“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
Zachary pursed his lips for a while before saying, “She wants to calm down, so don’t bother yet. Don’t go for now.”Grandma May hummed. “Zack, I’m glad you let her go back with her sister. You’ve improved. You’re not as domineering as before and didn’t force her to stay. It’s good that you learned when to let go and how to give each other some space.”Zachary’s face was sullen.“I’ll go find Seren in a couple of days, but not to plead for you. I should also apologize to her since I lied to her first.”Zachary snorted coldly.The grandmother and grandson took after one another.“What are you planning to do next?”“What do you think I should do next?” Zachary retorted.Grandma May smiled and reached out to touch her eldest grandson’s handsome face lovingly. Then, she poked him in the head. “You have a brain, so think for yourself. Take your time and slowly figure out what to do.“Loving someone isn’t as simple as falling in love. You need to learn to understand her, trust her, a
Grandma May patted his shoulder. “Go get her! You have my moral support in chasing after your wife!”Zachary said, “Nana, I sense the sarcasm in your tone.”Grandma May’s eyes twinkled, but she denied it and said, “Do you, now? How am I being sarcastic?”“I said before that I won’t pursue my wife...”“Ah, now that you’ve reminded me, you did indeed mention… Either way, haven’t you been eating your words recently? Once you get used to it, nothing would come as a surprise anymore the more you eat your words.”Zachary was speechless.Was she his nana or not?After bickering with Nana and listening to her reminisce about the past he was not privy to, Zachary somewhat understood why she insisted that he marry Serenity.It was because of his grandfather’s last words and that nameless fortune-teller, who said that Serenity and he were destined to be husband and wife, so his nana stubbornly insisted on him marrying Serenity.Of course, Zachary was grateful to that fortune-teller now.
“Daddy,” Sonny called Hank.Hank took two steps forward, picked his son up, and teased him for a while. When Liberty parked the e-bike, he said, “Your granddad took some of your cousins to my office to look for me.”Liberty frowned. “What for?”She already divorced Hank.Right before the divorce was finalized, her granddad even took a sum of money from her ex-mother-in-law amounting to several tens of thousands.She wondered if her ex-mother-in-law managed to get the money back.Probably not.There was no way money that went into her granddad’s pocket could come back out again.Both parties were brazen and shameless. It would definitely be fun watching them tear into each other. It was a shame she could not witness it.“I’m guessing they came to town to find Serenity after finding out that she’s Mr. York’s wife. They couldn’t find her—Serenity’s store wasn’t open, so they went to Brynfield, but they couldn’t enter. Serenity isn’t answering their calls either.“They wanted to
As Jessica was not yet pregnant, Hank was afraid that his relationship with Sonny would become increasingly distant.That was especially so when he saw Liberty and Duncan together. Even if he felt that Duncan could not possibly like Liberty, he was still worried that his son would call another man “father”.He wanted to take the opportunity to take Sonny with him and raise him for a period of time, so as to cultivate their relationship as father and son.He wanted to let Jessica get along with Sonny too. If Jessica could not get pregnant, and Liberty wanted to remarry, he would fight for Sonny’s custody and take him back.Hank was still Sonny’s father, after all. In no way Hank could allow Sonny to call another man his father.“They already know we’re divorced—why would they pester me? Even if they come, I’m not afraid of them. Sonny isn’t close enough to you all. Besides, you just married that Yates girl. What will she think if you take Sonny back with you?“You’ll have a child
Knowledge of Mr. Longbottom’s philandering was not restricted to Havenmill. Even people in Annenburg knew about it. He switched lovers as quickly as he changed clothes. Many of his mistresses accidentally got pregnant and thought they could replace Mrs. Longbottom because of their children. However, Mr. Longbottom was a heartless man outside of bed. While most of his mistresses had gotten pregnant, only those who were honest and without ambitions were allowed to give birth. Even if those women gave birth, the child would not bear the Longbottom surname and only take their mother’s surname. However, Mr. Longbottom would buy that mistress and her children a townhouse and hire two nannies to look after them. There would also be a sum of money deposited into their account monthly to provide for the child. On the other hand, most of Mr. Longbottom’s mistresses who were not allowed to give birth were ordered to get an abortion. If they refused, Mrs. Longbottom would intervene and f
Tati did not care what Manny would do. She had no feelings for him. Not only did she know he was ambitious, but he also wanted her family’s wealth. Only a few men deserved Tati’s praise in her entire life. Austin was one of them. Even so, she simply admired him and did not view him as a romantic partner. Tati could sense that Austin’s eyes were always on Isabella. It had nothing to do with him being her private chef. He was dedicated to Isabella. When Isabella and Tati were unaware of Austin’s true identity, they admired him a lot. Isabella even teased Tati about it. Later, they discovered he was a young master of the wealthiest family in Wiltspoon.His family background and qualifications made Austin worthy of being the partner of an elite daughter of the O’Connors. Although Isabella refused to admit it, Tati knew Austin would eventually be her brother-in-law. However, he probably had to sacrifice a lot to be with Isabella. After all, Isabella was the head of the
