After seeing Remy off, Elisa went back to her house and said, “Mom, Seren can walk naturally now. Let’s go.”
Audrey asked Serena to get up and take a few steps to show her. After making sure that Serena was able to walk naturally, she stood up. Alice followed suit, picked up the delicate clutch from the side, and handed it to her mother-in-law.
“Have a good rest at home, Alice. Although you’re still in the early stages of pregnancy and your movements aren’t affected yet, you still have to be careful. Rest well and let Clive stay with you. I’ll bring Elisa and Seren out now.”
“I’ll take care, Mom. Have fun.”
Alice winked at Serena and Elisa but regained her gentle expression when her mother-in-law looked at her. With her husband, she personally sent the ladies out the door.
The banquet tonight was hosted by the Dowlings. It was the eighteenth birthday of the family’s eldest daughter, so they were celebrating with a birthday banquet.
On the way there, Audrey asked Serena questions about the Dowling family. She was satisfied when Serena managed to answer everything perfectly. “Seren, your memory is much better than Elisa’s. She doesn’t remember anyone she meets.”
“That’s because I can’t be bothered to remember. Why should I remember people I don’t get along with?”
Audrey reached out to poke her daughter’s forehead. “See, that’s exactly what I meant. You won’t be able to get married if you don’t change that temper of yours.”
“If can’t get married, I’ll stay with you and dad for the rest of my life.”
Serena laughed. “Elisa is fine the way she is. I like her character very much.”
Elisa did not need to be smooth and slick. With the amount of confidence she had, she did not have to try currying favor with other people.
“You two… I can’t be bothered to nag you.”
Audrey said the words of admonishment with a smile on her face. She was happier than anyone else that her only daughter could get along with her niece.
“Aunt Audrey, I’ll be going back home this weekend.”
Audrey did not ask why Serena was going back and simply said, “Wait for me. I’ll go over there with your Uncle Darrell.”
“Okay. Zack and I will probably leave after breakfast. I have to buy truckloads of bricks and gravel and travel tomorrow to bring them back. I’ll tell them that I want to renovate my parents’ house or rebuild it.”
Audrey was an intelligent person and knew that Serena was officially declaring war on her grandparents. Her fight for her parents’ inheritance had just begun.
It was fine for Old Mr. Hunt and his wife to live in Serena’s house, but they wanted to give John the house left behind to the sisters by their parents. That was why Serena and her sister decided to go to court.
The house was built by their parents, and the name on the land deed was their father’s name. According to inheritance law, John had no right to inherit the house.
The two sisters were still alive!
“Do you know where to buy bricks and gravel?” Audrey asked with concern.
“I got in touch with Ms. Deli the last time I went back. I called her to ask. Her family just rebuilt their house last year, so I got the number of a contractor who transports bricks for her. I can get a truckload of bricks sent to me this weekend itself.”
Serena always thought of getting her parents’ house back.
In the past, her sister and she did not have the ability.
Now that they did, they naturally wanted to take action. At first, the sisters thought that if their grandparents wanted to live in the house, they would let them stay there until they passed away in their old age. Then, the sisters would take over the house and leave it to their children and grandchildren.
However, they were too naive. When their grandparents drove them away, the old couple had already made preparations to take over the house and pass it on to their own children and grandchildren.
That year, her granddad drove the sisters out while screaming, “Your father is my son. Since my son died, it’s only natural that everything he left behind belongs to me, his father. It’s his final way to show respect to me as my son.
“If you two were boys, I would raise you no matter how tiring it was and leave your father’s house to you, but you’re just girls. Don’t even think of inheriting my son’s house!
“What’s the use of girls? Girls will just marry into another family when they grow up. How can I let outsiders inherit the house that my son worked so hard to build?”
In the old man’s heart, daughters had no stake in the family property. Scott only gave birth to two daughters and no sons. Thus, after his death, the house should be given to his nephew to inherit. At least then, the house would still belong to the Hunt family instead of outsiders.
Serena remembered clearly what her granddad had said. “Go take the family property of your in-laws if you’re capable. You sisters have nothing to do with the Hunts’ property, so don’t even think about it.”
There were indeed unwritten rules in the countryside, where rural houses would be left to the son. If the family was well-off and loved their daughter, they could buy a house for their daughter outside.
Families who did not give birth to sons either made their son-in-law marry into the family or gave the house to a nephew instead.
In the past, families with only daughter’s usually passed down the house over to a nephew, but times were different now, and people’s thinking was evolving. Even if there was no son in the family, they could still leave the family property to their daughters.
People who did not share the sentiment would echo what the older generation say and pass on the property to their nephews, hoping that their nephews would take care of them in their old age.
Serena thought that those old-fashioned thoughts were dumb. If those parents could not even depend on their own daughters, how could they depend on their nephews?
Their nephews had parents of their own, and they would have wives and children too. They might have difficulty in supporting their own parents. How would they take into account their uncles?
The sisters were going back to fight for the property left behind by their parents. They were also declaring war on the old-fashioned way of thinking and fighting for all the other daughters out there!
“Okay, it’s fine if you’ve arranged everything. If you need help, then tell me and I’ll find out for you,” Audrey said. Then, after thinking of Zack, she added, “But with Zack with you, I don’t have to worry.”
At the mention of Zack, Serena could not help but send him a message and ask what he was doing.
He quickly replied to her: [I’m missing you.]
Serena was speechless.
She could not suppress her smile, but she did not dare to laugh aloud.
[We’re on our way to the Dowlings’ house now.]
Zack: [So late? Did you manage to walk in the stilettos?]
Serena was stunned and asked: [How did you know I was wearing stilettos?]
She was wearing flats when she left the bookstore.
Zack replied honestly: [Elisa took a video of you walking and sent it to me. Thank you, Seren. You’re really working hard.]
[Thank you for willing to try to fit into my circle for my sake.]
Serena was a laid-back person and usually dressed for comfort. However, she was changing for him. The hardships she had to face broke his heart, yet he was grateful for it. He vowed to spoil her for the rest of his life.
Serena: [So Elisa betrayed me. I must have looked funny walking in heels. I keep wanting to throw them away. Sandals are way more comfortable.]
The people in Wiltspoon usually walked around in sandals.
[We met Mr. Johnson and invited him to sit down, so we left a little later.]
Serena answered her husband’s earlier question.
Zack was a little surprised and asked: [How did you meet Mr. Johnson?]
Serena: [He bought the large villa next to Aunt Audrey’s house. We bumped into him while he brought an interior designer to look at the house, so Elisa invited him in for tea. After all, they’ll be neighbors in the future.]
The couple communicated through text, so Serena boldly told her husband her speculation.
[Zack, I think Mr. Johnson bought the Zimmers’ villa because he wants to be neighbors with Elisa.]
When her hand was injured and Elisa accompanied her to the hospital for an IV drip, Remy was there too because of a bad stomach.
Remy had been cradling his stomach weakly, but the moment he saw Elisa, he immediately straightened up, raised his head, and pretended to be fine.
It was because he did not want Elisa to see him so listless.
He cared about what Elisa thought of him.
Back then, Serena already thought Remy was interested in Elisa. However, Elisa had just given up on Zack, so she did not dare ask questions and simply watched silently from the side.
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.