Arianne had a startled look on her face. “Didn’t Arianne leave this morning? Don’t you know about it?”Mark suddenly felt empty inside. He pursed his lips and said, “I do now. Thanks Robin, I’ll be off now.” Just as he was about to leave, Robin muttered, “He’s not as cold and bitter as Arianne had said. He doesn’t look old either… Quite well-mannered, in fact…”Mark heard every word that Robin had said and had mixed feelings. Was he that kind of man in Arianne’s eyes? A bitter and cold... old man? Back at the Tremont estate, he heard Arianne and Smore happily playing together as he stepped into the house. He walked up to Arianne with his face sunken and asked, “You weren’t at the office today. Where have you been?”Arianne replied without looking back at him, “What’s wrong? Do I have to report to you about my whereabouts now?”Mark choked at her words. He had just realized that he had been controlling her all along, wanting to know her each and every move. The moment Arianne le
Arianne said tonelessly, “I’m not living inside his head, soo how would I know if he’s really as you have said? I think that not only can he eat, but he can probably eat a few more extra portions. Otherwise, where would he find the energy to argue with me?”After a while, Mary asked again after seeing that Mark hadn’t returned downstairs to eat, “Arianne, should I call Mark to come downstairs and eat?”Arianne pursed her lips. “Doesn’t he know what time dinner will be ready? Hasn’t he always been preaching about discipline? Won’t he feel hungry when it’s time to eat? What’s the point of calling him if he doesn’t want to come downstairs? This is Tremont's territory; is there anyone who can control when he eats or sleeps?”Mary was startled speechless and sat at her place quietly. Although she had been taking care of Arianne since she was a child, Arianne’s temper had only just emerged gradually and Mary could not figure out what she was thinking.After dinner, Arianne was in the liv
Arianne looked away and closed her eyes. She seemed to imply that he could do whatever he wanted.Arianne was not in the mood for that initially. However, after Mark teased her a little, her body could not resist the wave of emotions, especially when he began to rush at her passionately. Arianne slowly lost her thoughts in a pool of pleasure. The next morning, Mark reminisced about last night’s events and grinned. He even carried Smore and played with him before leaving the house. When he saw that Arianne was ready to leave, Mark passed Smore to Mary and said to Arianne, “Let’s go. I’ll drive you to work.”Arianne did not sleep well last night thanks to Mark and said in a daze, “It’s fine, I’ll catch a taxi to work myself, so you don’t have to bother.” Mary thought that Arianne was still mad at Mark and nudged Arianne’s elbow. Arianne looked at Mark and yawned. “You really don’t have to drive me there. I don’t have to be at the office all the time; so long as I submit a high qu
Arianne did not deny. “You’re right, Sylvain might actually not be a bad person. You should decide if you would still like to maintain contact with him. Let me know if you need to talk.”Robin suddenly frowned. “Can I ask you something Arianne? It’s just… Does Jessica really have such a large influence on Sylvain? I can’t shake the feeling that he’s really going through a very rough time at the moment. Could it greatly affect his future?”As she saw Robin’s hopeful eyes, Arianne could not bear to tell her the truth but forced herself to anyways. “Robin, you already have the answer to that question, don’t you? Sylvain’s reputation is so ruined that no well-established companies would dare to hire him whilst smaller companies would only offer him peanuts to take advantage of him and humiliate him. I’m afraid he would only be a laughingstock for the people who had to literally beg him to be their personal designer.”Sylvain’s future was out of the question unless some kind of miracle h
When they arrived at White Water Bay Villa, Mark took the initiative and got down from the car to pick up Aristotle. Their son was almost one-years-old now, so carrying him meant carrying extra weight. Arianne’s slender arms seemed strained while holding him.When they entered, Summer gave Mark and Arianne a pair of slippers. “You’re both quite early. Jackson is cooking now.”Arianne saw that the house was empty and was curious. “Mrs. West, are you both taking care of Tiffie? You didn’t hire a nanny?”Summer was the kind of person who enjoyed making other people happy. She was so happy with finally having a grandson that she rarely stopped talking. “My Jackson isn’t comfortable with having strangers in the house. How could we possibly hire anyone? Besides, I’m not comfortable having a stranger take care of Tiffie and the baby. Jackson cooks while I help with the baby. Isn’t that great? Jackson goes to the office from time to time to deal with emergencies, but otherwise, he’s usually
Tiffany laughed shamelessly. “Haha, it’s us. What’s there to be modest about? You have no idea. Jackson hasn’t touched me ever since I got pregnant. I’m only human. I need sex too. Every time I see Jackson, my eyes glow with a green light. I’m so horny. We’re not like you and Mark, who are practically nuns. It’s like you’re wrapped in holy light or something. I doubt you have any desires. I’m curious, is it fun for you? Doesn’t that equate to a cold sex life? Look at how old you are, and this is the state of your relationship? Will you end up staring at the moon and the stars and talking about life when you’re much older? Is that it? Aren’t you afraid that you’ll run out of things to say? It’s so dull to think about it too. Sex is an essential glue that holds a husband and wife together. Just because I want it, doesn’t make me dirty. It’s because I love him.”Arianne couldn’t be bothered to object. Things between her and Mark weren’t as cold as she had described. They didn’t have sex
They stayed on until it was nearly 10PM. Mark finally finished his conversation with Jackson by then. It was clear that this was more than a simple dinner party; Jackson had something to discuss with Mark.Aristotle fell asleep in the car on the way home. “Did Jackson have something to discuss with you?” Arianne asked.“Just work things,” Mark answered. “We lost track of time and talked late into the night. Take a nap if you’re tired. We’ll be home soon.”Arianne turned to the side and looked out the window. “I’m not tired, I was just asking. I thought that it was something important.”Mark paused in momentary silence, then asked, “Am I really a sharp, unkind, and haughty old man to you?”Arianne nearly choked on her own saliva. She was too guilty to look at him. How did he find out? How did he find out about her private conversation with Robin? Was he just well-informed or had he installed a hearing device on her? Had he resorted to that?He laughed. “Don’t need to be so nervous
Arianne was greatly moved, yet felt something amiss. This didn’t seem like something Mark, a block of ice personified, would say. She let go of his hand. “Eyes on the road. I know that Jackson taught you those words.”The corners of Mark’s eyes twitched. She saw through that? Was it that obvious? However… these words came from his heart too. Jackson had taught him the right tactics.Arianne settled Aristotle when they returned to the Tremont Estate. Then, she massaged her arms, which had grown sore after carrying Aristotle for too long and said, “You can use the shower first. I need a short break. It’s pretty exhausting to go out with a kid.”Mark gazed at Aristotle, who was sleeping to his heart’s content, and huskily suggested, “Let’s shower together. It saves time. It’s already so late; by the time I’m done with the shower and you go in, you won’t be able to wake up the next morning.”A few PG-13 scenes flashed across Arianne’s mind in an instant. “No no no, you can shower on yo