Zachary headed straight to his penthouse suite on the top floor of Wiltspoon Hotel. After a couple of minutes, the Lowe couple knocked and entered under his bodyguards’ lead.Zachary invited them to have a seat.“Thank you, Mr. York.”The pair of husband and wife thanked him. Only then did they dare to sit down opposite him.After sitting down, they did not dare speak—mainly because they did not even know what they should say.They completely did not understand why Zachary wanted to meet them and had not the slightest inkling what he wanted to talk about. Zachary did not want to waste time on this and took the initiative. Without beating around the bush, he said, “Mr. Lowe, I asked you to meet me here primarily to tell you to keep your son, Shawn Lowe, under control so that he stops bothering my wife.”Hearing that, both Mr. and Mrs. Lowe paled.Mrs. Lowe stammered, “Mr. York, t-t-there must be some sort of misunderstanding here. Our Shawn has someone he likes. He—Even if yo
“Mr. York, Shawn hasn’t gone to look for Serenity in a long time.”Mrs. Lowe added, “I didn’t know Serenity was your wife, but I know Serenity has been married for quite a few months, and yet Shawn persisted in bothering her. I knew this wasn’t right, which was why I forcibly stopped him from going to Serenity’s bookshop and calling her.”Zachary said sharply, “Just earlier, your son used a new phone number to call my Seren again. I know he and Seren have known each other for more than a decade and met her before I did, but Seren has chosen me. She is my wife. I will not allow anyone to touch my woman.“Seren has also harshly rejected him and told him that she does not see him as a man. Seren has always treated him like a little brother, but Shawn Lowe continues to find ways and means to bother her. I very much trust Seren, but I cannot tolerate his pestering of Seren.”Mr. Lowe hurriedly promised, “Mr. York, don’t worry. When we get back, I’ll definitely discipline Shawn strictly.
“Darling, let’s talk about this tomorrow. It’s already very late and if we make too big of a fuss, we might wake our daughter up.”Mrs. Lowe advised her husband and stopped him from kicking at the door again.“Shawn’s in a bad mood so he might have had something to drink in his room. If he gets really drunk, he won’t be able to hear any banging on the door.”As of late, Shawn had been getting drunk in his room often. He had a minibar in his room and had moved all his father’s treasured fine wines into his room.It was precisely this constant drowning of his sorrows in alcohol, which led to his having no mood to work during the day that resulted in all the mistakes in his work recently.Mr. Lowe was livid but could not do anything about it and was persuaded to return to their bedroom by his wife.Upon entering their room, Mrs. Lowe asked her husband, “Darling, about Mr. York telling us that Serenity is his wife… Do we have to help him keep it a secret? It doesn’t look like he’s go
“After New Year’s, we’ll send him to work in our Havenmill branch for a few years to gain some experience. Once he’s completely gotten over Serenity and matured, we’ll transfer him back here and train him for another two years. If he’s up to the task, I’ll let him take over Lowe Enterprise.“If he can’t get over it and is unable to rise to take the helm, we can only change the successor then for the future of the Lowe family.”Mr. Lowe very much hoped his son could be the successor to Lowe Enterprise, but that came with the precondition that his son was up to the task. If his son viewed love as more important than his future, he could only pick a successor anew from amongst his numerous nieces and nephews.Mrs. Lowe’s expression flickered, and she pursed her lips. She said, “We’ll send him off on the fourth of January. Also, we’ll cut off all his allowance. He’s started working. He can spend as much money as he earns, lest he gets too comfortable.“We’ll only tell him about Serenit
Zachary still had not come out when Serenity finished preparing breakfast.She entered the room and looked at the man lying on the bed for a long moment before reaching out to put her hand under his nostrils to check if he was breathing. She then felt his forehead. He was still alive and didn’t have a fever either.“He didn’t just come back this morning, did he? Why is he sleeping so much?”Serenity mumbled but did not shake Zachary awake. Instead, she began to pack their clothes. Once he woke up and had breakfast, they could leave.Ring, ring, ring…Liberty was calling.“Hey, Liberty.”“Have you and Zachary left yet?”“Not yet. He’s still sleeping. We’ll leave once he wakes up and has his breakfast. What’s up?”Liberty said, “Then wait for me at home. I’ll go over there right now. I prepared some gifts for you two but I forgot to pass them to you.”“Liberty, there’s no need. It’s raining outside and the wind is blowing hard. It’s freezing out there and you don’t have a car!
“Go and freshen up. Breakfast is ready. Once you’re done washing up and we’ve had breakfast, we can depart. You said it’s quite far, so we should leave a little earlier.”“Give me a kiss.”“Why should I give you a kiss? Can’t you give me a kiss?”Zachary laughed and turned her around, leaning down to kiss her red lips.Her pale hand, however, covered his lips.“Kiss me only after you’ve brushed your teeth,” Serenity said as she pushed him away, turning to zip up the luggage.Zachary was speechless.He had just been repelled by his wife.“While you’re at it, remember to shave your scruff off so you don’t poke people with it.”Serenity pulled the luggage with her as she left the room.Then, she watered the flowers and fed her three pets.The three pets would also have to be sent over to her sister’s to be taken care of for a while.“I’m coming, Honey.”After Zachary had brushed his teeth, shaved his face clean, and came out from the room, he called for his beloved wife, “Hur
Munching on a piece of chicken, Serenity said, “You threw a big tantrum and a fuss, saying that I didn’t see you as a family before I could tell you. Take a look in the mirror. You didn’t tell me that Mr. Bucham asked you out for drinks. It gave me nightmares.” Zachary fell silent before uttering, “It’s my fault. I’ll bring you along when Mr. Bucham asks me out next time. You can stop me from drinking, and they can’t make me drink then.” “They would think you’re a hen-pecked husband.” “Then so be it. They’re single, so they can’t be hen-pecked husbands even if they want to.” Amused, Serenity laughed. She stayed out of his business for the most part so long as Zachary did not do anything that could jeopardize his health. After filling her belly, Serenity did one last check on the things they were taking with them. The couple made sure nothing was left behind before heading out. First, they had to drop the three pets and the car keys at Liberty’s. Liberty took the opportu
“I’m not getting any younger. I’m living on borrowed time. I hope they’ll have their own family before I kick the bucket.” Grandma May decided to go around Wiltspoon to find potential wives for her remaining grandsons. She would assign the boys to go after the girls she picked out for them. Anyone who was unable to complete the task could forget about attending her birthday celebration at the end of August. “Nana, you’ll live long.” “I hope to live long too, even better if I’m alive to see the birth of my great-granddaughter.” Following the mention of a great-granddaughter, Grandma May’s eyes were glued to Serenity’s belly. Serenity embarrassedly uttered, “Stop looking at my belly, Nana. Aunt Flo just came for a visit today.” Grandma May was speechless. Zachary had been working on it, but there were still no signs of her great-granddaughter. After Callum and the lot slipped back into the city, Zachary and Serenity did not stay long at the old residence. They soon retu
“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