Tiffany was like a happy child, burying her face with food and eating very quickly. By the time she was full, Arianne had only just taken a few bites. Tiffany then put down her cutlery. “I’m full already, Jackson. You should eat some yourself instead of feeding me. Not only are you like this at home, but you’re like this when we’re outside as well. Others might misunderstand and think that I’m torturing you.”Jackson slowly removed his disposable gloves and laughed as he said, “What do you mean by torture? This is entertainment, but it’s too bad that you will never get to understand the joy from this entertainment. There’ll never come a day when I need you to take care of me.”Arianne suddenly realized that Jackson was slightly dazzling in her eyes. ‘Who wouldn’t fall in love with a man like him? Not only can he manage business on the outside and cook at home, but he’s even able to pamper his wife until she is over the moon. Not only that, he’s handsome as well. Tiffany must have sav
Tiffany was laughing so hard that she almost slid from her chair. “Haha… I bet you never saw this coming. Do you feel anxious, Mark? It’s good that you’re feeling anxious. Let’s see if you still dare to make Arianne unhappy. You’ve never courted her properly in the past, but it’s not too late for you to court her all over again now. In fact, I really do want to see how you court girls. No matter how cool a man is, he still has to bow his head down in front of the woman he loves, he still has to… Like how you are now… Haha… This is so funny!”Arianne brought over some food and placed it on Mark’s plate. “All right, I know you aren’t actually angry. I was joking as well just now. How could I possibly bear to give you Smore? Come on, let’s eat.”Mark was slightly cajoled before he took up his cutleries and began to eat again, deliberately ignoring what Arianne said. Jackson saw an opportunity and butted in. “Mark, since when did you become like a sunflower? You brightened up as soon as
Jackson bobbed his chin slightly to mean “okay”.Watching Mark vanish into the distance, Tiffany could not help but grumble under her breath, “His goddamned aunt again? For Christ’s sake! Honey, you have the patience of a goddess to tolerate this bullsh*t to this extent!”Arianne flashed her a faint, slight smile. “Trust me, it’s alright this time. He always does what he promises me, and honestly? If I had no problem enduring this for so long, enduring this a little bit more is nothing.”…As soon as Mark returned to the Tremont Estate, he sprung up the stairs to where Shelly was.Henry was in the middle of wrapping the woman’s hand with bandages. He had been the one to call Mark about what happened—apparently, in a desperate bid to avoid being institutionalized, Shelly had slit her wrist when none of the retinue was watching.Although her gash had been properly addressed and was now wrapped snugly by rounds and rounds of bandage, there was still a bit of blood staining the outer
Henry whipped his eyes to Mark in the hope of an order. As the days went on, Shelly’s condition consistently nosedived. If they delayed her treatment, they might be setting themselves up for something more baleful.Mark was quiet for a beat before finally giving his verdict. “Henry, send her away right now. You have found and contacted the premier institution for this, yes? Tell them to arrange a personal nursing assistant to look after her, and that I expect only the best care and treatment for her. Finally, keep me posted with updates of her condition.”With an affirmative hum, Henry left the room and began preparing the ride.Later that day, only Henry and Brian drove Shelly to the institution, as Mark had eschewed seeing her off. He worried that he would regret his decision if he went with them, especially when his stance could not help but soften and wither whenever Shelly mentioned her past of living like a prisoner in a cage, with a look of abject terror and despair.Why did
It was at this moment that Arianne let go her hatred toward Shelly.She loved Mark so much that she could not bring herself to hate anything that was his. If Shelly could recover, Arianne decided that she would not mind living under the same roof as her like family.You cannot cling to the past if you want to live beyond it. If the past is all you care about, then you have doomed your future.She sighed. “I’ll stay here by your side, okay? Let’s have the kitchen crew make something for you. After a hearty meal, go to sleep. And throughout this period, I’ll be here with you.”Mark said nothing. In his silence, she gently withdrew her hand from his shoulder and turned toward the stairs.“Henry, please tell the kitchen crew to make some fulfilling but simple dishes for him. He hadn’t slept at all last night, so he needs all the rest he can get.”“Will he really eat it?” Henry whispered. “Were anyone else to try to talk him into it, he wouldn’t possibly have listened. Only you know h
Arianne paused for a beat before clarifying, “Actually? She isn’t your Grandaunt, because she’s really your actual Granny… Bah, never mind. You’re too young to get me even if I explained it to you. Just wait till you’re all grown up, and you’ll get to dive into all of these juicy, messy things about the world. For now… wanna go downstairs and play outside? Your favorite slide is still out there in the yard. Mommy will play with you.”Mentioning the slide instantly commanded the young boy’s attention. Living outside the Tremont Estate for so long had made him miss all of the fun doohickeys in his old home.While the boy was knocking his socks off by himself, Mary and Arianne made themselves comfortable on the outdoor lounge chairs. “Phoo, now that a certain someone isn’t here anymore,” Mary said in the middle of their causerie, “The air has never tasted sweeter!”“Mary…it’s all in the past now. Let’s not talk about it anymore, okay?” Arianne intoned helplessly. “Who knows if she’ll t
The first thing that came to Arianne’s mind was, “Why? You’re planning a wedding between you and Robin?”Sylvain smiled cryptically and danced around the answer. “Ask me no questions, mate. Just be my co-conspirator.”Arianne deliberately turned her eyes away from the magazine. “Nope, you can’t make me unless you tell me what this is for. You can’t afford to not get my opinion, right? We women know each other the best, pal, which means anything you pick for Robin might not hit her sweet spot. Am I right?”“Alright, alright! Sheesh, it’s true, okay?” Sylvain relented. “Remember how Robin asked for nothing when we married? Lately, I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve come to the conclusion that you just gotta have an actual wedding, you know? It’s the kind of thing that usually happens only once in a lifetime; quite a pity if a pretty lady never got to put on a gorgeous bridal gown at least once in her life, man. Sometimes, skipping the ceremonial trappings isn’t always the right cal
Arianne sneered quietly and turned her head away to look at the road outside. “Nowhere! I don’t wanna go anywhere at all.”Mark finally caught on. “Hmm? Is there something on your mind? You’re a little bilious, aren’t you? Did I chaff you in any way?… I didn’t, right?”Arianne might not be able to tell him what was on her mind outright, but the fact that he had to ask at all made her feel even glummer. “No, you didn’t. And I’m not ‘bilious’, okay? You think I’d dare be bilious around you? Let’s just go back to eating, shall we? I still have plenty of drafts I haven’t finished, and I need to get back there.”To her frustration, Mark did exactly as she said! He went straight back into carving his steaks with (strangely) rapt attention!Arianne was so exasperated that she almost let out a loud “urrghh!”. Was this not the same guy usually known for his acumen? Why could he not read her mind right now? Fine, then—let’s see if he could go through his life without ever mentioning restorin
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