Shelly was a little hurt by her sonâs distance, however small it might be. âMark, my dear, I only did what I know best! Sheâs just no good for you, donât you understand? You can marry anyone else in the worldâliterally anyone! So, why this hyper-fixation on this woman alone?â she admonished. âI, for one, cannot buy into that idealistic notion that a woman who suffered would harbor nothing against you or the Tremonts. There is no way she holds no grudges or hate, son, and one day, mark my word, she will act on them and hurt you bad. Divorcing her is the wisest way, because now, youâve opened yourself up for a better, more suitable spouse. Donât fret, boy. What youâre experiencing is only temporary pain, and itâll be gone before you know it.âMarkâs eyebrows were tightly knitted in the middle. âI see, is that how itâs like to you? That pain is temporary and flitting? Just because you lack the capacity to let go of hate, doesnât mean everyone else is incapable of it, but more critically,
Smore raised his little head and considered Mark. âGranny said Mommyâs taking me away from here, so I should look at you more often, because we wonât get to see each other anymore after this.âMarkâs eyes quickly reddened before he pulled Smore into his embrace. âNo, no. Thatâs not true. Daddy will always visit you as many times as possible. Daddy and Mommy are only temporarily separated, but it doesnât change the fact that we both love you very much.âSmore did not seem upset at all. âItâs okay. I donât see Daddy that much at home anyway. Youâre always so busy. Itâs just me and Mommy living together, and sheâs unhappy being here. So, I wanna go with her.âWere these words something a toddler not even past age three say? For a moment, Mark was glad for his ability to keep his heart under wrap, or else he would have already succumbed to tears by now.That night, during dinner, Arianne acted as though it was any other typical day in the Tremont household. Smore was exceptionally doci
After that outburst, Arianne took a step forward and pushed open the window. âGo, smoke as much as you like. Weâre in a hurry to die anyway, arenât we?!âMark stole a sidelong glance at her and stopped the half-burnt cigarette. Those were words of concern and care, yet she had to mask it with thorns and stings. They were not separated because they no longer loved each other; they still very much did and were actually forced to be separated for a while.After she finished packing up her things, Arianne laid on the bed, ready to sleep. She knew that Mark would never allow her to have Smore live in a hotel, but she also could not possibly leave the child here while she stayed in one, either. In other words, she must stay in the Tremont Estate. But she could stop sleeping with Mark in the same room after their divorce was officiated tomorrow by moving into the guest room.The one thing that bothered Arianne the most was how likely it was for Mark to deliberately drag on the process of g
Was he flirting with her? Did not matter; Arianneâs cheeks were already burning even though it was supposed to be a somber event. It was hard to remain sad when Mark suddenly showed off how slick and buttery he could be. Mark personally drove both himself and Arianne to the civil affairs office that day. In other words, he was trying to minimize the number of people who might catch the news of the pairâs divorce. The car quickly arrived at their destination, yet both the driver and the passenger remained silently seated for a long while with their gazes linked. Finally, Arianne broke the spell by glancing at the time and noticing that they were about to be late to work. âCan you just start checking if youâve brought all of your necessary documents already?â she piped up. âNo need. I forgot to bring all of them,â Mark answered, unmoving. âStop joking around and take this seriously,â she chided helplessly. âLook, letâs just go. We donât have that much time to waste. We still ha
Arianneâs apparent laid-backness failed to infect Sylvain. He was still stunned, utterly bemused, with his face wrought with disbelief. At the very least, though, he did glance around furtively like a thief before whispering, âThis canât be legit, right? âŚIs this for real?âArianne tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. âWhy would anyone lie about a thing like this? Itâs no biggie; the only thing that is permanent is impermanence, and that extends to relationships. Itâs a fact of life, amirite? The wise know better than to cling.âA look of guilt and conflict crossed Sylvainâs pate. âIt isnât because of that time when I asked for advance payment, is it? You authorizing an advance didnât leave this bad taste in Mr. Tremontâs mouth enough to hold it against you⌠right? Or did you actually approve my request without his permission?âArianne rolled her eyes. âWhy do you even think thatâs possible? Were he to disapprove it, I wouldn't have gone against his explicit order either! J
Arianne shook her head. âCâmon, guys! Iâm not down in the dumps or anything; you guys are just seeing things that arenât there. Besides, I gotta go home after dinner. Smore only sleeps after seeing me home.âSylvain and Robin sent Arianne back to the Tremont Estate. By then, the time had come close to 10 PM.Arianne patted her cheeks that were slightly burning from alcohol. She was not tipsy, but she still knew that she had drunk a little too muchâat least two-third of the entire bottle was in her belly now.She stepped through the estateâs gate and crossed the courtyard. It was then that she suddenly heard Markâs voice ringing out of a dark, gloomy corner shrouded in shadows. âWhere have you been?âArianne halted her footsteps. She followed the direction of the voice until she found Mark on a patio chair with his eyes trained onto her. Despite being outside, he was wearing his white indoor sweater; one had to wonder if he even felt cold sitting in this weather.Liquid courage pro
Bitter yearning filled Markâs eyes before he suddenly lunged onto her, flipping her body so that she would face up toward him. He loomed over her, his hands pinning Arianneâs struggling hands to her sides.âIf you donât go to my room, Iâll⌠Iâll undo you right here, right now,â he hissed.Arianne could not believe the words that came out of his mouth, and it showed in the way she widened her eyes in disbelief. It was only when Markâs hand slithered beneath her skirt that she reeled back from shock and cried, âAre you crazy?! Didnât we make it clear that you canât touch me after weâre divorced?âHis handsomely-arched brow cocked up. âHmm, curious. Whoever told you that? Iâm afraid that this being the Tremont Estateâand not the Tremont Towerâmeans that I can do whatever I want here⌠unruled by the agreement.âArianne attempted to struggle out of his hold, and he retaliated by burying his head into her neck. It was such an unexpected jolt that she had to admit defeat. âF-Fine, I yield
Arianne bristled. âIf youâre gonna behave like a dang animal again tonight, you⌠youâre officially a horndog!âMark was about to leave the bathroom when he stopped, turned around, and shot her a smug smirk. âWoof.âThat jerk! Why was it that even when he was imitating a dog, that woof leaving his lips just⌠hit differently? The way he said it with his irritatingly mesmerizing, dulcet voice, coupled with that perfect face, it was justâŚ.!After finishing her preparation for work, Arianne descended the stairs and immediately caught a fleeting but familiar silhouette in her line of vision. Her expression instinctively darkened.It was Shelly-Ann Leigh.âMark, dear! I was buying some groceries around this neck of the woods earlier this morning and thought I should come by and say hi to little Smore. Good thing you havenât left, too, âcause I got you some breakfast!â she greeted cheerily, filtering Arianne out completely as she approached Mark.Mark shot Mary a look. The housekeeper un