The pair arrived outside Mark’s office and found a very idle Davy seemingly bored out of his wits. When he noticed them, his eyes shone. “Hello! You’re finally here, Madam!”Arianne flashed him a coy smile. “Whoa. That’s not the kinda expression people make when everything’s going well, is it? Don’t worry, I’m here to save the day.”The situation inside the office, however, shocked her. Smore was neither bawling nor throwing tantrums. Instead, he was perched in his father’s arm as the latter focused on his work. The little boy had somehow seized a pen and was having a lot of fun playing with it with his dewy eyes twinkling with alacrity as he babbled unintelligibly to himself.The reality flew in the face of the baby-screaming chaos Arianne had in mind. While she stared in surprise, Mary supplied from the side. “Oh, hello, Madam. I just changed Master Aristotle’s diaper, and all is well. Go ahead and do whatever you like. There is nothing to worry about here. Turns out, Mr. Tremont
Tanya nodded self-consciously. “Y-yes, Aunt Summer.”Tanya wondered if Summer believed she should only appear when Tiffany was also with her. That was the tragedy of her life, Tanya reckoned—she was always a tack-on to someone else. But not today. Today, she came as her own person. Disappointment poured into Summer’s eyes. “Oh, I see. Uh, then… How can I help you?”Tanya took a brave step forward and fished out the pregnancy test result from her bag. “I’ve just received this medical report. Please, have a look.”Summer was baffled. Why a medical report all of a sudden? Why should she be bothered with it? Still, out of courtesy, she took the document from Tanya’s hands and read that it was pertaining to her pregnancy.“Ah. Congratulations, my dear!” Summer noted with a slight smile. “You got yourself a good man, haven’t you? When is the wedding?”Tanya paused for a beat before dropping the news. “The father… is Jackson West.”Summer’s smile froze into an uncanny curve. “W-what?
Atticus, unlike his wife, felt a lot more sympathetic to the poor woman and thought that Summer had been acting a little too callously to her.“Um, Tanya? I think it’d be best to go home for the time being and think long and hard about this. You must excuse my wife; she has a habit of not mincing her words, you see,” he said kindly. “Be that as it may, she meant exactly what she spoke, and my sentiments are aligned with hers. If Jackson doesn’t want this child, it is most unfortunate but beneficial to abort it, don’t you think? You don’t have to worry about your compensation, as we will not leave you wanting. For now, you should head back. The weather’s quite arid these days, so I’ll have my driver send you home, alright?”Tanya nodded and murmured, “T-thank you…”Amidst all of the antipathy and contempt she had suffered, Atticus’s minute display of sympathy quickly became Tanya’s only comfort over these days.From the French window in her bedroom, Summer watched a car belonging to
When he was at the foot of the building, Jackson pulled over around the curb. He pulled out his phone and drew Tanya’s number out of his blocked numbers list before dialing.When the call connected, he went straight to the point. “Downstairs.”There were a few beats of silence from Tanya’s side before her shock poured over. “You’re… downstairs?”He hung up. He was in no mood to say anything more.It took Tanya less than five minutes to appear. He unlocked the door, and the woman yanked the one in the backseat open before taking her place. “Um, you’re here for me…?”“Or rather, weren’t you the one looking for me?” Jackson replied flatly. “You shouldn’t have shown your face in the West family residence. What do you want?”So, he only came to her because she visited the West family residence and not for anything else. Tanya hung her head and gripped the hem of her clothes tightly.“I don’t want anything other than to bear this baby to terms,” she said. “I know I’m nothing but a pie
She gritted her teeth and took two steps back. “Please, don’t cause a scene on my front porch. Your affairs with Jackson are none of my business. You wanted it, didn’t you? You climbed into bed with him willingly. You got pregnant with his baby willingly. He doesn’t want you to have the baby? That’s between you and him. Why are you asking me for help? Do you think that I can make him marry you, to make him agree to letting you have this baby? I’m not that generous. I can’t help you. Please leave!”Tanya tugged on her skirt, refusing to let go. “Please, Tiffany… I have no family or relatives. I don’t know anyone here. I’m all alone, and I don’t know what to do. It’s all my fault, I was wrong to you. Hit me, if that will make you feel better. I just want you to talk to Jackson, make him agree to letting me have this child. If I abort this baby, I’ll never be able to conceive again. Please…”Tiffany wasn’t a fool. She didn’t want to be a part of this mess. Her only worry was to prevent
Tiffany let out a long sigh of relief. She collapsed against the wall, looking very pale in the face. She waited until she had calmed down before digging out her keys and heading into the house. “Were you talking to someone outside?” Lillian asked, puzzled. “I heard the commotion, but I didn’t feel like going out to look. Who were you talking to?”“Met an old colleague in the hallway. We had a few words. I’m going to make dinner,” she explained half-heartedly.The Tremont Estate.By the time Arianne had arrived home, Mark and Aristotle were already home. The pair were fresh from their bath. She looked like the more idle parent now. Mark could make money and take care of the baby. It made her feel inferior.She dashed forward, unable to restrain her emotions. “Come here, Smore. Let mommy hold you.”Mark evaded her in disgust. “Take a shower. We’ve just had ours. It’s so hot and you’ve been sweating all day…”It had been a while since he had snubbed her. She was hurt. “Are you snub
Mark had no intentions of leaving. He took off his shirt, reached out and gently massaged her smooth, naked back. “I’ll help you out… Aristotle is getting impatient. It’ll be faster with my help.”There were a few extra ripples in the humid bathroom. She lowered her head, too afraid to look at him. She hadn’t gotten used to standing in front of him, completely naked, especially since she had just given birth not too long ago. Her body wasn’t as firm as it used to be, especially her tummy area. “No need, I’m very fast. You should go out. I’m really not used to this…”He reached out and lifted up her chin, forcing her to turn around and look at him. “What do you mean? You’re going to have to get used to it. I’m your husband. Why can’t I look at you?”His intense gaze locked onto Arianne’s eyes. She felt as if she had been pulled into a deep vortex. His thin, tender lips looked very sexy and were even more attractive in the misty bathroom. The clean outlines of his muscles were on full
He pressed his lips on Arianne’s before she could react, then made his way down onto her neck. She couldn’t open her eyes and didn’t dare react too much. The irony of it all was that he had gotten exactly what he wanted. She was beginning to suspect that he had gotten himself peed on by Aristotle on purpose…Heavy pants and sighs began to rise amidst the pattering sounds of water. It went on for half an hour before gradually turning back to normal. Arianne blushed as she put on her clothes, too shy to look back at Mark in the eye.“The weather is hot. It’s very humid in the bathroom, so don’t stay in the shower for too long,” Mary reminded her. “You’ll get heatstroke. Aren’t your breasts engorged from not breastfeeding all day? It’s time to feed Aristotle. You should take him and feed him. I’m going to check on dinner.”Arianne nodded and carried Aristotle to the baby’s room to feed him. They were previously engorged, so engorged that they hurt whenever they were touched. However,