The girls’ bustling day finally ended with Tiffany gleefully counting their earnings. “Oh my god, Ari, we hit the jackpot on the very first business day of the year!” she exclaimed. “Honestly, that office building across us alone will keep our shop afloat forever. In fact, I’m sure we’ll be hiring more hands a few days from now! Oh, by the way, having people order from a takeout app rather than directly from our shop made us lose some revenue to the middlemen. If they’d ordered directly, we could have earned even more! I’ll have Tanya give them a little contact card next time.”“Already done that, Tiffany,” Tanya interjected. “I’ve presented them with our business cards during today’s deliveries. Told them that they could give us a ring the next time their cravings struck them.”On cue, Tiffany brought the girl’s bonuses, wrapped in a nice little packet, to her. “Here’s a little something for you, our little smart alec.”At first, Tanya was delighted to receive her reward, but then her
Lynn let loose a quick curl of her lips. “Oh, no, no. Held my breath when I was bending down just now.”While the two were bantering, a group of twenty-something men strode through the front door, all of them donning business suits with their nameplates pinned to the chests.Strangely, there was no woman among them; this curiosity hooked Tiffany’s attention. Experience told her that men didn’t typically visit cafés in throngs, and women were usually better appreciators of all things sweet.Instinctively, she reasoned that these men were here to buy for their girlfriends. “Welcome! What would you like? Here are our latest goods, and they are guaranteed to be a favorite among the ladies. Would you like me to introduce them to you?”A clean-shaven man leading the troop was a little bashful. “Um, well… Just giving all of us a set of your recommendations will do.”Tiffany cocked an eyebrow. “Hmm? Dining-in? You’re not buying for your girlfriends or female friends?”The man’s friends had alr
The man fumbled out an excuse, “Makes takeouts more convenient.”Tanya mused between reciting each of Arianne’s numbers, “Don’t you guys always ring up the shop directly? Ari may be one of the two bosses, but she’s always busy in the kitchen, so she rarely manages orders. I think directly calling the shop is a better idea.”The man stored the girl’s number gingerly while replying, “I see, I see. Thank you very much for your help.”Tanya thought of telling Arianne about the little exchange regarding her phone number once she returned to the shop, but the bustle of the day kept coming, and soon, she forgot about it altogether.Night fell. The café was near its closing hour when Arianne’s phone beeped: ‘A cup of warm milk. Less sugar.’It baffled her to see someone ordering through her number, but she replied patiently, ‘Please tell me the address for delivery.’The other side was quick to respond. ‘The office building opposite your shop. I’ll send you the details when it’s ready.’The pr
Tiffany was so startled that the fish fell out of her agape mouth and bounced off the table. “W-wait, this isn’t from you? Then someone… Someone delivered this to the wrong room, and I opened it and ate it clean!” she cried. “O-or worse, if this wasn’t a wrong delivery, then it’s an assassination attempt through poison — and I fell for it! I’m gonna dieeeeee!”Jackson suddenly roared into laughter. “Enjoy your meal, Dum-dum. Of course I didn’t cook it — I ordered someone else to do it instead! I’ve opened a branch around your corner and thought that you girls might be hungry after work, so I asked the cooks to prepare some dinner before the restaurant closed and had them deliver it to you. You girls must have worked really late into the night if they decided to just hang it on your door instead of waiting.”Tiffany heaved out a long sigh of relief. “Gawd, you naughty, naughty devil! You could have told me right away instead of setting me up like in a horror movie! You know what, screw
Mark Tremont never did turn toward her direction. He just melted into the gathering crowd.A morose smile shadowed her pale lips. She wanted to not be seen, did she not? It was for the best, she told herself. That embrace in the club? Forget it. It was for the best.At the highest floor of the block, flanked by his company’s higher-ups, Mark visited every department in the building in turns. Behind those glasses, dour eyes coated in a thin film of frost scaled his nervous employees while they did their best to ensure no slips came to pass.Narrowly after ordering two cups of coffee through Messenger, Nick’s periphery vision caught Mark approaching his direction. He quickly placed his phone down and went back to work. His superior had already informed him earlier that the boss was coming today. If Mark found him fiddling with his phone, Nick would lose his job right there and then.His fortune, however, took a dip. When Mark was passing by Nick’s aisle, the steely man suddenly stopped a
A senior executive rushed into the office, “Uh… Mr. Tremont, Nick’s told me about your misunderstanding. You can’t blame an ignorant man. Now that he’s aware, he’ll keep in line. Nick is a very capable member of the team. Have a look, Mr. Tremont…”Mark sat at his office desk and calmly looked through the company report. His previous cold exterior had completely disappeared. “I never said that I wanted to dismiss him. It’s just as you said, I can’t blame an ignorant man. From now on, I’d like everyone in the company to understand that Arianne is my wife. You may like her desserts, but not her. Or else…”The senior executive nodded and bowed, “Yes sir, yes sir! Everyone knows now. But… Why has Mrs.Tremont opened a dessert shop in a place like this?”His question received a glare from Mark, “Is that any of your concern? Get a box of desserts for me and a cup of americano.”The senior executive wiped the sweat off his forehead, “From Mrs. Tremont’s shop?”Mark stared at him as if he
Tiffany promptly shut her mouth while shooting Naya a look at the same time. Naya understood her subtle gesture and went back to work.When they arrived home that night, Arianne stared at the piece of paper for hours on end. Tiffany munched on the food that Jackson had delivered and grumbled, “Come on. Use it if you want, throw it away if you don't. I'll support your decision either way. Stop staring at it already. It’s going to possess you.”Arianne put the piece of paper away, “Eat your food. I think Jackson must be raising a pig, and by that, I mean you. You fat pig. If you keep eating supper every day like this, you’re going to gain weight. You’ll blow up like a balloon!”Tiffany, on the other hand, was very optimistic, “Why should I be scared? I’ll never find a good man to marry anyway. I’m much more comfortably living life on my own. I can do whatever I want. Life is short, carpe diem. You shouldn’t mistreat your appetite and stomach. Besides, you can’t have anything to eat wh
Arianne soon realized this, “Forget it. Let’s stop. We’ll call a door repairman and change the door.”Tiffany’s heart ached, “This door is expensive. I’m going to catch that horrible jerk and teach them a lesson!”It was still early, so the door couldn’t be changed immediately. A lot of businesses hadn’t opened yet, so Arianne and Tiffany found some tools and tore down the door. They had to keep it, as it would serve as evidence in their police report. This would be considered illegal property damage. The value of their door was enough to file a case.The police and the door repairman arrived at the same time. When the police saw the state of the glass door, which had been taken down, they took pictures of it as evidence, then left to check the surveillance cameras. The surrounding area was under surveillance, so it wasn’t difficult to extract footage.By the time everyone else in the shop had arrived for work, the door repairman was still busying himself. They couldn’t help feelin
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