Tanya pulled out two pieces of tissue paper when she climbed back into the car. “Don’t cry… You didn’t plagiarize; there’s no need to feel guilty. But I think that Jackson’s been really nice to you. He knows his exact losses under these circumstances, yet he’s confessed without any hesitation. Between profit and an ex, most men would probably choose profit.”Tiffany sniffed. “If Mrs. West finds out about whatever’s happened to his company, she’d be pissed. I have to visit the West Residence. I’ll drop you home first.”After dropping Tanya off at the condo, she immediately made her way to the West Residence.Summer was still recuperating at home. The cast on her leg had been taken off and she could walk on her own now. However, she was still limping. When she saw that Tiffany had come for a visit, Summer quickly asked the housekeeper to prepare some food and drinks. “Tiffie, what are you doing here? I hear that you joined that fashion competition. How was it? The results came out today.
Tiffany heaved a long sigh of relief after emerging from the West Residence. She suddenly realized that this was a “you win some, you lose some” situation. She had actually achieved her first big goal, but… Jackson was now in an abyss. As she remembered her post-event conversation with him, she felt a distance from him that made her very anxious and utterly despondent. Bright Incorporated, the West Family’s company.Jackson was raging at a fashion designer at the office. “Speak. How did you manage to get that sketch? Don’t you have any idea of what would happen to plagiarizers?”The copycat designer of Tiffany’s sketch was a gentle and scholarly-looking man. He was even wearing a pair of glasses and didn’t seem like a villain at all. The man adjusted his glasses and calmly said, “I have no idea of what you’re talking about. I’ve never plagiarized.”Jackson angrily swept the pencil holder on his desk to the floor. “Beckett Hushman! Are you still arguing with me? I’ve already made a pub
Online friend? Jackson was growing suspicious and angry. “Who is this online friend of yours? You’re the one digging your own grave here. Did you really think that plagiarizing would be the right thing to do? Stealing someone else’s efforts and using it as your own? Tiffany would lose her job if you won. Is that really alright with you? You’re a disgrace!”Beckett was completely unperturbed. “It’s every man for himself. I’m not a disgrace.”Jackson couldn’t be bothered to waste his time on a shameless man like him. “Fine. It doesn’t matter if you won’t reveal the identity of your online friend. I can find out myself. One more thing, I will be sending my lawyers to speak to you about the losses and effects on the company, caused by your plagiarism.”Beckett’s expression changed dramatically. “You…”Jackson waved his hand disdainfully. “You can go. You’re fired. You’ve signed a contract with the company and you’ve violated the terms in your contract. You should pay for the damages you’ve
Tiffany nodded. “That White Moonlight of yours, I’m afraid that he’s an employee at Jackson’s company. His name is Beckett Hushman. That explains why he chose ‘Hush’ as his online nickname. He’s shady. You probably shouldn’t talk to him again.”Tanya was clearly shocked. “Hush” was like a white glow of moonlight to her. She never thought that her naivety would cause such a thing. “I’m sorry… Tiffany… I’m really sorry. I never thought that this would happen. It’s all my fault…”Tiffany sighed. “We learn from our mistakes. Next time, just remember, don’t show anyone yours or my sketches. You really are a silly goose. You know that he’s a fashion designer and that he’s in the same industry, yet you actually showed him the sketch during a competition. Shouldn’t you be on your guard against this guy? Especially a company-related sketch. You must never show it to anyone. If the company suffers a loss, they will come after you.”Tanya was close to tears. “I understand… I didn’t just hurt you,
Tanya was moved by Eric’s magnanimity. She nodded and invited Tiffany to have lunch with her. Her phone rang during lunch. It was a message notification from a social media application. She used to look forward to the sound of that notification because that meant that “Hush” had sent her a message. Now, she was very calm about it. She casually pulled out her phone and checked her message. She was shocked when she saw a friend request from Hush and glanced guiltily at Tiffany, who sat across the table from her. Then, she carefully accepted the friend request.She did not initiate a message to Hush. She wanted to bide her time and see why Hush had sent her that friend request. He was the one who had blocked her first. Soon, Hush sent her a message: ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been so obsessive and done such a thing. I really regret it now. I shouldn’t have used your trust in me. I’ve left my job. I’ll never set foot in this industry again. I’m getting sued by the company for a large c
Once she had finished dolling herself up, Beckett called as promised. “I’m here, I’m at your lobby. Come down.”Beckett had a very nice voice. They had been speaking to each other via social media messenger, and this was their first time speaking to each other on the phone. Tanya’s heart raced. “Okay, I’m coming.”She saw Beckett’s car in the lobby. It wasn’t a luxury vehicle, but it looked clean and new. The car carried a car plate number from the capital. She climbed into the car and its fragrance filled her with a favorable impression of him. Beckett was just as she thought he would be, gentle and refined. He looked very neat and tidy, and there wasn’t a single speck of dust in his car. She felt apologetic. “Sorry for the trouble.”Beckett smiled, turned to the side, and helped her put on her seatbelt. Tanya felt her heart race even more when the pair drew closer. “Wh-where are we going for dinner?” she stammered to steady her beating heart.Beckett straightened up. “We can have wha
After admiring the view, he pulled out Tanya’s phone and found Tiffany’s number. Then, he sent her a message: ‘Confess that you’ve plagiarized if you want Tanya back alive. I want the answer in the news by tomorrow.’Tiffany leapt to her feet when she received the message. Alejandro stared at her calmly. “What’s wrong?”Tiffany looked a little pale. “I can’t really explain… I’m afraid I have to go. I’ll buy you a meal again next time. Sorry!”Alejandro frowned. “You can tell me, I’ll do my best to help you.”Tiffany shook her head. “It’s fine. I don’t want to trouble you. We’ll talk later. I’ve got to go!”She ran out of the restaurant, as swift as the wind. Alejandro shot Jett, who was next to him, a look. Jett understood and followed suit. “Miss Lane, I’ll drop you off!”Tiffany did not refuse the offer. She did not drive today, and hailing a cab would waste time. Having Jett made it a lot more convenient. She knew who sent that message. Beckett was once Jackson’s employee, and Jacks
After the call ended, a very panicked Tiffany began to pace in circles, as the wait tormented her.She did not know how long she had waited, but alas, Jackson’s car appeared within her field of vision. Quickly, she rushed toward it as the man pulled the car over. “Get in.”Tiffany yanked the door open frantically and claimed the passenger seat, urging, “Did you manage to contact Beckett? I don’t have his number, and Tan isn’t picking up, and — oh my God, I’m panicking right now!”Jackson massaged his forehead to soothe his growing headache. “First thing first: buckle up. I’m gonna give this Beckett a call right now.”Tiffany’s hands were shaking as she willed them to click the seatbelt shut. Tanya was already a lonely orphan with no surviving relatives. If anything were to happen to Tanya, Tiffany would carry that guilt to her grave, especially since this entire debacle was aimed at Tiffany herself.If worse came to worst, she would have to resort to his demand. She would have to admit
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