“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
“Don’t panic, Zack. I’ll go over there right now. Where are you?”Grandma May calmed Zachary’s emotions.The old woman undeniably played a part in how the couple ended up now.Zachary’s tone softened a little after yelling. He said, “It won’t help even if you come, Nana. We all lied to Seren. All of us are liars to her. When she sees any of us, all she’ll remember is that we deceived her for months.”Grandma May sighed and said, “That’s why I told you... In that case, you think of a way to coax Seren. If you can’t, then let her calm down for a few days. Don’t push her too hard...”“I won’t let her out of my sight!”Zachary’s domineering character was at full blast.Grandma May was speechless. In the end, she said nothing and quietly hung up the phone. At the same time, she offered a few words of prayer for her grandson in her heart. His bad temper had not changed. It would not be that easy if he wanted to make up with Serenity.After being hung up on by his nana, Zachary called
“Seren.”Zachary saw her merely looking at him without speaking and called out anxiously, “Are you okay?”Did he use too much force?Did he damage her?“Zachary York!”Serenity snapped back to her senses and yelled his name through gnashed teeth. She sat up and pounced on him like a ferocious lion, grabbing his collar with one hand and chopping the back of his neck with the other.She screamed furiously, “You jerk! You b*stard! How could you have knocked me out?!”Her neck hurt like hell!This b*stard said that he loved her. Was knocking her out and giving her physical pain his way of showing that?Screw him! She would not believe a single word he said. She lived in the lies he weaved for the past four months. Her trust in him had dropped to the negatives!“Seren, Seren.”Zachary did not let Serenity chop his neck for fear that she would really knock him out and run away.When she vented some of her anger, he forcefully took her into his arms like before and hugged her tigh
“This is your true personality. You’re always self-centered and lord over everything. You’re overbearing, arrogant, egotistical, and even paranoid!”Serenity’s words were full of mockery.That was Zachary’s character.He behaved the same way at the beginning of their marriage. Even if he pretended to be an ordinary person, his mannerisms were ingrained in him and could not be changed.It was only after the couple’s feelings warmed up and they had two conflicts that his overbearing self improved slightly.Now, he revealed his true colors again.It was suffocating to be with a Zachary York like that.That was especially true for Serenity, a woman who liked her independence. If she had a conflict with a man like Zachary, the fight would escalate and only worsen.Zachary clearly wanted to calm Serenity down, but he kept making mistakes that exacerbated his case, causing her anger to soar even higher. There was no way to extinguish the fury now.“Seren...”Zachary let her go and i
Serenity walked out of the room.Zachary followed suit. He kept silent and walked behind her without making a peep.She went downstairs, and he followed her downstairs.She went outside, and he followed her outside.In short, he was like her shadow now.Serenity walked up to the gate of the villa and tried to open the side gate but found it locked.Turning around, she looked at him and coldly ordered, “Give me the keys.”Brandt, one of the bodyguards, and the other servants followed at a distance. No one dared come forward to talk to them.They all saw how furious Serenity was.Even her words were like ice.Zachary was now her shadow.Zachary took out the key, but instead of giving it to her, he raised his hand and flung it far over and out of the gate.He shrugged and said, “I don’t have the keys.”Serenity wanted to explode from anger.She really wanted to grab him by the collar and give him a good beating.She looked at Brandt and the others.Brandt quickly said, “Do
The enraged and hateful Serenity who could not get out finally went back into the house and locked herself in a guest room. She pulled out her cell phone, wanting to ask her sister or best friend for help, but found that it had already run out of battery.“The heavens sure are testing me!”Zachary did not pester Serenity when she locked herself in the guest room.He was looking for help too.He went to Josh out of habit.Josh had just sent Jasmine back to the bookstore after bringing a charger to charge her e-bike.“Mr. Bucham, could you ask Zachary what he did to Seren?”Jasmine was concerned about Serenity, who was forcibly taken away by Zachary.Josh hummed. “I’ll call him now to ask.”That being said, Josh had a bad feeling in his heart.He knew Zachary inside out.Zachary most likely did not handle it well.Well, he was suffering the consequences of deceiving his wife.Of course, he deserved it.In the beginning, he concealed his identity to examine Serenity’s charac
Jasmine said, “I know Seren better than you do. I can assure you that she won’t do that, so let her come back.”“You’re not her. I can’t trust your assurance.”Jasmine was speechless.He was like a rock, unwilling to listen to a single word she said.Josh quickly took the phone back and comforted Jasmine. “Don’t mind him. He’s going crazy. He hasn’t experienced anything like this before, so it’s normal for him to handle it badly. You’ll be the one angered if you take him seriously.”Jasmine opened her mouth but was at a loss for words.Zachary was usually mature and calm. Although his expression was always solemn, he was excellent at handling people.Unexpectedly, he was now confining Serenity to his side and forbidding her from coming back.“Zachary, how’s Serenity now?”Josh asked with concern, “What did you do to her?”“I-I didn’t do anything to her. She wanted to leave, so I locked the gate and threw the keys away. She wanted to climb over the wall, so I threw the ladder
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us
“You can drink it now. It’ll turn cold if left aside for longer.”Isabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. “I’m drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what I’m doing and saying.“I’ve had enough ginger ale.”She did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. “Which family is your fiancée from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?”Isabella was insistent on getting answers. Austin had never told her when she had asked him about it before. He kept saying he would focus on working and that he was not in a rush to get married. After all, he was only in his twenties; Zachary only got married at thirty years old. If he was unsuccessful in wooing his fiancée that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austin’s fiancée, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austin’s fiancée had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabella’s eyes. He could detect some feelings in her gaze, but it was not obvious enough. What she felt for him was still mostly admiration. It was not the right time for him to confess yet. He would continue to wait. “You’re the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.”Austin added gently, “You give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but you’re always a nice person in my eyes.”Isabella had treated him well ever since he became her private chef. It only got better after she discovered he was a young master of the Yorks. Austin believed her when she said she viewed him as a friend because her actions reflected it as well. However, he was not content with being just friends. He wanted to be her husband. He wanted her to trust him and love him forever. He would also reciprocate her feelings and trust. Isabella smiled. “Even my parents are scared and avoid me when I’m in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, “Don’t worry, Ms. Edith. I’ll take good care of Ms. Isabella.”Edith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousin’s words was not lost on Isabella, but she did not comment on it.She allowed Austin to accompany her into the house. The lights were still on inside, but the first floor was empty. Everyone else had already gone to bed.Since Isabella had not returned yet, the housekeeper had left the lights on for her.The house was warm, so once inside, Isabella took off Austin’s coat and handed it back to him.Austin accepted the coat and followed her to the sofa. After she had sat down, he asked gently, “Ms. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?”Isabella rubbed her temples and said, “Yes, please. I don’t want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.”Austin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austin’s