Serenity felt like she could go crazy if she was kept under house arrest.Fortunately, Zachary came around and was willing to return her freedom.“Uncle Zack.”Sonny saw Zachary as Serenity picked him up, and he happily stretched his arms out to Zachary, wanting the latter to carry him.Zachary satisfied the little one and carried him.“Higher, Uncle Zack. Go higher!”Zachary laughed and lifted Sonny up in the sky, generating streams of laughter from the little boy.“That truck...”Not waiting for Liberty to finish her question, Zachary said, “Seren said she wanted to eat chickens that she raised herself, so Ms. Sox helped to buy these chickens. I’m planning to ask Brandt to take Seren to my orchard to see if we can move and breed these chickens there.”Liberty looked at her sister and asked suspiciously, “Why do you want to raise chickens all of a sudden?”Seren paused and said, “Since we already bought them, we need a place to keep them.”Liberty looked at Serenity and the
Everyone sighed in relief at Zachary’s words.They thought he was going back on his word.Fortunately, he was not.Liberty quickly said, “Don’t worry, Zachary. I’ll look after Seren these days. I won’t let her drive fast or drink alcohol!”Then, she added, “If she really wants to drink, I’ll let her drink a few cans with me at home. I won’t let her go to the bar again.”“I’ll leave her in your care.”Zachary said to Serenity, “Seren, stay at your sister’s place for a few days and tell me when you want to come home. I’ll come pick you up. If you don’t want to live with me, you can stay at the house in Brynfield while I move back here.”Serenity looked at him for a long time and said, “Take care.”She got into the car.“Look after yourself, Zachary. I’ll take care of Seren. I’ll make sure she’s hale and hearty when you pick her up.”Serenity was speechless.Was her sister raising her like a pig?After Liberty spoke to her brother-in-law, she got in the car. She fastened her s
Brandt responded respectfully, then said in concern, “It’s cold and windy outside, sir. Let’s go back inside. You haven’t eaten anything since you got up today.”Zachary did not move and asked Brandt, “Will she come back if I faint from hunger?”Brandt was speechless.Zachary smiled wryly. “I was just asking. I won’t neglect my own health. I still want to have a lot of children and grandchildren with Seren and live with her until our hair turns gray. I won’t live to have gray hair if I starve myself.”Brandt quickly said, “The missus eats and drinks well. I think this mentality of hers is commendable.”He was terrified that Zachary would deliberately starve to the point of fainting. If the missus did not come back, then he would starve to death.“She... She doesn’t love me as much as I love her.”That was why she could be a little more ruthless.“Jim,” Zachary shouted in a low voice.Jim hurriedly trotted over.“Get the car. I want to go back to the manor for a few days.”“Y
Grandma May choked and said sheepishly, “I thought that would come naturally and didn’t have to be taught.”She added to herself, “A couple only learns to cherish each other by experiencing ups and downs together.”Tania was speechless.A maid entered.“Old Mrs. York and Mrs. York, Mr. Zachary is back.”Upon hearing that, Grandma May scurried away like a startled bird. Her movements were so agile that they were not befitting of her age.“Tania, I’ll go back to my room and lie down. If Zack asks, tell him that I’ve fallen ill because I was too worried about him and Serenity.”Tania was speechless. “Don’t blame me if Zack sends you to the hospital.”“I’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t send me to the crematorium.”Grandma May hid in her room as fast as possible. She lay on the bed and pretended to be sick.After lying down for a while, she did not hear a knock on the door.She thought to herself, ‘Is that brat so angry that he doesn’t even care about my so-called illness? So th
“Mom.”If Zachary did not explain clearly, his mother would actually arrange a blind date for him and cause misunderstandings.He said in a low voice, “When I said Serenity left with her sister, I meant she went back for a small period of time to calm down. She’s not leaving forever. I won’t allow her to not come back either.”God knew how difficult it was for him to let go and allow her to follow her sister home.“I also need time to calm down, but it’s hard for me, so I want to jump into the pool and take a dip. Maybe that will help cool me down. I’m not trying to harm myself to gain her sympathy.”Tania blinked and asked, “You’re not divorced yet?”“Do you want me to get a divorce?”“Yes and no. I’ve always felt that you two weren’t compatible. Your social circles are completely different. It’ll be very hard for Serenity to squeeze in. Perhaps you two can’t understand that now and don’t know what it feels like, so you’re able to get along well in the beginning. However, you’l
“Tania, get someone to cook ginger soup for that boy. Add more ginger so that it’s spicier.”Grandma May came out of the room and instructed her daughter-in-law as she walked outside.Tania agreed and instructed the maid accordingly.When the two women arrived at the pool, Zachary was still swimming around in the water like a fish.“Zachary York,” Grandma May shouted angrily.Zachary glanced at his nana before swimming to the edge of the pool. Then, he climbed up and sat there.Grandma May walked around the pool and went to him, saying in distress, “What are you still doing sitting here? Hurry back into the house.”“I want to relax and calm down, Nana.”Grandma May scolded him. “If you want to calm down, you can lock yourself in your room. I can assure you that no one will bother you. Why do you need to jump into the pool to do so?”“It’s quite effective.”Zachary added indifferently, “The cold water cleared my mind and calmed my irritability.”He was telling the truth.Gra
After changing his clothes, Zachary drank the bowl of ginger soup under his mother’s gaze. He frowned because the soup was way too spicy.“Mom, why is there so much ginger? It’s so spicy.”“Your Nana asked them to add more ginger. If you don’t like ginger soup, then don’t do such stupid things again in the future.”Zachary put down the bowl. “I really was just trying to calm down. I wasn’t trying to do anything stupid.”“Yes, yes, if you say so. Are you calm now? Go talk to Nana. She’s the one who started it. You wouldn’t have ended up like this if not for her.”Tania was somewhat resentful of her mother-in-law.Her son was such an excellent man. It was not like he could not find a wife, but the old woman insisted on him marrying her savior.At first, they were all grateful to Serenity and wanted to thank her, but Serenity refused.Later, Serenity and Grandma May got along well, and Serenity won the old lady’s favor. Tania secretly wondered if Serenity refused their large sum o
Tania thought about how most people only married once in their lives. Serenity married her son, but she did not get anything. It was not strange for her to feel wronged.Tania said, “You can make up for the betrothal gift and wedding ceremony.”Zachary knew that it was possible to make up for it, but indisputably, he had always made her suffer.He stood up. “I’ll go talk to Nana. Don’t blame her. Maybe this is a trial I have to overcome. A trial of love.”It was because his life had been smooth sailing since birth and he had never suffered any setbacks.Thus, God was giving him a trial now.“Zack, I still have to remind you this—our identity has been exposed to the people in Serenity’s circle. Her relatives and sister’s ex-husband’s family may try to pester you. You can’t give them benefits for Serenity’s sake. Those people are like vampires; they’ll come back for more if you give them anything even for once.“They’ll cling to you and suck you dry. It wouldn’t be bad to give the
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