Henry returned home shortly after. Mary took out the items that had been bought for Henry. “Henry, Ari has bought these for you. That overcoat is especially nice; I helped pick it myself. You should try it on later.”Arianne felt slightly troubled since Mary was the one who bought it instead of her. Arianne would be placed in a difficult spot if she did not bring any present for Shelly. However, even if she did, Shelly might complain and even criticize the present that had been given. Hence, Arianne thought she might as well not get her anything since she did not need to gain Shelly’s favouritism. Mary only did that to spite Shelly, but she neglected the fact that it would make it difficult for Arianne to escape the inevitable later on.Henry shot a glance at Arianne and noticed that her face had paled. He knew that he should reject the gifts if he did not want Arianne to offend Shelly. However, instead of rejecting it, he smiled happily and said, “In that case, thank you very much
Mark answered reluctantly, “What are you talking about? Can’t we talk about something else?”Arianne breathed lightly and walked to the patio with Smore in her arms. “Let’s go outside and sit for a while since the weather’s so nice today. It’s a little boring to be sitting inside at the moment.”Mark followed Arianne to the patio, which had previously been decorated according to his preferred taste. However, everything changed shortly after Arianne had left; even the roses that she loved had been replaced by another type of vegetation. Undoubtedly, the interior of the house would very soon be renovated according to Shelly’s style. Arianne suddenly felt that she would not be able to return to Tremont Estate after her recent departure. Even if she did, she would have to return as a guest such as today. The man beside her was no longer related to her legally and everything would be different once he had another woman by his side. The two of them sat opposite each other and suddenly ra
Mark glanced towards the living room and helplessly asked Henry to send off Arianne and the others.He stood where he was, going into deep thought for a long while before he walked towards the living room. “What are you trying to play at? I’ve already told you before not to make things difficult for Arianne. What would you have me do?! Did you come back just to control me? Do you think that you could make me obey your every wishes just because you have some leverage on me? I’ve had enough!”Shelly was in tears when she raised her head and looked at Mark. “Just how bad do you think I am? You think that I’m a bother, that’s fine; I’ll just walk away and not interrupt the two of you. However, here you are, still blaming me when she’s left after she was done eating. Have I done anything? Furthermore, I didn’t stop you from sending her off. She was the one who didn’t want you to do it anyway, correct? Why are you putting that on me? Since you’re already divorced, you shouldn’t be in conta
In order to not leave a good impression of himself on Saoirse, Mark deliberately wore something casual and refused to tidy himself up. It would be best if she did not have a good impression of him.When Mark went downstairs, he casually walked towards the sofa and sat down. Then, he deliberately sized up Saoirse for a moment frivolously, which made him look like a debauchee. “Did you come alone?”Saoirse blushed after being scanned by Mark with his frivolous eyes. She was too nervous to even meet his gaze, which made it obvious that her heart was fluttering. “Y-yes... I was invited over by Mrs. Leigh to visit your house after we met up over a cup of tea a few times previously. That’s why…”Not beating around the bush, Mark said, “How could she be inviting you just to visit our house when she’s clearly asking you to come here for a matchmaking session? I’ve been married once and have a son who’s over two years old, so I have no plans on having another child. Are you happy with that?”
When Shelly left to go to the patio, Mark completely lost his patience and said to Saoirse, “We won’t be developing any further. My aunt’s the one who’s been arranging all of this of her own accord.”Saoirse remained silent for a moment before she smiled intimately and said, “I know, you’ve just divorced your ex-wife recently and it’s normal for you to be unable to fully accept it for the time being. However, I’m willing to wait. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about the matter between us affecting your collaboration with my father since they’re two completely different matters. I can see that you’re in a rather foul mood today, so I won’t interrupt you any further. I’ll see you again next time.”After she said that, Saoirse got up and left. Before she left, she did not forget to bid farewell to Shelly, who was on the patio. Mark quietly sat for a few seconds before he got up and returned to his bedroom.Saoirse was definitely not as innocent and gentle as she seemed. On the
The thought of asking Mark what the actual circumstances were did cross Arianne’s mind, but she stopped herself in the end. She figured that if Mark truly did care for her, he would tell her about it himself.However, after a few days had passed, that day did not arrive. In between, aside from Mark casually asking how she was doing, there was nothing else. Initially, Arianne would still reply to him, but that all stopped after a while. Mark had no intention of coming clean… He did not even ring her.When the holidays were over and it was time for her to return to Tremont Enterprise, she was still slightly reluctant to return. What was she supposed to do if she met Mark? Was she supposed to ask him directly or keep quiet and pretend as though nothing had ever happened?Before Arianne could figure out what she should do, she bumped into Mark the moment she arrived at the company’s entrance. He walked towards her as though nothing had happened. “You don’t look well. Did you not sleep w
Mark stared at her for a moment with a slightly nervous expression on his face. “We haven’t met for a few days, yet you’re throwing a temper at me the moment we meet again?”Arianne could not stop herself from mocking him. “That’s right, weren’t you occupied with something for the past few days as well?”Mark frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”Arianne turned her head to the side so as not to look at him. “I don’t mean anything. It’s a fact that we’re already divorced. Therefore, I will not care what you choose to do, but you shouldn’t say anything about me meeting other men as well. We shouldn’t be bothered with what the other person does whatsoever. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.”Suddenly, Mark was hit with realization as something came across his mind. ‘Could she have found out that Saoirse and I met the other day?’ Mark did ask Shelly about the matter, but she merely told him with a straight face that no one else knew about it…Suddenly, Davy appeared out of
Steve had a deep, meaningful smile on his face. “I can see that you’re a sentimental person, Mr. Tremont. You’re still able to be on such good terms with your ex-wife despite being divorced and even allow her to continue working in your company. I’ve seen many divorced couples who see each other as enemies.”Mark glanced at Saoirse before changing the subject. “Let’s get straight to the point. What’s the purpose of your visit today?”Steve paused for a moment before he said, “I heard that your aunt intends to matchmake Saoirse with you. What do you think about that? Seeing how we’ve been working together for so many years now, I’m willing to leave my daughter to you with ease.”Mark’s eyes slightly darkened. “She’s merely my aunt. She’s in no position to interfere with my personal matters.”Mark’s intentions were very clear in his statement.Steve and Saoirse looked at each other for a moment, the former finding it slightly hard to maintain his composure. “Mr. Tremont, is there so
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