With that, Arianne spun on her heels, palpably sulking.Suddenly, Mark reached out and hurriedly tugged on her wrist. “Granny was kidding. Please, don’t pay her words any mind,” he explained. “Listen, how about you come home to the Tremont Estate with me after this party’s over? It’s been a while since you’ve come back to the Capital — spending time with your grandmother is something that’s long overdue between you two. Besides, Mary and Henry both expressed wishes to see you home.”Arianne swung her hand away from his grip in a fit of discomfort. “We’ll see, okay?” she fumbled an answer, her eyes avoiding him. “I’m going to accompany Tiffie. She’s nervous.”Mark let her go in silence. He knew how much Tiffany meant to his wife.Summer and Atticus had both left by the time she returned to the lounge. Tanya, upon seeing her return, suddenly piped up, “Um, Ari? I get this feeling that we’re very different from everyone else out there… Everyone’s wearing suits and tux and gowns and stuff,
Arianne nodded curtly before springing toward the escalator to the floor below.Firm confirmations from hotel security that no elderly man had ever left the building was relieving news. After giving the security some instructions, she took the stairs and scoured floor by floor.A few floors later, she was panting hard.Mark had ordered his guards to look as well, but they were hamstrung by the need to remain discreet to avoid disrupting the ceremony.The clock was going to strike twelve soon. A few more minutes, and Tiffany, the star of the day, would have to go through the rites with Jackson, yet Old Anderson was still nowhere to be found. At this critical moment, Arianne received a call from Eric, who promptly asked, “Didn’t Tanya follow you to the Capital today? And didn’t she bring her grandfather with her?”“How did you know?” Arianne questioned. “Are you booking tables for the wedding or what? Hold on, where are you, exactly?”Eric sounded a little upset. “Does she have any idea
Had Arianne not worried about ruining Tiffany’s engagement ceremony, she would have swung her fist right there and then.Honestly, even Arianne was boggled at how cantankerous she had become. Ever since the Aery Kinsey incident back then, it seemed to her that the best way to solve a problem that might require her fists was, indeed, to use her fist without saying another word. Sometimes, actions do speak louder than words… literally.She gulped a deep breath to calm herself forcibly. “Tell me: did you or did you not hit an old man on the eighth floor earlier? And before you insult me by trying — no, I’m not gonna buy your crap. I have CCTV footage with me, and honestly, I want this solved today, or you’re not going anywhere. Wanna bet?”A hint of consternation from being exposed flitted through the woman’s eyes. Still, she quickly regained her composure. “What the hell are you yammering about, b*tch? That old man started it by bumping into me!” she rebutted. “Besides, I can’t stop wond
Mark glanced at Tanya’s grandfather and had an inkling of what happened. He curled his lips into a faint smile when he thought of Arianne’s ‘wildness’. He was surprised by this new facet of his woman. She was like a… tiny wild cat?Naya pushed the medicine box over to Mark. “Mr. Tremont, Ari is hurt as well. Please take care of it for her.”Mark used an alcohol cotton swab to disinfect Arianne’s wound.Arianne felt a piercing pain on her wound but was too shy to give voice to her pain. Mark’s handsome face was magnified before her eyes. His aura was stronger with his close proximity as he dabbed the cotton swab on her cheeks. His expression was solemn and focused. She did not know the thoughts that ran through his mind and wondered if he was humiliated by her actions.“Ari, don’t you think your rebellious stage arrived a little too late?”He was blaming her, right? Annoyed, Arianne avoided his hand. “I’m not being rebellious. I tried negotiating with that woman, but she refused to reso
Tiffany stepped forward and handed Chloe’s money to Tanya. “Keep it. Don’t refuse free money. Consider it a bite from a dog. There’s no point in being calculative with people like her. Do you have a place to stay? Let me book a hotel room for you. Try and cheer up. Let’s have fun for the next couple of days.”“Stay in this hotel,” Jackson suggested, “I’ll tell the front desk to prepare a few rooms for you. The hotel belongs to my family so there’s no need to be modest.”Tiffany looked at Jackson in shock. She was still quite in the dark about the West family’s wealth. They actually owned such a big hotel. The Wests seemed to have their fingers in every pie.Mark suddenly grabbed Arianne by the shoulder. “Let’s go. Come home with me.”“I don’t want to.” Arianne shook him off. Mark lowered his head and whispered into Arianne’s ear. “Mary has been unwell recently. Don’t you want to see her? She used to dote on you so much.”Arianne gritted her teeth. “Fine. I’ll go. I’ll see Mary and Hen
Arianne felt slightly guilty now that her thoughts were exposed. She was too afraid to meet Mark’s eye. “I… I won’t stay. That’s not all, I’m taking my grandmother with me. Even if my grandmother insists on staying, do you dare to confess everything you’ve done? You’ll give her a stroke if she discovers the truth one day! Don’t burn the bridges. Please be kind and leave my family alone, okay? I won’t pick on what had happened in the past, but let’s just draw a clear line between us, okay? I really… I really don’t see any way for us to be together…”Although Mark was long aware of Arianne’s promise to return to the Tremont Estate was only a half-hearted one, he was still provoked by her words. They could not draw a clear line between them. He was already at his limit for letting her leave his side for so long, and yet, she would jump at any opportunity just to leave him. A chaotic mix of complicated emotions swirled in his mind. He took off his glasses and threw them on the floor before
Arianne didn’t answer. She turned her face to the side, shut her eyes and gripped tightly onto the covers. Her cheeks were blushing furiously, which spread throughout her entire body, a bright red as clear as day.He kept on mumbling to himself, then collapsed on top of her and stopped moving.Arianne finally realized that something was wrong with him. His body felt extremely hot! She panicked instantly, then soon relaxed. She picked up the clothes on the ground and put on his pajamas for him. Then, she called the Tremont family doctor.The doctor quickly rushed over. After a simple check-up, he concluded, “Mr. Tremont has been over exhausted for a long period of time. Furthermore, he’s caught a cold, which has caused a fever. His body has been overtaxed, so he’s lost consciousness. The temperature has gone down lately. It’s pretty normal to catch a cold under such capricious weather.”Arianne heaved a sigh of relief after determining the cause behind Mark’s collapse. A cold was nothin
She struggled away from his grasp, “Alright. Didn’t I promise not to trick you? I haven’t made up my mind… You’ve been asleep for so long. Isn’t your germaphobia acting up? Mary has prepared some porridge for you. I’m exhausted from looking after you over the past two days. I need to sleep.”Before she could finish speaking, Mark began feeling uncomfortable. He got up and ran into the bathroom. Arianne heaved a sigh of relief, closed her eyes, and allowed her thoughts to gradually enter a state of peace. She soon fell asleep.The next day, Mark went to the office as soon as he woke up. She went straight to Tanya and Naya’s hotel. Naya and Tanya were still around, so she couldn’t just ignore them. She was the one who brought them over, and they were not familiar with anyone in the capital.Naya was a domesticated woman. She did not plan on having too much fun in the capital, because she could not afford to spend too much money. She simply wanted to take Lulu around for some sightseeing.