Arianne had not heard that name for so long, she had to reel back in bemusement for a few seconds before finally remembering her face.Shelly-Ann Leigh⊠She must have spent all those years in the mental institution, right? God knows if the womanâs hair was now grey and white all over.When someone was near death, one could stand to forgive all of the history between themâeven the dark ones, even if the ledger was brimmingâfor good. So, Arianne replied, âIâll go with you. No matter what happened, sheâs still your mother.âMark did not expect that answer from her at all. In his surprise, he bent down and left a kiss on her lips. âI knew I picked the right woman as my wife. I thought you wouldnât agree to let me accompany her for the last of her daysâŠâArianne replied nothing. She was not so obtuse that she would try to win over a woman whose days were numbered. No matter how much of an a**hole Shelly was, Arianne was still the one who came out on top. That victory was all she needed.
Arianne sneered. âYou confused, little thing. I wouldnât be daft enough to anger the mother of the man I like if I were you, girl. I would especially not say anything as low IQ as that, too. Let me be completely frank with you: no one who bears the surname of Leigh will ever get the better of meâthe last one failed. Hard. I can guarantee that youâll leave us in the span of three days. If I lose, you can stay here forever. Wanna bet? I dare you.âShe left her threat hanging at that and turned her wheelchair away, leaving the scorned young woman behind.Rage came out of Raven as waves of quakes all over her body. She was lurching close to hyperventilation, but right before it became impossible to stop, she came around and battled herself to calm down. She had a feeling that even if she fainted right there and then, no one would discover her, would they?Now that Arianne and Mark had returned, the Tremont Estate had recovered its vivacity and life. It had become merry.And Raven Leigh
Melissa was the type who always pushed things to go as festive as logically possible. She leaped to her feet and raised her cup, âYo, everyone! Letâs toast to Cindy becoming my cousin-in-law!âThe crowd answered enthusiastically with their cups in the air and a roarâexcept Raven, who remained seated. âI have a sickly constitution. I canât drink. Iâm sorry.âHer smile was so mechanical, her face too ashen. Something flickered in Arianneâs eyes before she replied, âSure.âAfter the revelry faded, Arianne steered her wheelchair to the courtyard. The outward appearance of the Tremont Estate seemed to have frozen in time, which was why being here made her feel so⊠safe.Of course, that was despite Henry and Maryâs passing. In the end, time passed and things changed, characters and objects came and went, and all these missing years left lingering regrets in their wake.Arianne espied the silhouette standing alone at a distance and approached her, sighing, âNothing beats being home.âRa
Arianne grabbed the two beauties by the hands and smiled. âThank you! Gosh, to me⊠itâs like you two have grown older in the blink of an eye! How gorgeous the two of you are! Cindy, whereâs your brother? Plato hasnât come home yet?âMentioning the name of her dear brother made Cynthia pout. âHe said he was coming home half a month agoâthatâs what he said. Who knows what heâs actually doing, though? Anyway, who cares about that no-good. Heâs always like this anyway. Oh, um, the weather is quite hot. We should probably get inside.âArianne nodded and shot a brief, uneasy look at Aristotle. Not once did he look like he wanted to talk to her⊠Could the boy be counting his grievances in his mind? Mark and Arianne had stayed in Switzerland for so long; life must have been hard for him all alone.It took until she reached the living room to finally notice Raven. âMillie, is this your younger sister?âMelissa quickly sprung to correct her. âWhat? Noooo. This is Aresâ classmate or something
Aristotleâs entire being stilled.He had waited for this news for nineteen years. As time passed, the flames died little by little, the heart grew more numb, until the very thought of it was no different from a pipe dream. But today, news of it coming true reached him and plunged him into a torrent of feelings.A long while later, he finally muttered under his breath, âWhen⊠When will they be back?âJackson closed the distance between them and gave the young man a light, comforting pat on the shoulders. âNot so soon, I bet; not when your mother has just woken up and is in need of some time to recover. She did sleep for nineteen years, you know. So maybe after sheâs recuperated enough for a whileâŠâ he answered. âWeâve waited for nineteen years for this, right? Whatâs waiting for just a little bit more compared to that? The most important thing for you to do is to manage the company to the best of your abilities. Thatâs the way to not disappoint your fatherâs expectation.âAristotle
Cynthia had never had a relationship before, so she did not know what love was. However, one thing was for certain. She loved the feeling of being with Aristotle and how he had protected her since they were kids. Even though Aristotle had become a little domineering and ânaughtyâ, she was not taken aback by him. Instead, she even felt a little moved, which was amazing.It wasnât known how they ended up in bed, with their breaths synchronized. Apart from the final step, they had done just about everything else that could be done.Just as they were about to hit the final step, Aristotle suddenly stopped and helped pull the covers over Cynthia. âLetâs sleep, good night.âCynthia was still lost in a daze from before. She did not know why Aristotle had suddenly stopped, nor did she have the courage to ask him. She had struggled for so long before having persuaded herself to go with the flowâŠThe next day, when Cynthia woke up, Aristotle had already long gone to his company.She took a
Cynthia heard what Aristotle said, but her hands did not stop doing what they were doing. Her head was in a complete mess. âThereâs no⊠no need. Iâll be able to be done with these now. Go ahead and get some sleep first. By the way, where am I sleeping tonight? There are so many rooms here, Iâll ask Agnes to help me clear one up.âAristotle walked up to her and squatted. He grabbed onto her arm with one hand while the other closed the luggage. âJust sleep with me here and stop tidying already.âCynthia suspected that she might have misheard. She took a look at the big bed behind him in a daze and suddenly felt her palm, which was held by him, burning up. âY⊠Youâre kidding, arenât you, Ares? Although we used to sleep with each other a lot when we were kids, weâre all grown ups now, so wouldnât that be a little inappropriate?âAristotle said with a straight face, âI wasn't joking.âCynthia panicked a little and recalled Melissaâs words once again. âWould Ares, whom Iâve known for so
Melissa knew that Aristotle had kissed Cynthia, so she knew what was going on. Hence, she very naturally boasted, âOf course, theyâve been engaged to each other since they were born. Coincidentally, the both of them felt the same way about each other as they grew up, so wouldnât this make it even better? From the way I see it, your illness isnât going to recover for the rest of your life and the both of them are probably going to have to wait until Cindy graduates before they get married. So, youâd be better off moving back to France as early as possible. Donât worry, youâve saved Aristotleâs life before, so he wouldnât be stingy with you financially.âRaven wanted to control the unhappiness she had in her heart very much, but her emotions refused to follow her will. Hence, she fiercely struggled to wring free from Melissaâs grasp. Melissa was startled for a moment. âAre you crazy?âAfter that, Raven regained her senses and took a deep breath. âIâm sorry⊠I was a little unwell just n
âYouâre not that worried?â Melissa was so furious that she laughed. âAm I the only one whoâs being worried for nothing? I thought you loved my brother, didnât you? The man youâve been dreaming of every day has returned from France but brought a woman with him, yet youâre actually not that worried? Letâs put aside your parentsâ intentions for a moment. Do you dare to say that you donât love him? Iâm only helping you because youâre my best friend, so could you not be so relaxed, as if Iâm helping you for no reason?âCynthia shook her head and lowered her volume as she said, âHe⊠might have confessed to me. We also⊠did that already. So, I think he doesnât feel that way towards Raven. Itâs purely because she saved his life once. I trust that Ares will be able to handle the situation properly.âMelissaâs eyes opened wide. âWhat? Heâs only returned for a few days, yet the two of you have already had sex? That fast?! I never knew it, but youâve really got it in you!âCynthiaâs face flushe