returned home and asked her father, but he had no idea either. When she asked her grandmother about it, it was only then her grandmother admitted that that was the truth.In the past, living standards were bad and many people had many children, but most had at least one child who passed away.Her grandmother asked her how she knew about that.It had be
While Josh’s proposal had failed, elsewhere, Zachary and his wife were happily enjoying their honeymoon phase.After dinner, Serenity sat on the sofa watching television as Zachary washed the dishes in the kitchen.A life like this made Serenity feel very fulfilled and also blissful.After sitting for a moment, she got up and walked to the kitchen. Leaning on the doorway, she watched Zachary wash the dishes.“Don’t you want to watch TV anymore?”Her stare was quickly noticed by Zachary. He turned his head to glance at her before he resumed washing the dishes.“I don’t follow any dramas, and I don’t know which ones are good. I didn’t find any that I wanted to watch after flipping through the channels either. I feel like TV dramas aren’t as good as they used to be. The special effects are over the top. Maybe I’m just old, but anyway, I can’t bring myself to watch anything.”Zachary laughed and said, “You’re so young, but you’re calling yourself old already. You normally come back
Zachary finished wiping down the stove, washed the rag, and proceeded to wash his hands again. Then he turned to walk toward Serenity and stopped before her. His large hands cradled her face and pinched it lightly a few times before he said, smiling, “I told you, you should go only if you want to go. If you don’t, then you don’t. I don’t mind either way.”Serenity grabbed his hand, walked to the balcony with him, and sat down on the swing.She leaned against his shoulder and together, they looked out at the city lights.“When all the houses below are all lit up, the huge building opposite us goes all dark. They’ve all gone home for New Year’s.”“Tomorrow morning, we’re going back to the old residence. I’ve already informed Nana and there’s already a room arranged for us to stay in.”Zachary had his arm around her shoulders as their heads leaned against each other.That moment was full of warmth and sweetness.“Seren, our old York family residence is really old. I hope you won’t
Serenity nodded, and also reminded him, “You need to put your jacket on too. If you get sick, there are jabs waiting for you every day.”Zachary was speechless for a moment. “With you constantly monitoring me like this every day, how could I dare let myself get sick?”Those few days of daily injections were enough to strike fear into him for the rest of his life.Zachary went back into the bedroom to get Serenity’s jacket and put on his jacket too.After coming out of the room, they heard a phone ring. It was not Zachary’s phone but Serenity’s. He saw Serenity scoop her phone out and look at it for a long while before doubtfully picking up the call.“Hello. May I know who this is?”Zachary figured it was an unfamiliar number just by hearing her ask that question.The person on the other side of the line did not speak right away.Serenity asked again, “May I know who this is?”“Serenity, it’s me.”A familiar voice filtered through the phone and Serenity’s expression turned ugl
Jasmine and Josh as a couple would probably be impossible then.For the sake of Josh’s love, they would leave Lowe Enterprise with a way out.“He knows you’re married and that our relationship is stable, but he’s still bugging you. You even told me you guys were like siblings. If I hadn’t been jealous and made a fuss, you probably still wouldn’t know right now he’d long had romantic feelings for you.”Zachary cynically poked Serenity’s forehead.Serenity touched the place that had been poked and said in defense of her innocence, “I’ve known him since I was young and I watched him grow up. I always thought of him as my own little cousin. Who knew he would like me?“That’s not my fault. I never provoked him in any way.”Serenity said as she hugged his arm and walked outside with him, further saying, “Doesn’t him liking me prove that Nana has good taste and chosen a good wife for you?”Zachary could not help but laugh. “Right, right. Nana has good taste and chose a good wife for me
Zachary said without inflection, “I don’t remember anymore. She hasn’t shown up before me as of late.”“You don’t remember?”“Do I have to? I don’t like her, so what’s the point of remembering? If I did remember and you got jealous, what should I do then? You’re the person I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, so I only need to remember you. To me, all other women are just passersby. I probably couldn’t even remember what they looked like even if they stood in front of me.”Zachary was very much indifferent to women and was naturally unappreciative.In this life, he would not fall for another woman except Serenity.Serenity laughed, saying, “I won’t get mad and I won’t get jealous either. You don’t have to be so defensive.”“I’m really not being defensive. I’m telling the truth. Other than my relatives, you’re the only one I care about. I don’t care about anyone else.”“Then we’re even. Shawn Lowe may admire me but you have an admirer too.”Zachary wanted to say that Sha
