Jasmine had given Josh a call earlier to say that her ride ran out of juice in the middle of the road. She was trying to push her e-bike back but it was too great of a distance and she did not make much progress either. In the end, she sought Josh for help. This was the first time Jasmine asked Josh for help. She called him to pick her up because she could get a ride and offer solace to her best friend. Otherwise, Jasmine would have called her brother to pick her up instead, and Josh could kiss the opportunity goodbye. John beckoned Serenity to sit as he paused his plans to pick Jasmine up. “Would you like anything to drink, Ms. Hunt?” “No need for that. I want to ask you a few questions. Is Zachary the heir of the wealthiest family in the city? Is he your boss?” After much silence, Josh replied with a question, “Have you seen Mr. York gushing all over his wife in the interview?” “Gushing all over his wife? More like lying to his wife!” Serenity furiously remarked, “I s
“Ms. Hunt, regardless of the reasons Zachary wasn’t honest about who he was, his feelings for you are true. It’s true that he loves you. There’s no doubt about that.” Serenity started laughing until her eyes welled up. Lifting her arm to rub her eyes, Serenity got up and said to Josh, “Thank you for clearing that up for me, Mr. Bucham. I should leave you to your space. Bye.” Now that Serenity got the confirmation she needed, she did not want to spend another second in this place. Without asking her to stay, Josh rose to his feet and walked out with her. He said, “Ms. Hunt, I know you’re in shock and mad right now. Zachary did you wrong, but it was with reason. There’s no malicious intention behind his actions. Once you calm down, give him a chance to explain. No matter what, you’re husband and wife.” Serenity was without a word, but her grimacing expression was telling. Josh went with Serenity to the bottom floor and saw her off outside the office building before going to h
Duncan drove Liberty to York Corporation. On the way, he met Jasmine, whose e-bike ran out of battery, and let the distressed girl hitch a ride with them. The bike was strapped to a pole and left by the side of the road. Jasmine planned to retrieve her e-bike once Serenity simmered down. “Seren.” “Seren.” Liberty and Jasmine jumped out of the car and raced toward Serenity. Sonny was somehow left behind and forgotten by his mother. At last, Duncan got to hug Sonny. It was not like Sonny had a choice. His mom dashed out, forgetting that he was still in Duncan’s car. Duncan said he would carry the boy down, so Sonny let him. However, once they got out of the car, Duncan never let his feet touch the ground. In fact, Duncan took quick paces toward Serenity with Sonny in his arms. As Serenity was no match for Josh and Callum, there was no way she could leave York Corporation. Serenity was getting sick and tired. With her sister here, Serenity finally had a meltdown and th
Serenity’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Zachary usually drove a national MPV. Did he deliberately buy the car to trick her? She bet he went around in an expensive car with his security detail in tow because that was how stylish the heir of the Yorks traveled!“Seren.” Zachary got out of the car and took large strides over. “Seren.” Zachary approached the sisters, first apologizing to Liberty. “I know I’m in the wrong here, Liberty. Can you give me a moment with Seren?” Tilting her head, Liberty looked at her sister. Serenity callously retorted, “What’s there to talk about? You’re the great Mr. York. You’re up there, and I’m down here. I’m just a lowly citizen, and you’re out of my league. I’m not entitled to have a chat with you.” She dragged her sister along to leave. “Seren.” Zachary reached out to pull her back. Liberty let go of Serenity’s arm and said, “You should talk to him, Seren. No matter what, you should give him a chance to explain.” Sereni
Back at the hilltop villa, Zachary wanted to carry Serenity out of the car.“I’ll get out by myself. I don’t need you to carry me. Don’t touch me!”Serenity refused to let him carry her and did not want to let him touch her again.After pushing him away, she got out of the car by herself.Brandt came out of the house.He was surprised to see Serenity and instinctively called out, “Mrs. York.”Serenity said coldly, “Don’t call me Mrs. York. I’m not Mrs. York. The great Mr. York is out of my league!”Her words were all barbed and sarcastic.She was really pissed off.She turned her head and said to Zachary, “Didn’t you say you lived alone? Lying is second nature to you, isn’t it? You don’t even need to come up with a script. You lie as easily as you breathe.”His acting skills were too great, and she was not sharp enough to see through him.She was a fool.Just because she saw that he drove an MPV worth a few hundred thousand and lived in a local neighborhood instead of a vil
Serenity stood up and went into the kitchen.When Zachary came in from outside, he happened to see her figure in the kitchen.He was silent.Serenity did not cook a lot. She only made herself a simple plate of spaghetti, then came out with the plate in her hands.When she saw Zachary, she merely glanced at him before ignoring his presence and went to the table. She sat down and started eating.Zachary was worried she would refuse to eat or drink because she was angry.When he saw how healthy her appetite was, and how she could eat such a large plate of spaghetti with relish, he felt conflicted.He sat down at the dining table and opened his mouth. “Seren...”“Shut up! Don’t affect my appetite.”Zachary obediently shut his trap after being yelled at by his wife.He was at fault, so he lowered his ego and pride.As he watched her eat, he felt hungry too.However, he did not dare to leave. He was afraid she would take the opportunity to slip away if he did.He could only endu
