Tiffany hesitated upon receiving such a formal invitation. “This isn’t… a date, right?”Jackson laughed helplessly. “Would you lose some skin if it were? I’m taking you to try something new. It’s settled then? I’ll call you when I’m done.”Tiffany let out a curse after he had driven his car far away. It was sinful. They had already broken up, but this was no different from how things used to be between them. They slept together, drove out in his car, and… had dates?She realized that the door was slightly ajar when she arrived home; Tanya must have opened the door for her in advance. She pushed the door open and caught the sharp scent of durian. “Wow, Tan. You bought durian?”Tanya walked out of her bedroom. “No, Mrs. West brought it for you this morning. She’s brought a ton of other things too. Mostly food.”Tiffany was used to Summer’s way of doing things. “Oh, got it. I’m going to change. I’ll be visiting Ari at the hospital. You coming?”Tanya pursed her lips. “No. Ricky is o
Tiffany casually turned the car around. “Got it. I’ll be fine.”Passersby around the neighborhood stared at Tiffany’s car critically and discussed how expensive it must be. They also looked at Tanya, who had stepped out of the car, with envious gazes. This made Tanya feel proud and smug. So, this was how it felt to be seen as a rich woman…She lowered her head and took a deep breath. Her goal today wasn’t just to clean Eric’s house, but to get closer to him and do what she should have done from the very beginning. If she had only realized this sooner, she would be Eric’s girlfriend by now. That way, she would no longer be inferior to them.… The hospital. Arianne was looking much more energetic today and not as depressed as she was yesterday. She had also developed a better appetite.Once Tiffany arrived, Arianne sent her to check on the baby. She couldn’t move so she had to send other people to check on him.Of course, Tiffany was happy to help. She had also noticed two bodyg
Everything that Mary had said broke Tiffany’s heart for Arianne. “Ari, Mary’s right. Don’t rush to see the baby. You can’t touch him for now anyway. Instead, why don’t you tell me what you would like to eat today? I’ll ask Jackson to whip something up for you. Eat more and you’ll regain your strength. That way, you’ll recover faster. Or maybe you should call Mark and have him come over? You’ve suffered a great hardship to give him his child. You should let him see your frail and fragile state or he won’t feel bad for you.”Arianne felt more energized. Thanks to Mary and Tiffany’s help, she managed to slowly straighten up and take a few steps. The pain made her too afraid to breathe too heavily. She never thought that her first time getting off the bed after surgery would hurt this much. A long time passed before she managed to gasp, “N-no need… t-to trouble Jackson. Ma-Mary… Call… Mark. T-tell him… to come…” Of course, he had to come. A certain issue between them was still unsettled.
Arianne burst into tears in the end. “I want to know, why did my grandmother forgive you after you told her about the plane crash? How could the grudge of killing her son be written off, just like that? Not even I have been able to let go of my hatred for you completely, even after living with you for so many years… Granny said that she knew everything that I know about the plane crash and some things that I don’t. What don’t I know? Are you still refusing to be honest with me, even at this point?”Mark stiffened instinctively. He lifted his hand and wiped her tears away. “I chose to be honest with granny because I wanted to make things clear with her. Perhaps she did hate me, but she’s also aware that I will be the source of your reliance for the rest of your life. You were pregnant, so she wanted us to live peacefully as a family. She said that the dead can never come back, but the living must continue living their lives. She couldn’t hate me, and I’m very grateful to her. I don’t f
Tiffany calmed herself and bent down to pick up her handbag. “Er… It’s fine… I’m fine. Uhm… I’ve promised Jackson that I’d have dinner with him. I’ll be on my way now. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then, she turned around and left hurriedly, as if scared out of her wits. Ethan — it had been a while since she last heard that name. She was still traumatized. She once loved and hated this man deeply. This man had personally pushed her straight into hell… Had he returned?Arianne and Mark looked at each other, feeling heavy-hearted. They did not continue discussing the topic. Mary was blissfully ignorant of the situation, so she pulled out a strange-looking thing from the plastic bag in her hand. “Ari, the doctor says that you have to pump your milk as soon as possible. Are your breasts swelling up now?”Arianne glanced at Mark, her face beginning to heat up. “N-no… It’s fine… I don’t think I need to do that for now… The baby isn’t with me right now, anyway. I can’t feed him.”“Are you shy?”
Then, it seemed like someone had unlocked the door with a key. She heard Tanya and Jackson’s voices before she was lifted into someone’s arms. She didn’t know what happened next.By the time she woke up again, she was in the hospital — the same hospital as Arianne. However, Arianne was in the department of gynaecology while she was sent to the hospital due to a fever.Jackson and Tanya were watching over her in the ward. Jackson began nagging her when he saw that she had woken up. “You were perfectly fine this morning; how did you end up with a fever? You’re already not smart enough. You’d have turned into a complete idiot if I hadn’t realized it sooner.”“It’s not like I wanted this,” she argued weakly. “I was perfectly fine this morning. I don’t know how I ended up this way either… This sucks.”Tanya stepped forward and said, “I’m glad you’re alright. I’m going back then.” She might not show it, but deep down, she was a little annoyed. She had planned on having lunch at Eric’s th
Tiffany was speechless.Jackson scowled the entire way home, simply because Tiffany had refused to throw the bouquet away, claiming that she owed Alejandro a favour and couldn’t bear to waste someone else’s efforts. However, he couldn’t throw it away for her either, so had no choice but to crudely throw the bouquet into the back of his car.When they arrived at the ground floor of her condo, Tiffany held her temper as she tried to coax him. “Okay, I’m home. I’m going in. Thank you for today. I’ll buy you a meal tomorrow.”Jackson’s expression softened a little. “Get a good rest when you get home. Let me take the flowers. My place is cold and empty. It’ll be great for livening up the place.”Tiffany was speechless. “S-sure. As long as you don’t throw it away. It’ll be quite a shame. Take it home and put it up then.”When Tiffany entered her home, she saw Tanya watching television on the couch and eating the fruit that Summer had brought. Tiffany did not nitpick on her over this. “T
“That’s right,” Jackson answered from the other end. “It’s so late and you haven’t eaten. It’d be too late by the time I cooked for you, so I ordered food for you on the way back. Did you receive the delivery? Go to bed after you’ve eaten.”She felt warm and fuzzy on the inside. She was surprised at his attentiveness. “Thank you… I’ll eat this now then.”She remembered that Tanya was making ramen noodles for her after ending the call, so she quickly called out to her in the kitchen. “Tan, you don’t have to cook. Jackson’s bought takeout for me. It looks like a large portion. Have you eaten? Would you like to share?”Tanya turned off the fire. The half-cooked noodles and bubbling water gradually steadied. “I’ve already eaten. You enjoy it.”She did not even look at Tiffany when she walked past the living room. Tiffany felt very guilty. “Tan, have some with me? I wasn’t aware that Jackson had ordered takeout for me. I’m sorry…”Tanya turned around and forced a small smile on her fac