She opened the door, with Summer’s jewelry in hand. When she saw Jackson, she deliberately pulled a blank face. “You’re in a good mood, doing errands for your mom?”He lifted his chin and stared down at her. “I happen to have the time. Problem?”She handed the jewelry box over to him. “Here, this is the one.”He raised his brow. “Aren’t you going to invite me inside? Afraid that I might find out that you’ve turned your house into a dog’s den?”He had successfully drawn her ire. “Would you like a slap, Jackson West? Would you?”Tanya overheard the commotion and poked her head out of the bedroom. “Who is it, Tiffie?”“My ex!” Tiffany replied through gritted teeth.Tanya gaped. “Oh… Okay. You guys talk. I’m going back to my book. I didn’t hear a thing!”Jackson continued his provocation after Tanya shut the bedroom door. “That’s right, I miscalculated. You’re staying with Tanya, so you can torture her into keeping the place clean. Didn’t you agree to go out with Alejandro this weekend? Wh
Jackson approached Tiffany again. “What did you say just now? Did we get back together?” She became wary and retreated. “I was just making an assumption!” He looked at her nonchalantly. “You cannot make an assumption. It’s not at all ceremonious. You need to sound serious. We get back together. Then, I’ll break up with you. That’s more like it.” She became patient with him and said seriously, “Fine, we’re now officially back together. The floor is yours now.”The next second, Jackson kissed her. She was stunned. In an instant, she was soon enveloped in his familiar scent. Her heart fluttered, and she became slightly teary too. After a few seconds, she recovered herself and tried to push him away, but she was embraced by him tightly. His kiss was violent and passionate, ruining her defense easily. Finally, he let go of her. She stared at him with her teary eyes. “What are you doing? Are you toying with my feelings?” He appeared serious. “No. Didn’t we just get back together? It’s o
Tanya was slightly disappointed. “Is that so? But… he said that he’s always busy. However, he would always reply to my messages in around ten minutes no matter how late I messaged him. If he doesn’t care for me, certainly he wouldn’t be replying to my messages. He’s always like that. Maybe he’s just slow in getting close to people. Don’t demotivate me. I just want to meet him and treat him to a meal since I’m quite curious about him.” Tiffany felt that it would be inappropriate to discourage her since she said so. She considered it for a while and said, “Then try and ask him out directly. See if he’s willing to meet up with you. Don’t beat around the bush.” Tanya then summoned up her courage and sent him a message. Hush did not seem enthusiastic in his reply. It was just as she said; his reply always came in around ten minutes. He did not reply to her message within seconds. It appeared like he just replied to her message whenever he was free. After around nine minutes, Hush replied
When she thought about Jackson, she denied it subconsciously. “No, I don’t! I’ll go and eat with you. But let me be frank with you, the bill’s on you. I’m just an ordinary employee working her ass off; I’m quite poor. The monthly rent is quite expensive too…” Alejandro smiled. “Get into the car.” Tanya did not know Alejandro, making her appear anxious and reserved. Tiffany asked her to take the back seat, where Alejandro sat, so she became very uneasy. On the other hand, Tiffany sat on the passenger seat beside the driver. The driver was Jett. She had met him a few times now, so she greeted him casually. “Hi! We meet again.” Jett smiled politely at her before turning his attention back on the road. He drove the car away.Alejandro was not a talkative person, and the same thing could now be said about the others too. Hence, it was rather quiet in the car. At last, Tiffany raised a doubt. “Where are we heading for our meal? Let me be frank with you—I like to repay people’s kindness.
Tanya looked down shyly. “My grandpa used to love gardening. I learned some of the tips while doing gardening with him in the past.” Alejandro did not care who was taking care of the flower. He thought for a while and said, “When the flower blossoms, I’ll tell you a secret.” Tiffany made a joke. “Does that mean that I don’t get to know what that secret is if the flower dies?” Alejandro made no reply. He took the glass of water, which was handed to him by Jett, and took a small sip. During their meal, Tiffany looked up subconsciously and threw a few glances at the door of the cafe from time to time. She was certainly afraid that Jackson might appear there all of a sudden. Unknowingly, she was still worried that she might be misunderstood by Jackson even though she had broken up with him. She was worried that he might misunderstand the relationship between her and Alejandro, thinking that there might be something fishy between them...It was her weak point. She always saw the world i
Alejandro and Jett had not left for long when Tiffany and Tanya decided to leave too. Besides, Alejandro had paid the bills so they enjoyed the meal tremendously. They became quite full when they got up to leave. They looked at each other and smiled at the same time. Tanya held her waist and whispered, “The food here is indeed delicious. No matter how many ingredients Mrs. West sent us, we still couldn’t cook such delicious food… I’m so full now. It’s quite humiliating. By the way, do you not regret breaking up with Jackson at all? He’s good at cooking.” Tiffany said impatiently, “I want a man, not a chef. How could I bear being cheated on by him, seeing him kissing another woman? If that’s the case, I’m more than willing to give the delicious food up! Have a little self-esteem! Come! Let’s go home and have a rest!” Suddenly, Tanya frowned. “No, I need to head to the washroom for a while. I can’t hold it in anymore. I’ll leave my bag and phone with you. Please guard them for me and
Her facial expression worsened. “You… How could you… That’s not my phone!” Only now did Jackson realize that it was indeed not her phone, though it was the same color...Tanya exited the washroom and returned to the seat. She was puzzled as she looked at them. “Jackson… why are you here?” Tiffany stared at Jackson. She then returned Tanya her phone. “Here’s your phone. White Moonlight sent you a message just now… It… has nothing to do with me!” Jackson raised his eyebrows slightly. He decided to run away from the scene. “I came here to take something. I’ll leave now. Take your time!” Tanya looked at the message that Hush sent her and the reply. Her facial expression slightly worsened. Tiffany was so nervous that she was now soaked with cold sweat. Tanya usually had a good temper. She rarely got angry. But that was also why it would be quite frightening if she was infuriated. “This… Jackson thought that it was my phone, so… I’m so sorry. I’ll help explain it to Hush!”Tanya looked
Tiffany obviously kept those thoughts to herself. “I’m not curious. Instead, I’m asking for my own sake. Isn’t it quite frustrating to have an unsettled issue? After thinking about it for a long time, I still couldn’t understand why you approached me in the first place. It’s quite peculiar. I’m also aware that rich people only spend time with people who are as rich and influential as them. It’s because they hold the same status, and they could benefit from that kind of relationship. We do not belong to the same world. I was rich once, so I understand the logic behind it. As we know, everything happens for a reason…” Alejandro was quiet for a short while at the other end of the phone. “When the flower blossoms, I’ll tell you about it.” She inwardly exclaimed, ‘It’s the flower again! Who knows whether it’ll blossom or not? What if it’s only some kind of grass? Is he trying to fool me?’She started to grit her teeth. “You said that you’ll tell me a secret when the flower blossoms. Now,
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