A sudden thought hit Mary. “Ari, when was the last time you had your period?”Arianne thought for a moment. “I’ve been resting irregularly, so my cycle is off. It's almost a month late, but I’m getting symptoms recently, so it should be here soon. I think I’ll be fine after a visit to the doctor when I’m free to get some pills to regulate it.”Mary tried probing. “Do you think you’re pregnant?”Arianne’s countenance changed as she quickly denied it. “Impossible!” Aside from her first time with Mark, she had only done it with him once since then. So she felt that the odds were unlikely.Seeing how confidently she had denied the possibility, Mary grew concerned even more. “Then there must be a problem. Don’t wait until you’re free. You should hurry and get it checked out at the hospital.”Arianne just quickly assured Mary. She had been thinking of going to the hospital a few days ago, but she had given all her money to Tiffany. It was embarrassing that she didn’t even have any money
Mark Tremont took a card out of his wallet and tossed it onto the coffee table. He then ignored her presence and picked up a magazine to read.Arianne took the card, thanked him, then turned around and went upstairs. She specifically informed Mary that she wasn’t going to eat dinner. For now, all she wanted to do was sleep. Her eyelids felt extremely heavy, as though someone was pulling them shut.By the time food was served onto the table, Mark was a little unhappy to find that Arianne was nowhere in sight. “Where is she?”“She’s not feeling well and informed me that she won’t be having dinner. Sir, madam has been feeling nauseous lately. And… her… period is late. I have urged her to go for a checkup at the hospital,” Mary replied.Mark’s pupils suddenly dilated. “What did you say?”Mary thought back on her own words. After ascertaining that she hadn’t said anything wrong, she continued speaking without any worries. “That’s what’s going on. Why don’t you accompany her to the hosp
After coming out of the consultation room, Arianne tried to escape. “I think I’m fine now, Brian. Let’s go back now.”Brian thought she was just afraid of getting poked by a needle so he comforted her. “It’s going to be fine. It’s just a blood test. It’ll be over before you know it.”Arianne was rendered speechless. They walked into the phlebotomy department. She stared at the nurse and watched as she inserted the needle into her vein. About two test tubes full of her bright red blood were then collected.Brian couldn’t help but mumble to himself. It didn’t seem like Arianne was scared… but why was she acting all fidgety then?The blood test result came out very quickly. Arianne couldn’t make heads or tails of the small numbers on the paper. When they returned to the consultation room with the slip, Brian’s phone suddenly rang. “Madam, I’ll go answer the call first.”The doctor took a look at the slip and announced the result to her. “You’re pregnant.”In that instant, Arianne fe
Eric was in disbelief. “What is there to think about? If you come back, I’ll forget about your resignation in the first place and consider this break as a paid leave. How about that? Let me make it clear to you first, I am not keeping an eye on you for Mark. I simply need a highly talented designer like yourself working under me.”Truth be told, Arianne was slightly conflicted. To be able to receive a salary over the period when she didn’t work was definitely an attractive offer. However, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that Eric was hiding something else from her.She was clearly aware of her own capabilities. Eric definitely didn’t lack employees like her. “Tell me the truth… Are you doing this because you have another ulterior motive?”Eric was stunned by her question. “What motive can I possibly have? I’ve been friends with Mark for decades, it’s not like I’m going to flirt with his wife. I’m just inviting you back on board since you can’t seem to find another job elsewhere.
Perhaps Tiffany was just busy, so Arianne didn’t think much of it.It was then that Butler Henry’s voice was suddenly heard coming from downstairs. Mark had returned...He didn’t seem like he was planning to go anywhere tonight. He took a shower and changed his clothes as soon as he came back. Neither of them spoke at the table over dinner. The atmosphere was rather tense.Mary served the last dish and soup. “Madam, since you’ve been feeling unwell lately, I had the kitchen make some nutritious soup for you. Although a bit fishy, it’s good for your stomach. Please bear it and have some, even just a little.”Worried about getting nauseous again, Arianne quickly covered her nose. “I don’t want it… Mary, I told you not to prepare anything with a fishy smell. I can’t take it.”Mary put a small bowl of the soup in front of her. “Just cover your nose and drink it. It’ll be fine. I spent the entire afternoon preparing this soup.”Not wanting Mary’s effort to go to waste, Arianne had no
John Lane died on the operating table. She thought she could at least take a breath of relief after having enough money to perform the operation. As long as he could live, every cloud had a silver lining. She didn’t expect this bad news to follow without giving her a chance to gasp for breath.A few moments later, Lillian came out with red eyes. “Tiffie… Go and see your dad one last time…”Tiffany shook her head weakly. “I don’t want to… Mom, I’ll get his funeral settled early morning tomorrow. You can go back and rest.”Lillian didn’t move but cried even more sadly on the spot. Her frail body shook like a leaf, and she looked like she was going to collapse the very next moment.The thought of going back to a ghastly and crowded rental house that looked like it was in the ghetto scared her. As a wife from a once wealthy family, she had never gone through this kind of ordeal. After staying like that for a while, Tiffany stood up. Her legs were tingling from numbness. “Mom, I’ll se
Summer West coughed, then leaned back into her seat weakly. “No need, let’s go.”As the car quickly disappeared into the rain, Jackson felt a bit glum. He had lost count on how many times his mother had abandoned him like this, regardless of the situation he was in. He even once suspected if he was really her biological son...“My condolences, the deceased may be gone but you should carry on living well. Why do this to yourself?” Jackson failed to completely hide his dismay of being left behind while consoling Tiffany.“Mr. West, I take it that no one has ever died in your family.” Tiffany rolled her eyes at him, then went straight into the rain.Jackson breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Tiffany had recovered from the sassy remarks she threw at him.No wanting to return with all the negative emotions, Tiffany made her way to Ethan’s place. What she needed now was comfort. The comfort… of her lover.When she opened the door and went in, Ethan was taking a shower. She sneezed
Tears rolled in her eyes, but Tiffany tried her best to keep them from falling. “Hmm, I can tell that this Sasha is just like me. We’re nothing but your stepping stones. Instead of getting angry, I should sympathize with her. Your eyes are as cold as the harsh winter wind. That’s how you’ve been looking at me since before, I was just too fond of indulging in my own fantasies. No need to pay back the money. Since I willingly spent it on you, I have no right to ask for it back. Thank you for teaching me a lesson. Thank you for giving me a hard blow when my entire world is crumbling. You really disgust me!”Having said that, she turned around and left. It was then that tears finally came streaming down her face.She understood everything the moment Ethan came out of the bathroom. The first thing he worried about was not the fact that she was soaked to the bone, but the secrets he had in his phone. The disappointment was too much that she could no longer continue deceiving herself.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