Mark couldn’t help smirking when he saw the look on her face. “We’ll be on our way then. Thank you, doctor.”Arianne’s heated face slowly reverted back to normal. The doctor didn’t even need to mention sex; she was well aware of it. Mentioning it out loud only made it more embarrassing…“Why were you blushing?” Mark asked, teasing her on purpose.She looked out the window, pretending as if nothing had happened. “I was not. The hospital was warm, so I was feeling hot from all these extra layers. What’s wrong with that?”Due to the tedious trip to the hospital in the middle of the night, Mark woke up later than usual the next morning. By the time he arrived at the office, it was almost 10AM. He had just stepped out of the elevator when his secretary, Davy, greeted him and said, “Mr. Tremont, Miss Cameran is here to see you.”Miss Cameran, who else could it be except Helen?Mark wasn’t surprised. This wasn’t the first time Helen had come to see him behind Arianne’s back. “Got it.”As he e
Aery paled. She knew Helen was telling the truth. In the past, Helen would get incredibly angry whenever she made a mistake. However, throughout the process of bailing her out of jail, Helen remained calm. Arianne was Helen’s daughter as well. However, Helen still abandoned Arianne previously. In short, Helen was a cold and cruel person. She began to feel frightened when she thought about all these things. She tentatively grabbed Helen’s sleeves and said, “Mom… I was wrong. I won’t do it again. I promise to listen to you from now on. Can you… Can you please plead with Mark darling to get dad out of jail as well? Dad is locked up because of me. Please, I’m begging you…”Helen no longer felt anything when she thought about Jean. “It’s not easy for me to save you, and you still want me to save your dad? Do you think I can do as I please? Do you think you can do as you please? I’m not so foolish as to bail your dad out of jail. It’s going to be even more annoying to have another parasite p
It was New Year’s Eve. Tiffany was slightly nervous. Usually, they had a holiday that lasted for three days. She was supposed to return to the West family’s residence with Jackson, but Jackson seemed quite determined about not going home for New Year’s Eve and Easter. When she got up early in the morning, she called Arianne, asking for help. “Dear, what should I do now? I want to return to the West family’s residence for New Year’s Eve. I want to go home and visit my mom as well, but Jackson pretended to be asleep. He doesn’t even want to wake up until now. I’m so stressed out. He’s still quarreling with his parents. It would be improper if I don’t visit them, but it would be awkward if I visit alone.”Arianne was out of ideas as well. “You can either support your husband or ignore the awkwardness and return to the West family’s residence alone. I’m running out of ideas as well. After all, things like this won’t happen to me. However, your call reminded me that I have to call my grand
Arianne was in the dining room downstairs, slightly hesitating as she looked for Helen’s number. She could not help the emotions that stirred in her when she heard Mark said Helen had asked about her. She felt family love when she was reunited with her grandma. Perhaps, that was the reason she was not as averse to Helen compared to before. In the end, she sent a message to Helen, wishing Helen a happy New Year’s Eve....Helen was in a great mood after she received Arianne’s message. After replying to Arianne’s message, she returned to what she was doing before. At this moment, she was helping Aery pack her things. Aery would be going abroad today. Everything had been arranged and dealt with.Before they left the house, Aery was still protesting. “Mom… Is it true that I’m not allowed to return home until I’ve graduated? Since I’ve agreed to leave, why won’t you allow me to meet Mark darling? Why don’t you visit Arianne? I’ll just look at Mark darling from afar. Is that okay?” Helen’s
Jackson felt helpless. “Hello?” Lynn’s voice sounded from the other end of the line. “Why aren’t you here yet?” That question was strange. Tiffany was confused. Did they plan to have a clandestine meeting? She harshly pinched Jackson’s arm.Jackson, who felt aggrieved, endured the pain. “Where? What are you talking about?” Lynn replied naturally, “The family residence. I came to visit Mr. and Mrs. West. I thought you’re coming home today. Why aren’t you here at this hour?” Jackson’s expression turned sour. “Why did you go there?”At this moment, Lynn chatted with Summer in the background. It seemed like they had quite a good relationship. When she returned to the phone, she said, “It’s been such a long time since I last visited. Mrs. West was quite nice to me previously. It’s only right that I visit her. Will you be coming home?”He said bluntly, “I’m not, and I won’t. I’m going to my mother-in-law’s house with Tiffie. I’ll hang up now if there’s nothing else.” Then, he hung up bef
When Jackson saw the drastic change in Tiffany’s expression, Jackson braced himself and said, “Lynn, step aside. I need to talk to you.” It gradually turned quiet on the other end of the line. Lynn seemed to have stepped aside. “What’s wrong? Why did you call me? Didn’t you say you’re not coming home?” He said coldly, “Don’t visit my home anymore, and don’t approach my parents. On top of that, don’t contact me anymore.”Lynn fell silent for about two seconds before she asked, “Why?”He bluntly said, “It’s because I don’t want to have anything to do with you. Moreover, I don’t want to make my fiancée unhappy as well. Is that reason enough for you? We’ve stopped contacting each other quite a while ago, what you’re doing now is completely unnecessary.” Suddenly, Lynn broke into laughter. “I’m not doing this because of you. I just feel Mrs. West is a nice person, and I want to spend time with her. Moreover, she has no problem with me and treats me like a daughter. If you don’t mind, I’l
