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
Mary shook her head. “Nope. With me watching, she’s got no chance. I’ve told Henry to let Smore play somewhere in the park, and till now, they haven’t returned yet. I’ll call Henry to come back now, but… the rest is up to the two of you now!”Mark was the first to pace into the house and saw Shelly watching TV in the living room. Seeing him return, she smiled and greeted, “Good evening, Mark dear. You’re rather late to be home today! Were you having dinner outside?”Mark furrowed his eyebrows. “You’re staying?”Shelly eyed Arianne standing behind him and answered confidently, “That’s right. I never wanted to leave you, so it’s only right and fair that I return to your side. Unless, of course, you don’t want me to come over and stay with you. The unit you bought for me isn’t a very comfortable and nice place to stay, and it’s really not friendly to women living alone. Besides, you and Arianne are divorced now! Whether I stay here or not doesn’t cost you anything anymore! In fact… now
Mark knew she was right, but did that mean his heart would listen to reason right now? No, his heart continued to believe that he was losing Arianne forever, that she was never coming back, and his body answered his heart by hugging her even more tightly without showing signs of letting go.Not knowing what to do, Arianne gave up and let him do whatever he wanted. A while later, however, they both heard a series of impatient rapping on the door to the bathroom and Smore’s voice exclaiming, “Mommy, Daddy! What are you two doing in there? Smore wants to bathe too!”Arianne quickly shoved Mark away from her and opened the door, letting Smore in. “You’ll give him his bath later, alright? I’m close to finishing mine. Oh, and you’re completely wet, Mark. Take care not to catch a cold like this.”Mark crouched to Smore’s height and looked at him carefully. “Smore, my little man, now that you’re gonna live with just Mommy… know that Daddy will continue to see you often,” he cooed gently. “D
Shelly whipped her face to Mary’s direction and glowered at her. “And who the hell are you to talk? And who made you think you could talk to me at all, huh? I might not outlive Arianne, but I know for sure I can easily live longer than you. I won’t die before you do, so maybe you should pray for your own long life instead.”Mary rolled her eyes. “I’ve lost no limbs, my legs are fine, and every year my body check-up shows that I’m normally healthy. We’ll see who gets to laugh last.”…Despite having moved every suitcases and box into her new home, Arianne decided not to go to the office with Mark today. “I’m gonna accompany Smore today,” she decided. “These things need to be unpacked and arranged—looks like I’ve got my work cut out for today. You know, I’ve been meaning to bring Mary over with me, but I haven’t gotten the time to discuss it with you. May I?”Mark caressed her cheeks gently. “Why not? I’ll have her come over by this afternoon, then, so that you have someone to tidy u
Tiffany blew up in an instant. “What the hell?! So, that’s why you’ve suddenly moved. It’s because of that godawful Karen, after all! Is Mark braindead or what? I can’t believe he’d let you move out of a place you should belong!”Arianne smiled. “Will you believe me if I say Mark’s gonna come here every single night without fail? I think it’ll be way more bizarre if he keeps going back to the estate and stares at Shelly-Ann Leigh’s face all night long.”Tiffany understood her immediately. “Aha! So it turns out nothing’s changed even after you moved out, after all. You three happy family are just changed into a new home, which is awesome, ‘cause we’re all leaving that old b*tch alone.”Smore, who was standing before the French window and looking outside, suddenly cried out in excitement, “Mommy, look, a bird!”This kid had never been to a building that was rather tall, so now, everything was so cool and exciting to him. Arianne hummed absent-mindedly at the child’s exclamation befor
Smore pointed at the window and exclaimed, “I like it here, there are so many little birds. They go cuckoo-cuckoo-cuckoo-cuckoo!”Smore was talking about the pigeons that frequented a nearby plaza. The flock sometimes took off into the air simultaneously, resulting in a magnificent, eye-catching spectacle.Mark spent his time after dinner watching TV with Smore on his lap. Arianne seized the chance to ask, “So, what time are you going back?”He turned toward her, displeasure shadowing his frown. “You want me to go already? Well, I’m not going anywhere. In fact, I’ve asked Mary to pack some of my clothes and put them here. From now on, this is where I live.”Arianne had long expected him to do that. “I’m being serious here, Mark. You gotta go back there from time to time, ya’ know. Wouldn’t want a certain someone to pick a fight with me over this.”Mark might have said something to the effect of “yes”, but it was obvious he did not mean a single word of it. Knowing that he had retr