Before Mark even opened his mouth, Sylvain took the initiative to mention the case and said, “Mr. Tremont, I can swear that I wasn’t involved in Arianne’s designs being plagiarised. Although I did see her sketch, there were many areas in her sketch that I had helped to amend. Therefore, I may not be able to claim ownership for her designs, but I am able to claim at least 10% of it, so there is no reason for me to do such a heinous act. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to continue developing my career in Tremont Enterprise because there’s no better place to be working at other than Tremont Enterprise, so I would never do anything that would be detrimental to myself. Also, I’m not sure if Arianne has told you or not, but there is one other person who has actually seen her sketch other than me… That person has also seen her sketch right before my own eyes.”Mark nodded his head. “I wasn't actually suspecting you in the first place. I merely wanted to understand more about the ca
Mark walked towards Shelly and sat down on the rattan chair. “I’ve got some things to ask you.” Shelly closed the book that she was reading and looked at him with a serious expression. “What’s the matter? Ask away.”He stared at her eyes and slowly formed the words as he asked, “Have you looked at Arianne’s designs?”Shelly was momentarily startled. “When have I… Oh! I remember now. Are you referring to that day in the office? I may have seen it when I went there to look for her for a discussion, but she wasn’t around, so I sat in her seat and chatted for a while with that young man named Sylvain. I did pick up the stuff she had at her desk and looked through them for a short moment. I would’ve forgotten if you hadn’t brought it up. I believe there were some designs. Is this very important? I thought that it wasn’t anything important since… she left it lying around on her desk. Wasn’t Sylvain there as well? I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong, have I?”Mark let out a deep sigh
Regardless, Arianne would be the only person who would be on the receiving end of trouble. If Arianne got charged for plagiarism, there was definitely no way for her to continue working in the industry.Within just a few days, news about the plagiarism case had spread like wildfire, causing Arianne to inevitably become the center of attention amongst her colleague’s gossip and get criticized. As Mark sent her home, he suggested, “Why don’t you take some time off and rest? Let’s wait until I resolve the matter first.”Arianne frowned as she stared at him. “What are you trying to say? If I were to stay at home and hide away from the word, that would just be further proof for others to think that I’m guilty. I refuse to be suspended from work when I have nothing to be ashamed of. I’ve done some research and found that the person who is suing me is currently abroad, so I’ll look for him when he has returned.”Mark helplessly sighed. “I’m just afraid that you’d be emotionally affected by
She looked at him in disdain. “Isn’t that what you want? When have you not wanted to do it when you come in here? Men are all animals who use the lower half of their bodies to think. I can understand that, so stop bullsh*tting.”Would Mark still be able to do it when Arianne had already made such an insulting remark? Instead, he gritted his teeth and wrapped her up tightly in her blanket. “I’ll do it if you’re willing to. Otherwise, forget it. I won’t force you. I have my needs, but I can suppress them, understand? Alright, get some sleep. I’ll accompany you for a while before I leave. Tomorrow… It’d still be better if you don’t go to work. I’ll come and look for you after I’ve had a discussion with the designer, so please be good and stay at home for the next two days. Just treat it as a vacation.”Arianne struggled as she took both her hands out of the blanket to twist Mark’s ears for still being adamant on that matter. “I told you, I refuse to be suspended! Forget about being crit
Arianne refused to comment on his statement. “You’ve always been boring, so it’s only natural for me to become boring after living together for so long. It’s probably because you still love me that our divorce hasn’t had that great of an effect on me, unless… Apart from our divorce, nothing else has changed, has it?”Mark’s tone became melancholic at the mention of the topic as he said, “That’s right, get some sleep. Good night.”After that, Arianne still refused to heed Mark’s advice and went back to work in the office as though nothing had happened. Three days later, the designer that was suing Arianne returned to the country, so Mark personally requested for a meeting. Obviously, the venue of the meeting would not be at Tremont Enterprise, since that would be obviously telling others that his company felt guilty and would like to request for a settlement, wouldn’t it?Therefore, the meeting place was fixed at Jackson’s White Water Bay Cafe. Mark had specifically chosen to condu
James was a little shocked by Mark’s sudden intimidating demeanor, and his anger dropped by half; he did not even dare to keep his chin raised anymore. “About that… It’d have to depend on your sincerity. You’re the CEO of Tremont Enterprise, so how would you like to settle this? Furthermore, it’s your ex-wife that’s plagiarised my work, not the other way around. I was wondering whether your ex-wife had accidentally seen my design, as I published it first, and ended up plagiarising my work. Most importantly, I have never had the chance to interact with her, nor could I possibly have been able to plagiarise her designs. Therefore, based on all the evidence, I’m the one who’s the victim here.”This was exactly why Mark was in a dilemma. No matter what angle he tried to use to look at the situation, James had no chance of plagiarising Arianne, and it was instead Arianne who could have plagiarised his work after he had already published it. Mark took a deep breath before he said, “How much
Mark was so furious that he was about to explode. “Stop! Calm down and listen to me. Yes, I’ve paid him some money, but that’s the only method we have to resolve this at the moment. It doesn’t matter who plagiarised who, what we need to do now is clear our names first, then we can slowly investigate the matter. The only lead we have to crack this case is with James, yet he denies that he’s the one who’s plagiarised your work. Furthermore, we haven’t got any evidence to use against him, so what are we supposed to do other than neutralize the situation for now? I know what I’m doing and I have a plan to resolve this, so don’t cause me anymore trouble and get back to work please.”Arianne wanted to say something but stopped. She did not approve of Mark’s method of resolving the matter through money. There was literally zero difference between hers and James’ designs, so it was confirmed that James had indeed plagiarised her work. ‘How did he plagiarise my design? Based on Mark’s attitude
Mark could not bear to hear any further. “Fine, we’ll leave it at that. I haven’t got any appetite, so you go ahead and eat by yourself. I’ll be heading out now.”Shelly hurriedly asked, “Will you be back tonight?”Mark paused for a moment. “I’m busy, so I won’t be back tonight.”As she watched Mark walking away without even looking back, Shelly’s shoulders dropped. She had also lost her appetite, despite having a sumptuous meal laid out in front of her.The atmosphere within the entire Tremont Estate seemed gloomy. Even the maids remained hidden and would only show up when Shelly called for them, as though she was the cause of everything bad that was happening. The loneliness that Shelly felt was similar to how she used to feel in the past when she was overseas. During that time, she would always be alone… Alone as time passed. Every day was a struggle for her, so much so that she did not even have anyone to talk to.…When Smore heard someone knocking on the door, he immediatel