After that outburst, Arianne took a step forward and pushed open the window. “Go, smoke as much as you like. We’re in a hurry to die anyway, aren’t we?!”Mark stole a sidelong glance at her and stopped the half-burnt cigarette. Those were words of concern and care, yet she had to mask it with thorns and stings. They were not separated because they no longer loved each other; they still very much did and were actually forced to be separated for a while.After she finished packing up her things, Arianne laid on the bed, ready to sleep. She knew that Mark would never allow her to have Smore live in a hotel, but she also could not possibly leave the child here while she stayed in one, either. In other words, she must stay in the Tremont Estate. But she could stop sleeping with Mark in the same room after their divorce was officiated tomorrow by moving into the guest room.The one thing that bothered Arianne the most was how likely it was for Mark to deliberately drag on the process of g
Was he flirting with her? Did not matter; Arianne’s cheeks were already burning even though it was supposed to be a somber event. It was hard to remain sad when Mark suddenly showed off how slick and buttery he could be. Mark personally drove both himself and Arianne to the civil affairs office that day. In other words, he was trying to minimize the number of people who might catch the news of the pair’s divorce. The car quickly arrived at their destination, yet both the driver and the passenger remained silently seated for a long while with their gazes linked. Finally, Arianne broke the spell by glancing at the time and noticing that they were about to be late to work. “Can you just start checking if you’ve brought all of your necessary documents already?” she piped up. “No need. I forgot to bring all of them,” Mark answered, unmoving. “Stop joking around and take this seriously,” she chided helplessly. “Look, let’s just go. We don’t have that much time to waste. We still ha
Arianne’s apparent laid-backness failed to infect Sylvain. He was still stunned, utterly bemused, with his face wrought with disbelief. At the very least, though, he did glance around furtively like a thief before whispering, “This can’t be legit, right? …Is this for real?”Arianne tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Why would anyone lie about a thing like this? It’s no biggie; the only thing that is permanent is impermanence, and that extends to relationships. It’s a fact of life, amirite? The wise know better than to cling.”A look of guilt and conflict crossed Sylvain’s pate. “It isn’t because of that time when I asked for advance payment, is it? You authorizing an advance didn’t leave this bad taste in Mr. Tremont’s mouth enough to hold it against you… right? Or did you actually approve my request without his permission?”Arianne rolled her eyes. “Why do you even think that’s possible? Were he to disapprove it, I wouldn't have gone against his explicit order either! J
Arianne shook her head. “C’mon, guys! I’m not down in the dumps or anything; you guys are just seeing things that aren’t there. Besides, I gotta go home after dinner. Smore only sleeps after seeing me home.”Sylvain and Robin sent Arianne back to the Tremont Estate. By then, the time had come close to 10 PM.Arianne patted her cheeks that were slightly burning from alcohol. She was not tipsy, but she still knew that she had drunk a little too much—at least two-third of the entire bottle was in her belly now.She stepped through the estate’s gate and crossed the courtyard. It was then that she suddenly heard Mark’s voice ringing out of a dark, gloomy corner shrouded in shadows. “Where have you been?”Arianne halted her footsteps. She followed the direction of the voice until she found Mark on a patio chair with his eyes trained onto her. Despite being outside, he was wearing his white indoor sweater; one had to wonder if he even felt cold sitting in this weather.Liquid courage pro
Bitter yearning filled Mark’s eyes before he suddenly lunged onto her, flipping her body so that she would face up toward him. He loomed over her, his hands pinning Arianne’s struggling hands to her sides.“If you don’t go to my room, I’ll… I’ll undo you right here, right now,” he hissed.Arianne could not believe the words that came out of his mouth, and it showed in the way she widened her eyes in disbelief. It was only when Mark’s hand slithered beneath her skirt that she reeled back from shock and cried, “Are you crazy?! Didn’t we make it clear that you can’t touch me after we’re divorced?”His handsomely-arched brow cocked up. “Hmm, curious. Whoever told you that? I’m afraid that this being the Tremont Estate—and not the Tremont Tower—means that I can do whatever I want here… unruled by the agreement.”Arianne attempted to struggle out of his hold, and he retaliated by burying his head into her neck. It was such an unexpected jolt that she had to admit defeat. “F-Fine, I yield
Arianne bristled. “If you’re gonna behave like a dang animal again tonight, you… you’re officially a horndog!”Mark was about to leave the bathroom when he stopped, turned around, and shot her a smug smirk. “Woof.”That jerk! Why was it that even when he was imitating a dog, that woof leaving his lips just… hit differently? The way he said it with his irritatingly mesmerizing, dulcet voice, coupled with that perfect face, it was just….!After finishing her preparation for work, Arianne descended the stairs and immediately caught a fleeting but familiar silhouette in her line of vision. Her expression instinctively darkened.It was Shelly-Ann Leigh.“Mark, dear! I was buying some groceries around this neck of the woods earlier this morning and thought I should come by and say hi to little Smore. Good thing you haven’t left, too, ‘cause I got you some breakfast!” she greeted cheerily, filtering Arianne out completely as she approached Mark.Mark shot Mary a look. The housekeeper un
Henry stepped forward and told Shelly, “Mrs. Leigh, let me escort you out.”Shelly snapped rancidly, “Mrs. Leigh?! Excuse you, it’s ‘Madam’ to you from now on!”Henry feigned deafness. The difference between calling her Mrs. Leigh or Madam was so huge that it was not something a butler should take lightly.The journey to the company was a silent one for both Arianne and Mark. Whatever good mood they had felt before on that day had now been completely whittled away by Shelly. Now, everyone felt terrible.In silence, they reached the car park. Arianne glanced at the time and knew that she was almost late to work. Hurriedly, she got out of the car and started toward the elevator.Mark’s footsteps, just as hasty as hers, clambered behind her. Then, when the distance was close enough, he grabbed her wrist. “Ari, I didn’t know she would come, okay? Please… don’t be mad at me.”She gawked at him in bemusement. “Who told you I was mad? In fact, I was feeling pretty, well, allayed by your
Tiffany grinned. “Where else could we go other than White Water Bay Villa? Jackson’s the chef on duty, ‘cause he’s wary of the food that goes into my stomach now that I’m pregnant. Seriously, the only place out there with his seal of approval is White Water Bay Café—the place he frickin’ owns! I was like, ‘Aren’t these two just same difference?’ So, I decided to just throw the dinner party at home, since he’s so willing to break his back to cook for the four of us.”Arianne clasped the bracelet around her wrist in front of Tiffany. “Alright. I’ll go there as soon as work is over.”Tiffany yanked a chair from god-knows-whose desk and sat right in front of her. “Oh, I’m just gonna wait till your work’s over right here, then, since there’s only very little time left. Speaking of which… I just saw this gorgeous bridal gown collection somewhere online the other day and the style was just—chef’s kiss! You and Mark never had actual wedding photos, right? Are you sure you don’t wanna tick of