The girl jumped up in anger the moment she heard Brian say he was getting married. “Married? You’re getting married right after you broke up with me? You must have been seeing someone while we were dating! You’re really something, Brian Pearce, you’re a womanizer! Is she better than me? Did she not ask for anything from you and offered to give you everything instead? What else could it be? Are you lying to me about getting married? Let me make this clear; either you marry me or you compensate me for ruining my reputation. Saying that, it’d be much better if you choose to marry me and gain a wife. Otherwise, you’d only lose your money and gain nothing in return. Your call!”Brian could no longer be bothered to waste his time with her. “I will neither pay you nor marry you. I’m telling you the truth when I say I’m going to get married soon. It doesn’t matter what you say or what you think.”Mark did not enter the house after the car had been parked, he walked to the main gates instead.
Aery suddenly asked, “Where’s Mark? Isn’t he home?”Arianne’s expression turned cold. “Why are you looking for him?”Aerie quickly realized her mistake. “I-it’s… It’s nothing. It’s just a random question. Please don’t be mad, big sis…”Helen glanced at Aery unhappily. “You should be careful, and take care of yourself for the time being, Arianne. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to the hotel with Aery now. Call me if you need me.”Arianne nodded and did not say anything since she was still in a foul mood.When Helen and Aery left, Mark came downstairs. “They’ve left? I think… it’s not safe for them to stay in the hotel, is it? If Jean manages to find them and does something unimaginable, the outcome could be quite disastrous. Jean has just left prison, it’d be difficult for him to survive. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do now since he’s driven to a corner.”Arianne knew what Mark meant. “I did think of asking them to stay here, but the words just wouldn’t leave my mouth. I ke
Arianne fell momentarily silent before she finally said, “Fine. Bring them here. It’s safer here. I don’t care if Aery lives or dies. I’m doing this because of Helen. After all, she gave birth to me.”Mark saw Arianne relax a little and said, “I’ll ask Henry to pick them up. You rest easy and go to bed.”How could Arianne possibly rest easy? She tugged Mark’s ear and said, “Promise me, don’t spare Aery an extra glance. Every time you look at her, I feel disgusted! Also, if Aery makes me uncomfortable, I’ll have her thrown out!”This was Mark’s first time having his ear pulled. He swatted her hand away. “Do what you want. I’m just giving you a suggestion, you make the decision. There’s nothing going on between Aery and me. I dated her to irritate you. I’ve never even touched her. Why should you feel sick? I was wrong, okay? Alright, that’s enough. Go to bed.”Arianne did not respond. No matter how hard she tried, she could not sleep. When Henry brought them to the house, she walked
Arianne sat on the side of the bed with a sullen expression on her face. “I think I made myself unhappy by inviting Aery into our home.”Mark did not know what to say. Now that he and Aery were living in the same house, there was bound to be some interaction. At the very least, they had to share the same table during meals. He truly regretted his past idiocy at that moment. Although he had never really dated Aery, Arianne would never forgive Aery for what she had done to Tiffany. He had to pay extra attention to his behavior now that Helen and Aery were living in Tremont Estate. One wrong move, and he might set off an explosion. He was the one having the most difficult time.Noticing his silence, Arianne suddenly got up and pulled his tie. She stood on tiptoes and gave him a hickey on his neck. “Get to work.”He touched his slightly sore neck. He was not used to this. He had sensitive skin after all. “Er… How am I supposed to see anyone with this? Must you do this? I was only lookin
“We’re not here on vacation,” Helen said snappily, “Can’t you be more sensible?”Aery kept quiet. She lowered her head and pushed her food around, looking very pitiful.Arianne did not give in. After she finished eating, she took Aristotle to the courtyard for playtime.Aery tagged along as well. “Hey, sis, my old friend asked me out to have some fun. Wanna come? I’m only going for a short while. Nothing’s going to happen with my friends around. It’ll be fine even if my dad finds me. We’ll go to high traffic places. I won’t leave with him.”Arianne knew that making Aery stay put in Tremont Estate was unrealistic. All she could do was pray that Aery would not cause any trouble. “Think this through. I won’t be responsible for anything that happens to you. You’d better ask your mom as well. I can’t decide, and you don’t have to ask for my approval.”Aery held Arianne’s hand and acted in a cute manner as she said, “You know mom won’t allow me out, sis. I have no choice but to come to
Helen’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Arianne… I’ve already lost you, I don’t want to lose another daughter. I can’t live a life full of regrets. I want to grab onto my last chance. I won’t be able to live if Aery leaves. Her life will be destroyed if she ends up with Jean. I’ve already let you down, I can’t do the same to Aery. I don’t have a choice.”Arianne bit her lips. She remained silent for a long time before she finally, “How indecisive. It’s not like you at all.”“Maybe I should be heartless as you said.” Helen sobbed. “But I’ve always been afraid of history repeating itself and that I would regret it. Instead of saying that I can’t let Aery go, perhaps, you should say that I see her as another version of you. I can’t abandon her, just like how I abandoned you in the past. She’s really much better than before, she doesn’t infuriate me all the time anymore. She’s a good girl, like how you used to be when you were little…”Arianne could not bear listening to any more of that. “En
“It’s nothing. I didn’t sleep well. It’s normal for my eyes to be a little swollen. I wasn’t crying,” Arianne replied uneasily. She quickly went downstairs as soon as she finished speaking. Mark did not even have a chance to continue the conversation.During the dinner, Henry suddenly rushed into the dining room. “Sir, someone sent a birthday cake over…”Mark stared apprehensively at the cake in Henry’s hands and asked, “It isn’t anyone’s birthday. Who sent this?”Henry shook his head. “A delivery man sent this over. I asked who made the order, but he didn’t know.”Helen’s face turned white. “Throw it out! It must be from Jean!”Arianne was surprised. Was it Helen’s birthday today?Aery revealed everything immediately. “Mom, wasn’t it your birthday not too long ago? It must be for you…”“I refuse to believe he’s that nice,” Helen said nervously, “Besides, my birthday has passed. Who knows what he’s scheming with this pretentious show of sending a cake?”Aery mustered up her cou
Helen definitely did not have any appetite and headed upstairs without saying anything.Aery was uncharacteristically well-behaved. “It’s fine, big sis, mom’s just in a bad mood. I’ll go and talk to her.”Arianne acknowledged her words and gently caressed Smore’s cheek.Smore said in a low voice, “Scare... scare…”Mark held Smore and placed him in his baby chair. “How can a man be so cowardly? What’s there to be afraid of when someone raises their voice? Hurry up and eat your food. Daddy’ll take you out to play when you’re finished.”Perhaps, Mark wanted Arianne to clear her mind. He drove Smore and Arianne to the city’s largest shopping center after they were done eating. “Since I’m here with you today, you can buy whatever you want.”Arianne half-heartedly window-shopped at the apparel and jewelry shops. “Was I too harsh with my words earlier? Was it very hurtful?”Mark paused for a moment before saying, “I think it’s fine. There were only two ways to go around that situation;