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
Mrs. Cox was the first to recover from the nasty shock. With a practiced smile, she approached Ursula and invited, “Ah, Sylvain’s mother! The wedding’s just started—your timing is impeccable. Let us sit together.”Before Mrs. Cox’s extended hand could touch Ursula, the latter slapped it away curtly. With the air of superiority she had summoned, Ursula declared, “Don’t touch me! I’m way too ‘inferior’ to your esteemed family, innit? If you people really gave a sh*t about your in-law, then you wouldn’t have started the wedding before I’m here, would you? Miss me with that disgusting, fake-a** nicey-nice act, if you be sooooo kind!”Ursula was loud and shrill. Almost everyone heard her, and already the first batch of susurrus joined the room.Mrs. Cox, at her core, was a thin-skinned woman who valued her face; it was the biggest impetus behind her fiery antagonism against Sylvain and Robin’s relationship, after all. To be denigrated in public like this, right now, made her lose her fac
How could any of them recover from this imbroglio?Was there any way to mend what had been broken?How on earth would she be able to make her parents forget the sheer obloquy that had marred their image today? Her mother, especially—her thin-skinned mother, who cared about her face more than anything, who then suffered scathing humiliation right on her daughter’s wedding day.The light at the end of the tunnel—the light she had yearned for so much—was once again painfully out of her reach for God-knows-how-long.Her parents would force her. They would force her to part with him, to never enter the Trudeau household again.Her head would not stop imagining it—a million ways her parents could coerce and force and demand that she leave Sylvain. Then, on the far side of these agonizing thoughts, was Ursula Siebeech-Jaark, wearing the same twisted grimace she made whenever she saw her, the one that oozed utter contempt. It was an expression that had now extended even to her parents.S
Arianne was suddenly on alert. “What are you planning to do? Now that the milk is already spilled, we should clear up this mess first. Robin has already left—are you planning to let her look at your current state? I can understand what you’re going through; I’m also very confused at the moment. That’s why you should go back home, recollect your thoughts, and help Robin do a good job for her dad’s funeral. You're the Coxs’ son-in-law and also the only man in the family now, so you’ll have to do all of this yourself; their relatives will only be able to show up and not be of much use. As for the issue between you and your mom… Let’s talk about that after this is done. You should focus on driving safe, while I go to your house to see if there was any foul play involved. I’m positive that if this is all there was to it, Robin would not have died.”Although Sylvain did intend to end his own life, it was a good thing that he hadn’t actually done it and arrived home safely. Sylvain’s house
When the doctor told them the truth about the pills, both Arianne and Sylvain were shocked. ‘Those are actually antidepressants?! Robin had been fighting against depression, but no one even found out about it while she silently took her medications!’Sylvain’s hand trembled as he held the bottle. “I’m such an idiot… Why didn’t I know that she was sick…?”‘Was our relationship so straining on her that she’d been suffering from depression? If I hadn’t insisted on being with her, insisted on receiving blessings for a marriage that would never end well, and had instead given up much, much sooner, would things be different? It’s all because of me! I kept on pursuing her and now I’ve ended up becoming the reason for her death!’After leaving the hospital, Arianne had no idea what she should say at that point. ‘It all makes sense now. Robin jumped off the steeple because she was depressed.’Sylvain remained silent the entire journey, his thoughts unknown. Although Arianne felt really bad,