Jackson tried to calm down. “That… I’ll explain things to my mom, and tell her not to have any contact with Lynn again. Don’t be angry. I didn’t expect this. I didn’t know she’s like this…”Tiffany scowled. “I’m truly impressed by her. She’s such a manipulative b*tch. I admit I can’t compete with her. What is she thinking? Shouldn’t she be trying to sow discord between us instead of turning my mother-in-law against me? Moreover, it’s not like I’ll be living with my mother-in-law. It doesn’t seem like a very good scheme. What kind of trick is she trying to pull? If you’re a true gentleman, go and explain it to your mom face-to-face tonight. If you let me suffer anymore, I’ll never forgive you!” Jackson was running out of ideas as well. He could only acquiesce to her wish. “Fine, I’ll go tonight. How about you? Are you coming with me?”She gritted her teeth. “I don’t want to! What if Lynn is still there? What if I can’t hold myself back when I meet her? You know my temper. I don’t want
Mark waved his hand helplessly. “Go ahead. I can’t be bothered about so many things.” When Jackson walked past the living room downstairs, he smiled as he said, “Arianne, have a nice chat with Tiffie. I’ll come and pick her up later.” Tiffany appeared displeased. “Don’t you dare come pick me up if you can’t resolve this. I get angry whenever I see you!”Arianne smiled, remaining silent. Soon after, she received a message from Jackson. “Help me coax her. Don’t suggest any ideas to her. I really can’t take it. I’m begging you.” It seemed like Jackson was traumatized by what happened previously when he fought with Tiffany. She did not expect Tiffany would take up her suggestion, immediately packing up her things and leave. It scared the hell out of Jackson.…At the West family’s residence.Before Jackson entered the house, he could already hear distinct Summer’s laughter. It had been such a long time since his home was filled with such liveliness… Lynn was still there. When they saw h
Arianne had not heard that name for so long, she had to reel back in bemusement for a few seconds before finally remembering her face.Shelly-Ann Leigh… She must have spent all those years in the mental institution, right? God knows if the woman’s hair was now grey and white all over.When someone was near death, one could stand to forgive all of the history between them—even the dark ones, even if the ledger was brimming—for good. So, Arianne replied, “I’ll go with you. No matter what happened, she’s still your mother.”Mark did not expect that answer from her at all. In his surprise, he bent down and left a kiss on her lips. “I knew I picked the right woman as my wife. I thought you wouldn’t agree to let me accompany her for the last of her days…”Arianne replied nothing. She was not so obtuse that she would try to win over a woman whose days were numbered. No matter how much of an a**hole Shelly was, Arianne was still the one who came out on top. That victory was all she needed.
Arianne sneered. “You confused, little thing. I wouldn’t be daft enough to anger the mother of the man I like if I were you, girl. I would especially not say anything as low IQ as that, too. Let me be completely frank with you: no one who bears the surname of Leigh will ever get the better of me—the last one failed. Hard. I can guarantee that you’ll leave us in the span of three days. If I lose, you can stay here forever. Wanna bet? I dare you.”She left her threat hanging at that and turned her wheelchair away, leaving the scorned young woman behind.Rage came out of Raven as waves of quakes all over her body. She was lurching close to hyperventilation, but right before it became impossible to stop, she came around and battled herself to calm down. She had a feeling that even if she fainted right there and then, no one would discover her, would they?Now that Arianne and Mark had returned, the Tremont Estate had recovered its vivacity and life. It had become merry.And Raven Leigh
Melissa was the type who always pushed things to go as festive as logically possible. She leaped to her feet and raised her cup, “Yo, everyone! Let’s toast to Cindy becoming my cousin-in-law!”The crowd answered enthusiastically with their cups in the air and a roar—except Raven, who remained seated. “I have a sickly constitution. I can’t drink. I’m sorry.”Her smile was so mechanical, her face too ashen. Something flickered in Arianne’s eyes before she replied, “Sure.”After the revelry faded, Arianne steered her wheelchair to the courtyard. The outward appearance of the Tremont Estate seemed to have frozen in time, which was why being here made her feel so… safe.Of course, that was despite Henry and Mary’s passing. In the end, time passed and things changed, characters and objects came and went, and all these missing years left lingering regrets in their wake.Arianne espied the silhouette standing alone at a distance and approached her, sighing, “Nothing beats being home.”Ra
