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
Arianne was subsequently subjected to a very harsh jeremiad, but she dared not offer any rebuttal. Tiffany was right; while her friend never kept secrets from her, Arianne could not say the same about its inverse.After work, Arianne hitched Jackson’s car for the ride with Tiffany to go to White Water Bay Villa. Mark could only glare at her with daggers in his eyes—a look she feigned not to see. They were divorced, so what could he do about this?As soon as they arrived at White Water Bay Villa, Mark followed Jackson into the kitchen, the two immediately chatting about god-knows-what.Meanwhile, Tiffany began her thorough, no-holds-barred inquisition. She unleashed a volley of questions regardless of how tactful they were until she pried every single piece of the puzzle from Arianne’s mouth.When the full knowledge was finally unveiled, Tiffany held her child as she seethed at the injustice her friend had suffered. “Frickin’ Tremonts! They owe you so much, and yet they have the gal
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