At that moment, Arianne only had one thought in her head. However, it was neither to leave Mark, nor be fearful of him. She only wanted to protect him!“Geralt… can you… not report these markings? Just turn a blind eye to this. After all… it’s just some very messy markings that somehow form an ‘M’. We will never know whether this was left here by accident or if it was deliberate. Plus, this won’t be concrete evidence to evict Mark… There are so many words that can be formed with an ‘M’, so how could you be sure that it’s directed at Mark?!”Geralt frowned. “Are you really going to… defend Mark senselessly? I’m not saying this because I’m siding with Teo, but it’s all because… you’re the woman that my best friend has fancied for so many years. I’m only advising you because of Teo. Are you really going to wait for the day you finally die in Mark’s hands?”Determination filled Arianne’s eyes. “He would never lay a hand on me, and even if he does, I won’t regret protecting him. Isn’t th
Mark’s gentle look made Arianne recall Geralt’s words. ‘Would Mark really kill me? Would he be as cruel as he is to others…’Then, Arianne unexpectedly asked, “If I were to do something you find intolerable, would you want me dead?”Mark was slightly startled before he answered. “No, if I couldn't tolerate it anymore, I’d just get a divorce. Why would I need to take your life? Get some rest, I’ll take a shower now.”‘A divorce you say…‘If it really comes to that, would he really be able to divorce so easily?’As she heard the sound of rushing water, Arianne laid in bed and raised her hand. Then, she followed the messy markings that Mateo left as she drew in the air. ‘It would really be hard to carve out the word “Mark” if a person was dying, so is that why only an “M” was left behind?’…Mateo’s body still had yet to be found, so the Rodriguezes could not wait any longer. A month later after the incident, they announced that they would conduct a funeral for him. Arianne found
En route to Mateo’s funeral, Arianne passed by the man’s Chinese restaurant.The day was still young, so naturally, the shop had not opened, and at that moment it looked rather barren. Empty, even.As empty as a place would be when its master was gone, Arianne reckoned.She put on a pair of shades and a mask once she reached her destination to avoid recognition. Although many had shown up to pay their last respect, which should make her stand out even less, Arianne still felt a little antsy and unsafe about her appearance.The ever-perceptive Melanie quickly located Arianne despite the volume of people after a careful glance. They nodded at each other in acknowledgement and had a simple exchange.And then they let silence drown them both.As below, so above. Grey overcast hung above the crowd today, with none of the sun’s light in sight. The air was sultry; it was as though a dollop of the endless dark clouds in the sky had taken to cling to every attendant, squeezing against the
A child about seven to eight years old had led Arianne away to a place where no other person was in sight. Noticing the kid’s full black getup, she asked, “So, you’re a relative of the Rodriguez family?”“Yeah,” the child nodded. “Um, you know, they told me Mat’s dead, but I’m not very sure about it? Do you think they are being serious? ‘Cause if he’s dead... doesn’t that mean Mat’s never coming back?”Arianne found herself too hard-pressed to answer him. She could not bear to cut into a child’s hope with a blade as cruel and blunt as reality.The duo continued forward until the funeral almost faded out of sight. Arianne stopped in midtrack in confusion and took off her mask. “Where are we going, honey? You told me someone’s looking for me, yeah? Where’s that person now?”The child looked around them, his head swinging wildly. “Hey... wait a minute! This is the place, though! OK, is that guy ditching us?”Arianne was just about to say something when a pair of hands suddenly reache
When Melanie finally understood what had transpired, she quickly ducked aside to call Alejandro for help. “Something terrible has happened—Arianne went missing while attending Mateo’s funeral! And now your brother has gone mad from worry… God help me, I don’t know what to do!”Naturally, this bombshell sucker-punched Alejandro into confusion. “Hold on. Arianne went to Mateo Rodriguez’s funeral? And Mark is attending it too?!”Melanie was not in the mood to divulge the details. “The most important thing is that Arianne has somehow gone missing,” she repeated. “And Mark—for God knows why—is here, like right now, conducting this frantic search for her. From the looks of it, no one’s found her yet. My God, Alejandro, it’s pure chaos! Please come here as soon as possible!”Without another word, Alejandro hung up. Melanie understood that he was not going to turn his back against such a request and let out a sigh of relief. She tucked her phone safely and strode toward Mark and Mrs. Rodr
Words of Arianne’s disappearance quickly reached Tiffany and Jackson. Then, with help from Alejandro, three powerful families launched into a massive, city-wide search together.All through his life, Mark Tremont had never known true fear as he was experiencing now. For once, he was terrified of vengeance against him—in the form of Arianne, who would die like Mateo did!He could not live without her!The day quickly died into the night, but the things that had happened in the former did not end in the latter. In fact, the night only seemed to have pushed outward frenzy into inward anxiety.Mark was chain-smoking in his study while he held his phone with his other hand. All to make sure that he would not miss any new development about Arianne’s whereabouts.Smore pushed open his door fearfully and poked his head out from behind. “Dad? Um, when is Mom coming home?”Mark froze in mid-action. Then, came his croak, “Soon, little man. Very soon… She’ll be back… You just have to be a go
The old woman followed her out of the room a while later. “Miss Wynn, when you’re finally hungry, just tell me and I’ll make you something nice for that empty stomach. House rules, sweetie: you can move around and do whatever you like within this house, but you should give up on getting outside, you know? You ain’t gonna leave the house.”“Are you a member of the Rodriguez family?” Arianne asked tentatively. “Is Mateo’s family the people behind this?”Never mind how Geralt had promised Arianne that Mrs. Rodriguez would never trouble her again…The old woman’s answer sounded as canned as it could get. “Sorry, sweetie, but I’m just an old woman who’s doing the job she’s been asked to do for money. I have no idea about this whole thing so you’re not gonna get anything of worth from asking me. Oh, but I’m handy with housekeeping duties—meals, cleaning, you name ‘em. Anytime you need me, just give a holler.”Arianne was clearly not going to extract any information from her, so she gave
Any less desperate than she was right now would have made harming an old lady a gigantic “no!” to Arianne—but desperate times call for desperate measures. Who could tell the motives behind whoever her mysterious captor was at this point? Arianne was not going to just twiddle her thumb and wait!At that thought, she scanned her surroundings to locate the perfect weapon. Ideally, it would be something that could bludgeon someone unconscious rather than outright fatal; even now, Arianne was not ready to have someone’s life on her hand.Before she could even make her first move, however, the old woman suddenly spoke, “Miss Wynn, I can see what’s brewing in your head, and you’re spot on: I’m just an old, powerless granny you can easily take on. But my master apparently doesn’t want to see you as of now. He ain’t gonna just show himself to you just because a senior citizen died here. On the other hand, he will come to you when the time is right, guaranteed,” she intoned. “You have fresh, c