Alarm bells went off in Mark’s mind. “You two can’t possibly intend on leaving me with two kids, could you? I’ll go mad! You’re not allowed to leave!”Arianne wasn’t about to listen. “We’ll be back soon. You’re not going out anyway, so why can’t you watch them? One of them is your son and the other is your best friend’s son. Thanks for the help!”She quickly slipped away after that. Mark’s protest remained suspended in his throat. He’d never had to take care of two kids before. What if they both wake up all of a sudden? The very thought of it was a nightmare…Tiffany twisted her body around along to the loud music as she drove. “I never had the guts to be reckless whenever the baby was in the car. I suddenly feel as if the world is perfect again. Mark Tremont’s time has finally arrived!”Arianne smiled quietly. She was imagining how unprepared Mark would be when the kids awoke. Would he call her at once and urge her to come home?To their surprise, they received no word from Mark,
Once Tiffany had driven away, Mark turned around and asked Arianne, “What outfit has she bought for you? Why do you have to wear it at night?”Arianne was too bashful to show her face. “Nothing. Stop asking.”Mark was never one to wait for an answer from someone else’s lips. He pulled out the outfit, intending on finding out. When he had a clearer view of the outfit, he couldn’t help blushing then stuffing it back into its packaging.At night, when Aristotle had fallen asleep, Mark pulled out the outfit. “Could you put this on?”“No way!” Arianne objected bluntly. “Don’t tell me you’re into this sort of thing too!”He inched closer towards her. “It wouldn’t hurt to try…”She had ten thousand refutations in her mind but yielded after he wore her down.She clearly noticed Mark’s Adam’s apple quiver. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her.Tonight, she was destined for another bumpy ride.…Ayashe, Lark Mansion.Jett was packing up the luggage on the side while Alejandro sat in fron
Jett nodded and watched the Smith family car leave, then hailed a cab and left as well.Previously, when he was all alone, he had nothing much to worry about. However, after the baby was born, he would always long for his kid. It felt good to have a family. His family would always be waiting for him to come home, no matter what. The image of Tanya holding the baby appeared in his mind before he arrived home. This was a comforting and assuring feeling.However, he did not inform Tanya of his return this time, worried that she would actually be silly enough to stay up all night waiting for him.He gently opened the door when he arrived home, went back to his bedroom, and took out a fresh set of clothes. Then, he went into the bathroom. He had to wash the dust off before seeing the baby.After his shower, he hesitated for a moment, then decided to go into the master bedroom, where Tanya and the baby were sleeping. To this day, he and Tanya still slept in separate rooms. He didn’t come
At this point, Jett had run out of excuses. However, he was still hesitant. He was worried that Tanya hadn’t considered the prospect carefully. “Maybe… You should give this more thought? I’ll think it over too. Tomorrow morning, we’ll give each other an answer.”Tanya had carefully considered this long ago. She had been thinking about it for days and nights. “Okay. My decision won’t change. I’ll wait for your answer tomorrow.”The next morning, Tanya woke up early in the morning to make breakfast. Usually, their housekeeper would take care of it, but since Jett was home, she wanted to do it herself.The housekeeper, Hannah, held the baby as she watched her work. “You’re so agile, madam,” she commended sincerely. “What does your husband do? He’s never home. I haven’t really seen him in the house since the baby was born. This little one may not be close to him.”Tanya wasn’t sure of how to explain Jett’s job and slyly explained, “Him? His job requires him to go out of the country all
Tanya shook her head. “I’ve made a lot of wrong decisions. I did not give myself any leeway this time. I’ve given this a lot of thought. Thank you, Jett. Since you’ve given me a way out, I’ll give you one too. If you’re ever fed up one day, I’ll leave. I won’t take anything from you.”The pair had pretty much given their answers. Tanya’s worries were finally put to rest.Meanwhile, at Smith Manor.Alejandro sat silently in Don Smith’s room. Don Smith's picture of Alejandro was placed by his arm. It depicted the real Alejandro, not him, the imitation.He noticed that Don Smith would gaze longingly at the picture whenever he was free. He would stay very still for more than half a day.Don Smith was now in the hospital, one in the capital. His illness had become too severe for him to be moved back to Ayashe for treatment. Hence, he had to summon their personal doctor in Ayashe. He knew that this was his chance to gain full control of the Smith family. If Don Smith got through this, h
The private doctor breathed a sigh of relief once he left and went into the ward.Don Smith was awake. It seemed that he had heard every word of the conversation between Alejandro and the doctor.The doctor filled Don’s ward cabinet with the food Alejandro brought, explaining, “The food is safe. None of it contains allergens or other food particles that are off-limits. You know, he’s not as terrifying as you made him out to be, Sir. He even left us alone very quickly.”Don stared at the heap of food pensively. “Spoken like someone who doesn’t know him, Doctor. He’s only here to see how much longer I have. Once he detects a possibility that my malady’s turning for the better, he’ll devise something else to bring forth my death; I guarantee you that. I want you to be honest with me, Doctor—how much longer?”The doctor sighed. “Even to the best of my abilities, I’m afraid three more months might be the maximum, Sir. I cannot predict anything after three months,” he answered candidly.
Melanie spotted the confident sparks in Don’s eyes and understood that the old patriarch had his contingency plan mapped out. It reassured her a little.Still, she could not bear to see the old man die with regrets. And so, a bold and almost-crazy idea took form in her mind. “Grandpa, I was thinking… What if I undergo surgery to deliver the baby earlier than expected? I could do it after two more months. That way, you could see it before you go,” she suggested. “I know it’s still a bit too early relative to the expected time of delivery, but I doubt it’ll impart too severe an effect on the baby.”Don’s expression turned austere. “That’s a horrible idea, Melanie! You must not be reckless just because you pity me. You can’t force a baby to come out early like that; a mother’s womb is the best place for it to grow. Please, don’t entertain these crazy ideas because of some words an old geezer said… And really, Melanie, this is your weakness: you’re too altruistic! Don’t you know that men
Jackson, as it turned out, agreed with Mark as well, though not without trepidation. “But who’s going to be the harbinger of bad news, huh? Because I’m not doing it! How about you, Arianne? You’re her bestest-friend-in-the-whole-wide-world or whatever girls called each other, right? You also know her temperament better than I do.”Arianne was quick to back away from the responsibility. “Uh, but you’re married to her, right? Aren’t you more suited to this important job? Besides, you’re the one who knows how to soothe women in all kinds of mental states. Look, I’ve helped sweep the truth under the rug for so long, she’s probably going to rip me to shreds when I tell her about it, okay? So, yeah! You go and do what you do best! Just don’t pick me for the job, okay?”Mark watched the two of them pass around the role and spoke up, “The two of you, enough! We could do it together, alright? So no one gets to be free.”Jackson stared at him in skepticism. “By ‘together,’ you included you