Tiffany let them in. “Mom, dad, what are you doing here? It’s late and cold. You should dress warmly so you don’t catch a cold.”Summer surveyed every corner of the house as she entered. Finally, her gaze landed on the dinner table. “I was worried, so I came here to check on you. As expected, Jackson’s only just made dinner for you. Honestly, he never spares my worries. You might as well move to my house. I’d worry a lot less then.”Jackson’s ears were burning from her nagging. Of course, his face naturally thickened. “She’s only just woken up. I wasn’t starving her. Stop worrying all the time. I love her more than you.”“That’s right, Summer,” Atticus chimed in. “It’s inappropriate for you to meddle in their family. You weren’t this worried about Jackson when he was young… It’s not appropriate to come here so late…”That was why Atticus looked so awkward. However, his words had brought Summer’s displeasure. “Yes, I wasn’t this concerned about Jackson when he was younger, but these
Jackson looked at her calmly, his long nails gently tapping the table as if he was waiting for something. Summer exploded a second later. “How could you ask Tiffany to wash the dishes? A maid would be able to take care of your daily needs and it doesn’t cost much to hire one. What’s this nonsense about not liking to have strangers in the house? Excuses. You’d better change your mindset and go hire a maid, Jack!” Tiffany had never expected Summer to react so strongly. Jackson rushed over to grab the bowl that was in her hands and said, “You see? Are you deliberately trying to get my mum to nag me? Normally you wouldn’t rush to do the chores, but now that my mum’s around, you do? I’ll do it, go get some rest. I don’t wish to see strangers wandering around in my house.”Tiffany rubbed her hands helplessly, muttering, “My bad…”Summer seemed content to see Jackson walking into the kitchen. “Come here Tiffany, let’s talk.”Tiffany smiled as she walked over and sat next to Summer on
Would Jackson, a man who is usually horny, be able to resist the temptation when even she couldn’t? Tiffany did not believe that there was not a man in the world that would be able to resist seduction from other women. She would rather die if Jackson had gone out with another woman when they had just gotten married! Normally, Jackson would just brush off her advances, but not today. Today was the day she could openly ask for it, and there was no way she would miss that chance.Jackson placed her on the bed and straightened himself, ready to leave. Tiffany grabbed onto his sleeve in a flash and said, “Where are you going? Didn’t we agree on it this afternoon? Come on, it’s our wedding day! Can’t you let me do as I please just for today? It’s so difficult to live a plain and bland life everyday…”Jackson burst into laughter and said, “Alright alright! I’m just going for a shower, what are you thinking? I’ll be right back, so you be a good girl and wait for me.”She then let go of his
When it was over, she held his hand up in the air and uttered, “You’re now bound to me by this ring, hence you’re forbidden from looking at other women, not even a glance.”He embraced her from behind, closing his palms and firmly holding her hand. “Would I have to look at other women now that I have you? I stopped looking a long time ago. Get some sleep, I’ll accompany you for your checkup tomorrow.”She turned her head and kissed his forehead. “I can feel the baby moving.”He was slightly surprised, as this was the first time she had said she was able to feel the baby moving. “When?”She said embarrassedly, “While we were doing it just now…”He chuckled and placed his hand on her belly. “It’s got nothing to do with me; your mum’s the one who’s ‘greedy’.”The next day, at the Tremont Estate.The temperature began to drop as the weather changed, causing Smore’s nose to be runny and for him to keep coughing. Arianne was considering taking the day off and sending Smore to the hosp
When they arrived at the obstetrics and gynecology department, Tiffany was so hungry, it made her feel unwell. “I’m so hungry. The doctor previously mentioned not to have breakfast for today’s checkup.”Jackson said to her in a gentle tone, “It’s fine, I’ll bring you out to eat when you’re done with the checkup.”Tiffany did not realise it at that moment, but she was asked to not eat because she needed to have her blood drawn. Well done, Jackson. Tiffany’s face paled and panicked when she saw tubes and tubes of blood being drawn from her.Jackson put pressure on the position where her blood had been drawn with a cotton wool carefully as he said, “It’ll be over soon. Just a little bit more blood to be drawn. You don’t seem like the type to be short of blood, so stop scaring me.”She shot him an angry look. “I’m neither anemic nor dizzy, I’m panicking!”Suddenly, Jackson saw two figures at the hallway through the edge of his eyes. One of them was Tanya while the other was obviously
Tanya did not seem to be lying, but Jackson refused to believe that Alejandro had nothing to do with it.Tanya’s face was pale from nervousness. Her body trembled slightly. She knew that she couldn’t reveal the truth. She never expected to bump into Tiffany and Jackson here. She and Jett would be finished if she failed to convince them.Tiffany looked at Tanya straight in the eye and seriously said, “Look at me. I’ll ask you one more time, are you telling the truth? Is there no one else involved in this? Has anyone else ordered you to do it? Did you do it all on your own? Are things between you and Jett serious?”“Yes, I’m telling the truth,” Tanya replied, word for word. “Jett and I are serious. We’ve already registered for marriage.”Tiffany released a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Let’s leave the past in the past. I won’t argue with you. However, I won’t forgive you either.” Then, she turned around and led Jackson away.Tanya, however, was not relieved when they left. She turne
