“I got a good whiff of the delicious aroma the moment I came in. I guess your cooking hasn’t digressed.”
Tania complimented her son before turning to Serena. “You gotta keep it up, Serena. Don’t let him beat you.”
“Mom, you haven’t even tried his cooking yet. Zack’s food might not taste as good as it smells. He should be the cook every day to refine his skills if he loses to me. He should be put in charge of the family dinner during New Year.”
With her beautiful eyes sparkling, Tania responded with a grin, “You must get him to practice when he has time, so we don’t get food poisoning.”
Zack listened as his mother and wife shared a pleasant conversation. His mother tried to fool Serena into taking care of the three meals, and Serena made a beautiful comeback without stepping on Mom’s toes.
The doorbell rang again.
“It must be the seafood delivery. I’ll go collect it.”
Turning on her heel, Serena headed for the gate once again.
With Serena gone, Tania began to circle her son.
“Mom, whatever it is, you can tell me. Serena isn’t here. She can’t hear you.”
Tania extended her arm and tugged on Zack’s apron before saying, “You look a bit like your dad like this.”
“I’m my dad’s son. Of course, I look like my dad.”
Zack led his mother to sit down on the sofa.
“How long has it been since the heir of the Yorks and CEO of York Corporation held a pot and pan? You’re going back to cooking for a woman. Zack, I’m impressed.”
She was not very fond of Serena as a daughter–in–law, but she knew her son well.
Without an older family member playing the matchmaker, the boy would forever live a single life.
Her son could not stand playing with girls when he was a little kid. Teenage boys would start pursuing girls while her son got dozens of love letters without even trying. He handed the letters to the teacher without even opening them.
The girls, who wrote the love letters, got an educational speech from the teacher.
Over time, many girls could no longer muster the courage to confess their feelings or give him love letters. They simply admired him from afar.
Zack would not attend any trips with buddies if there were any girls tagging along.
In short, he had a thing against engaging with women.
Grandma May had once suspected Zack was misogynistic.
As Tania had a good understanding of Zack’s character, however displeased, she did not stop Grandma May from fixing him and Serena up.
She wanted to see if Serena could change her son’s attitude toward young women.
Tania could accept Serena if there was chemistry between the couple.
She would not have had hard feelings if the couple decided to split. Tania could then set her son up with an heiress of an equal footing with the Yorks.
Zack uttered in a gentle voice, “Mom, I’m only walking the same path as my dad. Dad is a role model.”
Tania was speechless.
Tania’s husband had been treating her like a princess since she married him, and it had been going on for over three decades. To her husband, Tania was the most important person in his life.
After a brief silence, Tania said to her son, “What? Are you afraid I’ll criticize your wife for leaving the cooking to you while she does nothing? I mean, you just got back from a business trip, and you just got better from a long cold. She shouldn’t have let you work in the kitchen.
“I’m not saying you can’t dote on your wife, but don’t do it excessively and spoil her. She’ll become egoistic and willful. What if it gives her a reason to do as she pleases and stir trouble for you?”
Zack’s face fell.
“Fine, fine. I won’t talk ill about Serena. Look at you. I’m just bringing a few points to your attention. It’s not like I’m saying she’s acting this way now, but you’re already giving me an attitude. Look at your long face.”
Serena would be thrilled to find out she was living a real Cinderella story. Tania’s concern was her getting out of line because she would be at a higher social standing, leaving her son to clean up the mess behind her.
Alas, the few words of advice upset her son instead. His attractive face turned sour.
“Mom, you haven’t spent much time with Serena, so you don’t know her. Still, you can trust your son’s judgment. You should know that Serena is no bully.”
The sisters carried on a discreet way of life after reuniting with their rich and powerful aunt, Mrs. Stone. Anyone hanging around the higher society would know that Serena and her sister were Mrs. Stone’s nieces while the people of the outside world still had no idea.
Oh, the Browns were aware of that fact.
Hank’s parents and sister must be kicking themselves now.
Zack had put the word out, and soon, they would lose their jobs.
The Browns were in for a bigger surprise.
“I believe you. I promise I won’t bring it up again.”
Tania did not want to make her son angry.
“You’re looking well. It seems you’re putting on some weight. Serena must have taken great care of you.”
Zack replied, “Mom, are you sure I’m putting on weight?”
He quickly lowered his head to check his belly.
It was flat. Nothing was sagging anywhere.
He stepped on the weighing scale when he was in the hospital. Zack was at the standard weight.
“It’s been a while since I saw you. I feel you gained some pounds. So you didn’t? I guess my eyesight must be failing me.”
Serena was carrying a bag of shrimp into the house when she heard the last part of her mother-in-law’s remark.
Her mind harked back to when she ran into her mother-in-law while shopping. The way her mother-in-law looked at her then was as if she did not know Serena.
Later, Serena brought it up to Zack, and Zack said that his mother had bad eyesight.
It turned out that her mother-in-law really had poor vision.
“Here’s the shrimp.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.