Mark had brought with him a plethora of toys, which delighted Smore so much that he hopped in joy. Pleased, the man picked the kid in his arms and played with him for a bit, before finally admitting, “I thought the two of you would be at home, but it turns out no one was. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my key.”Arianne stepped forward in an attempt to open the door. However, fishing around her handbag for minutes had not produced her key, either, which bummed her out. “So did I. Call Mary, then. She’s probably grocery-shopping or something.”Mark did not look at all surprised. “Already did; she’s on her way back. She told me you left your key at home, too. Anyway, since you’re disinclined to eat out tonight, I figured I’d come over and have dinner at your place instead!… Hmm. You don’t seem very delighted, do you?”Delighted? How was she supposed to be “delighted”?Arianne leaned her back against the door and cast her eyes to the floor, avoiding his gaze. “There’s nothing for me
Mark, growing suspicious, shouted in the direction of the kitchen, “Ari, get over here!”Arianne pretended not to hear him, which prompted Mary to admonish, “Say something, dear. Before Mr. Tremont gets all miffed—”Arianne tossed the vegetable in her hand into a pool of water that formed in the sink. “He can be pissed off all he wants; I’m not scared! In fact, I’m the one who should be pissed! If he wanna, he can scram the hell back to the Tremont Estate and throw his tantrum there and save me from his stupid show of dominance! You might be scared of him, but I’m definitely not!”Her voice was so sonorous that Mary panicked at the thought of Mark hearing her. “Jesus H. Christ, turn down your boombox! What’s gotten into you? All I’ve been seeing is how normal Mr. Tremont has been acting—for Pete’s sake, he still buys you and Smore all these nifty knickknacks! How can something like that miff you at all? Gee, you’re crabbier and crabbier, aren’t you?”Not about to subject herself to
When dinner was ready, Mark tactfully told Smore to get his mother. With Smore taking up this quest, he was not the slightest bit worried that Arianne might not want to come out.Reality proved him right. Defenseless against Smore’s surfeit of Cute Tactics—babyish singing, dancing, all things an adorable toddler does—Arianne subsequently opened the door and came out. When her eyes met the smugness and provocative beckoning in his, she retaliated by eye-rolling in his face before filtering him out of her sight.Mary watched them wordlessly, adding no commentary about the whole situation except a tentative question, “Looks like you ain’t going nowhere later, huh? It’s pouring cats and dogs out there.”Mark nodded. “You’re right; I’m bound. It’s pouring.”Arianne was not going to believe that excuse in a million years, so she turned to the window and looked on skeptically—and realized that they were right! For some reason, a downpour had loomed over them since she-had-no-idea-when. Bu
Arianne was quick to deny. “I was not! It’s just you acting all… weird and bizarre and everything! You keep saying you’re busy, but like… what is it that you’re busy with? If it’s not anything suspicious then there’s no problem telling me what it is, right?”Mark’s eyes looked away as he chuckled lightly. “Oh, it shouldn’t warrant any suspicions, all right. But… it’s nothing I should tell you right now. Oh, look at the time! I should bathe. Let’s retire to sleep early! I’m beaten.”She watched him rise and head to the bathroom, and stole a glance at the clock hanging on the wall. It was only nine… And he was “beaten” already? He slept for long hours in the day and still could not keep himself awake—how was this even normal? Nope, this was absolutely abnormal!After his bath, Mark went straight into Arianne’s room and—proving himself clear of mendacity—plopped straight onto the bed and dozed off.Arianne was furious, yes, but at this point, all she could do was to ball her anger up
To hear a stoic, monkish man suddenly breathing words like that while they were on the bed immediately brought hot flushes to Arianne’s cheeks.The two of them were about to indulge themselves when Smore suddenly burst through the door. “Rise and shine, lazy bums! Mommy’s a lazy bum!’Arianne’s instincts took over and she shoved the man above her aside before bolting up straight to make a show of managing her messy nightwear. “Oh please, Mommy’s already awake. Up from her bed right this instant!”Smore studied the two of them with curiosity. “Mommy, Daddy, are you playing? I wanna play together!”Mark coughed to mask his embarrassment. “Well, Son, I’m afraid this is adult-only. You need to be much older to be… eligible. Regardless, let’s finish our breakfast quickly and get changed. Daddy will be bringing you for a hike.”Smore’s spirit soared the instant he heard his father promise some playtime. He skipped and hopped excitedly to Mary next—the child had forged a habit of pulling
Mark followed Smore’s line of sight until the city view leaped into his eyes. Skyscrapers, always seeming so impressive back in the city, were now no more than tiny, unremarkable blocks.“Stand at the top, and you’re at the vantage for viewing the furthest stretch of the world. Stand at somewhere flat, and everything looks tall and out of reach. If you want to see far into the world, then always strive for the top—always. You understand me?”Of course Smore did not. The deeper meaning behind his words was completely lost on the kid, whose reply was, “Ohhh, so we’re gonna climb all the way up to the peak? Because the peak is the top!”The corner of Mark’s lips twitched. Why the heck did he try to pass something only an adult would understand on to a kid who was not even three?Arianne’s laugh escaped her. “Alright, Smore, Daddy’s worn-out now. Let him take a breather, okay? You know Daddy’s tired because he had to carry you all the way up here, right? It’s very tiring.”Smore grabb
Arianne had not received a single call from Mark since then, even at the very next day. All she received at most was a midnight text telling her that he could not leave. She felt as though he stood her up.She went to work, and immediately spotted Sylvain languidly sipping his morning tea in the office. Immediately, she asked, “When is the wedding between you and Robin?”Hot tea choked Sylvain on cue, leaving him sputtering for a good while before finally regaining composure.“Gah? Right, our wedding. We’re… still in the middle of planning it. Yeah, stuff like this is always best taken slow, right? So we’re getting ready for everything. Plus, I’ve only got the time to work on that bridal gown design after work,” he fibbed. “I’ve decided to take up your brilliant suggestion and design it myself. Whew, it’s quite exhausting to do things yourself, though!”His reaction was a little off, but Arianne had no time to dwell on it. Instead, she took her seat and asked, “Have you seen Mark s
The phone call got disconnected before Arianne could even say anything. ‘What the h*ll, Mark! Couldn’t you have informed me earlier that you were taking Smore along? You ended up just taking him away with you directly. However, that’s fine. If Smore’s under Mark’s watchful eyes, he’ll be back home earlier since Mark has never been the type of person to stay in a public area and be courteous to others with a smile. It’s too stressful for him.’When she arrived downstairs, Brian got out of the car to help her open the car door for her. He even lifted the hem of Arianne’s skirt.After she was properly seated in the car, she lifted her eyes and smiled at Brian. “Thank you.”Brian was startled for a moment before he quickly averted his gaze from Arianne’s face. “It’s part of my duty.”Arianne thought that Brian’s reaction was a little strange. “What’s the matter? Is my makeup not done properly?”Brian had a serious expression on his face as he said, “No, you look good. We’re going to d