“Why are you here, Zachary?” asked Elisa, baffled. There was no reason for a man of Zachary’s 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. Elisa’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the bouquet between Zachary and Serenity. Zachary was even holding Serenity’s 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 woman’s… 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
“Seren, what kind of cock and bull story does he give you? Has he been stringing you along that he was just a salaryman?” 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 someone’s marriage. Out of all people, it had to be the marriage of the cousin she hit it off with. “When did you get your marriage license, Seren?” Elisa suddenly asked. Serenity replied, “Early October, I believe.” 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 ride—the 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 Elisa’s 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
“It has nothing to do with Zachary. I cut myself by accident.” Acting like everything was okay, Serenity said to Elisa, “Elisa, the thing about me and Zachary…” “I don’t blame you, Seren. You don’t have to explain or apologize to me. It’s not like we just met. I’m only furious that Zachary lied to both of us. He made a monkey out of us cousins.” Moments ago, Jasmine had told Elisa the whole story about Serenity finding out Zachary’s identity. Elisa’s heart went out to her cousin who was fooled the whole time. “Seren, 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. Don’t let me come in the way of your decision. Lying aside, he’s someone you can spend the rest of your life with. “Of 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.” Now that Elisa thought about it, she was
Zachary showed a sour face and held his tongue. Since there was no point talking sense into Zachary now, Josh suggested, “Why don’t you stay in the office while I do the snooping around for you? I think you need some distraction and what better way to get your mind off things than work? It will take more than a day or two before the conflict between you and your wife can be resolved. “It doesn’t help to hurry things along. You’re only making more room for mistakes if you rush into it.” It was true that Zachary needed to do something to distract himself. Helpless, he said, “You’ve just gotta let me know that you want to skip work. Don’t use spying for me as an excuse.” Josh chuckled. “I’ve been working my *ss for you for so many years. It’s time I get a couple of days off.” He and Jasmine had not made progress in their relationship. It was probably due to Zachary and Serenity that Jasmine remained on the sidelines. Josh could tell Jasmine was interested, but she held her fe
Judging by the timing of Josh’s arrival, Jasmine guessed that Zachary went to the office. “What did Elisa say or do when she found out that Zachary was Mr. York?” Josh did not send the photos to Zachary right away after taking them. Elisa had taken Serenity to the hospital to redress the injury anyway. Zachary would summon him back to the office while he himself would check on his wife at the hospital if Josh were to send him the photos right now. Josh selfishly thought to himself, ‘All I’m asking for is a half-day.’ He wanted to spend some alone time with Jasmine before going back to slaving himself at the office. Josh believed he must have owed Zachary tremendously in another life because he was ungrudgingly paying Zachary back by bending over backward now. “She blamed Mr. York for lying to Serenity. She didn’t do anything though. Mr. York didn’t defend himself, probably because he couldn’t talk his way out of the truth.” Jasmine looked at Josh. “You wealthy and power
Josh was not impressed, to say the least. He had asked Jasmine out many times, but her parents still had no clue that he was pursuing their daughter. Here Mrs. Sox thought Mr. Bucham was asking Drake out. Josh was lost for words. Jasmine took her mother’s call. “Mom.” Jasmine chirped, “What can I do for you, mother dearest?” “Don’t act smart with me. Come home early tonight. We’re going to your aunt’s for dinner.” Jasmine asked warily, “What’s the occasion since we’re having dinner at Aunt Rachel’s place?” Mrs. Sox fell silent for a while before asking in a hushed tone, “Is Serenity with you?” “No.” “Good. Shawn’s back but only for a couple of days. Your aunt has been missing him since he went to Havenmill. Mothers are all the same. We can’t stop worrying when our children are miles away. Now that Shawn’s back for a few days, your aunt wants to organize a get-together.” Scowling, Jasmine glanced at Josh and relayed the question that had been bugging her. “Mom, is
Mrs. Sox would not approve if Shawn continued to dwell on Serenity. What was the meaning of pestering a married woman? “Oh, that reminds me. Your aunt found another nice man for you. You can meet the guy at tonight’s dinner. Your aunt said the guy doesn’t come from a wealthy family. She gave up on that criteria since you hate it so much.” Truth be told, Mrs. Lowe knew her niece had kissed goodbye the notion of marrying a rich husband the moment Jasmine lay herself down on the floor at Mrs. Dawson’s birthday party. That was when Mrs. Lowe called it quits on playing the matchmaker. After staying out of her niece’s business for a while, Mrs. Lowe was once again back to find a man for her niece. Jasmine was twenty-six and single with no boyfriend in sight. Aunt Rachel was nervous for her niece who was not getting any younger. The anxiousness was getting to Mrs. Sox too. The two ladies would always think about setting Jasmine up on dates whenever they got together. “Your aunt
Chelsea muttered, “Even if you do that, Sonny isn’t close to you, Mom.”Olivia was speechless for a second. She said, “Even if we aren’t close, he’ll call me grandmom when he sees me. He doesn’t even greet me now.“Sonny may be young, but he’ll be four years old next year. He knows everything he needs to and is clever. He must’ve inherited Hank and Liberty’s best genes because they used to be smart people.”Liberty was not stupid. She even had a better career than Hank before she got married. What were they thinking back then?The Browns wanted to suppress Liberty to ensure she was less dominant than Hank. Therefore, Liberty was persuaded to leave her job after marriage to stay home throughout her pregnancy. She ended up becoming a housewife and lost the sharp edge she had in her workplace. Her world only revolved around her husband and son, causing her to lose her identity gradually. The Browns were changing Liberty bit by bit, yet they were not treating her well. Ultimately
“I’m not using Sonny. Since Hank and I are siblings and he only has one son, Sonny and Lucas can get along as cousins. If Sonny hangs out with his cousins more often, he’ll have brothers who have his back in the future.“If he runs into any problems, we can help him. He won’t be alone.”Chelsea guessed Hank must have told their parents something to have caused the change in their mother’s attitude. Olivia favored Sonny and no longer wished to work toward the future of Chelsea’s children.Olivia glanced at her daughter and chuckled. Then, she looked toward Lucas, the grandson she raised. Lucas was a naughty boy. He would never stay still and had already made a mess of the house in a short period. “Look at how Lucas behaves now and compare it to Sonny’s personality. Although Sonny can get mischievous sometimes, he’s more mature and sensible despite his young age. He’ll only be more composed in the future.“Even if he does run into trouble, he won’t require your help. You guys
“Even if my husband and I work tirelessly for another decade, we can never achieve the wealth of the Lewises.”Chelsea was mentally cursing Hank for being ignorant and not mending his relationship with Sonny. He even brainwashed their parents until they stopped siding with her. She could only imagine Sonny’s bright future, where he would be living in a large villa, driving luxury cars, and inheriting a megacorporation. Meanwhile, her children could only get a decent nine-to-five job. Their monthly salary could even be lower than the price of one of Sonny’s meals.Chelsea was jealous. She was anxious about getting her son to build a close relationship with Sonny.“Why don’t we file a case to regain Sonny’s custody, Mom? Liberty and Serenity won’t ignore us so long Sonny is in our house. They’ll help us so that Sonny lives a good life too.“That way, Sonny will have a deeper connection with us. He won’t forget us when he becomes a capable person.”Chelsea had a pipe dream. O
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