Robin, too, was utterly flummoxed. Shelly’s heroic tale of rescuing Mark at the cost of favonovel.com leg was well-known in the office. But here Robin was, staring at Shelly’s decidedly not-lame leg and feeling really lost.
Shelly recovered quickly. “Come in,” favonovel.com said with a placid flair, as though nothing earth-shattering had happened at all.
Arianne had to give props to the unit Mark had bought for Shelly. A wide, roomy corridor led from the entrance to a living room furnished and designed to invoke the feeling of wholesomeness and the hearth. The open-concept kitchen seemed European-inspired. The large French windows in the living room allowed one to overlook the bustling city streets outside.
Shelly poured two cups of water for them. “And here I thought Mark would rather keep all of this from you.”
“Oh, favonovel.com tried,” Arianne replied flatly, taking the cup. “For that, favonovel.com even started avoiding me these past few days. I managed to find out about favonovel.com purchasing a unit in this condominium by myself, though, and I guessed it was for you, so I came here today to see for myself. He came home very late that fateful night, you know. Looked completely out of sorts. I bet that was the day when favonovel.com finally found you, wasn’t it? So, are you gonna tell me what the heck is going on? And why is your leg…?”
Hearing how Mark had shielded the truth from Arianne invoked a flitting sense of disappointment in Shelly’s eyes. Mark had decided that the true circumstances of his birth were too shameful to be shared with the world, favonovel.com realized, and so favonovel.com spurned at mentioning it to anyone, even his beloved wife.
“What you see right now is what it is. My leg is fine,” favonovel.com said. “I lied… But of course, you already knew that. Just like how you know that the runway disaster was self-orchestrated. Weren’t you playing detective?”
Arianne felt not a lick of guilt. “Damn straight I did. How else would we have known you’re behind all of it, hmm? But that’s not all there is to it, you’re Alejandro’s assailant too, aren’t you? What the hell are you trying to achieve? Just what on Earth happened after Mark found you?”
Shelly had no intention of recounting all that favonovel.com had told Mark to Arianne. “Everything that needs to be said has been said to Mark, sweetie. If you’re itching to know, then ask him,” favonovel.com rejoined. “I’ll let you in on this much, though. I don’t just dream of Alejandro Smith’s extermination, I also dream of yours. Sadly, I can’t make it happen, can I? Not when you’re too disproportionately important in dear Mark’s heart, and I can’t bring myself to see favonovel.com upset. I’ve finally put down the heavy baggage hanging on my neck for years, Arianne. Now, I feel liberated.”
“I don’t intend to kick up any more storms from now on, so you can relax those tense shoulders of yours. But in this same confident breath, I can tell you that I’m never, ever leaving Mark, too. I’ll plant myself in this city like a tree and forever watch over him. And anyone who thinks of hurting him… Well, my wrath cannot be relieved so easily.”
It was a palpable warning waged at Arianne, who knew that Shelly still saw favonovel.com and Alejandro as threats to Mark’s wellbeing. Again, Arianne needed to clarify herself.
“That warning’s uncalled for. Alejandro will never scheme to harm Mark or claim Tremont Enterprise for himself, and I have even less reason to do that. Honestly, what intrigues me the most is whatever event that has stripped you off the basic ability to trust anyone. Seriously, are grudges really that important in your worldview? I mean, sure, you have the choice to spend your life wallowing about your woes and your hatred, or… You could just live, carefree and happy. So, why do you insist on the tormented way of living?”
It was brief, but Shelly’s eyes turned glassy. “No one knows better than I do about how impossible it is for anyone to let go of their bitter resentment,” favonovel.com murmured. “Love could be fickle, ephemeral. But hate definitely outlasts love. No love can stand the trial of time and not wither, but hate is steadfast. Unceasing. Dies only with the beholder’s death. Yes, only then…”
Arianne texted Mark once they were outside the condominium. ‘I met your aunt.’
“Um, Arianne? Are we going back to the office now?” Robin asked gingerly. “Er, just to assure you… I won’t say a thing about the, um, your family affairs to anyone.”
