“I’ll send him to Serenity’s place. She’ll take care of him.”Josh wanted to help his best friend out.Duncan reminded him, “Zachary is drunk and spewing nonsense. If he said those words he said earlier in front of Serenity, it would be adding insult to injury.”Josh paused. “I’ll send him to Wildridge Manor.”Duncan had no problem with that.The three of them left the bar. Duncan helped Zachary into Josh’s car, said a few words, and watched Josh drive away. Then, he called for a cab for himself.On the way back to York’s residence, Zachary occasionally yelled a few times. One moment, it was “Serenity, I love you. Don’t leave me.” The next moment, it was, “What else do you want from me? It’s not like I need you.”He kept repeating those words.It was a fight between his love and ego. His love prevailed one moment, and his ego the next.More than an hour later, Josh’s car arrived at Wildridge Manor.He called Grandma May in advance, so she waited for him at the entrance of the
What would Zachary do?He was dreaming after passing out drunk.In his dream, he was fighting Serenity fiercely, and he shouted at her, “It’s not that I need you, Serenity. I can toss you away any time. Don’t regret it when that happens!”Serenity looked at him coldly and then turned to leave.“Serenity! You’ll never leave me! You’re mine! I need you!”His instinctive reaction was to pull her back and not let her go.He pulled her and held her tightly, then lowered his head to her for a furious kiss as if trying to sear himself onto her...“Splash—”When Zachary was fiercely entangled with Serenity in his dream, he flipped over and tumbled out of the deck chair. He fell into the pool.The cold water instantly engulfed his body.His dream shattered, and the blazing fire in him that had ignited was extinguished the moment he fell into the pool.F*ck!It was freezing!There was so much water!Why was he in the water?!Zachary was caught off guard when he fell into the pool
The scowl on Zachary’s face could not be any more grimacing. Nevertheless, he did not have the nerve to go ahead to face another beating from Nana’s cane. Taking his nana’s cynical remark to heart, Zachary callously retorted, “Nana, I never said Serenity’s not the only girl out there for me.” There was no way he would say such a thing. Serenity was the only one for him. He did not want anyone but Serenity. “So you never said that?” Stumped, Zachary took a moment before uttering, “I might have said it in my dreams… How did you know, Nana?” Was it possible that it did not happen in dreamland? He had a huge fight with Serenity and said the unthinkable in a fit of rage. The rage somehow inflamed something else in him too… “Nana, I-I had a lot to drink. What did I do to Serenity while intoxicated?” If he was drunk to use force on Serenity… Jesus! Zachary had to stop his thoughts from spiraling there. Alcohol could really mess things up! He was wasted.Grandma Ma
In other words, the couple would divorce and be set free if Serenity could not blend into his circle. Was marriage all about equal social standing? Zachary and his family never once turned their nose up at Serenity. Why must Serenity put pressure on herself and care about what other people think? He believed there was no gap between them! His word should be taken for it! “You can pretend nothing happened since you don’t remember. Oh, there’s one thing you kept repeating all night—‘Serenity, you’re not the only one out there for me.’ Are those your true thoughts? You should go and talk to her when the sun comes out. What are you trying to accomplish by making a huge fuss about it with us?” With his face falling, Zachary bitterly smiled. “Seren said a lot to me, Nana. She doesn’t want to be a defenseless girl, hiding under my wing. She wants to be a woman standing proudly next to me.“Serenity wants to share common interests. It’s not like we don’t have anything in common to
Seeing that it was Josh, the two hounds stopped barking and wagged their tails at him. Josh was often around the Soxes’ residence in the name of hanging out with Drake. His frequent visits gave Mrs. Sox the wrong idea that Josh took a fancy to Drake, but it also drew him closer to the two hounds. Drake came to open the door. “Are you here for me?” Josh answered with a smile, “You wish. I’m here for your sister.” Drake grinned. “I found out yesterday that my mom thought you had a crush on me. Haha! That was hilarious.” “I’m surprised Mrs. Sox took it the wrong way.” “Well, you always came looking for me. Anyway, my sister’s getting dressed upstairs. She said she doesn’t care if you come, but she hasn’t decided what to wear since getting up. Oh, women. It’s one of those no-means-yes moments.” Josh told him off, “Don’t speak ill of your sister in front of me.” Drake commented, “Are you on her side already?” “Drake, is that Josh? Oh, it is Josh. Come on in.” Mrs. Sox
Josh said with a smile, “I better work on it so I can get the bigger gift from you soon.” “I heard that no gossip slips past your family,” Mr. Sox chimed in. Josh replied, “That’s true. Are you into gossip?” Mr. Sox uttered with a straight face, “Gossip doesn’t appeal to someone of my age, but you can share a little with me when we have nothing to do. I’m fine with it.” Squealing at her husband, Mrs. Sox remarked, “Jasmine takes after him.” Jasmine’s love for the buzz and gossip came from her father. Josh happened to be the same type. He and Jasmine seemed destined together. God knew what embarrassing moments Jasmine’s parents would share with Josh while she was not around. Hence, Jasmine finally decided on a dress after standing in front of her wardrobe all day. Jasmine wore a dress, grabbing her phone on the way out. “Get it together, Jas. Josh is downstairs.” Drake called her sister’s attention to her bearing. She should walk like a lady. Now that an eligible