“I didn’t even know you were from a rich family! What would I want from you? When we fought for the first time, I already told you that I have motives. I saw you had a house for me to live in, so I didn’t have to rent a house. I saw you were mature and steady with a stable job, so my sister would be satisfied and assured.”Zachary said bitterly, “Seren, I know you married me to reassure your sister, not because you wanted my money or me. It was a misunderstanding on my part. I was wrong.“I’m sorry, Seren. You can beat me or scold me if you want. Since I’ve done something wrong, I should be punished. You can punish me however you want.”He would not deny the accusations.Serenity glared at him.“At first, I hid my identity to test your character. Nana insisted that I marry you, but I wanted to know if you were a person worth spending the rest of my life with. That’s why I hid my identity and lived with you like an ordinary person.“As time passed, I’ve come to realize that you we
Zachary had a feeling that if he let her go and allowed her to leave this villa, it would be difficult for him to see her again.He knew her temperament.“Let me go, Zachary York! I don’t want to talk to you right now. I don’t even want to look at you!”When Zachary held onto her, Serenity lowered her head and bit the back of his hand. However, he still refused to let go. She was so angry that she flailed wildly at him. She was incredibly agitated.Zachary forcefully pressed her frenzied being into his arms. He bowed his head and sealed her mouth, trying to soothe her with a gentle kiss.However, she bit his lip so hard that he tasted blood.Left with no choice, Zachary landed a rabbit punch to knock her out. He then wrapped his arms around her limp body.He wiped the blood on his mouth, bent down to pick the unconscious Serenity up, and headed upstairs.After placing her in bed, he sat by her and looked at her.He knew she would be angry, but he did not expect her to react vi
Although they had the two hundred thousand dollars, it did not change the fact that Liberty was fifteen and Serenity was ten—they were still just children. Having been pampered by their parents and never having experienced hardship, after their sudden death and being tossed out into the street, Serenity often cried, saying that she missed their mom and dad. Whenever Liberty tried to comfort her sister, they would end up crying together in each other's arms instead.Liberty could understand Caroline's feelings, though she also accepted that Caroline was much luckier as she was of age, had a father and three older brothers, and no one could kick her out of her home. “Yeah, I’ll go out once in a while. Please thank Audrey for me and ask her to let me know when she’d like to come over so that I can hand over all my responsibilities related to the company and the family. I’ll work with her schedule. And…I don’t blame any of you for my mother’s death.”That was her mother’s own doing
They were aware of everything Caroline had done for the family. To be honest, Caroline had indirectly saved Liberty. If she had not warned Liberty, Liberty’s bodyguards alone would not have been able to protect her when Belinda sprung that surprise attack on her. Liberty had already had a good impression of Caroline, but after that incident, that impression only grew stronger.Caroline’s smile faded a bit as she said, “There’s no rush for Darren and me. At the earliest, it’ll be at the end of the year. It’s too chaotic right now.”Liberty nodded in understanding. “As long as you and Darren are on the same page, that’s enough.”“He’s a good man. We haven’t really gone out on dates, but we know how we feel about each other. He suggested we date first, get engaged, and finally register our marriage. “He wants to take it step by step and promises I’ll have everything I want.”“Aunt Audrey and I are very reassured about your relationship with Darren. He’s a man worth spending a
At the mention of Liberty’s wedding, Caroline congratulated her. “Have you decided to register your marriage with Mr. Lewis? Congratulations in advance! I wish you both a long life together and hope you have a precious daughter soon.”Liberty already had a son, so it seemed normal to wish for a child the second time around.However, when Liberty became the head of the Fishers in the future, Caroline understood that Liberty would need a daughter to take over from her.Liberty smiled. “It hasn’t been easy for Duncan and me to get to this point. Considering we’re not young anymore, we decided to just get it done. Thank you for your well-wishes, Caroline, but we’re not in a hurry when it comes to kids.” She did not have the energy to raise a child at the moment. Whether she took over the Fisher family or not, she was too busy right now. Even though her new company seemed to be doing well, it had not truly stabilized yet and was only temporarily so through the influence of her brot
