The butler sighed. Even Mr. Clark did not have such freedom, and he was Madam Fisher’s husband. However, her madam trusted Mr. Gordon. He was her lifelong assistant, after all. On the other hand, Mr. Clark had lost his status because of his affair. If he and Madam Fisher did not have children or grandchildren, they would have gotten a divorce. After Mr. Gordon was upstairs, he went straight for the study and knocked on the door. He only entered after obtaining Belinda’s permission. Belinda was practicing calligraphy. Mr. Gordon went to her side and took a look.“What do you think?”“You aren’t focused, and that’s reflected in your handwriting. You should stop and not waste any more ink.”Mr. Gordon was the only person who dared to speak to Belinda without filters. What he said was the truth. Belinda was feeling uneasy. She could not focus, so how could she be in the mood for calligraphy?Her writing was far from pretty. It was a massive drop in quality compared to w
It was nine o’clock at night in Wiltspoon. After ending the video call with Liberty, Serenity said to Sonny, “Are you all packed? Don’t forget to bring your present for Laurence.”Sonny replied, “Yeah, everything’s packed. I’m just bringing some toys and a gift for Laurence. I might forget to bring myself, but I’d never forget that.”Serenity laughed. “If you forget to bring even yourself, how will you give Laurence his gift?”Sonny laughed sheepishly. Serenity picked him up and placed him on the bed. “Your Uncle Zak is on a work trip, so tonight you’ll sleep with me. First thing tomorrow morning after breakfast, we’ll head to your Uncle Ben’s place. I told you to go with the elders, but you didn’t want to. They like you so much, they’d definitely take good care of you.”Sonny lay back on the bed, resting his head on Serenity’s thigh, and said, “They might like me a lot, but I don’t know them that well and you and Mom always say that I shouldn’t cluelessly follow anyone other than
Memories from before the age of three often disappear, but that scene was so traumatic for Sonny that he could never forget it. After the incident, he also had nightmares for a long time. He had also never forgotten the scene of his mother getting injured and covered in blood because she saved him."I only trust Mom, Aunt Ser, Uncle Zak, and Dunc," Sonny said seriously. "I can't trust my dad and the others."The little boy understood everything clearly.Serenity gently touched his little face, her gaze soft. "You are your mom's treasure. No matter what happens, I’ll never let you two be separated. Sonny, your mom has had a hard time, so when you grow up, you should take good care of her.""I will, Aunt Ser. When I grow up, I want to earn lots and lots of money to buy a big house and a new car for Mom so Mom doesn't have to work so hard, and also buy a big house for you."In Sonny's eyes, his mother worked so hard just to make money. So when he grew up, he wanted to work hard and e
“I’ll answer it.” Sonny chose to answer his father's call in the end. Serenity handed him the phone, letting him take the call. If she could avoid talking to Hank, she would.“Dad,” Sonny greeted.Hank responded with a smile that could be heard through his voice, “Sonny, still awake?”“If I were asleep, I wouldn’t be able to answer Dad’s call. Dad, have you finished work? It still sounds quite noisy over there.”Hank replied, “I’m not done yet, but I could get off work if I want to. Is your Aunt Ser there?”“Yes. Are you looking for her?”“Sonny, do you want to come over and stay for a few days? You’re on winter break now, so why not stay over for a couple of days? Your grandparents miss you.”Hank made this call to discuss with Serenity the possibility of having Sonny stay with the Browns for a few days. It was now the winter holidays and his parents missed their grandson. Chelsea had sent Lucas over, but it was too boring for Lucas as he was alone, so his parents thought it would be
Hank only had one son—Sonny—and it would remain that way in this life. The fact that the child still acknowledged him as his father and though they were not very close, it was some form of comfort.After ending the call, Sonny handed the phone to Serenity and said, “Dad wanted to have me stay with him for a few days, but I refused. We’re going to play with Laurence tomorrow. I really don’t want to go back and play with Lucas. He always bullies me. But I’m not afraid of Lucas anymore because I’ve learned self-defense.”Even though he was not particularly talented at self-defense, with time and practice, he had become stronger. His coach said that if he persisted for several years or even a decade, he would have the ability to protect himself. Sonny was not ambitious; he just wanted to be as capable as his Aunt Ser.Serenity hummed in acknowledgment. “If you don’t want to go back, then don’t.” She patted Sonny’s head and said gently, “It’s late now. Go to sleep. We’re leaving early to
“We’re not biased toward Lucas. Sonny is our only grandson through you, and we love him too. In the past, we were the ones who raised Lucas, so naturally, we were closer to him and ended up favoring him. That won’t happen again,” Olivia quickly assured. She knew Hank harbored grievances against them. He resented them for always favoring Chelsea. One particular incident was when Chelsea tried to make Serenity pay for an expensive dinner for her family, but naturally failed, and she called Olivia and asked for money. Not realizing Chelsea was trying to take advantage of her, she sent the money. It was only later that Sonny revealed what had happened.When Hank found out, he was furious and told them that if they continued to favor Chelsea, they would have to move in with her, and he would stop giving them financial support. He was now making a modest income from driving. It was much less than his previously high salary, and they could no longer afford to keep sending Chelsea money.“
“I’ll be back for Christmas with Aunt Ser. Uncle Zak said he’ll pick us up when he gets back from his business trip,” Sonny said.Tania smiled and said, “So we won’t see each other for more than ten days.”She drew Sonny close again, hugged him, and then kissed him on the cheek. “Have fun and when you come back, tell Grandma all about the games you played with Laurence, where you went, and what delicious food you had. And bring some souvenirs back from Annenburg for us.”If not for her worry that Serenity might discover they were hiding the situation in Jensburg, Tania would be reluctant to let Sonny leave for FC Manor so soon. Usually, Sonny would only come over for a day or two on weekends, and weekdays, he had to attend preschool, so they missed him a lot. Now it was the winter holidays, but he wanted to see his friend instead.“Seren, since you’re going out to have fun, just enjoy yourself and don’t worry about us at home,” Tania advised her daughter-in-law.Grandma May agreed
After Serenity and Sonny left, Tania called Audrey, who quickly answered.“Has Seren left?” Audrey asked.“She just did. I watched her and Sonny board the private helicopter, and I saw the helicopter take off and fly away before I called you. She won’t be able to hear our conversation unless she has super-hearing,” Tania replied.“Alright, thank you for letting me know.”“No need to be so formal—we’re family now. We all have the same goal,” Tania said politely.Audrey laughed, “You’re very polite too. Once this matter is settled, let’s have a meal together. My treat.”Although both were among the most esteemed ladies in Wiltspoon, they had not shared a meal yet. Even after Serenity married into the York family and they became in-laws, the two leading ladies had never grabbed a meal together. They were not as close as Tania’s ties with Mrs. Bucham and Mrs. Lewis. However, the Buchams and the Lewises had always been friendly with the Yorks, so it was natural that Tania was close to