“I’m not petty like you.” Zachary replied hesitantly, “You’re mad.” “Yes, I’m mad. I sent you so many text messages, yet you’re cruel enough not to reply to any one of them.” While getting out of the car, Serenity pulled Zachary out together with her. She put the umbrella into his hand and said, “You should get back to work. I got to go.” She was still hungry. Serenity did not have the chance to drink the hot cocoa he made for her this morning and now her stomach was aching. “I’ll watch you leave from here.” Since Elisa and her mother came looking for Serenity, they must be there to talk about Mrs. Stone’s sister.Zachary could not keep Serenity for long. Serenity sat behind the wheel and waved at Zachary, saying, “Let me know beforehand if you’re coming over for lunch. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even have any leftovers.” “Sure.” Zachary would not head to the shop if Mrs. Stone and her daughter were there. Serenity soon drove away. Standing there, Zachary watched

For the sake of peace and quiet, Jasmine did not hesitate to lie on the floor at Mrs. Dawson’s birthday celebration. It meant that the pressure to get married was pretty bad for Jasmine. Josh would not be able to wiggle his way out of the situation if Mrs. Sox caught him visiting Jasmine. Although Jasmine was his type, nothing was carved in stone yet between them. They had not reached the stage of meeting the parents. Josh only let the head of the Bucham household know about it while keeping it from the others. He was afraid the seniors of his family would turn up in a large group at Jasmine’s house and scare her off. Jasmine thanked Josh’s show of concern. The pair did not chat for long and ended the phone conversation. … Elisa and her mother waited at Serenity’s shop for Serenity’s return. Shawn left after Elisa and her mother came along. Shawn’s mother warned him to keep a distance from Elisa. The Lowes did not want to cross the fiery princess of the Stones. Mrs.

“Have you met Serenity’s husband before?” Mrs. Stone asked her daughter. If Serenity and her sister turned out to be her nieces, Mrs. Stone, as the aunt, should assess the men for her nieces. “I’ve never met him before. He seems to be busy at work. You know only elites could join York Corporation, and work can get busy. I think her husband’s working in higher management, so work must take up a lot of his time.“Serenity’s expression started to soften when she talked about him. I think they’re developing feelings for each other.” Elisa did not pay an awful lot of attention to Serenity's marriage. As she had loved before, Elisa could tell the subtle changes in Serenity toward her husband. After much thought, Elisa added, “But they have not become a real couple. Their marriage is only in name at present.” “They entered the marriage without any feelings for one another. Everything should fall into place since they’re keeping the marriage in name while nurturing their relations

“My breakfast’s probably not warm anymore. I’ll go heat it up in the kitchen. Elisa, you’re a regular here. Please keep Mrs. Stone entertained.” Elisa replied with a smile, “Don’t worry. My mom and I won’t be strangers. Your shop is home to me.” Serenity thought to herself, ‘My shop is not up to your standard with the wealth your family owns.’She took the breakfast packed by Zachary to the kitchen and heated it up before enjoying her meal in the kitchen. Zachary made her hot cocoa. Thanks to the insulated cup, the drink was still warm. Her arms and legs were feeling cold since the weather turned chilly, and her Aunt Flo came to visit as well. Cupping the insulated cup, Serenity felt the warmth in her belly after taking a sip of hot cocoa. Ring, ring, ring…Her phone rang. While sipping on her hot cocoa, she pulled out her phone for a look. It was Zachary. She took the call. “Are you at the shop?” Zachary looked at the time before calling. “Yes, I’m at the shop.”

“Is Shawn gone?” Zachary had not forgotten about his love rival. “I didn’t see him when I came back. Are you still jealous?” Zachary fell silent for a while before replying, “Well, you said that’s how I am. I guess jealousy might become a habit of mine.” Josh and Grandma May would be throwing shade at him if they were around. Serenity chuckled. “I should make you eat your greens every day then.” Since he enjoyed turning green with envy, she might as well serve up all the greens he could eat. “I love to eat whatever you make me.” “Zachary, you sure have honeyed lips. What’s up with all the sweet talk recently?” Zachary twitched by the corner of his lips. Nana often complained about his lack of sweet nothings to Serenity. Now that he had given it a go, Serenity fussed about his honeyed lips. She probably did not like sweet talk. “I don’t want to take up more of your time.” “Okay.” Serenity was the first to end the call. Zachary moved the phone away from his ear

