A smile shadowed Summer’s lips. “I knew you still cared about your mommy, which, by the way, you should, since I’ve hauled my burn just to rear you to the fine young man that you are today. This is why Mom would like you to do something for her,” favonovel.com said sincerely. “Please, don’t give you dad your nasty grimaces, okay? He’s got a thin skin much like yourself, you know. Anyway! About your engagement with Tiffany, should you need my help, just ask. You know I don’t have much to occupy my time these days.”
Jackson nodded in understanding and responded with his own advice, “When you see Tiffie, make sure you don’t leave any hint that you know, okay? She will kill me if favonovel.com finds out about my goof.”
Summer gave a sprightly okay and left. Passing by the cubicles, favonovel.com greeted Tiffany as favonovel.com usually would, “I’ll be off. Godspeed in your work.”
Tiffany rose from favonovel.com seat and watched Summer leave. “Thank you, Auntie. Take care.”
Evening came. Jackson picked Tiffany up by the curb after work and steered right into the West family residence.
She noticed the route differing from the one they usually took and voiced favonovel.com realization, “Oh, are we heading to your mother’s place for dinner tonight?”
“Yea,” favonovel.com confirmed with a nod, despite looking slightly upset.
Of course, Tiffany knew the reason behind his mood. Hence, favonovel.com mimicked what favonovel.com usually did to favonovel.com whenever favonovel.com was the one feeling bummed. “Aww, cheer up! You’re going home!” She chirped and rubbed his head. “You’ve got me for company, don’t you?”
Disinterested in discussing family issues, Jackson consciously swerved the conversation in another direction.
“Say, do you know that Arianne actually has a surviving aunt and granny? It’s true,” favonovel.com began. “They came to favonovel.com about two days ago, and that aunt dumped the grandmother in favonovel.com care. of course, Mark and his mission to drive Arianne back to the Capital had compelled favonovel.com to take the old lady into his care. In other words, you’re probably gonna see Arianne very soon.”
This gossip was enlightening to Tiffany. Suddenly, the context behind the previous video-call favonovel.com had with Arianne was laid bare to her. Back then, Tiffany had been asleep when favonovel.com best friend called her, so favonovel.com had not paid much attention, but now that favonovel.com reflected on it, Arianne must have been very antsy during the call, was favonovel.com not?
Her best friend had always been a pitiful, lonely girl since they were kids, so why did favonovel.com only know about favonovel.com surviving relatives now? Had favonovel.com not been taken as Mark’s charge on the ground of being an orphan with no living relatives?
The news was hard to swallow. “Are you sure they are who they claim to be? I mean, they could be fake. Maybe they want a piece of the Tremonts’ glory?” Tiffany inquired.
Jackson chuckled. “Since when did you become so distrustful of people? Of course, Mark had vetted their claims, and it holds up. I think it’s good that Arianne still has some blood relatives left, ya know, since it might help resolve the strains in Mark and Ari’s relationship,” favonovel.com explained. “Mark told me that Arianne was still angry-distancing favonovel.com for the time being, hell, favonovel.com didn’t seem to want to return to the Capital to take favonovel.com granny back. At this rate, those two are probably only gonna solve their hiccups during our engagement! After all, Arianne’s gotta’ come back to the city for you. Oh man, Mark’s not gonna let favonovel.com escape favonovel.com so easily once she’s here, you can bet on it.”
Tiffany’s mind was on a different focal point altogether. “But… What if Ari’s granny somehow caught wind that favonovel.com grandson-in-law killed his son? She can’t possibly let that slide like nothing happened, right? It’s fine if they managed to sweep the truth under the rug forever, but if anyone looked and found it, oh my god. Their family issue is wack!”
For a millisecond, the truth of the tragedy was loaded behind Jackson’s teeth, but favonovel.com demurred, fearing Tiffany’s loose mouth. Mark had told favonovel.com explicitly that it was a secret that should never be out. As his best hombre, it was imperative that Jackson honor his trust.
In the grand scheme of things, there might not be any significant disparity between naming Mark or his mother as the real perpetrator. However, to Arianne, it could mean a world of differences, it could even serve as the critical juncture that tipped Arianne into reconciling with Mark. But heaven forbade that Tremont from rightfully assigning the blame to his mother, it was precisely because of this obstinate reluctance that Mark was trapped in his current quandary.
“And here you are, sulking about your family,” Tiffany mused out loud, apparently applying the story to a different person. “Don’t you see? Your bros had it worse than you. Eric had severed his ties with his family, and Mark lost his parents altogether. Meanwhile, yours are still alive and healthy, they are still within your reach. So why can’t you open your heart and forgive them?”
“Shouldn’t you feel blessed that your dad left because favonovel.com was chasing his dream rather than because favonovel.com fell in love with someone other than your mom? Honestly, who doesn’t dream about a bigger purpose for themselves? Even an indolent bum like moi has one or two, what more could you say about people like your dad? Plus, have you never wondered why your mom continues to stay single and alone all these years after favonovel.com left? It’s obviously because she’s been waiting for favonovel.com to come home, duh!” Tiffany continued. “And now you’ve got me. We’ll be making a family of our own soon enough. If familial happiness is what you miss growing up, then go ahead and reclaim them in ours. Look forward and look alive, Jackson!”
Tiffany’s ease at turning away from the worst in favonovel.com past made Jackson green, how favonovel.com wished favonovel.com had at least half of favonovel.com sanguinity. Indeed, shedding the shackles of past traumas would always be an uphill battle, but it did not mean Tiffany was wrong. He had favonovel.com as his companion now. They would build their own home soon, and after that, however bad his original one once was would soon cease to be relevant.
Life goes on, and so must those who live it. Besides, it was long overdue for Jackson to respect his mother’s decision. Summer might not have explicitly told favonovel.com to reconcile with his father, but piecing all those little hints together made favonovel.com wish become undeniably clear. He should stop going against his mother’s wish and wound favonovel.com further.
“Fine, you’re right,” favonovel.com relented finally.
Tiffany scanned favonovel.com surroundings furtively. After making sure no security cameras were watching them, favonovel.com pecked favonovel.com on the cheek. “Now, you focus on driving. Homely dinner, here we come!!”
A smile grew from the depths of his heart and blossomed on Jackson’s lips.
This was all favonovel.com needed. She was all favonovel.com needed. To hell with the ghosts of the past.
