Serenity carried Sonny all the way to the car. She unlocked and opened the door to place Sonny in his child’s seat. She then turned around to face Zachary who was standing behind her. “I got to go.” Zachary looked into her eyes for a while before finding his voice. “Okay.” He looked at her front bumper and commented, “You should use another car.” Serenity had gotten into the car and started the engine by then. Winding down the window, she said, “This is the first car you gave me.” Zachary’s eyes darkened. She drove off. Standing there, Zachary watched as her car disappeared. Jim, together with the other bodyguards, stood on duty a distance away. They dared not come close. Although Mr. Zachary and his wife did not get into another fight, the couple was distant from each other. The prior lovingness was no more. Once Serenity’s car was out of sight, Zachary put his hand up and waved. His security detail approached. “To the office,” Zachary uttered gruffly. With Ji
Liberty stopped wiping the table and walked out with a cloth in her hand. With a smile, she watched as her sister carried her son out of the car. “Mommy.” Sonny came running to his mother. With the little man on his way to his mother, Serenity gleefully said to her sister, “I spend a lot of time with him, but he’s still the closest to his mom.” “Of course. You should consider one of your own since you and Zachary love children.” Liberty poked fun at her sister while keeping an eye on her expression. Seeing that her sister smiled without saying anything, Liberty knew that the couple had not gotten over their differences. “What did Zachary call you over to talk about?” Liberty asked out of concern. Picking her son up, Liberty entered the restaurant with her sister. Following the question, Serenity hurried back to the car to retrieve the envelope. It contained all of Zachary’s assets. Back at the restaurant, Serenity asked why the workers were not around, “Is the renovat
“Give each other some time.” Liberty patted her sister’s hand and put the document back into the envelope. She added, “Don’t put such an important document in my rental house. Although I live in a nice neighborhood, we don’t know much about our neighbors.“Brynfield has a tighter security measure in place. You can buy a safe to keep in your home with Zachary. It’ll be safer to lock the document in there. This is everything Zachary owns.”Serenity fell silent before uttering, “I’ll give Nana a call later. I’ll hand the document to Nana to hold onto. Their home is a better place.” “Sounds good.” Liberty had no problems with that. She asked, “Are you staying for lunch?” “I’m going to the Stones’ residence to talk to Aunt Audrey. I might have my lunch there.” “What are you going to talk to Aunt Audrey about?” Liberty asked with concern, “Do you need help from Aunt Audrey or something?” Mrs. Stone was their aunt and a person of position in Wiltspoon. Although the sisters had r
Liberty adhered to a strict diet, skipping out on food with high sugar and fat content. She now weighed a hundred and fifty pounds. Her goal was a hundred pounds. With another fifty pounds to go, Liberty only had to persevere to get her figure back. Having shed a lot of pounds, Liberty looked a lot better on the exterior front. By the time Liberty jogged back to her restaurant, her ex-husband was expectedly waiting for her there. Hank’s car was parked right in front of the restaurant. As Liberty had locked the glass door, he could not get into the place. Leaning against his car, he slipped one hand in his pocket and held a cigarette with the other. He took a puff every now and then. Liberty furrowed her brows. Her ex-husband’s presence was the last thing she wanted to have in her life. It was not like he came to see his son. Liberty found it ironic. Before the divorce happened, Hank was never home. The couple barely had time to talk. He was not willing to communicate
Furious, Liberty let out a smirk. “Did I cost you your job? Do you think your greed will go unnoticed? You’re to be blamed for your job loss. Don’t take your anger out on anyone else.” She curtly added, “I have my regrets too. I regret not seeing through you and not divorcing you sooner! Hank, if there’s one thing I don’t regret in life, it’s our divorce!” Hank shot her a glare and uttered angrily, “Even so! I will lose my job anyway because you have Zachary to help you! Liberty, we were husband and wife for many years. That should count for something, but you are so wicked to pull that on me!” During the divorce, he asked her not to get back at him with the evidence. She gave him her word and promised not to act in retribution. Hank did not count on Serenity and her husband to play a part in this. This was a deliberate act. “I bet you knew Zachary is Mr. York right from the start. You knew he would give me a hard time, get me fired, and destroy my future.” “How was I supp
Hank wanted to say that he had lost interest in Liberty a long time ago. Liberty was fat, and her weight took away all redeeming assets. However, now that Liberty shed a lot of pounds, she looked better than before. Hank could no longer say that in full confidence. Liberty was beautiful before the birth of their son. She was no lesser than Jessica in every single way. “Jessica loves to overthink. We were once a married couple after all. Jessica will take it the wrong way so long as we remain in contact. Don’t take it to heart, Liberty.” If Liberty still loved him… It was a huge ego boost for Hank with two women fighting over him. It was all in his head though. Liberty had stopped loving him a long time ago. Hank had mixed feelings about it. He was the one who betrayed Liberty, but it did not sit well with Hank that Liberty let go of her feelings for him. Hank hoped his life with Jessica would only get better after the divorce while Liberty could live her days miserabl