Zachary had no idea his commitment to work had caused distress to the entire office. It was Monday after he took seven days to cool off. He invited Serenity out at the start of a new week. The injury on Serenity’s hand healed up well after seven days of rest. At least, she could now drive. Zachary asked to meet her at the presidential suite on the top floor of Wiltspoon Hotel. Serenity brought Sonny along. The little man was with her today because the facelift for Liberty’s restaurant was nearing completion. Since Liberty would be busy in the coming days, she did not have time to look after Sonny. The responsibility of caring for Sonny fell on Serenity’s shoulders. “Mrs. York.” Standing at the hotel entrance, Jim and his colleague watched as Serenity carried Sonny out of the car. Jim went ahead and respectfully said hello. “Where’s your boss?” “Mr. Zachary is waiting for you on the top floor. Please come with us.” Remaining deferential throughout, Jim and his colleagu
Paperwork for the transfer of Zachary’s personal assets, including York Corporation shares, bank accounts, and all title deeds of residential and commercial properties had been sorted and packed in one envelope for Serenity. “You will own the company’s equity, but I’ll manage York Corporation for you. The profit will be yours to keep. I’m only working for you. If you have a financial target in mind, I will do my best to help you reach that goal. “We can proceed with the paperwork to transfer everything to your name if you’re okay with it. I won’t keep anything. You can decide how much you want to give me for allowance.“I kept my guard against you, thinking you were out to get my money. Now, I’m handing over everything I have to you to prove my confidence in you and apologize through my actions. I promise all the hiding and lies won’t happen again.” Without looking at the deeds, Serenity stuffed the document back into the envelope and stared at him in silence. “Say something,
“I’ll still try my best to convince them to leave. One of these days, I’ll go meet my father and my two sisters-in-law, and get them to try to persuade my brothers. If they still refuse to listen, then there’s nothing else I can do.”“You should do whatever you think is right. I’ll leave them alone as long as they don’t appear before me.”It was not that Caroline did not care about her brothers; it was them who did not value the relationship. What else could she do? Liberty said, “I’m not the kind of person who would harm the innocent. As long as they stay honest and don’t get involved in any schemes or underhanded tactics, and leave Jensburg for the Clark hometown, I’ll only take half of what they currently have.” She would leave half of the assets for Adrian and the others. They would not starve, and this way, she was still showing Caroline some respect.“They won’t give up easily. They’ll still try to make trouble. You taking only half of their assets is already showing mer
Duncan had been so insistent on marrying no one but Liberty that his current temporary cripple was the result of his conflict with his parents. He had sacrificed his legs in exchange for their consent, but who knew whether his parents truly accepted Liberty or were just pretending to?“They’re very good to me, and they’ve accepted Sonny. It’s not that they don’t want to take care of him—, it’s Sonny who wants to stay with Seren.” Liberty explained, "My in-laws tried to persuade Sonny to stay with them for several days, but they didn’t manage to.“Ever since Sonny was born, it’s mostly been Seren looking after him. During the most difficult times, Seren helped me a lot too, so when I’m not home, Sonny prefers to be with her. No matter how good others are to him, he still chooses to stay with her.”Duncan loved Sonny like his own child, but if Liberty was not in Wiltspoon, Sonny would not want to stay with Duncan. He preferred to stay with his aunt.“That’s good, then.”As long as
Then there was her mother, who had committed countless evil deeds. It was likely that Liberty and the others would not pay respects to Belinda, as she was an enemy of Liberty’s branch of the family. No matter how magnanimous Liberty was, she would not go as far as to visit the grave of her enemy. Therefore, Caroline needed to come back herself to pay respects to her mother, to ensure that her mother’s grave would not be neglected. This was her duty as a daughter. Her mother had committed many sins, but she was still her mother.“Anyway, I’ll also be back to attend your wedding to Mr. Lewis. Technically, I’m still your elder.”Caroline smiled as she extended her belated blessings. “Liberty, I wish you and Mr. Lewis a lifetime of happiness. Mr. Lewis loves you dearly. You two will definitely be very happy together.”Duncan was such an outstanding person in his own right but was willing to marry into the Fisher family for Liberty. This truly broke the previous streak of the matri
