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
Zachary could not even give Serenity one thing because she did not want anything. Serenity was a stubborn woman!Yet, Zachary loved her so! “The etiquette lessons I talked to you and Serenity about…” “Mom, she asked her aunt for help on this. She’ll be going with her aunt to social events, starting tonight. With Mrs. Stone showing her the ropes, it will be quicker and more efficient than taking a class on etiquette.” Tania replied, “Alright. I’ll keep out of this. I can bring her along to social events too, if she wants to.” As Serenity’s mother-in-law, Tania had not spent much time with her. Besides, she believed Zachary was out of Serenity’s league. Tania would only be critical and harsh if she was the one to bring Serenity into the high social circle, and the seemingly cordial relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law would deteriorate. Tania understood why Serenity leaned toward seeking help from Mrs. Stone. Mrs. Stone was once a tough businesswoman. Wit