โJust you wait. Iโll kick up a fuss at your husbandโs office and demand that he forks out the money. Otherwise, Iโll ask your in-laws instead. You wonโt be able to show your face there. Your in-laws will find you an eyesore and kick you out!โ threatened Old Mr. Hunt. That was what he intended to do. Prior to coming, his grandsons showed him the ropes in case Serenity and Liberty hated their guts too much to pay up. Now that Serenity was Mrs. York, she must want to keep up with her appearance more than ever. Serenity would pay them hush money for the sake of her in-lawsโ reputation if they brazenly cause a commotion. The Hunts could make a racket at Zacharyโs office or the Yorksโ family home if Serenity refused to give them money. Serenity was not on good terms with them, but it did not change the fact that they were family. Their existence would be an embarrassment to Serenity regardless. Serenity was unlikely to gain a foothold since she married into the York family as a n
The Hunts treated the sisters more like enemies than families. โHere you are, my good grandson-in-law. Hurry up and do something about your wife. Serenity doesnโt know her manners. Without tough love from her parents, she hasnโt learned much about respect. Iโm sure your familyโs all about social graces since youโre an heir. You should divorce the uncultured girl. โYou better keep her on a tight leash if you want to stay with her. Hit her if she refuses to listen. You need to beat her into submission. Her grandmom used to be defiant, but I gave her a beating every day until she did everything I say. โSerenity drenched my clothes. You might want to give me some money to get a change of clothes.โ The stoic air around Zachary gave Old Mr. Hunt the chills. Still, Old Mr. Hunt psyched himself up to put forth his opinion without shame. Jasmine was tempted to whack the old man. A grandfather like Old Mr. Hunt was unheard of. She had a strong reason to doubt that Serenityโs father
There was no justice in the world. Old Mr. Huntโs other granddaughters were rather dutiful, but the insolent granddaughter was one who bagged herself a rich husband. Seeing that Granddad had made a quick exit, John and the others had no reason to stick around.They all ran back to the cars and sped away. Zachary plonked the bucket down onto the ground, spattering water onto his pants. โI dare you not to run, old man!โ Zachary shouted at the runaway cars. He was thinking of getting his bodyguards to haul Old Mr. Hunt into the car for them to drive away if the old man would not budge. It made things a lot easier as the old man did not hang on for long and took off on his own. Serenity and Jasmine emerged from the shop. Jasmine said, โSeren, are these people here to patch things up? Well, donโt make peace with them even if they make a public apology online. Theyโre jealous that things are going well for you.โ With a long face, Serenity uttered, โI have no intention of mak
Mr. Zachary said something about putting his dignity aside to win his wife back. He seemed to care about his dignity when it came down to it though. Jim rushed into the car to grab the roses for Mr. Zachary. โSir, these are the flowers you bought for the missus. You havenโt given them to her.โ Jim handed the bouquet to Zachary. Zachary snapped out of his thoughts. That was right. He bought Seren some roses. Grabbing the bouquet from Jim, Zachary uttered in a husky voice, โIโll let Sam know to double your bonus.โ Although over the moon, Jim remained respectful on the surface. โThe bonus doesnโt matter to me so long as you and the missus can get back together.โ โIโll use your bonus to buy my wife some flowers then.โ Jim was speechless. All Jim did was pledge his loyalty, but Mr. Zachary took away his doubled bonus. Everybody turned their heads away to hide their laughter. With the bouquet in hand, Zachary was about to step into the shop when he pulled his leg back
โWhy are you here, Zachary?โ asked Elisa, baffled. There was no reason for a man of Zacharyโs status to be here. However, it was Zachary in the flesh. Unable to believe her eyes, Elisa blinked a few times before taking a closer look at the man. Sure enough, it was the Zachary she knew. Elisaโs eyes widened in shock when she saw the bouquet between Zachary and Serenity. Zachary was even holding Serenityโs hand. The only logical explanation that came to mind was that the man simply resembled Zachary, but he was not Zachary.How could Zachary, an aloof man who never went anywhere without his security detail to keep young women away, possibly hold another womanโsโฆ Ah, before she forgot, Zachary had a wife now, and his wife had his heart. It was rumored that he spoiled his wife crazy. Although Elisa had never seen his wife, she believed Zachary was the type to give his wife all the love in the world. For Zachary, it was forever once he fell in love. That was why Elisa did not
โSeren, what kind of cock and bull story does he give you? Has he been stringing you along that he was just a salaryman?โ Serenity thought Elisa would be livid and cut ties with her the moment the latter found out that Zachary was Mr. York. When faced with the truth, Elisa was fuming but the anger was targeted at Zachary for deceiving both parties. Elisa would have quit on him if Zachary had told her he was married right off the bat. Nevertheless, Zachary kept his mouth shut, leading Elisa on that he was single. Elisa was all over him and somewhat became the homewrecker in someoneโs marriage. Out of all people, it had to be the marriage of the cousin she hit it off with. โWhen did you get your marriage license, Seren?โ Elisa suddenly asked. Serenity replied, โEarly October, I believe.โ It was a hasty marriage, and Serenity was simply looking for a marriage of convenience, so the date was not that important to her. All she remembered was that it was somewhere at the beginnin
