His greatest saving grace? This was her first time seeing him display such immense guilt over all of his mistakes in the past. She felt compelled to hold him.She gazed at Aristotle, who was still full of energy, and suggested, “Maybe… We can try handing Aristotle over to Mary? He’s not sleepy yet, so he probably won’t fuss.”It took Mark a while before he understood what Arianne meant. Usually, he would have to force that little third wheel away. Today, it was a rare sight for her to take the initiative. Of course, he was happy. “Okay. Take him. I’ll wait for you in the bedroom.”Arianne blushed as she carried Aristotle away. She found Mary and tried her best to look as normal as possibly. She tried her best to regulate her breathing. “Mary, could you take care of Smore for now? I’ll take him to bed later.”Mary happily accepted Aristotle into her arms. “Sure. It’s fine. Come over for him later. He’s not sleepy yet, so I’ll take him for a walk around the garden. He’ll get sick too
“What happened?” she asked.He tightened his grip around his phone. “Something has happened to Eric. I’ve always known that his stomach problems would end up in a disaster… I’ve got to go.Arianne’s mind buzzed. She immediately remembered the first time she met Eric. He had an amiable temperament. He was always smiling and very easy-going, and he still seemed so dazzling next to Mark and Jackson. Despite severing ties with his own family and building his own business, he still shone like a star and worked hard to shine on his own…Based on the look on Mark’s face, Eric might be…“I’m going with you! Eric isn’t just your friend but mine too,” she insisted determinedly.This time, Mark did not object. Instead, he asked, “What if Smore cries? Who knows what time we’ll come home. It might be morning by the time we’re done.”Arianne quickly changed her clothes, afraid that he might change his mind. “Should it matter? Eric left his family long ago. We’re his only friends. If Smore want
The hospital.By the time Mark and Arianne arrived, Eric was in the middle of surgery. No one was waiting outside the operating theatre before they arrived. It was heart-breaking.Arianne sat on a long bench in the hallway. “Who called you? Why is no one here?”“Tanya.” Mark looked at her from his side profile.Arianne frowned. “Why her? I guess it makes sense… She left after making that call, probably because she didn’t want to run into us.”“The condo she lives in is right across Eric’s office. She probably happened to see that something had happened to him, so she sent him to the hospital and called us.” He guessed. “Jackson is on his way back too.”Arianne had nothing to say about that. At least, Tanya wasn’t completely evil and hadn’t forgotten Eric’s kindness toward her.The surgery took more than five hours. Once the operating theatre’s indication lights went out, Mark rushed forward and waited for the door to open. The head surgeon’s forehead was drenched in sweat when
Eric was still feeling very weak. It took him a while before he finally answered. “What are you saying? I just… don’t feel like living anymore. By the time I realized, it was already in the late stage anyway. There’s no need for treatment.”Jackson’s voice grew hoarse. “What do you mean, ‘don’t feel like living anymore’? If you really didn’t, why’d you get a girlfriend then? You obviously wanted to live…”Eric shut his eyes and shook his head. “Everything felt perfect before we got together, and I began looking forward to the future. But she’s not marriage material. She’s only good at having fun and is only concerned about enjoying herself. She’s not ready to settle down yet. We’re from completely different worlds. I’ve had enough fun, and now, I want stability. But she has only just started having fun. Our paths were different from the beginning. If I’m correct, she must have gone out drinking last night and isn’t home yet. It’s fine. We’re going to break up anyway. By the way, when
Arianne and Tiffany couldn’t stand it any longer. They had no idea that Vicky’s number was the first one Eric had dialed. Vicky had actually rejected his call while he was dying, all for the sake of having fun. Now, she had the audacity to claim that she was the closest thing to Eric!The biggest irony of all was that it was Tanya, whom Vicky hated the most, that managed to save Eric’s life for the time being.Vicky was losing control of the smile on her face, but she persisted. “What are you saying? Are you feeling confused? This is all in your head. I’m not doing this for any inheritance! I wasn’t even aware that you’d called me last night. I went to the washroom and my friend rejected the call out of mischief. She didn’t tell me about it either. I realized that I couldn’t call you this morning and that you were in the hospital when I checked your location. I asked a nurse downstairs when I arrived… and found your ward. I really didn’t mean to do it. Please don’t think of me that w
Arianne’s expression hardened. She lifted her hand and delivered a hard slap. Her upbringing prevented her from spewing foul language, so this slap was an amalgamation of how upset she was. “Leave.”Vicky gritted her teeth but was too afraid to do anything to Arianne, so she left in a huff. Arianne had put a lot of force into that slap because she was truly infuriated. Her hand was still sore and numb when she returned to the ward. Mark pulled her aside. “We can take care of Eric from here. You should go home. Smore won’t be able to endure your absence.”Arianne could see how tired Tiffany was as well, so she dragged her along. “Come on, you can come home with me. We’ll come over when we wake up. I have to go home and check on the baby.”Tiffany knew that Jackson and Mark wouldn’t leave, and there were people watching over him. She said nothing, ordering take out for them before following Arianne back to the Tremont Estate.It was a bright, sunny day when they left the hospital,
Her feelings for Eric couldn’t be explained. She thought that it was love, at first. Later, she realized that it was completely different from what she had felt for Jackson. Now, she believed that Eric felt more like a brother to her, like family. She wanted to stay at the hospital but was afraid of running into Arianne and the rest. She still felt very concerned.Just as she was growing fidgety, she heard the sound of a key turning in the doorknob. Only Jett had the keys to her place.Jett had mentioned that he had to take a trip to South Park with Alejandro and that he would probably be staying for a week. She was surprised by his early return and got up. “Have you eaten?” she asked. “I… I didn’t know that you’d be back so soon. I haven’t had time to cook.”“Don’t worry about me,” Jett calmly replied. “Are you going out?”Only then did Tanya realize that she had been holding her phone and keys, looking as if she was ready to head out. She paused and decided to be honest. “I’m goi
Tiffany’s words echoed in her mind. Eric was dying…She stared at the white walls outside the hospital. She didn’t want to leave like this, but she couldn’t come up with a reason to go back inside. In the midst of her hesitation, she noticed a black BYD on the side of the road. The car window winded down, revealing Jett wearing a pair of glasses and gesturing at her with his chin.She looked around, ensured that no one who knew her was around, then got into the car. “What are you doing here?” Jett started the engine with an emotionless look on his face. “I’m worried. I have to go back to Alejandro’s, but I’ll drop you home first.”Tanya bit her lip and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t go into the ward at all. I ran into Tiffany at the hospital. Don’t worry. I didn’t say anything.”Jett did not answer. He tossed a plastic bag from the hospital at her, with two small medicine bottles inside. She took out the bottles and found that it was folic acid. “These are… for me?”Jett nodded. He
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