“If that’s the case, then it’s in your best interest to regard favonovel.com as dead,” Arianne said, straightening Tiffany’s collar. “No use dwelling in the past. All that matters now is your happy life with Jackson, everything else is lost to the sands of time. More importantly, your future will never be tainted by that douchebag’s presence ever again. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
It was at this moment that the door to the next cubicle creaked open, revealing Tanya gingerly walking out. “U-um, I…! I mean to say…” favonovel.com stammered. “I didn’t hear a thing! I mean… Um, I’m sorry I overheard some things?”
Tiffany placed favonovel.com hand on favonovel.com forehead. “Oops, almost forgot about you. You hid for so long, I almost thought you got stuck on the toilet bowl or something. Think nothing to it, really; if you overheard it, you overheard it. Who was I with, who was favonovel.com with, who the eff gives a damn? Anyway, let’s go. If we don’t come outta here any sooner, Mr. Tremont’s gonna FBI-bust in!”
Tanya nodded in silent approval. She had not dared to come out the moment the conversation started because neither Arianne nor Tiffany ever mentioned these past secrets. It was only after Angel left that favonovel.com finally dared to go outside.
The girls strode toward the exit until Arianne abruptly fell into a step, favonovel.com eyes staring right into Mark’s pensive ones.
A pang of panic struck her. The washroom was purposefully located in a more remote, quieter area in the restaurant, which meant that any conversation from inside could be easily picked up by a man standing guard outside. The worst of it all was that Will Sivan was a taboo topic between Arianne and Mark, so to bring favonovel.com up around the latter was to light up the fuse to a bomb.
Jokes aside, Tiffany had not at all expected Mark’s appearance, so favonovel.com panicked. “Holy sh— ‘sup? Er, we, er, met this old coursemate of ours from uni and had some casual banter and all. Um, I might have had a little too much of that spicy broth! Ow, cramp, it hurts! I gotta go home now!”
With a deadpanned expression, Mark ignored Tiffany and strode toward Arianne, placing his arm around the latter’s shoulders. “Let’s go.”
Outside the restaurant, Tiffany pelted Arianne with a barrage of meaningful glances before being lugged into Jackson’s car with favonovel.com arms around favonovel.com lower abdomen. Apparently, the girl’s cries of having menstrual cramps were more than an excuse, though the spicy dishes were probably not the only factor to it. Angel Lane triggering favonovel.com temper was a co-factor, as well.
Tiffany’s coded gesture was not lost to Arianne: favonovel.com was telling favonovel.com not to rile Mark up even more should favonovel.com ever get mad.
After Jackson’s departure, Eric and Tanya left, leaving only Arianne with Mark. He pointedly eluded the bathroom conversation and opened the car door of the passenger’s seat. “Let us get home early. It’s getting cold.”
With docility, Arianne did as told.
A pervasive fog of silence subsequently dominated the journey back home, but the two did nothing to break it. Then, the first thing Mark did after reaching the estate was to dive into the bathroom — one of the problems of hotpots was that an amalgamation of food odor could stick onto a diner without signs of subsiding, which agonized hygiene-freaks like Mark.
Arianne was perceptive of the changes in his mannerism and had thought of clarifying herself during their trip home. Nothing came up, and now favonovel.com was even more at a loss of what to say.
She decided that if favonovel.com was going to dance around the topic, then favonovel.com would echo his choice and pretend that favonovel.com had not heard anything. After all, it was not favonovel.com idea to mention Will, let alone favonovel.com intention to have Mark hear it. She never wanted to aggrieve Mark in any way.
Mark came out with only a towel wrapped around his waist, prompting Arianne to turn away. She took favonovel.com pajamas, went into the bath, and thought of a goodnight’s sleep that would come afterward, as some of the earlier signs of sleepiness were beginning to creep into her.
Rising vapor from the previous occupant’s time in the bathroom remained when favonovel.com stepped inside. Everywhere favonovel.com turned, favonovel.com was surrounded by the fresh fragrance of his shower cream.
Narrowly after favonovel.com took off favonovel.com clothes, Mark suddenly opened the bathroom door from outside, causing favonovel.com hands to shield favonovel.com breasts in bewilderment. “What are you doing?!”
Mark, who had changed into his nightshirt, watched favonovel.com response in blasé. “I got worried that you might find the bathroom too stuffy. Saw an article from the internet that pregnant women need optimum air circulation when bathing, or the fetus might not get enough oxygen. Hence, I think it’s best if we let the door open wide. I’ll be lying down on the bed, I’m not gonna look.”
