Tanya nodded self-consciously. “Y-yes, Aunt Summer.”Tanya wondered if Summer believed she should only appear when Tiffany was also with her. That was the tragedy of her life, Tanya reckoned—she was always a tack-on to someone else. But not today. Today, she came as her own person. Disappointment poured into Summer’s eyes. “Oh, I see. Uh, then… How can I help you?”Tanya took a brave step forward and fished out the pregnancy test result from her bag. “I’ve just received this medical report. Please, have a look.”Summer was baffled. Why a medical report all of a sudden? Why should she be bothered with it? Still, out of courtesy, she took the document from Tanya’s hands and read that it was pertaining to her pregnancy.“Ah. Congratulations, my dear!” Summer noted with a slight smile. “You got yourself a good man, haven’t you? When is the wedding?”Tanya paused for a beat before dropping the news. “The father… is Jackson West.”Summer’s smile froze into an uncanny curve. “W-what?
Atticus, unlike his wife, felt a lot more sympathetic to the poor woman and thought that Summer had been acting a little too callously to her.“Um, Tanya? I think it’d be best to go home for the time being and think long and hard about this. You must excuse my wife; she has a habit of not mincing her words, you see,” he said kindly. “Be that as it may, she meant exactly what she spoke, and my sentiments are aligned with hers. If Jackson doesn’t want this child, it is most unfortunate but beneficial to abort it, don’t you think? You don’t have to worry about your compensation, as we will not leave you wanting. For now, you should head back. The weather’s quite arid these days, so I’ll have my driver send you home, alright?”Tanya nodded and murmured, “T-thank you…”Amidst all of the antipathy and contempt she had suffered, Atticus’s minute display of sympathy quickly became Tanya’s only comfort over these days.From the French window in her bedroom, Summer watched a car belonging to
When he was at the foot of the building, Jackson pulled over around the curb. He pulled out his phone and drew Tanya’s number out of his blocked numbers list before dialing.When the call connected, he went straight to the point. “Downstairs.”There were a few beats of silence from Tanya’s side before her shock poured over. “You’re… downstairs?”He hung up. He was in no mood to say anything more.It took Tanya less than five minutes to appear. He unlocked the door, and the woman yanked the one in the backseat open before taking her place. “Um, you’re here for me…?”“Or rather, weren’t you the one looking for me?” Jackson replied flatly. “You shouldn’t have shown your face in the West family residence. What do you want?”So, he only came to her because she visited the West family residence and not for anything else. Tanya hung her head and gripped the hem of her clothes tightly.“I don’t want anything other than to bear this baby to terms,” she said. “I know I’m nothing but a pie
She gritted her teeth and took two steps back. “Please, don’t cause a scene on my front porch. Your affairs with Jackson are none of my business. You wanted it, didn’t you? You climbed into bed with him willingly. You got pregnant with his baby willingly. He doesn’t want you to have the baby? That’s between you and him. Why are you asking me for help? Do you think that I can make him marry you, to make him agree to letting you have this baby? I’m not that generous. I can’t help you. Please leave!”Tanya tugged on her skirt, refusing to let go. “Please, Tiffany… I have no family or relatives. I don’t know anyone here. I’m all alone, and I don’t know what to do. It’s all my fault, I was wrong to you. Hit me, if that will make you feel better. I just want you to talk to Jackson, make him agree to letting me have this child. If I abort this baby, I’ll never be able to conceive again. Please…”Tiffany wasn’t a fool. She didn’t want to be a part of this mess. Her only worry was to prevent
Tiffany let out a long sigh of relief. She collapsed against the wall, looking very pale in the face. She waited until she had calmed down before digging out her keys and heading into the house. “Were you talking to someone outside?” Lillian asked, puzzled. “I heard the commotion, but I didn’t feel like going out to look. Who were you talking to?”“Met an old colleague in the hallway. We had a few words. I’m going to make dinner,” she explained half-heartedly.The Tremont Estate.By the time Arianne had arrived home, Mark and Aristotle were already home. The pair were fresh from their bath. She looked like the more idle parent now. Mark could make money and take care of the baby. It made her feel inferior.She dashed forward, unable to restrain her emotions. “Come here, Smore. Let mommy hold you.”Mark evaded her in disgust. “Take a shower. We’ve just had ours. It’s so hot and you’ve been sweating all day…”It had been a while since he had snubbed her. She was hurt. “Are you snub
Mark had no intentions of leaving. He took off his shirt, reached out and gently massaged her smooth, naked back. “I’ll help you out… Aristotle is getting impatient. It’ll be faster with my help.”There were a few extra ripples in the humid bathroom. She lowered her head, too afraid to look at him. She hadn’t gotten used to standing in front of him, completely naked, especially since she had just given birth not too long ago. Her body wasn’t as firm as it used to be, especially her tummy area. “No need, I’m very fast. You should go out. I’m really not used to this…”He reached out and lifted up her chin, forcing her to turn around and look at him. “What do you mean? You’re going to have to get used to it. I’m your husband. Why can’t I look at you?”His intense gaze locked onto Arianne’s eyes. She felt as if she had been pulled into a deep vortex. His thin, tender lips looked very sexy and were even more attractive in the misty bathroom. The clean outlines of his muscles were on full
He pressed his lips on Arianne’s before she could react, then made his way down onto her neck. She couldn’t open her eyes and didn’t dare react too much. The irony of it all was that he had gotten exactly what he wanted. She was beginning to suspect that he had gotten himself peed on by Aristotle on purpose…Heavy pants and sighs began to rise amidst the pattering sounds of water. It went on for half an hour before gradually turning back to normal. Arianne blushed as she put on her clothes, too shy to look back at Mark in the eye.“The weather is hot. It’s very humid in the bathroom, so don’t stay in the shower for too long,” Mary reminded her. “You’ll get heatstroke. Aren’t your breasts engorged from not breastfeeding all day? It’s time to feed Aristotle. You should take him and feed him. I’m going to check on dinner.”Arianne nodded and carried Aristotle to the baby’s room to feed him. They were previously engorged, so engorged that they hurt whenever they were touched. However,
Arianne sighed. “Forget it. Just feign ignorance. It’s up to Jackson to solve it. Try to avoid talking to Tanya from now on. Regardless of the outcome, she brought this on herself. It has nothing to do with us.”There was a slight change in Tiffany’s voice. “You’re right. It’s fine. I don’t want to think of anything else. Jackson’s mom is calling me now. I’m going to their company in South Park to report for duty tomorrow. It’ll be far away, but that means that I don’t have to see any of my frustrations. It’ll relieve me. Tanya’s too scared to see you, but if she does, ignore her. I’m pretty sure that she’s lying about her bad health or inability to conceive after the abortion. She’s as strong as an ox! I’m exhausted. Going to bed now. I’ll call you when I arrive and settle in. I’ll come back during the weekend to hang out with you.”Arianne ended the call. Mark could tell that she was feeling upset, so he asked, “What’s wrong? You’re not eating.”Arianne shook her head. “Forget it.
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