“Ms. Yates, you can go back and question your husband if you don’t believe it. Why are you here to question my sister instead? You need to get this into your head. It was your husband who came to my sister, not the other way around.”Serenity could not help but add, “If you’re that insecure, cut off your husband’s legs to make sure he can only stay by your side in the future.”“Move out, Liberty. Move far away from here and don’t let my mother-in-law find out. That way, Hank won’t come to see you.” Jessica ignored Serenity’s mockery. Right now, the person she was most jealous of was Serenity.She was prettier and younger than Serenity, but it was Serenity who married Mr. York.Serenity’s life was too good to be true.Just what did Mr. York see in her?It was not just Jessica who had those thoughts. Many people did not understand what it was about Serenity that moved Mr. York’s heart and how she became his most beloved.Before Liberty could say anything, Serenity got furious and
Serenity hung up the video call.Zachary muttered, “She won’t even let me see Sonny.”If he had known, he would have kept teasing Sonny. That way, he could let Serenity hear his voice.Liberty looked at her sister but remained silent. She did not ask a single question since she brought her sister home. Serenity would naturally talk to her when she wanted to.When she saw her son’s mouth covered in gravy, she laughed and wiped the gravy from his face.Serenity wanted to go out after dinner.“Where are you going?” Liberty asked while washing the dishes.“I just want to go out for some air. I’ll use your e-bike.”“Stay close. The battery might not last. If you go too far and run out of battery, you’ll have to push the bike the rest of the way. Put on a jacket. It’s windy outside.”“Got it.”“Don’t ask Jasmine out for drinks. Zachary is worried about you, and I promised him I won’t let you drive recklessly or go drinking.”Serenity’s mood soured again at the mention of Zachary’s
Serenity and Sonny made two laps nearby and she ended up bringing Sonny to a nearby supermarket. They went home with a full load of snacks and a carton of milk.Serenity stopped the e-bike in front of Liberty’s block.She instinctively looked around but did not spot Zachary. She was relieved yet had mixed feelings.“Get down first, Sonny. I’ll push the bike into the garage and lock it up.”There was a public garage on the first floor for the tenants to park their vehicles.Serenity first lowered her nephew from the e-bike, then placed the snacks and the carton of milk she bought beside him.The little guy thought his aunt bought all these snacks for him, so he immediately squatted next to the bag and grabbed it with one hand while another was on the carton of milk. It was obvious he was trying to protect the food.“Sonny.”A familiar voice rang out.Sonny turned his head and saw Zachary standing behind him. He immediately stood up and called out happily, “Uncle Zack.”Then, h
After struggling to take his eyes off Serenity, Zachary quietly followed his sister-in-law out. Grabbing the paper and pen, Serenity wrote an apology and left her name and phone number so she could discuss repairs when the person got in touch. Seeing the anti-theft lock was unused, Serenity put the note on the pedal and clamped it down with the lock. Once she had done that, Serenity walked out of the parking garage. She saw her sister and nephew, but Zachary was nowhere to be found. “Liberty, is he gone?” “You bought a lot of stuff. Zachary volunteered to move them upstairs for you.” Pursing her lips, Serenity said nothing more. “You said you were just going out for a ride, but you ended up in a supermarket. I can’t leave you and Sonny in the supermarket. You shop until you drop.” With her son in her arms, Liberty chatted with her sister while climbing up the stairs. “Retail therapy is the best when you’re feeling down. You’ll come out of the store feeling new.” Lib
Since Serenity personally brought the piping hot glass of water out of the kitchen, Zachary assumed it was for him to warm himself up. Serenity was angry and gave him the snub, still refusing to forgive him. Nevertheless, her tiny gestures told Zachary that Serenity was not as heartless as she put herself out to be. With that in mind, Zachary felt a little better. As Sonny leaned forward, Zachary immediately moved the glass aside before hot water was knocked over. Sonny wanted to open the bag of snacks. Zachary pulled the bag over and opened it for him. “Thank you, Uncle Zack.” Grabbing a pack of chips from the grocery bag, Sonny gave it to Zachary and said, “This is for you, Uncle Zack. Aunt Ser said it’s tasty.” Aunt Ser rarely bought him chips, stating that too much junk food was not good for him. Yet, Aunt Ser always helped herself with a bag of chips. After Zachary took the bag of chips, Sonny dug out a few more snacks and gave them to Zachary. The little boy t
Struck by a thought, Zachary flipped the lights on and hurried to Serenity’s bedroom. He flung the door open and looked at the unchanged décor. Her things were still around. He examined her closet and found a few pieces of clothing missing. Her suitcase was still beside the wardrobe. She did not take all her things with her. Zachary sighed heavily with relief. He was so afraid of losing someone for the first time ever. Sitting on Serenity’s bed, Zachary brushed his fingers along her sheets as if he could feel her through her belongings. “Seren…” He murmured her name. “I’ll prove to you through my actions that you won’t hear another lie from me again!“You can ignore me for a year if I ever do anything to deceive or hurt you. Um… A year’s a bit long. Maybe three months.” After much thought, Zachary believed he would go crazy from three months of no interaction with Serenity. He mumbled to himself, “I think a week is fine. I lost my mind when you didn’t talk to me for a
