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
Jessica’s explanation only drove fear in Oscar. “Jessica, she’s well connected. It won’t go unnoticed if we hired a few hooligans to stir trouble. Her relatives are wealthy and powerful. They’re not people we can mess with. “Did you say that her brother-in-law is the heir of the wealthiest York family? All the more reason to stay away from them. Don’t you know how the Yorks are? We’ve heard of the family even though we live in a rural area. Forget it. A hundred thousand dollars isn’t worth me taking the risk.” Jessica winced her face. “I’m your sister, Oscar. So you’re going to let it go when someone is making my life a living hell?” Oscar replied, “How is she making your life a living hell? I mean, you lied to us. Hank had a wife and a son when he was with you, but you became his mistress and wrecked his family apart. You kept that fact from us. Here we were, thinking you found yourself a good man.“Do you think I don’t know you well? I bet you’re the one picking on the Liberty
“Weren’t you and Jack the reason Mom and Dad asked for a lot of money? Ask any family, and none of them will tell you that they expect that much for a wedding gift. What would you think if your children’s in-laws demand that much for a wedding too? “That kind of money will be good for me to start a family with Hank. How can I possibly allow Hank to give it away? It’s only for formalities’ sake, but what did you tell Mom and Dad? 777,777 dollars is lucky for you. All I get is seven thousand dollars in return, and nothing more. “Mom and Dad will get a hundred thousand dollars while you and Jack get three hundred thousand each. Why? Why are they selling their daughter to give their sons everything? What about the daughter?” Faced with her sister’s questioning, Oscar turned red in the face and lashed out, “You’re favoring outsiders instead of family. We’re your brothers. You should get more out of the Browns since they’re wealthy, but you can’t get anything now because you’re married
Liberty married into the Browns without asking for anything. The wedding gift, be it material items or money, should be given according to the current going rate and local traditions. Nevertheless, Jessica’s parents demanded a lot to give to her brothers and left Jessica nothing to start her own family with. Jessica was not going to say yes to that. Now that Hank put her in control of the purse strings, Jessica was paying for everything their house needed. She felt the pinch every time she footed the bill. The responsibility fell on her to manage the household finances and everything was not cheap. As the head of the household, she started to get on top of their financial situation. Besides, she and Hank were still out of employment. They were eating away what little savings they had, so they had to be budget conscious. Jessica was relieved she only contributed one-third of her past salary to her family. She spent another one-third and saved the remainder in the bank. At
Mrs. Brown went to pick Sonny up and planted kisses on Sonny’s cheeks, only giving it a rest when Sonny frowned. “Sonny, I couldn’t get you a toy since I came over in a rush. I’ll give you some money, so you can ask your mom to take you out shopping. You can get whatever you want.” Mrs. Brown then pulled out a wad of cash and stuffed a few hundred-dollar bills in Sonny’s hand. “Mrs. Brown.” Liberty immediately stopped her and took her son from Mrs. Brown. Liberty uttered, “Don’t give Sonny money, Mrs. Brown. He’s still young. He’ll get into the habit of asking for money to buy things if you keep giving him money.” Mrs. Brown replied, “Then you take the money. It’s for Sonny to buy things.” She then handed Liberty the cash. Refusing it, Liberty answered, “Mrs. Brown, Sonny has everything he needs. It’s okay. You can keep the money for yourself.” Since Mrs. Brown often dropped by for chatter, Liberty learned that Hank gave a lot less allowance to his parents. Mrs. Brown m
“Liberty, are you hiring at the moment? I don’t have a job, and my age makes finding one a pain. I can’t beat those young girls out there. “You can hire me if you’re looking to hire. I’m not asking for a lot. I’m happy with eight thousand dollars a month with meals and accommodation included.”Chelsea changed the subject. Echoing her daughter, Mrs. Brown told her former daughter-in-law, “Liberty, Chelsea has been out of work for a long time. It’s going to be hard for you to run the place and look after Sonny. You should hire someone to help you. Chelsea is not an outsider. Plus, she’s a good worker. It’s better for you to hire her than someone you don’t know. You might end up with a thief for all you know.“I can look after Sonny, so you can focus on running the business.” If Mrs. Brown was watching Sonny, Liberty would have to go to the Browns’ home to pick the boy up, and she would bump into Hank. Liberty and Hank had known each other for more than a decade, and they had a so
“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