When Davy brought them in, Mark even served them some high class tea and had a casual expression on his face as though nothing had happened at all. However, it was exactly because of his calm demeanor that Mateo’s parents were scared out of their wits. They were completely clueless as to what the man before them was actually thinking.The first to speak up was Mrs. Rodriguez. “Mr. Tremont, I know that our son was in the wrong, but… he’s already dead. So, I beg of you, could you please return us his body? As long as you give it back to us, we will do anything you ask for.”Mark lips curled into a cold snicker. “Can you make everything right with just an admission of guilt? My wife is still lying in the hospital. Who knows when she’ll wake up, so how are you going to make that right? I suppose there’s a way for you to retrieve Mateo’s corpse…”Mark deliberately stopped his sentence halfway to leave them in suspense. The moment they saw that there was hope, Mrs. Rodriguez hurriedly a
Soon, the police arrived to understand the situation. Mark graciously brought out the surveillance cameras he had in his office. In order to prepare for that day’s commotion, he deliberately instructed to have surveillance cameras installed in his office.Regardless of the angle, Mrs. Rodriguez had jumped out of her own will and Mark had not even moved from his seat at his desk from the beginning. Plus, coupled with the fact that Mr. Rodriguez “silently acknowledged” it as his tears fell without saying anything, the police deemed it to be suicide before closing the case.After the police left, Mr. Rodriguez asked with a shaky voice, “When will I be able to bring my son home with me?”Mark smiled slightly. “Anytime, don’t forget your wife’s corpse as well. Although she’s a complete mess from her fall, she still needs to be buried properly.”Mr. Rodriguez walked towards the door helplessly. After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped. “Are you… really letting me go?”Mark’s expr
Jackson was on the other end of the phone call. “Mark, where are you? I want to find you now. It’s about… the matter before Arianne got caught up in that incident. The driver and nanny that was accompanying her have been found.”Mark lightly took a breath. “All right… I understand. Come to my house then, I’m here.”After waiting for approximately half an hour, Jackson and Tiffany entered the door together. Coincidentally, Alejandro was with them as well. However, he was there alone without bringing Melanie with him.While they chatted in the living room, Mark asked Mary to bring Smore with her to play somewhere else.Tiffany’s eyes had gone red before she even spoke. “How’s Ari?”Mark shook his head lightly without saying anything. He did not wish to repeat what the doctor had told him. At that moment, Arianne was still in critical condition.Jackson heaved a sigh. “The driver was at the scene when Mateo and Arianne fell from the building. Before that, when they arrived at the ai
After saying that, Alejandro got up and was just about to leave when Tiffany suddenly asked, “Where’s Melanie? I haven’t seen her recently, and she didn’t even reply to my texts.”Alejandro paused for a moment. “She doesn’t have the courage to meet you all. After all… Mateo was her childhood friend and she had even suspected Mark whilst being blinded from the truth. Plus, she blames herself for not staying beside Arianne on the day of the funeral.”Tiffany helplessly said, “No one’s blaming her. If it were me, I would also be blinded by Mateo. He was really good at hiding his thoughts; when Ari and I interacted with him those few times, neither of us could tell that the person he fancied was Ari, even going as far as to cause such a huge commotion.”Alejandro shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do, perhaps she’ll recover after some time.”Tiffany was slightly angry. “She’s your woman, how could there be nothing you could do? You should console her and persuade her, that’s your job! Ca
Helen reined her emotions in. “Where are you taking her?”Mark already had a place in mind. “Switzerland. I’ve heard of a hospital there with a stellar reputation, and I’ve sent some of my people to help facilitate her eventual staying-in. Right now, I’m making necessary arrangements to my company—I’ll be leaving some of my work to Jackson while I’m away. Naturally, I’m not inclined to hand over my duty to him. I simply am not physically available for many of my business dealings.”Helen’s eyebrows creased. “Passing some of your work to Jackson might be fine and all, but what about Little Smore? Is he joining you as well?”It was the million-dollar question that had bedeviled Mark for too many days and nights. “I… Well… To be frank, I don’t plan to bring him with us. My purpose of going there is to have Ari’s malady remedied, so bringing a child with us would only be an inconvenience. Honestly, I think it’s better to just leave him at home,” he explained. “Jackson has two children o
Perhaps the underpinning of Mark’s rationale was Mary’s age. She was so old, she could possibly die before the couple ever returned to their home country, thus dooming her to die in a foreign land. It was a rather cruel prospect that begged to be considered. Hence, in the end, Mark reasoned that it would be better for her to stay behind with Henry as the keepers of Tremont Estate.At first, Mark was worried that Smore might throw crying fits during his first few days with Jackson’s family, so he made it a routine to video call the kid since he touched down in Switzerland. That habit did not last long, because Mark soon realized the full extent of his son’s apathy—the brat never thought of talking to him or Arianne during their calls, let alone throw a fit over missing them!Time flew. Never in Mark’s wildest imagination would he have thought that he would stay in Switzerland for nineteen long years.…Nineteen years later, in the same old White Water Bay Villa, Tiffany Lane West