There were very few people left of Patrick’s generation. After a moment of silence, Caroline said, “Yes, he’s just returned to his hometown, so he should stay for a while longer. “Liberty, please tell my cousin to just give me a few days. I’ll clear the mansion out for you to move in. What I said before still stands!” Liberty elegantly sipped her coffee and did not respond immediately. Half a cup later, she set it down and looked at Caroline, who was also looking back at her.The two of them held each other's gaze for a full two minutes before Liberty averted her eyes and said calmly, “There’s no need to rush. Let’s discuss it after Christmas. My aunt hasn’t laid out a concrete schedule yet.”Caroline also set her coffee cup down. “It still needs to be cleared out and cleaned. It’s fine if you don’t move in immediately; letting it be for a bit will help disperse my mother’s lingering presence, so you won’t feel uncomfortable.” Fisher Manor did not belong to the head of th
Caroline did not care what her father and brothers thought of her. She could hazard a guess— they were most certainly not happy with her. With that in mind, she had Darren drive her back to the office. Just as she returned to her office and poured herself a cup of water, her secretary called her on the intercom to say that Liberty had arrived.“Let her in,” Caroline said. She had not expected Liberty to come looking for her so quickly but did not think the visit was to ask her to vacate her position. Perhaps it was to check on her. A few minutes later, the secretary led Liberty in.“You can go ahead with your work,” Caroline said as she dismissed her secretary. Once the secretary left, Caroline and Liberty exchanged glances before Caroline awkwardly said, “Liberty, I don’t know how to face all of you.” “Well, I’m not here to kill you, so there’s no need to be nervous,” Liberty replied as she walked over to sit on the sofa.“Killing me would only dirty your hands,” Caro
Not to mention the antiques. If they sold it all off, even at a conservative estimate, it could fetch them several billion dollars. That did not even include the jewelry Belinda had accumulated. Women, even the iron ladies, loved jewelry. Belinda was no exception. Many of her jewels were passed down through generations of the Fisher family, making them more valuable than the ones on the market today.Adrian’s eyes sparkled greedily but darkened just as quickly. “Dad, no one but Caroline is allowed inside the manor now.”“What? Who decided on that?” Hunter asked, alarmed.“Audrey Fisher left people to guard it. She’s even arranged for her people to take over and all the employees have been replaced, including the housekeeper.” Hunter was momentarily stunned before he spluttered, “What right does she have to do that?” Adrian was silent. Audrey was a Fisher and the eldest daughter of the previous family head, who should have inherited the title but was prevented from doing so
Hunter signaled for the caregiver to leave and even got Adrian to make sure the caregiver exited. Once the caregiver was gone, Adrian closed the door and sat down by the hospital bed. He reached for some grapes from the fruit plate and ate them.“Dad, has Caroline mentioned anything about taking over the company?” With their mother gone, Adrian felt that Caroline should step up.“The whole company is waiting. We don’t know what her plans are. Although the company isn't in danger, it’s just like a dynasty. Just as a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, a company cannot function without someone in charge.”Hunter's face darkened in displeasure. “Don’t even mention her taking over. That girl is not on our side. Your mother was infuriated by her countless times when she was alive. If she weren’t your mom’s biological daughter, her grave would be overgrown with weeds by now.“She even said she wants to return everything to the Fisher family, including your mother’s assets. S
It was no wonder that he was upset after hearing her say such things. “Darren, let’s go with the flow. There’s no need to force anything. We’ll let everything happen naturally.”She was not that young anymore so if she was going to get married, it would be just about time.Darren was a few years older than she was and was in his early thirties. Caroline thought that if she married him, they could get their marriage certificate after Christmas and maybe have a child the following year. Once they had completed life’s milestones, she could focus on her business.“Darren? Do you know how to take care of kids?” she asked suddenly.“I’ve never done it before, but it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?” he replied.He wondered if she was already thinking about having kids so soon.“Once we have a child, you might need to be a stay-at-home dad for a while. I’ll be busy with work and you can’t help with the actual pregnancy, but you can help with the baby afterward.”Darren chuckled,
“Miss... Caroline, no matter what decision you make, I will support you regardless. Even if you don’t take over the Fisher family, you have enough assets of your own and your companies are doing well,” Darren assured Caroline.Darren had read up on Caroline's private businesses before and knew that the companies under her name were thriving. Even after returning to the Fisher family, she only occasionally visited, and still, the businesses ran smoothly. Caroline was an amazing woman to Darren. She did not need to inherit a family fortune to forge her own path. Still, what he loved most was Caroline’s confidence.“And you still have me,” he added.With his support, Caroline’s career would reach new heights.Caroline turned to look at him. After a beat, she smiled. “When I first came back, I really regretted it and wished I hadn’t returned to the Fishers because I couldn’t stand them. But ever since you came into my life, I’m grateful that Celine and I returned to our rightful