Mark extended his hand in her direction and beckoned her over. “Come here.”Arianne obeyed him obediently. It felt as though all the barriers between them had disappeared.He pulled her to him, seating her on his lap before he rested his chin on her shoulders. He inhaled her scent, allowing it to soothe the turmoil in his mind. “Ari, do you truly wish to leave me?”This was the first time Arianne had heard him referring to her as Ari while he was sober. It made her nervous for some reason. Her palms began to sweat, and her body stiffened. She stammered, “W-w-why are you asking me that right now? Y-you’re acting really weird!”He responded by tightening his arms around her, it was almost as though he was worried she would run away. “I want to know.”Arianne turned the question over and over in her head. She had always wanted to leave him, right? However, why was it so difficult for her to answer the question now?As though he could sense Arianne’s dilemma, he did not persist with the qu
What fueled Arianne’s dallying had less to do with it being a hard choice and more to do with Mark’s sudden change of outlook in the matter. It was enough to make her second-guess herself and wonder if she had taken her conclusion too far. Could it be that reconciliation was possible? Were there indeed sound reasons to look the other way for Ethan?Ultimately, this was a private matter between Tiffany and Ethan; the last thing Arianne wanted was for it to spark an argument between her and Mark.“Alright, I’ll mull it over,” she relented, before adding, “You know, if it was meant to end this way, then you shouldn’t have told me anything in the first place. I mean, how do you expect me to pretend I know nothing now? Gosh! Anyway, it’s getting late, and I wanna go home. You coming?”Mark was never the kind to spend the night in his office, and now that she had come to him personally, it threw his only reason to do so out of the window. “Let’s go.”Meanwhile, inside a hospital ward, a fati
Lilian produced the title deed for her daughter to see. “This, right here, pertains to a plot of land your grandfather owns. It’s super-valuable right now, and guess who wants it? None other than Mark Tremont himself, and he’s coming to sign the agreement today! How do you expect me not to be chipper? Thank god we forgot about that piece of land, which is still legally your grandpa’s, and that we didn’t list it as one of our assets when we declared bankruptcy. Now, if you’d excuse me — Mommy’s got several places to be to carry on with the procedures. Tata!”Tiffany was bewildered. For a while, she could not collect herself at the thought that Mark had his eyes on a plot, which, of course, automatically affirmed its value, that belonged to her family. It was very darn near a dream come true, especially when it could very well be their ticket out of poverty!After Tiffany had sluggishly washed herself up, Ethan had called her to inform her that he was on his way home from the hospital.T
“Mary, I’m heading to the office,” Arianne said and left. She was going to go crazy if she stayed at home any longer.When Mary heard that she was going to the office, her first thought was that Arianne was going to Eric’s company. “It’s so hot and all you think about is going out to earn money? Is sir being stingy with you? No way!”Arianne said helplessly, “I’m going to find Mark Tremont, your master! Not to work. Besides, I don’t plan to go back to Eric’s company anymore.” She had thought about doing something else. She felt bored after working in the design industry for so long.Upon hearing this, Mary finally relented. “Sure, have Henry send you. The weather is too hot.”…Henry sent Arianne to Tremont Tower, and she arrived at the forty-sixth floor without any hiccup. Ellie knew that she did not like following Mark’s rules of changing out of her shoes so she did not offer Arianne the disposable slippers and only greeted her, “Madam.”Arianne nodded in reply, opening the door afte
“I didn’t expect you to be so efficient. This is for the best. I can propose to Tiffany as soon as possible.”Mark was not at all interested if Ethan was going to get married or not. “Sign the transfer agreement now. I don’t have time for a chat.”Ethan leisurely signed his name on the document and looked up as he asked, “If I get married, as my elder brother, you’ll be there, right?”“Don’t cross the line!” Mark stared at him dead in the eyes.Ethan shrugged as he smiled meaningfully. “Am I? I asked you to give me everything related to the Tremonts, but since you’re reluctant, I don’t want to force you either. I can have everything by depending on myself. However, it also won’t do me any harm if I announce that I’m a Tremont as well. In fact, it would be advantageous to me. You won’t disagree, right? After all, you’ve told Arianne everything I’ve done. How you explain yourself and how sticky a situation it is for you has nothing to do with me. You have to act like we have a close rela
Watching the bubbly and chattering children, Arianne could not help chuckling. “I didn’t expect you to be so popular among the kids. I thought they’d be afraid of you.”Mark was not wearing a suit today. He was suitably dressed in white short-sleeved sportswear and a pair of light violet sunglasses. Compared to how sharp he looked in his suit and leather shoes, he looked gentler and more casual now. He bent down to carry a little girl around four years of age and asked Brian to retrieve what was in the trunk.As if knowing what would come out from the trunk, the children’s cheer grew louder. “Mr. Tremont, did you bring us books and toys again?! And yummy snacks! We wish you’d come every day. Madam says that it hasn’t been a month since you last came so you won’t be coming so soon. I can’t believe you’re here!”Arianne was surprised. She did not expect that Mark frequently visited the orphanage. It seemed like his donation and kindness were not only for show. He was really practicing wh
The little boy suddenly cried, perhaps, frightened by Mark’s gentle pinch.Arianne instinctively took the child into her arms. “Hush, baby, hush. Who’s the best baby…”The little child stopped crying immediately, but there was still a sad pout on his face, and his eyes were red.Mark asked softly against Arianne’s ears, “Why don’t we adopt a child?”Arianne glanced at him. This was not the first time he had mentioned this. She pretended not to hear him. She said to the director, “There’s no need for thanks as long as these little angels are well taken care of.”After spending the entire morning in the orphanage, Arianne and Mark politely rejected the director’s invitation for lunch.During their journey back to the Tremont Estate, Arianne was thinking about the feeling of the baby boy in her arms. The child was so soft and cute that her heart felt as though it was going to melt.Mark seemed privy to her thoughts as he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to adopt a child? I can see you’
Soon after, Mark approached her from behind. “These are all the properties that the Tremonts’ own. See if there’s any you like.”When Arianne turned around, she saw a huge stack of property ownership certificates in Mark’s hands. The thickness nearly made her jaw drop. “Wh… What? I don’t want…”Mark frowned. “Don’t women want a sense of security? Brian’s words reminded me of this…”Arianne gulped before she shifted her eyes away from the deeds. “Are you serious? Why do I feel like you’ve been acting strangely for the past few days? I’m your enemy. Isn’t it strange for you to give your enemies properties? Moreover, I don’t lack anything. I have meals and clothes in the Tremont Estate, and you give me money to spend. I’m content with it. Put them away. I don’t want any properties.”Mark’s eyes dimmed a little as he tossed the stack of deeds on a couch next to them. “I don’t see you as an enemy. You’re my wife. If you don’t like these properties, we’ll pick ones you like. I’ll buy them fo
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