Summer, listening in from all the way back in the dining room, guffawed so hard she choked on her food. “Ha—uh, uh hem! Cough, cough, ptooey! Hahahahaha! Jesus Christ, Lil’ P! How old are you again? That little boombox of yours can really say the most outrageous things! If you were a few years older, your mom would have whacked you right now! C’mon, you rascal, your sister’s only gonna be ugly for now—when she grows older, she’s only gonna get better, you can bet on that! The tables might turn by then and she would be the one who doesn’t want to play with you anymore!”Tiffany thought of her daughter’s challenge in cognitive abilities and lowered her head as a sharp pang stabbed her chest. Every time Lil’ P started running his mouth and throwing all sorts of disparaging remarks at his sister, the anger that he fanned within Tiffany was genuine and real. Had Cynthia not suffered enough? Why must she still be treated with contempt?Tiffany knew Lil’ P was, at his core, just a little ki
Tiffany suddenly sat right up on her butt with her outstretched, slender fingers closing around Jackson’s collar. Her eyes were still wet with tears, but the glimmer had somehow been imbued with a new tinge of seduction. “You’re not going anyway tonight…”Jackson’s eyes darkened slightly. “Damn it. Took your bait.”Tiffany pursed. “As if I could ever create any scheme as good as yours! Really, are you not gonna take the lead?”Jackson’s heart was fluttering. The way she pitched her voice, the tone she used, and the look on her face… That woman’s seduction game was truly the pinnacle of all!…The next day in the Tremont Estate, Arianne and Mark’s return was greeted by Henry personally coming out of the door. “Welcome home, Mr. Tremont; Madam. You have a guest at home.”They halted in their steps. Neither of them expected company that day, though Mark nodded. “Mm, understood.”They strode into the living room, where Arianne instantly spied a familiar figure sitting on the couch;
Mark could not stand to watch their exchange anymore. He stood and tugged Arianne’s arm, suggesting, “All right, that’s enough. I recall Smore having some assignments from school today, and maybe you can check and see if he’s doing them. Let me handle this.”Arianne responded with a wordless, sullen sulk before turning her back from them and walking away.Her bravado took her as far as a corner, where no one else was present, before it crumbled and revealed her reddened eyes. The fact that Helen was borrowing a hefty sum from her was never what dismayed her—it was the revelation that after abandoning Arianne, Helen’s life did not improve at all. Seeing her going around, essentially begging for charity, was a sting to her heart, and she hated how that distress felt.Downstairs, Mark tried his best to comfort Helen. “It’s all right, I can assure you. I sincerely believe she doesn’t mean abuse when she said what she said. She concurred when I told her you needed monetary help. The most
At the last of his relentless rolls, Arianne finally spoke up. “Too full to fall asleep? Get up and move around, then.”For some reasons, he felt fretful. He tried to pull her into him as an antidote. “Could say the same about you. You know what’s on my mind, don’t you? I’ll be honest with you—if you ever want to see your mother, you can. Always, anytime you want. You needn’t affect nonchalance after you see her every time; I know you wanted to see her a great deal.”Hearing him mention Helen lit up her fuse, causing her to shove him away from her in frustration. “Don’t mention her! She doesn’t even wanna lay her eyes on me, so why the heck should I plead with her to look at me like some sad, pathetic thing, huh? I’m not without my dignity and pride, you know; there’s no way I would still come with puppy-dog-eyes begging for her to take me in after she abandoned me over and over again! No!”Her outburst stole Mark’s response away, leaving him speechless. Combined with the fact that
At six in the morning, a string of frenzied ringing startled Arianne out of her sleep. This was not her usual time to wake up, and she did not intend to start now. She jostled Mark, signaling him to help her get it. The man groggily obeyed and stood up from his bed, grabbing her phone and taking a glance on the caller’s name before passing it to Arianne. “Your phone; it’s Melanie. You pick it up.” Arianne placed the phone by her ear blearily. “Mmm, helloww? Melanie? Why the early call?” All the way from the other side of the phone, Melanie’s voice was dangerously light and evidently shaking, “A-Arianne… T-Teo… He… He’s been abducted… The m-media’s already on it… D-Don’t you know yet?” The fog of sleep around Arianne was immediately dispelled. “What did you just say?! W-What happened?!?!” Mark was so shocked, his plan to return to his slumber was instantly thwarted, and in response, he rolled on his back to express protest. Arianne willed herself to recover her composure bef
Arianne’s mind was upheaved into a terrible confusion.She hung the call soon and stood in the bathroom alone, desperately combing through her memory of Mark’s recent behavior to find any abnormality.Arianne would not have ever suspected Mark before Melanie stated her case. But once the woman raised her points, Arianne just could not help but follow the way the conjecture went. Yes, Arianne very much wanted to believe Mark was in the clear, but even she had to admit that he had always been capable of analogous cruelties. He had been downright apoplectic the night he found her with Mateo. And yet with the exception of beating that man on the spot as an outlet for his anger, Mark came out of the experience almost unaffected. There was no follow-up to the event; there was not even a mention on the days after. The way he had been acting was simply a far cry from his character.The Mark that Arianne knew was a man who never gave anyone or anything a pass. Anything he perceived as a th
Mark heard the pandemonium from outside and frowned slightly, but he showed no inclination to care. Arianne, however, caught Mateo’s name among the hubbub and sprang out of the elevator unthinkingly before heading to the entrance. “What’s going on?! Who’s responsible for this hoo-ha?!”Seeing her leaving the elevator, Mark hesitated for a beat before trailing behind.By the time the two of them got closer, the troublemaker—an upper-class woman whose dress reflected her standing—dropped to her knees and let out a bloodcurdling keen. “Mr. Tremont, please! Teo knows he’s messed up, please! Please, he’s my only son! Please, please, please have mercy, please let him go!”Arianne felt her heart shudder. Was this Mateo’s family? But… who told them that Mark might be connected to his abduction? How else could they be so quick to show up here, in his turf?!A storm had clouded Mark’s darkening expression. “What’s that supposed to mean? What does Mateo Rodriguez’s welfare have anything to do
The only thing Mark’s speech was able to do was to make the couple exchange glances.Who in their right mind would ever confess to a crime like this?Arianne watched the tempest in Mark’s mien slowly pooling into a hurricane. Before he lost control and erupted, Arianne shot a meaningful look at Davy, who called in security to escort Mateo’s parents away.Unfortunately, the influence of the kerfuffle to the office’s mood had taken effect. Suddenly, all the office could talk about was this strange riot; Arianne could not tune it out even if she wanted to.When it was finally lunch break, she called Melanie. “Hey, Melanie? Did you tell Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez about the thing that happened that night?”Melanie sounded completely flabbergasted. “I haven’t mentioned a thing, though? …Arianne, what happened over there? What made you ask? I admit I suspect Mark’s involvement, but before there is concrete, indisputable evidence proving it, telling people about that night is like begging for