“I’ll send him to Serenity’s place. She’ll take care of him.”Josh wanted to help his best friend out.Duncan reminded him, “Zachary is drunk and spewing nonsense. If he said those words he said earlier in front of Serenity, it would be adding insult to injury.”Josh paused. “I’ll send him to Wildridge Manor.”Duncan had no problem with that.The three of them left the bar. Duncan helped Zachary into Josh’s car, said a few words, and watched Josh drive away. Then, he called for a cab for himself.On the way back to York’s residence, Zachary occasionally yelled a few times. One moment, it was “Serenity, I love you. Don’t leave me.” The next moment, it was, “What else do you want from me? It’s not like I need you.”He kept repeating those words.It was a fight between his love and ego. His love prevailed one moment, and his ego the next.More than an hour later, Josh’s car arrived at Wildridge Manor.He called Grandma May in advance, so she waited for him at the entrance of the
What would Zachary do?He was dreaming after passing out drunk.In his dream, he was fighting Serenity fiercely, and he shouted at her, “It’s not that I need you, Serenity. I can toss you away any time. Don’t regret it when that happens!”Serenity looked at him coldly and then turned to leave.“Serenity! You’ll never leave me! You’re mine! I need you!”His instinctive reaction was to pull her back and not let her go.He pulled her and held her tightly, then lowered his head to her for a furious kiss as if trying to sear himself onto her...“Splash—”When Zachary was fiercely entangled with Serenity in his dream, he flipped over and tumbled out of the deck chair. He fell into the pool.The cold water instantly engulfed his body.His dream shattered, and the blazing fire in him that had ignited was extinguished the moment he fell into the pool.F*ck!It was freezing!There was so much water!Why was he in the water?!Zachary was caught off guard when he fell into the pool
The scowl on Zachary’s face could not be any more grimacing. Nevertheless, he did not have the nerve to go ahead to face another beating from Nana’s cane. Taking his nana’s cynical remark to heart, Zachary callously retorted, “Nana, I never said Serenity’s not the only girl out there for me.” There was no way he would say such a thing. Serenity was the only one for him. He did not want anyone but Serenity. “So you never said that?” Stumped, Zachary took a moment before uttering, “I might have said it in my dreams… How did you know, Nana?” Was it possible that it did not happen in dreamland? He had a huge fight with Serenity and said the unthinkable in a fit of rage. The rage somehow inflamed something else in him too… “Nana, I-I had a lot to drink. What did I do to Serenity while intoxicated?” If he was drunk to use force on Serenity… Jesus! Zachary had to stop his thoughts from spiraling there. Alcohol could really mess things up! He was wasted.Grandma Ma
In other words, the couple would divorce and be set free if Serenity could not blend into his circle. Was marriage all about equal social standing? Zachary and his family never once turned their nose up at Serenity. Why must Serenity put pressure on herself and care about what other people think? He believed there was no gap between them! His word should be taken for it! “You can pretend nothing happened since you don’t remember. Oh, there’s one thing you kept repeating all night—‘Serenity, you’re not the only one out there for me.’ Are those your true thoughts? You should go and talk to her when the sun comes out. What are you trying to accomplish by making a huge fuss about it with us?” With his face falling, Zachary bitterly smiled. “Seren said a lot to me, Nana. She doesn’t want to be a defenseless girl, hiding under my wing. She wants to be a woman standing proudly next to me.“Serenity wants to share common interests. It’s not like we don’t have anything in common to
Seeing that it was Josh, the two hounds stopped barking and wagged their tails at him. Josh was often around the Soxes’ residence in the name of hanging out with Drake. His frequent visits gave Mrs. Sox the wrong idea that Josh took a fancy to Drake, but it also drew him closer to the two hounds. Drake came to open the door. “Are you here for me?” Josh answered with a smile, “You wish. I’m here for your sister.” Drake grinned. “I found out yesterday that my mom thought you had a crush on me. Haha! That was hilarious.” “I’m surprised Mrs. Sox took it the wrong way.” “Well, you always came looking for me. Anyway, my sister’s getting dressed upstairs. She said she doesn’t care if you come, but she hasn’t decided what to wear since getting up. Oh, women. It’s one of those no-means-yes moments.” Josh told him off, “Don’t speak ill of your sister in front of me.” Drake commented, “Are you on her side already?” “Drake, is that Josh? Oh, it is Josh. Come on in.” Mrs. Sox
Josh said with a smile, “I better work on it so I can get the bigger gift from you soon.” “I heard that no gossip slips past your family,” Mr. Sox chimed in. Josh replied, “That’s true. Are you into gossip?” Mr. Sox uttered with a straight face, “Gossip doesn’t appeal to someone of my age, but you can share a little with me when we have nothing to do. I’m fine with it.” Squealing at her husband, Mrs. Sox remarked, “Jasmine takes after him.” Jasmine’s love for the buzz and gossip came from her father. Josh happened to be the same type. He and Jasmine seemed destined together. God knew what embarrassing moments Jasmine’s parents would share with Josh while she was not around. Hence, Jasmine finally decided on a dress after standing in front of her wardrobe all day. Jasmine wore a dress, grabbing her phone on the way out. “Get it together, Jas. Josh is downstairs.” Drake called her sister’s attention to her bearing. She should walk like a lady. Now that an eligible
