Melanie’s uncles, after going through the worst of the guards’ retaliatory fisticuffs, were quick to succumb. Slowly but surely, only Mrs. Lark and Nikolai remained silent.Alejandro chuckled. “Oho, looks like we’ve got ourselves some tough cookies! Tough, and a sore to virtually everyone around them… You, Nikolai Lark! You’re the jacka** who pushed Tiffany down the stairs and made Melanie bear your blame, aren’t you? Meanwhile, your mommy supports everything her precious little baby does. Well, let me tell you, I consider everyone else involved in this fight today to be even—except the two of you. The rest of you may go after signing your names on the contract. But you two? You two get an extended stay… We have much to discuss.”Mrs. Lark was frightful at her core, but she was not about to admit that. “W-What are you gonna do to us, huh?! You think you’re above the law, huh, hotshot? I’m calling 911!”Alejandro remained unperturbed as he fiddled with the lighter in his hand. “911,
Mrs. Lark gradually opened her eyes. “Nik… Just let it be this time. Our luck ran out this time. Sign it and bail; I don’t ever want to see their faces again…” she breathed wispily. “Don’t ever show your faces again, Melanie, Alejandro!”Seeing his mother change her mind uneased Nikolai. “Mom, are you really going to let everything the Lark family has built up and worked on be handed to… that knave? We’ll be setting ourselves up as clowns for everyone to laugh at and mock… I can’t live like that!”Alejandro’s patience had run dry. In a fit, he walloped the contract on Nikolai’s face. “Boo-hoo-hoo, cry me a river! Find some way to cope with it, smartass, since you people brought this on yourselves. Anyway, time’s up; my time is too precious for you people to waste!”Bodyguards that had stood by immediately fanned out from behind Alejandro and surrounded Nikolai, who tripped and fell onto his bottom in terror. “What the hell are you people trying to do?! I-I-I’m warning you, d-don’t y
Melanie felt tears swarming to her nose. “Y-You’re right. Mommy has been careless… But I’ll be more careful next time,” she replied. “Millie kissed Mommy’s boo-boo, though, so I don’t feel pain anymore… Just a little tired. Can you sleep on your own later?”Melissa nodded docilely. “Okay! Millie is a big girl now! Don’t need bedtime stories. I will sleep, sure!”Melanie waited for the nanny to take Melissa away before she sank onto the rug-covered floor with her back against the bed, her eyes studying the contract. Fresh memories of the event just moments ago replayed in her mind.She exhaled a long breath. Her father and Miklan had stood up for her at the right time and came to her aid. It made her feel a little bit better. At the very least, not everyone in her family saw her as a contemptible enemy.At least, she still felt a small warmth of familial bonds from them…By the time Alejandro finished his shower, Melanie was still sitting on the floor.“Hey, hey. I told you to tid
Alejandro remembered his car and called Jett, telling him to bring it to the repairmen. However, even after he hung his call, the image of that crumpled mess in his mind’s eye made him frown.“Bah. Should just get a new car. I got sick of that one, anyway. Hey, got any car you like in mind? Let’s go take a look tomorrow,” he said. “Also, I’ve decided that this is just a scratch and I’m skipping the hospital.”A new car? Well, was this not the first time the man had ever voiced any genuine inclination to buy Melanie anything? “No, no need. I’m not going anywhere,” she said, shaking her head. “Besides, don’t we have other cars at home? Any of them is good enough. Why bother buying a new one for me?”The linchpin to her refusal, of course, was that Melanie’s mind was already set on sincerely proposing a divorce in two days’ time. Him suddenly breaking out an ostensible act of bonhomie like this would only give her pressure.Normally, Alejandro did not care much about these things—any
Jackson brought a bowl of hot soup to Tiffany’s lip. “Alright, alright. Drink this while it’s still warm quickly, please; I gotta get to my office today. Anyway, Alejandro managed to return just in time to give those Larks a piece of his mind, so everything’s even. ‘Sides, he even capitalized on them showing up at his front door to make them sign the contract right there and then, so hey, not exactly a fruitless fiasco, is it?”Tiffany looked at the soup and felt her stomach churning in retaliation. “I. Don’t. Want. It,” she declared. “I’ve been drinking the same damn soup every day! I wasn’t even this chubby-lumpy when I was pregnant, but since this confinement happened, I’ve been adding thirty pounds to myself! Thanks to this soup, I need to trim all of this fat now. So, nope! Take this away, please. Oh, oh—and don’t let your mom see you do that, thanks. I just really don’t wanna drink it anymore—the taste just makes me siiiiick!”Jackson started on, helpless. “Bae, you know my mom
Mark relaxed his guard. “Oh, that’s all? Not a problem. My hands are tied at the moment, so I’ll have Arianne go. It’s her best friend’s daughter, after all; she would be pleased to help. Besides, women have this magical way of making things look better in photos than they really are, so she might be able to take just the right picture to mollify Tiffany.”He made a lot of sense, Jackson thought as he rose from his seat and straightened his collar. “’Kay then. I’ll get Arianne’s help. Heads-up: I won’t be coming back here,” he said. “Also… I really don’t think any magic’s gonna be able to touch up the painful truth, man. I dunno, with the state my girl’s in, it’s… not gonna work.”Arianne left Tremont Tower in the late afternoon and headed to the hospital to visit the Wests’ ill-fated child on Jackson’s behalf. It was, personally, a breather; without it, she would have to remain cooped up in the office with her back hunched over her drafts, and that was not counting the possibility o
Mark narrowed his eyes into two scrutinizing spotlights that grazed her face. “Has Alejandro committed any act of infidelity? Has he committed domestic abuse? Or has he wronged her or committed any grave injustice toward her?”Arianne shook her head slowly. “No, I think? The only thing he’s done wrong is not having loved her back then…? That’s all; I don’t recall any notable conflict. Alejandro even bought her a limited edition sports car, you know—$300,000 and all! I think she finally sparked Alejandro’s affection. I mean, if animals could forge genuine, heartfelt bonds with other creatures they spend time with, then what more could we say about us humans? Melanie’s patience has carried her to this day when he finally loves her, only for her faith to crumble and give up. She’s put her foot down and made up her mind; she wouldn’t listen to me!”Mark stayed his ground. “Same suggestion: stay out of it. Alejandro is the type of wretch who remembers scores. He remembers every. Single. B
Since she did not, Arianne shook her head. “No, haven’t come across her anywhere. She should make an appearance before the wedding starts, right? Both families have gotta show up by then, no?”Robin said, haltingly, “I… don’t think she’s coming.”That took Arianne by surprise. “Why is that?”Robin’s fingers closed around the fabric of her dress tightly. “Because she’s made it blatant and clear that she doesn’t like me—no, she hates me. When Syl told her about our wedding, she said, ‘Y’all already registered yourselves as married anyway; what’s the big fat point?’ She thinks our wedding is unnecessary. She thinks my family pressured Sylvain into planning one, because we somehow want stupid material things like a house or a car or whatever fancy-schmancy things only she can cook up,” she fumed. “She told Syl all of this on the phone. He thought I was already asleep, but I heard everything. The wedding has always been Syl’s idea—not my family’s.“To be frank, Arianne, I loathe his mot