Aery’s appearance had changed a lot. Her erstwhile garishly technicolor hair had been dyed to black. She wore no makeup, which made her look like a sweet, youthful ingenue. For a moment, she looked a little identical to Arianne with her modest outfit.“Hey now, Ari, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not here looking for trouble,” she stated. “I’m only here because… Well, Mom’s sick. She didn’t want me to let you know about it, but I thought you’d probably liked to know and visit her sometime, so I came here. I can’t take too many breaks to care for her all the time, especially since I’m gonna go back to studying overseas after a few days. Sorry to trouble you, Ari, but you might have to take care of Mom for a bit.”Arianne frowned. Since when had Aery become so… prim and proper? She called her “Ari” and Helen, “Mom”. The difference between her present and past was so jarring, Arianne wondered if the woman standing before her was someone else wearing her skin.“Don’t call me Ari. I can’t s
After a momentary pause, Helen continued. “You’re now living a good life, Arianne. You may not even need any reparation from me anymore. The future hides behind a fog. We don’t know how it’ll be. All I know is that we’ll definitely be in different cities, so please, make sure you continue living well.”For some reason, Arianne was starting to feel a little irritated. “I’ve never wanted any ‘reparations’ from you. It has always been your idea. And honestly, it’s not like I can stop you from going anywhere you want.”Faint despondence lingered in Helen’s eyes. “I only worry that, since you believed that I’d abandoned you out of my selfish reasons, you would think the same as well this time. I know you don’t need me anymore, I do, but… I can’t stop myself from going there. From feeling a deep sense of regret, and then hesitance—”Arianne rose to her feet. “No, I won’t even think that way at all. You don’t need to feel regret, either. Anything I was denied in the past, I have them now i
Arianne had automatically treated Mark as someone worthy of sharing her joy and troubles, just as a typical human was wont to do. People would always leave very little of themselves secret from their close ones.Mark looked at her, serious. “What happened?”She flashed him a forced smile. “She’s sick, but it didn’t look too serious. She had just undergone some small-scale surgery, which is why she hadn’t been able to visit Smore and me. And then she told me she’s gonna leave this city with Aery before Jean’s release. She wants to make sure that Jean won’t be able to find them. I guess I agree with her decision? I just don’t get why she had to keep nagging about how remorseful she feels for abandoning me again or something. As if I care!”Mark ruffled her hair. “It’s alright, Ari. Everyone walks a path made only for them. She might not stay in this city, but that doesn’t mean you two won’t be able to contact one another in the future! It’s all parts and parcels of human lives, I’m af
She blushed. “This wasn’t a euphemism. Empty your dirty mind… What’s a big guy like you avoiding carrying a baby? You’ve been carrying him every day, hypocrite. That’s enough now, time for bed. I have to breastfeed in the middle of the night. I think it’s time to wean him off his nighttime feed. It’s too tedious.”“If it’s tedious, don’t go to work,” Mark grumbled. “Put all of your attention on Smore. Isn’t the baby more important? I told you not to push yourself, and now we have to reduce the baby’s food. That doesn’t make sense, does it?”Arianne saw right through it. Every time she complained, he would make use of it and try to stop her from going to work. “No weaning. Okay? I can do it. Stop scolding me.”He didn’t reply. He held her wounded hand and carefully examined it. His mind was distracted unconsciously, as he had wandered back to the past. Her hands would always suffer from chilblain in the past, and she had been plagued with all kinds of diseases. She had always been dr
“It’s not like that. I did overtime until 11:00 p.m. last night to finish this. I really did do it nicely. I put it on the mannequin, checked everything, and made sure that it was fine before I left,” the intern replied, choking with sobs. “Someone took the mannequin and used it this morning. The sample was taken down and reduced to this. I really don’t know what happened!”None of the staff members who had crowded around to watch dared to speak. Arianne looked at the intern. Her intuition told her that she wasn’t lying, which meant that someone had pulled a cruel prank. She reached out and patted the intern on the shoulder. “It’s fine, It’s not your fault. I left in a hurry yesterday, so it’s my fault. Mr. Yaleman, maybe we should let this go. I still need some help with this sample. I’ve hurt my finger.”Mr. Yaleman shot the intern with a fierce glare when he heard this. “You’re lucky. You’d better get your shit right for Arianne. Make one more mistake, and you’re gone!”Arianne w
They returned after lunch, and Arianne went back to her own desk to take a short nap. There was nothing much to do this afternoon, so she was considering visiting Helen. However, she was reluctant to run into Aery again. She was conflicted.Suddenly, she heard a noise in front of her. She opened her eyes to find that Robin had given her a glass of hot water. She smiled. “Thank you, I can do this on my own next time. You don’t have to go through the trouble.”Robin nodded shyly and went back to her office desk. “Hey Robin, managed to claw your way into some VIP?” Someone taunted. “You don’t have to pay us any attention now, do you? She’s Mrs. Tremont, who knows how long she’ll stay here? Maybe she’ll go back and live out her days as a rich man’s wife tomorrow. What will you do then?”“Can’t you be nice?” Robin replied with a lowered voice. “I’m just here to learn, not to play nursemaid with you. You haven’t taught me a thing aside from ordering me around. I’ve been in this company
Helen nodded, expressing the gravity of the situation. “I used to think… that you were only being courteous. So… I avoided bothering you too much. My little sickness isn’t much of a problem. You don’t have to visit me so often. I’ll visit you in the next few days and see how much Smore has grown.”So that explained it. Helen believed that she was simply being courteous to her. That’s why she had avoided visiting her so often. Arianne now understood. “I don’t like indulging in courtesy, and I dislike hypocrisy. You should rest. I’ll be on my way now.”Helen escorted her to the door, personally. “Be careful.”The gentleness on Helen’s face remained as she watched her leave. Years of hurt and pain were finally over.Aery suddenly strode forward. “Mom, I’m leaving the day after tomorrow. Could we have a meal with Arianne and my brother-in-law? I haven’t met my nephew yet…”Helen’s expression immediately turned cold. “There’s no need for that. The very thought of your brother-in-law be
She bit her lips and giggled. “If you say so. I won’t object. That Janice Bell, is she still in the company?”Mark squinted his eyes, bent down, and inched closer toward her. He placed his hands on the front of her body, as if ready to push her down at any moment. “She’s probably still around… Have you been thinking about her?”She raised an eyebrow. “I was just asking. Aren’t you overthinking? Go and get your work done. We’ll go home together when you’re finished.”He didn’t release her and continued his oppressive stance instead. He even moved closer toward her. They were now so close that they could feel each other’s breaths. He could see her delicate cheeks oh-so-clearly. They were so fair that he could see the green veins beneath her skin. When she lifted her chin, his gaze trailed downward—it was her smooth neck that released a delightful fragrance, drawing him into a continued reverie.Upon realizing that their situation had gotten too flirtatious, Arianne’s cheeks heated up