Hank fled away in his car. On his way home, he could not stop cussing Liberty out. Jessica was the sweetest and kindest little thing. Hank did not regret divorcing Liberty! Back at his rented place, Hank saw a familiar car downstairs. Hank’s head was about to explode. It was his sister.Here came his sister again. Hank ran his fingers along his hair in annoyance. He had better go home. He and Jessica were out of work. It was clear that Zachary was out to get him. Did Zachary have something to do with his sister and brother-in-law losing their jobs too? In that case, Hank had dragged his sister down with him. Once outside the door, Hank could hear the arguments inside. Since the company let Jessica and Hank go together, the couple left the office together. However, Hank told Jessica to get out and hail a cab mid-journey as he needed to blow some steam off. Showing understanding, Jessica took a cab home. She was not in a good mood either. Hank always looked out for
George wanted to open his own construction material business. It cost around a hundred thousand dollars to rent a space and give it a facelift. Chelsea was reluctant to use her savings for her husband’s business setup now that the couple was no longer with an income. She would lose her savings if the business became a bust. Nevertheless, Chelsea wanted her husband to try it out. She would become the boss’s wife if the business was up and running. Accustomed to getting financial help from her family, Chelsea naturally came to her parents and brother for help. “I’m not Liberty!” Jessica broke down and yelled, “Go to Liberty if you like her that much. See if she even cares!” She was most bitter when the Browns compared her with Liberty. Before, the Browns often disgruntledly pointed out this and that about Liberty to Jessica. Since the divorce and Jessica joining the family, the Browns were now fawning over Liberty. “Chelsea, your son messed up my room, so you have to cle
Austin said, “He’s definitely here to discuss a potential partnership with your company.“He's just the acting head of the Longbottoms. He doesn’t truly control the family. If the real head returns, everything he’s worked for will go to someone else.“The downfall of Belinda Fisher probably gave him a wake-up call and he doesn’t want to end up like that.“He’s definitely seeking to cooperate with you regarding his personal business. He’s just using the Longbottoms’ name, since their influence in Windermere is enormous.”In terms of wealth, the O'Connors and the Longbottoms were on equal footing, but the O'Connors had fewer members and did not have the same level of influence in Windermere as the Longbottoms.Isabella said, “He’s very ambitious. A partnership would only just be the beginning. Once it’s established, he’ll start thinking about how to cheat us and steal our business.“Plus, he’s very lecherous. Nobody can put a number to how many women he’s toyed with. Some even lost
Tony was aware that whenever his wife had to play the villain, it was always to protect him. He said, “You're right, I misspoke. Your mother isn’t that kind of person.”“Manny, I’ll be leaving soon. You stay here, and I’ll leave half of my men with you. If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me. I’ll be waiting to hear good news from you.” Tony decided to fly to Wiltspoon in the afternoon. He would only stay for two or three days before returning to Havenmill to handle business.However, as he thought about how he was working like a horse for Longbottom Corporation when many of the benefits did not even belong to him personally, Tony felt a bit disgruntled.“Got it.” Manny did not reject his father’s arrangement.As the Longbottom father and son were discussing how to deal with the O’Connors, Austin entered Isabella’s office.Isabella was busy, so Austin did not disturb her. He quietly sat at the tea table and made some tea.“It seems you’ve learned the art of tea-
Manny had never been to Wiltspoon, but he knew from his father that several prominent families in Wiltspoon had close ties with the Johnsons from Annenburg. It was possible that the child adopted by the Johnsons’ young missus was Laurence. Unfortunately, he could not meet that child, so he could not be a hundred percent certain. The child was currently out of sight and well-protected, hidden so effectively that even the Longbottoms’ information network could not find anything. The other prominent families in Wiltspoon were also helping to keep the child hidden, so Manny deeply disliked the people from these families. Even though they were thousands of miles away, they were still an obstacle to him and his father in their pursuit of becoming the true head of the family.“That's right. If we can conquer the O’Connors, we’ll have a backup plan,” his father said. “You must put your all into it, son. If you need help, just let me know, though this is also an opportunity for you to ge
