When Arianne emerged from the ultrasound room, he stepped forward to support her. “How was it? What did the doctor say?”Arianne showed him the report. “Why does the baby look ugly to me? The doctor said that the little one’s developments are normal and that it’s pretty healthy. It’s hitting all the milestones really well... Hands and legs are well developed, but… it really looks ugly. This is a picture from the 3D ultrasound so I guess that it can be considered as the baby’s first picture...”Mark stared at the 3D ultrasound picture and frowned. “Maybe… it’ll look better once it’s born? Everything probably looks ugly in the tummy, right? Don’t worry. As long as the baby is safely delivered, that’s more than enough. Even if it’s ugly, there’s no way we won’t love it. It’s our baby after all.”Arianne’s lips twitched. “Although you’re telling me to stay optimistic, the frown on your face says otherwise. Are you feeling disgusted inwardly?”He was momentarily speechless. He was the produ
Mark raised an eyebrow. “Yes. So, can you get lost?”Zoey’s husband finally got up from the couch. “Fine, I’ll leave right now. As long as there’s money, everything will go smoothly. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you’d done this earlier? It would have saved me a trip here. Since Zoey has refused the money, there’s no need for you to tell her about my visit today. I’ll be my way now, nephew-in-law.”Mark did not deign to answer him. He could tell that it would not be the last of that fellow now that he had a taste of easy money. Arianne was currently pregnant so it was best for him to keep things quiet. That $750,000 should be enough to hold that man off for a while. When Arianne safely delivered the baby, he would no longer tolerate this. After a while, he said to Davy, “Change the couch and coffee table. Disinfect everything in the office.”...At the end of the month, Alejandro finally returned from abroad. The first thing he did was to organize a press conference to officially an
Jackson got up with a straight face and made his way to the kitchen. “I’ll make juice.”Upon seeing this, Tiffany had no choice but to sit on the couch. “Okay… I’ll leave after dinner…”“That’s more like it,” Summer said with a smile, “Jackson is leaving after dinner as well. You can catch a ride with him. Look, Jackson still remembers how much you enjoy fruit juice…”Tiffany pursed her lips, keeping quiet.In fact, Summer was aware of Tiffany’s beverage preference. She had intentionally posed that question. Tiffany found coffee too bitter, and she would feel uncomfortable for half a day after drinking it. Her fondness for fruit juice was no secret. It seemed like poor Jackson did not forget that. Noticing Tiffany’s silence, she deftly changed the topic. “You gave the car to your mother, right? I heard you told her you won’t be needing the car since your apartment is very close to the office. I have a few spare cars here, would you like to use one of them? I’m worried it’d be inconveni
“Yes, so?” Tiffany asked. “That’s my business, not yours.”Jackson’s expression sank even further. He finally spoke up again after a long pause. “Was he the reason behind your determination for our break up?”Tiffany was taken aback, then a little angry. “What are you talking about? Are you saying that I dumped you for another man? So, whatever you did with Lynn in the car doesn’t count? Jackson West, can you be reasonable? If you can’t say anything nice, then shut the f*ck up!”Jackson laughed. “I was just wondering if I’ve lost to a cripple… I’m glad that I haven’t. I admit to my own mistakes.”“So, you admit to your affair with Lynn?” she asked through gritted teeth.He turned his face to the side and asked, “Now you want to hear my explanation?”She faked a laugh. “Hehe, no thank you. There’s no need.”He didn’t say anything more. Suddenly, both their phones rang. They looked at each other and answered their calls. Tiffany’s call was from Alejandro, who had invited her to see him.
Just as Mark dreaded, Zoey Harris’s scumbag of a husband was so gratified by the ill-gotten money that he was encouraged to demand it again. Mark had optimistically thought that $750,000 could last until Arianne gave birth to the child, but he thought wrong.To get that much money in one go was to compel a man to lose all of his sensibilities. Harris, already a disgustingly greedy man, managed to lose every single penny in a series of gambling fiascos. After a night of spectacular losses, the broke man came back knocking on Mark’s door like a soulless husk.Mark was never known for his patience. He could stretch his limits for Arianne’s sake, but to be threatened by the same person over and over again was just a bare-faced challenge to his control. $750,000 was only enough for a few days? Someone had a hole in their pocket!Mark stared at the man, who emanated the stench of failure, in his office and placed his hand over his nose. “I gave you $750,000, Mr. Harris. I gave you $750,000 j
Davy quickly answered, “Y-yes! I’m on it right away!”The first thing that came into Mark’s line of sight once he stepped into the Tremont Estate was Arianne. Suddenly, all of his stress melted away.Only her presence could dispel every dark cloud swirling in his mind. Relaxed, he cooed, “Has the kid been kind to Mommy? Or are we expecting a little troublemaker, Ari?”His gentle, loving tone struck true to Arianne’s soft spot. Chuckling softly, she looked down and traced invisible circles on her belly. “Oh, the child’s been good. No one could be that much of a trouble at this size and age, right? Now, why are you back so soon today? Don’t you have anything at work? Either way, you’re just in time for lunch. Are you going back to work for the evening?”Mark crouched, placing his ear as closely as he could to her belly, hoping to catch any indication of the child’s movement. All he could hear was a series of burblings not dissimilar to the sound of bubble-blowing.It was nothing interest
“I get it! I get it! I lost control of my emotions back there, alright? God, everything is pissing me off.” Mark leaned back onto the seat and massaged his forehead. “Every time she mentions Granny, my heart skips a beat out of fear and trepidation. Yet, time and again, that baleful good-for-nothing keeps coming to my doorstep, weaponizing that secret against me. I just can’t possibly let her know, Brian. If this secrecy continues to hang by a thread, nothing good could come out of it. No, there isn’t going to be a next time for him. No more threats…“Oh, that reminds me. Make arrangements with the hospital so that they’re now standing-by for her childbirth. Ari’s frail constitution makes premature delivery very possible; I don’t want any complication to occur throughout the process.”Brian let out a silent breath of relief and answered, “Understood.”Night fell, yet Arianne resisted calls for dinner. Just thinking back on Mark angrily lashing out in the afternoon quickly bereft her of
Mary breathed out a sigh of relief at the good turn of events. Since she had kept dinner ready in the kitchen this whole time, she laid all of it out on the table in a flurry, chiming in, “That’s right, Ma’am. You should never skip a meal! The child needs all the yummy food to grow healthy and strong.”Arianne was reminded of her child’s ultrasound image and suddenly felt a little insecure. “Mary, do you think I’m gonna, you know, birth an ugly duckling or something? I mean, I’m not gonna dislike my own kid for it that much, but… if the kid turned out to be a bit too heavy on the ugliness, I don’t think I’d like that.”Mary broke out a chuckle. “Poppycocks! Both you and Mr. Tremont are so handsome, how could any of your genes produce an ugly duckling at all? All the kid needs to do is to take after either of you, and voila, a beautiful child is guaranteed! Oh, Madam, don’t fret over the image in that report; it’s inaccurate. How could it be? The kid’s still enjoying a spa treatment in