Serenity said with a smile, “Of course, we’ll be open for business.” “They said you’ll sell the business and take it easy with life when we found out you were the missus of the York family. They also said they are willing to buy your business no matter the cost because of the good energy in your shop.” Mr. Charles added amid chuckles, “The place only has good energy because you’re there.” Did these people think they would marry up like Serenity just by taking over her shop? Nevertheless, it was not a bad idea to buy Serenity’s business. He could advertise saying that the shop once belonged to Mrs. York. “I’m still the same me, Mr. Charles. Jasmine and I put a lot of hard work into the shop. I can’t just give up on the shop after running it for so many years.” “I heard that the wives of wealthy families can’t work. Does Mr. York allow you to work?” Mr. Charles was in the mood for some gossip.Serenity kept quiet for a while before answering, “I’m a free person, Mr. Charle
Jasmine smiled. “Now this is the Serenity I know.” After parking her bike, Jasmine went to move the display racks out with Serenity. “Did Mr. York bother you afterward?” Jasmine asked with concern. While dusting off the racks, Serenity replied, “Do you think he would let me breathe and cool down for a few days?” “Nope.” Jasmine added, “Just turn a blind eye so long as he doesn’t cross the line by knocking you out and putting you under house arrest like last time. Mr. York is distressed and scared to lose you.” Serenity was without a word. Seeing that Serenity was not in the mood for a relationship chat, Jasmine took the hint and stopped diving into the topic.“Ah, the shop’s finally open. Serenity. Serenity.” The voice from the door was one to dig under Serenity’s skin. Old Mr. Hunt, leading his group of sons and grandsons, walked not the shop with big smiles. “Serenity.” Old Mr. Hunt beamed, looking at Serenity as if she was a goldmine. Man, he was blinded by the
Hank’s parents had always been biased toward his sister, Chelsea. It would be difficult to change them. Their father, Luke, was a slightly better case because he had felt regretful ever since knowing Serenity was the York family’s missus. He regretted letting Hank date Jessica. After going through so much, he was more convinced that Liberty suited Hank better. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Hank could no longer return to the past. On the day Serenity and Zachary brought Sonny to the Browns’ place for a meal, Chelsea also brought Lucas back to visit her family. When Chelsea entered the house, Olivia was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She said, “I heard Liberty and Duncan getting married soon, Mom. The Lewises are preparing for the wedding. The couple will most likely get their marriage license after she returns from Jensburg.”Olivia looked indifferent. “That’s bound to happen sooner or later. Why are we still talking about her?“Even if she gets a boost in her
Next, she posted the pictures on social media. Many of her followers were her students’ parents. Only a minority of them were her friends or ex-classmates. She was flooded with blessings from them as well. One of Zoey Crawford’s worries was finally resolved. Since her daughter had gotten married, she would continue urging her sons to do the same. Zoey had been anxious that Quinn could never find a suitable partner because of her easy-going personality and proficiency in martial arts. Although she was introduced to a few men through matchmaking services, the men usually refused to show up. They were scared of the potential domestic abuse they could face since Quinn was good at fighting. They had heard of her countless accomplishments as well. Therefore, no one was interested in Quinn despite her decent figure, looks, and family background. This was where Zoey’s constant urging for her to find a life partner came from. Quinn had felt frustrated about Zoey’s nagging. She did not
Julian said gently, “You can meet Serenity, Jasmine, and Elisa often in the future.“By the way, don’t trust anything Elisa says. Take her words with a grain of salt.”Quinn asked, “What will Ms. Stone say to me? Why are you specifically asking me not to listen to her?”Julian cleared his throat. As he drove, he said embarrassedly, “I pretended to pursue Elisa for some time to help Remy back then.”Quinn said, “I didn’t know I had a love rival.”“Elisa isn’t your love rival. She and her family don’t fancy me anyway. When they knew I was pursuing her, Mrs. Stone immediately changed her mind and agreed to Remy and Elisa’s marriage. To her, I’m like a fierce beast unsuited for her baby daughter.”Quinn got invested and asked, “Why did helping Remy involve pursuing Elisa?”Julian came clean and recounted everything to Quinn. He did not want her to misunderstand.“Even your parents fell for your acting. I didn’t think you’d do such a thing.”“Don’t misunderstand, honey.”Quinn smi
Fortunately, Quinn herself was strong, and her family was not pushovers either. She turned to look at Julian.Without asking, Julian knew exactly what she was thinking, and he quickly reassured her, “Quinn, you don’t have to worry. That kind of thing won’t happen to us. I’m your rock. As long as I’m around, no one can bully you. In my family, apart from my parents, everyone else has to accede to me, and you know how my parents feel about you. They’re so grateful to you that they practically worship you like a goddess.“You’re familiar with the York family now and have seen the way they operate, right? Well, my family and the Yorks are old family friends. Birds of a feather flock together. The reason our two families are so close is we have similar family values.“Setting aside the fact that your family is powerful enough and supportive of you—even if you were like Serenity in the beginning, my family would never look down on you or mistreat you. They would only love and cherish you.
