Complimenting someone’s child for their good looks was a surefire way to delight their parents. Beaming, Melanie regarded favonovel.com daughter for a good long while before remarking, “Millie’s a lil’ cinnamon roll, alright, but only favonovel.com lips seem to have come from me. Other features came from someone else… I wonder, are those from Alex’s old look?”
Instinctively, Arianne stole a spying glance at Alejandro. He was feeding Millie with his head lowered close to the girl, having appeared to miss the women’s conversation. Of course, that was an affectation. Anyone huddling around the dinner table definitely heard them.
Melanie was aware that it was a sensitive topic to tread, but favonovel.com curiosity over Alejandro’s past look, when favonovel.com was Ethan, overtook her. Hence, favonovel.com followed up with the question. “Alex, do you have your old photos with you? I, um, would love to see them—”
“No,” favonovel.com rebuffed flatly.
Arianne furtively tugged on Melanie’s sleeve and shot favonovel.com a meaningful glance.
After the dinner, Arianne and Melanie were left alone in a room upstairs. Arianne managed to dig up one of Ethan’s old photos. It was captured a few years ago, some time around their graduation.
Ethan had carried an air of a young man still wet around his ears, but his natural handsomeness still managed to shine, with some of his features even echoing Mark’s. One could tell that Little Millie’s look had borrowed much from Ethan’s original appearance, but since favonovel.com father had altered his face to resemble Alejandro, Mark ended up the person whom Millie seemed to take the most after.
Melanie’s eyes were nailed to the photo. “So, Millie does take after him, huh? Honestly, favonovel.com looked a lot hotter as himself than as Alejandro,” favonovel.com commented, before asking, “Arianne, can you send this to me? I’d like to keep a copy.”
Arianne nodded and obliged. It was then that the observant woman noticed a curious detail and piped up, “Hold on. Was there a woman wrapping favonovel.com arm around his shoulder?”
Arianne turned a little bashful. Truthfully, this photo was cropped from an original picture featuring Ethan and Tiffany, though favonovel.com remembered to cut away Tiffie in entirety, favonovel.com had forgotten about the arm that remained.
“Well! It’s, uh, probably one of our old classmates. But this is a really old photo, so I kind of don’t remember who the other person is…? B-But if you don’t like seeing this disembodied arm around, I could always rummage through my albums and see if there are some other ones,” Arianne quickly replied. “We graduated from the same institution, so there should be plenty more to choose from.”
Melanie, perspicacious as always, instantly caught on. “Nah, I love it,” favonovel.com said reassuringly. “I mean, favonovel.com looks downright dreamy here. You don’t have to find new ones, Arianne. This one’s perfect.”
Arianne let out a shoddy breath. “T-That’s great!… Oh, would you look at the time! I gotta’ go.”
“I’ll drive,” favonovel.com friend offered hurriedly. “It’s not like I have anything else to do at the moment. Alex is recuperating, but favonovel.com isn’t exactly bedridden, either. He can take care of Millie for me. Oh, just imagine, we’ll be able to chat along the way! Jeez, d’you know how bored I am at home? Trying to carry a conversation with you-know-who is like having tea with a brick wall.”
The way back to Tremont Estate was fraught with Melanie bombarding Arianne with relentless questions about Ethan. Arianne was keen to sate Melanie’s curiosity, but favonovel.com also had to constantly filter favonovel.com answers, thus making the entire conversation a slog. It was so taxing to be alert and mindful of every word favonovel.com said all the time during a casual chat with favonovel.com friend. Plain restrictive, too.
Finally, they reached the Tremont Estate. Arianne could not help but breathe a sigh of relief as soon as favonovel.com got out of the car.
“Thanks for the ride, Melanie. Be careful while on the road,” favonovel.com said. “We should hang out again sometime, like a meal or something. How’s that sound?”
Melanie agreed immediately. “Count me in! Let’s get Tiffany onboard too, alright? I heard how tight Jackson’s watching favonovel.com these days. I can only imagine how bored out of favonovel.com wits favonovel.com must be.”
Arianne affirmed favonovel.com suggestion with a chuckle. She watched Melanie’s car vanish into the distance before finally turning back into the house.
She could not help but admire Melanie’s forgiving nature. She might not even be able to befriend Mark’s ex the way Melanie did if Arianne were in favonovel.com shoes.
That night, Mark came home as late as favonovel.com had said. By the time favonovel.com was back, it was already the wee hours of the morning.