Serenity lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. Alas, Zachary had turned away and walked off. She stared blankly as Zachary took large strides away. The hurt sneaked up on her. Serenity had no idea whether it was because of him or herself. Jasmine and Elisa were talking about something outside when Zachary came out of the shop with a grimacing look. Without looking at the girls, he made a beeline to his usual rideโthe Rolls Royce. Zachary had gotten rid of his security team, but the chauffeur stayed behind in case Zachary needed a ride. Seeing that Zachary was out, the chauffeur got out of the car and opened the door for him. Zachary, together with the Rolls Royce, disappeared out of Jasmine and Elisaโs sight in no time. Elisa and Jasmine were left staring at each other. The girls immediately turned on their heels and rushed back into the shop. Serenity was not behind the cash register. Her crafting tools sat quietly on the cash register with trails of blood all over the
โIt has nothing to do with Zachary. I cut myself by accident.โ Acting like everything was okay, Serenity said to Elisa, โElisa, the thing about me and Zacharyโฆโ โI donโt blame you, Seren. You donโt have to explain or apologize to me. Itโs not like we just met. Iโm only furious that Zachary lied to both of us. He made a monkey out of us cousins.โ Moments ago, Jasmine had told Elisa the whole story about Serenity finding out Zacharyโs identity. Elisaโs heart went out to her cousin who was fooled the whole time. โSeren, I gave up on Zachary a long time ago. I got over Zachary the moment I found out he was married. I feel more at peace after I backed off and stopped thinking about him for a while. Donโt let me come in the way of your decision. Lying aside, heโs someone you can spend the rest of your life with. โOf course, since he played you like a fiddle, I hope you take your time in forgiving him. At least, make him suffer for a bit.โ Now that Elisa thought about it, she was
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. Isabellaโs 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 Austinโs 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 Louisโs place with his bag. โAustin.โLouis suddenly asked, โDid 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 Austinโs 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 fiancรฉes. 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 fiancรฉe. 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, โMs. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.โIโm polite to other women when I need to be. If theyโre unimportant, Iโll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I wonโt cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.โGet some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. Iโll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.โAfter 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 fiancรฉe, 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. โMs. Isabella.โIsabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, โThis may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?โIsabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?โSomeone like Austin,โ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, โI like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isnโt as financially well-off as mine, I donโt mind so long as heโs honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.โOf course, itโll be great if we have the same social status. That way, weโll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, weโll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.โโAlthough you can accept someone who isnโt from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, โItโs okay. I know I was forcing it.โThere 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 fiancรฉe was. He was already so protective of his fiancรฉe 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. โYou werenโt forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. Itโs only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.โAustin said gently, โItโs not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancรฉes for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.โTo be honest, we didnโt even know Nana had been choosing fiancรฉes for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us
โYou can drink it now. Itโll turn cold if left aside for longer.โIsabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. โIโm drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what Iโm doing and saying.โIโve had enough ginger ale.โShe did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. โWhich family is your fiancรฉe from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?โIsabella 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 fiancรฉe that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austinโs fiancรฉe, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austinโs fiancรฉe had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabellaโs 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. โYouโre the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.โAustin added gently, โYou give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but youโre always a nice person in my eyes.โIsabella 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. โEven my parents are scared and avoid me when Iโm in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, โDonโt worry, Ms. Edith. Iโll take good care of Ms. Isabella.โEdith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousinโs 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 Austinโs 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, โMs. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?โIsabella rubbed her temples and said, โYes, please. I donโt want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.โAustin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austinโs