Grandma May put down her fork. She was full.Duncan agreed. “Yes, Sonny is indeed smart.”“Then why are you buying windmills for him? If you want to buy toys, then buy him some educational toys. There’s no novelty if you only buy him windmills. Can’t you see how he’s more interested in his food?”Her grandson and his friend were two peas in a pod.Josh was the exception. His mouth was as crafty as Kevin’s.Grandma May was not sure if Duncan was interested in Liberty, but she could tell that he was trying to appeal to Sonny. It looked like he was trying to make Sonny call him “Dad”.Duncan would have thought to himself, ‘I just like Sonny…’He smiled sheepishly and said, “I’ve never had a child before, so I don’t know what toys children like. Sonny was very happy the last time I gave him a windmill and even let me hold him. I thought he liked windmills, so I bought another one for him.”Grandma May was speechless.Did Duncan not know what change meant?She wondered if her old
Grandma May was glad that Duncan was not her grandson.When she thought of Zachary, she sighed silently.Birds of a feather flock together.Duncan was a good friend of Zachary, and they shared many similarities between them.After Duncan checked the utility bill with the housekeeper, he hung up the phone and said, “The amount is just right.”He took out his wallet, stuffed the rent he had just received into it, and said to Liberty, “Just use Apple Pay to transfer the amount to my housekeeper or me in the future. I’ll tell him to keep a record.”Liberty hummed and explained, “I transferred the amount last month, but the card I linked to my account reached its limit this month, so I had to withdraw cash with my bankbook.”The bank card she tied to her Apple Pay account was for daily living expenses. She kept most of her money in another account.“Well, do you need help with anything else?”Liberty quickly said, “Everything is ready. We’re just waiting to open.”“Have you distri
“I’ll go now, Grandma May.”Duncan bent down to ruffle Sonny’s head and bid goodbye to Grandma May. When the old woman hummed, he quickly went away.Grandma May watched him drive away and looked at Liberty, who was back at the register. She had a small book out as well as a calculator, counting how much money she had spent on the store and its renovations.Grandma May thought, ‘Seems like I was overthinking it.’Liberty had no interest in Duncan.However, she sat in front of Liberty and asked tentatively, “Liberty, what plans do you have for the future?”“I hope that All You Can Eat can open countless branches all over the country.”“Business is important, but what about your private life? You’re still only thirty-one. You’re very young. Have you considered it? I meant what I said back then. If you’re willing, I’ll introduce to you a dedicated and capable young man.“I guarantee that your second marriage will be better than your first. You’ll live a hundred times better than yo
The possibility of Liberty and Duncan being together was rather slim. It had never been Liberty’s wish to marry into a wealthy family. The sisters were not ones with wishful ambitions. Grandma May gave up on the idea. After leaving Liberty’s restaurant, Duncan returned to Lewis & Co. and walked into the office to lie on the sofa. He pulled out his phone and gave Zachary a text message. It was quiet during lunchtime in the office. Duncan: [Can I bother you?]Zachary was having the sleep of his life since he managed to convince his wife to stay at the office for a nap. Duncan’s untimely message woke him up. He would probably travel through the radio wave to give Duncan a beating if the guy was not his best friend. Serenity was still asleep. Zachary gave her a peck on the lips before grabbing his phone. He tiptoed out of the private resting room and approached a sofa to lie down like Duncan was. “What do you want?” Duncan’s mind was still blank by the time his best fri
“Clive probably made a deal on the house.”Since the estates were next to each other, it made sense for Clive to buy the property next door and tear down the fence in between to connect the two houses. It would expand the square footage of the Stones’ land. The Stones had the money anyway. Who could beat Clive if he had his eyes on the property? “I can help you to ask around now if you’re interested. Hang on.”Since Duncan felt bad for waking his best friend up, he tried to think of something to make up for it. That was how the Zimmers’ villa came to mind. Using another phone, Duncan checked with his source and quickly got a reply. The Zimmers’ villa was not on the market anyway. Duncan asked his source thinking it was Clive, but his source had no idea who had purchased the house, and that it was not Clive. Clive was one step behind buying the Zimmers’ villa to expand his family’s land as someone else had bought the house off. Sure, the Zimmers’ property was preowned, but
Plopping herself in Zachary’s arms, Serenity yawned and said, “I forgot to talk to you about one thing.” “What’s that?” Zachary took anything that came out of his wife’s mouth seriously—no matter how trivial. “My money-hungry relatives are planning the old switcheroo. They want my cousin to go under the knife to look like me and replace me as Mrs. York.” Zachary glowered. “My cousin is as old as I am. Our dads look a little alike. Plus, we both take after our dads. I guess you can say that we kinda resemble each other. At least, that was what people used to say when we were little. “I haven’t seen her for more than a decade after my parents’ passing. I don’t know what she looks like now.” Zachary uttered with a scowl, “These people have their heads in the clouds. Seren, is my father-in-law really your grandparents’ son?” “That’s not important when you have parents who play favorites. There are cases where the child can get less attention than an adopted child too.“Har
