After she had eaten her fill, she surveyed the room. The interior was simple and crude. It was very tiny as well. When she went into the bathroom, she turned on the shower and discovered there was no hot water. It did not matter anyway. Due to burns on her hand, it would be inconvenient to shower. Although it was already beginning to scab, it still hurt, and it would get infected if it had gotten wet.She lay on the bed that smelled like mold. Even the mattress felt damp. She could not make herself comfortable no matter how many times she shifted positions. However, she did not complain. After all, this was better than having to sleep on the streets. Before she went to bed, she had pushed the cabinet up against the wall. That way, if someone tried to break in, they would not be able to get in easily.She dozed off for a while before she was woken up by a commotion in the hallway. It sounded like a group of drunk young men. They spoke loudly, and she warily waited until the commotion fa
Eric carefully thought back to previous events. Tanya’s wound certainly did not come from doing chores at home. This meant it happened in the office. He knew that apart from cleaning, Tanya would also make and serve tea to her colleagues. He knew she was being friendly since she wanted to learn fashion design from her colleagues so he did not put much thought into it. After all, there was nothing strange about it. However, upon second thought, he connected all the events and resignation and realized the situation was not as simple as it seemed. He asked sternly, “Did someone in the company bully you? Be honest!”Tanya bit her lips, refusing to speak.Tiffany was so enraged that she began spouting profanities. “F*ck! Is that even a question? They must have bullied her! Eric, I put her in your care. She’s with you most of the time, can’t you even look out for her? Tan, what happened? If you refuse to tell me, I’ll tell Ari about this. You know what she’s like. If she finds out about this
Before Tanya could respond, Tiffany had pulled her out of the room.When they passed by the front desk, the woman who had been cracking nuts asked, “So, you’re won’t be staying then?”Tanya nodded. “Sorry, I won’t be staying here!”“Why on earth are you greeting someone like that?” Tiffany grumbled softly, “Do you have any idea what kind of place this is? My god, this isn’t a motel. This is a place for pimps and prostitutes. You’re like fresh meat in the den of a pack of hungry wolves! Who knows what might happen if we didn’t find you today?”Tanya shuddered in fear. “Are you serious? I didn’t know…”Eric threw her luggage into the car. “You’re seriously naive. Let me tell you this; just because you’re nice to people, it doesn’t mean that they’ll reciprocate it. Some people will take you for granted no matter how nice you are to them. You have to be more assertive and learn to stand up for yourself. Being overly kind won’t do you any good.”Tiffany’s phone suddenly rang at this moment.
Based on the pictures, Jackson had been meeting up with this woman at all sorts of places. It looked like a lovers’ rendezvous. The woman was smiling joyfully in every picture. Moreover, apart from going to the office and coming home, every time he was out, he had met with that woman. Most importantly, he had even visited that woman at the hotel a few times. One of the visits was from this morning. Tiffany had entered the office first while Jackson took his time. He had gone to see that woman to deliver breakfast to her at the hotel. Five-star hotels usually provided breakfast, and yet, it seemed he doted on the woman so much that he even personally delivered breakfast to her. Then, as an afterthought, he had probably brought an extra set and gave it to her in the office. To think, at that time, she had been moved by his gesture. What a joke!Tiffany was too afraid to examine these things in detail or read it again. She turned off her phone, pretended as though nothing was wrong, and
The woman simply did not think Eric would do anything to her for Tanya’s sake. After all, she had been working for Eric for two years. Her work was not terrible either. “You can say whatever you like. You’re not really good at anything except for tattling and selling your sob stories. We gave you the money for food and everything else on that day, and now, you’re trying to extort us for more money. Thank goodness none of us taught you anything, it would’ve been a thankless task. Mr. Nathaniel, please beware. Don’t just pick up any rotten thing that comes your way. A woman without any relatives must have an ulterior motive for clinging onto you.”Tanya burst into tears of anger. It was bad enough that they were twisting facts. It was even more insulting to hear them speak of her this way when she had never harbored any intention toward Eric!Eric’s face turned ashen from anger. “Should I teach you manners? You’re lucky I’m the one dealing with this matter instead of Tiffany Lane or Aria
The Tremont Estate.Arianne slept until she naturally woke up. Mary carefully supported her as she walked downstairs.“Madam, Mr. Tremont is in the dining room, waiting to have breakfast with you. He says he’ll be accompanying you to your prenatal examination later.”Arianne felt Mary was being too careful. However, when she remembered how she had miscarried twice, she remained silent. It was better to be safe than sorry. This was no time for her to be fussy.When she sat in front of the dining table, Mark pushed a bowl of porridge in front of him toward her. “Eat it while it’s warm.”She stared at the prawns in the porridge, not having the appetite to eat at all. All the food she used to enjoy made her nauseous now. She was rather upset by this. “I… don’t feel like eating this. Plain porridge will do.”Mary was surprised. “Aren’t prawns your favorite? These prawns are fresh and have been peeled for your convenience. They’re really large as well. Plain porridge doesn’t have any nutrien
Following her nose out of the window, Arianne’s eyes wandered before veering into a halt at an Italian eatery. “I… I want lasagna!” she declared.Lasagna?! Mark was nonplussed, his mind mulling over how appropriate a dish that would be for pregnant women.The craving on her face said it all, however. He had to admit that this was better than her not eating anything. With a sigh, Mark wrapped his neck with a scarf and disembarked from the car. “Sit tight. I’ll get one for you.”Unthinkably, Arianne was at her most docile yet. She beamed at Mark with a sweet smile, “Okie-dokie!”Brian watched Mark’s towering frame disappear into a crowd made up of old people and let out a sigh. “Mr. Tremont truly treats you like a crowned jewel, Madam.”All Arianne could think about was lasagna. “Huh… what? Oh, uh, he’s alright.”Mark returned with a large-size lasagna that Arianne wolfed down within minutes — honestly, she could gobble down even larger sizes had Mark bought them.Pregnant women who were
Tiffany shot the man a questioning look before her periphery vision espied a flitting but striking silhouette: Bernadette Legrand, the twenty-nine years-old artist renowned in international art scenes. She had found this company after all!Aye tightened her hand around Tiffany’s. “Okay, calm down, Tiffany. Calm. The. Eff. Down. Now that she’s here, Mr. West will have no choice but to give you an explanation now, right? Or else, he would reeeeally cross the line —”Tiffany, however, was not one to silently bear. The fact that she had been patient up to today belied how much she loathed the entire debacle. Admittedly, she might be able to continue the role of an observer as she monitored the affair before any action, but if this woman had the audacity to appear right by their doorstep, hell was she going to play blind!With a glower, Tiffany followed them out of the door. Worried about her wellbeing, Aye sprung behind her after mustering her courage.Soon, the two arrived at the lounge o