Janice grinned in vain. “I wouldn’t say that we’re close. It’s just babysitting Mr. Tremont’s kid. I wouldn’t be here today if Mr. Tremont hadn’t sponsored me. Alright, let’s get back to work. I’m still waiting to be confirmed.”The bystanders muttered, “What’re you worried about? You’re definitely going to be confirmed since you’ve got such a good head start. It’s the others who should be worried.”At that moment, their superior looked in their direction. “What’s with all this chatter during working hours? If you want to chat, go home!”With the exception of Janice, everyone did not dare to retaliate and went back to their jobs. She shot her superior an unsatisfied look. She hadn’t been able to meet eye to eye with the old lady for quite a while now!Her superior was no simple woman either. “What’s with that attitude, Janice? Do you detest me? This isn’t your company, so you must obey your superiors. If you want to be a princess, go home!”Janice casually opened a bottle of yogur
Janice instantly choked. She had initially thought that Mark would show her some pity and have some sympathy for her. Now, however, she felt as if her bloodied face was both unbearable and a joke.Seeing her remain in the same spot, unmoving, Mark continued. “Didn’t you say that you can’t stand being in this company any longer? I won’t force you then. If you want to leave, you may do so after settling this matter.”Janice did not expect this outcome. “I just lost myself in my anger for a moment. I was being rash,” she hurriedly said. “This is a great company. I don’t really want to go… I’ll take care of it. Please excuse me.”Mark waved his hand. “Mm. Go. This company isn’t like any other place where you can come and go whenever you please. Please handle matters with more maturity next time.”Janice returned to her desk, ashen-faced. Someone brought a medicine box to help her with her wounds. Having received no rejections from Mark since the very beginning, she had thought that she
Arianne had not heard that name for so long, she had to reel back in bemusement for a few seconds before finally remembering her face.Shelly-Ann Leigh… She must have spent all those years in the mental institution, right? God knows if the woman’s hair was now grey and white all over.When someone was near death, one could stand to forgive all of the history between them—even the dark ones, even if the ledger was brimming—for good. So, Arianne replied, “I’ll go with you. No matter what happened, she’s still your mother.”Mark did not expect that answer from her at all. In his surprise, he bent down and left a kiss on her lips. “I knew I picked the right woman as my wife. I thought you wouldn’t agree to let me accompany her for the last of her days…”Arianne replied nothing. She was not so obtuse that she would try to win over a woman whose days were numbered. No matter how much of an a**hole Shelly was, Arianne was still the one who came out on top. That victory was all she needed.
Arianne sneered. “You confused, little thing. I wouldn’t be daft enough to anger the mother of the man I like if I were you, girl. I would especially not say anything as low IQ as that, too. Let me be completely frank with you: no one who bears the surname of Leigh will ever get the better of me—the last one failed. Hard. I can guarantee that you’ll leave us in the span of three days. If I lose, you can stay here forever. Wanna bet? I dare you.”She left her threat hanging at that and turned her wheelchair away, leaving the scorned young woman behind.Rage came out of Raven as waves of quakes all over her body. She was lurching close to hyperventilation, but right before it became impossible to stop, she came around and battled herself to calm down. She had a feeling that even if she fainted right there and then, no one would discover her, would they?Now that Arianne and Mark had returned, the Tremont Estate had recovered its vivacity and life. It had become merry.And Raven Leigh
Melissa was the type who always pushed things to go as festive as logically possible. She leaped to her feet and raised her cup, “Yo, everyone! Let’s toast to Cindy becoming my cousin-in-law!”The crowd answered enthusiastically with their cups in the air and a roar—except Raven, who remained seated. “I have a sickly constitution. I can’t drink. I’m sorry.”Her smile was so mechanical, her face too ashen. Something flickered in Arianne’s eyes before she replied, “Sure.”After the revelry faded, Arianne steered her wheelchair to the courtyard. The outward appearance of the Tremont Estate seemed to have frozen in time, which was why being here made her feel so… safe.Of course, that was despite Henry and Mary’s passing. In the end, time passed and things changed, characters and objects came and went, and all these missing years left lingering regrets in their wake.Arianne espied the silhouette standing alone at a distance and approached her, sighing, “Nothing beats being home.”Ra
