Arianne kept quiet as her eyes reddened. Words could not describe her feelings right now. Even when she was almost certain it was Mark who had plotted against Will, she had rather denied it than hate him. She felt disappointed.The cat had triggered their fight. Arianne was aware she was behaving like a child who was throwing a tantrum. Before they were married, she had played the role of a child while Mark played the role of a strict parent.“Mary, forget it. Take her back to the bedroom. If she refuses to go, send someone to take the cat and throw it out,” Mark said indifferently before he returned to the dining table.Mary half-forcefully dragged Arianne back to the bedroom. Then, she advised her earnestly. “Ari, why do you have to speak to sir in that manner when he finally changed his attitude toward you? He has improved a lot, why do you have to go and ruin it? Can’t both of you just speak nicely to each other? I know you’re upset because Rice Ball is your precious cat, and yo
Neither Mark nor Nina returned to Tremont Estate that night. Even so, Arianne went to bed as usual.By midnight, Mary finally could not stand it and went into Arianne’s bedroom to wake her up. “You still have the mood to sleep? Is Aery Kinsey not enough that you’re going to push your man into another woman’s arms? Sir and Nina haven’t returned. Aren’t you the slightest bit worried?”Arianne said indifferently, “Do you think I can control his actions?”Mary handed Arianne’s phone to her. “Here, call him! If sir doesn’t come back, even if you’re able to sleep, I won’t be able to sleep! I’ll tell you this; as long as your Mrs. Tremont, you have to win his heart! This is for your own good, do you understand?”Arianne stared at the phone silently for a moment before she finally made the call.Unexpectedly, the call was instantly picked up. Mark’s voice sounded hoarse, but he did not sound angry. “Hello?”Arianne calmed herself and asked, “What time are you coming home?”“I thought yo
The cloud of daze that hung above Arianne dispersed immediately when she heard the sound of the pages of a book being turned. “I can’t go out. You know my situation. You go ahead and send my regards.”Tiffany sounded a little dejected. “Alright then… I’ll ask him what’s going on when we meet. How can there be an accident out of the blue? If it’s really the Galenas, I won’t forgive them!”Arianne’s conscience clawed at her, she was feeling guilty on Mark’s behalf. “Sure… Off you go… I haven’t even gotten up from bed. I’m hanging up.” After she hung up, she stayed in bed a little longer before finally going into the bathroom to freshen up.Since she had spent most of her time in bed recently, she discovered her hair had grown longer. It got tangled when she was sleeping last night, and no matter what she did, she could not comb the knots out. Just when she found a pair of scissors and was about to snip it off, a pair of fair hands stopped her.“Give me the hairbrush.”Bewildered, Arianne
Tiffany scoffed. “Your mom and that bitch, Aery. It’s good being rich nowadays. Aery ran her car into you and caused your miscarriage, and yet, here she is, out and about. I thought she would end up in jail for years! Nauseating! They must have spent a lot to bail her out. How could Mark endure this?”Arianne inhaled deeply, not daring to reveal the truth despite her conscience. “She’s my younger sister. We share the same mother. Since mom gave birth to me, I’ll just consider this as repaying her. What were they doing in the hospital anyway?”Tiffany thought about it for a moment before she replied, “It seemed like your mom went there for a health check. She’s got a great life, much better than yours. Her health is good. She doesn’t have many issues despite her age. I heard the doctor said her physical state is even comparable to young girls since she has taken very good care of herself. Tsk, tsk, you better worry about yourself instead.”There was a buzz in Arianne’s head. “Are you su
Soon after, Mark entered the room. “What happened?”Arianne looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. “Are you with Aery Kinsey because you like her or because you want to seek revenge from me? Hmm? I admit defeat, okay? How much do you hate me to go to this extent? Marrying me then getting together with my half-sister. Not only did you tolerate her killing our child, but you covered for her and helped the Kinseys after the incident. If you really like her, why won’t you let me go? If it’s just for revenge, I surrender. I’m not a worthy opponent. I’ll use my entire lifetime to repay what I owe you. Don’t disgust me with those people anymore!” She took a deep breath before she continued on her tirade, “No matter how abominable I am in your eyes, I’ve already become such a pathetic person! Even I despise myself. My mom… My biological mother colluded with you and covered for Aery Kinsey. My mom told me she had cancer and forced me to plead with you to help the Kinseys. I actually believed her.
When they hung up, Arianne felt inexplicably gratified. It was strange, but nonetheless, she could get used to this feeling. For once, she actually felt the pleasure of revenge. She could understand why Mark liked tormenting her. Did he feel like she did when he watched her being tormented and miserable?“What are you thinking about? Are you hungry? Wanna go down and have something?” Mark did not know what was going through her head but his sudden amiability caught her off guard. “A little but I don’t want to eat downstairs. Have Mary send it to the room…”Mark did not force her to go down. “Go back to bed then.”Lunch was sent to Arianne in the room by Mark, and Rice Ball followed at a leisurely pace as though it was the master of the place.Arianne could see that Mark was afraid of cats. Once Rice Ball touched him, he would freeze up. While she was eating, she asked, “You aren’t allergic to cats so this means you’re afraid of them, right?”“Eat.” He refused to answer her question, b
As Arianne thought of ways to cover for her slip of the tongue, Mark had already lay down next to her. He took her phone away before he said, “Then what kind of tone do you want me to use with you?”Arianne’s face felt a little hot when she caught a whiff of the manly scent that belonged uniquely to him. “Give me back my phone… I’ll sleep after replying to Tiffany.”Mark raised his hand that was holding the phone high up. There was no way she would be able to reach it. “Answer my question first.”Bracing herself, Arianne replied, “I’m not your daughter… What tone do you think you should use?”“Teach me?” Mark looked at her with gleaming eyes.Arianne felt as though doing that was akin to going on a suicide mission. She punched his chest softly and said, “Let’s sleep.”Lo and behold, Mark suddenly swooped down to kiss Arianne’s forehead. “You don’t even know how to act cute. Are you even a woman?” After that, he returned the phone to her before he adjusted himself into a comfortable pos
After breakfast, Arianne and Mark headed out together. In the car, Mark’s ‘dutiful father’ mode kicked into gear. “Call me if you feel unwell in the office. If I’m busy and don’t pick up, have Eric send you home and ask Henry to call the doctor to the house for a checkup. Don’t push yourself. Poor health means a poor immune system. Try not to go to places like the hospital. It’s not that I don’t want you to go work. I’m afraid of something happening to you. As long as you’re fine, you can do anything you want.”Arianne looked at him as though she was looking at a monster. “Did you take the wrong medication today?Mark’s expression darkened. “What did you say?”Arianne quickly phrased her words differently. “No. I mean, why are you being so naggy. I’m not a child anymore. I won’t insist on working if I feel unwell. I work to earn money, not for fun. I won’t push myself. You don’t have to worry…”Brian was inwardly startled. Arianne was not the only one who thought Mark had changed, he t
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