“What happened?” After a long pause, she finally steadied her emotions and found her voice again.“I’m not sure either. Your mother came to my house at around two in the afternoon yesterday, and gave me a piece of information. It was about Mark’s company issues. I went to Mark’s office to wait for him, because he was completing some work outside. He got into an accident on the way back. I don’t know what happened during this period of time. I’ve found a witness, but they said that Mark himself went past the speed limit, then suddenly lost control and crashed into the median strip,” Jackson explained in a grim voice.Past the speed limit? Arianne knew Mark very well. He was always calm and steady in everything he did. How could he possibly have gone past the speed limit?She instinctively pushed the blame onto Helen. “What useful information could she possibly have? She’s left the Kinseys. She’s nothing now. How could she possibly help Mark? Why, of all times, did she have to do it a
Tiffany let out a sigh of relief once the call had ended. “That’s a good idea, let her come to us. Saves us the trouble of running around. It doesn’t feel appropriate to make wild accusations in someone else’s territory. Remember what I’ve told you. Don’t be rash.”Arianne nodded in agreement. The car drove across the road and stopped in an empty space in front of Violet Café. Helen didn’t make them wait for too long. She arrived at the coffee shop door in less than twenty minutes.She had rushed all the way over, and did not bring an umbrella. By the time she had finished parking her car and had entered the coffee shop, her white business attire was soaked from the rain. Her neatened hair was in slight disarray. She may look slightly wretched, but when she saw Arianne, she smiled happily. “I never thought that you’d take the initiative to call me.”The trio sat across from each other. Arianne stared at Helen with a deadpan expression on her face. She was trying to detect anything
She lost her wits when she heard the words — posthumous letter. “He’s not dead. Why would he need anything like that? There’s no need to give it to me. Throw it away!”Henry, Jackson, Eric and Tiffany were all here. This situation felt too serious and too sombre to her, as if Mark was really going to die.“Mrs. Tremont, please calm down. There’s a high chance that the posthumous letter won’t be of any use at all.” The doctor explained, “I’m the doctor in charge of Mr. Tremont. I understand the situation very clearly. Mr. Tremont is in pretty good condition. So I’m just giving the posthumous letter to you.”Then, the doctor pulled out a piece of paper from his lab coat. It was a pretty urgent situation at the time, so he didn’t have very many good options. So he wrote the posthumous letter down on a prescription sheet. It looked a little ugly and hurried.Arianne’s hands were shaking. The light piece of paper felt as if it weighed 600 kilograms. Tears streamed down her face from the
Jackson paused in thought and said, “If it’s one-off, you’ll get ten thousand once. If it turns into a long term gig, it’ll be easier to negotiate the price. The general explanation is… I have a friend whose mother is hounding him to bring a girlfriend home, but he doesn’t want to get married so he can’t do that. So he’s asked me to help him find someone suitable to act as his girlfriend. It’s just an act. Body contact is a must, but it won’t reach any overtly intimate stages. You don’t have to worry about that. If his family doesn’t approve, then you’re done after one gig. If they approve, then the gig will continue. If you think the price isn’t good enough, you can negotiate as well.”Getting paid ten thousand dollars just for acting like his girlfriend once? Tiffany agreed without a second thought, “The price is good enough. However, I’m going to make this clear, bodily contact has its limits. I’ll come after you if he crosses the line.”The pair immediately became good friends. T
Her breath was mildly taken away when they arrived at the West family residence. The house certainly wasn’t considered cheap in the capital. Every detail of it displayed traces of history. These were the kinds of things that were considered priceless. She couldn’t help pausing and admiring the hundred year old tree in the garden. The tree alone would cost a hefty price.“You can come back as often as you like,” Jackson joked teasingly.“Pfft… Yeah, right.” Tiffany rolled her eyes at him and stomped right in with her high heeled shoes, as if she wasn’t ladylike at all. This was her plan — the more Mrs. West disliked her, the better.Summer West was sitting in the living room, drinking tea when they entered. She was carrying a light grey poodle in her arms. When she saw Tiffany, she said with a half-smile, “She certainly has an attitude. It’s better than pretending to be a delicate little flower.”Tiffany’s entire head was filled with black lines. With her IQ, she couldn’t tell if Mr
At the dining table, she lifted one leg up and purposefully put it on her chair. She smacked her lips as she ate, and every time she tried to take a portion from a dish, she would purposefully inch closer to Mrs. West, or she would stand up and reach out to do it. She committed every single dining table faux pas that elite families hated. She even pulled a silly smile out of pretence, and observed Mrs. West’s face.Ten minutes later, Mrs. West’s entire face turned black. She slammed her cutlery onto the dining table. Tiffany jumped in fright and became too afraid to do anything more. She obediently slid her leg back down.“Jackson West, you’re not dead. In fact, you’re still breathing. Can’t you help Tiffie get a portion of the dishes? Has your height gone to waste? Can’t you see that she isn’t tall enough to reach?”Tiffany was dumbfounded.“Yes, I’ll remember that.” Jackson replied, “You can concentrate on your meal, and I’ll take care of her. Will that do?”This satisfied Mrs.
Arianne grunted out a reply, turned around, and went back to her room. However, she ended up tossing and turning around, unable to fall asleep.Three hours later, Brian’s car had returned to the Tremont Estate. She checked the calendar — it was Friday. Tiffany didn’t need to go to work tomorrow. She sent her a message: I’ve heard from Brian and Henry that he’s awake. Would it be convenient for you to drive me there? I’m sorry for inconveniencing you at such a late hour.Her reply returned very quickly: Why are you being so modest with me? I’m coming now. Wait right there.Arianne replied to her with a smiley emoji, then got up and changed her clothes. She didn’t want Brian or Henry to take her because she acted as if she didn’t care when she heard that Mark was awake. It didn’t seem appropriate to ask Henry or Brian to drive her all the way there in the dead of the night. Her subconscious refused to admit how much she really wanted to go to the hospital.She was a contrary figure a
Arianne immediately panicked and denied tooth and nail. “I did not! I was just… Scared. You were in the intensive care unit at the time and you looked like you were dead… I’ve never seen such a thing before. I was so scared…”He smirked. “Oh… Got it.”She wanted to relax, so she found a topic and asked, “How did you get into that accident?”He did not plan on going into the specifics with her, and it was no use telling her anyway. It would only burden her even more. He never liked being superfluous anyway. “Don’t ask. There’s no use if you found out anyway.” Then, he continued, “The information from Helen was useful. She really wanted to help me. It’s not what you think. My accident had nothing to do with her. Perhaps everything she had done in the past stemmed from her wholehearted devotion to the Kinseys. However, she’s only doing it for you now. After all, hurting me won’t do her any good.”Arianne didn’t want to say too much when it came to Helen. “Mm.”“Nothing ever happened