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 did not realize that she sounded like a child showing off, but Tiffany could clearly see it. “Oh, oh, oh, look at you! And you were just telling me that you want a divorce, how you can’t stand him anymore… You’re so lovey-dovey now, aren’t you? I think a divorce is impossible after you’ve spent so many years with him. There’s still familial love even without romantic love. I really envy you guys for stepping right into familial love, passing the romance. No matter how bad things get, you’ll reconcile in a blink of an eye. Other people break up so easily and get a divorce with just a snap of fingers.”The hint of a smile on the corners of Arianne’s lips grew deeper. “Knock it off! You must be free in the afternoon since you’re not working anymore. Let’s go out for tea? I can finally go out freely now. I’m dying of boredom!”Tiffany could not wait until afternoon. “Come out right now. I have something to tell you. My mind is in a mess…”Arianne caught a whiff of gossip from her w
“Oh, yeah, the money and property that you gave me, I don’t want them. I didn’t bring them out today. I’ll return them to you the next time,” Arianne said calmly, distancing herself from Helen.Helen’s smile froze. “It’s been so long. You should just accept them. To be honest, Aery is freeloading in my house now. Whatever she has and uses are all mine, she asks for allowances from me too. If you return the house and money to me, she’ll take them. I’ve provided more than enough for her, that’s why she has the habit of asking for things. I won’t give her anything anymore, just keep them.”Arianne did not imagine Aery would be such a leech. She was already an adult, but she was acting like a big baby staying in her divorced mother’s house. She could not help feeling Helen was biased. Now that the Kinseys had gone bankrupt, Aery could not possibly be the only one freeloading in Helen’s home. Jean must be there as well.Arianne took a sip of her juice. “I’ll take care of them for you then.
Mark took a big puff of his cigarette before putting it out immediately. “It’s… it’s okay… Make me tea, make it richer…” Could someone tell him why the odd taste was still lingering in his mouth? Even the cigarettes could not get rid of the taste. Hopefully, the tea would be able to wash it away.After Arianne skipped upstairs and handed the black tea to Mark, he blew on it carelessly before drinking a big gulp. It was not a wise move. He would never forget how the combination of the tea and the odd taste in his mouth tasted like. He did not have dinner that night since he had to go to the toilet for a total of 18 times. He could not endure it and finally went to the hospital early the next morning.Arianne who had been busy the entire afternoon slept soundly, unaware of the torture Mark went through. She only noticed that he got out of bed frequently throughout the night. When she did not see him the next morning during breakfast, she thought he had gone to the office.However, Mary c
Arianne rarely took the initiative to talk to him, but they had been interacting a lot recently, much more than the first half of their lives. Mark answered her question to the best of his ability, “It’s Jackson. His photos at the nightclub were taken and posted online. It’s nothing serious.”Arianne’s eyes widened. “Risqué photos? Weren’t you together with Jackson and Eric at those places last time? Have people taken photos of you?”Mark glared at her and said huffily, “I went there for the ambiance. They went there for the fun. It’s not the same. Even if they took photos of me, it won’t be interesting.”After dinner, Mark returned to the room and texted Ethan. “It was you, right?”He got a reply swiftly. “Tell me that when you have proof.”The matter was not severe so it was unnecessary to pursue it. However, it was likely that Ethan was the culprit. After all, he considered Jackson his love rival. In the end, Mark only warned Ethan. “Stop laying your fingers on people around me.”Wh
“Don’t… Stop it…”Her rejection was soft, unaggressive, causing Mark to disregard it. With a simple flip of their bodies, he caged her under him and pinned her struggling arms. Her wrists were thin, both of them fitting in only one of his hands.Realizing what was about to happen, Arianne panicked. “Mark! Please don’t!” She was subconsciously repelling the act, an indescribable feeling coming over her.Losing himself in the heat of the moment, Mark littered kisses around her lips and asked, “Why?”Why? Arianne didn’t know why either. How was she supposed to answer him? They were lawfully married, husband and wife. Something like this was normal, expected even, but she was subconsciously resisting. So why? She thought about his past with Aery and her three babies, none of them able to greet this world. The torment that she had gone through in the hospital was a neverending nightmare.There was also her past, which she had sealed away, regarding Will and regarding the absent Sivans. All
Tiffany flatly denied, “I’m not worried. It’s a roast, get it? A roast! Speaking of, what happened to that desert you made? I’ve heard that Mark nearly lost his life after consuming it. And that he’s even had to go to the hospital for an IV?”Arianne felt depressed at the very mention of this matter, “No improvements. If I could make the exterior of the desert look good, that would already be an achievement, but it just won’t taste good. Not even Rice Ball wants to eat it. Now, every time anyone at home sees me in the kitchen, they tremble with fear. I’m so worried.”Tiffany burst into laughter but did not go overboard with teasing her. She stopped at just the right time, “Ari, would you like to come look at houses with me? My mother wants to move, and I’m afraid that she might nitpick. Come and help me convince her so that once it’s nearly done, we can just decide. At least, I won’t have to deal with her walking around the entire day and still feeling unsatisfied.”Arianne agreed.