Before Arianne could mount a reply, Alejandro had stepped into the opening with a repartee. “And this is why no one seriously considers a woman’s opinion on things. Turning the other cheeks doesn’t bring peace, instead, it only makes you seethe and suffer your indignance on your own. An eye for an eye is the real way of living! We’re all equal as humans, so why the f **k should we have to tolerate certain subsets of people, despite them being no more special than we are, huh? What’s the point of living a life of servitude and submission?”
Melanie was so exasperated that favonovel.com launched into a series of eyerolls. “Oh, please miss me with that high-minded bunkum. You just want to watch the world burn with a box of popcorn in hand, Nero. Sure, your conjecture sounds reasonable, but it doesn’t automatically exclude the possibility of you being dead wrong! What if you were wrong? You goading Arianne into pursuing this investigation is basically just you trying to manufacture more drama!”
Alejandro, however, was very confident in his analysis. “Here’s where you’re wrong, I never make half-assed conjectures. I guarantee you, my guess is at least eighty-to ninety-percent close to reality. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and verify it on your own. Hell, what’s wrong with letting Arianne investigate my claim clandestinely? And also? I don’t make a habit out of watching other people’s dramas, so why would I even want to cause the world to burn? If this were anyone else’s problem, I wouldn’t even bother to say a thing.”
Arianne had to reel back from the sudden skirmish before stepping in. “Guys, guys! It’s okay. No matter what the result is, I’ll never pin the blame on Alejandro. Seriously, Melanie, don’t you worry. Everything said here stays here. I’m not gonna mention a single word of it to Mark.”
Melanie sighed. “Alright, I concede. You’re a shrewd, intelligent woman. I’m confident that you’ll know what to do and how to do it right, I won’t stop you. To be very frank, I actually despise his aunt’s character. If I were you, I don’t even know how long I’d last. It’s just that… I know how much you love Mark, Arianne, and if things are exactly as Alex said, then… God! The fallout between the three of you is going to be gutting. But then again, maybe it’s more of my problem. I’m more… eager to please, so to speak I always appeal for harmony, so I have the propensity to concede on everything even at the cost of myself…”
That ticked Alejandro off. “Oho, as if anyone has been making you suffer for the sake of ‘harmony’ lately! On the contrary, the only thing you’re missing is an actual crown, woman. You’re so close to being the absolute monarch in this house, who the hell even dares make you suffer the slightest bit of grievances, huh? Hell, ever since Mel popped out of your belly, your temper has been growing every day. Sooner or later, I’ll probably have to bow before talking to you!”
Melanie was speechless. She never knew Alejandro could be so adept at turning the truth upside down before spinning stories out of it. Since when had favonovel.com ever acted remotely as ruthless as favonovel.com described? In fact, in this house, favonovel.com was always the one with the last word!
Arianne quickly returned home after dinner, but a fitful sleep awaited favonovel.com that night. She could not stop thinking back on what Alejandro had said, and the more favonovel.com ruminated, the more sense it made. His analysis checked every single thing that had happened so well that all it was missing was the “this is definitely what happened” seal all over it.
The next day, immediately after favonovel.com reached the office, Arianne sprung toward the Strategy Department. She wasted no time pointing at Robin and shouting, “You skank! I can’t believe I saw you as a sister, blindest thing I’ve ever done in my life!”
Robin was just as snippy and angry as Arianne was. “See? This is why I can’t stand you! So what?! If you don’t even wanna try to be nice, then leave me alone! I’ve always hated your cocky face and that disgusting putting-on-airs attitude. I never understood why you’d put in so much effort to act more superior than you really are! Seriously, don’t tell me, in your mind, you still fancy yourself as ‘Mrs. Tremont’!”
It was then that Arianne swung favonovel.com hand, landing a loud slap on Robin’s cheek. It was neither hard nor soft in force, but it did elicit a loud crack.
She spun on favonovel.com heels and stormed off. Sitting, Robin caressed favonovel.com lashed cheek before sobbing to herself with favonovel.com head on favonovel.com desk.
Around her, pairs of eyes watched with interest and schadenfreude. The poor girl had been making enemies left and right for the past few days by staunchly defending Arianne, but now, the only reward favonovel.com got was public humiliation.
