Mark didn’t answer. Instead, he walked ahead, sat down, opened his lunch box, and began eating.In less than two minutes, the sound of a delivery man suddenly rang out from outside the office. “Sir, I have your take out. Are you Mr. Tremont? I need some verification…”Mark became upset. He had asked Davy to order takeout for him but had completely forgotten about it…Arianne took a long breath. “I wouldn’t have brought this over if I had known you had ordered takeout.”Davy was forced to take the blame. His voice rang crystal clear from outside the door. “That’s my takeout! I haven’t eaten yet, and I’m starving! I put in the wrong personal details. I’m so used to ordering food for Mr. Tremont, I forgot to change it!” He was obviously saying this for Arianne’s benefit.Arianne wasn’t fooled. “Eat whatever you like. Have your takeout if you don’t want this. It’s not like I made the food. The chef at home made it.”“Am I not eating now?” Mark indifferently replied. “How could
“But what if she didn’t want to trouble poor old Henry and took a cab today instead?” Davy asked, voicing his skepticism.Mark was taken aback. He had considered running after her but felt that the relationship between him and Arianne wasn’t completely at peace. So he decided against any further consideration. “No, she would have definitely asked Henry to drive.”Meanwhile, Arianne hailed a cab and went back to Tremont Estate. She was too exhausted to move, probably because the past few days had sapped all of the energy out of her. She hadn’t been able to sleep well either. She was very out of sorts.Mary filled a small tub of hot water for her, instructing her, “Soak your feet, you’ll feel much better. Mr. Tremont didn’t take you home? You should have asked Henry to drive you then.”Arianne was upset but forced a smile onto her face. “It’s fine, I’m not that fragile. It didn’t hurt to take a cab. Mark is busy and I don’t need him to drive. Henry’s back has been aching lately. Is
She turned her face to the side and opened her eyes. “Didn’t someone relieve me of my obligations? Sorry, I can’t bear having you touch me again every time I think of another woman tainting you. It’s a totally different matter. It was my mistake for loaning Will the money behind your back. Your scandalous relationship with Janice is your mistake. I don’t think my mistake grants you permission to sin wantonly.”His body stiffened in the darkness. “Who told you that I had a scandalous relationship with her? As for whether anyone has relieved you of your obligations, give it a try and you’ll find out.”A slight pain made her frown before she could react to his words. She let out a gentle groan.He had proved it very well. There was no ambiguity. His movements told her that there was no other woman!She watched as he focused all of his energy on “clarifying” himself and tried to shift his concentration. She didn’t want to lose face and admit that she was at her limit. “Why did you… b
She changed her clothes all at once to satisfy his standards, trying to avoid him forcing her into changing her clothes again. She wore office attire this time. The only problem was that it was very hot…She did not plan on going to the office today, so going out to sketch in office wear was very uncomfortable, yet she was forced to pander to his demands. The thought of this made her very upset.As she walked out, Mark asked in a seemingly casual manner, “Do you want me to drive you?”He used to just drive her to work straight away, why would he ask her this question? She really wanted to tell him that she had arms and legs and would rather walk than take his car. She didn’t need him to drive her. “No need, I’m not going to the office today. I’ll be sketching outside.”He didn’t say anything more and told Brian to drive away.She stared at the car as it drove off and stomped her feet in frustration. Was it that hard to get past this issue? In the past, no matter how bad their fi
She didn’t expect Will to pay her back so quickly. She paused and said, “Sure. I’ll send the details over to you later. Actually… I didn’t have that much money to give… Mark helped.”Will fell silent for a few seconds. He seemed to be smiling, but his tone sounded bitter. “Then… Please thank him for me. He’s very good to you. I can rest easy as I have nothing to regret. He’s even willing to help me out, just because he loves you. I’ve underestimated his feelings for you.”Arianne wasn’t sure of what to say, so she replied to him with an “mm” and ended the call. Then, she sent Mark’s bank details over to Will. She wasn’t doing this to get into Mark’s good graces. This was how it should have been in the first place. It was her fault from the very beginning. She, too, had underestimated Mark’s love for her.Sylvain’s figure entered her sights, just as she entered a daze. “What a coincidence, I always bump into you here.”“You’re slipping out of the office during working hours. Shoul
He stopped and stared at them for a long time before speaking up. “Arianne, come here.”Arianne turned towards him. A hint of disappointment flashed across her eyes. It had been a while since he called her by her full name. He had always called her “Ari”. Feelings were so easily changeable.Aristotle was the first to pelt himself into Mark’s arms. Arianne walked towards him. “What is it?”“Has Will paid you back?” Mark asked.She lifted her hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Mm, I’ve asked him to transfer it to your bank account.”He pursed his lips in silence. No one could tell what was on his mind. Arianne smiled. “I’m going to check on dinner. Play with Smore for a while.”He frowned as he watched her go downstairs as if everything was completely fine. Perhaps he had been overreacting on this matter, but he couldn’t control himself. He could try and let go of the fact that Will and Arianne had once been in love, but every time they had any semblance of an interaction, h
Arianne looked at Smore and pursed her lips. “He’s just avoiding me since he can’t stand the sight of me. He wouldn’t ignore his own son.” As she said this, she carried Smore upstairs and said, “Do you see the door to the study? Go and knock on it until you dad opens it up. Go pester him and make him give you a shower. Get him to give you a shower in the future as well, understand?”Smore stared at her for a moment. He seemed to understand what his mom was saying, as he held onto his favourite Rubik’s cube and walked to the study. He looked at his little cube and could not bear banging the door with it; hence, he used his little hands and slammed the door.Soonafter, Mark opened the door. Arianne immediately hid herself when the door was opened. Mark knelt down and looked at Smore. He asked, “Did you come up alone?”Smore held up his Rubik’s cube for him to see as if he was showing off his favourite toy. Smore had a lot of toys, but this was the only one he wanted to play with eve
Arianne and Mark brought Smore to the bathroom while laughing together.After they were done with the torture of showering Smore, Arianne laid on the bed on her knees and elbows to work on her sketch again. Her nightgown revealed her slender legs, and Mark gulped when he saw her. She did not know how seductive her posture was…Mark did not dare to entertain his wild imaginations since Smore was still wide awake. He patiently coaxed Smore to bed. “You’re all showered now, so be a good boy and go to sleep now.”Smore’s eyes were wide open and he was playing around with Mark’s pajama button. Mark grew impatient very soon and said, “Are you not able to sleep because of how much food you ate before?”Arianne couldn’t stifle her laughter. “Is this all the patience you have in you? I have to carry him around for half an hour before he goes to sleep while you’ve only been doing it for a few minutes. Take your time with it. I’ve noticed that my arms are getting more muscular from constantly