Arianne followed her line of sight, and her heart skipped a beat. Mark was as eye-catching as ever even when he’s surrounded by a crowd. She could not miss him even if she tried. She was not sure if it was due to the alcohol, but she was not as afraid as she usually would be. For an extra dose of courage, she poured herself another glass and downed it. “Tiffie, I’ve got to go. Call me if you need anything…”Mark and his group of bodyguards arrived at their booth soon after. Arianne bravely threw herself into his embrace before he lost his temper. “I was out having dinner with Tiffie, and it was still early so we came here. What are you doing here?”Mark’s face looked grim. The inebriated expression on her face made him boil over with rage. He forced himself to restrain his temper. “I came for you. Let’s go home.”Arianne secretly waved goodbye to Tiffany and left the bar with Mark. She discovered Jackson was also in the bar, and he had been the one who disclosed her location to Mark
Her phone rang. It was a call from Jackson. She rejected the call, having no intention of answering the call. Her mind was in a mess. She did not want to bring any further trouble on herself. Two minutes later, she heard footsteps drawing near to her. She instinctively turned around vigilantly and met Jackson’s intense gaze. She felt slightly guilty at this moment and slipped her phone into her bag with a straight face as she said, “My… My phone ran out of battery…”He raised his brow. “If you ran out of battery, my call shouldn’t have connected. How could it have disconnected in the middle of the call? What am I, a three-year-old?”Tiffany did not reply. She lowered her head and stared at her feet. If she could only find a hole in the ground, she would gladly bury herself!Jackson did not bicker with her over rejecting his call. Instead, he chuckled. “Forget it, I’ll take you home.”When she saw him pulling out his car keys, Tiffany immediately reminded him, “You’ve had a few dr
She sat down at the dining table, her mind was filled with doubts. She called Tiffany. Tiffany stayed back at the bar when she left yesterday. Although Jackson was there, she was still worried.The phone rang for a long time before Tiffany finally answered in a muffled voice, “What is it, Ari? Why are you up so early?”Arianne lowered her voice, “Early? It’s past ten in the morning. I just got up. Did Jackson take you home after I left? How much did you drink?”Tiffany was taken aback and remained silent for a very long time. Suddenly, everything that had happened in the bar came flooding back to her. She… made out with Jackson! She knew it, she did not have enough to drink! She remembered everything!Arianne grew worried listening to Tiffany’s prolonged silence. “What is it, Tiffie? Did something happen?”Tiffany sighed. “Nothing, we’ll talk when we meet up next time. I invited Ethan out for lunch today to have a good talk with him. I’ll talk to you later, I’ve got to get ready.
He was feeling slightly helpless. He promptly stopped teasing her. “I did. Did you really think that I wouldn’t? I’ve ordered some desserts for you. You enjoy munching on desserts, don’t you? You can try them. They are the most interesting desserts I’ve ever had.”Then, he walked back to his desk and made a call. “You can send them over now. Bring two cups of americanos while you’re at it.”After the call, he noticed that Arianne’s head was still lowered, and she was blushing. He stared at her thoughtfully and asked, “You can’t possibly be feeling shy, right? We’ve known each other for more than ten years now. Isn’t it a little strange for you to feel shy around me?”“I am not!” She denied vehemently with a red face.Although he knew she was lying, he did not expose her. Instead, he said reassuringly, “We have many more days ahead of us. I really don’t want you to be timid around me every single day. Relax. It’s not like I’m going to do anything to you.”Soon after, Ellie knocked
Arianne felt slightly helpless, “That’s not what I mean. I’m just making casual conversation. Has your office desk always been here?”Ellie smiled and nodded. “This floor is pretty quiet. It doesn’t really matter where my desk is. Mr. Tremont is really nice. He doesn’t like having people around him when he’s working, but I have to be ready to assist him at any time. So it’s best that I work here.”Arianne could not understand what Ellie meant when she called Mark ‘nice’. She thought Mark had been harsh with Ellie. “How much is your monthly salary? Working as his secretary must be a tiring job.”A question about salary was a highly personal subject, no matter the occasion. However, since it was Arianne who had asked the question, Ellie did not avoid the subject. “My basic salary is 3500. It’s not so bad, and there’s a year-end bonus too. It’s pretty good, and it’s not a tiring job.”Upon hearing the numbers, Arianne no longer felt that Ellie had been treated harshly. A secretary’s s
Ethan gave Tiffany a half-smile and asked her coldly, “Are you sure you’re not just trying to get me to grovel until you’re satisfied to get back at me? I’ve made it very clear that I admit that I have mistreated you in the past. I’m wearing my heart on my sleeves now when I’m around you. What else do you want me to do? You can torture me or do whatever you want. I wish to have a home. A home that belongs to us. My only condition is to get married. I can’t wait that long. You can do whatever you want, I can agree to anything you want. All I want is for us to get married. I don’t want to fight with you today. I just want to have a good chat with you about this. Think clearly before answering me. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.”Although Ethan had softened his attitude slightly, Tiffany could still feel how forceful he was behind his compromise. Her only condition was to not get married too early which clashed with his only condition of getting married. She mulled over it
Mark’s expression grew unnatural. “As for the rest… Well, he was more or less involved. If I were him, I might have done even more horrible things. What are you trying to say?”Arianne thought Mark sounded as though he was like he was defending Ethan, which again, made her feel that he was not being his usual self. Even so, she did not voice her suspicion. “I’m just thinking that… if you can forgive his actions, then, I can as well. It’ll be fine as long as he truly repents and turns over a new leave after he gets back with Tiffie, lives his life well, and treats you like his elder brother.”Mark did not say anything else and returned to his study after dinner. The expression on his face turned grim. After thinking for a moment, he sent a message to Jackson. “Tiffany Lane will be moving in with Ethan Connor.”When Jackson received the message, he was dining at the West family residence with his mother. After reading the message, he set his phone aside quietly. He must not reply! Rep
Jackson’s expression remained neutral. “You’re really planning on moving in with him? Living together is more troublesome than being in a relationship. You guys will face all the trivial matters that you’d face as a married couple. Not only that, but it’s easy to lose the spark when a couple lives together too soon. That can lead to higher chances of breaking up. Young people nowadays are really rushing to experience married life. When the time comes, you’ll all realize that it isn’t as amazing as you think. Most people even regret getting married too early.”Tiffany was annoyed by his tone. “Can you not talk to me like you’re much older than me? It’s your business if you don’t want to get married despite your age. If girls like us don’t get married by your age, we’ll be called an old maid. Alright, let’s drop this topic. I won’t be able to come out for a drink and meal with you next time.”That was right. If she moved in with Ethan, she would not be able to hang out with Jackson any