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
“You can talk to me about it, Nana. No need to look for Duncan.” “I don’t need you. Stop with the questions. Hurry up and give me Duncan’s number.” Zachary skeptically gave his best friend’s number to his nana. At the end of it, he persistently asked, “What happened, Nana? Why do you need to talk to Duncan?” “It’s none of your business. Go back to work.” Grandma May immediately hung up on her darling grandson after getting Duncan’s number. Over on the other side, Zachary was speechless. Could he not be a little nosy to ask about it? Grandma May dialed Duncan’s number and spoke in an anxious tone when Duncan picked up, “It’s bad, Duncan! It’s bad! Those absurd people are out to get Liberty again. It’s Liberty’s ex-mother-in-law and sister-in-law. They’re jealous that Liberty set up a diner. They want Liberty to transfer the ownership of the restaurant to them. Liberty can’t face those two women alone. She’s no longer the two-hundred-pound woman she was.“I’m only an old l
“I’ll be right there. I’m sorry, Liberty.” Hank apologized on behalf of his mother and sister before ending the call. Picking up his car keys, he told his father, “Dad, Mom and Chelsea made a fool of themselves at Liberty’s diner again. Come with me to bring them back.” Black in the face, Mr. Brown took a moment to swallow the news and said, “They have nothing better to do.” They had a nice thing going on as a family, and it had all come to an end. It took Hank to get a new wife for Mrs. Brown and Chelsea to appreciate Liberty. Now the ladies would not stop harassing Liberty, and it was embarrassing. “I’ll take your mom back to our hometown after your wedding. We won’t come to the city unless necessary.” Mr. Brown believed taking his wife and daughter back home could give the newlyweds some space. The absence and distance would do them all some good. At least, the family would not be having fights every day. That way, his former daughter-in-law would be left alone too. Hank
Grandma May was lost for words. Snapping out of her trance, Liberty asked, “Mr. Lewis, h-how did you know they were here?” Duncan let go of the struggling boy. Despite giving Sonny many pinwheels, he still could not get through to the little man. Duncan believed he was a failure because he could never get the three-year-old to like him. “Grandma May called me and said your former mother-in-law and sister-in-law were stirring trouble at your place. She told me to hurry over with security, and I did because I was worried that they might scare Sonny and hurt Grandma May.“Are you all alright?” Liberty was in a daze. No wonder Duncan showed up out of the blue. It turned out Grandma May called him for help. Well, Lewis & Co. was nearby after all. It made sense why Grandma May sought Duncan for help. Without thinking much of it, Liberty said, “They have no shame, but I’m not afraid of them. I was going to splash them with water, but your arrival was perfect timing.“Thank you
Duncan replied nonplussed, “What’s your nana trying to do, Zachary? Does she think that I have feelings for Liberty? I honestly am fond of Sonny. That’s all.” Zachary believed his best friend’s eagerness to explain was a dead giveaway. His nana had a good eye for this kind of stuff. Nana would not put the feelers out to Duncan if Duncan was not interested in his sister-in-law that way. In the past, Zachary noticed that fate tended to draw Duncan and Liberty together. Wiltspoon was a bustling major city. Yet, the pair kept bumping into each other. If that was not fate, then what was it? “Hmmm… I adore Sonny too. It’s your business whether you like my sister-in-law or not. It’s not my problem either, but I hope you only take a liking to Sonny. I don’t want you hanging around the diner because of Sonny’s mother.” Since Duncan was Zachary’s best friend, Zachary knew him well. Duncan would not make a good couple with his sister-in-law, mainly because of Mrs. Lewis. Liberty w
Zachary did not have mixed feelings about it. Sure, Elisa was younger than him by a few years, but she was Serenity’s older cousin, so he should not be awkward about acknowledging Elisa as the older cousin-in-law. “Yeah, I came to pick Seren up. Did you skip work to come here?” Zachary replied in a husky voice, “I left early after finishing my work. No one will say anything.” Elisa pursed her lips. Zachary was the boss of York Corporation, so whatever he said goes. No one would say anything even if he skipped out on work for a whole month, much less the occasional early dismissals. “Mr. York is a busy, busy man, but he has nothing to do when Seren is at stake,” Elisa teased.Zachary never had time to meet Elisa in the past. Now Elisa found out that it was not that he did not have the time—he simply was not interested in her. He would make time for Elisa no matter how busy Zachary was if he truly liked her. With that registering in her mind, Elisa saw the light. Zacha