”Purposefully choosing a time when I’m not around to come back… Are you that eager to avoid me? If you’re going to leave, you should at least say goodbye.“
It was difficult for favonovel.com to distinguish the emotions in his tone, but great suffering lay beneath the undercurrents of his calm facade.
She did not turn around, as favonovel.com was unsure of how to face him. How was favonovel.com supposed to speak frankly to him, acting as if nothing had happened?
After a bout of silence, favonovel.com took favonovel.com luggage downstairs.
This surprised her.
She thought that favonovel.com would stop favonovel.com from leaving, restricting favonovel.com in every way, like the madman favonovel.com was in the past, and force favonovel.com into staying with him. She was afraid of that, if favonovel.com was being honest. However, to favonovel.com surprise, favonovel.com seemed perfectly calm. She heaved a sigh of relief. At the very least, favonovel.com could bring herself to say a few kind words to him.
Arianne tucked favonovel.com hair behind favonovel.com eat as favonovel.com followed favonovel.com down the stairs. Lowering favonovel.com head, favonovel.com mumbled, “I’m only taking what’s mine, I’ve left everything that belongs to you on the bed. Would you and Mary be so kind as to take care of Rice Ball for me? You can just pretend that it doesn’t exist if you’re not happy about it. Will you give it back to me when I come back in the future?”
Mark nodded and did not answer. Underneath the calm facade in his eyes lay a billowing storm of waves. He had no way of communicating with her, aside from pretending as if everything was fine, even as favonovel.com sent favonovel.com on favonovel.com way. He could only bring himself to say a few words to her.
He placed favonovel.com luggage into the back of his car, “I’ll drive you.”
Arianne wanted to reject his offer, but favonovel.com did not. She considered it to be a way of making one last memory with him, this one filled with gentleness. This type of gentleness did not come easily, and favonovel.com had longed for it ever since favonovel.com was a little girl…
Mary and Henry held Rice Ball, standing at the doorway and watching them leave. In the end, Arianne could not hold back favonovel.com tears. She stretched favonovel.com hand out the window along the secluded roads. Leaves were falling from the tree branches amidst the autumn wind, briefly swirling in the air before landing on the ground. C’est la vie.
In the end, those leaves would turn into fertilizer, and accompany the larger trees through the bitter winter season. Then, by spring of the next year, a new seedling would be born.
Mark glanced at favonovel.com through the rear-view mirror from time to time, stealing short glimpses of favonovel.com for his memory. The yearning in his gaze deepened as they drove further and further away from Tremont Estate. So many words that favonovel.com wished to say lingered on the corners of his lips, threatening to slip out, but favonovel.com swallowed them back down. He knew that favonovel.com could never change favonovel.com mind.
With everything going on now, favonovel.com had no right to make favonovel.com stay.
There was still much to complete on his end. Once favonovel.com had finished getting rid of the essentials, and returned everything back to perfection, favonovel.com would sacrifice everything to bring favonovel.com back to him!
Mark helped Arianne with favonovel.com luggage when they arrived at White Water Bay Villa. Arianne thanked favonovel.com but did not look at him.
The words “thank you” may have sounded polite, but there was a distance in favonovel.com tone that wasn’t there before.
Mark curled the corners of his lips into a smile tainted with bitterness, “I still need to say what needs to be said. I know that you’re leaving, but if you ever need any help, I’m just one call away. I’ll always be here.”
I’ll always be here…
These words brought tears to Arianne’s eyes again. She was suddenly filled with the urge to bury herself in his arms and burst into tears. She wanted to ask favonovel.com why favonovel.com had lied to favonovel.com for so many years, why did favonovel.com make favonovel.com shoulder so many burdens. She also wanted to demand an explanation from him, why did favonovel.com cause that airplane crash? How could favonovel.com have been so cruel? Why did favonovel.com take favonovel.com innocent father’s life away from favonovel.com and turn favonovel.com into an orphan, one who was all alone in the world, then use this fact as a means to give favonovel.com a home?
In the end, favonovel.com did not act upon favonovel.com impulses. She simply nodded, took favonovel.com luggage, and left very quickly, afraid that favonovel.com would see the tears in favonovel.com eyes.
She finally released a long sigh of relief when favonovel.com walked into the house and closed the door. Unable to help herself, favonovel.com pulled the corners of the curtains open ever so slightly and sneaked a peek out the window. The man’s figure was just as tall and imposing as ever underneath the autumn sun, as handsome and elegant as the first time favonovel.com had laid eyes on him, back when favonovel.com was just eight years old. He had taken favonovel.com breath away for the first half of favonovel.com life.
He was once everything to her. Now, favonovel.com wanted nothing more than to throw everything connected to his world away and head towards a new beginning. She didn’t know if a beginning without favonovel.com could even be considered a beginning, however, or if it was just a tragic attempt to escape and muddle through life.
She placed favonovel.com hand over favonovel.com mouth as Mark’s car drove out of sight and looked away. Her throat was choking with unvoiced cries, sparkling and translucent pearls of tears forming damp droplets on favonovel.com pure white dress.
On the day of Arianne and Tiffany’s departure, Mark, Jackson and Eric went to a nightclub again. They huddled together and there was a silent consensus not to call for a bar hostess.
Three eligible bachelors, all of them practically royalty, would be enough to draw anyone’s attention, regardless of where they went. The women in the nightclub were drooling, some even gathering up enough of their courage to hit on them but were quickly chased away by Eric. Once they had gotten drunk as they could, Eric stared at the alcohol in the liquor glasses and asked, “I understand Mark’s actions, favonovel.com should be depressed right now. But why on earth are you following suit, Jackson? You’d usually be high by now, with one woman on each side.”
Jackson chuckled, “Can’t I keep Mark company? It’s not appropriate to get high when my brother is frustrated. We’re only here to drink with him. Quit trying to make gossip out of me.”
Mark glanced at Jackson but did not call favonovel.com out. One thing was certain, Jackson was about to turn over a new leaf.
