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
“Callum and Camryn came with Trenton, so they’re all having a barbecue together.”Serenity hummed in response. She closed the door to Sonny's room and said to Dylan, “Is it something you don’t want Zachary to know? If so, let’s go to his study to talk." “It’s not that. It’s fine if he knows, but I’ve talked to him, and he couldn’t be bothered. Then I asked Julian, but he said he was busy. He’s taking Ms. Crawford to register their marriage tomorrow. I just wanted a little help from him; I didn’t need him to do it personally.” Dylan grumbled a little about Julian being unhelpful.If Julian could hear this, he would retort, “Why should I help you? Even Zachary isn’t that demanding.”If it were not for the fact that Zachary and his cousin, Josh, were best buddies, Julian would not be so obliging either. Among the Yorks, Grandma May was the person the Buchams most respected. Of course, if it were something important, the Bucham family would definitely help, but Dylan’s request se
“I haven’t felt like snacking lately.”“Is the stuff made at home not to your taste anymore?” Whenever Serenity said she did not want to eat something she usually loved, Zachary would wonder if it was because the chef’s skills had declined, causing his beloved wife to lose her appetite. “It’s not that, I just don’t feel like eating them. I think maybe the baby is like you and doesn’t like sweets.”Zachary smiled. “If our son is like me, that’s fine. He’ll be steady, and in the future, the two of us will protect you.” If they had a daughter, he hoped she would be like Serenity. If she had his personality… Well, it would not be the most charming. Zachary wanted his daughter to be very likable. “I don’t need you guys to protect me, I can protect myself.”“Honey, don’t say that. I’m your husband, your man. You have to give me a chance to show off, or else people will say you married a useless husband. That would be so unfair to me.”Serenity chuckled.“Do you want to go watch So
“I can be just as considerate and attentive to you.”Quinn looked at him and could not help but laugh. “I don't mean anything else by that, you don’t need to be so defensive.”“You envy Serenity,” Julian said. “I don't want you to envy anyone. I want you to be someone others envy.”Uh, this sounded exactly like something Zachary would say. It looked like, occasionally, he really had learned a thing or two from Zachary.Quinn instantly felt smitten. She looped her arm through Julian's and whispered, “I already am someone others envy. I’m not envious of Serenity—I was just making an observation. They say Mr. Zachary dotes on his wife, and Serenity is very lucky. Now that I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes, I believe it. So, I genuinely sighed with admiration. I know I’m very lucky as well. You treat me so well, and I am content. I really don’t envy anyone.”The young couple’s conversation went unnoticed by Zachary. He waited for his wife to settle before answering a call from Dylan.
“Well, Rowan can play for a couple of days, but he has to start working on his homework soon. The college entrance exam is around the corner, and we can't let him relax too much.”“Rowan's grades are very stable and good. It won’t be hard for him to get into college, so don't put too much pressure on him. It's not necessary for him to get into the same university you and the others went to.”Serenity still remembered the pressure she had felt in high school, though it was not as much as Rowan felt, and her sister's expectations for her were more relaxed; she was only expected to do her best. No matter what the results were, Liberty would accept it. Of course, if she could get into an Ivy League university, that would be great. Otherwise, getting into an Ivy Plus university would also be fine. If that did not work out, she could go to a public university or even take a gap year. Liberty would have been okay with any of it. Her sister always told her that as long as she was physica
Zachary would not do such a thing. Julian laughed. “It’s my first time getting married. I’m asking around because I’m inexperienced. That way, I can make a plan.”Zachary turned to look at him. He said, “How many more times do you intend to get married? I didn’t have any experience either back then. It was my first time going to City Hall. Besides, Seren and I got married in a rush and did not even know each other well. After getting our marriage license, I completely forgot that I was a married man.“You’re in a better situation than I was. At least you and Quinn have feelings for each other and a stable relationship.”Julian chuckled. He caught up to Zachary and placed his arm on his shoulder. He said, “We all know what we should avoid after you’ve set an example.”Zachary was speechless. “You and Serenity are an enviable couple now.“I want to learn from you and make people jealous of Quinn as well.”Zachary brushed Julian’s hand off. “I think you’ll do a better job than m
Zachary and Julian exited the house with two housekeepers behind them, holding a tray each with snacks and drinks. The two men had excellent eyesight and quickly spotted the love of their lives sitting at a bench some distance away. Zachary knew that it was because Serenity got tired from walking. In the past, some pregnant female employees would return to work despite being pretty far along in their pregnancies. Their workload was only slightly lighter. Since Zachary had seen those employees insisting on working even though they were pregnant, he used to think being pregnant and giving birth were not that difficult. He had never put himself in the shoes of the female employees. They insisted on working because they feared being replaced if they took an extended maternity leave. When they returned, they could be discriminated against and had to start all over again. While there were opportunities to be promoted in a megacorporation, one had to climb the corporate ladder ste
Quinn burst out laughing. “You’re right. There’s a higher chance of success with more people. However, having a daughter of your own is more satisfying.“Everyone will be fighting to dote on your daughter. That’s better than you cooing over someone else’s daughter.”Serenity looked at Quinn for a while before smiling. “You have a point there.“But I don’t know if Zachary and I are fated to have a daughter.”“Technology is advanced now. It’s definitely possible with IVF,” suggested Quinn. However, upon recalling what Grandma May mentioned earlier, she quickly added, “Never mind. I guess it’s better not to go for artificial methods in your family. If something were to happen… it’ll be devastating.”The Yorks could be destined to have sons only. Even if a daughter were to be born into the family, it would be painful if she could not survive till adulthood. Regret lingered in the absence of what the heart desired; yet to hold it briefly, only to lose it, birthed deeper despair.
“Does this mean you and Julian are getting your marriage license before the year ends?”Quinn nodded. “We’ll head to the City Hall at nine tomorrow morning.”Serenity immediately congratulated her. “Congratulations, Quinn. You’ll find happiness with Julian. You don’t have to worry about him having a change of heart because you’re the only woman for him.”Quinn blushed. “This may sound funny, but I’m glad that he can only get aroused when he’s with me. As you said, he won’t ever have a change of heart because his body won’t react to other women.”She was aware of Julian’s condition and found it acceptable. Besides, they had gotten along well ever since they met each other. She was satisfied with every aspect of him. He was the ideal husband candidate for her. Not only that, her family members had observed Julian. Her father even flew to Wiltspoon to ask around about the Bucham family. He agreed to her dating Julian because he had a positive impression of the Buchams’ personali
Before Rowan took Sonny away, he did not forget to inform Serenity about it. He even told Quinn, “Sonny and I are going to play, Quinn.”Serenity nodded with a smile. She told Quinn, “Let’s go over too.”Although she could not enjoy the facilities at the playground, she could watch them play. Quinn was more than happy to accompany her. She loved having fun. “When are you and Mr. Julian getting married?” Serenity asked Quinn. Quinn blushed. She said, “Julian wants it to be as soon as possible. I’m not in a rush because I think I’m still young.”After a short pause, she added, “I’ll go with his decision. My family likes him.”Serenity laughed. “I heard all about it. Mr. Julian has done a great job with your family. Mr. and Mrs. Bucham are nice people. They’ve been looking forward to having a daughter-in-law for the longest time.”Walter and Stacy were indeed friendly toward the people they knew. With the Buchams and the Yorks’ relationship, the Bucham couple treated Sereni