Arianne said tonelessly, “I’m not living inside his head, soo how would I know if he’s really as you have said? I think that not only can he eat, but he can probably eat a few more extra portions. Otherwise, where would he find the energy to argue with me?”After a while, Mary asked again after seeing that Mark hadn’t returned downstairs to eat, “Arianne, should I call Mark to come downstairs and eat?”Arianne pursed her lips. “Doesn’t he know what time dinner will be ready? Hasn’t he always been preaching about discipline? Won’t he feel hungry when it’s time to eat? What’s the point of calling him if he doesn’t want to come downstairs? This is Tremont's territory; is there anyone who can control when he eats or sleeps?”Mary was startled speechless and sat at her place quietly. Although she had been taking care of Arianne since she was a child, Arianne’s temper had only just emerged gradually and Mary could not figure out what she was thinking.After dinner, Arianne was in the liv
Arianne looked away and closed her eyes. She seemed to imply that he could do whatever he wanted.Arianne was not in the mood for that initially. However, after Mark teased her a little, her body could not resist the wave of emotions, especially when he began to rush at her passionately. Arianne slowly lost her thoughts in a pool of pleasure. The next morning, Mark reminisced about last night’s events and grinned. He even carried Smore and played with him before leaving the house. When he saw that Arianne was ready to leave, Mark passed Smore to Mary and said to Arianne, “Let’s go. I’ll drive you to work.”Arianne did not sleep well last night thanks to Mark and said in a daze, “It’s fine, I’ll catch a taxi to work myself, so you don’t have to bother.” Mary thought that Arianne was still mad at Mark and nudged Arianne’s elbow. Arianne looked at Mark and yawned. “You really don’t have to drive me there. I don’t have to be at the office all the time; so long as I submit a high qu
Arianne did not deny. “You’re right, Sylvain might actually not be a bad person. You should decide if you would still like to maintain contact with him. Let me know if you need to talk.”Robin suddenly frowned. “Can I ask you something Arianne? It’s just… Does Jessica really have such a large influence on Sylvain? I can’t shake the feeling that he’s really going through a very rough time at the moment. Could it greatly affect his future?”As she saw Robin’s hopeful eyes, Arianne could not bear to tell her the truth but forced herself to anyways. “Robin, you already have the answer to that question, don’t you? Sylvain’s reputation is so ruined that no well-established companies would dare to hire him whilst smaller companies would only offer him peanuts to take advantage of him and humiliate him. I’m afraid he would only be a laughingstock for the people who had to literally beg him to be their personal designer.”Sylvain’s future was out of the question unless some kind of miracle h
When they arrived at White Water Bay Villa, Mark took the initiative and got down from the car to pick up Aristotle. Their son was almost one-years-old now, so carrying him meant carrying extra weight. Arianne’s slender arms seemed strained while holding him.When they entered, Summer gave Mark and Arianne a pair of slippers. “You’re both quite early. Jackson is cooking now.”Arianne saw that the house was empty and was curious. “Mrs. West, are you both taking care of Tiffie? You didn’t hire a nanny?”Summer was the kind of person who enjoyed making other people happy. She was so happy with finally having a grandson that she rarely stopped talking. “My Jackson isn’t comfortable with having strangers in the house. How could we possibly hire anyone? Besides, I’m not comfortable having a stranger take care of Tiffie and the baby. Jackson cooks while I help with the baby. Isn’t that great? Jackson goes to the office from time to time to deal with emergencies, but otherwise, he’s usually
Tiffany laughed shamelessly. “Haha, it’s us. What’s there to be modest about? You have no idea. Jackson hasn’t touched me ever since I got pregnant. I’m only human. I need sex too. Every time I see Jackson, my eyes glow with a green light. I’m so horny. We’re not like you and Mark, who are practically nuns. It’s like you’re wrapped in holy light or something. I doubt you have any desires. I’m curious, is it fun for you? Doesn’t that equate to a cold sex life? Look at how old you are, and this is the state of your relationship? Will you end up staring at the moon and the stars and talking about life when you’re much older? Is that it? Aren’t you afraid that you’ll run out of things to say? It’s so dull to think about it too. Sex is an essential glue that holds a husband and wife together. Just because I want it, doesn’t make me dirty. It’s because I love him.”Arianne couldn’t be bothered to object. Things between her and Mark weren’t as cold as she had described. They didn’t have sex
They stayed on until it was nearly 10PM. Mark finally finished his conversation with Jackson by then. It was clear that this was more than a simple dinner party; Jackson had something to discuss with Mark.Aristotle fell asleep in the car on the way home. “Did Jackson have something to discuss with you?” Arianne asked.“Just work things,” Mark answered. “We lost track of time and talked late into the night. Take a nap if you’re tired. We’ll be home soon.”Arianne turned to the side and looked out the window. “I’m not tired, I was just asking. I thought that it was something important.”Mark paused in momentary silence, then asked, “Am I really a sharp, unkind, and haughty old man to you?”Arianne nearly choked on her own saliva. She was too guilty to look at him. How did he find out? How did he find out about her private conversation with Robin? Was he just well-informed or had he installed a hearing device on her? Had he resorted to that?He laughed. “Don’t need to be so nervous
Arianne was greatly moved, yet felt something amiss. This didn’t seem like something Mark, a block of ice personified, would say. She let go of his hand. “Eyes on the road. I know that Jackson taught you those words.”The corners of Mark’s eyes twitched. She saw through that? Was it that obvious? However… these words came from his heart too. Jackson had taught him the right tactics.Arianne settled Aristotle when they returned to the Tremont Estate. Then, she massaged her arms, which had grown sore after carrying Aristotle for too long and said, “You can use the shower first. I need a short break. It’s pretty exhausting to go out with a kid.”Mark gazed at Aristotle, who was sleeping to his heart’s content, and huskily suggested, “Let’s shower together. It saves time. It’s already so late; by the time I’m done with the shower and you go in, you won’t be able to wake up the next morning.”A few PG-13 scenes flashed across Arianne’s mind in an instant. “No no no, you can shower on yo
By the time she met up at the agreed meeting spot, Arianne and Robin had been waiting for a very long time. Arianne could spot the thickly made-up Tiffany at first glance. She clicked her tongue. “What is going on? Have you been completely set free? Your eyeliner is crooked.”Tiffany giggled. “Stop trying to bring me down. Do you know why I chose to meet up here? This street is known for its great food. Today, I’m going to eat every single meal that I’ve missed over the past month!”“Aren’t you breastfeeding?” Robin asked honestly. “There are a lot of things you have to avoid, especially street food. What if it’s unhygienic?”Tiffany felt her set back. “Did you have to remind me? It wouldn’t kill you to keep your mouth shut. I’ve been holding it all in for a month, and you've poured cold water all over me. Come on.”Robin chuckled. “Fine, fine. I’ll keep quiet. Even if I keep my mouth shut, Arianne will remind you too.”Arianne shrugged. “Nope, I’m not going to. I’m not worried ab
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