The loss of certain jewelry materials was what led to the Lane family’s bankruptcy. Jackson could not imagine how Tiffany would react if she discovered Ethan was the main cause of her family’s bankruptcy. In fact, Ethan enjoyed his fame today because he used to rely on the Lane family by purchasing unfinished buildings and setting up a few companies with the cash he got from the sale of the jewelry’s raw materials. Although Mark made a monetary loss, the Lane family was completely ruined. Suddenly, Tiffany burst through the office door in a hurry. “Our moms are having afternoon tea together. Your mom just texted me that they’re going shopping now!”Jackson closed his notebook expressionlessly and said in a calm manner, “Why are you panicking? Just let them be.”Frustrated, Tiffany explained, “We’re just acting, and I have no intention of telling my mom about it. How can you not be worried? What will we do if they discover the truth? I want you to know my mom wouldn’t tolerate us b
Tiffany was craving for the food in White Water Bay Cafe, but she was also concerned about Arianne’s health. “Are you sure you are fit to go out? We can go another day…”In fact, Arianne was bored, “No, I’m fine, let’s go! I’m afraid the White Water Bay Cafe is full now. Let me call Jackson first to get a table. Don’t worry, I’m not going to mention you.”Both of them left the Tremont Estate after Jackson reserved a table for them. Naturally, the bodyguards and Mary saw Arianne heading out. However, they did not stop her since she was not carrying her luggage.Arianne found this amusing. After all, if she really wanted to escape, she did not need to bring her luggage. However, the people from the Tremont Estate would eventually find her. She would rather not go through the hassle.... Tiffany ordered a few of her favorite dishes when they arrived at the White Water Bay Cafe. Her mood seemed to have gotten better.Arianne reminded her gently, “You can order more since Jackson said that
Arianne let out an awkward laugh as she read the message on the screen from Jackson, “I don’t know… I was under the impression that he wouldn’t usually be here. What do we do?”Tiffany’s fingers speedily tapped against the phone screen, the anxiety on her face gradually increasing. “Oh no, we’re done for. He says that there’s no other seats in this place, so he has no choice but to share a table with us. His mother agreed and said that it’s a great opportunity for us to have a meal together. What do we do? Is this considered a meeting with the parents? I’ve already told him that we’re ending it, but I still have to act it out for him? They’ll be here too. What should I do? Should I run?”Arianned called on a staff member to clear up the rubbish on the table, “Don’t freak out, I’m here. There’s no other way now. You’ll just have to keep the charade. It’s just that… Ethan is here too. Would that be alright?”Tiffany was taken aback, “It should be… alright?” She wasn’t sure either sinc
Arianne forced a smile, “It’s fine, Mrs. West wasn’t aware. It’s alright. I can't have children. I’ve miscarried twice, and now I can’t get pregnant.”Summer shot Jackson a glare, “Why didn’t you say so? I’ve brought up a taboo because of you. I’m sorry, Mark. I’m sorry, Ari. It’s alright, you’re still young. Just take good care of your health and you’ll be fine. Keep your spirits up.”The atmosphere finally grew warmer when the dishes were served. Tiffany and Arianne had eaten a good portion prior to this so they weren’t that hungry. The pair disliked these kinds of social events. They shared a look and silently made a pact to go to the washroom together.At the washroom, Tiffany let out a long sigh, “I’m going nuts. My mom is a really good actress. She’s clearly been driving me insane, yet she’s claiming in front of other people that her heart aches for me when I’ve been working so hard. What a joke.”“It’s fine,” Arianne soothed, “It’s important to keep up appearances in front o
Arianne was shocked, “What did you say?”He fell momentarily silent before calmly explaining, “Remember that thing that Charles Moran mentioned? You overheard my conversation with Jude in the study too. That ba*tard is Ethan. He’s very dangerous, so you and Tiffany should stay away from him. Remember that incident back when you were still in university? That knife you took for me when that cafeteria lady’s crazy son suddenly attacked me? Ethan instigated him. Most importantly, he was the master manipulator behind the Lane family’s missing goods. That man who died in the fire was only a sacrificial lamb. Ethan suddenly started a company after leaving Tiffany and bought that unfinished building too. Where do you think that money came from? That’s all you need to know. I can’t tell you anything more. He’s done all of that to get me, but you have to know that he has an agenda behind everything he does. He’s not a normal person.”Arianne was having difficulties with digesting this revelat
Mary promptly shook her head, “This is an order from Mr. Tremont as well. Why don’t you talk to him yourself? I certainly wouldn’t dare make the decision on my own.”She wanted to talk to Mark but was terrified when she remembered that he was in a bad mood.In the shopping mall.Jackson and Tiffany felt a little empty and soulless. They had walked through the entire mall, but Lillian and Summer showed no signs of stopping. Jackson suffered most of all; as the only man among the four, his arms were going to give out soon.Just as Lillian was about to head into another branded clothing store, Tiffany couldn’t help reminding her, “That’s enough, Mom. Jackson and I are exhausted from working all day.”She knew that as long as she used Jackson’s name, Lillian would not go too far.As expected, Lillian reluctantly stopped, “You’re right. Let’s stop here then.”Summer smiled, “Then let’s meet up again some other time, Mrs. Lane. Jackson’s usually the one managing the company and I have
Arianne had no choice. She took her phone out and called Mark in resignation. No one picked up the phone for a long time. Just as she was about to hang up, Mark suddenly answered the call. She heard his hoarse and faint voice. “Hello?” She spoke perfunctorily, “Why didn’t you return home yesterday? Where are you now?” Mark was silent for a moment before he answered, “I spent the night at Jackson’s villa. I’ll be going to work from here.” She had nothing more to say. She threw a glance at Mary, silently asking with her eyes if she could end the call now.Mary mimed to her, asking her to confirm if Mark was really with Jackson instead of fooling around with other women. Arianne felt it was a bother to do so, but she wanted to quickly get this over with so she could enjoy her meal. She listened to Mary and said, “Send me a video.” Mark hung up immediately, but he sent her a short video that lasted around ten seconds. The video showed the interior of White Water Bay Villa that bel
Ethan started the engine of the car without asking for Tiffany’s workplace address. It was obvious he knew everything about her. “I was forced to break up with you at that time. I know it sounds rather ridiculous but it’s true. I was worried as well when I saw your family in trouble because I couldn’t provide you with the kind of life you’re used to. I decided to use all my money to invest in a project with my friends. You were unaware of it, but I even mortgaged the car you gave me for a bank loan.” He continued to say, “I didn’t want to burden you in case my investment fails. That’s why I broke up with you. There was no other woman. Who knew I’d succeed? I intend to expand my business after this. We can go back to living the life we had before. Tiffie, you were good to me in the past. It’s my turn to treat you well. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you. Can we start all over again?”During their time together, Ethan had never been a passionate man who would say such words. For him to
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