Serenity sat up and picked her phone up. “I’ll watch a movie.”Zachary took her phone away. Then, he went to his study, picked a book at random, and shoved it into her hands. “Why don’t you read something? It’s easy to fall asleep this way.”Holding the book he had shoved at her, Serenity looked at the title of the book and blinked. She was not seeing things wrongly, was she? This book was…She flipped it open to the first page.Zachary placed her phone on the bedside dresser and turned back around to her. He was taken aback when he glimpsed the contents of the book and instinctively snatched the book away. With slight embarrassment on his handsome face, he said, “I-I grabbed the wrong thing. Wait for a second—I’ll grab a magazine for you,” he said as he left hastily, book in his hands.Serenity came out of her stupor and laughed, “Zachary, so this is the sort of person you are.”Zachary blushed all the way to the tips of his ears.That book had been given to him by Josh many ye
“Zachary, are you a liar?” Serenity asked Zachary.Zachary just looked at her and did not answer her question.“Zachary, are you really a liar?” Serenity raised her voice this time. Then, she woke up.Even after waking up, Serenity was still dazed. After a long moment, she came to her senses and muttered, “So, it was a dream… What did I dream of?”Turning her head to the side, she noticed the man who had painstakingly lulled her to sleep was no longer there.“I knew he was up to something, trying to get me to sleep early. No wonder I had a nightmare like that.”Serenity picked up her phone to check the time and then proceeded to go back to sleep.This time, she did not dream again and slept soundly.Meanwhile, at Wiltspoon Hotel, Mr. Lowe sat in the lobby on the first floor, waiting for Zachary’s arrival.He had suddenly received Josh’s call earlier, notifying him that Zachary was willing to squeeze a little time out to meet him and telling him to wait at the Wiltspoon Hotel
“He doesn’t even want kids and said having Sonny was enough.”Duncan did not care about blood relations. Liberty believed him. He only cared about her. If Liberty had not had to manage the Fisher family, she probably would have taken more time to consider whether she wanted a second child. However, Duncan's love for her ran deep. She decided to try for another child so that he could have a child of his own. Liberty did not want to be selfish. She could not prioritize only herself and Sonny. She had to be considerate of Duncan as well. “By the way, there’s something that I need your help with.”Serenity said, “Oh you, don’t sound like a stranger. We’re sisters. I’m ready to help with whatever you need.”“I have to go to Jensburg next year. I think I’ll leave Sonny here in Wiltspoon for his studies. I’ll ask for Sonny’s opinion again once my situation in Jensburg is stable. If he wants to move to Jensburg to live with me, I'll bring him over.“If he says no, I’ll need y
“Morning, Liberty. The housekeeper said you weren’t out yet, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”Serenity stood and smiled when she saw Liberty enter. “I woke up when you arrived.”Liberty whispered, “Sonny is still asleep. Let’s go downstairs. You can accompany me on a walk outside too.”“What time are you and Duncan meeting?”Serenity was worried that Liberty would be late. Liberty said, “We still have to wait until the City Hall opens. Duncan and I agreed to meet at nine. It’s still early.”The three adults exited the child’s bedroom and went downstairs. Zachary remained in the house while Liberty and Serenity went on a stroll in the garden. Liberty’s villa initially belonged to Zachary. Although he sold it to Liberty, it was also considered a gift. She was the one who insisted on paying and refused to accept it as a gift. Therefore, Zachary accepted some money from her so that she would take it. The villas Zachary owned were never small. They usually came with garden
“As expected of a child’s skin. It’s so smooth,” said Serenity. “Catch me if you can, Isaac…”Sonny spoke in his sleep and even giggled. He dreamt of him and Isaac playing tag. When Isaac started running after him, he quickly turned to escape while laughing. He did not realize that he was dreaming. “I have two dads, Isaac…”Sonny spoke again.Serenity laughed and told Zachary, “Sonny must’ve had a blast yesterday. Even his sleep talking is related to playing.”She pinched Sonny’s face lightly. “You do have two dads, Sonny. They love you a lot, so you have double the love.”Serenity spoke gently, regardless of whether he could hear her. She bent over and left a soft kiss on his cheek. “That’s why you must be happy. I wish you a carefree life ahead.”She hoped he would grow up healthily and be worry-free. Sonny was in a deep sleep and did not reply to her. Liberty watched them from the door with an affectionate gaze. She felt content. Zachary and Serenity had a st
The night went by peacefully. The next morning, Liberty could hear her gates opening when she stirred in her bed. Soon, she heard her housekeeper talking. “You’re early, Mrs. York.”“Mm. My sister is getting married today. I couldn’t go back to sleep after I woke up, so I decided to come over.”While Serenity could not help Liberty and Zachary out with anything, she was excited to the point she could not sleep. It took Zachary a lot of effort to persuade her to sleep. However, she woke up at dawn after having a dream about her parents. She could not go back to sleep afterward and insisted on going to her sister’s place. Zachary thought he could sleep in since he was on break, but his wife just could not fall asleep. There was no helping it. The doting husband accompanied his wife to her sister’s house early in the morning. The housekeeper smiled. “Ms. Hunt isn’t awake yet.”“It’s okay. I won’t wake my sister.”Serenity finally felt at ease when she was at Liberty’s ho
