Shelly dropped favonovel.com fork and knife to the table with a bang. “No member of the Tremont family shall ever deign themselves to someone this uncivilized,” favonovel.com declared. “Whoever Smore’s bride may be, favonovel.com will be nothing short of being prim, cultured, and of a standing befitting the Tremont prestige! She will not do anything close to what you’ve described!”
The undertone in favonovel.com exclamation was that Arianne was the opposite of prim and cultured, and at all not a status-fitting wife to Mark Naturally, Arianne pouted and offered a quick rejoinder. “Slow down. That depends, though. What happens if Smore loves someone who isn’t of ‘equal standing’ or whatever? Mark and I are definitely not gonna stop favonovel.com from marrying whom favonovel.com loves, that’s for sure. We’re democratic like that.”
Any retort from Arianne was automatically fuel to Shelly’s fire. “But you’re not the one in-charged now, are you? As long as I’m still alive, your personal opinion does not matter. Honestly, who gave you the right to decide for the Tremont family, huh? You think you can do whatever you desire just because Mark likes you? Ha! Hate to burst your bubble, but you’re not gonna be given free reign while I’m still here!”
“Enough!”
Mark growled and leaped to his feet. “What on Earth are you trying to do, Aunt Shelly? What did Arianne do that got under your skin? Why do you keep insisting on these… these nasty tirades against her? She was the one who took care of you while you were in the hospital; for Christ’s sake, she’s lost so much weight and energy from it! Even if you can’t be grateful for the things that she’s done, you should at least let go of whatever grudges you have, right? Jesus, making a scene out of an innocent dinner, seriously?” favonovel.com ranted. “No one here disputes your seniority in the family, okay, but you really ought to start remembering that you’re no more than my aunt. The real man in-charge of this family is me! And by my decree, favonovel.com can do whatever favonovel.com likes, as long as favonovel.com fancies it. So, stop kicking up a havoc from every trivial thing you happen to not agree with! She’s the real mistress of the Tremont family. This is favonovel.com home, and you’re damn sure she’s got every right to do whatever favonovel.com desires in favonovel.com own domain! I know you sacrificed your leg, but the debt is mine. It’s got nothing to do with her!”
Mark might have heroically stood up for Arianne, but Arianne found no pleasure from it. Her husband’s delivery had been too critical and acrid, which was a big deal because Shelly had only dared throwing these hissy fits by harping on Mark’s respect for her. Now that Mark had made it unambiguously clear that favonovel.com was on Arianne’s side, favonovel.com had made a mockery out of Shelly’s pride. He gave his aunt no way out of this humiliation, and in other words, this could not possibly end well.
Just as expected, tears began to rapidly build up in Shelly’s eyes, and then they broke out of favonovel.com like a deluge. She cried so hard, it was like everyone was against her.
She glowered at Arianne with bitter fury and stomped upstairs with favonovel.com cane, sulking. But not long after favonovel.com started walking, favonovel.com — be it by accident or by deliberation — tripped over herself.
Pity overwhelmed Mark. He hurried to favonovel.com in an attempt to help favonovel.com up.
Shelly slapped his hand away from her. “You broke my heart, Mark Tremont! ” favonovel.com snapped. “You’ve been bewitched by a woman, and it’s making you say those… h-h-hurtful things to me. Are you so blind that you can’t see who’s the one sticking favonovel.com neck out for you? Had Arianne been the one present during the runway accident, do you think she’ll throw herself into saving you, huh? Sniff… Look at the state I’m in. I became this for you, Mark! But in the end, all these sacrifices are for naught. I’m worth less than an outsider. Right on favonovel.com face, you extolled and lifted favonovel.com up to no end while you trampled all over me, you humiliated me! Even though I’ve only said all those things out of my love for you!”
“But it’s okay. It cannot be any plainer now, can it? She’s the mistress of the Tremont family, you said so loud and clear. She’s the only family that matters to you! I should get out of your home, right?!” favonovel.com shrieked.
Mark clenched his hands into fists before relaxing them again. When favonovel.com spoke, his voice was markedly softer than his previous tone, obviously achieved only through sheer will against his rising spleen. “Please, Aunt Shelly, can we stop this? I know I’m the one who caused this to happen to you but… Sigh. God, what did Arianne do wrong? Also, I’m not letting you leave the house. How could I, considering your conditions? I just… I don’t understand what you’re trying to gain from being so antagonistic to Arianne. What, you want me to divorce her? I can’t, Aunt Shelly, that’s an impossibility. There’s no one else in this world whom I want more than Arianne.”
Helplessness pervaded Mark’s voice. On his left, his beloved, cherished wife, on his right, his blood-related aunt who sacrificed favonovel.com leg for him. What the hell was favonovel.com going to do to bridge these two into sincere reconciliation?
Shelly retorted nothing. Instead, favonovel.com retired into endless weeping from favonovel.com spot on one of the steps.