Arianne grabbed the two beauties by the hands and smiled. “Thank you! Gosh, to me… it’s like you two have grown older in the blink of an eye! How gorgeous the two of you are! Cindy, where’s your brother? Plato hasn’t come home yet?”Mentioning the name of her dear brother made Cynthia pout. “He said he was coming home half a month ago—that’s what he said. Who knows what he’s actually doing, though? Anyway, who cares about that no-good. He’s always like this anyway. Oh, um, the weather is quite hot. We should probably get inside.”Arianne nodded and shot a brief, uneasy look at Aristotle. Not once did he look like he wanted to talk to her… Could the boy be counting his grievances in his mind? Mark and Arianne had stayed in Switzerland for so long; life must have been hard for him all alone.It took until she reached the living room to finally notice Raven. “Millie, is this your younger sister?”Melissa quickly sprung to correct her. “What? Noooo. This is Ares’ classmate or something
Aristotle’s entire being stilled.He had waited for this news for nineteen years. As time passed, the flames died little by little, the heart grew more numb, until the very thought of it was no different from a pipe dream. But today, news of it coming true reached him and plunged him into a torrent of feelings.A long while later, he finally muttered under his breath, “When… When will they be back?”Jackson closed the distance between them and gave the young man a light, comforting pat on the shoulders. “Not so soon, I bet; not when your mother has just woken up and is in need of some time to recover. She did sleep for nineteen years, you know. So maybe after she’s recuperated enough for a while…” he answered. “We’ve waited for nineteen years for this, right? What’s waiting for just a little bit more compared to that? The most important thing for you to do is to manage the company to the best of your abilities. That’s the way to not disappoint your father’s expectation.”Aristotle
Cynthia had never had a relationship before, so she did not know what love was. However, one thing was for certain. She loved the feeling of being with Aristotle and how he had protected her since they were kids. Even though Aristotle had become a little domineering and “naughty”, she was not taken aback by him. Instead, she even felt a little moved, which was amazing.It wasn’t known how they ended up in bed, with their breaths synchronized. Apart from the final step, they had done just about everything else that could be done.Just as they were about to hit the final step, Aristotle suddenly stopped and helped pull the covers over Cynthia. “Let’s sleep, good night.”Cynthia was still lost in a daze from before. She did not know why Aristotle had suddenly stopped, nor did she have the courage to ask him. She had struggled for so long before having persuaded herself to go with the flow…The next day, when Cynthia woke up, Aristotle had already long gone to his company.She took a
Cynthia heard what Aristotle said, but her hands did not stop doing what they were doing. Her head was in a complete mess. “There’s no… no need. I’ll be able to be done with these now. Go ahead and get some sleep first. By the way, where am I sleeping tonight? There are so many rooms here, I’ll ask Agnes to help me clear one up.”Aristotle walked up to her and squatted. He grabbed onto her arm with one hand while the other closed the luggage. “Just sleep with me here and stop tidying already.”Cynthia suspected that she might have misheard. She took a look at the big bed behind him in a daze and suddenly felt her palm, which was held by him, burning up. “Y… You’re kidding, aren’t you, Ares? Although we used to sleep with each other a lot when we were kids, we’re all grown ups now, so wouldn’t that be a little inappropriate?”Aristotle said with a straight face, “I wasn't joking.”Cynthia panicked a little and recalled Melissa’s words once again. ‘Would Ares, whom I’ve known for so
Melissa knew that Aristotle had kissed Cynthia, so she knew what was going on. Hence, she very naturally boasted, “Of course, they’ve been engaged to each other since they were born. Coincidentally, the both of them felt the same way about each other as they grew up, so wouldn’t this make it even better? From the way I see it, your illness isn’t going to recover for the rest of your life and the both of them are probably going to have to wait until Cindy graduates before they get married. So, you’d be better off moving back to France as early as possible. Don’t worry, you’ve saved Aristotle’s life before, so he wouldn’t be stingy with you financially.”Raven wanted to control the unhappiness she had in her heart very much, but her emotions refused to follow her will. Hence, she fiercely struggled to wring free from Melissa’s grasp. Melissa was startled for a moment. “Are you crazy?”After that, Raven regained her senses and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry… I was a little unwell just n
‘You’re not that worried?’ Melissa was so furious that she laughed. “Am I the only one who’s being worried for nothing? I thought you loved my brother, didn’t you? The man you’ve been dreaming of every day has returned from France but brought a woman with him, yet you’re actually not that worried? Let’s put aside your parents’ intentions for a moment. Do you dare to say that you don’t love him? I’m only helping you because you’re my best friend, so could you not be so relaxed, as if I’m helping you for no reason?”Cynthia shook her head and lowered her volume as she said, “He… might have confessed to me. We also… did that already. So, I think he doesn’t feel that way towards Raven. It’s purely because she saved his life once. I trust that Ares will be able to handle the situation properly.”Melissa’s eyes opened wide. “What? He’s only returned for a few days, yet the two of you have already had sex? That fast?! I never knew it, but you’ve really got it in you!”Cynthia’s face flushe