Arianne’s tone was as cold as steel. “‘Senior’? You mean the senior of the Tremont family, which by the way, I’m no longer a member of? What’s that got to do with me?” she sneered. “I had respected you and bent over backward for you on so many, many occasions back then that, now, if you’re trying to guilt-trip me on an imaginary inadequacy, you can call that off already. It’s not gonna work. Besides, if we’re tracking records, then you were the one who never cared for me at all, weren’t you? But, of course, we’re not in-laws anymore, so you should probably drop the whole ‘respect your elder!’ angle while we’re in a professional setting. Remember, this is a company gathering—it isn’t a private tea between you and me to air grievances. Let’s have some class, shall we, Mrs. Leigh?”Arianne was practically expelling breaths when she enunciated “Mrs. Leigh” for emphasis. Shelly had no interest in preserving Arianne’s dignity and reputation, so Arianne had no obligation to hold back punches
Arianne could not care less about what others thought, especially since she hardly interacted with her colleagues at work. The only two people whom she ever forged a friendly rapport with were Sylvain and Robin.Robin was the kind who could brook no bad talks made behind the subject’s back. Hearing unkind gossip about Arianne being made in her vicinity had spurred her into a few arguments with her coworkers in the department. Every time she recounted the content of the gossip in righteous indignation to Arianne, the latter would always flash her a slight smile. “It’s fine, just let them talk till their mouths fall off. I don’t care,” she said. “You should stop arguing with them, too. We can’t control what others think, and I’m really fine.”On a rainy weekend night, Arianne was awoken by the sound of her phone ringing incessantly. A casual glance at the screen revealed the caller as Mark, but she hesitated to answer.Ever since the fiasco of a lunch, Arianne and Mark’s relationship
Arianne’s thoughts were about to meander when suddenly, her phone beeped. A text.Spam messages did not usually make rounds at midnight, so with a frown, she unlocked her phone and peeked at the message sent from an unknown number.‘I know Mark’s with you again. He threw a big fit at me before running away. Oh, but don’t get cocky, deary; he only thinks of you when he’s in the dumps. That’s literally all this is. FYI, a man can have multiple women in his life, but he only has one mother.’Shelly-Ann Leigh. Arianne had blacklisted that woman’s number last time, and now she had returned with a new one to torment her. Arianne was not in the mood to respond, so she simply blacklisted the new number again.At the very least, Mark ended up on her bed. No matter how low in the dumps he was, he would never seek solace in the arms of any other woman.That, alone, was enough of an assurance.The next morning, Mark felt headaches assaulting him. In the midst of grogginess, he felt someone p
She yearned for a beautiful wedding with him. And then an exciting, fulfilling future. Right now, in a flight of her imagination, she could already see him in her mind’s eye, slipping their wedding ring through her finger in a church…Despite that, she smiled and feigned casualness in her tone. “What are you saying? Your foster mom went ahead with an outrageous and earth-shattering plan just for you, Mark. I know my dad was a victim of it and I probably shouldn’t even be saying these things, but… I don’t think you did wrong. No, seriously, I don’t. Don’t ever think I’m suffering some sort of wrong or whatever because of what’s happening right now, because frankly, I think you suffered way more than I did. As long as you’re okay with this, I’m okay, got it? This whole remarriage-wedding thing… It’s definitely not something you can just pull off. You know Shelly’s not gonna let us remarry, let alone allow a grand wedding between the two of us—so don’t. Don’t be reckless.”The convictio
Jackson had the same thought. “I’m thinking the same. I’ve been watching this space for a while now; just couldn’t plan anything with it because my company’s a bit short on funds lately. If you’re serious about this, though, may I propose a cooperation?”Capitalists always see business in anywhere they go—even during an outdoor picnic. These two were, in particular, pretty far-gone in this regard.Suddenly, on a decidedly bad timing, Mark’s phone rang.Traumatized by Shelly’s relentless, obsessive pursuits these days, Mark had become very allergic to phone calls in general. He dithered for a bit before finally fishing the phone out. Seeing that it was from the office instead, his grimace eased a little. “Yes?”No one could hear what was being said from the other side, but Mark’s face slowly crunched back into a slight scowl. He did not even say a word more before hanging it up, claiming, “I have an emergency at work requiring my immediate attention. You guys go ahead and enjoy your
Arianne did not keep him. “Be careful while driving.”“Huh? Oh, right. Yes, I will,” Mark fumbled in his reply, his mind still preoccupied with the plagiarism scandal. “You should head into the house now. Smore, say bye bye to Daddy.”An entire day of hijinks had taken most of the young boy’s energy out of his system. Now, he languidly hung from Arianne’s shoulder and waved half-heartedly, not having even enough strength to say goodbye.By the time Mark returned to the Tremont Estate, Shelly had already gone back to sleep. Curiously, she did not stay up to wait for him like she usually did.It was such a novel behavior for Shelly, but Mark ultimately judged it as a good thing. At the very least, he was clear from yet another fight with her for the night.The next day, as soon as Arianne stepped into the company, Robin pulled her into an empty corner in the building. “Trouble’s ahead, Arianne! Someone sued you for plagiarizing their work, and somehow this news has spread throughout
Arianne slumped against her desk in low morale. “How am I supposed to present my case? If it’s true, then my name is cleared. But what if we can’t get that substantial incriminating evidence that Shelly did it, hmm? It’ll become slander, and then what will Mark think of me? We’re divorced, man. Our relationship is a bit testy now; it’s just not as stable as it used to be. Honestly? I don’t dare stake the shaky remains of our current relationship for this,” she murmured. “Besides… I trust his capabilities. I’m sure he’ll uncover the truth through his investigation. And it’s gonna be a lot better if he finds out on his own rather than hear it from me, right?… God, if the suspect were literally anyone else in the world, I’d rat them out without batting an eyelash. But it’s frickin’ Shelly-Ann Leigh! I can’t afford to be rash and reckless here, and you know why, Sylvain. Guess I’ll just have to… endure this for now.”A change came into the gaze Sylvain fixed on Arianne. “Huh. Gotta admit,
He shot her a glance. “Don’t open the door for me if you don’t want to see me. Weren’t you happy every time you saw me? When have I ever brought my own keys?”Arianne choked as no words came out of her mouth because Mark’s words seemed to be true; he did not have his own key and it would be Arianne who opened the door for him everytime. Mark had actually clearly remembered that detail.When they arrived at Tremont Estate, Shelly was nowhere to be seen even after Mark had looked around everywhere.Henry only said that he did not see her even when Mark asked him. Henry would usually be hiding somewhere far away from Shelly since she normally wouldn’t look for him, so how could he possibly pay attention to her whereabouts?After waiting for more than an hour, Shelly finally returned home after having driven out on her own. Her leg was mostly healed and would even be able to walk without relying on her crutches, provided that she did not move around constantly.Mark purposely waited f