Filed to story: The Disguised Billionaire and His Accidental Wife Novel
“My breakfast’s probably not warm anymore. I’ll go heat it up in the kitchen. Elisa, you‘re a regular here. Please keep Mrs. Stone entertained.”
Elisa replied with a smile, “Don‘t worry. My mom and I won’t be strangers. Your shop is home to me.”
Serenity thought to herself, ‘My shop is not up to your standard with the wealth your family owns.
She took the breakfast packed by Zachary to the kitchen and heated it up before enjoying her meal in the kitchen.
Zachary made her hot cocoa. Thanks to the insulated cup, the drink was still warm.
Her arms and legs were feeling cold since the weather turned chilly, and her Aunt Flo came to visit as well. Cupping the insulated cup, Serenity felt the warmth in her belly after taking a sip of hot cocoa.
Ring, ring, ring…
Her phone rang.
While sipping on her hot cocoa, she pulled out her phone for a look. It was Zachary. She took the call.
“Are you at the shop?”
Zachary looked at the time before calling.
“Yes, I‘m at the shop.”
“What are you eating?”
“The breakfast you lovingly packed me this morning. I‘m now drinking the hot cocoa you made me. The cocoa tastes nice and light, and the hint of cinnamon really brings out the sweetness.”
Zachary told her off, “What time is it, and you‘re only having your breakfast now?”
“I wouldn‘t have to take my breakfast now if a certain petty fool didn‘t just turn around and run away.”
Zachary commented, “That‘s on me. I promise I won‘t do that again.”
“Don‘t give me any promises. That‘s just how you are. You can’t change that.”
Serenity added with a giggle. “I don’t want the whole thing to blow up in your face again. You have a good-looking face. It wouldn’t be nice for it to be covered in smut after having things
blown up in your face.”
Zachary was speechless.
Other than Nana, Serenity was the only one who would embarrass him.
“Are you coming over for lunch? I might not have time to make lunch though. I probably might eat out.” She intended to treat Elisa and Mrs. Stone to lunch.
“Is Ms. Stone at your shop?”
“Yeah. I’m going to buy them lunch later. Elisa has been a huge help to me.”
Zachary grumbled in his mind. ‘I helped you a lot too, but you never treat me to a meal.‘
Still, he said, “I’ll wire you some money. Take them to a hotel for lunch. I can’t get away from work this afternoon, so I’m not going over.”
Serenity responded with a grin, “I have money. Don’t wire me any. Don’t worry. I may be stingy, but I won’t take someone like Mrs. Stone to a food truck.”
She was not stingy anyway. Instead, Serenity was good with her money, spending on the necessities only.
Serenity and Zachary were living the good life now, but that was because they did not have a child together. Once a baby came along, it would take a huge hit on their money and that could burn a hole in their pockets.
“Achoo!”
Serenity sneezed.
Having caught that on the call, Zachary felt bad and blamed himself for it. “You must have caught a cold since you got out of the car without a coat. It was pouring and windy earlier.”
“I’m fine. I sneezed because you missed me.
“Don’t forget. I’m drinking the hot cocoa you made me.”
Zachary grinned. “Okay. I miss you. I really miss you. I guess you don’t miss me since I didn’t sneeze.”
Serenity opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.
She started it by saying the sneeze meant that he missed her. Now, he was trying to get back at her by making her say that she missed him too.
Well, he got another thing coming if he expected her to say it out loud.
“Is Shawn gone?”
Zachary had not forgotten about his love rival.
“I didn‘t see him when I came back. Are you still jealous?”
Zachary fell silent for a while before replying, “Well, you said that‘s how I am. I guess jealousy might become a habit of mine.”
Josh and Grandma May would be throwing shade at him if they were around.
Serenity chuckled. “I should make you eat your greens every day then.”
Since he enjoyed turning green with envy, she might as well serve up all the greens he could eat.
“I love to eat whatever you make me.”
“Zachary, you sure have honeyed lips. What‘s up with all the sweet talk recently?”
Zachary twitched by the corner of his lips. Nana often complained about his lack of sweet nothings to Serenity. Now that he had given it a go, Serenity fussed about his honeyed lips. She probably did not like sweet talk.
“I don‘t want to take up more of your time.”
“Okay.”
Serenity was the first to end the call.
Zachary moved the phone away from his ear and stared at the mobile screen for a bit while murmuring under his breath, “She didn‘t even say she misses me.”
Putting down his phone, Zachary quickly got his act together and threw himself into his busy work
Serenity finished the hot cocoa and washed the insulation cup clean. She then took out some fruits from the fridge and gave them a good wash before placing them on a fruit platter. She carried the fruit platter out.
Mrs. Stone and her daughter were sitting at the cash register.
“Mrs. Stone.”
Serenity put the fruit platter in front of Mrs. Stone. “Have some, Mrs. Stone.”
“Thank you.”
Mrs. Stone expressed her gratitude. With Serenity sitting down, Mrs. Stone did not beat
around the bush and went straight to the point. “Serenity, you must know why I’m here today. I was separated from my sister at eight years old. It has been fifty years, and in these fifty years, my sister has always been on my mind.
“I worried whether she was doing fine at the adoptive parents‘ place. I worried she would forget about me. After she was adopted, I often asked the director about her, but it was a shame I didn‘t hear anything back.
“Once I had grown up and had the means, I tried many ways to track down my sister. It wasn’t easy before, but with the boom of the internet, I thought it would make things easier. Still, my hopes were met with disappointment after disappointment.”
Elisa had relayed these details to Serenity before.
“After I saw your sister and Sonny, my intuition told me that you’re my sister‘s daughters. Sonny looks very much like my sister when she was a child. I also saw your sister‘s wedding photo at her place. She takes after my sister.
“I was thinking.. Could you come with me to do a DNA test?”
Seeing that Serenity did not say yes immediately, Mrs. Stone eagerly added, “I can accept whatever the result may be.”
Elisa chimed in, “Serenity, you could give us a few strands of your hair if you don‘t have time to go with us. We can use your hair to do the DNA test without you being there.”
of course, it would be best if Serenity was willing to go with them and do a blood test at the testing center.