Serenity and Zachary had to wait for the Hunts to make a reckless move and commit a crime before they could send them to jail. “Do they have any vice?” “They gamble. Almost all seniors in the town gamble. It’s their favorite pastime after lunch. I don’t know if my uncles gamble, but I guess they probably took up the habit.” Zachary’s dark eyes shimmered as a plan formed in his mind. Nevertheless, he kept mum about it and said to Serenity, “Leave them to me. Don’t waste your time on them. I’ll be there for you through thick and thin. Just do what you want to do. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come along to the event tonight? We have never attended a party as a couple, honey.” Serenity looked askance at him. “You’re the great Mr. York. Your security detail will be all over you at social events. A lowly peasant like me can’t possibly get close enough to see your face.” Zachary murmured, “That’s in the past…” There was once the couple turned up at the same event before an
Zachary did not bury himself in work right after returning to his office. Instead, he gave his mother a call. Since he was not the type to contact his mother unless necessary, Tania was on tenterhooks when she got the call from her eldest son. The way she saw it, her eldest son would only call her for huge matters. Hence, she was nervous and afraid, especially now that Zachary and Serenity had not gotten back together. As a mother and mother-in-law, Tania felt helpless about the situation. “Zack.” Sensing the worry hidden in his mother’s tone, Zachary answered in a relaxed tone as a way to calm her nerves, “Mom. Clive’s wife is pregnant.” Tania was at first dumbstruck, but soon she came back in a lighter mood. “It is news worth celebrating.” Alice’s pregnancy had not been announced in the business world as the influential family was particular about the timing. The pregnancy would only be released to the public after the pregnant wife got through the first trimester. Sin
“He doesn’t even want kids and said having Sonny was enough.”Duncan did not care about blood relations. Liberty believed him. He only cared about her. If Liberty had not had to manage the Fisher family, she probably would have taken more time to consider whether she wanted a second child. However, Duncan's love for her ran deep. She decided to try for another child so that he could have a child of his own. Liberty did not want to be selfish. She could not prioritize only herself and Sonny. She had to be considerate of Duncan as well. “By the way, there’s something that I need your help with.”Serenity said, “Oh you, don’t sound like a stranger. We’re sisters. I’m ready to help with whatever you need.”“I have to go to Jensburg next year. I think I’ll leave Sonny here in Wiltspoon for his studies. I’ll ask for Sonny’s opinion again once my situation in Jensburg is stable. If he wants to move to Jensburg to live with me, I'll bring him over.“If he says no, I’ll need y
“Morning, Liberty. The housekeeper said you weren’t out yet, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”Serenity stood and smiled when she saw Liberty enter. “I woke up when you arrived.”Liberty whispered, “Sonny is still asleep. Let’s go downstairs. You can accompany me on a walk outside too.”“What time are you and Duncan meeting?”Serenity was worried that Liberty would be late. Liberty said, “We still have to wait until the City Hall opens. Duncan and I agreed to meet at nine. It’s still early.”The three adults exited the child’s bedroom and went downstairs. Zachary remained in the house while Liberty and Serenity went on a stroll in the garden. Liberty’s villa initially belonged to Zachary. Although he sold it to Liberty, it was also considered a gift. She was the one who insisted on paying and refused to accept it as a gift. Therefore, Zachary accepted some money from her so that she would take it. The villas Zachary owned were never small. They usually came with garden
“As expected of a child’s skin. It’s so smooth,” said Serenity. “Catch me if you can, Isaac…”Sonny spoke in his sleep and even giggled. He dreamt of him and Isaac playing tag. When Isaac started running after him, he quickly turned to escape while laughing. He did not realize that he was dreaming. “I have two dads, Isaac…”Sonny spoke again.Serenity laughed and told Zachary, “Sonny must’ve had a blast yesterday. Even his sleep talking is related to playing.”She pinched Sonny’s face lightly. “You do have two dads, Sonny. They love you a lot, so you have double the love.”Serenity spoke gently, regardless of whether he could hear her. She bent over and left a soft kiss on his cheek. “That’s why you must be happy. I wish you a carefree life ahead.”She hoped he would grow up healthily and be worry-free. Sonny was in a deep sleep and did not reply to her. Liberty watched them from the door with an affectionate gaze. She felt content. Zachary and Serenity had a st
