Alejandro pulled out a cheque before she could speak. “These are the funds that I can spare. Let me know how much more you need and I’ll pull more funds together.”Arianne looked at the number on the cheque and made a rough calculation. “I think it’s almost too much. Thank you.”Alejandro pursed his lips. “Why are you thanking me? I can’t accept your gratitude. I’ll ask Melanie to get some money from her family too. That’s the best I can do.”Arianne personally made him a cup of tea. “Black tea. Your brother’s favorite.”A desolate light flashed across Alejandro’s eyes. He picked up the cup and took a sip. “How’s the company doing? Aside from the shares.”Arianne sighed. “A lot of our partners are trying to end their partnership with us. Most of it is probably instigated. Actually, continuing the partnership won’t affect them too much as long as Tremont Enterprises still stands. I’ve managed to convince some of them against it, but those who’ve been instigated by Seaton won’t budg
The shares were supposed to be Tremont Enterprises’ biggest hurdle. Now, Arianne had managed to get through it. He hated the Smiths, Larks, and Wests for helping Arianne out. Now, he had to wait for Tremont Enterprises to be at its weakest before dealing a final blow. Otherwise, all of his efforts would go to waste if he waited for Tremont Enterprises to recover under Arianne’s management.Seeing the gloomy look in his eyes, Aerse summoned his courage and asked, “Mr. Bart, is our previous agreement still valid? I’ve done everything you’ve asked. The final result has nothing to do with me.”Seaton stared at Aerse and icily said, “What agreement? 10% of Tremont Enterprises? Open your eyes, who’s controlling Tremont Enterprises now? Is it me? Where am I supposed to wrangle that 10% for you? Yes, we did have an agreement—that I would give you shares once I’d obtained Tremont Enterprises. However, I don’t have it, and you still have the nerve to ask?”Aerse immediately understood. He was
The corners of Arianne’s lips carried an easy-going smile. “It’s fine. This is how it should be. There’s 23% shares in total there. I’ve divided it according to the money that your family has given. Have a look and sign if everything looks alright to you. That way, only Charles has 2% of shares. Everything else belongs to us. Thank you for banding together and helping me when I needed it most. Tremont Enterprises would have been finished if it weren’t for you. I’d feel uneasy if you don’t agree to this. You deserve it. I’ll take good care of Tremont Enterprises. Thank you.”Jackson and Alejandro remained hesitant about signing the document. Only Melanie signed it first. “I can’t help it. I have to sign. You two think about it.”Alejandro looked at Jackson and said, “You sign. It doesn’t matter if you do. I can’t sign. If Mark finds out that part of Tremont Enterprises’ shares belong to me, he’ll haunt my dreams and kill me. I’ve said that I no longer want any part of Tremont Enterpri
Arianne asked nothing more. Some things were just meant to stay private.…Somewhere in a foreign country laid a hospital that housed a feeble man lying on his bed with his eyes trained on the little screen of his phone. There, shown in the tiny screen, was the dining hall within the Tremont Estate.A slight smile hung on his lips as his eyes lingered on Arianne and Smore with rapt attention.Henry, the butler, was massaging his legs. “Are you sure you want to keep your survival a secret from your wife, Mr. Tremont? We couldn’t tell her back then because you were in a coma and in a rather dire state. But now, you’ve passed the most critical phase. That’s a good cue to inform Madam, right?” he suggested. “She’s in a terrible mental shape, Mr. Tremont. She even contracted a serious case of migraine. It’s not at all surprising to find her sitting inside your study because she couldn’t sleep, and she’ll sit there and do nothing until the very next day. I’m just afraid that if this keep
Mark responded by regarding Alejandro silently, his mind whirling with thoughts foreign even to himself. For some reason, it suddenly occurred to him that Alejandro’s childhood was even worse than his own. He was a Tremont scion just as much as Mark was, yet they were not treated equally at all.This was a Tremont’s reparation, one that was a long-time coming and should have been done by his father. Mark decided that he was going to wipe off a debt his father left so that he no longer owed his unscrupulous, stonehearted half-brother anything.There was also another thought telling Mark that, supposedly, if his mother had not orchestrated that plane crash, Ethan might have been able to live more a bit better, too, even if he was still never going to be treated as a legitimate son of the Tremonts. In other words, Mark might not be so much as wiping his father’s debt clean, but atoning for his mother’s sin.Whatever the reasons were, they prompted Mark to grab hold of a piece of floati
Mark’s exclusive video interview became a viral internet sensation, yet Arianne knew nothing about it. Since morning, she had been so busy handling company affairs that she had no time to busy herself with such online clamors.However, her cluelessness was challenged when Sylvain burst through her office door. “Arianne—Arianne!”The woman in question looked up at him with a deadpanned expression, puzzled at the apparent jubilance he showed. “Why are you excited?”Sylvain’s hand, holding his phone, was slightly but visibly shaking. Suddenly, he realized he had no idea how to break one of the most astronomically-great news to the woman who needed it the most.Arianne gawked at him as her confusion intensified. “What… What’s going on?”Sylvain recomposed himself with incredible difficulty. He took a deep breath before starting, “I think you should steel yourself before I announce this bombshell.”His boast amused Arianne a little, but she obliged, putting her papers down and intentl
Mark appeared within the Tremont Tower a few moments later. From the entrance to the forty-sixth floor, his presence was marked by widened eyes upon widened eyes, as rapt attention was nailed to him while he sauntered through his office. Had it not been for Henry, his stalwart butler, following Mark’s movement, no one would have believed him to be the genuine article.Mark was surprised upon not finding Arianne, so he asked a dumbfounded Davy, “Where is she?”Davy was so overwhelmed that his answer came out as a stammer. “M-M-Madam, uh, she r-returned home, I think? Sylvain came to her excitedly, so she probably heard of your return from him… Um, Mr. Tremont, are you alright?”“Do I look otherwise?” Mark replied flatly.As he talked, he crossed the room and sat behind the desk. He could smell a whiff of fragrance, no doubt left by Arianne. He marveled at the fact that she had begun to use a perfume; it smelled soft and sweet, just like the woman herself.Mark looked at the pile of
Mary was the one who broke the silence. “Mr. Tremont, you really have come back!”It was the last confirmation Arianne needed to know that the man standing in front of her was real.It’s been a long, long time.She rushed forward and dove into the chest of the man she thought about in the day and dreamed about at night. She was acutely aware of how feeble and emaciated his body had become compared to the sturdy frame she remembered. He had stumbled a bit from the impact, but at the last step, he stood steady and locked his arms around her into a tight, unyielding embrace.Unfortunately, Arianne’s force was a little too much for his chest, and soon, his yet-fully-recovered lungs began to protest with a fit of coughs.Arianne refused to let go. “Where have you been? Why have you only come back now? I thought… I thought you were dead! I thought you were never coming back. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to… to go through the motion over these few cursed months?”Mark ru