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.
Amy stopped criticizing her, probably because it was late enough. “Just get used to the working environment for today. You’ll be working with me. Your office desk is ready. It’s at the back, from your left.”Tiffany turned her head to the side to look. She was surprised, why would a supervisor be given an office of her own? And it was right across the room from Amy’s office too. Her office desk was directly opposite Amy’s and had the same interior. Did supervisors hold a high position in the subsidiary company?“You’re not here as supervisor, you’re assistant director,” Amy explained, as if she had seen through her confusion. “I’m aware of your lack of experience, so I will guide you, as your mentor. Mrs. West has made that very clear.”Assistant director? Wasn’t she supposed to be a supervisor? Tiffany panicked. If Jackson found out that she had become assistant director in his subsidiary company, he’d probably go mad! She knew she wasn’t good enough for the job. Now, it seemed tha
Tiffany stared up at the ceiling and calmly replied, “I’m sorry for disappointing you. It’s my fault that this happened… It’s not Jackson’s fault at all.” If only she had gone to see Jackson sooner, Tanya wouldn’t have had the chance to do anything at all. She had internally cursed herself countless times before. Unfortunately, it’d already happened. What could she possibly do now?Summer was the kind of person who never pushed things too far. She had brought up the subject because she knew that Tiffany was already aware of it. She couldn’t bring herself to feign ignorance, as she didn’t want to feel estranged. “Alright, let’s drop the subject. You have a good rest and do your best at work. Call me if you run into any problems. You’ve always been like a daughter to me. If I had to slap either you or Jackson, I’d slap Jackson. Good night.”Tiffany sent a message to Arianne after the call to tell her that she had arrived safely. She was extremely exhausted, probably because she had to
The lawyer smiled. “You have a rather special technique in extortion, quite feisty. It looks like you won’t be signing this contract, then. Allow me to inform you on the follow-up procedure for child care expenses. First, you’ll have to prove that Mr. West is indeed the father of your baby. Then, you’ll have to submit an appeal for child care expenses. If Mr. West refuses, this procedure will be lengthened. You’re a girl, all alone, and without any income. Can you go through this pregnancy? Think about it, carefully. I’ll take my leave.”Tanya angrily swept the cup on the coffee table onto the ground as she watched the lawyer walk away. She was determined to give birth to this baby, even if she received nothing from it in the end. She may be alone, but she had nothing to worry about. As long as this child existed… As long as she insisted that it belonged to Jackson West, it would always be a thorn in Tiffany Lane’s side. If she couldn’t have him, Tiffany would never have him either! H
Summer arrived at the condo. Of course, she wasn’t going to put on a calm facade. She knocked on the door until Tanya opened it, then pulled out $30,000 in cash straight away. “$30,000. Count the money yourself. It’ll be enough to cover the abortion and all the nutrition you’ll need after that.”Tanya stared at the pile of cash on the table and felt as if her dignity had suffered the greatest blow. “Rich people certainly have a fondness for using money as an insult to others, don’t you think? I may be poor, but I still have my dignity.”“Oh, really?” Summer smirked. “Where is your dignity? Why can’t I see it? A girl with true dignity would never visit a man’s house in the dead of the night. She would never take advantage of others, and she certainly wouldn’t blackmail others for child care expenses after getting pregnant with a bastard. If I were you, this matter would only ever be an accident, and I would abort the baby without hesitation. That’s what it means to leave with dignity!
“No, I won’t!” Tanya was just as resolute as ever. “Go ahead, make me get rid of it. I dare you!”Summer pointed her finger at her and snapped angrily, “It’s a shame that Tiffie and Jackson were so kind to you. They pitied you because you had no one. How is this any different from leading a wolf into the house? People like you are destined to live out a miserable life! You’ve brought this on yourself! Tiffie’s family now isn’t considered suitable for the Wests either. Tiffie received my approval because she’s different from you. There’s a difference between material poverty and mental poverty. Do you understand me?”Was this her fate? Summer’s words seemed to have struck a chord in Tanya. She rose to her feet and smacked Summer’s hand away. “You don’t get to decide how my life turns out!”“How dare you put your hand on me?” Summer was shocked by Tanya’s retaliation.“Out! Get out!” Tanya screamed in heavy gasps. “Get out of my house! I’ll never sign that contract! I will give birth
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