Arianne smiled awkwardly. “Sorry… I might have had a little too much to drink last night.”A thought hit Mark and his expression turned grim. “You didn’t drink too much, but someone put something in your drink. Now that you’re sober, think carefully. Who did it? I certainly can’t let you go to the office worry-free if you have someone two-faced by your side.”Arianne was reminded of more details from last night, thanks to his reminder. That’s right, she wouldn’t have felt so hot just from alcohol, and she was overcome by such a strange feeling too. That feeling pushed her to go to Mark’s office to see him then demand sex from him, over and over again…She thought of the champagne from Sylvain last night. He had deliberately emphasized that that champagne was for her and had stopped her from sharing it with anyone else. Everyone else had drunk other liquor, so it was impossible for this to have happened to everyone else. If it was the champagne, was Sylvain behind all of this?She d
She went on her tiptoes then boldly reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then, she planted a kiss on his cheek and hurried away. “Don’t forget to pick me up after work! I’ll stay with you if you have to do overtime!”Mark lifted his hand and touched his cheek longingly as he watched her leave. The corners of his lips slowly curved upwards. The sun was certainly rising from the west today…He went back into the car and remembered how she had been spiked last night. He couldn’t stop worrying, so he sent her a message: ‘Be careful, call me if you need anything. Don’t show off and try to solve everything on your own. I’d have to clean up after you if you mess it up. That would be even more troublesome for me.’Arianne replied to his message with a smiley face. She knew what to do.Robin usually arrived earlier than she did. Today, for the first time ever, Robin still hadn’t arrived even though it was almost time for work. Sylvain obviously wasn’t going to arrive that early
It was almost lunch break. The office was still crowded. Arianne did not speak to Sylvain in the office but invited him for lunch instead. Sylvain agreed straightaway and suggested a nice French restaurant.When they found a seat and sat down, Arianne went straight to the point. “Someone drugged me and Robin last night. I suspect that there was something in the champagne. What do you think?”Sylvain stared at her with a half-smile. “And you think I did it? What would be my motive? It’s true that I gave you the champagne, and you and Robin were the only ones to drink it and got caught up in deep shit. All of that is true, but I never touched the champagne. I may look suspicious, but you don’t have any evidence to prove that I did it. Do you?”Arianne was speechless. She couldn’t seem to read Sylvain. He didn’t seem surprised or nervous.After some thought, she asked, “What’s your plan for Robin? She’s from a family of scholars, so she’s more modest. She’s never had a boyfriend, and
Robin agreed with her. “I know. I don’t deserve him. He is always surrounded by women, and I’m not that attractive. I’m not hoping for anything.”Arianne was speechness. “That’s not what I meant. Regardless of how attractive you are, there’s only one of you in this world and there will never be another. Everyone is special in their own way. We exist for a reason. Why would you think that you don’t deserve him? To put it harshly, you have a pristine family background, and you’re such a pure-hearted girl. You have much better choices. Sylvain may be great in every aspect, but his personal life is nothing to boast about. He’s too promiscuous. If anyone is undeserving, it’s him. He doesn’t deserve you. I’m going back to work. He’ll probably talk to you soon.”Robin’s eyes glistened even more when she looked at Arianne now. Receiving acknowledgement was a great feeling. She had been raised under her parents’ halo from a young age. She had followed her parents’ wishes, from her basic needs
Arianne played with Aristotle for a while but she couldn’t stop worrying about Robin. Hence, she sent her a message to check on her. Robin quickly replied: ‘He’s made things very clear with me. It was a mishap, and he has asked me not to dwell on it and pretend nothing happened. We’ll talk to each other as usual from now on. He has apologized to me and treated me to a meal. He said that he would mentor me from now on with you. I think this is a good idea so that we won’t feel too pressured. We’ve only just met, so getting together feels unsuitable. I just had a fight with my parents at home because I didn’t come home last night. I got scolded really badly. I know I said that it was a fight, but I was the only one getting yelled at. Don’t worry, Arianne. I’m fine.’Arianne sighed. This outcome wasn’t ideal, but it was the best possible outcome.By the time Mark arrived home, it was already 11PM. Arianne was drowsy from sleep, as the sounds of him in the shower had woken her up. She wa
After collecting the documents from the office and hailing a cab, Robin hurried to Sylvain’s residence. She had been to Sylvain’s residence before; although she was not familiar with the place, she was not a complete stranger to it either. As she arrived at Sylvian’s doorstep, her heart began to beat rapidly. She took a few deep breaths before mustering up the courage to press the doorbell.To her knowledge, Sylvain was living alone in a bungalow without any butlers or nannies. Robin had pressed on the doorbell for quite a while but to no avail. She figured that Sylvain might still be asleep, which was normal since it was only around ten in the morning and Sylvain was known to be a person who enjoyed the nightlife. Robin had no choice but to give Sylvain a call on his cell phone, and luckily, he had answered. When he found out that Robin was waiting for him at the door, he actually gave her the password for entering his house in a croaky voice before hanging up. Robin felt that it w
Robin was so confused and upset that her body trembled. She bit her lip without saying a word. She honestly didn't even know what to say. She had lost her capability to think, as she was enshrouded by Sylvain’s breath. However, one thing was very clear to her: how could she resist Sylvain’s seduction when she had literally zero experience in love and relationships?She was no different from any typical girl. She admired Sylvain, even to the point of loving him. However, these were all just thoughts in her head. She had never thought of turning those feelings into actions, yet she was now in this situation…Seeing that Robin no longer struggled and was silent, Sylvain boldly moved. It wasn’t until Sylvain’s body moved downwards that Robin came to her senses. “You asshole…!”Sylvain’s passionate movements stopped Robin’s rants as she focused on the moment. Sylvain was considered a veteran playboy, hence he was able to get any woman into the mood very quickly and very easily.When i
Robin thought that Arianne would have thought she was being foolish. “Arianne, don’t you think I’m being silly and insensible? You’ve already told me we’re not compatible together, yet I…”Arianne sighed and said, “How should I put this to you? We’re colleagues and friends, so I’ll give you some honest advice when it comes to your private matters. However, the final decision still lies with you ultimately. When you’ve already decided in your heart that you want to be in a relationship with someone, you won’t be able to listen to any advice no matter who it comes from. Also, I can’t control your actions since you have your own independent thinking, but like I’ve said, you may not seem compatible on the outside, but you may have more in common than you think, am I right? I don’t know Sylvain well, so you should go ahead if you think it’s what you want and ignore my advice. Like I’ve said, you should make your own decisions and take responsibility for it. You’ll be fine as long as you’ve
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