Sylvain did not respond to her. His expression was blank.It did not take long before Ursula arrived at the villa. Her delight was apparent when she found Sylvain had finally relented. “Syl, you’re finally willing to leave with me?”“He needs to pay a penalty fee to leave Tremont Enterprises,” Camilla interjected before Sylvain could reply, “Let me make it clear to you… If you’re going to pay this sum of money, you’ll have to come up with the money on your own. My father won’t do it. You shouldn’t humiliate yourself by asking my dad for money. He’ll only despise you even more. I’m reminding you for your own good.”Camilla’s tone toward Ursula greatly annoyed Sylvain. He shot Camilla a look, and she only rolled her eyes at him.Ursula tried to smooth things over. “Syl, don’t argue with your sister. She’s always talked like that. She’s not a bad person, she’s nice to me. Tell me, how much is Tremont Enterprises’ penalty fee?”The plan was already set, but in the end, Sylvain was sli
Sylvain heaved a long sigh of relief after seeing Camilla and Ursula off. The desolate look in Ursula’s eyes filled him with guilt for some reason. A soft heart was a kind of disease. It was like a knife, cutting at his resolve bit by bit and forcing him to do things he did not want to do. In the end, he could only try to harden his heart. He could only think about it and not act.Ursula did not go with Camilla after leaving the villa.Camilla asked suspiciously, “Where are you going? Aren’t you taking me to the hotel? What if I run into bad people? I don’t know my way here.”Ursula paused for a moment before she said, “It’s alright. There won’t be any bad people in the middle of the day. Just tell the cab driver to go to the hotel. At most, you’d be cheated out of a few dollars. I have important matters to attend to. I’ll see you at the hotel soon.”Camilla frowned. “Actually… I don’t want you and dad to divorce either. But what can I say? You lied to him. You should’ve told him a
Arianne chuckled sheepishly. “I’m sorry, my… uh… office’s air-conditioning isn’t working properly so I’m here to use yours. I happen to have some free time.”Mark looked at her skeptically. “How’s that possible? We just had the office’s air-conditioning checked last month. I’ll have someone take a look at it later. I’m in the middle of a discussion. Enjoy the cool air, don’t interrupt.”Arianne promptly sat on the couch, sneaking a look at Mark and Ursula from time to time. She was not sure what Mark and Ursula had talked about prior to her arrival so she could only play by ear.Without any warning, Ursula suddenly fell to her knees. “Mr. Tremont, Mrs. Tremont, please let Sylvain go. I really need him, we can’t afford the penalty. I don’t know how I’m going to live if he doesn’t come with me…”Arianne jumped in fright. Since Ursula was nearer to her, it seemed like she was kneeling to her. “Mrs. Jaark, please get up. What are you doing?”Mark frowned. “We all have our dignity. Don
“Please don’t call Sylvain!” Ursula begged. “I don’t want him to see me like this. You went out for lunch with him previously, I know you’re close. That’s why I made a bad move. Rules are rules, but we have to consider human interest as well, don’t we? I can’t possibly pay Tremont Enterprises’ exorbitant penalty fee. I’ll try my best to reimburse you. Let me take him with me, okay? I’ll be honest... My husband’s going to divorce me if Sylvain doesn’t leave with me. I won’t get a thing, I’ll have to leave without a single cent. After holding up that family for so many years, I’d get nothing in the end. I can’t even imagine it. Please, help me. It’s not like Tremont Enterprises needs the money.”Arianne felt slightly guilty when she saw Ursula in this state. Perhaps, she should not have suggested lying about the penalty? After all, the penalty was not that much. Sylvain was more than capable of paying it off. Tremont Enterprises would never make anyone sign a contract with sky-high pena
Ursula gritted her teeth as she stared at Arianne; she was so angry that she could not even say anything. As she walked to the door, Ursula stopped in her tracks again and said, “I refuse to believe that I can’t bring my own son with me!”Arianne coldly laughed inside her heart. “Of course, you can take him away quite easily, but first, why don’t you just pay up? If you aren’t even willing to pay up, how do you expect for things to go your way so easily?”Arianne was still around when Mark returned from his meeting. He saw that Ursula had already left and asked, “Is it done? What did she say?”Arianne angrily said, “What else could she have said? The discussion headed in a bad direction regardless, and it was easier to just retaliate against her. Ursula gets more bold the more I try to show her courtesy. Sylvain didn’t want to leave, so I told him to use the penalty from the breach of our contract as an excuse. Also, I told him to say that he had to sign the employment contract with
Arianne’s ears shot up. “What? You’re actually married? You’re joking, right? How did things escalate so quickly?”Brian was embarrassed. “Well… it’s true. I met a girl and we both saw eye-to-eye and got married without any objections. She doesn’t want anything except for a diamond ring. We’re living together quite well. She even has her own job and still helps do the chores at home after she gets home from work. This is exactly the kind of life I want to have, helping her out while she makes dinner. Everything seems to be going well at the moment. If I knew this would happen, I would never have gone for the blind date in the first place. In that case, I would be able to avoid causing such a huge mess. In the end, it was merely because my fated one had not arrived yet. Now, I feel great because I don’t have to worry about my marriage anymore.”Arianne admired Brian from the bottom of her heart. “Not bad, I’m glad to see that you’re doing well. I was actually worried that your ex-girl
Arianne suddenly went speechless as she recalled her personal experience. How could she possibly dare to rebel when she was in her teens? However, seeing as to how Smore was being showered with love by Mark, the latter probably wouldn’t treat his son the same as how he treated Arianne in her teens, would he?The next day, Mark immediately summoned Sylvain to his office the moment he arrived.Obviously, Arianne had told Sylvain everything that had happened the day before and knew that he was surely going to be scolded pretty badly. Mark was always very strict when it came to business-related matters.Sylvain knew what was coming and steeled himself. He did not dare to sit even after Mark had told him to but stood upright and said, “Mr. Tremont, I know I’ve caused you trouble because of what my mom did. I’m sorry.”Mark picked up his cup of tea, which Davy made for him, and took a sip. “Relax, I didn’t call you in here to scold you. I just want to know what you think. Have you ever t
Sylvain frowned. “In your eyes, do you really think that your own country can’t compare to the country you’re married to? I truly don’t find the overseas to be all that great.”Ursula laughed. “I didn’t mean it like that. Are you trying to say that I’m disloyal to my own country? It’s merely because I’ve grown accustomed to the overseas lifestyle. Syl, have you called me out to tell me that you’ve changed your mind? Will you be leaving with me?”Sylvain pursed his lips and mustered up the courage to say, “I’m sorry, mom, but I really can’t go with you. I like it here, and I have a job that I’m passionate about and a person whom I want to spend the rest of my life with. Could you please consider my situation once in a while? I won’t blame you anymore for abandoning me and marrying someone else without even contacting me all these years, since that was your choice. All I ask is that you don’t use me as one of your leverages in your marriage. Whether or not you’re able to maintain your
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