Chapter 10

Serenity went to Liberty’s place. She opened the door and went inside the house to find her sister was already up. Liberty was busy in the kitchen. “Liberty.” “Seren, you’re here.” Liberty came out of the kitchen and was happy to see her little sister. “Have you eaten? I’m making a pot of pasta. Do you want a plate?” “I’m good. I had breakfast. Have you started cooking? You don’t have to if you haven’t because I brought you and Sonny breakfast.” “Not yet. Sonny had a fever last night. I didn’t sleep much the whole night, so I got up late. Your brother-in-law had to get breakfast from the shop. He wasn’t happy about it. He accused me of doing nothing all day and I could’ve made him breakfast since all I did was look after a child.” Liberty was hurt. Serenity was furious for her sake. “Why did Sonny have a fever? You should take him to see a doctor later even if the fever’s gone in case it comes back. Seriously. I can’t believe Hank didn’t bother to help and even yelled at you when Sonny was sick. “Is Hank still insisting on going Dutch after I moved out, Liberty?” Liberty took a seat on the sofa and unwrapped the food. She dug in and said, “I’ll take Sonny later. He’s still insisting on splitting the expenses. He said that all I do is spend money rather than earn my keep. He mentioned that I have no idea the pressure he’s under. As part of the family, I should contribute to the household expenses. “I bet his sister taught him that. My sister-in-law can’t stop poking her face into our affairs after we got married. Hank used to be good to me, and his sister ruined that.” Prior to handing in her resignation letter, Liberty worked her way up to the financial chief position. She was paid handsomely. Liberty gave up a lot for love and marriage but received hate from her in-laws in return. Liberty only spent her money on the home. The clothes she bought were with Serenity’s money. The shopping only came once in a while, and buying things like cosmetics were less frequent than new clothes. However, her in-laws would kick up a fuss about Liberty’s spending whenever she bought new clothes and cosmetics. Even if Liberty explained that it was with Serenity’s money, her in-laws would argue the gifted money was a joint asset with her husband, so she had no right to use it for herself. “Liberty, why don’t you send Sonny to a kindergarten? You can pick up your career again and earn as much as, if not more than your husband.” Serenity felt sorry for her sister. While Serenity was living under the same roof with her sister and family, Serenity would take on all the housework to help her sister out. Now that she had moved out, Liberty got more on her plate. “Hank said to wait until Sonny is three or four before enrolling him in a kindergarten.” Liberty was interested to return to the workplace. If nothing else, the burden of a car loan, mortgage, and elderly care was weighing heavily on the family.” Serenity frowned as she sensed that Hank was treating Liberty like cr*p, and it was only getting worse. Serenity had to ask, “Do you think my brother-in-law is seeing someone else?” Startled, Liberty uttered, “I don’t think so. I know how much he’s making. He doesn’t have extra money to keep a mistress.” “But he’s been increasingly rude to you. You must think about your future. Don’t be a misunderstood stay-at-home mom without an income.” Liberty fell silent for a moment before stating, “We’ll see. Don’t worry about me, Seren. I’ll be okay. How are you doing? When is your husband coming back from his trip?” “It’ll be a while. He can be busy since he’s working in a major corporation.” Liberty inquired about Serenity’s life at the new home in detail. She was able to relax once she was sure her little sister was doing well. Now that Serenity had spent some time with her nephew, Liberty urged her to get back to the shop. While riding her e-bike to the bookshop, Serenity reflected on her sister’s life of endless bickering. Distracted, Serenity failed to pay attention to her surroundings and nearly rammed into a car. With her fight-or-flight instincts kicking in, Serenity swerved to the side and narrowly missed the car. At the same time, she hit the brakes. The car also came to a screeching halt. Serenity glanced at the car. It was a Roll Royce, a luxury sedan! Behind the Rolls Royce was a row of identical vehicles. The people in those cars must be the bodyguards of the person in the luxury sedan. Since Wiltspoon was a metropolis, luxury sedans were not a rare sight. Serenity made a gesture of apology to the driver before starting her e-bike and slipping away. There was no way she was going to wait to be yelled at. The driver turned his head over to the man in black in the backseat. “Mr. Zachary, it’s the missus.” Zachary’s face fell as he clearly witnessed Serenity almost knocking onto his car. She was obviously distracted. To have an absent mind while riding on a busy road, was she trying to get herself killed?