“Same thing,” Mark calmly replied. “He has zero identity. It’s not easy to find him if he wants to hide himself away. I’m afraid we’ll just have to wait until he shows his face again.”“Even Jackson, who’s great at self-defense, has been cut down. If you or I run into Seaton, we might actually lose our lives…” Alejandro latched onto Jackson for some mystifying reason.Jackson gritted his teeth angrily. “What are you implying? Some things can’t be overcome, okay? He f*cking snuck an attack on me. Stop looking so mystified. Just wait until I’m out of this hospital. I’ll knock you down first. You’ve certainly got a big mouth, you villainous pest.”Alejandro laughed instead of getting enraged. “You may be pissed, but you can’t do anything about it, can you? If you want to beat me up, I’ll stand right here, perfectly still. I swear that I won’t fight back, as long as you can get out of bed and raise your fists.”“Enough,” Arianne said helplessly. “Why are you two acting like kids at a t
Mark stepped out of the wrecked bedroom. His expensive leather shoes were now stained with residue from the explosion. He was no calmer than Arianne. He walked towards the staircase and sat on the balcony. “Do you have a cigarette?”Alejandro pulled out a cigarette and handed it to him. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen you like this. The kid is fine. He’s not at home. I’ll go look for him right now.”Mark took a few puffs of his cigarette before he could gradually calm down. He called the housemaid over to ask her about the situation. Based on the housemaid’s reply, a man dressed in a utility uniform arrived at the house around 1PM, claiming to check on the air-conditioning. He was wearing a face mask and baseball cap. She couldn’t see his face too clearly. Henry was not around at the time, so only one housemaid followed the repair man upstairs. Everyone thought that Henry had called the repair man over, so no one questioned it.The housemaid stood by and watched the man at th
Hearing this, Arianne immediately answered in Mark’s place. “Yes! We’re going, right now!”Mark didn’t object. The corners of Alejandro’s lips curved into a smile. “That’s the right choice! I have to rush home for dinner. Stop dallying. Give the Tremont Estate staff a long holiday. I can’t sustain that many mouths, nor do I lack any staff.”Finally, only Arianne, Mark, Aristotle, and Mary went to the Smith Manor together. Aristotle couldn’t be separated from Mary, so she had to come along.Melanie personally prepared a large meal when she found out that Mark and Arianne were coming over. She used to be waited on, hand and foot, when she lived with the Larks. Now that she was married, she didn’t have any other interests aside from taking care of her baby, so she managed to hone her cooking skills.Melanie’s welcoming attitude made Alejandro very uncomfortable. “They’re not guests, no need for such a ceremony. Can’t you tell the staff to cook instead?”Melanie shot him a look. “Yes,
Although both of them had very similar identities, with Alejandro being Mark’s younger brother from another mother and Aery being her younger sister from another father, how was it that they were being treated so differently? It was probably because some people knew when to admit their mistakes and change while others refused to.Humans are never perfect and will make mistakes, but some are worthy of being forgiven while others aren’t.The harm that Aery had inflicted on Tiffany was irreversible and that incident had long but been a thorn in Arianne’s heart. Although Alejandro was involved in that matter, Aery bore a much larger responsibility because Alejandro had never intended to harm Tiffany in the first place.Furthermore, Alejandro’s actions may have been quite extreme, but it was all for a good reason. There was no way for him to avoid any conflict with Mark due to his identity as the Tremonts’ illegitimate son. However, Aery was able to prevent all misunderstandings with Ari
Instead of being the stern man who had little words to say, Henry suddenly laughed out loud and was filled with emotions. Even his eyes seemed to sparkle with something that seemed like tears. “You little rascal, are you trying to curse me dead? There’s no need for you to send me off. I’m just an employee for the Tremonts, not your senior. I’ll have my own way of going off when the time comes.”Mark pulled up Henry’s blanket and kept him warm. “You’re already my senior in my eyes. I am the man I am today because of you. Therefore, you’re even more fatherly than my real father ever was.”Henry sighed. “Anyhow, he’s still your father, so you should leave the past behind and move on, since it already happened such a long time ago. You should head home soon. I’ll be fine here and will be able to discharge in two days. My men are doing their best to find Seaton’s whereabouts; I’ll get it resolved properly for your sake. I promise that such an incident will never occur again.”Mark shot a
Mark gently sighed in relief when he was satisfied with what he had just heard.Alejandro took a puff on his cigarette before continuing. “Actually, besides being an ambitious man, Seaton has his eyes on Tremont Estate because of his wife’s intention to divorce him. However, this is as far as my understanding goes. Seaton’s been dragging on with his divorce despite the amount of time that has passed. On the other hand, Seaton’s wife owns a portion of his company’s shares and he would most definitely be in a lot of trouble the moment they divorced and his wife gained another portion of his shares, hence why he’s got his eyes fixed on Tremont Enterprise. He wouldn’t have to worry about going bankrupt if he manages to acquire your company. Seaton’s company was affected when he was in trouble; his wife even sold us her shares without hesitation when we acquired the company. Women are said to be very vengeful beings the moment they’ve been thoroughly hurt. Judging by Seaton’s inhumanity, I
Summer sighed. “Based on your current situation, I think you’ll be fine, but you’ve really given me a shock. Why did you ask Tiffany to hide the truth from us? Wasn’t it merely just a light stab? You didn’t actually injure any vitals, yet here I was, thinking that it was much worse, since you tried to hide it. My heart really can’t take such pressure anymore.”Merely just a light stab…?Jackson immediately grew even more suspicious of his real identity. Was this something a mom would actually say to her son? If he did not know Summer’s attitude any better, he would have actually gone for a DNA test!Summer left the hospital with Tiffany after Jackson insisted that they leave. The pair met up with Atticus, who was just about to return to the ward as they were leaving, and Summer begrudgingly asked, “Where have you been? Is this how you visit a patient in the hospital? How could you leave after just two minutes? Jackson was really unhappy about it.”Atticus was startled. “It’s not li
Despite that, Arianne did not have the slightest intention of letting Aery back into her life, since the latter was undoubtedly clinging onto her to get close to Mark. Smore was also at risk of being put in danger if she was not careful enough. After weighing the pros and cons, Arianne decided to ignore Aery. Seaton would not make a move on Aery if he knew of the bitter relationship she had with Arianne. She was glad that she was not a soft-hearted person and was able to ignore Aery without feeling guilty. Arianne was not as saintly as others might think.Arianne informed Helen about Aery’s return and was shocked to find out that Helen had no knowledge about it. Aery had run away when she saw that Helen was buried beneath work. Helen was unable to pick Aery up due to her work as well.Arianne clearly explained to Helen about Seaton’s matter and declared that she could not be held responsible if anything were to happen to Aery.Helen promised that she would pick Aery up as soon as sh
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