With tears running down Mrs. Stone’s face, Serenity handed her a tissue and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Stone.” “Serenity.” Mrs. Stone held her hands, choking in sobs. “I’m sorry about your childhood. I didn’t find you quick enough. Maybe your mom wouldn’t have died if I tracked you down sooner.” Had her sister been located sooner, Mrs. Stone would have brought her to live in the city. Then, her sister would never have lost her life, together with her husband, in a tragic car accident in the little town. Although the DNA test had not been done, Serenity felt a lump in her throat and her eyes welling up after listening to what Mrs. Stone had to say. It would be great if her mom was still alive. “Stop crying, Mom. Dad told me to keep an eye on you and not to let you cry. You had been crying all day yesterday.”Elisa took the tissue from Serenity and patted her mother’s tears dry while consoling her, “Mom, you can take the DNA test with Serenity. If it comes back po

While on the way to the DNA testing center, Serenity received a wired transfer from Zachary for fifty thousand dollars. Afraid that she might not accept the money, Zachary included a text message to her. “Seren, I’ll take it as you don’t see me as your husband if you don’t accept the money. The husband is supposed to make money for the wife to spend.” Serenity read the text message and had a big smile on her face. Zachary had learned to guilt her into accepting things. She was not in a hurry to accept the transaction. Once at the DNA testing center, she waited until Mrs. Stone’s and her blood were drawn before accepting the fifty thousand dollars. With the money her husband gave, Serenity generously took Mrs. Stone and her daughter to have lunch at a five-star hotel. The five-star hotel Serenity was most familiar with in all of Wiltspoon was the Wiltspoon Hotel. The Wiltspoon Hotel was a hotel under York Corporation’s flagship. The Yorks and the Stones were not on good

“Alright. I got it. Carry on with your work.” Catching up to the group, Callum approached his cousin and said, “Zack, Mr. Zen told me that he saw your wife with Mrs. Stone and Miss Stone a few minutes ago. They picked the supreme lounge for lunch.” The lounge was the most exclusive private dining room at the Wiltspoon Hotel. Those with thin wallets would not pick the supreme lounge to dine in. Nevertheless, Serenity had to pick the supreme lounge to wine and dine with Mrs. Stone. “Got it.” Zachary was not at all surprised by the news. “We won’t run into each other,” Zachary commented in a husky voice. He would normally take the clients to the presidential suite on the top floor which was on a different floor from the supreme lounge. Zachary had a private lift that was not available to hotel guests unless he brought them in himself. There was no chance for the couple to meet unless it was at the lift. Callum kept his mouth shut, seeing that his cousin was confident.

“Do you think we’d turn out fine if Serenity’s husband was related to the wealthiest Yorks? Your sister-in-law would’ve trampled all over us with the help of Mr. York.” Thinking about the bad things he had done, Hank believed Jessica had a point. Hence, he quickly let go of the matter. Mr. York was way up there while Serenity was not even worth the mention. She was not blessed in life to become Mr. York’s wife. The pair were lovey-dovey as they walked out of the hotel. Hank and Jessica came across Liberty at the hotel entrance. Liberty was alone. While Sonny was asleep, Liberty left Mrs. Lane at home to look after Sonny, so she could wait for Hank and Jessica here. Liberty only lay in wait here for them because she deduced through the information and evidence provided by Zachary that Hank often brought Jessica to dine at the Wiltspoon Hotel. Although she had a falling out with Hank, it still hurt Liberty badly. After tying the knot with Hank, Liberty gave him a son, ran

Jessica gave Hank a tug and asked, “What does the fat cow want to talk to us about?” “She didn’t agree to my terms of the divorce. I guess it’s probably to further talk about the divorce.” The divorce proceedings would take some time. Liberty probably did not want to wait for another second after what happened to Sonny. Hank took Jessica to his car. Once they got into the car, Hank leaned over and heartbrokenly caressed Jessica’s face. “Does it hurt?” “What about you?” Hank felt his own cheek. “It hurts, but the thing with Sonny got her riled up. I can take a slap from her so she could let off steam.” Jessica touched where she was slapped and said, “Hank, since she’s in a rush to finalize the divorce, the odds are in your favor to name your terms. It’d be best if she gets nothing.“Let her go to court to file for divorce if she’s not willing to accept your terms. We have the time and money to drag this out.” Hank answered, “Sure. Let’s go see what she wants to talk abo