All three of Hunter’s sons had children, and their wives had taken the kids back to Hunter’s hometown to celebrate Christmas, acquiescing to his arrangements. Hunter prioritized the Clarks’ offspring, while Belinda prioritized protecting her daughter, a Fisher. However, those were still her grandchildren, so she did not ask her daughters-in-law to bring the kids back. It was better for them to stay far from the conflict.Hunter had managed that part well. He understood her ruthlessness and that if the grandchildren had not left, they would not survive. His sons, however, refused to heed his advice and were unwilling to leave. Belinda pressed her lips together. Tonight, it was up to fate. If their lives were not meant to end, then they might just be saved; if they could not escape and were consumed by the flames, at least she, as their mother, would accompany them and bring many influential people along for the ride, making their deaths worth it.As dawn broke, a new day began. Caroli
Caroline glanced at the few bodyguards lying on the ground and said, “Just keep an eye on them. Don’t harm them.”“I’ve instructed them accordingly,” Darren replied respectfully.Caroline hummed in acknowledgment and quickly walked over to get into Darren’s car. Soon, he drove her away from the scene.On the way back to Jensburg, Darren informed her, “Madam Fisher has been planning this for a long time. She got Mr. Gordon to prepare a substitute for you in advance, who is currently taking your place at Fisher Manor.”Caroline rubbed her neck as she said, “I suspected she would do that.” That was why she had also made preparations in advance. When Belinda suggested going for a walk, she dropped her guard and waited for Belinda to act, leading her to think her plan had succeeded. This way, Caroline could work discreetly once she returned to Jensburg. “My mom might be old, but she still has considerable strength. My neck is still aching.”Darren continued to drive as he explained
As long as Darren was by her side, Caroline felt that she did not have to worry about anything, even if the sky were to fall. Liberty often said that Darren loved her deeply and that Caroline felt differently for him as well. She was advised not to miss her chance with Darren and to avoid saying she only wanted a sperm donor, to prevent hurting his feelings. Regardless of how things turned out between her and Liberty, the advice was always for her benefit. Caroline recognized her own feelings too and knew she had indeed fallen for Darren. It was easy to love such an excellent man. Noticing that Caroline had fallen asleep, Darren pulled over to the side of the road, took off his coat, and gently draped it over her. Even with the heater running, she could easily catch a cold because it was so cold out. He watched her quietly for a moment, then leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before straightening himself to continue driving her back to his little home.Meanwhile, Lib
Wiltspoon’s hot weather in October was a killer. Still, the mornings and evenings were eased by the late autumn breeze. Serenity Hunt got up first thing in the morning to make breakfast for her sister’s family of three. She then grabbed her birth certificate and slipped away in the silence. “We’re going Dutch from now on, and I’m talking about everything—the living expenses, the mortgage, and auto loans! Your sister should be splitting the cost since she’s staying at our place. Sure, she pays two thousand bucks a month, but it doesn’t stretch very far. She’s basically mooching off us.” Serenity overheard her brother-in-law’s comment during the couple’s argument last night. She had to move out of her sister’s place. However, there was only one way to put her sister’s mind to rest, and that was to get married. Since Serenity wanted to tie the knot on short notice without ever having had a boyfriend, she decided to take up on Grandma May’s offer. Serenity had saved the old lad
“I won’t back out on a promise.” It took Serenity a few days to consider before reaching a decision. Now that she had made up her mind, she was not going to go back on her word. There was nothing more Zachary could say at that point. He took out his document and placed it in front of the officer. Serenity did the same. The pair swiftly went through the formalities in less than ten minutes. Once the officer issued the marriage license, Zachary fished out a bunch of keys from his pocket and gave them to Serenity. He said, “The house I bought is in Brynfield. Nana told me that you own a bookshop near Wiltspoon School. My place isn’t too far from your workplace. It’ll take around ten minutes by bus.“Do you have a driver’s license? If you do, you can get a car. I can help with the down payment while you will be responsible for the monthly payment. It’ll be easier for you to commute to work.“I can get very busy at work, so you won’t see me much. There will be business trips too
“I will, Nana,” Serenity casually responded. Although Grandma May was nice to her, Zachary was her blood relative while Serenity was only related to the family by marriage. Serenity found it hard to believe that the Yorks would stand by Serenity during a conflict between her and Zachary.Such was the case with her sister’s parents-in-law. Before marriage, the in-laws were nothing but good to Liberty to the point their birth daughter was jealous. It was a different story after the wedding. Every time Liberty got into a disagreement with her husband, Hank, her mother-in-law would get on Liberty’s case about being a bad wife. In short, the son was always family while the daughter-in-law remained as an outsider. “You must be heading to work, so I should get out of your hair. I’ll get Zack to get you home for dinner tonight.” “Nana, I’m closing the shop pretty late at night. I probably won’t be able to make it. Can we reschedule for the weekend?” The school was off on weekend
“You said it yourself, Liberty. It’s his prenuptial property. It doesn’t make sense to add my name to the title deed since I didn’t pay a penny for the house. I think we should forget about it.” Zachary did Serenity a huge favor by handing her the keys to the house the moment they got married. She could move in right away, solving her housing predicament. Serenity was not going to request that of Zachary. Of course, she would not refuse if Zachary added her name on his own accord. Now that they were husband and wife, Serenity made up her mind to spend the rest of her life with him. It was just a passing mention by Liberty, but knowing her sister who was self-reliant and not driven by greed, Liberty did not dwell on the matter. After a series of interrogations, Serenity successfully moved out of her sister’s place. Liberty wanted to drop her off at Brynfield, but Sonny happened to wake up. The little guy was crying for his mama the moment he opened his eyes. “You should atte
With his game face on, Zachary said, “Back to the meeting.” Sitting nearest to Zachary was his cousin, Callum. Among the cousins within the same age range as Zachary, Callum ranked second.Callum drew close and whispered, “Zack, I overheard your conversation with Nana. Did you really marry that Ser- girl?”Zachary shot him a glare. Scratching his nose, Callum straightened his back and ended the probing. Even so, Callum had nothing but sympathy for Zachary. There was no need for the York boys to secure social and financial standing through marriage, but Zack and his new bride were not a match in every single way. Poor Zack. He merely married the girl because Nana took a liking to her. Once again, Callum offered Zachary his deepest sympathy through his thoughts. Thank goodness Callum was not the oldest in the family. Otherwise, he would have to step up to the plate and marry Nana’s lifesaver. Unaware of all that, Serenity got the location details and was busy dragging her