Zachary had no idea his commitment to work had caused distress to the entire office. It was Monday after he took seven days to cool off. He invited Serenity out at the start of a new week. The injury on Serenity’s hand healed up well after seven days of rest. At least, she could now drive. Zachary asked to meet her at the presidential suite on the top floor of Wiltspoon Hotel. Serenity brought Sonny along. The little man was with her today because the facelift for Liberty’s restaurant was nearing completion. Since Liberty would be busy in the coming days, she did not have time to look after Sonny. The responsibility of caring for Sonny fell on Serenity’s shoulders. “Mrs. York.” Standing at the hotel entrance, Jim and his colleague watched as Serenity carried Sonny out of the car. Jim went ahead and respectfully said hello. “Where’s your boss?” “Mr. Zachary is waiting for you on the top floor. Please come with us.” Remaining deferential throughout, Jim and his colleagu
Paperwork for the transfer of Zachary’s personal assets, including York Corporation shares, bank accounts, and all title deeds of residential and commercial properties had been sorted and packed in one envelope for Serenity. “You will own the company’s equity, but I’ll manage York Corporation for you. The profit will be yours to keep. I’m only working for you. If you have a financial target in mind, I will do my best to help you reach that goal. “We can proceed with the paperwork to transfer everything to your name if you’re okay with it. I won’t keep anything. You can decide how much you want to give me for allowance.“I kept my guard against you, thinking you were out to get my money. Now, I’m handing over everything I have to you to prove my confidence in you and apologize through my actions. I promise all the hiding and lies won’t happen again.” Without looking at the deeds, Serenity stuffed the document back into the envelope and stared at him in silence. “Say something,
“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
Adrian snapped, “Are you saying that I don’t do real work? Caroline, I was working at Fisher Enterprise long before we even knew you existed.”Caroline said neutrally, “Yes, yes, Adrian, you’ve been at Fisher Enterprise for a long time, but what achievements have you made? I mean, achievements that you accomplished on your own.“The results credited to you in the past weren’t actually your doing. You know better than anyone how they came about, so I won’t spell it out. I may have joined Fisher Enterprise only recently, but look at the position I’m in now.“Adrian, I’ve made it very clear. If you want to keep your job, do it well and take it seriously. Stop trying to take credit for other people’s work.”Adrian’s expression darkened. “I only said a couple of things, and you fired back with dozens. Can’t you give me some grace? I have pride, too.”“Adrian, go back to work. I need to get ready to head out soon.” Caroline was done talking to her brother.Adrian fell silent for a mo
Adrian was sullenly quiet. Was he really that incompetent? He thought he had done a pretty good job.Back when their mother was still around, he had not even needed to lift a finger. He just had to vaguely outline the requirements, and the elite team under him would come up with a proposal that satisfied everyone upstairs.All he had to do was wait for the praise and the compliments about how capable he was.After doing this for so long, Adrian had started to believe that he truly was talented.Then, he found out that Celine was not his biological sister and that Caroline was, but the latter had grown up in the countryside, appearing weak and timid, and seemed useless to the company—a good-for-nothing. Thus, Adrian began to harbor ambitions. He wanted to replace his sister and become the successor of the Fisher family.He had repeatedly expressed to his mother his desire to take over, to become the first male successor in the Fisher family’s history. He even said he was willing
Adrian tried several times to interrupt his sister, but Caroline’s barrage came at him like a machine gun, rapid and relentless. All he could do was glare at her, his face flush with anger. If looks could kill, Caroline would have been torn to pieces long ago.After finishing her lecture, Caroline picked up her cup and took a few sips of her coffee. She then said, “Adrian, look at me, I’m parched from all this talking. I’ve really gone out of my way to persuade you for your own good, just like how you tried to persuade me not to hand over control of the Fisher family. “To be honest, even if I didn’t give it back to Audrey and the rest, do you think I could hold onto the position of the matriarch?“The rest of the family doesn’t support us. They might not necessarily side with the Wiltspoonians either, but they definitely won’t side with us. They’ve long been dissatisfied with Mom and us.“Without their support and unable to win against Audrey, the Fisher legacy would eventually be