By the time they had gotten Eric to settle down in the hospital, it was past nine at night. With the drips, Eric’s gastritis did not hurt as much, but he looked like he had withered.It was not the first time Mark and Jackson had encountered this situation, so they were in the mood to joke. “You weren’t really here to eat with us, were you? You must have come to extort us.”Eric was pale, looking listless even when he laughed. “I’d love an extortion; are you giving me millions? I’m fine. I probably just need to be hospitalized for a few days. Help me out, get someone to take care of me. I’ll pay for the caretaker; I’m not extorting you guys.”Arianne and Tiffany thought of someone in unison when they heard that Eric was looking for a caretaker. Exchanging a look, they knew that they were thinking about the same person. Arianne suggested, “I have a hardworking girl in my shop, and she’s experienced in taking care of people. Do you want me to introduce her to you? Just take her as a norm
Mark slowed down his driving, as if he did not want to send her home so soon. “I told you before, I won’t give up on you.”Arianne chuckled humorlessly. “Stop kidding around. I told you before too that it’s impossible between us. I’d wanted to escape from you for a very long time, and now when I finally have my wish granted, why would I jump into the fire pit again? I admit that you’ve made me who I am now. Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today. You’ve given me what others have never had, but you’ve also hurt me the deepest. What makes you think you have the right to say something like that? You caused my dad’s death, pretended to be benevolent in taking me in, and even married me, and for what? A peace of mind? You got it, but what about me? What about my dad! Other than the title of a sinner, my dad has left nothing behind! What do I have to forgive you?”Various emotions wreaked a storm in Mark’s eyes in the dark. His clear voice was laced with pain forbearance. “Am I that unfor
Arianne seemed to be in a good mood as she tended to the roses in her hands. “It’s not early anymore. You’re just a little late. Go do what you have to. Tanya’s probably already in the hospital.”Since the bouquet was taken apart, Tiffany did not notice that it used to be a bouquet. She thought that Arianne had specifically bought the flowers to decorate the shop. “I know… You’re a thoughtful one, aren’t you? The flowers look pretty. But with a few of them on each table, they’ll wilt in three days maximum. That’s a high cost. You don’t mind it?”Arianne smiled without saying anything. She did not have to spend anything for these flowers anyway. Most of the roses that were left after distributing them on the tables were placed in the vase at the counter.She suddenly recalled Mark’s “See you tomorrow” last night. How would he make his appearance today? Would he really be making an appearance?A swiftly moving figure at the door reeled Arianne back to reality. It was Naya’s mother-in-law
The old woman was furious, accusing all of them of the same fault. “Birds of a feather flock together, you’re all nasty people!”Tiffany cursed while glaring at her, “Who are you scolding? Are you asking for a beating, you old hag! If it weren’t for Naya, I’d have given you a big slap!”Naya broke out in tears from her rage. With red-rimmed eyes, she got her phone out to make a call, sounding like she was calling her husband. “Where are you? Your mother’s causing a scene in the shop I work at. Are you settling this? Don’t tell me that you’re busy and can’t leave. If you don’t come today, we can end this marriage right here, right now. I can’t take this anymore!”Seeing that Naya was complaining to her son, the old woman stepped forward to grab her phone. “How dare you complain to him right in front of me? Your mother didn’t teach you well, did she? You uncivilized brat!”During the grappling, Naya’s phone fell to the floor and was stepped on, shattering the device’s screen.Arianne, Ti
Tiffany removed the ‘Closed’ sign hanging at the door. “Don’t say that. We’re friends, and friends never feel that way. Your husband is still a reasonable person, but that old lady is really something else. If she wants to monopolize her son, then she shouldn’t have let him get married. Seeing how badly you’ve been bullied just beats me down! You should really discuss with your husband about moving out along with your child. The two elderly ones still look healthy, so you don’t have to worry until they are too old to move around.”Naya heaved a sigh of relief, as if a burden had just been lifted from her. “If this incident hadn’t happened, I might not have made up my mind to do it for fear that my husband would be put on the spot. It’s good that the old woman made a fuss today. At least, now I can justify my reason for moving out. To be honest, my marriage has been great. I’m just physically and mentally exhausted by my toxic parents-in-law.”When Naya went off to pick up her kid in
When he got in the car, he realized that Arianne had chosen to sit in the passenger seat this time. He didn’t set off in a hurry and just turned the air-conditioning to the max, then tried to start a conversation. Perhaps even he himself didn’t even notice how cautiously he was acting. “Can you fall asleep this early?”Arianne gave him a small smile. “I’ll be tired enough to sleep after cleaning up the house and taking a bath. Truth be told, I’m already sleepy now. I’m pretty much exhausted every day. You’re using your brain to make money, but I’m doing physical labor.”Mark paused for a moment. “Actually, you can use your brain too…”Arianne tried to joke with him. “Use my brain to be a Mrs. Tremont and rely on you to support me? Surely you jest. You know that I don’t like relying on someone else’s support. Mark, I’ve thought about it. Jackson and Tiffie may get married. Given your close relationship with him, I’m sure we’ll be running into each other quite often. I can’t hate you
His silence prompted Arianne to question him with her red-rimmed eyes. “Why aren’t you speaking? Are you lying? You’re lying! How did Rice Ball die? It’s gone already, so can’t you just tell me the truth?”Mark snuffed out the cigarette then lifted his gaze. “I didn’t lie to you. Henry called me after you got out of the car. You can call him yourself if you don’t believe me. I have no reason to deceive you. I admit that I’m at fault for not taking care of it more meticulously.”Arianne stood leaning against the wall as tears tumbled down her cheeks, looking like a little girl who had just lost something beloved to her. Only crying could ease her emotions. “You never liked it from the beginning; you loathed it! It was your fault for not allowing me to take it away! Why do you have to deprive me of everything I like? It was only a cat! It may be a nasty cat in your eyes, but it was very important to me!”She didn’t notice that Mark, who hadn’t smoked in front of her for a long time, l
Dick never knew Ellie had such an opinion of Arianne. He didn’t dare to make any remarks too, however, since this was the boss’ private matter.Ellie looked down on Dick even more for being too timid to even speak his mind and just left with a glass of water.In the office, Mark gave Butler Henry a call and told him how to deal with Rice Ball’s funeral. He didn’t want this matter to create more trouble between him and Arianne, so he’d try his best to do whatever he could.In the apartment, Arianne heard a knock on the door as soon as she was woken up by the alarm clock. Her memory was fuzzy, and she couldn’t even remember how she went back to bed. When she passed by the living room, she noticed a neatly folded thin blanket on the sofa. Although it showed no signs of being used, she had a hunch that Mark didn’t leave last night.She opened the door, only to be greeted by a bouquet so huge that it nearly hid half of the delivery guy’s body behind it. The fragrance of flowers immediat