Tiffany’s head swam. She had a pitifully low emotional quotient and didn’t know what to do. Left with no choice, she turned to Eric for help. “Ah… Eric, your girlfriend has just returned to the country; you should spend more time with her. Stop being such an insensitive man.”Vicky pranced happily back to Eric’s side before he could say another word then hugged his arm as she buried her head into his shoulder in an adorable manner. “My Ricky is only an ‘insensitive man’ to other women. He’s really considerate towards me! Didn’t you want to buy presents for your friend’s baby? Let’s go. Ricky’s aesthetic sense isn’t as good as mine. I’ll choose on his behalf!”When they arrived at the second floor of the mall, Tanya finally couldn’t resist making an excuse to go to the bathroom. Tiffany hurriedly ran after her. Tanya silently stood in front of the bathroom sink, with a sunken look on her face. Tiffany carefully apologized, “I wasn’t aware that Eric already had a girlfriend. I was wond
Jackson nodded generously. “No problem. You and Mark are equally important to me. I’m definitely going to give you both the same gifts. You’d better make the most of it.”Tiffany dragged Tanya along to visit Arianne after the shopping trip. Jackson didn’t tag along; he was summoned away by a phone call from Summer.When Eric and Vicky were left alone, Vicky pulled a wounded expression on her face. “Ricky… Do your friends… not like me?”Eric’s mind was filled with question marks. “Which friends?”Vicky tugged on his arm in a cutesy manner and stomped her foot. “All of them! It’s my first time meeting them, and they won’t even have a meal with me. Not even when I offered to pay. Jackson even tried to one-up me. Can’t you tell?”Eric shook his head honestly. “I really don’t see it. You’re imagining things. They’re not like that. Arianne just had a baby, and it was a premature delivery too. Let’s just leave our relationship be. Cheer up. I’ll take you out on a nice meal. Let’s go.”T
This was Summer’s first time meddling in his personal affairs. It didn’t actually annoy Jackson, but he instinctively tried to solidify Tiffany’s image in Summer’s mind. “She hasn’t been going home at night because she’s been sleeping at mine. What are you thinking? I’m aware of everything you’ve said. Don’t worry. You haven’t answered my question; who told you? You couldn’t have sent someone to investigate, could you? Are you really that bored?”“Oh, she’s really been sleeping over at your place?” Summer questioned. “There’s still hope for you two then? Tiffie’s housemate told me… You know, that girl named Tanya. She seemed like an honest girl, so I don’t think she’d be lying to me. Besides, she’s Tiffie’s friend. I certainly wouldn’t send an investigator. I’m not that bored!”Tanya told her? Something didn’t feel right to Jackson. Wasn’t Tanya aware of Tiffany’s sleepovers at his place? Or perhaps… Had Tiffany been sleeping over in someone else’s home, aside from his? The more he t
Mary, realizing that it was time for her to step out, said, “I’m going home to pick up Ari’s food. You girls stay and chat. Please take care of her for me while you’re at it. I’ll be back very soon.”Tiffany nodded. “Go ahead. Tan and I will stay here.”After Mary had left, the conversation between the three friends relaxed. Tiffany put her hand on Arianne’s breast. “Wow! So giving birth does come with its own benefits. This second puberty is wild!”Arianne was speechless. “You have no idea… Just wait until you’ve had a baby. It only looks big, but it hurts like hell when it’s engorged.”Tiffany was seized by a fit of giggles. She pulled out the tiny baby clothes that she had just bought. “Don’t be so modest. I bought these for the baby to wear after he turns one month old. It should fit by then. Since it’s a boy, I chose light blue. Isn’t it cute? I thought that babies’ clothes would be cheap, at first. But it’s actually expensive! Babies grow out of their clothes really fast, so
Arianne paused for a beat before saying, “Listen, Tiffie. You and I are different from Tan. We go way back and have gone through so much together that we can talk about all kinds of things. But she didn’t go through all of that with you. So, you need to be mindful of her feelings, okay? Especially since you two are living together right now. You gotta be less unfiltered, Tiffie.”Tiffany felt that it was a little unfair. “But she’s as much my best friend as you are. We could live with each other precisely because we’re best friends, right? No need to impose so many boundaries between one another and all that, right? Or, have I been overstating our relationship…?”Arianne said nothing. She knew that was the truth — Tanya could never act the way Arianne would. That much was evident in their interaction just now.Just then, the door to her ward was pushed open, revealing Mark’s towering, straight frame. “What were you two talking about?”As always, he was donning yet another business suit
Marks’ eyebrows furrowed a little. “No, we still haven’t managed to track them yet, which lends credibility to the suspicion that someone is pulling strings behind this. But don’t you worry, I’ll make sure it’s handled well.”Arianne hesitated for a moment before casting a tentative question. “Then… what will we do if they’re found?”Her trepidation was palpable enough that Mark thinned his lips before answering, “Doing what they did, despite knowing that their niece, who’s in the late stages of pregnancy and, therefore, in high risks of complications, is a travesty. Worse still, they are your uncle and aunt; it’s unforgivable even if they did it under threat. Of course, I will not forgive that elusive puppet master behind the scene, either. Now, I understand your concerns, Ari. Judging from the series of events, it seems more likely that your aunt’s role was passive, forced. There are reasons to believe that, given a chance, she would choose against it. Your uncle is a different story
The baby had to be left in Mary’s care once the group reached the hotel, as Arianne and Mark were needed to walk around and greet their guests.Arianne’s recovery from pregnancy was quite stunning. Today, she wore a gorgeous white dress adorned with a few artistic splashes of black; it was body-hugging enough to display every perk and curve of her contour. Were Mary, holding her baby, not been tailing Arianne in every step, no one would have suspected that she had just recently given birth.Most of the guests were magnates and personnel from various businesses, and none were familiar to Arianne. Either way, she understood the implicative looks nestled in the eyes that followed her.Mark’s wedding with Arianne had boasted no spectacular pomp. Even though the marriage was publicized, people still could not help but wonder why the wife of the famous Mr.Tremont would have so little attention and pomp. Now that the baby was born, however, suddenly, the family threw a pompous party in the ba
Inside Tiffany’s little gift box was a pair of delicate golden bracelets while Tanya’s featured a golden pendant representing the child’s horoscope bound by a red string.After examining the gifts, Arianne gave a peck on Aristotle’s puffy cheeks and cooed, “Thank your two aunties, sweetie. You gotta remember them when you grow up, okay? They’d love you so much!”Vicky, noticing the hubbub, propped her booty up and sashayed toward them. She had dressed with much splendour today. In stark contrast to her more down-to-earth presentation when she first met Tiffany and Tanya for the first time, she was now dazzling with a veneer of magnificence.“Oh, you guys are here already?… Ah, this must be Mrs. Tremont! A pleasure to meet you. I’m Eric’s girlfriend! Here, this is for the little sweetheart. Ricky and I had bought this little present — aww, look at how adorable he is!”Arianne had heard all about Vicky Nathaniel from Tiffany, so she responded to her with a courtly smile while Mary receiv