Chapter 30
“What’s the matter, Mr. York?”
Serenity’s voice floated in from the balcony.
As Zachary chewed on his wrap, he walked towards the balcony. “Your sister’s issue isn’t something to stress over. The vehicle in question belongs to one of our key clients. I realized this last night, so I reached out to Mr. Lewis. He mentioned that the repairs would cost around ten thousand dollars.”
Even though Serenity seemed lively while tending to the plants, Zachary noticed she wasn’t quite herself, likely due to a restless night. Her sister’s troubles were clearly affecting her sleep.
Serenity lifted her chin to watch him eat, contemplating how easily satisfied Zachary was when it came to food. “How can you be certain it’s your company’s client’s car?” she inquired.
Her sister had no idea who owned the car; all she knew was that he was a big, intimidating man with a noticeable scar on his face, and Sonny was genuinely frightened of him.
“I helped Mr. Lewis when he visited our office yesterday morning. I noticed a scratch on his car, so I asked him about it. He explained that a woman with a baby accidentally bumped a stroller into his vehicle.”
“I was wondering if it was just a coincidence when you brought it up last night, so I called Mr. Lewis. Is your sister called,”
“Did I mention the number?”
He said he would send the details regarding the repair costs. It’s…”
Serenity stood up straight and said, “That’s quite a coincidence, Mr. York. Did Mr. Lewis really say the repairs would be roughly ten thousand?”
Her sister could handle ten thousand dollars.
“I asked him, and that’s exactly what he said.”
Serenity let out a sigh of relief. “That’s fantastic. Thank you, Mr. York.”
The sisters’
Serenity’s biggest concern had been the cost of the damage. However, now that she had discovered it would only set them back ten thousand dollars, the sun rising on the horizon felt particularly bright.
In that moment, Serenity acknowledged that although she and Zachary had been strangers before, their relationship had transformed after their postnuptial agreement. Whenever she needed assistance, Zachary was always there for her. He was a reliable and capable man, much like a sturdy shoulder to lean on.
“Thank you,” she said, relief washing over her face, which in turn lifted Zachary’s spirits too.
Just then, Serenity’s phone rang. It was her sister, Liberty.
“Liberty, I was just about to reach out to you. I told my husband about your incident. By sheer luck, the owner of the car happens to be one of Zachary’s clients. Zachary inquired about the repairs, and it looks like it will be around ten thousand dollars. Do you think you can manage that?”
Serenity had barely slept a wink worrying about the situation, and Liberty must have had an even tougher night. In the past, the prospect of compensation wouldn’t have been a problem for her, especially when she was earning a good income. Now, however, as a full-time housewife without a paycheck, things were different. Her husband had blamed her for the mishap and had sulkily declared that Liberty was on her own. This made it even more challenging for Liberty, who was likely even more anxious than Serenity.
“I can handle it if it’s around ten thousand bucks,” Liberty replied. “I’ve saved half of the allowance you gave me without telling my husband. That should be enough to cover the repair costs.”
“Oh, I actually called to discuss this with you. The car owner sent me a text at two in the morning, providing me with an account number to wire nine thousand dollars into. I only saw the message when I woke up. I wanted to let you know so you wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
“Now it seems Mr. Lewis doesn’t expect me to pay the full amount.”
Liberty only needed to pay nine thousand dollars from a bill that could have easily exceeded ten thousand dollars. Mr. Lewis likely requested a lower amount because of her new brother-in-law. As a result,
Zachary earned himself a brownie point in Liberty’s eyes.
Following the unfortunate incident, her husband merely referred to her as a troublemaker and insisted that it was her responsibility to resolve the issue. Since they were already sharing household expenses, he left Liberty to tackle the bill on her own.
