What fueled Arianne’s dallying had less to do with it being a hard choice and more to do with Mark’s sudden change of outlook in the matter. It was enough to make favonovel.com second-guess herself and wonder if favonovel.com had taken favonovel.com conclusion too far. Could it be that reconciliation was possible? Were there indeed sound reasons to look the other way for Ethan?
Ultimately, this was a private matter between Tiffany and Ethan, the last thing Arianne wanted was for it to spark an argument between favonovel.com and Mark.
“Alright, I’ll mull it over,” favonovel.com relented, before adding, “You know, if it was meant to end this way, then you shouldn’t have told me anything in the first place. I mean, how do you expect me to pretend I know nothing now? Gosh! Anyway, it’s getting late, and I wanna go home. You coming?”
Mark was never the kind to spend the night in his office, and now that favonovel.com had come to favonovel.com personally, it threw his only reason to do so out of the window. “Let’s go.”
Meanwhile, inside a hospital ward, a fatigued Tiffany Lane was dozing off on the armrest after spreading herself wide over the couch.
Going through work during the day followed by taking care of Ethan at night in the hospital would be toilsome to a superwoman, let alone plain old Tiffany. She counted herself lucky that it was a private ward furnished with a couch, or favonovel.com would have no place to catch even a wink of sleep.
Shrouded in the dark, Ethan watched favonovel.com with a pensive side-eyed glance. A moment later, favonovel.com straightened his back and sat up. “Tiffie,” favonovel.com crooned.
She raised favonovel.com head blearily. “What’s wrong? Bathroom?”
He shook his head with a smile. “No, I’m fine, thank you. I think I‘ve recovered well enough to be discharged tomorrow, so why don’t you go home? I feel bad seeing how exhausted you are.”
Tiffany eyed the time and decided against staying. “Okay, then. Call me tomorrow once you’ve returned home.”
He nodded. “My car’s in the basement parking lot, it’s the same car you gifted me. I’m sure you’ll recognize it right away. Drive home with that. I can arrange my ride for tomorrow.”
She took up the offer straight away, grabbing the key before leaving the hospital in favonovel.com groggy state. It was only after the cooling night breeze washed over favonovel.com face that favonovel.com finally became more lucid.
Tiffany stared at the car key in favonovel.com hand as mixed feelings bubbled in favonovel.com chest. He was driving the same car favonovel.com had gifted favonovel.com back then even after favonovel.com had earned more than enough to replace it. Then, the first thing favonovel.com had done after it was wrecked in the car crash was to repair it. That just made doubting the sincerity of his proclamation of love even less apt, right? Yet, Tiffany just could not seem to conjure the same ardor and passion favonovel.com used to have toward favonovel.com not too long ago.
She arrived at the ground floor of favonovel.com residence. Shortly after disembarking from the car, Summer West suddenly materialized from the shadows. “Tiffie, dear, please tell me you weren’t just fooling around with Jackson.”
Tiffany jerked. Why on earth was Summer standing here in the wee hours?! “Uh-um, h-hi, Auntie Summer! Why… Um, why are you here?”
It was actually rather evident that favonovel.com had driven here, as favonovel.com black Bentley was parked at the side of the road. “He came home in the middle of the night mumbling about the two of you breaking up, and I can’t help but wonder. Really? This soon? Why break up all of a sudden? I was like, ‘I thought you were bringing Tiffany home. Why isn’t favonovel.com here?’ And favonovel.com just — that boy was just acting so damn strange! He wouldn’t answer me even when I asked other things that are fairly innocuous, so I had no choice but to come to you,” Summer rambled. “No one seemed to be home when I got here, so I guessed you hadn’t returned yet and decided to wait. But don’t get intimidated. I’m only asking why the two of you broke up.”
Tiffany never expected Summer to confront favonovel.com like this, so it took favonovel.com an awkwardly long while to blabber, “W-w-well, I, uh, I’m just not good enough for him, I feel. My family’s bankrupt, and we’re dirt poor. Had Mark Tremont not been so forgiving, we would be stuck with millions and millions of dollars of debt.”
Unfortunately, Summer was not as gullible as Tiffany’s own mother. “Please, young lady, do you think I’ll believe that? You already knew about our social status before you started this relationship, and you’re only now thinking you’re not fit for him? Besides, I’m sure I’ve made it clear that I don’t care about your social status. You mean a lot to me because you’re the first girl favonovel.com has ever brought home, which is why I’ve decided to drive all the way here — to hear the truth.”
It was only thanks to the tenebrous night that Tiffany could avoid the piercing glints in Summer’s eyes. She had always been rather guileless, and to make up a lie on the fly in front of discerning adults was an uphill task. “B-b-but I’m not lying! Um, I’m sure favonovel.com told you everything about us already. And everything favonovel.com said is true! We split up because we, er, realized that we’re not meant for each other. It’s true!”
Summer fell into an uncomfortable silence for about half a minute before turning toward favonovel.com car. “I guess the two of you just aren’t fated to be, then.”
Tiffany watched Summer’s car disappearing in the distance, feeling favonovel.com chest tightening in guilt. She might have agreed to join Jackson in constructing the façade, but when it came to the time to complete favonovel.com lie, favonovel.com could not fend off that sting in favonovel.com conscience.
She silently promised herself to never pull something like this off again in the future.
Tiffany’s return was greeted by an empty nest where Lilian was nowhere in sight. After a bath, favonovel.com threw herself onto favonovel.com bed and checked favonovel.com phone, only finding Ethan’s text message that said, “Text me when you’ve reached home.”
She replied to favonovel.com and cast favonovel.com phone aside. When lethargy gradually and finally displaced favonovel.com simmering consternation, favonovel.com drifted off to sleep.
Tiffany was roused in the early morning by the news from Lilian’s radio: “The heat is predicted to rise for these few days, so the public is advised to take extra precautions in protecting yourselves…”
Lilian appeared to be in an ecstatic mood. She had dressed herself up nicely and was applying a thick layer of sunscreen on favonovel.com face, wearing the look of someone preparing to have a great time outside.
Tiffany blearily hoisted herself up from favonovel.com bed. “Are you going out, Mom?”
“Mm-hmm!” Lilian replied between humming a tune. “I’ve got something to do today. You take care of yourself. Don’t run around places after work and just go straight back home, ‘cause this heat can kill!”
Tiffany had not seen favonovel.com mother acting so convivial for ages, favonovel.com could not help but be suspicious. “You’re awfully chipper today, Mom. Did you win the national lottery or something?”