Stacy was actually hoping that Julian and Quinn could get their marriage license today and hold the wedding right away. However, the date they had picked was after Christmas and they still had to wait over a month for the actual wedding. At least once they signed the papers, there was no need to worry about Quinn changing her mind. Stacy was afraid that Quinn and her family might have second thoughts, especially since her son was afflicted with a disorder.“Hey, sweetie.”When Stacy addressed Quinn, her tone was very gentle. Quinn thought that her future mother-in-law was even kinder and more considerate than her own mother. Her father had looked into the Buchams' character and knew that Stacy was actually quite formidable. To Quinn though, Stacy appeared so gentle and kind that she did not seem like the kind of person who would be overly strict or tough. Of course, anyone who could hold fast the position of the Buchams’ head missus and secure her husband’s love for decades as if
Quinn could not stop laughing when she saw him.Julian blushed a little in response. He asked, “What are you laughing at? Is my outfit ugly? Does it not look good?”He was used to wearing black clothes all the time. Although he had a white suit, he rarely wore it. Today, for the special occasion of legally getting married to Quinn, he had specifically chosen to wear white, a color symbolizing purity, to proclaim how his feelings were as pure as snow.“It’s not ugly, it looks great! You look even more handsome than usual. I’m just not used to seeing you in a white suit. Now, you look like a prince from a fairy tale—my prince.”Julian smiled indulgently. “That’s right. I’m your prince charming and yours alone. You look great in white, too, my dear wife.”It was Quinn’s turn to blush slightly. She was not used to being called his wife, especially since they had not even registered yet. Since they were about to go get their marriage license though, she might as well start getting used
Serenity laughed and said, “I hope I’ll be toasting at your wedding soon.”Peter replied, “I think I'll get married before Dylan does.”Dylan’s romantic path had been much more complicated because he had not wanted to follow the smooth, well-paved road that Grandma May had arranged for him.“We have lots of happy occasions lined up after Christmas, then,” Camryn remarked.“Yes, lots,” Serenity agreed.The courtyard was lively, with the elders occasionally joining in on the fun. Meanwhile, inside the house, Dylan was thinking about what Serenity had told him. She had repeatedly said that the person Grandma May picked for him would definitely be the right one, someone who would suit him well.She also suggested that he look into Imogen and that there might be a pleasant surprise in store for him, but that he was not to let Imogen know. The implication in Serenity’s words was that Imogen might be Fox and that Fox’s real identity was Imogen Doyle herself.After understanding Serenit
Dylan frowned as he pondered deeply.“The scent from outside is wafting in. I think the food’s ready. I’m going out to have a couple of skewers to satisfy my cravings. You can stay here and think things through.”Seeing that Dylan had finally grasped the main point, Serenity stopped the conversation and went out to have some barbecue. It had been a long time since she had eaten barbecue.After getting pregnant, although she was not as strictly monitored as Jasmine was, she still paid close attention to her diet and would do her best to avoid things she could not eat or had to limit. Liberty called her every few days to remind her to be careful.When Zachary saw Serenity come out of the house, he immediately picked up a plate of freshly grilled skewers to his beloved wife, saying, “I deliberately used less seasoning on these for you, so you can eat them with peace of mind. Sonny’s asleep now, right?” “He fell asleep long ago, after playing so hard today,” Serenity replied, then gr
In that case, Grandma May would not even need to step in to teach him a lesson. His older brothers would beat him up multiple times for tarnishing the York family’s reputation and dragging their names in the mud with his own.“Dylan, I told you that if you didn’t trust Nana, you’d face the consequences. Look, you’re starting to suffer now, aren’t you?” Serenity said. Who was Grandma May? She was a kind-hearted but cunning old fox who could sell someone out and still make them feel grateful for it as they counted the money she made for her. How could she pick a bad match for her grandsons? There was no way they would be unsuitable. “Serenity, it’s not that I don’t trust Nana, it’s just that I really couldn’t fall in love with Imogen. I feel like if I couldn’t fall for her in almost three months then I just won’t. And I always thought about Fox when I was with Imogen. I’m not some naïve kid who doesn’t understand what that means.” Dylan smiled bitterly. His family always compla