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
Despite her words, she couldn’t help but peek at Sylvain.Tiffany, being the curious lady, got up and loitered around the couple for a while before returning and saying to them, “I heard the woman say something about promising to treat him better than Jessica ever did, but the handsome man didn’t seem to take it too well.”Robin’s face turned pale. Suddenly, Sylvain got up and walked towards the washroom, and the lady had an unhappy look on her face. The lady then stood up and left the cafe whilst swaying her rather large waist.Arianne called out to Robin and said, “Robin, you should go and have a look and see what happened.Robin hesitated. “Should I? It doesn’t seem appropriate though.”Arianne laughed at her and said, “Aren’t you friends? Is it weird for friends to look out for one another? Just treat it as if you had coincidentally bumped into him and went over to say hi to him. It’s not illegal to do that. Do you still need me to give you another reason?”After hearing Aria
Arianne helplessly shook her head. “You’re really silly. Couldn’t you ask a little more indirectly? He’s in one of his most helpless moments, so naturally, he would be feeling weak and vulnerable. Plus, he’d just been insulted by another person. You should’ve gone at it indirectly, greeting him and saying that it was such a coincidence that you met him, asking him how he was doing while you were at it. If he was willing to tell you, he would. Otherwise, just leave it be and stop pursuing the matter. Try to do your best to console him instead of asking him directly like you just did. Anyways, I’ll be sure to tell you in more detail next time. For now, you should go after him and apologise since I’m certain you’re not in the mood to go shopping with us now. I’m sure he won’t stay mad at you for too long.”Robin shrank. “I can’t muster up the courage to do it. I’ve never seen him so angry before, and I’m really afraid of messing it up again. I know that I’m silly and don’t know what word
Robin nervously held onto the edge of her shirt. “Well… as long as you’re not mad at me. Anyway, it’s late. I should go back now and you should get some rest. You’ll feel terrible after drinking so much alcohol. You really shouldn’t drink so much next time, as it’s bad for your health.”Sylvain let go of her wrist, his face slightly disappointed. “Could you stay with me for a while?”At that moment, Robin could not find a reason to refuse and sat by his side. “Alright.”After a moment of silence, Sylvain asked, “How long were you waiting for me? Don’t tell me you’ve been here since this afternoon?”Robin nodded her head. “I tried to call you when you left the cafe, but you’d turned off your phone, so I could only come here. I did not expect to wait till midnight, but it was a good thing that you came home, or otherwise I would’ve waited for nothing.”Sylvain raised his eyebrow and said, “Are you an idiot? Why didn’t you just leave me alone if I didn’t answer your phone? Why did yo
Sylvain did not hesitate any longer as he pushed her against the sofa…After they were done and she was in his embrace, Robin’s eyes were red with shame. By the time she decided to talk to him, he had already fallen asleep.A hint of disappointment flashed through her eyes. Although Sylvain had been intoxicated by alcohol, he was clearly aware of his actions and she knew it. She was probably disappointed that there was no small talk after sex…When Robin arrived home, she was shocked to see a figure suddenly appearing in front of her as she turned on the lights. She almost shrieked in fear, but when she realised it was just her mom, she gave a long sigh of relief. “What are you doing standing there in the middle of the night for, mom? You scared me.”Her mom’s face was dark. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me that you’ve been at Arianne’s place again, are you? If that’s the case, why didn’t you just stay there for the night? You reek of alcohol and tobacco, which usually only
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