Arianne was startled for a while. He had forbidden her from calling him brother a long time ago. What kind of insanity was he playing at? She was too tired to think too much about the situation, so all she wanted was for him to not torture her anymore. “Bro.”Mark suddenly hugged her even tighter, causing her to suffocate a little. “What’s wrong with you? Can you be a little more gentle? You’re hugging me too tightly.”He did not reply to her, and she could not understand what was going on in his mind. However, she slept extra well that night. Perhaps her exhaustion caused her sleep condition to rise to maximum comfort levels.The next morning, when Arianne was washing her face, Mark walked to her side and brushed his teeth. The prankster within her surfaced as she thought of how he had asked her to call him big brother last night. She splashed some water on his body and said, “Good morning, bro.”Mark choked on some toothpaste and coughed for quite a while. His expression twisted.
Mark seemed to be in a good mood that day. Davy noticed it as well the moment Mark arrived at the office.Naturally, Davy could not understand why Mark was in a pleasant mood instead of being upset at losing the partnership with Jessica, which would incur quite a sum of losses.Davy did not dare to lower his guard, as things seemed too good to be true. He treaded even more carefully than usual and said, “Mr. Tremont, would you like some coffee or tea? Or would you like to have something else?”Mark walked to his desk and sat down. He raised his eyes to look at Davy and smiled at him. “I’ll let you decide for me.”Davy gulped, his face stiffening as he said, “Then… would tea be alright for you?” From what he knew, Mark preferred tea most of the time; he should be safe with this choice.Mark only nodded in acknowledgement. His face didn’t look cold at all as he replied. In fact, he was very casual about it.Mark turned on his computer. He saw that he had a new email and naturally o
Jessica went red from embarrassment. “Mark Tremont! You’re the first man to undermine me like this! I want to know why. Aren’t you the one in the wrong? I accept your apology. The partnership can still continue. Are you going to just throw it away, just because I’ve seen your wife?”Mark took a deep breath, paused, and said, “That’s right. My wife is the limit. No one is allowed to touch her. I’m in the wrong, and I’ve apologized. It ends now, okay? Although I’ve had a very good experience with our partnership, Tremont Enterprises can do without your partnership. There’s no use in it if you keep up this harassment.”Jessica laughed in spite of her rage. “You’re the most difficult man I’ve ever met. I went to see your wife because I misunderstood and thought you had feelings for me. I wouldn’t have gone if I had known that this was a misunderstanding. Theoretically speaking, it’s still your fault, so there’s no need to put extra blame on me, is there? The loss of this partnership woul
A hint of disdain flashed across Jessica’s eyes. She would never drink milk tea from a roadside stall. “Mr. Tremont holds you in high regard. My previous visit to you was a misunderstanding. He was the one who had given me your earrings by mistake and caused me to misunderstand his feelings for me. I’m here to apologize. This was a misunderstanding, and although it has already been solved, he has terminated our partnership simply because I went to visit you before. You probably aren’t aware of the great profits this partnership could bring us both, but it is important enough for me to make a personal trip. So, I’ll get to the point. I hope that we can still continue this partnership, and you’re the only one who can change his mind. I’m willing to give way. What do you think?”Arianne had washed herself clean of this issue, as she believed in Mark’s decisions and she did not like the smug connotations in Jessica’s tone. “Am I not just a naive little girl to you? I have zero understandi
The pair made their way to the fruit section. Arianne thought of buying some fruits to bring home to Aristotle. She wondered which fruits to get, as Aristotle hadn’t tried many fruits before. He’d only ever had one type. She did not dare to try out fruits that could cause allergies.Suddenly, she noticed a familiar figure in an obscure corner around the back door, moving boxes of fruits. The back door was usually the channel for new stock arrivals. Arianne stopped and observed very closely for a while before realizing that that familiar figure was Harvey Wynn. It was now the winter holidays and Harvey would be graduating soon. Was he taking on a part time job over the holidays?She did not greet Harvey immediately but waited until he was nearly done with his job before approaching him. “Harvey, what are you doing here?”Harvey was taken aback when he saw her. He tried to avoid her gaze. “Sis… I had nothing much to do during the winter break, so I decided to come here and get a part
Arianne gave Harvey an estimate of the money Harvey would need to last until his graduation and internship. She did not give him anything extra, as she worried that it would cause further issues. Harvey accepted it, but he still felt apologetic. “I’ll pay you back when I start working, sis. I promise I’ll do it.”Arianne did not decline his offer. “Sure. I’ll wait for you to start earning your salary to pay me back. The money for you to get home is included too. Try to go home sooner and have a Merry Christmas.”Robin waited for Harvey to leave, then asked, “Was that your brother?”Arianne nodded. “My aunt’s son. My grandmother adopted her, so we’re not related by blood. However, my cousin isn’t all that bad. He’s not like his parents.”Arianne walked around a little more after buying fruits, then headed home. Aristotle had just finished his milk and was feeling particularly energized. He was crawling around on the ground and refused to stop.Poor Mary was already old enough, yet
Arianne couldn’t bear to watch any longer. “Must you? What if I told you that he pooped on your bed? Are you going to change the entire bed?”Mark was taken aback. “Mary, change the sheets.”Arianne was speechless.That proved that one should never challenge the limits of a germaphobe. Mark barely ate during dinner, probably because he kept thinking about his frustrations. He wasn’t even in the mood to hold Aristotle during bedtime. He even sniffed the newly changed sheets and duvet to confirm that there were no strange smells before he could lie down in peace.Arianne couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “You should just amputate yourself if Smore poops on you. That would be much cleaner. How could you be disgusted by your own baby?” Mark raised his brow. “I won’t give him the chance to ever poop on me. What kind of mother are you? How could you let the baby poop in his pants?”Arianne pulled out a diaper and replied to him while changing Aristotle. “What’s the use in having diapers
She was still in a daze when Mark poured Helen another glass of wine and said, “Merry Christmas, mom.”Everyone around the dining table fell silent.Henry and Mary silently turned to look at Arianne.Arianne hastily raised her glass to disperse the awkward atmosphere and said, “Merry Christmas, everyone. Let’s drink.”Everyone knew she was trying her best to not be awkward so they went along with her.Arianne had never addressed as mom before, Mark knew very clearly that she had not gotten over the obstacle in her heart.Helen, being the oldest among everyone present, deftly changed the topic. She asked Mark, “How’s the company doing this year, Mark?”Mark replied, “It’s doing well. We’re getting by.”Both of them continued talking about business. Since Arianne was not particularly knowledgeable about this, she sat back and took care of Smore.After dinner, the family went to the balcony on the second floor to look at the fireworks being released in the distance. At that momen