The short finishing touch of his reply successfully stopped her in her tracks. She would never doubt Mark Tremont’s ability to suspend the company she was working at from operating if he wished to…However, Arianne did not say anything, choosing to go back upstairs to her room. Lying on her bed, her mind was blank.On the dining table, Mark Tremont put down his mobile phone emotionlessly and ate his meal in full concentration, feigning ignorant to the text messages that were stacking up, no longer giving them another glance.“Mary, move her to my room.”Mary was struck with a realization. “This should be the case… You weren’t here for three years, yes? Ari’s has stayed in her original room. Now that you’re back, she should move. I’m on it.”Mark Tremont corrected her. “Your form of address should change now.”“Oh, right, right. I’ve gotten used to it. I have to call her madam from now on,” Mary replied with a smile.When Mary went to Arianne’s room to move her things in glee, the latte
The foreign voice of a man came from the other end of the line.“Hello? Sis-in-law? Uh, Mark had too much to drink. Do you think you can come pick him up?”Sis-in-law? The address caused her to jolt. Arianne’s first reaction was that the caller must have been mistaken. She was quite puzzled.“What? Where?”It took Arianna some effort to finally clarify which bar they were at, since the other end of the line was noisy.Hanging up, she put on her coat and woke Henry up. She had no driver’s license and could not pick him up on her own.Arriving at the location, she saw the men at the bar entrance from afar right as she got off the car. Other than Mark Tremont who was intoxicated, there were two other men.‘Birds of a feather flock together’ – this was Arianne’s immediate thought. Both men were good looking and lofty. It was just that she had never seen them in the past, having no opportunity to familiarize herself with his circle of friends.“Ay, Mark’s good at hiding. He’s spilled the be
For some reason, Arianne remembered the woman who hooked arms with him at the airport and instinctively pushed Mark Tremont away.“We’ll talk about when you’re sober!”If he were sober, he definitely wouldn’t want to touch her…“Get out!” He growled in a low tone.Taken aback, Arianne quickly got up and smoothed out her pajamas before going back to her room next door. Although all that remained was the bed, she could still sleep in the empty room.When morning came the next day and Arianne seated herself down at the dining hall, she saw Mary taking the sheets in her original room away in a haste, even the mattress was moved away.Mark Tremont did not even spare her a glance, as he came downstairs and left in his car.Arianne had a simple meal, then grabbed her bag and went out. When she worked, she did not have to worry about Mark Tremont’s presence.Just as she sat down in the office, her supervisor, Simon Donn, placed a document on her desk.“Send this to the Wyatt Company. Remember,
Without warning, a woman’s voice faintly sounded from Mark Tremont’s office. “Hmph! You said that you’re not free, yet you aren’t even busy! I saw a bag I like – no, a bag that I love! Buy it for me, okay?”Arianne Wynn’s breath was caught in her throat, like someone was choking her.She did not hear if Mark Tremont said anything back. Soon enough, the woman came out. Upon meeting eyes, Arianne was astonished as it was the same woman whom she saw at the airport.Her gaze did not linger on the woman’s triumphant face, but her eyes stayed fixated on the high heels the woman wore. Mark Tremont prohibited everyone from disturbing the peace and quiet of this level yet he had allowed this woman here with high heels.“It’s you again. What business do you have with my dear Mark? I don’t know what past you have with Mark, but I don’t like you and from now on, I will resent you. After we came back from abroad, I see you every time I look for my dear Mark. I hate it.” The woman spoke in a tone t
“No, I’ll leave immediately.” Arianne answered shortly.Just as she turned around, a pen flew past her ear and smashed against the office door. Ink leaked from the crack of the pen and stained the floor.Throwing things meant that Mark Tremont was furious. Arianne dared not move, although she was slightly shaken. She wanted to restrain her fear toward him but she was unable to…“Come here!” Mark Tremont’s voice was laced with anger. To Arianne, it was the forewarning of a life threatening situation.Her hesitation lasted for only two seconds before she turned to go toward him with her hands clutching the hem of her clothes and looked cautiously at him.Mark Tremont tugged her close to him and wrapped his arm tight around her waist to prevent her from moving. His voice was piercing and icy cold. “What did you call me? Does making such a clear distinction mean that you’re changing how you address me at home?”Once he was reminded that she would rather stand for more than two hours outsid
The elevator stopped on the seventh floor. An overwhelming intimidation urged Simon Donn to look up at the man who entered the elevator, while he instinctively moved towards the corner.The elevator door closed briefly. The man suddenly launched a kick at Simon Donn’s lower abdomen. His tone was gentle but undoubtedly threatening.“Don’t think of laying a finger on those you shouldn’t!”The harsh kick caused Simon Donn to bend down, hugging his stomach feeling bewildered. “Who are you?”“Arianne Wynn’s husband!”…When Arianne returned and stepped into the hall of the Tremont Estate, her immediate reaction was to check if Mark Tremont was back.Mary was amused by her cautious manner as she chuckled. “Sir’s not back yet!”Arianne breathed out in relief. “He said that he’s coming back for dinner tonight…”Logically, he should have returned home earlier than she had.Coming out of the shower, Arianne saw that Mark Tremont was already seated at the dining hall. His hair was damp and change
Arianne Wynn held her breath, suddenly realizing that her wish to end her current predicament was nothing but a dream. He was already being merciful by sparing her a lifetime to make up for her sin, she had no right to choose…“I’ll go to sleep in the guest room.” This was her last form of resistance.“Try take another step!”Mark Tremont’s threat was bitterly cold, feeling like the freezing wind outside had gushed right into her heart.She halted her stride and kept quiet, waiting for him to continue.After a period of dead silence, his thin lips parted to speak again.“You want to leave so badly? Okay, I’ll fulfill your wish! On the premise that… you bear me a child!”A child? He wanted her to give birth to a child? A child that belonged to them?Arianne Wynn was suddenly reminded of the past when her mother left for another man without reservations or consideration for her. The taunting and insults that she faced since she was a child were still vivid in her mind.Having a child was
Waking up the next day, Arianne Wynn went straight to the office without having breakfast. A huge stack of documents had appeared mysteriously on her desk, causing Arianne to frown.“Whose are these?”Someone spoke in a whisper from the side, “Mr. Donn assigned them to you. Have you offended him? He’s tossed almost everything in the department to you. You most probably have to work overtime today…”Arianne said nothing, having already guessed this was his spiteful revenge for yesterday's rejection and embarrassment, and sat down to work accordingly.She received a text message during lunch that read, “I’m Aery Kinsey’s mother. Let’s meet. I’ll wait for you at Mocha café.”Rummaging through her memory, Arianne did not remember the name Aery Kinsey, so she replied, “I don’t know an Aery Kinsey.”She received another text briefly. “It suffices that I know you. See you there.”For no particular reason, the face of the woman whom Mark Tremont brought along to the airport popped out in Arian