Aristotle rejected Jackson’s offer to lift his suitcases for him. “It’s fine, I can do it myself. Really, it’s only packed with gifts for all of you, and they are hardly heavy. By the way, Pa West? You haven’t changed a bit—look like you just leaped out of my last memory of seeing you. Where’s Aunt Tiffany and Cindy?”Jackson silently conceded that, as the child had now aged into a full-fledged grown-up, he should not insist on helping him with things he could rightly do by himself. “Well, they are waiting for you right inside,” he said instead. “Look at you! You’re home now. And Lil’ P is coming home soon, too… God, by next month, the three of you are officially reunited once more.”Aristotle smiled wordlessly and sauntered into the villa’s interior.It was but a split second, yet as Jackson stared at the young man’s back, his eyes saw Mark Tremont instead. Aristotle had too much of his father in him, and it was especially evident when one looked at him from behind. Jackson even wo
In a millisecond, Cynthia’s cheeks burned bright red and she ducked her head in panic. Her heart, like a maddened buck, refused to be still inside the cage she called her chest.Growing up, everyone had always teased Cynthia and Aristotle as some sort of one true pair. Back then, it did not mean anything to her; she was just an innocent child who had no inkling of what the adults really meant. Of course, Aristotle was always the kind-hearted, caring big brother in her life, so she slowly came to accept the bond they shared and rationalized it as the way their interaction should be.As for the adults’ suggestion, Cynthia admitted that it had also taken root in her mind. It was only after she grew up when memories of those teasing suddenly made her feel very, very self-conscious.It was undeniable. Aristotle Tremont had matured into a fine, young man—emphasis on “fine”. He had inherited every physical trait that cemented Mark and Arianne as beautiful people. Look at his piercing eyes,
Arianne had not heard that name for so long, she had to reel back in bemusement for a few seconds before finally remembering her face.Shelly-Ann Leigh… She must have spent all those years in the mental institution, right? God knows if the woman’s hair was now grey and white all over.When someone was near death, one could stand to forgive all of the history between them—even the dark ones, even if the ledger was brimming—for good. So, Arianne replied, “I’ll go with you. No matter what happened, she’s still your mother.”Mark did not expect that answer from her at all. In his surprise, he bent down and left a kiss on her lips. “I knew I picked the right woman as my wife. I thought you wouldn’t agree to let me accompany her for the last of her days…”Arianne replied nothing. She was not so obtuse that she would try to win over a woman whose days were numbered. No matter how much of an a**hole Shelly was, Arianne was still the one who came out on top. That victory was all she needed.
Arianne sneered. “You confused, little thing. I wouldn’t be daft enough to anger the mother of the man I like if I were you, girl. I would especially not say anything as low IQ as that, too. Let me be completely frank with you: no one who bears the surname of Leigh will ever get the better of me—the last one failed. Hard. I can guarantee that you’ll leave us in the span of three days. If I lose, you can stay here forever. Wanna bet? I dare you.”She left her threat hanging at that and turned her wheelchair away, leaving the scorned young woman behind.Rage came out of Raven as waves of quakes all over her body. She was lurching close to hyperventilation, but right before it became impossible to stop, she came around and battled herself to calm down. She had a feeling that even if she fainted right there and then, no one would discover her, would they?Now that Arianne and Mark had returned, the Tremont Estate had recovered its vivacity and life. It had become merry.And Raven Leigh
Melissa was the type who always pushed things to go as festive as logically possible. She leaped to her feet and raised her cup, “Yo, everyone! Let’s toast to Cindy becoming my cousin-in-law!”The crowd answered enthusiastically with their cups in the air and a roar—except Raven, who remained seated. “I have a sickly constitution. I can’t drink. I’m sorry.”Her smile was so mechanical, her face too ashen. Something flickered in Arianne’s eyes before she replied, “Sure.”After the revelry faded, Arianne steered her wheelchair to the courtyard. The outward appearance of the Tremont Estate seemed to have frozen in time, which was why being here made her feel so… safe.Of course, that was despite Henry and Mary’s passing. In the end, time passed and things changed, characters and objects came and went, and all these missing years left lingering regrets in their wake.Arianne espied the silhouette standing alone at a distance and approached her, sighing, “Nothing beats being home.”Ra
