When Maria took on this job, she already knew that it wouldn’t be a simple one, so she was mentally prepared for it from the beginning. She promptly started cleaning up the house.Ethan knew that he should leave too. He hadn’t expected them to track this place down so soon, so he couldn’t bring Tiffany with him. Even so, perhaps they both needed some time apart to ease the tension between them. He went to the bedroom and hesitated at the door for a moment before pushing it open. Tiffany seemed to be asleep inside the bedroom, but she actually wasn’t. Such a petty trick wasn’t going to fool him. He knew that she just didn’t want to face him. Even so, he didn’t expose her. Ethan went to the bed and whispered, “I have the video, I believe you know what you should or shouldn’t do when you leave here.” After saying that, he stared at her deeply then turned around and closed the door. Maria cleaned up every single spot that might possibly have fingerprints left on it and removed every s
Tiffany nodded with a smile then went into the bathroom. She took off the black silk nightgown and threw it into the trash basket with a look of disgust. She could no longer retain the smile on her face anymore. Only when she was alone could she express her sadness and let her tears flow freely.She scrubbed her skin until it started turning red before putting on a nightgown and going to sleep in the guest room. Arianne turned off the light and hugged her. “Tiffie, I saw the bruises on your body. Did Ethan hit you? You don’t have to tell me if you’re uncomfortable. It’s all over already.”In the darkness, Tiffany desperately held back back her tears. “There’s nothing much to talk about… because... nothing really happened. Ethan just got upset because I dumped him and wanted to get back at me. If you guys hadn’t found me, he would have let me go in just a few more days. I’m dead tired, let’s sleep.”Arianne hardly got a wink of sleep for the past few days. After humming a response, s
“Jackson…?” Aery was a little stunned. At the same time, she was also wondering about the purpose of his sudden visit. Apart from Mark, Jackson was also a very attractive man. After all, no one would dislike a rich and handsome man. The man emotionlessly gestured for her to get into the car. Overjoyed, Aery opened the car door on the passenger side and got in. “Long time no see, Jackson! What’s up?”Jackson was a man who would never lay a finger on the women of his close friends. He had only been polite to Aery in the past for Mark’s sake. The reason for his sudden visit was to find out everything that had happened to Tiffany from Aery. “Tell me everything that transpired after Ethan came looking for you.”A look of disappointment washed over her face when she realized that Jackson was no longer the guy who allowed her to act like a baby around him. He had chosen to side with Arianne and Tiffany. She should have known that the moment Mark dumped her, she was already kicked out of t
Helen said with a cold expression, “Aery, watch your mouth. I’ve been teaching you how to act and treat others since you were young. Why have you still become someone with a foul mouth? I’m letting you two in right now so that you have time to settle yourselves down. I’ve divorced, so I have nothing to do with Jean anymore. You’re legally an adult too and you’re still studying. I don’t want custody over you, but I’ll provide half of your living expenses and tuition fee. Other than that, no more. Jean, you should go find a job as well. I won’t be fully responsible for Aery’s expenses, nor will I pay for you!”All Aery thought about was living comfortably while depending on her mother, but Jean was level headed now. Helen’s attitude was resolute. There was no room for discussion. He shamelessly fought for the most benefit he could get. “Aery is going overseas to study. You know that studying abroad is expensive. How could I afford it now? Even when we’re separated, you should still care
Henry nodded and went out.Mark drove to the Tremont Tower and passed the key to the security to park his car. When a senior citizen fell down by the road, Mark subconsciously wanted to go up and help, but he was suddenly reminded of Arianne’s hysterical words when she left, “Stop acting with a mask, okay?”Was he being too hypocritical like this? He was supposed to be someone cold. He should not have been so kind.Ultimately, Mark stepped into the tower without turning back while the security, who was striving to showcase himself, helped the senior citizen up.…In the White Water Bay villa, Arianne and Tiffany were just done fooling around. The living room and the couch were a mess. Luckily, Jackson was not home. Otherwise, he would have grumbled.“Ari, now that you’ve left the Tremont’s, what’s your plan?”Arianne thought about it for a moment. “I haven’t gotten a clue yet… I don’t want to stay in this city anymore. I want to go somewhere completely foreign and start anew.”Tiffany
Arianne nodded. “Yeah, Tiffie says that she’s leaving with me. We’re planning to start a dessert shop, but we’re not sure yet. If all else fails, we’ll find a job and feed ourselves.”Hearing that Tiffany was leaving too, the smile on Jackson’s face faded. “Oh… Have you girls thought about where you’re going?”Arianne shook her head. “Not yet. We aren’t in a hurry. It’s too sudden, and we haven't decided on much yet. Right, can you ask Mark to give Rice Ball back to me? I have to take it with me; Mark doesn’t like it.”Jackson suddenly thought that his best friend was pitiful. He was less valuable than a cat to Arianne. “You really aren’t thinking about taking the man too? Just the cat?”Arianne replied seriously, “Stop kidding around. I don’t want to have anything to do with him again for the rest of my life. I won’t make it public that my dad’s innocent, nor will I have the case be checked again and expose him. I just really can’t live with him anymore.”Jackson scratched his head an
Ethan looked colder as his tone reduced in warmth too. “My patience is limited. If I really wanted to do something to you, I would have done it in the car, and you wouldn’t have been able to resist anyway.”Tiffany knew that it was futile to keep this up, so she gritted her teeth and got out of the car to follow him into the house.The house maintained its old look. Nothing was changed. The interior and furniture all held her memories. Ethan had played his cards well, knowing that Tiffany could relax the most when being here. This was also why he had brought her here.The nanny had already served the dishes on the table. Smelling the aroma of dinner, Tiffany was dazed for a moment, as if she had gone back to the past where her family of three lived happily. It was this man in front of her that caused her to become what she was now, yet in the end, he was taking her back here as the owner of the house. Did he want her to feel touched or agonized? Whatever it was, it was laced with a sen
Suddenly, a car sped past her and made a swift U-turn to stop beside her. Tiffany wiped her tears. “Jackson? Why are you here?”The first thing Jackson did after coming out of the car was to grab her and scan her from head to toe, breathing in relief when he saw that she was fine. God knew how anxious he was when he found out that she was with Ethan. He had been cooking but had tossed the spatula aside and rushed off, running red lights and speeding through stop signs all the way. “Ethan has something against you, right? If he looks for you next time, tell me. I won’t let him blackmail you constantly. Did he do anything to you!?”Tiffany shook her head. “Nothing. He let me go. He has nothing to hold against me either. I can live my life with a fresh start from now on, walk out of his shadow and live well…”Unable to hold himself back, Jackson pulled her into his embrace. Tiffany widened her eyes. “What… what are you doing? Don’t tell me that you were in such a hurry just to come look f
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