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.
Arianne’s heart gradually sank as Mary walked upstairs. She never expected for her pregnancy to be revealed so soon. How would Mark react when he saw her?She didn’t have much time to think before Mary arrived downstairs. “Ari, sir has asked you to come upstairs. He’s just woken up.”Arianne sent Tiffany a reassuring gaze, then got up and headed upstairs. When she walked into the bedroom that belonged to them, she felt a sense of deja vu. The room was filled with Mark’s scent. For some reason, it no longer made her heart feel heavy.He wasn’t on the bed, but she could hear sounds of running water in the bathroom. It didn’t sound like the shower; he was probably washing up.She stood patiently in front of the French windows and waited for him. Ten minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom in his pajamas. His hair was unkempt, unlike his usual style. The casual look of it gave him a slightly disheveled and indolent air.He glanced at her apathetically, then walked towards the head
Arianne couldn’t figure out what Mark was thinking either. She was also surprised that he never mentioned anything about the child. Remembering his cold personality, it made sense. How could a man like that possibly concern himself with a simple blood relative? He told her that he loved her, was that a mistake? Or… Was it really in the past? Tiffany let out her frustrations on the Audi when they emerged from the Tremont Estate, “If I had enough money to say no, I would never drive this car again. Who allowed Mark to have so much money? In times like these, we have no choice but to lower our heads to evil forces. Speaking of which, my mother might come up with some other evil scheme if you keep staying at my place. By then, we wouldn’t be able to clean up whatever terrible mess she might have caused. I’ll help you find a room in the next two days. You’d better move out. I’ll visit you often and I’ll drive you to and from work every day. I’m not trying to chase you away; I have to make
Mark gritted his teeth. He never thought of Arianne’s reasons for moving out of the Tremont Estant. It had been more than ten years, a very long time, and she’d never left the Tremont Estate. But now, she was suddenly leaving. Previously, he couldn’t be bothered with figuring out why, and he never earnestly tried to get her to stay. He finally understood after hearing Aery’s reminder. Did she really move out out of retaliation towards him over Will? Aery’s eyes flashed with a victorious smile when she saw the increasingly complicated look on his face. “Alright, Mark. Don’t think about such sad things. Try the desserts I’ve brought you. They’re delicious. I’ve loved the desserts from this shop ever since I was a child. I’ll stay here and wait for you to get off work, then we’ll go and have a meal together, okay?” Mark did not refuse the dessert that Aery had put into his mouth. However, that dessert that should have tasted sweet seemed tasteless in his mouth, as if he were chewing o
Helen took a property deed and a bank card out of her purse. “These are my savings in the Kinseys throughout these years. My divorce with Jean was amicable. The company and the house go to him while I take eighty percent of the home savings and two other properties. I’m giving you one of the houses and half of the money. I plan to open up a small company of my own with the remainder. When I die, the company will go to you. The Kinseys weren’t doing good previously despite managing to survive now with Mark’s company, so I didn’t get to take a lot away. Don’t think any lesser of it, you’re in need of money now.”Arianne looked at the items in her hands but did not accept them immediately. The property must cost at least several hundred thousand dollars while the card must contain the same. If the Kinseys did not go through the financial crisis, the amount could be several times more. These things were useful to her currently, but she did not want them.Regarding Helen, she only wished fo
Arianne teased, “You might as well marry him. You get to eat and spend.”Tiffany suddenly laughed, her laughter sounding slightly evil. “Haha… My stomach is his captive now. I thought about having him as my lifetime goal too. Say, he’s tall, handsome, rich and knows how to cook – where can you find a man like that? And I sometimes dream about… heh heh… him being naked. He’s so stylish when he’s dressed, he must have a nice body when he takes off his clothes! Lucky, I’m just mildly infatuated. Otherwise, he’d have long been devoured!”Arianne felt goosebumps rising. “Ah… you’re hopeless. Alright, I’ll stop here. Go have your lunch.”Hanging up, Tiffany suddenly felt someone behind her while she was still wearing a hint of smile from the call. When she turned around and saw Jackson staring at her flabbergasted, a string tensed and broke with a pop in her head. He heard everything!“Uh… I was just kidding…” She caved in a split second, wanting to hide in a hole from the embarrassment.“Uh
Brian was disconcerted. “Yes, sir. Sit tight. I’ll send you over now.”Driving all the way to Arianne’s apartment, Brian helped Mark, who was drunk, upstairs and arrived at Arianne’s unit. Brian dared not knock too hard as he called out softly, “Madam, sir is here…”There was no sound on the other end. Mark rapped hard at the door suddenly. “Open the door!”Brian jumped and quickly caged him to stop him from the reckless behavior. Arianne was pregnant. She could not take a scare like this in the middle of the night. If anything happened because of this, it would be too late to regret it!Arianne, who was woken up from the knocks, checked carefully from the peephole. She breathed in relief when she saw that it was Brian and Mark; she opened the door. Before she spoke, Mark pounced at her and hugged her tightly, mumbling something that she was unable to make out.“I’ll be leaving first. Sir is all yours,” Brian said when he saw that.Arianne was not even able to react before Brian closed
Arianne gave up on struggling. No matter how much she struggled, Mark would still insist on having his way…Mark’s movements were as terrifying as the deafening thunder, finally ending amidst her sobs.The rain stopped at some point through the night, the sun that rose with the lingering rain droplets the next day feeling very warm. Arianne was scared for the whole night, barely catching any sleep. She made certain that her baby was fine, but she still held a grudge against him.She did not keep quiet while she washed up. The fatigue and morning sickness sapped all of her remaining energy, so much so that she did not have it in her to bend down and pick up a fallen cup from the floor. She had not been showing any signs of morning sickness before but look at her now, after Mark came. She thought that he must have affected her…Finally, Mark woke up due to Arianne’s clamoring. Looking at the foreign environment, he lapsed into a momentary daze. Snippets of last night replayed in his mind
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