Josh was talking to Julian. Although they were second cousins, it did not prevent them from being close-knit brothers.A bodyguard in a black uniform entered the room while walking in front of the two men, and said respectfully, “Mr. Julian, Mr. Josh. Mr. Zachary York is here.”“Let him in.”The bodyguard responded respectfully and turned to leave.Josh pointed to the yellow envelope on the table. “Zachary’s here to collect that.”“He came in person because he wants to meet me.”Julian instructed the butler to make tea and serve some fruit to the guest.Julian often used his family’s influence to help Josh. In fact, it was to help Zachary. Zachary knew that very well, so he came in person to thank Julian.“Zachary wanted to come and see you long ago, but you’ve been busy and you’re always away from home, so he hasn’t had the chance.”“Since he’s your friend, he’s also my friend. Friends help each other, so he doesn’t have to stand on ceremony. I’m glad that you’ve proven your
Ring ring ring…Julian’s cell phone rangAfter he answered the phone, he said apologetically, “Mr. York, I have something urgent to attend to. My apologies for not being able to host you.”Zachary quickly stood up.“Josh, please entertain Mr. York on my behalf.”Julian instructed his cousin and left.After Julian left, Josh took Zachary to his place. Zachary then listened to Josh’s mother complaining that if Josh did not get a girlfriend soon, he would be alone forever.Finally, Zachary managed to excuse himself. When they got out of Josh’s house, Zachary said, “Next time when your mother is at home, don’t ask me to come over.”Josh laughed. “Whatever she says just goes in one ear and out the other.”“How was your blind date with Ms. Sox? Didn’t you mention it to your family?”“Julian knows about it, but I didn’t tell anyone else lest they pester Ms. Sox and scare her away.”Zachary patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. “If you like her, you just need to work harder to
Serenity was elated that he had the thoughtfulness to do so, but she still rejected the idea.Just as Zachary was about to anxiously say something, with one arm hugging the flowers, she hooked her other arm around his neck. She pulled his head lower, leaned in closer and said softly, “Don’t put too many flowers at home, or else the owner will be easily charmed.”After she said that, she even patted Zachary’s chest—she was telling him not to be easily charmed by others.Zachary was at a loss for words.Was there such a saying?He would have to ask Josh about this another day.Serenity got into his car.Zachary returned to his car and as he started it, he asked, “How’s Sonny?”“The swelling hasn’t gone away completely. Last night, he had a fever and cried the whole night. This morning, his fever finally went down but he was so tired from crying he only fell asleep in my sister’s arms then.”Serenity’s good mood deflated again once Sonny was mentioned.“Zachary.”Serenity looke
After Zachary parked the car, he remembered the evidence of Hank’s asset transfers and called out to Serenity who was about to get out of the car.“I asked a friend to help look into Hank’s asset transfers. My friend was very helpful and sent me the evidence last night. I put it in the backseat. It’s in that yellow folder.”“Your friend truly was very helpful. He managed to gather the evidence so quickly.”Serenity was not only grateful to that friend of his. She was curious about him and really wanted to meet him.She thought it would take a long time to gather the evidence, since Hank had not just started doing this recently.Yet, Zachary’s friend managed to gather all the evidence in just a day’s time.“Zachary, it’s such a waste if that friend of yours doesn’t open his own detective agency.”After Serenity got out of the car, she opened the door to the backseat and picked up the yellow folder that had been placed there.“He has a relative that specializes in information gat
“Mrs. Lane, it wasn’t easy for Sonny and my sister to fall asleep, so don’t wake them up yet. Just keep some porridge warm on the stove for them to eat when they wake up.”Mrs. Lane nodded. “Alright.”The three ate breakfast together. Serenity made herself a cup of instant coffee to wake herself up.Once Mrs. Lane finished eating, she left the little dining area. Zachary took advantage of this to reach out and hold Serenity’s hand.“Seren.”Zachary said warmly, “You should stay home and rest. I’ll go alone.”Serenity held her hand back and reassured him, “I’m fine. I’ll be able to hold up as long as I finish this cup of coffee. And anyway, you’re going to the Reptons’. You might have to continue arguing with them, and you’re not as good as I am in that department. Even if you brought all your cousins, you might not be able to win against Chelsea Repton in an argument.”All the Yorks were cultured people. Arguing was definitely not in their DNA.“I’m Sonny’s aunt. I definitely h
While Serenity was feeling uneasy, Elisa spoke. Her voice was abnormally calm when she asked Serenity, “Serenity, my mom will come home around noon. Can I go to your place to pick up Sonny?”Elisa did not have much of an impression of her aunt, and could not tell much from the photos of her. In Serenity’s words, children were all cute when they were young.If Sonny looked like her aunt, even if it was just a little, she could not just let it go. She had to let her mother see him.Elisa recalled the moment she first met Serenity. Something inexplicable had made her want to get closer to Serenity.The first time she met Sonny, she liked him right away too.If Sonny was her aunt’s grandson, that might explain why she liked Sonny from the moment she met him.It was not like she had never seen a kid of Sonny’s age before, but only Sonny made her like him from the very first moment. He made her want to kidnap him to be her own nephew and when she bought toys for him, she was not stingy
“Yeah, they’re a pretty big family. Thank you, Elisa.”Elisa felt relieved after hearing that Serenity’s husband had brought backup. “Serenity, you had a shotgun marriage with that husband of yours, right? It seems like he’s not that bad. At least he’s willing to help out when you run into trouble.”Unlike Liberty’s husband. So what if they had known each other for twelve years?He still could not match up to Serenity’s husband from a shotgun marriage.“Alright. I won’t go this time, but the next time, if you run into trouble again, you have to tell me, or else I’ll consider you’re no longer thinking of me as a friend. Send your sister’s address to me. I’ll visit Sonny there.”Serenity did not deny this request.After she ended the call, Serenity sent her sister’s address to Elisa Stone.Zachary had been partially paying attention to Serenity’s conversation with Elisa.When he heard Elisa wanted to bring people over, his hands that were placed on the steering wheel tightened.
It could also be that Elisa Stone could not envision how her aunt might appear as an adult.Serenity considered that once she returned from the Reptons', she would immediately work on sketching a portrayal of Elisa's aunt as an adult. Would there be a resemblance to her sister?“Does that mean your mother is Ms. Stone’s aunt?”Zachary could only sum it up in one word: melodrama!It was just too much melodrama!To top everything off, it had to happen to his wife.The worst part was, Elisa Stone had publicly confessed her love to him before and openly pursued him too. Serenity had even helped her pursue him before.If it were not for him putting on his ring and showing it off, Elisa Stone would still be coming to his office to make a fuss every day and annoy him.At first, he wanted to teach Elisa Stone a harsh lesson, but unexpectedly, she became good friends with Serenity, which stopped him from being able to do anything.He had to give special treatment to people who were sin