“Zack gave this to you?!”
Liberty’s eyes widened.
There would always be a prenuptial agreement involved before the wealthy took their marriage vows. It was to prevent the brides from taking a chunk out of the groom’s assets. There were also many couples who found success after marriage. but turned on each other for the estate settlement during the divorce.
This was not a situation exclusive to the rich. Hank wanted to give Liberty nothing at the beginning when she asked for a divorce. Apparently, Liberty was getting the deal of her life by receiving thirty thousand dollars since she did not work after the marriage. She did not have the right to his money.
It was all thanks to Zack for collecting proof of Hank’s side gig that Liberty was able to threaten Hank to get a cut of his estate and custody rights to her son. She would still receive some money if she took Hank to court, but she would not receive as much as she had had.
Zack was loaded. To provide her sister with assurance, he was willing to give everything he owned to her.
It had to be love that drove him to do so. If that was not love, Liberty did not know what was.
Zack was not just giving Serena his asset, but he was also giving his love.
“I think we’re two very different people. It took him a week to come to this decision of leaving me his assets. He said he’ll run the company, but the profits will belong to me. He believed I would get a sense of security now that I have the upper hand. He doesn’t think there’s a social gap between us.
“The only thing he’s asking for is that I don’t leave. I can’t divorce him.”
Serena smiled bitterly and added, “He’s only looking at the problem on the surface, Liberty. He hasn’t delved into what is setting us apart. He doesn’t know me well enough.”
Liberty told her off, “You have only known each other for as long as you have been married. It’s understandable that he doesn’t know you well. Can you say with confidence that you know him inside out too?”
“Give each other some time.” Liberty patted her sister’s hand and put the document back into the envelope. She added, “Don’t put such an important document in my rental house. Although I live in a nice neighborhood, we don’t know much about our neighbors.
“Brynfield has a tighter security measure in place. You can buy a safe to keep in your home with Zack. It’ll be safer to lock the document in there. This is everything Zack owns.”
Serena fell silent before uttering, “I’ll give Nana a call later. I’ll hand the document to Nana to hold onto. Their home is a better place.”
“Sounds good.”
Liberty had no problems with that. She asked, “Are you staying for lunch?”
“I’m going to the Stones‘ residence to talk to Aunt Audrey. I might have my lunch. there.”
“What are you going to talk to Aunt Audrey about?”
Liberty asked with concern, “Do you need help from Aunt Audrey or something?”
Mrs. Stone was their aunt and a person of position in Wiltspoon. Although the sisters had reunited with Mrs. Stone, they never tried to take advantage of Mrs. Stone’s good name. The sisters even refused Mrs. Stone’s financial help.
All it was to the sisters was finding family. There was no change to the sister’s lifestyle, nor did they see a need to have a change.
Every time Liberty’s former mother–in–law came around to vent, she would call Liberty silly for not taking Mrs. Stone’s money to invest in a bigger business.
Even if Liberty did not want to invest or manage a business, she could have taken up a high–paying position in Stone Group. Mrs. Brown even asked Liberty to get Hank a job from Mrs. Stone.
Since Hank often told his parents that he was about to lose his job, Mrs. Brown was desperate to get help from Mrs. Stone through Liberty.
Liberty usually turned a deaf ear to her former mother–in–law though.
“Aunt Audrey mingles with the upper crust. I was thinking if she could introduce me to the circle and see how I feel about it. Can I adapt to high society and blend in? Elisa mentioned to me something about investing in a project. She asked whether I was interested I thought about it and decided to take a gamble. I’m going to put all my money and invest in the project with Elisa.”
Divorce was not an option. She would not leave Zack if he refused to let go of her.
Since divorce was not on the table, she had to face the challenges head–on.
No matter the obstacles, she should not turn and run away from them.
was a test that life had thrown at her.
“I should at least give it a go. Regardless of the outcome, I don’t have to have any regrets. I will regret it if I give up without putting my best foot forward.”
Liberty remarked, “I see you have made up your mind. Go for it! I support you. You can do it, Seren!”
Serena smiled and high–fived her sister. “Let’s work hard together!”
“You should hurry to Aunt Audrey’s place. She should be up by now. You should make it there on time if you leave now. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for her to come home.”
A socialite like Mrs. Stone had a lot planned for the day.
“I’ll take Sonny along so that he doesn’t bother you.”
Liberty answered with a grin, “Alright.”
She could use the free time.
Serena finished the drink at her sister’s restaurant before leaving with her nephew. She headed for the Stones‘ residence.
Once Serena was gone, Liberty shut the glass door and started jogging around.
She insisted on running three times a day to find success in her weight loss journey. Sometimes when she did not have time to run, Liberty would skip rope in the restaurant. No matter what, she persevered with the workout.
Liberty adhered to a strict diet, skipping out on food with high sugar and fat content.
She now weighed a hundred and fifty pounds. Her goal was a hundred pounds. With another fifty pounds to go, Liberty only had to persevere to get her figure back.
Having shed a lot of pounds, Liberty looked a lot better on the exterior front.
By the time Liberty jogged back to her restaurant, her ex–husband was expectedly waiting for her there.
Hank’s car was parked right in front of the restaurant. As Liberty had locked the glass door, he could not get into the place. Leaning against his car, he slipped one hand in his pocket and held a cigarette with the other. He took a puff every now and then.
Liberty furrowed her brows.
Her ex–husband’s presence was the last thing she wanted to have in her life.
It was not like he came to see his son.
Liberty found it ironic.
Before the divorce happened, Hank was never home. The couple barely had time to talk. He was not willing to communicate with her as the only thing that came out of her mouth was household affairs. Hank could not be bothered with trivial matters.
Hank wanted to talk about stocks and projects. Since Liberty was out of the professional world, she was out of touch and could not give him any advice. Hank refused to give her the time of day, always saying they had nothing in common to talk about.
Now that they were divorced, Liberty did not look for him once, but he kept showing up in front of her.
“Where did you go?”
Seeing that Liberty was back, Hank straightened his back and questioned her with a stern face, “The door’s lock. Is this how you run a business? Don’t waste my money. Do you think just anyone can run a business?”
“What do you mean your money? I’m spending my money,” Liberty responded to Hank’s sullen face with aloofness.
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.