Of course, Mark denied the request. “Don’t even think about it. My face is not your torture device. I will not look like a sissy.”The more he protested, the more Arianne wanted to do it. She pulled out a facial mask and forced him down on the bed. “Don’t move. It’ll be over soon. You’ll love it. Your face will be all soft and fragrant by the time I’m done. Isn’t that wonderful? Come on, let’s try.”Mark vehemently objected. He twisted his head around. “No!”He began to give up when he noticed droplets of water from the facial mask on his body. He was now too afraid to make any more big movements. “Take it away. I don’t need it!”Realizing that his struggling had lessened, Arianne swiftly pasted the facial mask on his face. “See, isn't it better to listen to me? You just had to struggle, didn’t you?”Suddenly, Arianne’s phone rang. She already had her way, so she got down from bed to answer the call. She reminded him, “Take care of that yourself. Don’t leave it all scrunched up or
Once she sensed his slightly stiffened body relax, Arianne went to sleep in peace.…The weather was getting warmer in spring. Warm winter wear was shirked off and Aristotle was now crawling even faster than before. Not even Arianne could keep up with him, let alone Mary. She usually ended up drenched in sweat from chasing him around. Furthermore, Aristotle had begun showing signs of learning to walk and would prop himself against a wall to take two steps, then stumble and fall on his bum. Even so, he didn’t cry. He was a strong baby.Tiffany was getting ready for the birth and would call Arianne every day lately, asking her questions on what the baby would need and what to prepare. She would ask the same question countless times, over and over again. She was getting overly worried.Jackson had completely let go of work too. He stayed with Tiffany every day, refusing to leave her at all.Tiffany checked into the hospital during the estimated time of her birth. She had initially de
“Tiffany’s about to pop too, isn’t she?”Arianne turned to the side to look and found Jett holding a lunch box. Looks like Tanya had checked in at the hospital to wait for her birth too. After all, she conceived around the same time as Tiffany. She nodded. “That’s right. Tanya’s almost due too, isn’t she?”“Mm,” Jett replied. The elevator door opened then. He stayed in his spot and let Arianne go in first. Then, he followed.Now, it seemed that everything Tanya had gone through was for nothing. Jett was the father of her baby, and a meticulous and chivalrous man. Tanya would have a good life with him.Arianne and Jett weren’t close, so they simply exchanged a few conversational words.However, bumping into Jett served as a reminder for Arianne that there was a ticking time bomb in the form of Alejandro, lying in wait. Who knew when he would decide to explode?Smith Manor.At the dinner table, Don Smith took meticulous care of Melanie. The table was filled with an array of nutrit
Alejandro frowned at the mention of Tiffany’s name. “Stop fixating on other people’s business and take care of yourself.”“You’re worried that I’m paying Tiffany too much attention, aren’t you?” she asked. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to her. That’s not who I am. I’m just giving you an update on her condition. You’d be keeping an eye on her too, even if I kept my mouth shut, wouldn’t you?”Alejandro didn’t deny it. It’s true, he had been paying close attention to everything about Tiffany, including her checking into the hospital to wait for her delivery. He knew all about it.At that moment, Melanie truly felt exhausted. It was an exhaustion that stemmed from her mental state. Alejandro was like a rock, a rock that would never warm up. No matter how much she tried, she would only ever have a cold reception from him. His occasional display of warmth was simply to put on a show for outsiders.She didn’t want to live the next half of her pregnancy in depression. After a long paus
Seeing her rise in emotions, Don Smith had no choice but to soften his tone. “Melanie, you’ve misunderstood me. That’s not what I mean. I’m not asking you to shield Ale in front of your family members. I’m well aware of how he’s been treating you, and it’s his fault. I’m just worried that separating from this conflict would only estrange both of you further, instead of solving the problem. If you really want to go, have Ale take you there. You have to smooth things over before you leave, understand?”Melanie didn’t want to waste her energy on guessing what Don Smith was thinking. It didn’t matter if everything wasn’t what it seemed. Having to deal with conjectures all the time was too tiresome. She didn’t feel like caring anymore, and did not want to try reading his mind. All she wanted to do was to deliver this baby, safe and sound. “I understand.”Upon returning to her room after dinner, she realized that Don Smith had an ulterior motive in asking Alejandro to take her back to Ayas
Robin looked at her and felt that she wasn’t joking. Thinking that something might have happened, she asked worriedly, “What’s wrong, Arianne? Are you alright? I’ve never seen you so panicked before…”Arianne took a few deep breaths before regaining her composure. “My friend is going into labor right now. I’m both happy and excited! I need to head over there now, so I’ll leave the sketch to you. I’ll buy you a meal when I get back!”Robin sighed in relief, asking, “Is it the lady whom we had lunch with the other day? Tiffany, if I’m not mistaken. I hadn’t expected her to go into labor so soon. No worries, I’ll take care of the work around here, you go on and head out. I had thought you were in some kind of trouble… If it’s a child about to be brought into this world, that’s a good thing.”Giving birth was definitely a good thing, but had Arianne concerned was Tiffany’s safety, hence why she was more worried than happy.When Arianne arrived at the hospital in a rush, Jackson’s famil
Tiffany’s words made everyone laugh hysterically, Arianne approaching her and saying, “It’s fine, you can work on your second child when you’ve recovered. It takes at least three years to recover from a C-Section, so you’ll need to wait until then before you can try to get pregnant again. By that time, Smore would be around four years older than your daughter, which is a good thing anyway. Don’t rush it and get some rest first.”Tiffany felt relieved after hearing Arianne’s words and went into a deep sleep almost immediately. Jackson, on the other hand, was shocked when he saw Tiffany sleeping. “Doctor! What’s wrong with her? Even if she went to sleep, it shouldn’t have been so sudden, should it? Has she gone unconscious?”The doctor, following behind them, twitched his eyes. “No, she hasn’t… She’s still under the effects of the anesthetic, so it’s normal for her to sleep it off. The surgery was a complete success. Your wife’s doing just fine, so you shouldn’t get shocked and end u
After getting into the car, Mark asked about the situation and Arianne showed him a picture she had taken earlier of the baby boy, saying, “It’s a plump little baby, weighing over 3 kilograms. He’s very healthy and looks a lot like Jackson.”Mark did not say anything, as if he had something on his mind. Arianne asked, “What are you thinking about?”He paused for a moment before saying, “Now that Tiffany has given birth to a baby, I’m afraid that Alejandro won’t stay put any longer.”The joy on Arianne’s face was wiped clean instantly. “That’s right, I believe Alejandro was already at his limits by letting Tiffany safely give birth to her baby. Who knows what he will do next? I’m sure Jackson’s worried about this as well. The secret that Alejandro is Ethan probably won’t stay a secret for much longer.”Mark suddenly told Arianne some interesting news, exciting her by saying, “Alejandro just sent Melanie back to Ayashe today. Melanie is a few months pregnant now. I believe Alejandr