Mark didn’t answer. Instead, he walked ahead, sat down, opened his lunch box, and began eating.In less than two minutes, the sound of a delivery man suddenly rang out from outside the office. “Sir, I have your take out. Are you Mr. Tremont? I need some verification…”Mark became upset. He had asked Davy to order takeout for him but had completely forgotten about it…Arianne took a long breath. “I wouldn’t have brought this over if I had known you had ordered takeout.”Davy was forced to take the blame. His voice rang crystal clear from outside the door. “That’s my takeout! I haven’t eaten yet, and I’m starving! I put in the wrong personal details. I’m so used to ordering food for Mr. Tremont, I forgot to change it!” He was obviously saying this for Arianne’s benefit.Arianne wasn’t fooled. “Eat whatever you like. Have your takeout if you don’t want this. It’s not like I made the food. The chef at home made it.”“Am I not eating now?” Mark indifferently replied. “How could
“But what if she didn’t want to trouble poor old Henry and took a cab today instead?” Davy asked, voicing his skepticism.Mark was taken aback. He had considered running after her but felt that the relationship between him and Arianne wasn’t completely at peace. So he decided against any further consideration. “No, she would have definitely asked Henry to drive.”Meanwhile, Arianne hailed a cab and went back to Tremont Estate. She was too exhausted to move, probably because the past few days had sapped all of the energy out of her. She hadn’t been able to sleep well either. She was very out of sorts.Mary filled a small tub of hot water for her, instructing her, “Soak your feet, you’ll feel much better. Mr. Tremont didn’t take you home? You should have asked Henry to drive you then.”Arianne was upset but forced a smile onto her face. “It’s fine, I’m not that fragile. It didn’t hurt to take a cab. Mark is busy and I don’t need him to drive. Henry’s back has been aching lately. Is
She turned her face to the side and opened her eyes. “Didn’t someone relieve me of my obligations? Sorry, I can’t bear having you touch me again every time I think of another woman tainting you. It’s a totally different matter. It was my mistake for loaning Will the money behind your back. Your scandalous relationship with Janice is your mistake. I don’t think my mistake grants you permission to sin wantonly.”His body stiffened in the darkness. “Who told you that I had a scandalous relationship with her? As for whether anyone has relieved you of your obligations, give it a try and you’ll find out.”A slight pain made her frown before she could react to his words. She let out a gentle groan.He had proved it very well. There was no ambiguity. His movements told her that there was no other woman!She watched as he focused all of his energy on “clarifying” himself and tried to shift his concentration. She didn’t want to lose face and admit that she was at her limit. “Why did you… b
She changed her clothes all at once to satisfy his standards, trying to avoid him forcing her into changing her clothes again. She wore office attire this time. The only problem was that it was very hot…She did not plan on going to the office today, so going out to sketch in office wear was very uncomfortable, yet she was forced to pander to his demands. The thought of this made her very upset.As she walked out, Mark asked in a seemingly casual manner, “Do you want me to drive you?”He used to just drive her to work straight away, why would he ask her this question? She really wanted to tell him that she had arms and legs and would rather walk than take his car. She didn’t need him to drive her. “No need, I’m not going to the office today. I’ll be sketching outside.”He didn’t say anything more and told Brian to drive away.She stared at the car as it drove off and stomped her feet in frustration. Was it that hard to get past this issue? In the past, no matter how bad their fi
She didn’t expect Will to pay her back so quickly. She paused and said, “Sure. I’ll send the details over to you later. Actually… I didn’t have that much money to give… Mark helped.”Will fell silent for a few seconds. He seemed to be smiling, but his tone sounded bitter. “Then… Please thank him for me. He’s very good to you. I can rest easy as I have nothing to regret. He’s even willing to help me out, just because he loves you. I’ve underestimated his feelings for you.”Arianne wasn’t sure of what to say, so she replied to him with an “mm” and ended the call. Then, she sent Mark’s bank details over to Will. She wasn’t doing this to get into Mark’s good graces. This was how it should have been in the first place. It was her fault from the very beginning. She, too, had underestimated Mark’s love for her.Sylvain’s figure entered her sights, just as she entered a daze. “What a coincidence, I always bump into you here.”“You’re slipping out of the office during working hours. Shoul
He stopped and stared at them for a long time before speaking up. “Arianne, come here.”Arianne turned towards him. A hint of disappointment flashed across her eyes. It had been a while since he called her by her full name. He had always called her “Ari”. Feelings were so easily changeable.Aristotle was the first to pelt himself into Mark’s arms. Arianne walked towards him. “What is it?”“Has Will paid you back?” Mark asked.She lifted her hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Mm, I’ve asked him to transfer it to your bank account.”He pursed his lips in silence. No one could tell what was on his mind. Arianne smiled. “I’m going to check on dinner. Play with Smore for a while.”He frowned as he watched her go downstairs as if everything was completely fine. Perhaps he had been overreacting on this matter, but he couldn’t control himself. He could try and let go of the fact that Will and Arianne had once been in love, but every time they had any semblance of an interaction, h
Arianne looked at Smore and pursed her lips. “He’s just avoiding me since he can’t stand the sight of me. He wouldn’t ignore his own son.” As she said this, she carried Smore upstairs and said, “Do you see the door to the study? Go and knock on it until you dad opens it up. Go pester him and make him give you a shower. Get him to give you a shower in the future as well, understand?”Smore stared at her for a moment. He seemed to understand what his mom was saying, as he held onto his favourite Rubik’s cube and walked to the study. He looked at his little cube and could not bear banging the door with it; hence, he used his little hands and slammed the door.Soonafter, Mark opened the door. Arianne immediately hid herself when the door was opened. Mark knelt down and looked at Smore. He asked, “Did you come up alone?”Smore held up his Rubik’s cube for him to see as if he was showing off his favourite toy. Smore had a lot of toys, but this was the only one he wanted to play with eve
Arianne and Mark brought Smore to the bathroom while laughing together.After they were done with the torture of showering Smore, Arianne laid on the bed on her knees and elbows to work on her sketch again. Her nightgown revealed her slender legs, and Mark gulped when he saw her. She did not know how seductive her posture was…Mark did not dare to entertain his wild imaginations since Smore was still wide awake. He patiently coaxed Smore to bed. “You’re all showered now, so be a good boy and go to sleep now.”Smore’s eyes were wide open and he was playing around with Mark’s pajama button. Mark grew impatient very soon and said, “Are you not able to sleep because of how much food you ate before?”Arianne couldn’t stifle her laughter. “Is this all the patience you have in you? I have to carry him around for half an hour before he goes to sleep while you’ve only been doing it for a few minutes. Take your time with it. I’ve noticed that my arms are getting more muscular from constantly
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