Liberty liked people who got things done. As for the senior executives present, it was unclear what they were thinking, but those who liked to bootlick and had no real skills were certainly nervous inside.When a new official took office, they often would make changes. Liberty, as the new head, would certainly make her own impact that definitely entailed even more than just a few changes, possibly a dozen.After all, Fisher Enterprise was the property of the Fisher family. It was not publicly listed, and 100% of the shares belonged to the family, with the head of the family controlling everything. Thus, the matriarch held absolute authority in the company. In the past, the elders of the family could still intervene in the company affairs, but after Belinda took over, she gradually sidelined the elders. Those who were capable of opposing her were secretly harmed and even killed, while the remaining elders lacked the courage and ability to challenge her.Hence, now, the CEO held ab
They were well aware of how strong Darren was. He could fend all three of them off one-handed.Darren was also fiercely loyal to Caroline. If they dared to lay a finger on Caroline, even if they ran away to the ends of the earth, Darren had the ability to track them down and avenge her.He was unwaveringly loyal just like Mr. Gordon, who had been devoted to Belinda his whole life. When she passed away, Mr. Gordon followed soon after. Truly, not even death could part them.Jason was dragged away by Adrian, still muttering curses under his breath. After the Clark brothers left, the meeting room became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Caroline looked around the room and asked, “Does anyone else have anything to say?”Everyone glanced around at each other. One of the executives of the company took the lead and said, “We’re merely employees of Fisher Enterprise, not members of the Fisher family. Family affairs are beyond our scope.”The elders of the family, recognizing th
What Belinda actually cared about the most was the Fisher family. She did not want her family to disappear from the circle of aristocratic and wealthy families in Jensburg, so even though Celine was not all that capable, Belinda still devoted herself to nurturing her. It was not until she found out that Celine was not her biological daughter and the two swapped children returned to their rightful places that she gradually recognized Caroline's abilities. Only then did she understand why the family rules had been set up that way—Caroline really was far more capable than Celine.The only regret she had was that Caroline did not grow up by her side, so their values and opinions were different. Before her death, Belinda already knew that Caroline did not want to take over the Fisher family, but had no choice but to do so. When the truth came to light, Caroline was the one who felt the most relieved because it meant she no longer had to take over the family business and could return ev
“That’s right. We don’t think there’s an issue with Liberty taking over.”Other elders were of the same opinion. Adrian, Justin, and Josh were exasperated. Their hope of having the elders on their side seemed to have vanished.“Let’s pause the meeting and talk outside, Caroline.”Adrian was out of options.Caroline said coldly, “You three are able to attend this meeting not because you’re Mom’s sons, but because you’re senior managers of Fisher Enterprise.“You have no right to interfere with the Fisher family’s internal affairs.“There’s nothing else to talk about. We had many conversations last year, and I’ve stated my stance in each of them. I won’t take anything that doesn’t belong to me. If Mom had succeeded Aunt Tiara or inherited the position from our grandmother, I wouldn't be handing the position of matriarch to someone else today.“However, that wasn’t the case. You all know the entire process of how Mom became the matriarch. She had committed grave sins. We should
Justin seconded his brother’s statement.Liberty looked toward the Clark brothers. They were the ones who were most unsatisfied with Caroline’s decision. Liberty said, “I’ve already changed my surname. Since my mom is a Fisher, I’m one too.”She had become Liberty Fisher. Liberty had taken on her mother’s surname and became the successor of the Fisher family.Serenity was still a Hunt. There was no need for her to change her surname.“The position of matriarch should’ve gone to my aunt or mom. However, your mother killed my grandmother, Tiara, and caused Aunt Audrey and my mom to be unable to return home. They lost their parents and had their families destroyed. Meanwhile, your mother took everything as her own.“Belinda had paid for the sins she had committed against my grandmother. Everything shall return to normal. Naturally, Tiara’s descendants should be the ones to take over the Fisher family and become the matriarch.”Liberty retorted Adrian’s statement, “Do you have an
Meanwhile, in Jensburg, the conference room located on the top floor of Fisher Enterprise was filled with the senior managers of the company.Over ten elders of the Fisher family were also present.They were of the same generation as Audrey and were much older than Liberty.Caroline and Liberty were seated at the head of the table. Darren was beside them. The three Clark brothers were present as well.If a gaze could kill, they would have killed Caroline and Liberty many times over.Their hatred toward Caroline ran deep.They had begged and persuaded her, but she refused to listen to them. She insisted on handing the company and everything that belonged to the Fisher family to Liberty.She said the Fisher family members had already lost confidence in them.So what?When their mother was the matriarch, she had already gathered eighty percent of the shares through her continuous effort.It allowed the matriarch to have the final say no matter what.The older generation in the