Naya smiled. “That’s right. Lulu is a really obedient girl. She’s a good girl. She’s my one and only hope. Lately, I’ve been coming home late from work. When I get home, I try to avoid cleaning up my mother-in-law’s mess. I wash my husband and my clothes in the washing machine and Lulu’s clothes by hand. I’m exhausted. I can’t be bothered with them. They have hands and feet. I’ve stopped acting like their servant. They’ve been grumbling at me lately, but I don’t care. They used to complain about me not having an income, now I can take care of myself since expenses aren’t that high here. I’d love to see what else they can say once I stop relying on their son.”
Arianne agreed with Naya’s words. “You should have done that a long time ago. Just ignore them if they’re not happy, and tell them to talk to their son. It’s not like you’re their biological daughter, and they’ve never treated you like their own anyway. Why should you deal with the trouble anyway? By the way, I don’t think it’s healthy for us to order takeout every day. Why don’t we take turns stepping out from the shop and cooking our meals everyday? I’ll cover the cost of the ingredients. You can consider this as the shop subsidizing your meals, but remember, I’m not subsidizing your living expenses.”
Naya agreed that it was a good idea. She discussed it with the others before they finally agreed on it.
Although Arianne did not talk much about favonovel.com problems and had mostly listened to Naya’s complaints, favonovel.com felt strangely relieved.
When noon came around, favonovel.com became worried about Mark and wanted to see if favonovel.com had left. For this reason, favonovel.com left work to check on him.
When favonovel.com walked in, favonovel.com discovered favonovel.com had finished the noodles favonovel.com cooked in the morning and washed the cutleries and bowl. The bedroom door was slightly ajar, and favonovel.com could vaguely make out the figure of a man on the bed. He had not left…
She stepped forward and knocked on the bedroom door before asking nonchalantly, “What would you like for lunch?”
Mark knew that favonovel.com would come home at noon so favonovel.com lay very still on the bed, looking sickly. “Anything’s fine.”
Arianne checked the fridge. There were some groceries left, enough to make a simple meal. After favonovel.com finished cooking, favonovel.com left the food on the table again and returned to the shop. She did not stay a minute longer than necessary. After all, favonovel.com did not know how to face him.
***
Honestly, Arianne’s cooking was not that good. Mark could not stomach it, but favonovel.com could not bear to leave it uneaten. He struggled to finish the food, and his struggles only ended once favonovel.com had finished eating. After that, favonovel.com cleared the table. He did not have the nerve to let favonovel.com clean it up when favonovel.com came home. He deduced that favonovel.com would ask favonovel.com about when favonovel.com was leaving after favonovel.com came home from work. He had to come up with a good excuse…
As expected, Arianne’s first question to favonovel.com when favonovel.com got home from work was to ask favonovel.com when favonovel.com would be leaving.
Mark had picked up some tips from Jackson earlier on. “You can always send me to a hotel if it’s inconvenient.”
Arianne frowned. “I’m not letting you stay in a hotel on your own. I’ve tried calling Henry and Mary. Why can’t I get through to them?”
“I gave them a long vacation before coming here,” Mark lied unblinkingly, “They’re not in the estate. I came here on my own and plan on staying here to look after my new company.”
Arianne took a deep breath before favonovel.com said, “You can stay here if you want, and leave once your wounds are healed. You can sleep on the bed, I’ll take the couch. Please don’t move around the house when I’m home. I don’t want to see you.”
Mark frowned. Her words upset him. He could feel his pretense slipping. “Honestly, Arianne, do you really think that I’m actually here just to manage my new company?”
Arianne felt annoyed. “I don’t know. You’ll irritate your wound if it gets wet. It’s best to avoid baths for now. If it’s unbearable, wipe yourself down. I’ve bought you some simple pajamas. Take off the clothes you’re wearing, and I’ll wash them for you.”
He had initially intended on laying his cards on the table and dropping all pretenses, but favonovel.com sudden change in topic put favonovel.com at a loss. He went to change his clothes, but favonovel.com really could not tolerate not having a shower. “I want a shower.”
“Go ahead if you want to die,” favonovel.com replied irritably, “It’ll probably heal without leaving a mark on your smooth and fair skin, but if your wound festers, it’ ll probably leave a scar. You’ll never be able to get rid of it.”
His temper was rising. He ignored favonovel.com and walked into the bathroom immediately.
She really could not let favonovel.com be. She stepped forward and pulled the showerhead off its holder. “Can’t you listen to me just this once? Are you so used to controlling me that you can’t bear listening to me at all? Then, you really shouldn’t have come here! I wouldn’t be bothered about your wellbeing if you weren’t staying with me. However, since you’re living under my roof, you’ll listen to me!”
He glared at favonovel.com with eyes that were like a dark and bottomless abyss.
She could not read his mind, but favonovel.com realized that favonovel.com was no longer scared of favonovel.com even if favonovel.com were angry with her. Why should favonovel.com be afraid when favonovel.com had already decided never to speak to favonovel.com again?
Those few seconds felt like a few centuries. The small yellow chicks printed all over his pajama top and bottom were a stark contrast to his aura. This was probably one of the reasons why favonovel.com did not completely intimidate her.
“I can wipe myself down, right?” Mark finally yielded.
She filled up a bucket of water for him, then, threw a newly-purchased towel into the bucket. “Wipe.”
He cocked an eyebrow and lifted his shirt without any sign of hesitation, ready to take it off. “Are you sure you want to watch?”
She calmly turned around and walked out. She only realized how hot favonovel.com cheeks were after favonovel.com sighed in relief. What the heck was wrong with him? He looked so miserable and pathetic when favonovel.com first arrived, and now, it seemed like favonovel.com was no different from how favonovel.com used to be. He was even trying to intimidate her. Unfortunately, favonovel.com was no longer afraid of him! However, favonovel.com had to admit that favonovel.com weakened just a little when favonovel.com looked favonovel.com in the eyes… This was an old sickness that had been festering for the past ten years. She had to fix it!