Tony Longbottom was the only person who would put on such a parade. The big shots in Satbury usually had entourages of their own, but none would put on a spectacle as big as Tony would.As they departed in their car, Tony’s gracious demeanor utterly shattered.His face twisted into an ugly, cruel expression as he said, “I’ve never been treated like this before, even when the legitimate branch of the family still lived, and those two ignorant little girls actually refused to see me multiple times.”Manny was very angry too and he said, “Pops, since they refuse to go about this the easy way, we’ll have to show them the hard way. We can approach it from other angles, and once they’re completely out of business and they have nowhere else to turn to, they’ll be at our mercy.“Won’t they have to do as we please then? I want to marry them, they’ll have to marry me, and if I don’t, I’ll just make them my mistresses. Don’t the O’Connors have plenty of daughters? I’ll fuck every one of them
“Isabella O’Connor is so outstanding, so why are you asking me to go for Tati O’Connor instead?” Manny said under his breath in puzzlement.He had seen photos of the two ladies and Isabella’s appearance was more striking. She had a cold and aloof aura that easily triggered his desire to conquer her, and after just a few glances, he was captivated.If it were up to him, Manny would choose Isabella.Tony looked at his son, smiled, and said, “You can’t control her. Of course, if you manage to make her fall for you, we can talk about switching. But for now, focus on Tati O’Connor.”Tati was also beautiful. However, she did not have Isabella’s cold demeanor. She seemed much gentler, like she smiled often.“Marrying Tati O’Connor would be a big advantage for both you and our family.”Manny thought for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “Got it, Dad.”Manny’s good looks, wealth, honeyed tongue, and generosity toward girls made him good at winning them over. Pursuing a rich youn
After testing the O’Connor sisters and realizing they were not like other women, Mr. Longbottom thought of having his son marry Tati.He knew that his son would not be able to handle or control Isabella, so he set his sights on Tati. Tati probably did not realize she was considered an easy target. Most people underestimated her because she had always kept a low profile.At that moment, a young man got out from the other side of the Rolls-Royce. He resembled Mr. Longbottom. Indeed, he was Mr. Longbotton’s eldest son, Manny.“Dad.”Manny went to his father’s side and glanced at the building before him. He asked, “Aren’t we driving inside?”In Havenmill, Manny could do whatever he wished because his father was the interim head of the Longbottom family. While he had no respect for ordinary people at all, he was clever enough not to offend people he should not.He never parked his car outside the places he wanted to go and simply drove his car through the gates. However, Manny
Meanwhile in Satbury, a few luxury cars stopped at the entrance of Costa Corporation. The door of the first car, a Rolls-Royce, opened. A bodyguard came out of the car.He waited for his boss, who was sitting in the backseat to exit.Mr. Longbottom got out of the car. Although he was over fifty years old, he looked like he was in his forties as he maintained his appearance well.He wore a white tailored suit with a tie, which made him look more youthful.The bodyguards in the other cars alighted as well.They quickly stood behind Mr. Longbottom to protect him. It was also his display of power.A few bodyguards grabbed many gift boxes from the trunks. Mr. Longbottom stood in front of the company and raised his head to look at the sixty-eight-storey office building. It was a symbol of the O’Connor family’s abilities.Costa Corporation was not the family’s only business. They were involved in many industries and were successful in all of them.The O’Connors were wealthy and powe
Jasmine added, “In some cases, the divorced women can get married to a better man, while the divorced men can’t even find a new wife. There are many single men now.“Isn’t there a saying nowadays that men who have wives are extremely lucky?”When Jasmine was at the bookstore, she would also visit the neighboring stores to listen to juicy gossip. Many of the store owners were not locals and they had many stories to tell. Someone said there was an evil mother-in-law in a rural area who looked down on her daughter-in-law. She would egg her son on to abuse his wife and get a divorce. She would also tell her son that she could find a better and younger wife for him. However, once the divorce went through, news of the mother-in-law’s evil deeds and the son’s domestic abuse spread far and wide. Who would dare marry off their daughters to a man like that?Besides, holding another wedding would require a lot of money. The cost of a wedding had increased a lot compared to the past.Whe
“Sonny’s fine. He has recovered. You want to get Sonny from school?”After thinking about it, Serenity agreed and said, “Okay. I’ll message Sonny’s teacher later to tell her you’ll be taking him.”“Okay, Serenity. Thank you.”Hank was thankful that Serenity did not make things difficult for him. Serenity and Liberty had great character. Liberty had a new relationship and already let go of her resentment for Hank. She could coexist with him peacefully. On the other hand, Serenity still held grudges against Hank. However, since he and Liberty had divorced, he could no longer hurt her. He was also Sonny’s father. Serenity was willing to tolerate him for Sonny’s sake. Therefore, she always said yes whenever Hank requested to meet his son. “You’ll be taking Sonny out to eat after picking him up, right? Remember not to let him eat too much fried food, especially fried chicken and fries. He’ll get a sore throat.“He got a fever that day due to a throat inflammation.”“Got it. I’ll