Naturally, Arianne would not ask Mark about it further, given that he seemed reluctant to talk about it.After Ethan’s mention of a dinner date, he soon decided to have that dinner with them that night. Mark’s expression worsened when he received that message. “We’ll go to White Water Bay to have our dinner tonight.”Arianne subconsciously guessed that Ethan was the one who was treating them to a meal. “Did Ethan invite us?” Mark was clearly reluctant, but he still nodded. He even pulled at his tie in annoyance. It puzzled her even more. Why was he acting as if he was threatened by someone? She knew what kind of person he was. If he was unwilling, certainly no one could force him to do anything.His facial expression became better when he realized that she was staring at him. “I’m extremely busy, but I still need to deal with him. It’s annoying…”She remained quiet. Then she took out her nuts and started eating them loudly. At half past five in the evening, Mark and Arianne w
Tiffany clutched the hem of her shirt under the table with one of her hands. It seemed like she was engulfed in an invisible stress, and it prohibited her from looking up at Jackson. The silence lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity for her. Jackson took a glance at Tiffany before taking the glass of red wine from Ethan. “Sure.” Even though she might not understand much about the relationship between men and women, Arianne could sense that something was wrong. She looked up and observed the facial expressions of the men present. Mark still appeared cold and distant. On the other hand, both Jackson and Ethan were polite to each other. She really could not see anything out of place.Tiffany was finally relieved after Jackson left. She had not eaten much, but she felt like she was already full. She put down the fork and spoon. “I’m full now. Enjoy your meal slowly. I’ll go and take a walk outside.” Arianne also stood up and said, “I’m done too. I’ll go with Tiffie.
After dinner, Mark and Arianne went directly back to the Tremont Estate.When Ethan sent Tiffany home, he took out the ring once again. “Tiffie, can you give me an answer now?”Tiffany felt rather suffocated. “Ethan… I’m sorry, I haven’t made up my mind yet.”Ethan frowned and set the ring aside. “You told me that you would give me an answer by the time I’m discharged from the hospital. There’s either love between us or there isn’t. Is it such a difficult decision to make? Did you fall in love with someone else already during the time we were apart?”Tiffany rolled down the car window and took deep breaths to make herself feel better. “No… I… I’m just worried that my mom would be upset. You know how she is. She’s unstoppable once she starts a tantrum…” At a time like this, she could only use her mother as an excuse. Although she couldn’t resist Ethan’s sweet talks, simply accepting his proposal didn’t seem to sit well with her either…”Ethan gritted his teeth then took a deep brea
Naturally, Ethan wouldn’t admit that he was the illegitimate child of the Tremont family. He concealed the coldness in his eyes and gave her the most perfect smile he could manage. “Not many know about it. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Tiffie or call my brother yourself. By the way, I brought the transfer agreement for that piece of land. You may verify its authenticity.” Ethan took out the agreement.Lillian examined it and only believed him after she had verified that it was indeed an authentic document. “You mentioned… something about Tiffie just now? Are you two getting back together again?"Ethan nodded. “Yes, I got into a car accident a few days ago and Tiffie had been taking care of me. I had my own reasons for breaking up with her back then. Now that everything has settled down, I wish to marry Tiffie. However, she hasn’t been able to give me an answer because she’s worried that you wouldn’t agree. This is why I came to visit today without informing her. I seem to have
The smile on Tiffany’s face faded. Why did Ethan have to choose White Water Bay Café of all places? Or did he choose it because of Jackson? She really wanted to explain to him that there was nothing between Jackson and her, yet she just couldn’t bring herself to say it every time the words reached her lips.Aside from spending money frivolously, Lillian also knew how to read a situation. She knew that there was more reason for Ethan to choose White Water Bay Café than it seemed on the surface. “Fine with me, it sounds like a decent place.”When she left the two of them to change her clothes, Tiffany finally couldn’t hold herself back anymore. “Ethan, there’s no need for that. There’s really nothing between me and Jackson.”Ethan’s gaze turned hard. “If that’s the case, then dining there isn’t an issue, right? You should be comfortable and prove to me that there’s really nothing between you two. My patience has a limit. Since I’ve already taken things to this extent, you should consi
She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. “Hm?”“Are you sure? Is it really possible to rekindle old flames? Can you really like someone as much as you did after breaking up?”Jackson had avoided private chats with Tiffany for quite a while now so she was a little surprised by the questions. She pondered over his question, but she only came up with an answer that was not really an answer. “Well, we were in a relationship for three years, and I’d poured my heart and soul into it. If we still like each other, then, it’s natural for us to be together. Since I decided to get back together, I’ll have to take it seriously.” He finally smiled in relief. “You’re not exactly a star performer in the office so you resigning isn’t a loss to me. Don’t worry, I’ll happily sign your letter.”She glared at him. “Should I be happy for you since you’ve finally gotten rid of a freeloader in your company? Alright, just keep your happiness to yourself, I’m… leaving now…”As soon as the doo
Tiffany instantly blushed. Instead of scolding him, she downed a glass of wine nervously. “You’re really nasty…”Her reaction stunned him for two seconds. Whenever they joked like this in the past, she would retaliate instead of blushing... All of a sudden, her phone rang in her bag. Tiffany answered the call in front of him without any hesitation. “Ethan? I’m eating outside. Why? No one in particular, I’m with a friend. What? Meet? It’s gonna be late by the time I’m done, can we leave it until tomorrow? By the way, I’ve resigned. I’ll have plenty of time tomorrow. Alright, I’m hanging up now.”After Tiffany hung up, she continued eating and did not notice the cold expression on Jackson’s face. After a few more glasses of red wine, the blush on her face showed no signs of fading away. She used to be able to hold her liquor well but not anymore since it had been quite a long time since she last drank heavily. Since she was drinking too fast earlier, the alcohol had gotten to her hea
Arianne had never doubted Mary’s intention so she obediently carried her book upstairs. “Sure. It’s dark here, be careful when you guys remove the lights.”Mary grinned in delight. Mark hardly came back early. She would not allow Arianne to waste this opportunity.When Mark returned to the room, he sat in front of the French window, flipping through a book. The books that he read were different from Arianne’s. They were all in a foreign language. Arianne was not good in foreign languages, and she would have a headache when she thought about deciphering them.Since it was only nine pm, she lay down on the bed and continued reading. Before she even finished reading a sentence, Mark reprimanded her, “Who’s taught you to read lying down? Are you planning on ruining your eyes? Sit up and read it if you want, otherwise, go to sleep.”His tone was like that of a parent educating his child. She had long gotten used to it. Putting her book aside, she listened to him and tried to sleep.The room
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