“The only thing that will ever be appropriate between us is to go out and have fun. There’s no need to come to my office or anything like that from now on. There are too many people around, and there will certainly be gossip, which will affect me, understand? You’re my lover, not my girlfriend. You’re certainly not going to be my wife. That’s not your place.”Sasha was stunned. She simply thought he was different from what Desdemona and everyone else had described him to be. He did not touch her last night, but he gave her money all the same. She thought he was a pretty good guy, that was why she wanted to get to know him. Perhaps, they could start a relationship. She did not expect him to figuratively pour a bucket of cold water on her, revealing the harsh reality. Their relationship had always been a ‘secret’. “I understand. I’ll leave right now… Will you call me?”Jackson did not reply.Sasha was too afraid of lingering. She left very quickly.Aye stopped her when she was at the ele
Eric was surprised. “You… Won’t it be an inconvenience? It’s fine. I can wait for them to send it over… No need to force yourself.”She shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s fine, it’s only a breakup. It’s not like we’ve turned into enemies. Why would this trouble me? I’m not worried. Don’t worry, I guarantee to finish the job. You’re the boss, you make the decision.”Tiffany might have sounded confident when she said those words, but when she arrived at the ground floor of Jackson’s office, she could not help but feel apprehensive. How was she going to face him? She looked at the time on her watch. There was half an hour left until the second half of the working day. Jackson should not be around at this hour so she still had time to mentally prepare herself. She took a deep breath and walked in. Things were not going as smoothly as she liked them to be. The elevator was still on the twenty-fifth floor so she had to wait a while.She pulled out her phone and fiddled with it while waiting for th
Her temper had never been even, and she would not let herself be beaten even if she was upset. She stepped on the sensor of the elevator and put her hands on her hips. “No signature, no meeting. I’m just an employee, I have loads of time.”Jackson looked at her calmly. His eyes glinted with some indecipherable emotion. “Shouldn’t you be begging me? Is this how you ask for a favor? I have the right to refuse to sign that document.”She was rendered momentarily speechless. Before she could figure out a retort, someone pushed her out of the way, and the elevator finally closed.Her temper rose. Since he wanted to be like that, she would oblige. Anything he could do, she could do better!...In the elevator.Jackson’s expression darkened. “Who told you to push her?”The expression of the person who had pushed Tiffany changed. “B-but… We won’t be able to leave if I didn’t push her away…”Jackson fixed his tie in frustration. “Couldn’t you be a little gentler?”The employee was speechless..
She paused in her footsteps, feeling an ache in her heart. There seemed to be a hint of grief in his tone…Before her whirlwind of emotions could settle, he continued saying the next part of his sentence, “You made a mess out of my desk. You should at least clean it.”She gritted her teeth and walked out without turning back. “Assh*le! Do it yourself!”The well-constructed cold expression on Jackson’s face crumbled as soon as she slammed his office door shut. He sat down on the chair that was still warm from her bum, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. A part of the gloom in his heart had been relieved.He thought he had been hallucinating when he ran into her at the elevator and only realized that it was real when she opened her mouth to speak. He did not know how to face her. She was the only woman whom he had not been able to forget. Not seeing her was unbearable, but seeing her was even more unbearable....Tiffany discovered she had tears in her eyes when she finally entered
Tanya blushed and smiled shyly. “You don’t know him… I met him online. We’re both in the same industry and talked a lot about fashion design. He seems cultured, refined, and multi-talented. He’s been in this industry longer than I have so I guess he’s my senior. We haven’t met yet, but he seems like a good guy. Looks don’t really matter. I’ve been wanting to meet him face-to-face, but he’s always too busy.”Realization dawned on Tiffany when she heard Tanya’s words. “Seeing as neither one of you knows who the other is, you’ve never met him, and you’re not dating, does this mean you have a crush on your online friend? Are you crazy? Do you even know where he’s from? His name? How old or how tall he is? You should at least know these things, right?”Tanya looked perplexed. “I don’t know… His online ID is ‘Hush’. I don’t know his name, age, or height. I only know he’s in the capital, but I don’t know if he was born here. I just have a good feeling about him. There’s no romantic developmen
Arianne’s smile deepened. “Rest assured, I’m fine. Don’t worry, and do your job. I’ll be waiting for you at home.”Tiffany, who was sitting next to Arianne, was in a daze. At that moment, she finally discovered there was a price to pay for enjoying this meal. She had come for the delicious food to ease her bad mood, but she ended up feeling envious when she saw Mark and Arianne’s interaction. For this reason, she interjected loudly, “Mark, that’s enough. You’re cold and aloof before. Why does it seem like you’ve completely changed? Do you have a dual personality or are you a different person now? I seriously doubt you’re Mark!” Mark soon changed his tone and recovered to his usual self. He said coldly, “Enjoy your meal. Don’t poke your nose into other people’s business.” Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Fine. You’re only gentle to Ari. It seems like you’ve got a serious split personality. It’s quite scary.” Arianne used the napkin to wipe her hands clean. She picked up her phone and said t
That night, Tiffany slept next to Arianne. Before she fell asleep, she whispered, “I still miss him so much…”Tiffany poured out all her feelings that night. Perhaps, that was why she seemed like her old, lively, and carefree self the next day. It seemed like she had let go of her past, including Jackson. She even decided to rent a house with Tanya.Regarding this decision, Lillian gave Tiffany her full support. This was because she was saddened to see her daughter having to wake up extra early every morning just to go to work. She had seen how exhausted her daughter was every morning. She took the initiative to withdraw some of her savings to help her daughter rent a small apartment with two bedrooms that her daughter and Tanya would share half the rent.After moving into the apartment, Tiffany felt her life had gotten much easier. She could finally sleep soundly and comfortably at night. The rented apartment was located just right across the company, it was only three hundred feet aw
Tiffany mentally calculated the cost of dinner. It seemed like the dinner was going to cost her almost one-month of her salary. However, she felt indebted to Summer. After all, Summer had bought her so many things, and it certainly cost much more than this meal.Summer asked casually, “When is Arianne’s due date? It’s quite difficult for her since she can’t move around freely during her pregnancy.” “I’m not quite sure as well. I think it should be in May or June. Mark went for a business trip a while back. He video-calls her every day to check on her. He really adores Ari. I pray she’ll be able to safely deliver the baby. At that time, she won’t have any more regrets. I didn’t get to see her these past few days. If I’m not mistaken, Mark just returned two days ago.” Tiffany chatted about daily affairs with Summer in a relaxed manner.Tanya who was sitting with them appeared out of place and awkward. She found it difficult to participate in their conversation so she just looked around
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