Arianne grabbed the two beauties by the hands and smiled. “Thank you! Gosh, to me… it’s like you two have grown older in the blink of an eye! How gorgeous the two of you are! Cindy, where’s your brother? Plato hasn’t come home yet?”Mentioning the name of her dear brother made Cynthia pout. “He said he was coming home half a month ago—that’s what he said. Who knows what he’s actually doing, though? Anyway, who cares about that no-good. He’s always like this anyway. Oh, um, the weather is quite hot. We should probably get inside.”Arianne nodded and shot a brief, uneasy look at Aristotle. Not once did he look like he wanted to talk to her… Could the boy be counting his grievances in his mind? Mark and Arianne had stayed in Switzerland for so long; life must have been hard for him all alone.It took until she reached the living room to finally notice Raven. “Millie, is this your younger sister?”Melissa quickly sprung to correct her. “What? Noooo. This is Ares’ classmate or something
Aristotle’s entire being stilled.He had waited for this news for nineteen years. As time passed, the flames died little by little, the heart grew more numb, until the very thought of it was no different from a pipe dream. But today, news of it coming true reached him and plunged him into a torrent of feelings.A long while later, he finally muttered under his breath, “When… When will they be back?”Jackson closed the distance between them and gave the young man a light, comforting pat on the shoulders. “Not so soon, I bet; not when your mother has just woken up and is in need of some time to recover. She did sleep for nineteen years, you know. So maybe after she’s recuperated enough for a while…” he answered. “We’ve waited for nineteen years for this, right? What’s waiting for just a little bit more compared to that? The most important thing for you to do is to manage the company to the best of your abilities. That’s the way to not disappoint your father’s expectation.”Aristotle
Cynthia had never had a relationship before, so she did not know what love was. However, one thing was for certain. She loved the feeling of being with Aristotle and how he had protected her since they were kids. Even though Aristotle had become a little domineering and “naughty”, she was not taken aback by him. Instead, she even felt a little moved, which was amazing.It wasn’t known how they ended up in bed, with their breaths synchronized. Apart from the final step, they had done just about everything else that could be done.Just as they were about to hit the final step, Aristotle suddenly stopped and helped pull the covers over Cynthia. “Let’s sleep, good night.”Cynthia was still lost in a daze from before. She did not know why Aristotle had suddenly stopped, nor did she have the courage to ask him. She had struggled for so long before having persuaded herself to go with the flow…The next day, when Cynthia woke up, Aristotle had already long gone to his company.She took a
Cynthia heard what Aristotle said, but her hands did not stop doing what they were doing. Her head was in a complete mess. “There’s no… no need. I’ll be able to be done with these now. Go ahead and get some sleep first. By the way, where am I sleeping tonight? There are so many rooms here, I’ll ask Agnes to help me clear one up.”Aristotle walked up to her and squatted. He grabbed onto her arm with one hand while the other closed the luggage. “Just sleep with me here and stop tidying already.”Cynthia suspected that she might have misheard. She took a look at the big bed behind him in a daze and suddenly felt her palm, which was held by him, burning up. “Y… You’re kidding, aren’t you, Ares? Although we used to sleep with each other a lot when we were kids, we’re all grown ups now, so wouldn’t that be a little inappropriate?”Aristotle said with a straight face, “I wasn't joking.”Cynthia panicked a little and recalled Melissa’s words once again. ‘Would Ares, whom I’ve known for so
Melissa knew that Aristotle had kissed Cynthia, so she knew what was going on. Hence, she very naturally boasted, “Of course, they’ve been engaged to each other since they were born. Coincidentally, the both of them felt the same way about each other as they grew up, so wouldn’t this make it even better? From the way I see it, your illness isn’t going to recover for the rest of your life and the both of them are probably going to have to wait until Cindy graduates before they get married. So, you’d be better off moving back to France as early as possible. Don’t worry, you’ve saved Aristotle’s life before, so he wouldn’t be stingy with you financially.”Raven wanted to control the unhappiness she had in her heart very much, but her emotions refused to follow her will. Hence, she fiercely struggled to wring free from Melissa’s grasp. Melissa was startled for a moment. “Are you crazy?”After that, Raven regained her senses and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry… I was a little unwell just n
‘You’re not that worried?’ Melissa was so furious that she laughed. “Am I the only one who’s being worried for nothing? I thought you loved my brother, didn’t you? The man you’ve been dreaming of every day has returned from France but brought a woman with him, yet you’re actually not that worried? Let’s put aside your parents’ intentions for a moment. Do you dare to say that you don’t love him? I’m only helping you because you’re my best friend, so could you not be so relaxed, as if I’m helping you for no reason?”Cynthia shook her head and lowered her volume as she said, “He… might have confessed to me. We also… did that already. So, I think he doesn’t feel that way towards Raven. It’s purely because she saved his life once. I trust that Ares will be able to handle the situation properly.”Melissa’s eyes opened wide. “What? He’s only returned for a few days, yet the two of you have already had sex? That fast?! I never knew it, but you’ve really got it in you!”Cynthia’s face flushe