Hearing Liberty’s rebuttal, Mrs. Brown opened her mouth to say something but could not speak.After all, Mrs. Brown was the one who suggested that her son split the household expenses with her daughter-in-law. She knew that even without splitting it, her daughter-in-law had no control over her son’s money.“Mom, let’s go.”Chelsea was displeased with Liberty’s attitude and refused to let her mother waste another breath. She dragged her mother away and glanced at the things Serenity and Jasmine bought for Liberty on the way out.As they arrived downstairs, Chelsea said to her mother, “Mom, you mentioned Serenity’s husband works in a large company, right? Does he have a high income? Since Serenity married him, her every visit came with lots of gifts. I glanced at the bags and saw all those fruits she bought were very expensive.“They’re all imported and pricey fruits like durians and cherries. A durian costs at least two hundred dollars and a pound of cherries cost tens of dollars.”
Mrs. Brown said, “I’m a little worried about how much Hank listens to Jessica. That girl knows how to play hard-to-get and still hasn’t given herself to Hank. The more Hank waits, the more he wants her. She’s making Hank go head over heels for her.“If they get married and Hank lets her take charge of his bank account, our life will be tougher.”Chelsea thought about the monthly allowance her brother gave her parents and how it was used on her own family. She benefited a lot from that and did not want this benefit to be taken away by her new and soon-to-be sister-in-law. Thus, she said, “Forget it, then. That’s Hank and Liberty’s business. Let them deal with it.”“As long as Hank can keep his affair hidden from Liberty, I won’t interfere with it. Men aren’t reliable. They’ll fool around if they are rich and capable.”Mrs. Brown felt that her son was capable enough to attract a young and beautiful girl even when he was a father.Anyway, her son would not be at a loss no matter what
Serenity agreed. “I’m only reminding you. Don’t worry too much about finding a job.”Jasmine chimed in, “Look slowly and find a job that suits you. If you really can’t find one, why don’t you help me and Serenity out at the store? I’ll pay you well. Or… would you like to start your own business, Liberty?”Liberty watched her son play. She sounded helpless as she said, “I don’t have that much capital to start my own business, and I don’t know what kind of business I should take up. It’s hard to do business in brick-and-mortar stores now.”Serenity’s bookstore was right in front of Wiltspoon School, so their business was steady. If it was in a different location, it might not have survived.The small shops at the entrance of Wiltspoon School had a high rental, so not everyone could afford them. It took some connections to rent a shop there. Serenity only managed to rent that place only because Jasmine’s family helped out.“Liberty, why don’t I teach you to make some handicrafts? You
It had been one month since Zachary married Serenity and there were five months left before they would get a divorce and go their separate ways. They would have nothing to do with each other then.Josh and Duncan looked at each other.Duncan said, “I thought all the men in the York family can’t get a divorce?”“I’m an exception.” Zachary added coldly, “You know why I got married to Serenity. Even if I want a divorce, my nana can’t say anything about me, let alone other people. All of them know that I’ve suffered.”Yes, he had suffered.To repay the favor of saving his nana’s life, Zachary married Serenity, who was a complete stranger. After marriage, he was generous and tolerant of her, but what did she do?Serenity lied about going to her sister’s house when she was actually having lunch with Shawn.Zachary, who refused to admit that he was jealous, automatically ignored Jasmine’s presence. He also forgot that Jasmine and Shawn were cousins who were close to each other.Josh a
There was no reply from Zachary, so Serenity said to her sister, “Zachary’s probably having a good time with his friends. He didn’t reply to my message yet.”“You don’t have to come here tomorrow. Spend some quality time with Zachary.”Liberty had a failed marriage, so she hoped her sister’s marriage would be better and longer than her own.She approved of Zachary as her brother-in-law because he was genuinely kind to her sister and was more generous than Hank. Although Liberty had known Hank for a long time, Hank was reluctant to buy her a scooter even when he had ample savings.Serenity was the one who bought her the e-bike.“Alright,” Serenity said.“By the way, are the Hunts still looking for trouble with you?” Liberty asked about her money-hungry relatives. “I wonder what happened to them. Grandmom had probably undergone the surgery by now.” “They wanted to reconcile the last time they came over but didn’t return after that. They’re probably embarrassed. Besides, that tren
Zachary was seething.Serenity was rendered speechless.Did he think she wanted to find out?Serenity was only concerned because he was her husband on paper.She turned around and left.When Zachary saw that Serenity walked away from him without a tinge of care for him, he became more upset.“In the future, don’t open the door in your pajamas!”Serenity walked toward the kitchen.“I’m wearing underwear.”Now that she was living with Zachary, she only took off her underwear before turning in lest she encountered a similar situation and had to open the door for him again.“Mr. York, how I dress is none of your business. I remember the agreement you wrote stating that the two of us should not interfere in each other’s private affairs.”Zachary said nothing. His face was glum.The agreement Zachary drew up back then was completely in his favor. Every clause was restraining her, but why did Zachary feel that he was being restrained instead?Serenity went into the kitchen and po
Zachary grabbed Serenity’s hands and pinned them down next to her head. He swooped in for a kiss to seal her lips shut.The kiss was everything but gentle.He seemed to be venting his anger.Zachary forcibly bit Serenity.Serenity was agitated by his behavior and angrily bit his lips back until he was bleeding. Finally, Zachary let go of her when he felt the pain.While he was dumbstruck, Serenity quickly pushed him to the floor. She sprung up to retreat a few steps before looking at him defensively.Zachary got up slowly and wiped the blood from his lips.His expression was dismal.“Zachary, what the hell is wrong with you? You went crazy after a few glasses of wine!”Zachary stared at her gloomily.He said coldly, “Serenity, let me ask you again. Were you really at your sister’s house today?”“I was at my sister’s house…” Serenity suddenly stopped mid-sentence.Zachary sneered. “What, you remember now? You and Shawn were eating lunch at Grace’s Diner, talking and laughing
Serenity could not care less even if Zachary smashed everything at home since the house belonged to him anyway. He would be the one suffering if his house was wrecked.Zachary swept aside the glass of honey water and went into his room. He then rushed into the bathroom to draw a bath of cold water to sober himself up from the chill.He drank heavily today, but he was not completely drunk. He was still aware of his actions, but he was easily agitated after drinking too much.Serenity turned off the lights in the hall later to save on the electricity bills.That night, Zachary and Serenity tossed and turned around in bed. Neither of them could sleep because they were mad at each other.Serenity was angry at Zachary for questioning her.Zachary was mad that Serenity was with Shawn. He firmly believed what he saw was the truth. She said that she and Shawn had known each other for more than ten years and that she grew up with Shawn. She and Jasmine were good friends, and Shawn was Jas