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
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
“I’m used to him being by my side. Now that he’s hidden, it just feels weird.”Caroline added, “Even if I want to kiss him, I can only do it in my dreams.”Liberty was speechless. Seeing Liberty being at a loss for words, Caroline smiled. “Did I renew your impression of me?”“Yes. I didn’t know you were this kind of person.”Caroline giggled. “Darren’s too serious and respectful. If I don’t take the lead, we might sleep on opposite ends of the bed after getting married. He probably won’t even dare to turn in bed.”Liberty thought of Darren’s face, which constantly had a stern expression. He only looked normal around Caroline. He indeed treated her respectfully and never dared to offend her. Liberty said, “You’re still his master. It’s only natural that he’s acting that way.“When you two become husband and wife, he’ll change. However, you won’t have to doubt his love and loyalty for you.”The next thing Liberty knew, Caroline asked her private questions regarding married lif
Caroline moved first, exiting the elevator.Adrian blocked her path, refusing to give way.Caroline did not want to argue with her brothers, so she simply sidestepped and continued toward the CEO’s office. The Clark brothers watched her leave.“Let’s go, Adrian.” Justin entered the elevator first.Adrian withdrew his gaze and led Jason into the elevator.“I heard Darren’s out on a business trip and has been sent to another province to handle some matters, so he won’t be back for at least ten days to half a month,” Jason shared in a low voice. “And for the past few days, Caroline’s only been accompanied by those few bodyguards of hers. There really hasn’t been any sign of Darren with her. I’ve asked someone to look into it and verified Darren left Jensburg by flight a few days ago. What do you think, Adrian?”Adrian replied under his breath, “We’re at work. Don’t talk about that here. We’ll talk about it when we get home tonight.”Justin and Jason immediately shut their mouths.
“I’m in charge now, not your mother. If you can’t do the work, then don’t cling to your positions and collect a salary for doing nothing.”Liberty had no intention of tolerating their laziness any longer.The three brothers had tried investing and running their own businesses, but they mostly ended up losing money. The only stable income they had was from renting out the properties and shops they owned.That was why Hunter had advised his sons to return to Ashford, buy more properties and shops, and live off the rental income. It was much more stable than their business ventures.If the properties were hard to rent out, they could always sell them and recover some money, but with their business investments, not only did they lose money, they often ended up in debt by the time the businesses failed.It was a mystery how much of Belinda’s personal wealth had been spent helping her sons pay off their debts while she was alive.However, there were times when they made money. They wou