Helen finally nodded, thanks to Mary’s advice. “Okay… I’ll go and see her. I’ll leave straight away if I upset her.”Mary closed the door when Helen walked in, giving the mother and daughter some privacy.Arianne was still awake. She sat up when she saw Helen. “What are you doing here at this hour?”Helen approached her and propped up a pillow on her back. “I… I happened to have some business nearby, so I thought I’d drop by and see you. Have I disturbed your sleep? You don’t have to get up; you can lie down…”Although Arianne didn’t seem too amiable, she wasn’t scowling at her either. “It’s fine. I can’t sleep anyway, so I might as well get up and sit.”The pair didn’t have much to say to each other, so the atmosphere cooled.Helen stood for a while then pulled out two sparkling and translucent boxes of sour plums from her bag. “I don’t know if you like sour food, so I’ll just leave these here. You can have one or two from time to time. The Tremont household has everything, so I wasn’
Arianne truly had a talent in fashion design. Despite quitting the industry, her passion for it never diminished. When she saw the main theme for the competition — summer wear — she felt that it was an easy task. “Just do something trendy and you’ll stand a chance to win. Try to think out of the box. Check out a few physical stores; you can even check out a few trending textiles online. But don’t follow the crowd, and you must seem more avant garde than whatever’s in the market.”Tiffany was completely confused after receiving Arianne’s advice. “I know that fashion design requires innovation, but my brain… You know what it’s like. That’s why I’ve come to you. You’re not in the industry anymore any way. Could I maybe use your hand in bestowing some ‘glory’ upon myself? Please, bestie… I have a draft. Can’t you just tweak it a little for me? The sketch you fixed for me that one time at the office was amazing. Really!”Arianne surrendered. She stretched out her hand. “Let me see.”Tiffany
Arianne swelled with admiration when she saw how dedicated Tiffany was.Suddenly, the room door was pushed open, and Arianne realized that Jackson had arrived with her food delivery…Tiffany thought that Mark had arrived and did not react. She didn’t even lift her head until Mary spoke up, “You’re here, Jackson! Thank you so much.”Her entire body stiffened. She immediately put her sketch away. “I’ve got to go, Ari. I’ll see you tomorrow.”Arianne glanced at the blank expression on Jackson’s face. “Alright… Take care.”Tiffany let out a long sigh of relief once she entered the elevator. She was vexed. Why was she so afraid? That wasn’t her style at all…Her mind inadvertently remembered the question that Jackson had asked her, back in her condominium kitchen — “What if I told you that I never betrayed you? Would things go back to how they used to be?”. He had stopped looking for her ever since she gave him her definitive answer. They hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and when they
Ever since her run-in with Jackson at the hospital, Tiffany had deliberately staggered her visits. She would only visit Arianne after 8PM and leave at around 9:30PM. Jackson usually left after Arianne had finished eating, so they usually wouldn’t run into each other.A few days later, Arianne finally asked her, “Why are you avoiding Jackson? He’s not avoiding you. He comes by at his usual hour. There’s no need to go through such lengths, is there?”“Why do I feel as if it’s hard for you to speak out against other people who’ve done a few favors for you? He’s only made a few meals for you, and you’re already favoring him, an outsider! I just don’t want to see him…”“Your reaction doesn’t indicate that you ‘don’t want to see him’ but that you’re too afraid to. You’re avoiding him. When did you become such a scaredy cat?” Arianne pointed out candidly. “This isn’t like you. If you’re really over him, you’d treat him like a stranger and you wouldn’t care. Why are you hiding? There’s absolut
Tiffany was nervous. However, she dressed up early in the morning, putting on her most expensive clothes — last year’s spring formal wear. She curled her long hair into soft waves, making her look like one of the elites from the industry. It was a completely different feel from her usual look. She put on a pair of high stilettos, which made her legs look even longer and slimmer. Even Tanya was in awe. “I’ve never seen you dress like this before. You actually look good! You look capable and well-experienced. No one would suspect you of being a bimbo as long as you keep your mouth shut.”Tiffany rolled her eyes at her. “Don’t praise and insult me at the same time. The whole world knows how much of a bimbo I am. I’m going to join in the fun, whether I get in or not. If I don’t succeed this time, I’ll try again next time. The competition comes once every three years anyway. I’m going to work for it.”Tanya didn’t seem too confident in her entry. “I’ll just be there to keep you company. You
Tanya shook her head, unsure of the situation herself. “I don’t know either. Let’s just wait and see…”A few minutes later, the emcee suddenly spoke into the microphone. “As you all know, plagiarism in this industry is not tolerated. While it has happened before, we thought that nothing like this would ever happen again, drawing examples from our predecessors. Unfortunately, it has happened again this time, and in such a bold manner too. We have two designs that are almost alike.”The entire venue gasped when they heard this. Mark and Jackson, who were sitting in the first row, showed no reaction, as they were pretty certain that it wouldn’t involve them.Tiffany narrowed her eyes as if lost in thought. “I’ve heard that plagiarizers will be blacklisted and will never be able to work in this industry again. The company will be implicated and prohibited from joining the competition for five seasons, which means that they won’t be able to join the competition for fifteen years. I wonder w
Journalists immediately swarmed Jackson, talking over each other as they asked, “Were you aware of your designer’s plagiarism?”“If you knew, why didn’t you stop them? Was it just wishful thinking?”“Your company, Bright Incorporated, is now facing a ban from joining the competition for five seasons. What are your thoughts?”“Could you give us an accurate answer? If you were unaware of this, why did you admit to plagiarizing before investigating the matter?”“There were other qualified entries from your company. Don’t you think it’s a shame to be banned from the competition, just like that?”Jackson only had one answer for the barrage of hungry journalists, “Because I know Tiffany Lane. She’s not that kind of a person. As for everything else, no comment.”Tiffany had mixed feelings. She wasn’t overjoyed by the prospect of entering the qualifying round. She had achieved her long-hoped for objective, but she wasn’t happy about it at all.At the end of the event, she drove her car to the
Tanya pulled out two pieces of tissue paper when she climbed back into the car. “Don’t cry… You didn’t plagiarize; there’s no need to feel guilty. But I think that Jackson’s been really nice to you. He knows his exact losses under these circumstances, yet he’s confessed without any hesitation. Between profit and an ex, most men would probably choose profit.”Tiffany sniffed. “If Mrs. West finds out about whatever’s happened to his company, she’d be pissed. I have to visit the West Residence. I’ll drop you home first.”After dropping Tanya off at the condo, she immediately made her way to the West Residence.Summer was still recuperating at home. The cast on her leg had been taken off and she could walk on her own now. However, she was still limping. When she saw that Tiffany had come for a visit, Summer quickly asked the housekeeper to prepare some food and drinks. “Tiffie, what are you doing here? I hear that you joined that fashion competition. How was it? The results came out today.