After a pause, she said, “Let’s meet at nine in the morning. Seren and Zachary will come over to my place. They’ll be looking after Sonny for me. I’ll head out after they arrive. You can wait for me at the City Hall’s entrance.”“No. I want to go to the City Hall with you.”Duncan did not want to wait for her at the City Hall. He wanted to go together.“Bring Sonny along.“We’ll be a family of three from tomorrow onward. We should bring him along.”He would officially become Sonny’s father tomorrow. It did not matter that he was a stepfather. It was Duncan’s first time adoring a child that much, and he did not expect that he would later become that child’s father.After giving it some thought, Liberty said, “Okay. Let’s take Sonny with us.“By the way, Sonny won’t change his surname after we get married. That was Hank’s condition when we got divorced. Since I promised him, I’ll keep to my word.”Sonny would still be the grandson of the Browns. He would not become a Lewis.
Although Sonny was backed by a few wealthy families and would be well-supported even if he was incompetent, they still hoped he would turn out to be an outstanding individual. That way, he could be independent and achieve his goals without much help. Duncan had not thought about Sonny’s education plan. However, he knew Liberty had high hopes for Sonny. Even Serenity had never neglected Sonny’s nurturing. Despite only being in preschool, Sonny had started various hobby classes. It was to build a solid foundation and develop his interest in certain hobbies while still young. The only time he could fully enjoy playing was during winter and summer vacations. Liberty and Serenity had similar philosophies when it came to children’s education. They believed children had to study hard and play hard. Liberty nodded and said, “Sonny can have all the fun he wants when he’s young. Once the situation in Jensburg is stable, he’ll have to study and live there.“I wonder if he’ll be willing
Although Corey’s daughters-in-law were not her biological children, she would love them as if they were. After all, they had married into the family and gave birth to the family’s future generation. The jewelry she gave them would be passed down to her grandchildren anyway. Her daughters-in-law came from wealthy families themselves and had many assets to their names. They had more than enough jewelry. Nevertheless, they still happily accepted their mother-in-law’s gift and promised to pass it down to their future daughters-in-law.Of course, they would also gather sufficient wealth and jewelry to be given to their daughters. Anyway, the Lewises treated boys and girls equally in the family. There was no gender discrimination. However, Corey preferred having granddaughters. She had only given birth to four sons and no daughters. After her sons got married, their first children were all sons. She had been afraid that men would outnumber the women in the Lewis family, just like how it
After Corey scolded Ezra, she looked toward Duncan and Liberty. She said gently, “When are you two planning to get your marriage license? Tomorrow?“The City Hall will be closed at the end of the year. It’s best to get the procedure done within these few days.”Getting their marriage license soon would also reassure Duncan. The wedding could be held later. Once they got their marriage license and became legitimate husband and wife, Duncan would no longer have to be alone. He and Liberty could love each other as a married couple. There was also a chance that Liberty might already be pregnant with Corey’s grandchild by the time the wedding was held. Corey wished Liberty could give birth to a child for Duncan. The gender did not matter so long as the baby was Duncan’s biological child. If Liberty truly did not want to get pregnant again, Sonny would probably take care of Duncan in his old age. Duncan had always treated Sonny well, and Sonny was a reasonable child. Sonny would no
Liberty looked at him again. To be honest, she had not known that Duncan had already arranged for a tailor to custom-make a wedding dress for her. As for her size, well, Duncan probably knew.He had sharp eyes and could probably estimate her measurements just by looking at her, not to mention how many times he had hugged her. He could also have asked her sister for her clothing size and preference.As for her preference, he probably had not needed to ask. They had known each other for two years, and Duncan knew very well what she liked and did not like. Serenity had not mentioned anything about the dress to her, so it seemed like they were keeping it from her as a surprise.Duncan met her gaze and softly explained, “After you agreed to register our marriage before Christmas, I immediately contacted the fashion designer Zachary and Josh recommended me. I asked Serenity about your clothing size, and I also secretly took your measurements myself to make sure there wouldn’t be mistakes