None of it was her fault, yet she had to take the blame. And for what? There was nothing fair about shouldering guilts that were not of her doing! And why the hell must Summer bring up these sealed painful memories back to the fore?!When reason finally reclaimed her, Tanya released her clutch from Summer’s neck in terror, crying, “Oh my God… Oh, my God! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry! Please don’t scream at me for this… Please stop tormenting me with those words…”Summer’s hands quickly wrapped around her own neck before shoving the woman away from her. “Cough.. You were trying to kill me! Cough, cough… You… You’re mad!” she shrieked between sputters.Tanya’s tears broke out as she shook her head, over and over again. “N-No! I didn’t! I didn’t… I didn’t; I didn’t, I didn’t want to kill you... I’m sorry, I..”The extreme flip-flop in Tanya’s demeanor mortified Summer to the core. What was that, a window into Tanya’s split personality? Frightened, the older woman
The rappings on the door prompted a listless Tanya to roll out of her bed before heading toward it. She was too tired to wonder who her visitor might be.She yanked the door open to a furious Jackson and froze, entirely at a loss of how to react.The man who so desperately wanted to avoid her had come looking for her.“If you really want to beat the sh*t out of someone, you come to me! Leave my mom alone!” Jackson fumed, his hands balled into fists. It was not in his nature to hit women, so even at his angriest, he stopped himself from acting on his impulse.Tanya reeled back in understanding. The memory of what happened earlier caused her to lower her head in shame.“I didn’t mean to do it,” she whispered. “I know, it doesn’t matter what hurtful things your mom said. I shouldn’t have lost control of my emotions and lashed out… I’m sorry. If she requires medical assistance or anything, I’ll pay. All I’m asking is that you people stop it, please. Stop forcing me into desperation.”
Tanya shut the door and began to recount her past without any prompt. “I was a young girl, about four years old, I think, when people started saying that my dad killed a man.“From then on, dad disappeared from my life. Mom left me. I had no one else but my grandpa. The people around me were always so eager and happy to remind me that I’m a murderer’s daughter whenever they saw me. They told their kids to never play with me, and then, for countless times… they beat me. They treated me like… like sh*t. Grandpa was scared that all of it was going to ruin me, so he sacrificed all of the money he had saved and took me out of the town I was born in and rented a house in the city.“I was eight by then, but the trauma of being seen as nothing but a murderer’s daughter haunts me. I can’t break free. I tried to be good. I follow my grandpa’s advice. I smile at everyone and treat everyone right because grandpa told me that no matter how bad my life started out to be, anyone who smiles will alw
Tanya walked out of her room and found out that Jackson had left her already. Dejected, she sank onto the couch like a puppet with broken strings.A few moments passed. Finally, she sent a text message to the man who had called her earlier: ‘I want to see you.’The man appeared by her doorstep exactly by three in the afternoon. He stood tall and straight as he showcased his handsome features. Jackson West may inspire more women to fantasize being with him, but this man boasted quite a presence, too.Tanya had only seen him a few times; three of them were for the sex that eventually led to the conception of the fetus inside her now. Other times were during Tiffany’s meals with Alejandro Smith.Indeed, the man was none other than Jett.Tanya was visibly embarrassed when talking to him. After all, he was the real father of the child, despite being someone she did not know all that well.“Look, can I abort this kid, and then come clean to Jackson? I’m done doing this. He’s never goin
Tanya had slipped in a drug into Jackson’s drink that night. That was the real reason why he had been so thoroughly knocked-out, and why it was impossible to have him do anything, let alone sex. The blood on the sheet? Tanya staged it.Per Alejandro’s scheme, she had sex with Jett three times. The best-case scenario was to make Tanya pregnant and to make the conception seem as realistically tied to the hoax as possible. Even if she did not manage to get impregnated on time, Tanya was supposed to fake it until she made it. Even the worst-case scenario—if Tanya just could not get pregnant—had contingency plans.She had been overjoyed and relieved when she succeeded in her pregnancy. But now, looking back, all she had achieved was shackling herself with a self-made burden.For her pregnancy, and also because she was too ashamed to continue working for Eric, Tanya had been subsisting on Alejandro’s allowance after she quit her job. It was Alejandro who paid for her livelihood, which was
Tanya gritted her teeth and smacked the rod against Jett’s shoulder. “Are you trying to scratch my back?” Jett growled. “Do you really think that a fight with Jackson would be that easy? Break my bones. I didn’t save you for nothing! Do it!”Tanya knew that if they failed to keep this from Alejandro, Jett would die. Broken bones were nothing compared to death. She hardened her resolve and whacked Jett with all of her might. She deliberately avoided his head. “Will that do? Does it hurt?” She gasped, holding her slightly hurting abdomen after the beating.Jett did not answer. He grabbed the small piggy bank on her bedside table and smashed it into his head, shattering the porcelain into pieces. Jett’s forehead immediately began to bleed. Tanya widened her eyes in shock, covering her mouth.“Go!”Tanya shivered from Jett’s roar. She stumbled her way to the door, her legs feeling like cotton. “A-are… you alright? I’m leaving…”Jett waved his hand then leaned against the wall and lit
Jackson didn’t stop her. Justice was restored. It didn’t matter where Tanya was going. He only asked her if someone had forced her into this because he felt that it would be difficult for her to execute this flawlessly on her own. Since she had refused to reveal the father’s identity, he couldn’t be bothered to ask. He suddenly felt relieved…Tanya was too afraid to go home. She loitered outside for a long time before making a decision — she was going to take the initiative and see Alejandro herself. She knew that neither she nor Jett would survive if she did not confront him. That was why she did not expose Alejandro to Jackson. She had to leave herself with a single thread for survival, or death would be certain.Her hands were trembling as she called Alejandro. His cold, demonic voice answered her. “Heh, what a surprise. You’ve actually contacted me on your own.”“Where are you?” she asked, summoning her courage. “I need to see you.”“Stay where you are and don’t move,” Alejandr
Tanya widened her eyes in shock. Wasn’t the lower half of his body supposed to be crippled? So, it was all fake!Alejandro’s tall figure seemed to make everything in the room even dimmer. He walked towards Jett and squatted. “See that? A weak little girl has come to me, all for your sake. How does it feel? You can’t tell me that you’ve both developed feelings for each other, right? You’ve only done it three times. It took three years for me to fall for Tiffany.”Jett exhaled, releasing the smell of blood too. “I was wrong… Sir…”Alejandro patted Jett’s blood-stained face. “It’s good to repent once you’ve realized your mistakes. Don’t worry. The old man planted you on me to be his eyes. It’d make things very difficult for me if I kill you. He’d never let himself go blind. This lesson should be enough to carve this deep into your memories. Speak, what do you want from me? Why should I believe that you’d keep your mouths shut? It’d be troublesome if Tiffany discovered any of this…”Ta
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