Eric made an ‘okay’ sign as he said, “Have a good rest this weekend and report for duty at my company on Monday. Your pay remains the same. Don’t worry, I won’t treat you unfairly. I’ll send you the address later.There was no need for overtime today so Arianne was very relaxed. She returned to the Tremont Estate as soon as work ended. The weather was getting warmer lately so she felt a little hot. She changed into a pair of pajamas made from thinner material after her shower. Then, she went to the kitchen to lend Mary a hand.Mary’s heart ached seeing this since it was rare for Arianne to come home early. “You don’t have to help me. Go and relax. You’re tired enough from work.”“I’m not tired,” Arianne replied with a grin, “Let me help you. I’m all fired up today. Usually, I’d be too lazy to move.”Mary noticed that Arianne was pretty good at selecting vegetables. She sighed as she shook her head. “Mr. Tremont won’t be back for dinner today either. He’s extremely busy lately. How
Lillian glared at Tiffany. “You won’t even eat what you’ve made, and you want me to eat it? It tastes horrible… You get to dine in a restaurant, but you want to leave me at home? I thought about you every time I had something good to eat in the past, wishing that you’d get to taste it too. You ungrateful brat. Arianne, don’t you think so?”Arianne had an awkward smile on her face. “It’s okay, Auntie Lane. Order what you want.”Lillian smiled contentedly. “Arianne’s more sensible. Marrying a good husband, not having to worry about food and clothes. Her bread is already buttered in life. Tiffie, learn from Arianne. Look at the kind of boyfriend you found for yourself. I get angry whenever I think about Ethan. Forget how much we lost because of him, but what about your youth? In the end, we didn’t get anything.”Tiffany pulled a long face. “Mom, you didn’t use to speak so uncouthly. Even if we’re poor now, you’re Mrs. Lane. Can you watch your words? Eat if you want. Ari is my best friend,
Mark mostly wore suits. Let alone his other garments, just his suits alone were countless.After leaving the wardrobe and texting Eric, Arianne heard Mark’s approaching footsteps. There was a sense of weight in his soft and slow pace. After listening to it for so many years, it was already familiar to her.When Mark entered the room, he saw Arianne looking at him from the bed. He concealed the exhaustion on his face and asked, “Still awake? I’m going to take a shower and will be in the study later for some matters. Rest early.”Arianne nodded and lay down but was unable to fall asleep. Her eyes were glued to the bathroom door. After some time, the sound of water flowing stopped before Mark who was clad in a bathrobe came out.“Why aren’t you asleep yet?”Arianne looked away. “Why are you so busy recently? You’re even busier than usual. It’s Friday, and you still have to work even though it’s already so late. Are you going to work on the weekends too?”Mark stared at her in amusement. “
In the West Mansion, Jackson was eating with his mother, Summer, when his phone dinged. He was in no hurry to check it but Summer could not help reminding him, “Son, are you not going to take a look? What if it’s something to do with the company?”It was only then that Jackson fished out his phone and was greeted with Tiffany’s resignation email. Faced with the table of delicacies, he suddenly lost his appetite. He did not reply to the email either, merely chucking his phone aside.Summer registered the changes in her son’s expression. “Is it something difficult? You’re still young, there’s a lot in business that you don’t know about. You can ask mom. It’s not a shameful thing to ask for advice.”Jackson remained silent for a moment before he said, “I have an employee resigning, but I don’t really want to let the employee go. What should I do?”Summer mulled over Jackson’s question before she replied, “Well, find out the reason for the resignation. If the person is unhappy with their c
Saturday and Sunday passed in just a blink of an eye.Tiffany did not show up in the office on Monday. She assumed Jackson had gone partying during the weekend and did not see her email. He would probably reply to her once he went to work on Monday. If it was not necessary, she did not want to go into the office and speak to him face to face. Whenever she met his gaze, she felt like running away. It was truly perplexing.At Bright Incorporated, Jackson was made aware of the situation when he passed by the working space and saw Tiffany’s desk was vacant. After he sat down in his office, he turned on his computer to reread her email. After considering it for a moment, he called her. “The company rules state that resignation requires the employee to show up in person.” He hung up as soon as he finished speaking, not waiting for her to reply. He was certain she would show up. After all, she would not abandon her salary that had yet to be paid.Just as expected, Tiffany arrived half an hour
Tiffany pondered over Jackson’s offer. If Lillian knew Jackson made such an offer, she would never allow her to resign. This was truly an appealing incentive. However, once she recalled that it would be awkward since they would still meet in the office if she stayed and the rumors that had once spread online made her feel like hiding in a hole, she felt this was not a matter that could be resolved with money.“Thank you, but I decline.” Tiffany decided despite her aching heart. She could almost hear her heart weeping for her. After all, she was honestly in need of money.Jackson fell silent. He knew he was acting out of character. He was retaining a newbie who wanted to resign with a double increment in pay. It was unprecedented. He was also shocked that his offer had been declined. He did not want to force the matter, but he could not help the feeling of frustration that clawed at him. After a while, he finally said, “As you wish. Claim your salary from the general accounting departme
A barely noticeable smile tugged at Jackson’s lips. “Sure, I’ll take it that she didn’t mention anything about resigning. I’ll keep my words and double her salary. However, please keep this to yourself since it’s unprecedented.”Tiffany placed the cash that she had just retrieved from the general accounting department on Jackson’s desk. “Here’s the wage that I took earlier.”Jackson shook his head. “Hold on to it. Your salary will still be remunerated this month. These will be considered as your annual bonus. We’ll subtract them at that time. Take the day off and come back to work tomorrow. Adjust your state of mind for now.”...Noontime. Arianne called Tiffany. “Why aren’t you here? You didn’t complete your resignation in time?”Tiffany sighed. “My whole life is a mess because of my mom. I won’t be able to work with you. I’m sorry, Ari…”Arianne knew what had happened without needing Tiffany to go into details. “It’s okay. Jackson’s company is not bad at all. You’ll have a lot of opp
God knew why she was still unable to get used to the deed after so long. She was not particularly fond of it so she would rather not do it. However, her rejection was usually futile.Mark lowered his head and softly bit her lips. When Arianne recalled his naked state, she stiffened, no longer dared to move. She was afraid she would unintentionally touch something forbidden. She could only try to evade his kisses. “Don’t…”“You don’t like it?” Mark’s breath was puffed against her ear, making it feel itchy.“Mm… It feels strange,” Arianne answered honestly.“Strange? How?” He asked patiently.“Um… I always feel like we shouldn’t be doing this. To me, you’re not a man…”Before Arianne could finish her sentence, a murderous expression appeared on Mark’s face.She quickly said, “I don’t mean it like that! I’m saying, I was only eight back then, and you were already an adult. You’re like a brother figure to me… That’s why I feel strange…”Mark’s expression darkened even more. “It’s been so l
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