When they entered the office, Mark immediately got back to his work while Arianne took off her shoes and sat on the couch, flipping through a fashion magazine. Occasionally, she would peek at Mark to study his expression. She could tell he was still angry. Although it was not a pleasant expression, at least he was not going to explode in anger. However, his angry gaze still made her uncomfortable.Arianne finally felt slightly more carefree when Mark left to attend one of his meetings. She video called Tiffany on her phone and said, “Tiffany, you wouldn’t believe what just happened. I’m so glad I’m alive and able to talk to you!”Tiffany was in the office. Her gossip radar activated immediately as soon as she heard Arianne’s words. She snuck to the stairwell away from prying eyes and ears. “What’s going on here? Who would dare to put their hands on you? Is it Mark?”Arianne nodded her head fiercely. “Will came to my office earlier in the morning. He asked for your number and asked m
By the time Mark was done with his meeting and had returned to his office, he was shocked to find Arianne had fallen asleep on the couch. Although the radiator was turned on in the office, it would still be cold to sleep without a blanket. He walked up to wake her up. “I’m done with my work, let’s go eat.”Arianne opened up her eyes and sat up in a daze. She felt a little dizzy, and her nose was runny. Who knew that taking a nap for such a short while would give her the cold. She really felt that she was weak and too prone to catching a cold. “What… What time is it?”Mark held out his wrist in front of her and pointed at the time on his watch. “What time is it? It’s after working hours now. Did you catch a cold?”Arianne sniffed. “I think so, but it’s not a big deal. Let’s go.”The moment they stepped out of the company, Arianne was hit by a gust of cold wind and shivered. She instinctively shrank into Mark’s embrace. “It’s so cold!”Mark grinned. He reached out and grabbed her sh
Mark was slightly unhappy at Arianne’s simple response. “Are you that eager to see me go on a business trip? I’ll be gone for a week, don’t you have anything to say about it at all?”Arianne shook her head earnestly. “I have no objections. Why would I object to you going on a business trip? Don’t worry, I’ll stay at home. One week will fly past in just a blink of an eye. It’s not like you’ll be away for more than a month. I’m sure you’ll still be busy during the festive seasons. Well, regardless, we have to be together for our New Year Reunion at least. Saying that, I can understand that you’re busy most of the time throughout the year.”Mark was lost in his thoughts for a moment before he decided to bring up a sensitive subject. “If I find out that you meet Will again while I’m away, things won’t end the way they did today.”Arianne lowered her head and drank her soup. She had some opinions but did not dare to verbalize it. She only said, “Quit nagging. The food’s getting cold.”A
Mark’s eyes had a meaningful look to them. With that, Arianne had a vague idea of the box’s content. She felt her face grow hot. She took the box with her to the bathroom and opened it. She had guessed correctly. It was a very special set of pajamas. To be more precise, it was black silk lingerie. The more she looked at it, the hotter her face burned.Naturally, she was not bold enough to walk out in just the lingerie. She wore a bathrobe over it, feeling uncomfortable. She had stalled for time in the bathroom, wasting forty minutes in there, before she finally emerged from the bathroom. If she were not afraid of incurring Mark’s wrath, she would have stayed longer in there.The moment the bathroom door opened, she met Mark’s gaze. She saw his eyes flashed in anticipation before it vanished immediately as soon as he saw her dressed in a bathrobe.“Take off your bathrobe.”She shook her head and refused, “I don’t… I haven’t worn this kind of apparel before, and I feel uncomfortable
He did. As expected, he had actually forgotten to give it to her last night. However, it seemed like not all of the presents were for her… She only found the necklace. The pair of earrings that signified a perfect love was nowhere to be found. He even left her a note. ‘I got this gift for you, but it slipped my mind, and I forgot to give them to you last night. I’d like to see you wearing it when I come home.’She did feel not happy, most likely because the earrings were not there. Should she ask him about it or should she feign ignorance?Mary strode over, carrying Aristotle, while Arianne was lost in her thoughts. “Ari, what are you doing? You didn’t check on the baby when you arrived. What are you daydreaming about?”Arianne regained her senses and took Aristotle into her arms. “It’s nothing. I’ll take Smore for a walk downstairs. Call me when it’s time to eat.”Mark video-called her during her walk in the garden.She held the phone with one hand, facing the camera toward Arist
Tiffany munched on the desserts as she sang Arianne’s praises. “Ari, your desserts are just as tasty as ever. It’s great to be smart, you learn everything much faster. It didn’t take you long to learn how to make desserts back then.”Arianne smiled as she poured Tiffany a glass of warm juice. “Slow down. No one’s going to take it away from you. I’ll make some more for you to take home later.”Jackson watched from the side, helpless. “Don’t eat too much dessert, or you won’t be able to eat your meals later. Desserts will make you fat.”“Pregnant women are supposed to get fat,” Tiffany whispered, “I haven’t gotten that fat, and you already despise me? Ari doesn’t make desserts every day. Of course, I’m going to eat more of it.”Arianne noticed that Tiffany had developed a fondness for eating the fruit on top of the desserts. The fruits were simply for decorative purposes, and the strawberries and kiwis were mostly sour this season. However, Tiffany did not even blink. She was growing
Arianne flashed Tiffany a ‘grateful’ smile. What a good friend she was.When Tiffany saw the peculiar expression on Arianne’s face, she finally realized her transgression. “Video call from Mark?”“Yes.” Arianne nodded with a forced smile. “He calls at this time every day.”Mark’s expression darkened. “What does Will’s departure have to do with you? You don’t need to know about it.”Tiffany stuck out her tongue, too afraid to speak.Arianne was having a headache. “I never said it has anything to do with me. Will and Tiffie are good friends. I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with Tiffie and I talking in our free time, right? Stop picking a fight, you big baby. I’m feeding your son.”This time, Mark ended the call very quickly, probably because he was upset. Arianne ignored him. There was no need to cajole him at this stage.“I didn’t notice that you were having a video call with Mark,” Tiffany said in a cute tone, “It was an accidental slip of the tongue. I was only making conversati
Mark was not paying attention to what Arianne was saying. Instead, he looked at her ears and said, “Why aren’t you wearing the earrings?”Earrings? Arianne looked confused. “What earrings?”“The earrings I gave you before I went on my business trip,” he replied with a frown.Arianne was getting increasingly confused. She pulled out the necklace from underneath her collar. “You gave me this necklace.”Mark’s body stiffened. “Are… you sure?”Arianne nodded confidently. “Yes. Your gift was a necklace, not earrings.” She would love to know where those earrings had gone. Who did he give them to?Mark did not reply to her. He carefully went over every detail of his business trip over the past few days. The necklace was meant for a client. The client was a woman, a Singaporean woman. The earrings were for Arianne. He had actually made a mistake. Despite the vast difference of meaning behind the two gifts, he had made a mistake because the boxes looked so similar. It was all because he w