Once Manny left, Costa Corporation entrance resumed its peace. Manny had bought a villa in Satbury. He was determined to woo Tati and would not leave until he succeeded. Besides, he would be doing business in Satbury and needed a place to live. He did not want to stay at a hotel every day. The villa he bought was only a ten-minute drive away from Dunboy Manor. On his way back, he received a call from his momma asking about his situation in Satbury. After speaking about business, his momma said, “Don’t be like your dad, Manny. If you really like Ms. Tati, you should treat her well.“Your dad is too flirty. Marrying him was the unluckiest thing in my life. I had no choice. I’ve been his wife for decades and even gave birth to you all. He got me involved in too many things.“He forced me to be in the same boat as him. I’m forced to stick with him for your sake and our family’s benefit. However, if I could turn back time, I’d rather stay single than get married to your dad.“Y
“I’m sorry. I have a business appointment tonight.”Tati rejected Manny’s invitation without hesitation. Manny had been pursuing her relentlessly. If she were to have a meal with him, the paparazzi stalking them would take pictures and she would be on the local entertainment headlines the next day. She would not give Manny any chances to advertise false information about their relationship. Manny looked disappointed. “Another day then.“By the way, you’ll be attending a banquet two days later, right? Can I be your escort?”Tati and Isabella would not attend just any banquet. Families who could invite them were wealthy and close to the O’Connors. Ordinary banquets could never have Tati and Isabella as guests. Manny had gathered information for two days. He heard that one of the wealthy families in Satbury would be holding a banquet to celebrate their old missus’s eightieth birthday, and many guests were invited to liven up the celebration. A missus of that family was clos
“My family isn’t inferior to yours, sweet Tati. The Longbottoms even surpass the O’Connors. As a young master of the Longbottoms, why will I go after your family’s money?“Money has never been a problem for the Longbottom family. In fact, you and I are the best match for each other. Our families are equally rich. If we get together, it’ll be a joining of two strong forces.”Tati wanted to say that while the Longbottom family surpassed the O’Connors, Manny was not the true person in power within his family. Even his father was not the legitimate head. The power and wealth of the Longbottom family belonged to the true head of the family. Tony and Manny Longbottom were simply managing the family in the interim. Did they think the family had become theirs?If the son of the previous Longbottom family head grew up and returned to take charge of the family, Tony and Manny would no longer have any influence. They would only receive some compensation for their hard work. Without the L
Tati looked toward Manny and said in a serious tone, “If you love someone, you’d be considerate of her and do what’s best for her.“Meanwhile, you’re disregarding any inconvenience this might cause me just to appear romantic. You know I’m busy, yet you put flowers here and blocked my way, wasting my time.“Do your actions truly reflect your love for me? Are you being considerate of me?”Tati would not have said a word if Manny had asked his people to place the flowers in an empty spot. However, he just had to do it at the entrance of the company, attracting many people. Her company security team could not even chase them away. They knew Manny’s identity and that he was pursuing her. If the security chased him away, the Longbottom and O’Connor families could end up enemies. Secondly, they were worried about getting fired if Tati were to accept Manny’s feelings one day and decide to punish them. Tati would not blame the security for failing to execute their duty. After Manny s
“It’s okay if you don’t want my bouquets. Can you feel my sincere love for you through these letters?“I fell in love with you at first sight, and I fell even harder the second time I saw you.”Manny’s gaze was affectionate as if he truly loved Tati. To be honest, Tati was outstanding in various aspects. She was good enough for him, a young master of the Longbottoms. They were also close in age and definitely had common topics to talk about. However, Tati refused to give him a chance and rejected his confession. That did not matter. After all, it had not been long since he started pursuing Tati. As the O’Connors had more daughters than sons, he could understand that their daughters would be especially cautious regarding romantic relationships. They did not want men dating them solely for the O’Connor family’s money. Although that had been Manny’s initial intention, he was satisfied with Tati after meeting her in person. He was willing to marry her. Besides, Tati was com
Meanwhile, in Satbury, Tati returned to the company but was forced to stop her car at the entrance. Some people were decorating the entrance with flowers. Security tried to chase them away, but they did not even budge. The security guards seemed wary of something and did not force those people to leave. A few cars were parked nearby, including a truck that still carried fresh flowers.Tati did not honk. There were people and flowers on the road before her and honking was useless anyway, or she could simply drive past without a care. She got out of the car to have a look. “Sweet Tati.”An unfamiliar voice rang. Tati looked toward the person who called her and frowned. She recognized that person. He was Manny Longbottom, the eldest son of the interim head of the family.Mr. Longbottom had come over several times for business negotiations. However, it was not yet his scheduled timing. Even if he were the Longbottom family’s interim head, there would be no special treatmen
First, Adrian poured himself a glass of water. He then sat down at his desk, pulled out his phone, and made a call to Jacob while sipping his water.When the call connected, he spoke in a low voice, “We’re going ahead with the plan. Caroline will be heading to Fortress Hotel later to meet with a client. After the meeting, she’ll have dinner there.“The discussion and dinner will take a long time. By the time she leaves the hotel, it’ll already be nighttime. She probably won’t go anywhere else after that.“Wait for her on the route she usually takes home. Her license plate is CA 201. Got it?”Adrian made sure Jacob remembered Caroline’s license plate number. He had also sent the information via text, so unless the person had an exceptionally bad memory, they should be able to recall it.Jacob replied, “Got it. We’ll have to start preparing, then. Try to get Caroline to drink some alcohol. If she’s drunk, it’ll be easier to handle her.”After all, they could not guarantee that the