Robin wanted to slap herself hard. She has never been one to stutter and could speak very clearly to anyone else, yet she could not help it whenever Sylvain was around.They passed by scenery after scenery very quickly, and the distance to Robin’s home became shorter and shorter. The couple kept quiet for a very long time. As they were approaching Robin’s neighbourhood, she quietly glanced at Sylvain a few times. He was still radiating the same brilliance he had the first time she met him.They had been very intimate with each other in the past, but now that she saw him again, she felt as though he was so close, yet so far away, and it felt weird to her.When the car stopped, Robin had a slightly disappointed look on her face as she opened the car door. “Thank you, Sylvain.”Sylvain suddenly shouted, “Wait!”Robin jumped; she looked at him with some slight anticipation. However, Sylvain only handed her an umbrella and said, “Bring this with you, as there’s still some distance be
Mark’s face turned even darker. “That’s what I want to know as well. Do you think I should cut Brian’s salary in half?”Arianne stifled a laugh. “Just ask him what’s going on tomorrow. You’re a man as well, so you should know that men would normally spend most of their time on their relationship at the beginning, so it’s normal for them to neglect their work. It’s not as though Brian has committed the same mistake several times. It isn’t a good idea for you to cut his salary right when he needs it the most. Relax, hurry up and get a nice, hot bath. I’m heading to bed first.”Mark quietly accepted her suggestion. He was not actually going to cut Brian’s salary, but the fact remained that Brian was neglecting his duties recently and Mark needed to sort it out with him.By the time Mark was done bathing, Arianne had already fallen asleep, Smore was on the bed as well in his mother’s embraces, completely cutting him off. Although there was a really big area all for himself, he was still
Brian immediately headed for the door. He was not so silly as to wait until Mark had gone downstairs and given him an earful. Arianne was literally his saviour that day. Mark noticed Brian’s absence when he went downstairs for breakfast and asked, “Where is he? He’s usually early, yet he’s still nowhere to be seen at this hour. Does he not want his job anymore?”Arianne handed Mark a bowl and said, “He was here earlier. I’ve asked him to get the car repaired. He won’t be back today, so you should just stay home and rest. I’ve lectured him for you earlier, so there’s no need for you to trouble yourself and lecture him again. Now, hurry up and eat. Take this medicine after you’re done. I’ve got some matters to take care of at the office today, so I’ll have to go out now. I should be able to come home earlier today. In the meantime, stay here and accompany Smore.”Mark looked at her with a faint smile and said, “Have you actually arranged my entire day’s schedule for me? This is a fir
Arianne contacted Naya straight away after finishing her errands in the afternoon. Unfortunately, she was told that the landlord had become rather desperate, so she had no choice but to bring her trip a day forward and fly tomorrow.She then filed for a week-long leave—one week being Mark’s upper limit on tolerating her absence. Since her flight was tomorrow before noon, she began preparing her suitcases right after managing to coax Smore into sleep.Arianne knew that this trip would be a costly one, so she took Mark's bankcard. The money Will returned to her was in it, along with the allowance Helen had given her. It was situations like these that made her private fund so useful.From his spot on their bed, Mark watched her with a scowl as she busied herself with preparations. “Aren’t you quite eager to leave,” he muttered.She kept her head low and continued packing. “Yeah. Schedule’s a bit tight. I’ve requested a one-week-leave, by the way, so expect me to come home within a wee
Smore was already wide awake. Arianne had, in a sweet gesture, placed the child next to Mark on their bed. When Mark looked, his eyes were met with Smore’s big, watery ones as he muttered, “Mwilk… Want mwilk…”Mark rubbed his face, forced himself to be awake, and carried Smore off the bed with one hand before heading down the stairs to make him some milk. Unfortunately, he had never done this before, and now, he was having trouble figuring out the amount of milk powder alone.He was just about to try filling half of the milk bottle with powder before pouring half a bottle of water when Mary quickly swooped in for the rescue. “Oh, Mr. Tremont! Let me handle this. It will take just a jiffy; you can distract Master Aristotle in the meantime. Now, if you’re in a hurry, you could always go. I’ll help Master Aristotle change first, then.”Mark still looked a little too blue. “I’m not in any hurry. I could go to my office a little while later.”Smore looked around him and started crying o
Alejandro looked up and met Melanie’s gaze. “No, you stay at home and take care of the child. I don’t need you sticking your hand into the business of my company. And the last thing I want is to be dragged into some stupid fight with you while I get all kinds of stress from work. Also, next time? Don’t talk to me with that asinine tone.”Melanie placed their daughter on the couch nearby as though she was ready for a throwdown with Alejandro. “What ‘asinine tone’ did I use? My God, don’t tell me you’re feeling worn out—not when I should be the one who’s sick and tired of all of this first! After all, look at my dear husband being emo over some other woman while neglecting his wife and daughter. How charitable do you expect me to be, huh? Or would you only turn around if I go to Tiffany and tell her to coax you back into your sensibilities?”Alejandro’s expression turned icy. “Enough! Any attempt to get close to her and you’re finished!”The poor baby watched her parents’ altercation
Alejandro drew out a long breath. “I know, alright? But why must Melanie pick a fight with me over a woman I can never have, huh? Sure, it might have been my plan to take back Tiffany for myself, no matter the cost or sacrifice. But I see it so clearly now: everything is moving away and apart. Everything’s developing toward an impossibility. That old scum had cut off my options even before he died, forcing me into this marriage and having a child I didn’t want, and then using them and other things to bind me from doing what I want. Even after death, he traps me with the shares of the company, and now, I can’t cut my ties with the Larks even if I wanted to!” he ranted. “Had it not been for that old bastard, Tiffany and Jackson would not have married! They wouldn’t have a child! And I wouldn’t have been stuck with Melanie! Christ, thanks to him, I’m now trapped into the role of Alejandro Smith…”Jett was surprised to hear something resembling resignation in Alejandro’s diatribe. “Mr. Sm
Alejandro licked the corner of his lips before an indecipherable smile took shape. “Jett, ready the car. We’re heading to the Tremont Enterprise.”He was going to get that contract done—of that, he was certain!Jett thought his ears were deceiving him. “Excuse me, but did you say… Tremont Enterprise? Where Mark Tremont is?” he blurted out. “Aren’t you trying to evade him, sir? Why are you showing up right on his doorstep now?”Alejandro flashed him a sly smile. “There was a legitimate reason in the past to evade him, but now, I have nothing to fear. There’s no need to hide anymore. Let’s go.”Jett glanced at the baby in his arms. “Are we bringing the little miss with us? Is… Is that appropriate?”He waved in dismissal. “Bah, take her with us. It’s not like we have anywhere else to place her.”They reached the Tremont Tower soon enough, and since they did not schedule an appointment beforehand, Alejandro was expectantly barred from entering the premises.Alejandro was not at all perturb
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