His fixation? In Arianne’s life, she had never met anyone who had any sort of strange fixation, so it was hard for her to imagine.As if recalling something, Tiffany suddenly said, “You haven’t eaten, right? What do you feel like having? I’ll check the fridge to see what ingredients we have. Otherwise, we can only order takeout.”Tiffany rummaged through the fridge but could not even find a piece of green. “Ari, we have nothing. I’ll wake up earlier tomorrow to go to the market. What do you want for tonight?”Arianne was worried about the hygiene of takeout. In fact, a lot of shops had inferior cleanliness standards. No one was prepared for takeout either, hence she decided to eat out. “Can we go out for dinner? Anything is fine.”Lillian, who heard their conversation, was the first to express her ardent support. “Yeah, let’s eat out. We have nothing at home, let’s go, let’s go!”Tiffany sniffed the lingering scent in the air. “Mom, you’ve eaten, haven’t you? Can you still stomach more
She had gone slightly overboard with her words. The mother and daughter may bicker most of the time, but this time, Arianne sensed it, the atmosphere was different than usual. It was more sombre, nothing like the explosions that usually happened after a huge suppression.Tiffany did not yell at Lillian, but replied to her in a very calm voice instead, “Yes, I give you $2,000 a month. My pay is $12,000 a month. Once I exclude your $2,000, I have $6,000 to pay for rent. The remaining $4,000 has to be used for water, electricity and a month’s worth of living expenses. Your $2,000 isn’t calculated in the living expenses, and I’ve been paying for your takeout too. Sometimes, you ask me for extra allowance for mahjong games. Have you ever considered how I’ve been surviving?”Lillian did not seem guilty at all. The expression on her face was of fury and disdain.Arianne finally understood why Tiffany’s financial situation was so dire. Actually, when Tiffany and Lillian were the only ones l
She carried the thermal lunch box over to Jackson’s office, asking, “Do you really plan on bringing me lunch every day?” Jackson was in the middle of working on something, glancing over at her when he heard her voice. “Why? Does it taste bad?” Placing the lunch box on his desk, she said, “It’s not that, I just want to know why you’re doing this. Don’t give me any of that crap about a boss being concerned for his employee. There are plenty of pregnant ladies in this office and I’ve never seen you do anything like this for any of them. And don’t say that it’s because Ari is my friend, either, or that you’re doing this for Mark. That’s a lie and we all know it.” Jackson put down his work and stared at her, jokingly asking, “Come on, we’ve ‘slept’ together, haven’t we? After all that, you shouldn’t be concerned about a small matter like this, should you?” Tiffany was in no mood for jokes, continuing on, “You don’t possibly have feelings for me, do you?” Jackson was taken aback, s
Jackson heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s fine. Eat the food, since it’s already here. Next time, if I happen to wake up early and have some spare time, I can make you a meal and bring it over for you, since I’m already doing it. It’s only out of convenience, so you don’t have to feel burdened.”Tiffany heaved a sigh of relief as well. She took the thermal lunch box and left.Tremont Tower.Lillian fanned herself with a flyer while staring up at the large building. After a while, she walked in towards the front desk. “Miss, could you call your CEO for me? Tell him that I’m Tiffany Lane’s mother and that I have something to tell him. Your CEO’s wife is staying at my house.”The receptionist picked up the phone when she heard this, “Alright, please wait a moment.”The call was connected. The receptionist carefully said, “Mr. Tremont, there’s someone here to see you. She claims to be Tiffany Lane’s mother.”“Send her up,” Mark’s apathetic voice responded through the receiver.Once t
“Ari is pregnant. I’ve checked the medical report, it’s been twelve weeks. About three months, I’m guessing. She’s not alone now, and she’s had to work overtime until very late recently. She always looks pale and exhausted when she arrives home, all for the sake of some meager salary. It’s heartbreaking. I don’t know what’s happened between you two. She’s probably refusing to tell you because she doesn’t want to move back home. She’s pregnant, after all. It’s more important for her to remain happy. I’m just giving you a heads up. It’s still best to let her stay wherever she wants. What do you think?” Lillian tread cautiously with her every word as she tried her best to read Mark’s expression.Mark shivered. She’s pregnant again? His mind immediately thought of the day Arianne had been admitted to the hospital, bleeding profusely. He also remembered what the doctor had said — the chances of her getting pregnant again are very slim… Later, they had only made love a few times, and it was
After dropping Arianne off downstairs and making sure that she had entered the elevator, Brian pulled out his phone and made a call, “Sir, I’ve sent Mrs. Tremont back home. Do you want me to drop her off every day? She’d get suspicious, wouldn’t she? Once or twice can be written off as coincidence… She won’t be fooled if it’s any more than that…”“Figure it out yourself,” Mark’s cold and clear voice echoed through the receiver. Brian’s mind began bitc*ing incessantly, “I can’t… Sir, how about you just tell her that I’d be taking care of her journeys to and from work? Or… You can give Tiffany a car and ask her to drive Mrs. Tremont home from work?”He didn’t get a reply from Mark, because he had already ended the call.At the Tremont Estate, Mark stood in front of the French windows in his bedroom and called Jackson, “Think of a way to give Tiffany a car so that she can drive Arianne to and from work.”Jackson burst into laughter. “I thought you didn’t know. I was hesitating over
Arianne was worried, telling her, “Tiffie, be honest with me. How are things between you and Jackson? You can’t give up just for the sake of money. It’s fine if you really like each other and plan on getting married, but if you’re just playing around for the sake of money or clothes or cars, don’t do it. I’m afraid you might end up suffering. I know I’m not overthinking it; no man would bring you lunch and a car for no good reason!” Tiffany was going stir-crazy. She was afraid to reveal that Mark had found out about her pregnancy, and certainly didn’t want to reveal that it was Mark who gave her this car. Furthermore, she suspected that Lillian was the one behind all of this… She was afraid that she might not be able to keep up the charade if Arianne asked any more questions. She wasn’t a girl who could keep secrets, so why did they have to put her in this position? “It’s really not what you think, Ari,” she replied nervously, “Stop asking.” Arianne was under the impression that
Tiffany regretted it. That’s right, out of all of her altercations with Lillian, this was the first time she felt that she was in the wrong. She had only said those things out of anger, so she couldn’t hold herself back. However, Lillian had crossed a line too. She had to clarify the matter before admitting to her mistake. She endured the pain she felt, took a deep breath, and said, “Would Mark give you money for no reason? The money he gave you was for Ari, wasn’t it? Don’t you think that you’re going too far by spending it on yourself?”Lillian smirked, “This is nothing. This amount of money is like a drop in the ocean for Mark. Don’t you think that taking care of Rice Ball and Arianne is worth this amount of money? She’s staying in our house too. You’ve also been taking care of her in school. Let’s set all of that aside. She’s a woman with no family of her own. You have the closest relationship with her, so we’re her family. She’s living under someone else’s charity while pregnant.