Now, who would say no to a vacation? Arianne immediately waved her phone before chirping, “Well, then! Lemme ask for a half-day break from my Fearless Leader. Relax, I’ll have it settled in one late afternoon. Anything that’s gotta sway things to your favor, I’ll say ‘em. Remember to treat me to a good hearty meal for this!”...After her lunch with Mark, Arianne headed straight to the Smith Estate.Melanie was tidying Alejandro’s clothes in the bedroom. Every shirt and suit she had touched was spotless and mint as though it were bought yesterday, stacked in the most orderly row one could imagine. Each of them had a scent, too; a faint, but distinct fragrance resembling Melanie herself—refined, prim, fetching, and a little bit mulish deep inside.“All this is your handiwork?” Arianne exclaimed in shock. Ever since things were official between Mark and her, Arianne had never deigned herself to any of these chores. With her mind always trained toward developing her career, domestic c
Melanie drew a deep breath. “Well, then, Arianne. Do you actually believe that all a man needs to do to make a woman stay is to gift her a car, some fancy jewellery, some chic designer bags, what-have-you? Is that all what love amounts to? Oh, no… No. Men do that so that you’d wanna stay with them. Once you’ve gotten all pleased and charmed by their bait, he’ll revert to how he’s always been. Why? Because you’re just an objective, and he’s achieved it. Why even waste energy coddling you now? …Don’t you see? There’s not a scintilla of genuine affection in it.“I can tell, you know, if he loves me or not. I’m not seduced by all these materialistic trappings. I only ever wanted him, as a human being—be it Alejandro or Ethan. And yet, it doesn’t matter who he is; he simply isn’t mine. You don’t know the half of all those days and nights I’ve spent since I was bound to him by marriage, do you? I have had suitors—throngs of them, and I’ve never needed to lower myself to such submission, nev
Alejandro stared at the ticking clock hands on the wall, his exasperation growing. By dinnertime, he would have to go home and have that dreadful conversation with Melanie, and he hated it. He hated needing to go home.Still, he could not stall this any longer. Both of their patience was thinning.He fought against what was to come until the last minute before giving up and reluctantly driving home.The confrontation was just a matter of time.Like always, Melanie had finished preparing dinner. When she heard the sound of Alejandro’s car steering into the estate, her heart sank, slowly but surely, into her stomach. He was not late today.Melissa leaped from her baby chair and sprung toward the door, shouting excitedly for her father.Alejandro would never let his daughter’s need for embrace go unanswered. He crouched to her level and lifted the girl into his arm. “Have you been good at home today? Did you make your Mommy mad?”Melissa pecked on his cheek. “Noooo! Millie is a goo
“Have you really thought this through?” Alejandro asked suddenly.“Yes. I hope that we can live our separate lives from now on,” Melanie replied placidly. “I’ve been thinking… when my single life is finally back on track, I wanna come back and take Millie away, okay? She’s all I have. Everything else I can let go, but not Millie. She… She is my life.”The air was gelled by deafening silence. A few moments later, Alejandro looked up at the nightly dome above and drew in a deep breath.“It’s true that I’ve taken too much from you. I agree with your proposal, but on one condition: we don’t divorce right away… Because I want to try again. Do it from the start once more, I don’t care; just let me try again. A hundred days is all I’m asking, okay? If I don’t succeed in changing your mind—if you’re still dead-set on your decision—then I’ll agree to your conditions. All of them. I’ll sign the divorce agreement with not a moment to lose. We’ve been together despite the odds for so long… What
Melanie had not enjoyed such a restful sleep for such a long, long time. She hit the sack early and woke up only after the morning broke.By the time she was up, Alejandro had already gone to his office. Melissa had woken up, too, all dressed up tidily before fashioning her hair into a two twirly pigtails. The good little girl was playing by herself in the living room.The nanny told her that Alejandro had been accompanying Melissa in the nursery room for the entire night and, as a result, the little girl had not thrown a crying fit. Then, it was Alejandro who dressed Melissa up and tied her hair; he stayed long enough to keep his daughter company for breakfast.He had not woken Melanie up because he saw her sleeping too soundly.Melanie’s mind could not help but veer off into imagining him—wearing a Very Serious Face, to boot—tying Melissa’s hair. Oh… What a horrifyingly jarring scene!Melanie had a simple breakfast before departing to the West family residence with Melissa in to
Melissa was a timid child, so her instinct compelled her to slap away Lil’ P’s hand before diving even harder into Melanie’s embrace.“Millie… What’s the matter?” Melanie intoned helplessly. “This is Lil’ P. Go on, Big Brother Lil’ P has a lot of stuff to show you for playtime. Why are you such a scaredy-cat?”The frightened Melissa continued to balk silently at Lil’ P, her expression betraying reluctance.Lil’ P was not the type to give up so soon. Quickly, he pulled out every single delicacy, snack, and toy he had been hoarding in secret. “Ooh, look! Do you want to play? I’ll let you have all these tasty snacks!”That succeeded in seducing Melissa for quite a bit. She briskly turned to Melanie with eyes inquiring for her opinion. Melanie placed her on the floor. “Go on. Have fun with Lil’ P.”At first, Melissa was still too timid to indulge, but it did not take a long time before she became accustomed enough that her inner predilection for rough and tumble play surfaced. Suddenl
Summer leveled a meek glare at him. “Do you mind? We’re eating here!”Melanie mulled over her decision for a while before choosing, “Um, Mr. And Mrs. West? Regarding Tiffany’s incident, I… I, once again, want to make it clear that I’m very sorry for the horrid transgression my brother had done—”Summer waved dismissively. “Bah, it’s all in the past, child. What’s the point of bringing this up? As long as our little Tiffie and her kid—bless them—came out okay, we’re fine. Honestly, if it weren’t for you, Tiffie might not even have had the fortune to be here having this meal with us! If an apology is what we demand, it ain’t yours that should be offered, you dig?” she replied. “We aren’t unreasonable people, Melanie. We can tell gold from dirt. You might be a Lark, but you’re definitely not cut out from the same cloth as those jerks. “I do lament this small, upsetting thing, though: my sweet little granddaughter suffered from a serious case of perinatal asphyxia, dooming her cognitiv
Melanie eschewed heading home straight away after her visit to the West Family residence. Instead, with Melissa in tow, she went on a grocery-shopping spree with her mind already drawing up everything the house was lacking.The duo came out of the supermarket soon after. Melissa was suddenly struck by the jejune need for her mother to carry her, but Melanie’s hands were completely full of groceries by then. “Millie, come now, be a good girl. How about we have a little walk to our car first? Once we’re there, Mommy can put this stuff down and then carry you in her arms, okie? The car’s in the supermarket’s basement; it’s not toooo far, is it? Come on, let’s be a good girl.”Melissa refused to be reasoned. She fell onto her butt and sat on the floor before weeping to herself. She was not known to bawl loudly, so her antics did not attract much attention from disinterested passerbys.Still, Melanie was a little hard-pressed as to what to do. A situation like this was dime a dozen to ev