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 asked casually, “Who sent them?”The girl answered whatever she was asked, “He said he’s Brian.”Brian? Arianne felt a tiny headache. Mark’s attitude when he spoke to her was not the nicest. She did not expect him to ask Brian to send her breakfast. If he had not asked for it, Brian would not dare to have done it. She really did not know what he was thinking.The weather was hot nowadays and the food items could only last the day. She would not be able to finish it. Considering for a moment, she said, “I’ll take some. Distribute the rest among yourselves. I won’t be able to finish them.”The front desk girl did as she was told happily and saved the best for Eric specifically. When Eric saw the label on the box, he clicked his tongue. “Looks like they’re making up. Look at this, sending food to the office…”“Mr. Nathaniel, what are you saying?” The front desk girl was puzzled.Eric shook his head. “Nothing, move along now.”When she finished work that day, Arianne did not have T
Looking at her determined front while carrying Rice Ball, Mark felt a mix of emotions. It seemed that he was the only one she was heartless to. She could even treasure a cat so much…Arianne dared not get into his car, knowing that he was a germaphobe and worrying that Rice Ball’s fur would shed in the car. “You didn’t actually have to rush here… Today’s drip is done, it’s just that I can’t feed it the medication alone at home… It has to come back tomorrow for drip still.”Mark hopped out of the car and grabbed the pet carrier that housed Rice Ball before tossing it into the vehicle. “I don’t have time for your nonsense. Get in.”Arianne was surprised, worried that something would happen to Rice Ball from the rough handling but dared not argue with him. The weather was hot and dry, inevitably making one lose its cool quickly. A person like him would be riled up easily.Back to the apartment, Mark took off his suit jacket and tossed it on the couch right as he stepped inside before he r
Arianne did not close the bedroom door when she slept. This way, the air conditioning in the bedroom could more or less lower the temperature in the living room. Otherwise, Mark would not be able to sleep.The fatigue these two days caused Arianne to sleep soundly until the next morning. If she weren’t woken up from nature’s call, she wouldn’t have even bothered to leave her bed. Walking to the bathroom drowsily, she was stunned when she entered. Mark was using the toilet! And he did not even close the door! Although he stood with his back facing her, Arianne could hear him clearly.She closed her eyes instinctively and turned around. “Can you close the door when you use the toilet?”“Can’t, it’s too hot.” Mark was nonchalant, having a temper from his lack of sleep.Would the heat in the bathroom kill him in the time taken to pee? Arianne was speechless. At the same time, she prayed for him to be faster. With the baby in her womb, she could not hold it in for too long… Before she was p
Arianne gave Tiffany a pinch to signal her to stop blabbering. The latter shut her mouth reluctantly but observed Mark’s expression.Mark’s gaze remained on the monitor all this while even when he said, “Sure. The car is yours then, I’m not used to that model.”Tiffany did not expect to pick up a bonanza. “For real? But I don’t really need a car. It’s so new, and I’ve only driven it for a few days. If you’re really giving it to me, can I sell it? I’m super poor, poor people aren’t worthy to have a car…”Since Mark had said that he was giving away the car, he did not mind what would happen to it. “It’s up to you.”Tiffany replied in understanding, “Then I’ll make a move first. My mom’s still waiting for me to serve her. Leave together, you two. Ari still has a little one inside her. Make sure she eats on time; that’s two being hungry if she starves! Oh yeah, her checkup is coming up, go with her too!”Arianne did not expect Tiffany to ‘sell’ her off like that. Mark was still working and
Fine? Arianne was disturbed. Although she knew that Mark had gone back on his word after promising her that he would not contact Aery, it was better not to think about some things. She was not in the place to say anything. Even if it was not her intention, she had still lain on the same bed with Will and was caught in that spot by Mark. There was nothing she could do.Mark was irritated by the heatwave going on outside. “You didn’t hear it wrong. I’m not saying it because of anyone. Don’t look for me in the company. I’ve told you that we’re not contacting each other anymore. Did you think that I was just joking?”Aery had thought that she had won. He did say not to contact him anymore, but he obviously did not hate her presence after what happened with Arianne and Will. They had been fine. Shouldn’t what he’d said previously be ignored? She was unwilling to face this reality. “Mark, dear… don’t be like this! I’ll be good. I won’t pester you when you aren’t looking for me…”Mark said no
Speechless, Arianne turned to go to the bedroom in a fit of anger. She wanted to close the door but she was worried about him not getting any air conditioning.Soon enough, Brian sent them their dinner. A quick look at the packaging told them their dinner was from White Waters Bay Restaurant. After Brian left, Mark called out toward the bedroom, “Dinner’s here.”Arianne did not reply, pretending that she did not hear him.Although he only had a towel on, Mark felt hot. The frustration was grating on his nerves. “Are you eating or not? I’ll throw it if you aren’t!”Arianne remained silent. She couldn’t help but feel that he was here just to make her mad. They were just not meant to get along!Mark got up to go to the bedroom and carried her to the couch in the living room in a swift move. “I don’t have a good temper. Have your dinner!”Arianne opened the takeout silently and ate it. The bedroom’s air conditioning could not cover the entire living room, so she soon felt hot. She did not
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