Arianna did not coax Brittany nor comfort her. She let Brittany cry until her tears ended before asking, “Are you ready to talk now?”Brittany blew her nose with the tissue Arianna gave her. With wet eyes, she said, “You know, he is going to get engaged, but I don’t even know who the woman is.”“Sigh, so that’s what this is about.” Arianna objected, “I thought it was something bigger. He is only getting engaged, not married. Even if it was marriage, the divorce rates nowadays are high. What’s up with you?”No one had ever said anything like that to Brittany from when she discovered Alexander had gotten engaged to when she confirmed it. Her parents were careful not to bring it up, while Brandon outright suggested that she give up. However, Arianna told her it was not a big deal. For a moment, she was stunned."I-Is that so?""Why not?" Bending at the waist, Arianna picked up two cups of fruit tea. She handed one to Brittany and held the other to warm her hand. "Brittany, I'm not tr
Pursing her lips, Brittany said, "I'll stop being angry if you stop saying that."Upon hearing this, Arianna could not help but laugh as she reached out to pinch Brittany's cheek. "You idi*t! Even if you’re a dog, you'd still be the cutest dog I've seen!""Enough!" Brittany stomped her feet like a little kid."All right, all right. We won't talk about that anymore. Can you let go of me now?" She looked down at the hand that was holding her wrist."No. What if you run away?"Arianna laughed. "This is my house. Where can I run? I want to go upstairs to change out of my clothes. You've stained my clothes, yet, you don't want to get me a new pair. Now, you're not even letting me change into something more comfortable."Brittany understood what she meant and hurriedly let go of her hand.However, even after she let go, Arianna was not in a hurry to leave. "Do you want to come with me? Your clothes are dirty as well. You can borrow some of mine first."Hearing this, Brittany glanced
At first, she was a little confused about what Arianna was saying."What should I do, then?" Brittany asked. She felt a spark of courage in her that was slowly filling her up. She was no longer as confused as she was before."Brittany, you're beautiful. The room lights up when you walk in. It would be best if you made him notice you," Arianna said as she bent down, whispering almost by Brittany's cheek. Then Arianna suddenly snapped before Brittany could even react. "But!""But, what?" Brittany's heart trembled at the sound of that."It's too late for you now! You've done too much for him, and he no longer cares about you. No matter what you do now, he won't change the inherent impression he has of you. Besides, now you have competition, and you're running out of time. This won't work for you."Then, Arianna let go of Brittany and sat in front of the dressing table, slowly putting on her hand cream.Arianna had always been meticulous in her self-care. Hence her skin had always be
Everyone must weigh the pros and cons before doing anything. Even Derrick was no exception to this. Since he was the family's patriarch, he couldn't act as he pleased and still had to listen to the opinions of the other family members. Arianna assumed that all families would be that way and was surprised to discover that there were exceptions. From what she heard, it was as if no one dared to stop Alexander or give their opinions when he decided to do something. It was as if he could freely follow his own desires. Was this not something that Arianna yearned for?Was there really such a person in this world?""Arianna? Arianna?" Brittany called a few times before Arianna snapped out of her thoughts. Once Brittany realized Arianna was present, Brittany asked, "What were you thinking about?" "Oh, nothing." Ariana shook her head and asked, "You're saying there’s no way for you to be with him unless he wants to?" "Yeah! Otherwise, why would I be so bothered?" Brittany was exasperated as
Arianna glanced at her non-committal look with hatred. "You impress me. After so many years, you were chasing loneliness?" It was hard for her to fathom one who dared to pursue and one who dared to refuse.In other words, either be ruthless with the person or give up and try something else. To hold on in that way was a loss for Brittany, as was her willingness to put up with it."Let’s not talk about that now. What do you think? Do I still have hope?"“Well, it depends on how you see it. Do you want him physically, or do you want him to love you back?” Arianna asked, turning to Brittany.With her eyebrows furrowed, Brittany exclaimed, "Nonsense! I want the whole man!" "The problem is, you don't have him yet. If you could only choose one, what would you pick?" Arianna waved a finger in front of her face, "You can't be too greedy. Suppose you could pick just one. Think about it. Do you want to stay with him forever even if his heart doesn’t belong to you, or do you want him to
"This is not just for the two of them. It’s also for us! Think about it!" Joseph put his hands on his waist and looked serious.Standing upstairs, Brittany was a little embarrassed. After all, she seemed to be eavesdropping on Arianna’s parents arguing. It seemed inappropriate for her to go downstairs. She wanted to turn around and return to her room, but she was scared they would notice.She looked at Arianna and saw her standing there without saying a word. She had no expression on her face and was holding the stair railing with both hands and grasping it tightly.Brittany wanted to comfort her but did not know what to say. The two downstairs did not realize that there were other people in the house, and they were still arguing. Eloise turned around, sat on the sofa, and snorted softly, "For us? Humph! Well said! To put it bluntly, it's for yourself and that little bitch outside! Joseph, look for yourself. Who would allow a mistress to enter the house? Isn’t that just a slap
“Now look what you’ve done!” Eloise glared at Joseph fiercely and quickly went upstairs.Brittany followed Arianna back to the room. She looked at Arianna’s speechless appearance and wanted to comfort her but did not know what to say. Brittany only stood behind Arianna, hoping it would comfort her even a little.On the contrary, Arianna turned to look at Brittany and smiled. Her smile looked far-stretched and distressing, obviously a forced one. Arianna said, “I’m sorry you had to see that.”"Don't say that!" Brittany stepped forward and hugged Arianna, suddenly feeling her friend was in a more tragic situation than herself. Brittany could not get what she asked for, but Arianna had to face her arguing parents.Arianna’s father had a mistress and an illegitimate son. He was also patriarchal, as he would give his family business to his illegitimate son rather than divide it with his daughter just because Arianna was a girl.Joseph wanted to continue arguing, but Eloise had already
“Then I'll be leaving. Goodbye, dad!" Arianna kissed her father’s cheek and pulled Brittany out of the house.Brittany was in shock. She felt uncomfortable when she saw what had happened. ‘Is there something wrong with Arianna? Was the whole thing just an act? I feel like I’m on a drama set! Was what they said according to a script? Did everyone forget about the argument after the scene ended?‘Otherwise, how can Arianna be so calm and stay in this so-called harmonious family with her “loving” father? How could she act like a spoiled child to him?’The duo sat in the car as Brittany silently started it and drove away with Arianna in the passenger seat. The duo stayed quiet for a long while. Brittany had yet to figure out what had happened. Nothing made sense to her.Arianna opened her purse and took out a small bag of snacks. She tore it open with her delicate fingernails, took out a small piece of dried apricot, and put it toward Brittany's mouth. Brittany glanced down and shook h