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
Alejandro received Tiffany’s reply and looked at the fireworks in the distance as he sat in his wheelchair. Tiffany and him must be looking at the same scenery since they were in the same city, the same world…Melanie suddenly opened the door and entered the bedroom.Alejandro instinctively placed his phone with its face down on the small table.Melanie noticed his actions but pretended not to care. “Grandpa has given me some money as a gift, and I’ve got your share with me. Grandpa has even prepared one for the baby.”Alejandro was unfazed. “You can keep it for good luck. I’m tired so I’m going to bed first.”Melanie walked up and helped him onto the bed and removed his shoes for him. “Alright, then. You go ahead and sleep. I’ll head back down and talk to grandpa for a little longer.” Before she left, she could not help but glance at his phone on the table. Was he texting Tiffany before she came in? She was not a fool. Some of his words to her were contrary to his actions....
She plucked up her courage and walked to the door of his room before gently knocking on it. “Jett, are you asleep?”There was no reply. However, soon enough, the door swung open, revealing Jett’s figure. He looked at her and asked, “What’s up?”She squirmed, feeling shy. She found it difficult to put her thoughts into words. After a moment, she mustered up her courage and said, “I feel… we can try it out. If you feel we aren’t suitable, we can split, and I swear I won’t bother you again. I just feel since we’re going to have a child together, being together might not be a bad idea. What if everything works out? At that time, our child would have the ideal family.”Jett remained silent.With every second he remained silent, the more Tanya felt her heart sank. In the end, she did not even dare to meet his eyes. She was beginning to slightly regret being so rash to express her feelings. What if he did not have the same thoughts as her? What if she was not his type? Was she only bindin
Arianne was disgruntled that Mark had to go on a business trip during the holiday season. However, she knew he had no choice based on his reaction. It seemed like the problem was quite serious.After Mark left, Arianne was bored at home. With nothing better to do, she decided to visit White Water Bay Villa with Smore in tow.Tiffany had turned into a couch potato at that point. She lived at home cozily, waiting to be served her food and drinks without a care in the world.Jackson had everything arranged. Summer was to take care of Tiffany on his behalf when he had to return to work. He would continue taking care of her once he returned from work. Initially, he had wanted to hire two nannies but Summer rejected his idea. Summer had said she was not inclined to having outsiders take care of Tiffany and offered to help instead since she had time.Tiffany’s place was like heaven to Smore because of the variety of food she had in her house. Before long, Smore was so full that he kept bu
Although it was the festive season, delivery services were not disrupted. Hence, Arianne bought some nuts and had them delivered to him in exchange for his gift. She had used an alias in the sender’s column so Zoey and her husband would not find out that she had sent it.The holiday week had already ended by the time Mark returned. He looked exhausted, it was clear he had been very busy.Instead of complaining, Arianne only asked how everything went in the company. Mark did not go into detail, “It’s fine, I can handle so don’t worry about it. Have you started work?”Arianne shook her head and said, “Our company treats us rather well. We’re only resuming work tomorrow.”After not seeing Smore for over ten days, Mark did not rest and carried Smore to play with him. However, it seemed like Smore did not like to be carried around anymore. He preferred to crawl now. Therefore, when Mark carried him, he flailed his limbs around. Mark laughed and said, “My boy’s really strong.”Arianne