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
It was really bothersome!Arianne regretted it after sending the text. Was she close enough to Mark that they could discuss such a topic? They looked like they were getting along, but they had yet to reach that stage!Just as she put her phone down and was about to head for lunch, her phone suddenly rang. She thought it was Mark but discovered it was Will when she picked up her phone. She did not hesitate to accept the call. Will would not look for her for nothing.Will’s blurry voice came from the other end of the line. “Ari… I don’t feel so well. I’m in room 205 at the Summer Hotel. It’s near your office. Can you come over for a bit?”Before she could reply, the line was cut. Arianne was puzzled, but she did not put much thought into it. Since it was lunchtime, she had time to go out for a while.While she was on her way, she could not help but feel suspicious. It was only her second day of work in the new company. How did Will know she was here? Summer Hotel was very far from Glide
Outside of the room, Mark spoke coldly, “If any of those photos you took are leaked, you know what the consequences are.”Aery was shocked. Mark looked as though he came from hell at this moment. This was the first time he had spoken so harshly to her. She instinctively said, “Don’t worry… I’m only keeping the evidence for you. I worry that she’ll extort money from you when you divorce her. I won’t put it on the internet…”Arianne teared up. She had no idea what had actually happened. She trembled as she dressed herself. Then, she shook Will to wake him up.Will looked as lost as she did. “Huh? Why are you here, Ari?”With a sob, she replied, “You called me in the afternoon and asked me to come here because you weren’t feeling well. The door was ajar so I came in. As soon as I stepped in, someone drugged me. When I woke up, we’re both lying on the bed naked. Moreover, Mark and Aery were here as well… I don’t know if anything actually happened…”Will blanched immediately. He flipped the
When they arrived at the hospital, Mark communicated with the doctor regarding what tests Arianne would take. She only had to obediently cooperate. She was immensely nervous when she was in the theater. Gynecological examinations were always awkward. When the ice-cold apparatus was inserted into her, she broke out in cold sweat from the pain.After a series of tests, the doctor said emotionlessly, “It’s done.”After putting on her pants, Arianne waited for the results quietly. She involuntarily glanced toward Mark and Aery seated together on the bench outside the room, looking like a couple. However, Mark’s expression was incredibly cold.Around twenty minutes later, the doctor called Mark in. Arianne was beside them. She could feel Mark deliberately keeping a distance from her, as though disgusted by her filth.“There’s sexual intercourse within a day. There’s obvious blood flow and swelling on this part. The swelling is slightly too much.” The doctor announced the result in a profess
Aery’s heart burned with jealousy when she saw Mark behaving in this manner. Was he mad at Arianne for what happened? “Mark, darling, haven’t you always been aware of my sister’s obscure relationship with Will? You should have anticipated that something like this would happen, after all, they did… You know, three years ago. I’ve always thought that you and my sister are incompatible. She doesn’t love you anyway and is bound to betray you. Why won’t you let go? Why are you making trouble for yourself?”Mark took a deep breath and leaned back against the car seat, “Who told you about this? Why were you, of all people, informed?”“I don’t know,” Aery quickly explained, “I wasn’t aware of this at all. I was surprised when I received the news, I even called again, but the phone was off. It doesn’t matter who told me about it, the informant wasn’t lying. You and I both saw it with our own eyes, right? Can anyone really fake this kind of thing? My sister has only started work at Eric’s new
Aery giggled. “You’re so stupid. It really isn’t me this time. Someone must have seen you and Will entering the hotel together and secretly informed me about it. I really didn’t expect to catch you red-handed. You seem honorable on the surface, you even shamed me after you found out about my relationship with Mark. Aren’t you just the same? Why are you putting on airs?”Arianne was speechless. She hung up the call at once and went back into the house. She could not sleep the whole night and did not go to work the next day. She asked Eric for the day off. She had considered the consequences. Would Mark divorce her? In the past, a divorce would be a relief, but now, she did not want it to end just like this. If she had to leave, she would leave with her head held high.At around ten in the morning, she heard the screeching sound of a car outside and instinctively ran to the French window to look. Mark’s car had returned.He soon arrived upstairs but did not even look at her when he en
Love? He loved her?This was Arianne’s first time hearing it from his lips. Many people had mentioned that he had feelings for her before. She had always considered it absurd. It seemed that it was true. She finally regained her senses when the bedroom door slammed shut. He had left, taking his luggage along with him. Who knows when he would come back?As for his claims of never having slept with Aery, it did not matter if she believed him or not. She always thought that they had had sex anyway. That phone call from last night had further confirmed that fact. He thought she was lying, who could say he was not doing the same thing?The next day, during breakfast, she received a message from Will. “I’m sorry, Ari. This would not have happened if I didn’t move back to the country. My family and I will be flying overseas at eight tonight. You’ll have some time during the day to think about whether you’d like to come along with me or not.”Will’s family’s migration to a different countr