Once he was almost done with his meal, Seaton looked at her and placed his extra purchase of fast food in front of her on the ground. “I will remove the tape from your mouth and release your hands for the time being so that you can eat and drink. If you step out of line, I will kill you. Understand?”Aery nodded profusely. All she wanted to do now was have a good meal.Seaton wasn’t worried that she would suddenly scream aloud. There were so few inhabitants around that it was like an abandoned little village. He had gone through a lot of effort to find this place. This house originally belonged to a bachelor. The bachelor was so poor that the house had nothing but care walls. Aside from a wooden bed, there was an uneven chair and a rotten table. He only bought the fan because he could no longer stand the heat.He had given the bachelor some money as rent for a few days and told the bachelor to fool around for the next few days. He usually moved from place to place every three days i
Aery was afraid. “You’re coming with me? That sounds inconvenient, doesn’t it?”Seaton didn’t have that much patience. “You can choose not to go, then urinate all over yourself once you lose control.”Of course, Aery didn’t want to soil herself, so she had no choice but to steel herself into letting Seaton lead her into the toilet in the garden with a rope. The toilet was a latrine, really old and rife with a horrible stench. She had to hold her nose and retch before she entered it.“Don’t you worry, you’ll smell just like this toilet after a few days in this kind of environment,” Seaton said mockingly when he saw the look on her face. “There’s no use getting disgusted. Just get used to it.”Aery was extremely reluctant to go inside, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She gritted her teeth, summoned her courage, and forced herself to slip into the narrow toilet. Seaton held the rope on the other end and lit a cigarette with his back against the toilet. The smell of cigarette
Seaton coldly snorted. “Well then, we shall see how valuable you are when the time comes. You may not be valuable to her, but your relationship is. I’m sure Helen will force Arianne to save you.”....The next day, Arianne was absent from work, too busy accompanying Helen at home as usual. Helen was completely shaken and there was no way Arianne could leave her be.Helen was even more attentive than Arianne of incoming calls. It did not matter who it was, for as long as Arianne’s phone rang, Helen would jump and think that it was Seaton. However, a whole day passed without a word from Seaton.It was torturous, just blindly waiting around. Helen had not been able to have either a proper meal or a good night’s sleep.When it was past 9PM, a phone call finally arrived from Aery’s number.Helen grabbed the phone from Arianne’s hands before the latter could answer. “Hello? Is this Seaton? Release my daughter immediately! What have you done to her? You can come for me instead. Are you
Arianne immediately stopped in her tracks. “What would you have me do? Run amok like you are now and let an innocent child suffer as well? Aery was the one who sealed her fate by coming back here. This would never have happened if she did not return here with malicious intentions. What would you have me do now? Exchange myself for her? Why should I? What right do you have to make such a request? I can understand that you’re panicking and are worried, but don’t you dare vent your frustration on me. You have no right to!”After saying that, Arianne carried Smore and sprinted to her room, slamming the door behind her.Arianne had thought that she had put the past behind her and forgiven Helen. It was not until this incident that Arianne realized that Helen neither needed to be forgiven, nor did she deserved to. In the end, Arianne was just a child she had abandoned for so many years. The relationship they had could never be compared to the one Helen had with Aery, who had been raised by
Mark rubbed his glabella to stop the headache he had. “Can you please calm down? I have not asked my men to retreat. Alejandro and I have arranged for a new batch of people to look for her, since Seaton has long but had me running around his fingertips. Do you honestly think that I haven’t already thought of everything that you have? Time is of the essence now; I’m already annoyed to no end, so please stop making it even worse. None of this would’ve happened if Aery had not caused trouble. Also, how is she young and foolish? Is she still a child? It’s no wonder that Aery turned out to be how she is today when she’s been pampered by you. It’s a good thing that Arianne was not raised by you!”When he was done, Mark walked upstairs and ordered the guards not to let Helen leave the house. Things would only become even more serious if Helen did anything foolish.They only had 10 hours left before sunrise, and these 10 hours were the most critical. Mark changed into a fresh set of clothes
Meanwhile, Alejandro, along with his men, had found the village, which was located in a rural area. There were no headlights along the way and the roads were bumpy, so the men had to continue the rest of the journey on foot instead. If Seaton was really there, the sound of their car would most definitely expose their presence.The entire village was enshrouded in darkness even under the moonlight, and there was not a single house that had its lights on; it was as though it was a haunted village. Other than the sound of the stray dogs barking, there were no other noises coming from the village, so their footsteps sounded very loud as they walked into the village.Alejandro instructed all of his men to move separately to avoid the sound of their footsteps from being accumulated together. That way, they would be able to move more discreetly. According to Alejandro’s men, Seaton had actually been to the village, but it was not known whether he was still there. However, time was running o
Based on the details given by the drunkard, it was definitely Seaton.Alejandro grew annoyed when he noticed that the drunkard would not stop mumbling, and he urged him to show the way. Alejandro was in no mood to waste his time talking to the drunkard.The drunkard noticed the gun in Alejandro’s hands and swayed even more due to fear.Both of them walked together along the narrow street, which was filled with holes. Alejandro had his guard up at all times. He realized that something was wrong after walking for a few minutes. The village was not that big, yet the drunkard seemed to be unable to remember where his house was and was going around in circles.Just as he was about to interrogate him, the drunkard suddenly slammed into a nearby house that had a rotten door and disappeared into the darkness.When Alejandro realized that the drunkard was escaping, he spat out a swear and turned the light on his phone to the maximum brightness before following the drunkard in a hurry.The
Seaton dragged Aery along as he ran. It was a race against time in order to survive. That unreliable bachelor wouldn’t be able to buy them a lot of time. He had calculated it all. However, he didn’t think that Alejandro would arrive so quickly. He had arrived before he could change to a different hideout.Aery had never suffered this kind of torture. She hadn’t slept or eaten well since her kidnapping, so she really couldn’t keep up. She began faltering before running too far and allowed Seaton to drag her along with a rope around her wrists. However, now she couldn’t run any longer and fell onto the ground. “I can’t. I can’t run anymore. If you want to run for your life, go ahead. Survival is most important now. Stop using me as a threat…”Seaton forcefully dragged her to her feet and icily snapped, “Do you honestly think I’m enjoying cutting and running like this? You’re my hostage. I can’t let them take you home unscathed; I’d be humiliated. I’m giving you two choices now—either y
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