Arianne caught Henry passing by and stopped him. “Henry, do you have some free time? There’s something I want to ask you about.”
Henry stepped forward. “Yes. What would you like to talk about?”
Arianne gestured toward a chair. Henry hesitated, then took the one next to her.
She shot wary glances at the stairs instinctively, worried that Mark would appear in any minute. “Henry, his aunt invited me to favonovel.com place for a chat earlier today. She told me that favonovel.com not only knew about the plane crash, but favonovel.com was also the one who helped push the plan into motion,” Arianne said. “You’ve already seen what it’s like between favonovel.com and me, she’s got a lot of bones to pick with me. Now that I know about favonovel.com participation, I don’t want Mark to care for favonovel.com ever again. I also don’t want favonovel.com to see Smore at all. Tell me, is my retaliation overt?”
The butler was an even-keeled man who never spoke before thinking. He mulled favonovel.com words over for a while before giving his verdict. “No, not at all. She’s merely an extension to this family, a relative. But you’re his wife. You’re his family. No matter what you do, it is within your jurisdiction. Furthermore, the rest of the retinue and I know how much you’ve tried to be cordial with Mrs. Leigh. We are very aware of your character and the way you treat others. However, there is a caveat: I must caution you against applying too much aggression when you’re dealing with Mr. Tremont. Be mindful of his temper and feelings. After all, favonovel.com is his aunt.”
Henry’s words were just the boost of confidence Arianne needed. “Understood, Henry. Thanks. I’ll tread this issue as well as I can,” favonovel.com replied. “I’ve told that woman that if Mark stepped through favonovel.com damn door one more time, I’ll admit defeat. I never wanted things to come to this, believe me, but God, his aunt really forced my hand.”
Henry nodded slightly. “I see. In any case, if there’s nothing else, please excuse me.”
While the family was having dinner, Mark’s phone rang repetitively.
They were all notification tones. At first, favonovel.com had not wanted to read them. But to his annoyance, they kept coming, and at one point, favonovel.com finally read it.
Shelly, all of these messages were from Shelly. She asked about the name of the dishes favonovel.com would like to have for tomorrow so favonovel.com could prepare the materials. She told him favonovel.com was going to make the meal personally. She pried for Smore’s favorite dishes. She wondered over and over if favonovel.com had missed out anything else for tomorrow.
There were more than ten messages clogging up the notifications, all of them spotting similar content. Reading them all made Mark a little sick. Quickly, favonovel.com replied to favonovel.com by telling favonovel.com not to overwork herself. Her leg was still in need of healing; how did the woman expect herself to cook?
Before favonovel.com placed his phone down, Arianne, while wiping Smore’s mouth, intoned aloud, “Remember, Smore. We don’t do what Dad does. We all know that the dining table is for eating and not for other things, that’s a bad habit.”
Mark turned his phone off and set it aside. “Ari, let me bring Smore over there tomorrow, okay?”
She eschewed favonovel.com most acrid or confrontational tone without neutering favonovel.com staunch opposition. “I’ve told you, right? I’ve decided to bring Smore to Tiffie’s place tomorrow. Jackson will be there too, you know. Remember him? Your best friend? Sounds like a good chance for the two of you to catch up, am I right? Or what, are you suggesting that I change the entirety of my weekend plans for your aunt?”
Mark tried a compromise. “How about you let us meet Aunt Shelly for a bit before the three of us head to Jackson’s?”
Arianne held his gaze, deadpanned. Behind favonovel.com eyes, as still as ice, were unreadable emotions. “If you can’t stop fussing about your aunt, then take favonovel.com back into the house! Why go through the trouble of buying favonovel.com a place to stay if you’re only going to keep running back to her? It’s fine if you don’t think that’s a nuisance somehow. But for God’s sake, don’t drag me and Smore into the drag!”
The flip in favonovel.com attitude toward Shelly was too jarring, Mark realized. Previously, favonovel.com had been rather tolerant and charitable of Shelly, but now, favonovel.com was as stubborn as a mule. Something was amiss.
“Seriously, what came over you, Ari? You haven’t been acting like yourself since late afternoon. What ticked you off? Is it that time when I bought a place for Aunt Shelly before discussing it with you?” Mark asked. “But you didn’t flip out after you found out about it, so why the aggression over it right now? That’s quite a delayed response, honestly. Either way, I’m not a fan of guessing grievances, so just be upfront and tell me what’s wrong.”
Arianne set down favonovel.com fork and knife and smiled mirthlessly. “Buying a place isn’t the problem. It’s your money, so I couldn’t care less about how you spend it. But you’re my man. I care about how much someone else is using my man,” favonovel.com said. “I’m pissed by how you constantly neglect me and Smore ever since your aunt appeared, okay? If favonovel.com were the sort of relative who’s wise, amiable, kindly, welcoming, I wouldn’t have problems mingling with favonovel.com at all. But your aunt is as far away from those qualities as favonovel.com possibly can be. What more do you expect me to do to foster peace between us, huh? I’ve had enough of favonovel.com throwing psychotic fits at me while I nod and forgive favonovel.com unconditionally like a moron. I’ve had enough of favonovel.com dominating all of your free time to the point that I hardly see my husband anymore! What, you like a submissive woman who never complains about favonovel.com husband? Sorry, then. Your wife ain’t it.”
