“Yes, so?” Tiffany asked. “That’s my business, not yours.”Jackson’s expression sank even further. He finally spoke up again after a long pause. “Was he the reason behind your determination for our break up?”Tiffany was taken aback, then a little angry. “What are you talking about? Are you saying that I dumped you for another man? So, whatever you did with Lynn in the car doesn’t count? Jackson West, can you be reasonable? If you can’t say anything nice, then shut the f*ck up!”Jackson laughed. “I was just wondering if I’ve lost to a cripple… I’m glad that I haven’t. I admit to my own mistakes.”“So, you admit to your affair with Lynn?” she asked through gritted teeth.He turned his face to the side and asked, “Now you want to hear my explanation?”She faked a laugh. “Hehe, no thank you. There’s no need.”He didn’t say anything more. Suddenly, both their phones rang. They looked at each other and answered their calls. Tiffany’s call was from Alejandro, who had invited her to see him.
Just as Mark dreaded, Zoey Harris’s scumbag of a husband was so gratified by the ill-gotten money that he was encouraged to demand it again. Mark had optimistically thought that $750,000 could last until Arianne gave birth to the child, but he thought wrong.To get that much money in one go was to compel a man to lose all of his sensibilities. Harris, already a disgustingly greedy man, managed to lose every single penny in a series of gambling fiascos. After a night of spectacular losses, the broke man came back knocking on Mark’s door like a soulless husk.Mark was never known for his patience. He could stretch his limits for Arianne’s sake, but to be threatened by the same person over and over again was just a bare-faced challenge to his control. $750,000 was only enough for a few days? Someone had a hole in their pocket!Mark stared at the man, who emanated the stench of failure, in his office and placed his hand over his nose. “I gave you $750,000, Mr. Harris. I gave you $750,000 j
Davy quickly answered, “Y-yes! I’m on it right away!”The first thing that came into Mark’s line of sight once he stepped into the Tremont Estate was Arianne. Suddenly, all of his stress melted away.Only her presence could dispel every dark cloud swirling in his mind. Relaxed, he cooed, “Has the kid been kind to Mommy? Or are we expecting a little troublemaker, Ari?”His gentle, loving tone struck true to Arianne’s soft spot. Chuckling softly, she looked down and traced invisible circles on her belly. “Oh, the child’s been good. No one could be that much of a trouble at this size and age, right? Now, why are you back so soon today? Don’t you have anything at work? Either way, you’re just in time for lunch. Are you going back to work for the evening?”Mark crouched, placing his ear as closely as he could to her belly, hoping to catch any indication of the child’s movement. All he could hear was a series of burblings not dissimilar to the sound of bubble-blowing.It was nothing interest
“I get it! I get it! I lost control of my emotions back there, alright? God, everything is pissing me off.” Mark leaned back onto the seat and massaged his forehead. “Every time she mentions Granny, my heart skips a beat out of fear and trepidation. Yet, time and again, that baleful good-for-nothing keeps coming to my doorstep, weaponizing that secret against me. I just can’t possibly let her know, Brian. If this secrecy continues to hang by a thread, nothing good could come out of it. No, there isn’t going to be a next time for him. No more threats…“Oh, that reminds me. Make arrangements with the hospital so that they’re now standing-by for her childbirth. Ari’s frail constitution makes premature delivery very possible; I don’t want any complication to occur throughout the process.”Brian let out a silent breath of relief and answered, “Understood.”Night fell, yet Arianne resisted calls for dinner. Just thinking back on Mark angrily lashing out in the afternoon quickly bereft her of
Mary breathed out a sigh of relief at the good turn of events. Since she had kept dinner ready in the kitchen this whole time, she laid all of it out on the table in a flurry, chiming in, “That’s right, Ma’am. You should never skip a meal! The child needs all the yummy food to grow healthy and strong.”Arianne was reminded of her child’s ultrasound image and suddenly felt a little insecure. “Mary, do you think I’m gonna, you know, birth an ugly duckling or something? I mean, I’m not gonna dislike my own kid for it that much, but… if the kid turned out to be a bit too heavy on the ugliness, I don’t think I’d like that.”Mary broke out a chuckle. “Poppycocks! Both you and Mr. Tremont are so handsome, how could any of your genes produce an ugly duckling at all? All the kid needs to do is to take after either of you, and voila, a beautiful child is guaranteed! Oh, Madam, don’t fret over the image in that report; it’s inaccurate. How could it be? The kid’s still enjoying a spa treatment in
When Mark returned home for lunch, Arianne commenced an interrogation around the dining table. “So, how many relationships have you been in?”The question seemed out of nowhere. Nonplussed, Mark asked, “Why do you ask?”Arianne raised an eyebrow. “Nothing. Just curious. Am I not allowed to pursue a topic of curiosity, hmm? Or is your past off-limits?”He did not answer her directly. Instead, Mark cast another tentative question into the court, “You’ve been a witness to every moment in my life since I turned eighteen. Is there even a need to ask?”Arianne started to get irritated. “All I’m asking is this: how many relationships have you been in? Must you swerve so off-course to the topic?” she replied before pursing her lips.Mark’s eyes darkened a little. When had he ever seen her purse in coquettish anger before? And to look so illegally adorable while doing it —He forced down the urge to smooch her puckered lips by feigning coughs. “I don't think it’s something that should concern y
He put his knife and fork down and looked at her. “Now that we’re on the subject, let me clarify this with you, all at once. That’s how I used to think; I never planned on trusting any other woman. Of course, I only saw you as a child at the time, a strange, good-looking child… As you slowly grew older, I realized that my feelings for you had changed. One day, an idea came to me — if I raised you on my own, you would turn out to be pretty obedient and would not betray me. From that day onwards, I waited for the day you would become an adult. Unfortunately… you later fell in love with someone else. How could someone like me possibly put up with having someone else take away what should be rightfully mine? About Will… You’re not still hating me over that, are you? That’s fine too. It won’t matter once you’ve fallen in love with me completely. Let me reiterate once more, I don’t have any weird kinks. The first time I developed feelings for you was after you’d already entered puberty. You
Tiffany casually sat down next to her. “We’re from the working class. We’re too busy trying to earn money to support our families. Unlike you, lying at home with someone who can pay everything for you. We don’t have a choice, do we? If you want me to keep you company every day, tell Mark to pay me for my services in chatting with you, and I’ll keep you company 24/7. I’ll chat with you until you get tired of chatting with me, until you can’t stand the sight of me! Alright… Actually, I was binge-watching last night, ‘cos it was Friday. I nearly didn’t wake up last night. Forgive me, best friend!”Arianne snorted. “I’d love to pay you as my personal companion… You have drive. You won’t come anyway. How are things at Eric’s? Have you adapted to the working environment?”Tiffany glanced at Tanya. “Of course, with Tan around, I got used to it easily. Even the boss is my friend. I’m like a fish in water at the company. How could I not get used to that?”Tanya smiled as she chimed in, “That’s
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