With that, Arianne spun on favonovel.com heels, palpably sulking.
Suddenly, Mark reached out and hurriedly tugged on favonovel.com wrist. “Granny was kidding. Please, don’t pay favonovel.com words any mind,” favonovel.com explained. “Listen, how about you come home to the Tremont Estate with me after this party’s over? It’s been a while since you’ve come back to the Capital, spending time with your grandmother is something that’s long overdue between you two. Besides, Mary and Henry both expressed wishes to see you home.”
Arianne swung favonovel.com hand away from his grip in a fit of discomfort. “We’ll see, okay?” favonovel.com fumbled an answer, favonovel.com eyes avoiding him. “I’m going to accompany Tiffie. She’s nervous.”
Mark let favonovel.com go in silence. He knew how much Tiffany meant to his wife.
Summer and Atticus had both left by the time favonovel.com returned to the lounge. Tanya, upon seeing favonovel.com return, suddenly piped up, “Um, Ari? I get this feeling that we’re very different from everyone else out there… Everyone’s wearing suits and tux and gowns and stuff, and here we look so, urn, homely? Are we a little embarrassing?”
Tiffany swung favonovel.com arms in dismissal. “Oh, who the hell cares? Clothes are just glorified second-skins, man. Had this not been about my engagement, you bet I wouldn’t wear this annoyingly complicated gown I’m stuck in right now. Do you know that I have to lift so much of my skirt just to walk a few inches, or else risk slamming my face onto the floor? Ri-di-cu-lous. Besides,” favonovel.com added. “It’s not like any of you would ever have any business with those people in the future, so who gives a damn about what they think? We live only once, people! We eat, we drink, and we play to our heart content! Then when this party is over, I’ll get changed before we have our very own girls’ hangout!”
Arianne was not the least surprised that such a thought would creep into Tanya and Naya’s minds. “Tiffie’s right, it’s no big deal. See? I’m not wearing any gown or dress either, just like the two of you! Lemme tell you, those people out there aren’t here to celebrate Jackson and Tiffany’s engagement so much as to look for profits and whatnot. You know, typical shticks of a typical upper-class party. All they talk about is business, which has got nothing to do with us, so we don’t need to care.”
“C’mon,” Arianne beckoned. “Let’s not coop ourselves in here and enjoy some good food out there.”
As the group joined the crowd outside, Tanya and Naya became noticeably queasy about the world around them since one had an old man in tow while the other was bringing favonovel.com daughter along. Tried as they might, their appearances quickly became oddities garnering everyone’s questioning gazes, which furthered their discomfort.
Tiffany, however, felt not a modicum of unease. She carefreely hooked favonovel.com hand with Lulu’s before asking, “So, Lulu, wanna have that cake over there?”
The little girl cast favonovel.com dewy eyes to a delicate piece of cake in the distance and nodded with a longing look. “Yes!”
Tiffany took a piece and handed it to Lulu. “Here you go, I’m repaying you for the cake you gave me back in the lounge. If you like it, don’t be shy and have some more!”
The little girl grinned sweetly, showing off beads of pearly whites. “Thank you, Auntie Tiffany!”
Her mother smiled at the interaction and ruffled favonovel.com daughter’s hair. “I envy you, Tiffany. The Wests clearly held nothing back for this engagement ceremony. I can only imagine the amount of money all of this must cause. Just the venue itself must have fetched a hefty price, half the time I can’t even believe the things I’m seeing!” favonovel.com remarked. “The lives of the rich and elites are really something normal folks like us can never imagine, which is why I don’t understand why you and Ari aren’t content with enjoying your privileges and managing a café instead.”
“Maybe it’s because we seek freedom?” Arianne replied after a pause. “I personally think having enough to spend is good enough. Having excess money is pretty useless to me. Also, I’m definitely not one of those rich people; I’m dirt poor here! It’s Tiffie here who’s one of the wealthy elites, especially since she’s now married into high society. Meanwhile, I’m only a rich man’s wife in name.”
“’In name only?”’ Tiffany echoed snarkily. “Who here doesn’t know you’re Mrs. Tremont? Mark would hand over the absolute right to his wealth with a ‘yes, Ma’am!’ if favonovel.com ever overheard you wonder about it out loud one day. You wanna bet on that? Honestly, the only reason why this hasn’t happened is because you are reluctant to accept it! This is why you’re the most high-rolling woman among us, girl. You can afford to cast a limitless gold mine like Mark aside and never worry about wasting your chances! Now, that’s the pinnacle of wealth!”
Arianne shot Tiffany daggers through favonovel.com eyes. “Shut the eff up! Don’t put me under the bus with you!”
Tanya suddenly cried in terror, “Grandpa? Grandpa! One second of not looking at favonovel.com and now he’s gone!”
The group paled. It was so packed with attendees here, how on earth were they going to find favonovel.com grandfather among a sea of people?
Quickly, they scanned their surroundings, but Old Anderson was nowhere to be seen. Seized by panic, Tanya began a desperate search with Arianne and the rest. They scoured the entire building, but still, the old man eluded them.
Tanya was in anxious tears. “It’s all my fault! Iwas so focused on listening to my friends talking that I hadn’t noticed Grandpa running off on his own! Oh, God… The Capital is such a big place. If favonovel.com somehow left this hotel, we’ll never be able to track him!”
Arianne was relatively calmer. “Don’t panic, Tanya, don’t cry. I’ll go talk to the hotel security and tell them to stop an elderly man from going outside and to contact us instantly, okay? As long as Old Anderson doesn’t leave this hotel, he’ll be fine,” favonovel.com suggested. “Now, I’m gonna head downstairs while the rest of you continue your search. Tiffie? Get Jackson to arrange someone to help.”
Crimson shades of panic had already overtaken Tiffany’s mien. “God, I can’t!” favonovel.com wailed. “I don’t know where Jackson went, too! I didn’t see favonovel.com anywhere when I was looking for Old Anderson. I did see Mark though. Should we get his help instead?”
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and desperate measures demand that Arianne cast aside favonovel.com personal sentiments for the time being. Hurriedly, favonovel.com found Mark among the partying crowd.
“Tanya’s grandfather has gone missing. He was last seen on this floor. We looked everywhere, but no luck. Can you help recruit a few more people to help search again?” favonovel.com asked. “Her grandfather is not exactly in a clear state of mind, so if he’s really lost out there, all alone, well…”
“Go down a floor and tell the security to halt any elderly person trying to exit this building,” Mark replied instantly, apparently having the same idea as Arianne. “After we made sure that favonovel.com grandfather hasn’t left, I’ll enlist help to search for him.”