Just before her shower, Arianne was taken aback when she noticed an extra toothbrush in the cup on her sink. Mark had used it before. After some thought, she decided not to throw it away. There was no harm in leaving it there anyway. She refused to admit that she had unconsciously acknowledged the possibility of Mark staying the night at her house from time to time. That’s why she left the toothbrush alone…She checked her phone after stepping out of the bathroom and found a missed call from a strange number. It could have been a spam call if it had only been one call, but this number had called her seven times. She didn’t hear it, as she had been in the bathroom.Suspicious, she returned the call, and it was soon answered. A familiar-sounding middle-aged man’s voice spoke from the receiver, “Miss Wynn, what took you so long to answer the phone? I’m a condo security guard. There’s some people here to see you, claiming to be your family members. I wasn’t sure if I should let them in,
Just as she asked the question, the middle-aged woman who claimed to be her aunt began her bitter lament, “So, we arrive at the purpose of my visit. I came to you because I had no other choice. This is your grandmother, correct? Your father’s gone, so you have to provide support. I can’t be the only one taking care of her, right? You were still too young back then, so we couldn’t let you shoulder that burden. Now, you’re married and to the Tremonts to boot! Shouldn’t your grandmother have a share in your luxury? “Your grandmother was at odds with your father because she was mad at him for failing to meet her expectations. He insisted on marrying Helen Cameran. Her quarrel is not with you. I’ve been caring for her for many years, and your grandmother has recently been involved in a small accident. At her age, she shouldn’t be suffering so much. She hasn’t been able to walk for more than a month; her legs won’t let her. My son is at university and will be graduating soon. He even has a
As expected, that so-called aunt had lied to her. They weren’t completely unaware of the plane crash and actually intended on taking Arianne away.From the sound of it, it seemed entirely forgivable. After all, that incident was pretty severe.Arianne didn't plan on playing the blame game, and she could understand her, “Actually, my father wasn’t behind that plane crash. He was innocent. He never hurt anyone in the Tremont family. I don’t want to go into the specifics with you, but I just want you to know that my father was innocent. I’ve left the Tremonts and started a desserts café. I’m not exactly rolling in cash, but I do have enough for the both of us. I’ll find a bigger place and get a nursemaid to take care of you. I have to go out every morning and come home late at night. I’m really sorry that I can’t take care of you personally.”The old lady did not ask any more questions about the plane crash, probably because she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She sighed, “Now it
She stared at the co-driver’s seat hesitantly, “I didn’t mean to hang up on you. I truly was swamped.”Mark surveyed the look on her face, “What are you busy with that you couldn’t even sleep? Talk to me, what did you mean when you said that you wouldn’t have any time anymore?”Now she understood, he was here because of her careless dismissal…Arianne explained the entire situation involving the old lady to him. Mark was surprised, too, and astonished, “I’ve done an investigation before, and I’ve been long aware that you have a grandmother and a non-blood related aunt. I thought they’d never reveal themselves, as they never appeared in the past, so I never planned on telling you. I’m surprised that they came all the way here to see you. What’s your plan? Are you going to take care of an old lady all on your own?”Mark actually knew of her grandmother and aunt! She glared at him resentfully, “Why didn’t you tell me? I wasn’t even mentally prepared for this…”Mark’s eyes darted back
Right when he stepped into the condo, he received a bolster that was flung at his face. The old woman reclined on the couch, railing at him, “If you can’t take care of me, why did you ask me to stay?”Mark’s gaze sank as he internally recited a mantra: ‘No matter what happens, this is Arianne’s grandmother.’He had to address her as “grandmother” too. He had to contain his temper…He picked up the bolster and walked towards the couch, “I’ll help you to the toilet.”The old woman casually locked her arms around his neck and hung off his body, “You’re pretty solid, kid. I thought you and Arianne had a divorce? Why are you still trying to gain brownie points?”Mark’s mind was buzzing, “We did not get a divorce… She’s still my wife. I did something bad, so she’s angry with me.”The old woman shot him an irritable glare, “What did you do? Did you have an affair? You rich men are all the same. You can’t even handle your own shit; why are you concerning yourself with me? I’ve been coope
Tiffany couldn’t stand it any longer. She pulled off her eye-mask, “Come on, speak a little louder. I can’t hear you. I was only carrying a bag worth more than $10,000, right? Does that give you the license to talk about me for more than half a day out of jealousy? Your salaries might not be much, but you should be able to afford it if you saved for two years, right? There’s no need to be jealous. By the way, I bought this bag on my own. It wasn’t a gift from some man. I have a huge pile of handbags that I bought a few years ago. Altogether, they’d cost enough for a good few years of your salaries. There’s no use in being jealous. Stop for a while. Otherwise, how am I supposed to run errands for you if I’m too tired?”Henrietta mockingly said, “Since your family is so rich, why not stay home and enjoy your life of luxury. Why are you running errands? You can’t even do your errands right. Aren’t you just giving us more work?”Tiffany’s small universe was close to exploding. She was here
Jackson took a deep breath. His woman had been suffering under someone else’s hands and was driven to tears. Aside from heartache, he felt enraged as well, “Alright, alright. Don’t cry. Where are you? I’ll come over and pick you up right now. Stay right where you are and don’t move, okay? What kind of a horrible company are they? Don’t be angry, forget them!”Tiffany sniffed, told him where she was, and waited for him at the side of the road. The weather was gradually turning cold and it wasn’t hot anymore. Sometimes, a gentle breeze would pass and put her emotions slightly more at ease.Soon, Jackson’s luxurious sports car stopped at the side of the road. When she got into the car and saw him, she broke down again. She leaned against his shoulder and sobbed, “I feel so useless, I’ve been fired… I’m so pissed…”Jackson patted her on the back soothingly as he turned towards the office floor, not too far away. That company wasn’t even fit to lick his boots, yet they’d brought grief up
Tiffany blurrily grunted a reply and ended the video call. Arianne irritably threw the phone aside.At past 8 pm, the old lady called Arianne. Based on her tone, she seemed to be in a good mood, “I’m at the Tremont Estate, and everything here is great. Much better than that bird cage of yours, around the same size as our old home. It’s comfortable, living here. You don’t have to worry about me. Mark is here.”Then, she hung up. It was done very neat and tidily.A shiver ran across Arianne's heart. The old lady was not easy to deal with. How did Mark manage to familiarize himself with her in such a short time, then persuade her to go back to the capital? Something must be wrong… Mark had never met the old woman prior to this. She checked through her call records and found that the old woman had actually called while she was asleep in Mark’s hotel room. Of course, she wasn’t the one who answered the call, which could only mean that Mark had gone back to the condo to help the old wom