Love at First Novel by Gu Lingfei

Chapter 656
Clive cussed Zachary in his mind.
He was still second–guessing whether it was Zachary when Serenity mentioned her husband’s name. Now that Zachary said
that he was away on business, Clive could confirm that Zachary was Serenity’s husband.
“When are you coming back?”
“Are you that eager to buy me coffee?”
“Quit the act, Zachary. I know it all. The wedding ring on Serenity’s finger belongs to the same pair as yours, right? Your wife
whose face is not shown in the picture is Serenity, right?”
Zachary went radio silent.
He neither admitted nor denied it.
Clive took Zachary’s silence as his admission to the fact.
“When did you two get married? Was it before Serenity went viral on Twitter? You’ve been married for a while, yet you kept quiet
about it. Elisa went mad for you and even went all the way to your office to profess her love for you in public!
“Elisa became the talk of the town while you went on your aloof and sophisticated self, making a joke out of Elisa. The public
made fun of her for not being able to win your heart. They laughed at her because despite knowing you and I are rivals in
business, she liked you anyway. They teased her because she asked for it.
“Why did you hide from Serenity that you’re the heir of the wealthy York family?”
Clive grew furious as he spoke. He was reminded that his sister was all over Zachary when the man had already gotten married
to Serenity.
His sister unknowingly became the other woman in someone’s marriage.
Elisa would probably go crazy for Zachary to this day if he did not let the word out or wear his wedding ring.

“How long do you plan on keeping it from Serenity? Don’t you know Serenity and Elisa are best friends? They’re also cousins
now. What would Elisa think when she finds out that Serenity’s husband is the man she once loved and could not have? What
would Serenity think? How would the cousins get along then?”
“Clive.”
With her husband yelling at Zachary on the phone, Alice had to approach her husband and reminded him, ” Keep it down. Your
mom and Elisa might hear you.”
Taking a few deep breaths, Clive then said to his wife, “Pour me a glass of water, Alice. I got thirsty after running my mouth.”
“Sure.”
Alice turned on her heel and walked away to pour a glass of water for her husband. She also told her husband to pipe down and
keep his emotions in check.
On the other end of the line, Zachary waited until Clive blew off some steam before callously retorting,” That’s between me and
Serenity. I don’t have to explain to you.”
“Zachary!”
Clive gnashed his teeth in anger. “What’s with the cocky attitude? Don’t make me show Serenity who you really are.”
“Clive, it’s between me and Serenity. I have my reasons and thoughts to keep my identity from her. I get to decide when I’ll come
clean to you, but I have no responsibility to tell you that.
“I never had feelings for your sister. I never even spoke to her prior to her confession to me. There’s no such thing as me lying to
her. It’s her issue that she has feelings for me. I can’t control her nor could I stop her.”
Zachary’s voice was husky. “Even if Serenity finds out who I am, my nana was the one who brought us together. She was single
without a boyfriend while I was a bachelor without a girlfriend. We did not commit anything wrong morally or legally to be
together.
“She did not do Elisa dirty!”
The things brought up by Clive were Zachary’s concerns before.

He was worried Elisa might do something to Serenity.
“You...”
Clive wanted to give Zachary a bigger piece of his mind but was at a loss for words.
“Mr. Stone, this is a bad time for me to continue this chat. I’ll treat you to dinner after New Year’s. We’ll talk soon.”
“After New Year’s? Oh, that’s right. You can’t show your face now. Are you feeling guilty? Bet you didn’t imagine Serenity would
become my cousin.”
At a switch of the topic, Clive added, “Call me your cousin, Zachary.”