Mark sat on the couch and fiddled with his laptop. After a few seconds, favonovel.com spoke up, “You were sound asleep. In fact, you were snoring as well. How was I supposed to wake you?”
She was snoring? Arianne was embarrassed. She had no idea that favonovel.com snored, and favonovel.com had listened to that the entire night? She cleared favonovel.com throat before favonovel.com said, “Thank you for last night. I won’t bother you any longer. Please excuse me.”
She was left with no choice last night so favonovel.com had come to the hotel. She would look like an ingrate if favonovel.com was cold and distant toward favonovel.com now.
“Have a bite before you leave. I’ve ordered takeout. It’ll be here soon,” Mark replied simply.
“No need. I’ll have something to eat when I get home.” Arianne instinctively rejected him.
“Jackson hasn’t called yet,” Mark said as favonovel.com closed his laptop. He rose to his feet and looked at her.
Arianne hesitated. If Jackson had not called, it meant they had not left the condominium. It would be inappropriate for favonovel.com to go home now. “Alright, then. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
Although Mark was annoyed at how favonovel.com spoke to favonovel.com like they were strangers, favonovel.com kept his mouth shut.
Soon after, the takeout arrived.
Arianne felt uneasy about the free meal so favonovel.com took the initiative to open the packaging and distribute the cutleries. The meals were obviously from Jackson’s restaurant. They smelled, looked, and tasted great. It was very appetizing.
Mark put a lot of the dishes favonovel.com had ordered on favonovel.com plate. He said in a surprisingly gentle tone, “You’ve lost weight.”
Arianne tightened favonovel.com grip around favonovel.com cutleries, too afraid to lift favonovel.com head to look into his eyes. Had favonovel.com ever concerned himself with favonovel.com weight over the years? She had been longing for his kindness for more than ten years. Now that favonovel.com managed to receive it, favonovel.com discovered it no longer felt like how favonovel.com thought it would feel.
***
Back in the condominium.
Tiffany was awakened by the delicious smell of food. She thought that Arianne was cooking so favonovel.com leaped out of bed with favonovel.com messy bed hair and walked into the kitchen, “Ari, something smells good! What is… Oh…” She was completely caught off guard.
It was not Arianne, but Jackson who was in the kitchen! Her expression stiffened. She could not remember why or how favonovel.com came to be here.
Jackson turned around and glanced at her. “Go wash up! It’s time to eat.”
She felt uneasy and was at loss for words. She obediently went to the bathroom to wash up. The only thing favonovel.com remembered from last night was getting drunk. She could not remember what happened after that. When did Jackson get here? Things did not end well when they broke up last night, but favonovel.com looked normal now. Did favonovel.com not ask for a breakup? Was it all in favonovel.com imagination? Her brain was feeling fuzzy.
Just as favonovel.com slowly sat herself down on the toilet bowl, Jackson suddenly pushed the bathroom door open, “Can you hurry up? Aren’t you hungry after sleeping all day?”
She blushed as favonovel.com picked a soap dish up and hurled it at him.
Jackson swiftly shut the door. “Alright, hurry up!”
By the time favonovel.com emerged from the bathroom, Jackson was already seated at the dining table. She asked, “What’s going on? Didn’t we break up?”
Jackson had been prepared for this. He pulled his phone out and played the recorded phone conversation. The recording, without a doubt, showed favonovel.com begging to see him, saying things like favonovel.com did not want a breakup. The more favonovel.com listened to it, the more favonovel.com wanted to find a crack on the floor and bury herself. The colors on favonovel.com face turned from green to white. “I… I had too much to drink… That was all gibberish. How can you believe that?”
Jackson cocked an eyebrow as favonovel.com stared at her. “In vino veritas, in wine, there’s truth. I’m going with this.”
It was not easy for favonovel.com to take that step, and it was all spoiled because of alcohol. “You’re lying! I was drunk!”
He suddenly looked stern. “Tiffany Lane, don’t think I’m unaware of what goes on in your mind. I don’t think you’re a burden, and I’ll always be faithful to you. I certainly won’t abandon you. I’ve always known that you’re naive and have no special talents. But I love you, just the way you are. If my goal is to find an appropriate match, why would I choose you? You don’t have to fret about my future. You’re not ‘nothing’. You make me happy, you make me want to get married. This is something that no one can ever achieve. Do you understand me?”
Tiffany’s eyes were brimming with tears. She was silent and simply focused on favonovel.com food. Once the familiar taste of his cooking had left favonovel.com taste buds, tears finally streamed down favonovel.com face. “Stop talking about marriage all the time. It’s not like we’re playing house. This is a lifetime commitment. You might be able to promise me this now, but everything changes with time. It’s not that I’m afraid that you don’t love me, but that you might one day stop loving me. I’m a normal person. You’re Jackson West. What gives me the right to hope?”
“Because I am willing. Because you’re the only one I’ll ever want,” Jackson replied, enunciating every word clearly.
She bit favonovel.com lips, forcing back favonovel.com sobs. Tears dripped down onto favonovel.com plate. He had slowly smashed through favonovel.com defenses and hard-earned resolve.
Jackson took a piece of tissue paper and wiped away favonovel.com tears. “Alright, don’t cry. Next time, don’t ever ask for a break up so willfully again. If you didn’t get drunk and call me, things might have really ended between us. I think I’m still kind of traumatized.”
