“That’s hard to say. I’ll be back once my work there is done.” “Let me know when’s your trip. I’ll help you pack and drive you to the airport.” Since Serenity did not have a change of clothes in his bedroom, she intended to return to her room to get dressed and wash up. With Serenity about to leave, Zachary reached out to pull her back. His dark eyes were fixed on her beautiful face. “That’s it?” Serenity was without a word.She blinked, unable to get the message he was trying to convey. What else if not that? Was he expecting her to see him off at the city he was conducting business in? “Can family tag along too?” Zachary was twitching by the corners of his mouth. “Since I can’t go with you, is it not enough that I’ll drive you to the airport?” Zachary’s hand over hers loosened. Serenity stared at his hand and uttered with a frown, “I thought you had been slick with your words lately, but you lost it now. You just keep me guessing by leaving things hanging. I’m
“I said nothing of that sort. You said it yourself.” Old Mr. Hunt replied, “Where are you? Look at the time, and your shop isn’t open yet. Other businesses would have made a lot of money by now.” “Zachary, my granddad’s so concerned as to what time I’m setting up my shop. Are pigs flying? Can you grab your phone and check from the balcony? You need to take a picture of this phenomenon.” With a scowl, Old Mr. Hunt lashed out, “Don’t change the subject, Serenity. I’m talking to you. Your uncles, aunts, and I are waiting for you at the shop. Hurry up and get over here to unlock the door! We haven’t even had breakfast. Get us takeouts on your way here.” “There are plenty of breakfast places around. You can go hungry if you don’t want to eat there.” Why should Serenity be so kind to get them takeaway? They would only tear into her after getting fed. Offended by Serenity’s attitude, Old Mr. Hunt wanted to let Serenity have it when John snatched the phone over. John sounded rather
Serenity smirked in her mind. No deed went past God himself. Karma was bound to strike back. The writing was on the wall. Granddad and Grandmom got it coming for them. “Regardless of their intentions, we’ll go there with you. You can use an extra pair of hands in a fight.” Grandma May insisted on going along. Serenity wanted to say that she could fight, but she could be outnumbered by all her relatives at her shop in a fight. Hence, she did not stop Grandma May from going with her. Liberty mentioned before that Grandma May could kick *ss. With the trio finishing off their breakfast, Serenity tried to clear the table when Grandma May gave her grandson a look. Zachary quietly got up and took the dirty plates from Serenity to carry into the kitchen for a wash. “Seren, don’t spoil him too much.” Grandma May showed Serenity the tricks. “You need to get him to help out with the house chores. This home belongs to you two, and you need to run it together. Sure, it’s taxing for
In the kitchen, Zachary heard every last word of Grandma May’s conversation with Serenity. Zachary was accustomed to his nana’s favoritism toward Serenity. Nana had been hoping for a granddaughter for far too long. Alas, she welcomed nine grandsons instead. Nana developed an instant liking for Serenity and saw Serenity as her own granddaughter. However, the old lady changed her mind at the thought that her granddaughter would have to marry somebody one day. Hence, Nana did everything in her power to make Serenity her granddaughter-in-law, so Serenity would be with the Yorks forever. Zachary washed the dishes and wiped the stove clean. He then cleaned the wiping cloth and washed his hands before coming out of the kitchen. Serenity got up to bring out his jacket and tie. Although she had not gotten the hang of putting a tie on him, Zachary was flattered by her initiative. Zachary felt it was worth it if washing the dishes could earn him a little sugar from the missus.
“Serenity.” Mike and John entered the shop with Granddad. The others were left outside. “Is this your man?” Old Mr. Hunt sized Zachary up for a while, forming the opinion that Serenity’s husband was better than Liberty’s husband. Meanwhile, he was upset as well as his granddaughters did not give them financial support when the girls got hitched. The girls were raised, only to ditch their own family for another. His son would turn over in his grave if he knew what his daughters did. Although the girls’ parents were no longer around, their grandparents, Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were. Serenity and Liberty should have provided their grandparents the financial support. However, Serenity and Liberty did nothing of that sort. “That’s your grandson-in-law. What do you think? Isn’t he hot?” Approaching Zachary, Serenity placed her hand on his shoulder and deliberately asked Granddad. “Don’t we look good together?” Old Mr. Hunt was rendered speechless. He asked the old lady. “
Pointing at the door, Serenity barked coldly, “There’s the door. Please get up, turn around, and get out of here, Granddad!“My sister’s affairs are none of your business!“My so-called cousins have approached me many times, so they know what I said. It’s not like they were interested in giving me a sincere apology. All they were after was my reconciliation with you. Whose fault do you think it is?” Seeing that Serenity would not budge, Old Mr. Hunt peevishly told Zachary, “See that, young man? She doesn’t want her family by her side. You’re free to kick her around. Don’t worry, we won’t come for you.” Zachary had a mind to throw the old man out. He had never seen a grandfather like this ever. Despite his disdain for his granddaughter, the old man should not say such a thing. Zachary callously remarked, “I married my wife to love and spoil her, not to pick on her. A man who tyrannizes his wife is no man at all.” “Are you going to get out yourself or should I drive you out
“Why did they stick up for scumbag Hank?” Jasmine curiously added, “Did the Browns give something to make their time worthwhile?” Serenity smirked. “My sister and Hank restructured the terms of the divorce. In line with the new divorce papers, Hank has to give my sister over a million bucks. I guess Mrs. Brown couldn’t part with the money, so she tried to get my granddad to talk to us.” The Hunts were the sisters’ family by name after all. “I wonder how much Mrs. Brown gave my granddad. Well, she’ll never see the money again. She’s usually bright when it comes to setting my sister up, but not this time. I guess she got flustered.” There were no do-overs in life. “Now that the matter’s over, you should get to work, Zachary.” With the Hunts gone, Serenity urged her man to go to work. Although Zachary came with Serenity to the shop, he was not of much help. Serenity packed a hefty punch, so he would usually take a stand back and let her handle it. A certain heir sulkily t
Serenity carried her sleeping nephew while asking her sister, “Have you eaten, Liberty?” “Not yet. I came right after feeding Sonny. I’m pretty done with all the packing. I’ll need to trouble you to drive over and move my things once the divorce is finalized, Seren.“I found a good place to rent this morning. It’s not too far from your place, and the accessibility of public transportation is pretty good in the area. The problem is tidying up the place though. I’ll figure that out once I get the procedures done and out of the way.” The matter at hand right now was getting the divorce finalized. Hopefully, there would be no complications in between. “Have something to eat and rest here, Liberty. I’ll drive you to the bank to meet with Hank. I’ll stay with you until he wires the cash to your account, and then I’ll come back to the shop.” Grandma May jumped in before Liberty could refuse. “Let Serenity go with you, Liberty. We can’t feel at ease if you go alone. That family is s