The night went by peacefully. The next morning, Liberty could hear her gates opening when she stirred in her bed. Soon, she heard her housekeeper talking. “You’re early, Mrs. York.”“Mm. My sister is getting married today. I couldn’t go back to sleep after I woke up, so I decided to come over.”While Serenity could not help Liberty and Zachary out with anything, she was excited to the point she could not sleep. It took Zachary a lot of effort to persuade her to sleep. However, she woke up at dawn after having a dream about her parents. She could not go back to sleep afterward and insisted on going to her sister’s place. Zachary thought he could sleep in since he was on break, but his wife just could not fall asleep. There was no helping it. The doting husband accompanied his wife to her sister’s house early in the morning. The housekeeper smiled. “Ms. Hunt isn’t awake yet.”“It’s okay. I won’t wake my sister.”Serenity finally felt at ease when she was at Liberty’s ho
After a pause, she said, “Let’s meet at nine in the morning. Seren and Zachary will come over to my place. They’ll be looking after Sonny for me. I’ll head out after they arrive. You can wait for me at the City Hall’s entrance.”“No. I want to go to the City Hall with you.”Duncan did not want to wait for her at the City Hall. He wanted to go together.“Bring Sonny along.“We’ll be a family of three from tomorrow onward. We should bring him along.”He would officially become Sonny’s father tomorrow. It did not matter that he was a stepfather. It was Duncan’s first time adoring a child that much, and he did not expect that he would later become that child’s father.After giving it some thought, Liberty said, “Okay. Let’s take Sonny with us.“By the way, Sonny won’t change his surname after we get married. That was Hank’s condition when we got divorced. Since I promised him, I’ll keep to my word.”Sonny would still be the grandson of the Browns. He would not become a Lewis.
Although Sonny was backed by a few wealthy families and would be well-supported even if he was incompetent, they still hoped he would turn out to be an outstanding individual. That way, he could be independent and achieve his goals without much help. Duncan had not thought about Sonny’s education plan. However, he knew Liberty had high hopes for Sonny. Even Serenity had never neglected Sonny’s nurturing. Despite only being in preschool, Sonny had started various hobby classes. It was to build a solid foundation and develop his interest in certain hobbies while still young. The only time he could fully enjoy playing was during winter and summer vacations. Liberty and Serenity had similar philosophies when it came to children’s education. They believed children had to study hard and play hard. Liberty nodded and said, “Sonny can have all the fun he wants when he’s young. Once the situation in Jensburg is stable, he’ll have to study and live there.“I wonder if he’ll be willing
Although Corey’s daughters-in-law were not her biological children, she would love them as if they were. After all, they had married into the family and gave birth to the family’s future generation. The jewelry she gave them would be passed down to her grandchildren anyway. Her daughters-in-law came from wealthy families themselves and had many assets to their names. They had more than enough jewelry. Nevertheless, they still happily accepted their mother-in-law’s gift and promised to pass it down to their future daughters-in-law.Of course, they would also gather sufficient wealth and jewelry to be given to their daughters. Anyway, the Lewises treated boys and girls equally in the family. There was no gender discrimination. However, Corey preferred having granddaughters. She had only given birth to four sons and no daughters. After her sons got married, their first children were all sons. She had been afraid that men would outnumber the women in the Lewis family, just like how it
After Corey scolded Ezra, she looked toward Duncan and Liberty. She said gently, “When are you two planning to get your marriage license? Tomorrow?“The City Hall will be closed at the end of the year. It’s best to get the procedure done within these few days.”Getting their marriage license soon would also reassure Duncan. The wedding could be held later. Once they got their marriage license and became legitimate husband and wife, Duncan would no longer have to be alone. He and Liberty could love each other as a married couple. There was also a chance that Liberty might already be pregnant with Corey’s grandchild by the time the wedding was held. Corey wished Liberty could give birth to a child for Duncan. The gender did not matter so long as the baby was Duncan’s biological child. If Liberty truly did not want to get pregnant again, Sonny would probably take care of Duncan in his old age. Duncan had always treated Sonny well, and Sonny was a reasonable child. Sonny would no
Liberty looked at him again. To be honest, she had not known that Duncan had already arranged for a tailor to custom-make a wedding dress for her. As for her size, well, Duncan probably knew.He had sharp eyes and could probably estimate her measurements just by looking at her, not to mention how many times he had hugged her. He could also have asked her sister for her clothing size and preference.As for her preference, he probably had not needed to ask. They had known each other for two years, and Duncan knew very well what she liked and did not like. Serenity had not mentioned anything about the dress to her, so it seemed like they were keeping it from her as a surprise.Duncan met her gaze and softly explained, “After you agreed to register our marriage before Christmas, I immediately contacted the fashion designer Zachary and Josh recommended me. I asked Serenity about your clothing size, and I also secretly took your measurements myself to make sure there wouldn’t be mistakes