Jackson pursed his lips. “I’ve told you, that plagiarizing scandal doesn’t matter. It’s settled. You don’t have to burden yourself over it. I know that you didn’t do it on purpose. As for my relationship with Tiffie… You really don’t have to concern yourself over that either. The outcome of it is between the two of us. You don’t have to get into such a tangled mess. Let me give you a piece of advice — a good friend will always stand on their friend’s side. You have to be on her side, no matter how nasty she’s been. Your friendship will certainly crumble if you stand on my side. Do you feel better after letting it all out? I’ll take you home then.”Tanya nodded, got up, and said, “But… I don’t want to be on the bad side. I’ve seen how good you are to her, so I know what’s right and what’s wrong. I can’t close my eyes to it. I do feel much better after talking to you. Thank you.”Jackson smiled nonchalantly. “Let’s go then.”Tanya carefully peered at Jackson’s side profile in the car.
Mark felt irritation. “Oh, so you treat us like we’re Uber, huh? Alright, fine then. My God, can you just look at how much the child’s suffering? He looks absolutely pathetic! Gah, is that mucus dripping into his mouth? Someone wipe that away now, urghhh…”Seeing the disgust in his face genuinely irritated Arianne. “Are you — are you repulsed by your own son?! Mark frickin’ Tremont, did you just suggest wiping his snot as something too dirty for your royal hands?”For some reason that only Mark knew, he was downright averse to the idea of cleaning his son’s mucus, as though the very act really was the most dreadful thing he ever had the misfortune of being asked to do.Once in the car, Mark automatically took the passenger seat and left the backseat for Arianne and Mary. Arianne, meanwhile, gave out masks to Mary and Brian, as she wanted to reduce the number of people her son could infect. To have the entire Tremont estate be struck by the same malady at the same time was to spell chao
The first thing Mark did after his meeting was to call Arianne. “How is it? All is fine, isn’t it? No cause for concerns?”Arianne had just about finished her business at the pediatric department, so she had the mood to poke fun. “Hmm, are you asking about your son or me?”Mark’s lips quivered. “I’m asking about both. Don’t try to bait me.”Arianne espied Smore slumbering gently in Mary’s arms and replied, “It was nothing big. There’s no fever; he’s just suffering from a very mild case of cold, a runny nose, and coughs. The doctor said he’s too young for medication, so it’s down to making sure he’s all warmed up and drinking plenty of warm water. That’s the same order for me, too. I’m gonna breastfeed him, so I can’t take pills. So, yep, please have Brian send us home.”Mark glanced at his wristwatch. “I’ll come personally. I have the time, anyway.”He drove and fetched the group back to the Tremont Estate. Once they arrived home, Mary immediately brought the child into the nursery roo
Mentioning Granny caused all of the warmth in her skin to dissipate. Nonetheless, Arianne nodded and answered, “Alright.”Meanwhile, getting herself drenched in the downpour last night had caused Tanya to come down with a horrible cold. Today, on top of a barrage of sneezes, she developed signs of a mild fever, too.Tiffany could not bear to see her like this, so she bought Tanya some cold medicines. “Where did you go late last night, huh? That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you return home later than I do, and then you were all wet and dripping! It must feel like sh*t, doesn’t it? Seriously, Tan. If it’s awful, you can take leave and rest at home.”“I’m not like you, Tiffany,” Tanya murmured. “I can’t keep myself afloat if I don’t work.”Tiffany pursed her lips. “What’s that supposed to mean? I need to work to keep myself afloat too! My mom never gives me a single penny. Hell, I’m the one who sends money home to her!… Okay, fine. If you wanna continue working, power to you. But you n
“Aww, I guess I got it wrong, then. But, really, an accusation like that? You didn’t cross me or anything, and I’ve never looked for a fight. You’re a little too easily triggered,” Tiffany intoned, shrugging. “Anyway, aren’t you here because you were looking for Eric? Well, what’s keeping you? Get moving. We can’t be caught dead doing frivolous things during work, you know.”Vicky started toward Eric’s office furiously, her high heels stabbing the floor on every step. She slammed the door shut so hard, Eric jerked and asked, “What’s with you? Someone crapped in your popcorn?”She stomped her foot. “That Tiffany! A-And Tanya! They ganged up and shouted at me with this diatribe! What for? It’s not like I’ve triggered them or anything. Uuuurgggggh! Seriously, babe, you keep them around and give them jobs in your company and pay their wages, and this is how they repay you? Treating your girlfriend with that sort of nasty attitude? It’s like they don’t even realize that I’m their future Lad
Vicky recognized an impasse. She also knew that nothing good was going to come out of her tantrum if she kept it up — at some point, she would have to stop.“Alright, alright. I get it. I’m leaving. Don’t stress yourself so much, alright?” she relented.En route, she passed by the shared office area and scowled at Tanya, though curiously leaving Tiffany out of her malice. The reason was simple; Vicky found Tanya the more obnoxious one of the pair because she was the woman that was once under her man’s care. Tanya had stayed in Eric’s place before Vicky met him in real life. It was the sort of thing that would have crystallized into a grudge in anyone, yet Vicky was forced to feign nonchalance despite her genuine opinion.Tanya waited until Vicky left the company before entering Eric’s office. “Mr. Nathanial? Um, Tiffany got into a minor tiff with your girlfriend earlier, so I guess she came in and complained to you about it?” she said. “Please don’t be mad at Tiffany. She says what is
“When you’re in love, your heart will race every time you see him. You’d immediately feel nervous,” Tiffany replied after some thought. “You have to be bold enough to take the first step, no matter what. If you like someone, you have to boldly pursue them. Maybe even resort to a few tactics too. There’s nothing shameless about it, as long as you don’t cross the line. Don’t worry, I’ll support you in everything you do. If you’ve truly found your objective, stop worrying and go after it.”“And what if I told you that my objective… is Jackson? Will you support me then?”Tanya’s question had taken Tiffany aback. She was momentarily unsure of how to answer her. Suddenly, Tanya giggled. “I’m just teasing. Did you really think that I was serious? But seriously, what would you do?”Tiffany secretly heaved a sigh of relief and treated it as a joke. “Hehe, if it really did happen, you could go ahead. You’d be considerably formidable if you managed to do it. I wouldn’t mind… We’ve broken up an
Tiffany got down from the car and gave her a bottle of mineral water. “Are you feeling better? Are you still feeling uncomfortable? Maybe you should sit in the front instead? You’ll feel better then.”“That’s not a good idea, is it?” Tanya asked. “I’ve heard that a lot of people believe that the front seat of a man’s car should only be occupied by his girlfriend… You and Jackson won’t mind?”Tiffany, ever insensitive, simply never thought of it that way. “What are you talking about? What are we? Do we have to nitpick over these things? I can’t possibly leave you feeling uncomfortable, can I? Stop talking and get in the car. You’re sitting in the front.”Jackson furrowed his brow when someone else climbed into the front seat for some strange reason. “What’s going on? Why did you change seats?”“Tan’s caught a cold and isn’t feeling well. She’s car sick,” Tiffany explained. “Let her sit in the front. It doesn’t matter who sits in the front anyway. The back seat feels really spacious
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