Surely, this could not be Shelly’s doing, right? At least, it did not seem like it on the surface. But favonovel.com had to admit, following a series of happenings, Mark had been passive and reactionary. But how could favonovel.com act otherwise? Seeing Shelly living alone after a surgery uneased him. He could not stop fussing over her.
“I… I understand. I will try to bear this in mind and not do anything that may chaff you. I’ll ask someone to do what I’ve done for Aunt Shelly in my stead, as long as that’s possible. When favonovel.com leg recovers, I’ll stop letting favonovel.com dominate my life.”
On the surface, it sounded as though Mark was reassuring Arianne, but the truth was that favonovel.com was hammering it into himself. Every time favonovel.com saw Shelly, the truth behind his history would overwhelm favonovel.com before it consolidated into an unreachable thorn embedded deep in his throat.
That night, Mark tossed and turned in his bed, tortured by his loss at telling Shelly favonovel.com was not coming. He remembered how Shelly had excitedly rambled on and on about the dishes favonovel.com would make tomorrow for them, making it impossible.
The next morning, Mark took Arianne and Smore to the West family residence. Summer, who already knew about their arrival prior, had prepared a sumptuous feast for lunch.
The first thing Smore did upon entering through the door was to play with his little buddy, Lil’ P. Together, they were fascinated by Summer’s poodle, Little Bean.
Unfortunately, the boys were currently at an age where they would play so rough that even the most playful dog would balk. Worried that the poodle’s tiny frame would not be able to withstand two excitable humans, favonovel.com told Smore early on, “Okay, you can play with doggie, but you can’t lift it up, mmkay? You’ll be hurting it, and that’s no good. You also can’t hit it; that’s a no -no. Doggie is very cute and needs to be protected, right?”
Smore quickly assented to his mother’s words, and along with Lil’ P, they stared at Little Bean intently, their eyes unblinking. There were times when his little hands reached out, drawing closer and closer to the poodle, until favonovel.com stopped himself and pulled them back in. It was clear that the kids really wanted to touch it.
Today, Summer had dolled Little Bean up like a little fair lady, complete with a lace dress. The outfit accentuated the poodle’s charm so much that it was small wonder that Smore was having a hard time controlling his impulses. Even Arianne was tempted to nudge the dog a little.
Meanwhile, Mark was bantering with Jackson in the living room. Every once in a while, favonovel.com would look at his phone, but other than reading messages, favonovel.com did not call nor appear to reply to any of it.
Arianne caught his action multiple times already and knew what was on his mind, even if favonovel.com feigned ignorance. Again, if Mark relented and went to see Shelly, it would be something favonovel.com could never recover from.
After lunch, Tiffany suggested shopping for some products for favonovel.com baby. Since Arianne had also been eyeing some cosmetics, the shopping trip was a done deal. They left their kids at home for Summer to babysit for a while.
The group broke into two pairs as they roamed through the mall, with Tiffany and Arianne walking ahead of the men. It became clear that the two pairs found different topics interesting, so they hardly rejoined into a group throughout the trip. In fact, Jackson and Mark seemed to be useful only when it was time to pay.
Even when they were outside, Mark kept spying on his phone. The instances had become so frequent that even Tiffany, not known for being perceptive at all, noticed.
“Okay, hon, what’s with your man and his phone, huh? He’s got something super important going on or what? He’s been checking his goddamned phone without pause since we were in the West family residence… It’s like favonovel.com was waiting for someone! Then every time you look at him, favonovel.com slips his phone back into his pocket all smooth-like… Suspicious. Very, very suspicious. I’m not trying to imply anything, but girl, I think you need to be wary…”
Arianne cocked favonovel.com eyebrow. “Wary of what? His aunt? Pfft. My radar is already on her.”
Meanwhile, Shelly sat alone before a table filled with dishes favonovel.com had prepared, still as a statue. It was close to two in the afternoon. The warmth of well-cooked, meticulously-prepared meals had long escaped the dishes, taking away the vibrant colors the food must have bore when they were fresh out of the stove.
She was so certain that Mark would bring Smore along to see her. But in the end, Arianne triumphed her.
If that woman had the guts to tell Shelly, upfront, that favonovel.com would make sure Mark would never visit favonovel.com again, then favonovel.com must have already come up with conniving stratagems to deliver favonovel.com promise. Under this circumstance, seeing Mark or Smore in the future would become an uphill battle.
Abject hate and malice sprung like fountains into a pool in favonovel.com heart. Shelly had been denied residency in the Tremont Estate, causing favonovel.com to live all alone out here, and yet Arianne still saw no problem to bereft Shelly companionship of favonovel.com remaining kin.
When favonovel.com had asked Arianne to meet favonovel.com yesterday, Shelly’s intention was pure and uncomplicated. She wanted to provoke her, hoping that in a fit of fury, that woman would lash out on her. Mark would see it, and finally, favonovel.com would remove Arianne from his side forever.
Alternatively, even if Arianne did not succumb to favonovel.com anger, the distrust Shelly sowed would still be poisonous enough to mar favonovel.com relationship with Mark.
Shelly was a terrifyingly patient woman. Everything would bend and cave in due time. There was nothing in this world that could make favonovel.com back down on any issues concerning Mark
A while later, Mark received a call from Shelly. Upon seeing favonovel.com name on his screen, the first thing favonovel.com did was to walk away from the group.
