Without warning, a woman’s voice faintly sounded from Mark Tremont’s office. “Hmph! You said that you’re not free, yet you aren’t even busy! I saw a bag I like – no, a bag that I love! Buy it for me, okay?”Arianne Wynn’s breath was caught in her throat, like someone was choking her.She did not hear if Mark Tremont said anything back. Soon enough, the woman came out. Upon meeting eyes, Arianne was astonished as it was the same woman whom she saw at the airport.Her gaze did not linger on the woman’s triumphant face, but her eyes stayed fixated on the high heels the woman wore. Mark Tremont prohibited everyone from disturbing the peace and quiet of this level yet he had allowed this woman here with high heels.“It’s you again. What business do you have with my dear Mark? I don’t know what past you have with Mark, but I don’t like you and from now on, I will resent you. After we came back from abroad, I see you every time I look for my dear Mark. I hate it.” The woman spoke in a tone t
“No, I’ll leave immediately.” Arianne answered shortly.Just as she turned around, a pen flew past her ear and smashed against the office door. Ink leaked from the crack of the pen and stained the floor.Throwing things meant that Mark Tremont was furious. Arianne dared not move, although she was slightly shaken. She wanted to restrain her fear toward him but she was unable to…“Come here!” Mark Tremont’s voice was laced with anger. To Arianne, it was the forewarning of a life threatening situation.Her hesitation lasted for only two seconds before she turned to go toward him with her hands clutching the hem of her clothes and looked cautiously at him.Mark Tremont tugged her close to him and wrapped his arm tight around her waist to prevent her from moving. His voice was piercing and icy cold. “What did you call me? Does making such a clear distinction mean that you’re changing how you address me at home?”Once he was reminded that she would rather stand for more than two hours outsid
The elevator stopped on the seventh floor. An overwhelming intimidation urged Simon Donn to look up at the man who entered the elevator, while he instinctively moved towards the corner.The elevator door closed briefly. The man suddenly launched a kick at Simon Donn’s lower abdomen. His tone was gentle but undoubtedly threatening.“Don’t think of laying a finger on those you shouldn’t!”The harsh kick caused Simon Donn to bend down, hugging his stomach feeling bewildered. “Who are you?”“Arianne Wynn’s husband!”…When Arianne returned and stepped into the hall of the Tremont Estate, her immediate reaction was to check if Mark Tremont was back.Mary was amused by her cautious manner as she chuckled. “Sir’s not back yet!”Arianne breathed out in relief. “He said that he’s coming back for dinner tonight…”Logically, he should have returned home earlier than she had.Coming out of the shower, Arianne saw that Mark Tremont was already seated at the dining hall. His hair was damp and change
Arianne Wynn held her breath, suddenly realizing that her wish to end her current predicament was nothing but a dream. He was already being merciful by sparing her a lifetime to make up for her sin, she had no right to choose…“I’ll go to sleep in the guest room.” This was her last form of resistance.“Try take another step!”Mark Tremont’s threat was bitterly cold, feeling like the freezing wind outside had gushed right into her heart.She halted her stride and kept quiet, waiting for him to continue.After a period of dead silence, his thin lips parted to speak again.“You want to leave so badly? Okay, I’ll fulfill your wish! On the premise that… you bear me a child!”A child? He wanted her to give birth to a child? A child that belonged to them?Arianne Wynn was suddenly reminded of the past when her mother left for another man without reservations or consideration for her. The taunting and insults that she faced since she was a child were still vivid in her mind.Having a child was
Waking up the next day, Arianne Wynn went straight to the office without having breakfast. A huge stack of documents had appeared mysteriously on her desk, causing Arianne to frown.“Whose are these?”Someone spoke in a whisper from the side, “Mr. Donn assigned them to you. Have you offended him? He’s tossed almost everything in the department to you. You most probably have to work overtime today…”Arianne said nothing, having already guessed this was his spiteful revenge for yesterday's rejection and embarrassment, and sat down to work accordingly.She received a text message during lunch that read, “I’m Aery Kinsey’s mother. Let’s meet. I’ll wait for you at Mocha café.”Rummaging through her memory, Arianne did not remember the name Aery Kinsey, so she replied, “I don’t know an Aery Kinsey.”She received another text briefly. “It suffices that I know you. See you there.”For no particular reason, the face of the woman whom Mark Tremont brought along to the airport popped out in Arian
Returning to the office, Arianne ignored the churning coming from within her stomach. Her mind was preoccupied with the sight of Helen Cameran’s face. Never would she have thought that her long-lost mother would appear in her life like this. She did not know whether she was enraged or disgusted, but she experienced a tidal wave of emotions within her.Since it had been so many years, Arianne looked different. Helen Cameran was unable to recognize her, however, she could distinguish her! Her face had long etched itself deep in her memory.There was something she did not understand.Helen Cameran had left when she was six years old. Even if she had immediately remarried, Aery Kinsey would have to be seven years younger than her regardless. It did not look like Aery Kinsey was underage…If she were not her biological daughter, yet Helen Cameran could care for her so devotedly as a stepmother, then what was Arianne to her... Was Aery Kinsey her biological daughter?!“Arianne Wynn, do you p
“I’ve already told you. Look for Mark Tremont if you want me to leave. I have no say in this. Also, I’m telling you explicitly right now – I won’t leave! Mark Tremont is my husband, we’re married!”After her outcry, Arianne ran into the snow. Two trails of tears ran down her cheeks. To meet her mother like this, they may as well not have met at all.She did not know how far she had walked when a car honk rang behind her.Thinking that it was Helen Cameran, she ignored it. When the car drove by her, Brian Pearce’s head popped out from the window.“Madam, hop in.”Arianne subconsciously wiped the tears that had long dried on her face and looked over to the back seat, vaguely catching sight of Mark Tremont’s well formed outline.She felt her frozen self gradually regaining warmth after getting into the car. Upon a moment of hesitation, she asked, “You knew that Aery Kinsey is my younger half-sister right? Is this also your revenge?”“You can assume so if you want,” Mark Tremont replied.D
Arianne froze before she slowly turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck.Focusing on the man so close to her, she told herself repeatedly that she could leave once she became pregnant and gave birth to a child. In spite of it, she was unable to make her next move. Not thinking straight, she said dumbly, “Your hair is still damp…”In the next second, Arianne’s soft lips were sealed. Their senses melded in the serene night as their breathing eventually became labored.Accidentally meeting Mark Tremont’s deep eyes, eyes that Arianne usually failed to decipher were currently glazed with intimacy. He was consumed with desire…This time, Arianne no longer thought about escaping. Her hands went to rest on his chest, the warmth emanating to her palms felt familiar. It was the same feeling that day his hand held hers as a young girl. It was familiar and warm yet foreign and distant…She was inexplicably afraid, afraid that he would suddenly remember she had lost her chastity three
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