Arianne grabbed the two beauties by the hands and smiled. “Thank you! Gosh, to me… it’s like you two have grown older in the blink of an eye! How gorgeous the two of you are! Cindy, where’s your brother? Plato hasn’t come home yet?”Mentioning the name of her dear brother made Cynthia pout. “He said he was coming home half a month ago—that’s what he said. Who knows what he’s actually doing, though? Anyway, who cares about that no-good. He’s always like this anyway. Oh, um, the weather is quite hot. We should probably get inside.”Arianne nodded and shot a brief, uneasy look at Aristotle. Not once did he look like he wanted to talk to her… Could the boy be counting his grievances in his mind? Mark and Arianne had stayed in Switzerland for so long; life must have been hard for him all alone.It took until she reached the living room to finally notice Raven. “Millie, is this your younger sister?”Melissa quickly sprung to correct her. “What? Noooo. This is Ares’ classmate or something
Aristotle’s entire being stilled.He had waited for this news for nineteen years. As time passed, the flames died little by little, the heart grew more numb, until the very thought of it was no different from a pipe dream. But today, news of it coming true reached him and plunged him into a torrent of feelings.A long while later, he finally muttered under his breath, “When… When will they be back?”Jackson closed the distance between them and gave the young man a light, comforting pat on the shoulders. “Not so soon, I bet; not when your mother has just woken up and is in need of some time to recover. She did sleep for nineteen years, you know. So maybe after she’s recuperated enough for a while…” he answered. “We’ve waited for nineteen years for this, right? What’s waiting for just a little bit more compared to that? The most important thing for you to do is to manage the company to the best of your abilities. That’s the way to not disappoint your father’s expectation.”Aristotle
Cynthia had never had a relationship before, so she did not know what love was. However, one thing was for certain. She loved the feeling of being with Aristotle and how he had protected her since they were kids. Even though Aristotle had become a little domineering and “naughty”, she was not taken aback by him. Instead, she even felt a little moved, which was amazing.It wasn’t known how they ended up in bed, with their breaths synchronized. Apart from the final step, they had done just about everything else that could be done.Just as they were about to hit the final step, Aristotle suddenly stopped and helped pull the covers over Cynthia. “Let’s sleep, good night.”Cynthia was still lost in a daze from before. She did not know why Aristotle had suddenly stopped, nor did she have the courage to ask him. She had struggled for so long before having persuaded herself to go with the flow…The next day, when Cynthia woke up, Aristotle had already long gone to his company.She took a
Cynthia heard what Aristotle said, but her hands did not stop doing what they were doing. Her head was in a complete mess. “There’s no… no need. I’ll be able to be done with these now. Go ahead and get some sleep first. By the way, where am I sleeping tonight? There are so many rooms here, I’ll ask Agnes to help me clear one up.”Aristotle walked up to her and squatted. He grabbed onto her arm with one hand while the other closed the luggage. “Just sleep with me here and stop tidying already.”Cynthia suspected that she might have misheard. She took a look at the big bed behind him in a daze and suddenly felt her palm, which was held by him, burning up. “Y… You’re kidding, aren’t you, Ares? Although we used to sleep with each other a lot when we were kids, we’re all grown ups now, so wouldn’t that be a little inappropriate?”Aristotle said with a straight face, “I wasn't joking.”Cynthia panicked a little and recalled Melissa’s words once again. ‘Would Ares, whom I’ve known for so
Melissa knew that Aristotle had kissed Cynthia, so she knew what was going on. Hence, she very naturally boasted, “Of course, they’ve been engaged to each other since they were born. Coincidentally, the both of them felt the same way about each other as they grew up, so wouldn’t this make it even better? From the way I see it, your illness isn’t going to recover for the rest of your life and the both of them are probably going to have to wait until Cindy graduates before they get married. So, you’d be better off moving back to France as early as possible. Don’t worry, you’ve saved Aristotle’s life before, so he wouldn’t be stingy with you financially.”Raven wanted to control the unhappiness she had in her heart very much, but her emotions refused to follow her will. Hence, she fiercely struggled to wring free from Melissa’s grasp. Melissa was startled for a moment. “Are you crazy?”After that, Raven regained her senses and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry… I was a little unwell just n
‘You’re not that worried?’ Melissa was so furious that she laughed. “Am I the only one who’s being worried for nothing? I thought you loved my brother, didn’t you? The man you’ve been dreaming of every day has returned from France but brought a woman with him, yet you’re actually not that worried? Let’s put aside your parents’ intentions for a moment. Do you dare to say that you don’t love him? I’m only helping you because you’re my best friend, so could you not be so relaxed, as if I’m helping you for no reason?”Cynthia shook her head and lowered her volume as she said, “He… might have confessed to me. We also… did that already. So, I think he doesn’t feel that way towards Raven. It’s purely because she saved his life once. I trust that Ares will be able to handle the situation properly.”Melissa’s eyes opened wide. “What? He’s only returned for a few days, yet the two of you have already had sex? That fast?! I never knew it, but you’ve really got it in you!”Cynthia’s face flushe