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
Tiffany did not expect to trigger such a huge reaction from Jackson when she was just trying to leave him hanging to keep his interest. She took a peek downstairs but could not see anything since her new house was too high up. “Are you really downstairs? I… I can’t go down…”She could not come down? Jackson lost his cool. “Don’t tell me you have a man at home? Did your mom ask you to go on a blind date again? Hold on, I’m coming up right now!”Tiffany failed to remain firm, she hastily said, “Wait there! I’ll come down now.” After she hung up, she quickly changed her clothes and went out the door in a hurry. When Lillian asked where she was going, she only said she was meeting a friend and would be coming back shortly.Tiffany was slightly panting when she came down and ran to his car. “What’s up? You’re like a kid, doing whatever you want. Didn’t I say that I can’t come down? How can there possibly be another man at my house?”Jackson opened the passenger door with a glower on his fac
Tiffany panicked. “You said not to mention break up. I didn’t say the words break up…”Not wanting to engage in wordplay with her, Jackson pinned her down again.Tiffany inhaled deeply as she grabbed the pillow. “I won’t mention it anymore… You...” Her voice trembled, and she could no longer make full sentences. The pillow she held in her hands was clenched on until it went out of shape as well.Suddenly, her phone started ringing, startling her. “My mom’s calling!”“Pick it up. Tell her you’re with me. She’ll understand what it means.”Tiffany knew she had provoked him this time so she pleaded, “Fine, I admit I was wrong!”Jackson looked slightly placated and allowed her to answer the call.“Mom… I’m out.”Lillian complained, “Are you not coming home? It’s so late. Which friend are you meeting? Don’t you only have Arianne? She’s not even in the capital… Come home now, it’s not safe being out so late at night!”Before Tiffany could reply, Jackson spoke up, “Mrs. Lane, Tiffie’s with me.
Seeing as there were not many customers at the moment, Naya shut the kitchen door. She lowered her voice and said, “It’s alright. You can talk to me. My lips are sealed. I won’t tell anyone else. You’ll feel better after talking to someone about it.”With Tiffany gone, Naya was the only caring companion she had. “Naya… Mark came over to my place last night, he was hurt. I couldn’t ignore him, but because of that, both of us are connected again… Apart from receiving divorce papers, I didn’t think I’d have to deal with him again.”Since Naya was not aware of what had transpired between them, she could not jump to any conclusion. “You did the right thing. You wouldn’t even turn your back on a stranger, let alone your own husband. I may not know what happened between both of you, and I don’t know how he got hurt either, but the fact that he came to you when he’s most vulnerable shows that he trusts you the most. You definitely have a place in his heart. There’s nothing wrong with followi
Naya smiled. “That’s right. Lulu is a really obedient girl. She’s a good girl. She’s my one and only hope. Lately, I've been coming home late from work. When I get home, I try to avoid cleaning up my mother-in-law’s mess. I wash my husband and my clothes in the washing machine and Lulu’s clothes by hand. I’m exhausted. I can’t be bothered with them. They have hands and feet. I’ve stopped acting like their servant. They’ve been grumbling at me lately, but I don’t care. They used to complain about me not having an income, now I can take care of myself since expenses aren’t that high here. I’d love to see what else they can say once I stop relying on their son.”Arianne agreed with Naya’s words. “You should have done that a long time ago. Just ignore them if they’re not happy, and tell them to talk to their son. It’s not like you’re their biological daughter, and they’ve never treated you like their own anyway. Why should you deal with the trouble anyway? By the way, I don’t think it’s h