Jean walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It was pitch-black outside, he could not see anything at all. It seemed like someone had covered the peephole. He began to feel nervous so he made himself sound gruff and fierce as he said, “Who is it?”A few seconds later, a male voice rang indifferently from the other side of the door. “There’s a problem with the electricity in your home. I’m here to fix it.”The lights in the condominium immediately went out, as though working in tandem with the man’s answer.Aery jumped in fright. “Dad, get them to come and fix this. Something’s wrong. It’s too dark!”Jean believed this matter was not as simple as it seemed. The lights were still on when the man knocked on the door, and they only went out after the man spoke. He did not let down his guard. “The electrical boxes are outside, right next to you. You’ll have to get a key from security downstairs. It’s locked so I can’t help you!”“I have the keys,” the man outside replied, “
Henry was unmoved. “Mr. Tremont has made it very clear, both of you will have to go. Mr. Kinsey, your only crime is hiring thugs to vandalize personal property and issuing threats. Your sentence will probably be quite light. However, your daughter deliberately rammed her car into someone else’s car, causing the victim to miscarry and unable to have children so I’m not too certain about her. Will your daughter give up the people who helped her cover up? Well, that all depends on her.”Jean widened his eyes. “Didn’t Mark cover up for her as well?”Henry furrowed his brows. “Mr. Tremont is a kind man. His kindness simply stems from the fact that your daughter is slightly related to Mrs. Tremont. Mr. Tremont is a victim after all. Your five minutes are up. Would you like to go to the police station or shall we settle this here?”Aery was completely terrified at this point. Without any hesitation, she screamed, “The police! Let’s surrender ourselves to the police!” She would much rather
Arianne glanced at the passed-out Tiffany, smiled, and nodded. Once she turned around, her tears that she had been holding back for a long time finally streamed down her face.She did not call for a cab and decided to walk home along the empty streets. Every step felt fleeting to her. Her past experiences began to flash in her mind. The highs and the lows of her life felt like a blur to her. Perhaps, she would be able to forget them all soon, forget all her experiences and all those people… Suddenly, she heard footsteps closing in on her and trembled. She was too afraid to turn back and look so she quickened her pace. Unfortunately, her alcohol-muddled brain and limbs refused to cooperate so she stumbled a few times. Only a small sliver of sobriety warned her of the dangers of walking alone at night. She arrived home with great difficulty and broke out into cold sweat. Her hands were shaking when she pulled out her key to unlock the door, refusing to comply with the instructions f
However, that didn’t seem possible. He was in the capital. How could he possibly be here and doing such ridiculous things? Besides, he never replied to her message when she asked him to take Lynn away. It would seem that he had truly given up on her, so he certainly wouldn’t do such a thing. She must be overanalyzing.Tiffany may be gone, but it was still business as usual; life went on. The weather today seemed pretty good, as if it was meant to cheer Arianne up. It was slightly breezy, not too humid or too hot. The sun was just warm enough, and business was good.Just as noon arrived, Naya suddenly cried out in surprise, “Ari, we’ve received a huge order from a finance company in the office across the street. I think it’s from your… husband’s company? A hundred desserts and cups of americano. Americanos are easy to make but making those desserts might exhaust you… Was that your husband’s Rolls-Royce this morning? Only a company boss would treat his employees to these desserts. I me
Once she thought about Mark’s nonchalance when she met him in the office, Arianne felt unnerved. If she weren’t looking to make money, she would not have accepted his order. Not only had she wore herself out the whole afternoon, but she had the feeling that he was doing it on purpose to make her life hard.Not too long later, Naya returned to the shop after picking up her daughter from preschool. It seemed to be a common occurrence recently. Others might not discern anything, but Arianne could see through it. “Naya, don’t you have anyone at home who can help you look after the child? I don’t mean anything, I like Lulu, but I just think that… it’s too tiring for you. Can no one else pick her up for you?”Naya shook her head with a bitter smile. “No. My husband is weary from work. He’s a programmer and is always working late into the night from doing overtime. He can’t help with our kid; not like he has the time to. As for the elders at home… I married far from my home. My parents aren’t
The chauffeur asked carefully, “Then… what about you?”Mark’s patience had vanished. “Why are you asking about me? Who hired you? Did you take out your brain? Get me someone smarter!”…Downstairs of the apartment, Mark saw that the lights in Arianne’s unit were turned on as he stepped into the elevator. He could not wait to see her and speak to her, even if he ended up being scolded by her…He had thought about taking it slow, but after seeing her today, he could no longer hold back. The forced patience felt like he was being bitten by millions of ants. He had endured it for countless nights, especially when she had been afraid of going home alone at night. He wanted to charge up and tell her that he had always been there for her…Arriving at her door, Mark hesitated for a long time before knocking on it, but he received no response. The residential area was a decent one around, but the small scale of the apartment meant that the soundproofing was weaker. He could vaguely make out the
Arianne was shocked when she took in Mark’s state. “What happened to you? Who did this! Don’t you have bodyguards when you go out? Why are you out and about alone!”“Can I explain later?” Mark only wanted to go in and check what the dumb chauffeur had beaten him to.Arianne finally reacted and helped him in with all her might. After sitting Mark down on the couch, she frantically went to look for the first aid kit. However, upon finding it and opening it, she felt rather hopeless. “Tiffie and I never anticipated any accidents happening so we only prepared some antiseptic and band aids. Do you want to go to the hospital?”Mark’s goal here wasn’t to go to the hospital. “No need… it’s not a good idea either…”Arianne was surprised when she heard him. “Was it Ethan? Did he get someone to do it?”Mark did not deny it. It’s not like he could admit that he did it to himself. Let Ethan be the scapegoat; not many knew that he was dead anyway.Without questioning the incident further, Arianne be
Mark gave a slight nod while Arianne moved rather stiffly. She had not expected them to formally meet again under such circumstances. Despite her apprehensions, she could not chase him out now.Once Mark settled himself down in bed, Arianne turned to the living room after closing the door for him. Laying on the couch, she was hit with a flurry of thoughts and was unable to fall asleep. No matter what, they had an unbreakable line between them. Seeing him injured, of course she would be worried.Like her, Mark was also unable to fall asleep. He was on a video call with Jackson with a pair of Bluetooth earphones lest Arianne heard them.When Jackson saw the wound on his forehead, he was disdainful. “That’s all? And she let you in?”Mark’s exasperation was threatening to spill. “That’s all? My back’s looking like a beehive now; why else would she have let me in? Your idea isn’t all that mighty. I got in, but she’s sleeping on the couch. She didn’t even spare me an extra word. What do I do