Arianne pressed her lips together without saying anything. Fatigued, she gradually fell asleep.Not hearing a reply from her, Mary sighed and tucked her in.Almost as if he wanted to see her make a fool out of herself, Mark came home punctually each day after work and stayed in the living room longer than he usually would.In order to avoid seeing him, Arianne mostly stayed away from the living room and only worked in the kitchen and backyard. She would only clean the living room after he went upstairs. It felt nice to stay in each other’s lane without interference.…At the same time, Tiffany was rummaging through her room in her rented home anxiously. “Mom! Did you see my bankcard?”Lillian did not pay attention to her, as she was having snacks in the living room. “No… Find it on your own. You think I’m a thief?”Tiffany turned the whole house over, but she still did not see her bankcard. No one had come to visit them either. Other than Lillian, she had no other guesses. “Mom, be hon
Arianne looked at the rain through the kitchen’s glass. She could empathize with Tiffany. They were both driven to the end of their ropes…“Tiffie, where are you? I’ll come look for you now,” Arianne said as she left her chores and headed out with an umbrella.“I’m at the convenience store downstairs of my house. I came out with just my phone. I don’t even have a jacket on. It’s freezing… I don’t want to go back and see my mom. I can’t stand the sight of her face right now.” Tiffany’s voice was laced with a sob. Arianne, who had gone to the door, turned back promptly when she heard that Tiffany had no jacket on. “Okay. I’ll bring you some clothes. Stay there and wait for me. Don’t move!”Right as she said that, Arianne slipped and fell on the floor when she was going up the staircase. Her lower abdomen hit the step and her umbrella fell to one side.Despite the pain, she picked herself up, grabbed a jacket, and rushed out. The gale was strong, and it was raining cats and dogs. The low
“Ari, why are you bleeding?”Arianne followed Tiffany’s gaze downward, but her vision was already blurry and she was beginning to hear buzzing instead of voices.Vaguely aware of her surroundings, Tiffany hailed a cab and sent her to the hospital. A few medical staff appeared in front of her, looking anxious as they pushed her into the emergency ward.She was conscious, aware that she was being laid on the operation theater, but she felt no pain nor could she speak.Tiffany paced outside the emergency ward in a state of nerves. After a while, a nurse opened the door of the emergency ward and walked out. “Are you the patient’s family? The patient is over fatigued after her miscarriage and is now suffering from blood loss due to trauma. She needs surgery. Please put in your signature if you’re her family!”Tiffany was stupefied. “I… I’m her friend. I’m not a family member.”The nurse said hurriedly, “Then call her family! The surgery can only be done with a signature. She can’t wait any
“What’s the situation?” Mark asked.“We’re doing our best right now. When Mrs. Tremont was sent in… she was bleeding quite badly. It must have been severe. Don’t worry, Mr. Tremont, your wife will be fine.”The nurse spoke with caution. After all, the person standing in front of her was no ordinary man.“How did this happen?” The emotions that his tone contained were too complex, causing the nurse to blanch from fright.“I… I’m not sure… Doctor’s initial diagnosis is over fatigue after miscarriage and a trauma, causing heavy blood loss… Her doctor should have advised that a good rest is needed after the miscarriage, right? Why did…”Mark sank down on the chair limply. “Save… Saver her for me… As long as she lives, anything is fine…”He had only wanted her to give in. Why would she rather torment herself to this state and insist on fighting him?Tiffany thought that it was strange. “Over fatigue? Ari did work after a few days out of the hospital, but she was in the office and her job is
Mark took the check from Brian and threw it at the men. “Fill in however much you want.”The men were afraid at first, but when Mark told them to fill in whatever they wanted, they thought that he was a cowardly employer who used money to solve his problems. Pleased with themselves, they filled the check with what they thought was an astronomical sum of money. “We’re not cheating you,” they boasted, “Aside from damage costs, there are also fees for the mental damage on our end. It’s not an exaggeration.”Mark curved his lips into a smirk. “You should put in a higher sum because there’s also… medical fees. Put that in too.”Before the men could figure out what he had meant, they were dragged away by a bodyguard.Brian draped the coat that he had brought along around Mark’s body. “Sir, your car is damaged. I’ve had someone tow it away and brought another one for you.”Mark nodded. “I don’t know how many red lights I ran past, take care of it.”Brian glanced at the emergency room. “
It was morning the second day when Arianne woke up. Before she opened her eyes, she sensed someone’s presence by her bed. Fortunately, she remembered she had been admitted into the hospital last night. She thought it was Mary who had been watching over her so she said, “Mary, call in sick for me at work. I can’t go to work for now…”When there was no reply, Arianne slowly opened her eyes. Mark’s rather haggard face greeted her eyes. His attire of choice, loungewear, and his slightly unkempt hair startled her that her heart skipped a beat. She did not what happened during the surgery that it made someone like him, who cared about his image, look like this in a public place like the hospitalMark’s thin lips parted, saying words she did not understand. “What? Are you happy now? You win.”“What are you talking about?” She was baffled. Did he go mad again and decided to pick on her?Mark did not answer her. He rose to his feet before putting on his coat and headed to the door. “Mary will c
Seeing that Arianne was keeping quiet, Mary said with a smile. “Ah, you’re still young. You’ve been staying by sir’s side since you’re a little girl. You’re just like a carefully cared for rose that hasn’t seen much of the outside world. Once you go out into the world and see enough people and men, you’ll understand this. Sir might not be the nicest to women, but he’s certainly not mean to them. I can see there’s something going on with Aery and sir, but if Aery had met with an accident, I don’t think he would’ve rushed to the hospital and stayed the night.”Arianne did not want to speak about this so she quickly changed the topic. “Mary, did you arrange for someone to take care of Rice Ball on my behalf? It was raining so heavily last night, and the wind was so strong. It must have been terrified, being left in the backyard.”Mary slapped her leg. “Aiyah, I forgot! I was so worried about you all night and didn’t get a good sleep. I had a nagging feeling that I’ve forgotten something.
With what happened to Arianne last night, Tiffany did not get a good sleep. She had been yawning frequently while she was at work. She finally persevered until the end of office hours and was about to leave when she felt an oppressive force behind her. She whipped around and saw Jason who looked a lot taller than her now that he was looming over her while she sat.“Oh, always slacking during work hours but leaving as soon as work hours end, huh? I heard the supervisor said you made a mistake with an important document today. I was even notified about it. What do you think I should do?” Jackson said with a smirk.“I… I didn’t get a good rest last night. I’ve already rectified my mistakes. It’s a great virtue being able to admit to one’s mistake and rectify it. Don’t pick on me, okay?” Tiffany did not dare to show her dissatisfaction. After all, she should apologize since she was at fault.When Jackson saw her giving in, he could not help but continue to tease her. “Didn’t I tell you tha