Arianne tried to snatch the pendant back from Smore, but the baby’s hand somehow turned into a stubborn lobster’s claw and refused to let go, no matter how hard she tried to pry it open. Fearful of accidentally hurting him, Arianne gave up and relented. “Fine. It’s not returning to us until he gets bored with it. Oh, that reminds me… Uh, how’s, well, Aery?”Given a choice, Arianne would have rather not mentioned Aery at all, but she was desperately running out of topics. She could not possibly turn the rest of their “chat” into a staring competition, right?Helen, for her part, did not expect her to mention Aery of her own accord. After the shock passed, she answered, “Well, she’s currently studying abroad. To my relief, she appears to have gone back on track. See, I found her a host family whom I’ve established a close connection with so that I can monitor her every move and situation from here. Honestly, as long as she could put her mind to educating herself and not ruining her own
The corner of Mark’s lips twitched, but his smile did not reach his eyes. It was a smile that acted as a mask.“You can’t be suggesting that I, of all people, go look for this hypothetical plot, right?” he began. “Anyone with a functional brain could dream up a ‘solution’ as simple as this one! The reason why this meeting is a thing is that I want results and progress. But you cast this… question to me as though you’re asking for my permission. Seriously? Don’t you even have a modicum of sensibility to determine that for yourself?! Fine, great. I guess I should start counting down on the days till my company folds.”The young executive member immediately packed his document folder as if he was about to bolt out of the room. “Right, right! I’m on it right away, Sir! I’ll make you proud next time, I promise!”Mark massaged his forehead. “Jesus Christ. Can any of you adults get into work the moment you believe you have a good solution? What if I agree, hmm? Stop waiting for my permissi
Jett shook his head. “Bah, don’t bother. This is a pretty nice place to stay, anyway. See? It’s got two bedrooms and sh*ts. One for each of us. I might even crash here whenever it’s convenient,” he said. “And really, there is no need to go to work, you. My work is enough for both of us, at least before that kid comes out. But that’s a question for some other time; we might not have a future, but the kid’s mine, so don’t worry too much and follow what I say. Hey, if we look past the fact that we aren’t staying together, I think we can pull off this husband-wife thing pretty fine.”A pang shot through Tanya’s chest, as though a wall closing around her heart had crumbled and crashed. For the first time, she considered Jett carefully… and found that her yearning for Jackson diminished.In a split second, she wished the arrangement between her and Jett were consensual—bona fide, genuine. She wanted a family of her own, but none of this was real. They were just foams atop turbulent waves.
Jett tucked the card into his pocket hesitantly. “If you make too many moves, it’ll rouse Master Don’s suspicions, you know.”Alejandro smiled. “Aww, what’s there to be suspicious about? Does he suspect that I’m not actually his darling grandson, Alejandro Smith? Is this Master Don’s suspicion, or yours? What happens if I tell you that I’m not Alejandro?”Jett’s head hung even lower, his voice so monotonous that it was approaching mechanical when he replied. “To me, Mr. Smith will always be Mr. Smith. There are no other possibilities to entertain, even if you are doing some funny, questionable things.”Alejandro seemed to be in good spirits. “Ha. This is why I like you and want you to remain by my side. You know… Tanya’s not very bright, but she’s quite the looker. You should consider her more carefully.”“A man like me will never lead a safe, stable life,” Jett replied placidly. “The last thing I want is to drag another person through it with me. If I could, I’d rather return her
Her heart gripped with tremors. “Whatever you do, don’t go home. Stay hidden nearby and don’t let them know that you’re there. Send me your address, I’m coming over with reinforcements!” Arianne replied with a tremble. She rushed into the bedroom immediately after the call. Mark had just slipped into the bathtub, naked. He smiled when she burst in. “What are you doing? I guess I can manage a good f*ck, if you really want to…”She couldn’t be bothered with feeling embarrassed at this point. “That’s not it. Something’s happened to Harvey. I think the kidnappers have gone to their hotel. That can’t be good; you need to come with me and bring reinforcements. I’m afraid that something might happen! Aren’t we trying to find out if Ethan is behind all of this? You’d better hurry. Get out of the bathtub!”Mark’s smile faltered. He put on a stern face and reluctantly got out of the tub then pulled on a robe. “Get some clothes for me. I’ll call Henry.”Arianne turned around, headed into the
Arianne was disappointed. She had hoped to see who the kidnappers were, perhaps even find clues on Ethan. In the end, they were still too late.They led everyone upstairs and found Zoey and Mr. Harris’s room door wide open. Everything was a mess inside. The hotel’s lady boss was calculating their bill and scolding them with cutting remarks, demanding compensation for the damages. The pair were still in shock, so they couldn’t retaliate. They submitted to the lady boss’s criticism. Zoey was fine, but her husband was not. He looked as if he had endured a heavy beating.Arianne stepped forward and stopped the lady boss. “That’s enough. I’ll foot the fill. Henry, go downstairs with her and calculate her losses. Pay her back for whatever’s due.”The lady boss, who saw the amount of people Arianne had brought along with her, was too afraid to lash out any further. Instead, she meekly followed Henry.Zoey looked at Harvey and immediately understood why Arianne had come here. “We’re fine.
Brian tucked his smile away. “Yes, sir. There’s a reason why I haven’t had a girlfriend. For example, my busy work schedule, having no time, that sort of thing…”“Would you like a long holiday then?” Mark asked in a soft voice. “Or perhaps you’d like to bring your retirement forward, say, twenty or thirty years?”Brian shook his head vigorously. “No no no, I’m happy to serve you. I’d happily drive you around for ten more years during my retirement years, as long as I’m capable of doing it.”…The West family residence.Summer had been confined to her bed ever since Tanya’s strangulation and would suffer from bouts of fever from time to time. The doctor had concluded that it was a result of shock and that she would be fine after a good rest.Jackson had been paying frequent visits to the West family residence because of this, mostly out of guilt and because he felt sorry for his mother. He had a slight change in his impression of Atticus after seeing how much personal care and con
Less than half a month later, the weather in the capital had reached its yearly scorching peak. It was so hot that people simply wanted to stay indoors. No one wanted to move.Arianne and Aristotle were close to falling sick from the humidity. Aristotle’s resistance to heat was very low, and Arianne was afraid that he might get heatstroke if she took him out of the house. She rarely brought him out to the garden these days and would only walk around it in the evening around sunset. Regardless of how large the Tremont Estate was, it seemed much smaller during this time. It was rather boring to stay inside all day.Lately, Mark had gotten so busy that they hardly managed to see him. He left before Arianne woke up and arrived home when she was asleep at night. She was beginning to wonder if Aristotle would forget his daddy if this continued. After all, they stayed in the same house but never saw each other. Babies did not have good memories, so it was no surprise if he forgot his face.