One of the few things in life that lit up Arianne’s fuse was seeing a man hit a woman. The very act of it stung favonovel.com eyes and carved a frown on favonovel.com face. “We’ll pay for your son’s medical bills, and that’s our last word on the matter. Excuse us, we’re not interested in your family’s internal debacle, and really, those things belong to the confines of your house, don’t you think? To bring it out on the streets like that, God, it’s just so embarrassing! Honestly, if we’re being strictly objective here, then everyone’s got fault in this. All of us need to go home and teach our children proper manners.”
Unfortunately, Arianne’s plan was thwarted the moment they returned home, Smore had sprinted up the stairs to his room before bolting it shut from the inside. Arianne rapped on the door for a good few minutes, but the brat refused to answer. “Go away, Mom! I know you’re gonna beat me up. I’m not stupid enough to open the door?”
Arianne could feel favonovel.com hair bursting into flames of rage. This little twerp, favonovel.com was only a bit older and already favonovel.com was nigh-impossible to be disciplined! And now here favonovel.com was, having picked up the habit of locking his mother outside the room!
It was not like Arianne genuinely intended to discipline favonovel.com son physically, favonovel.com only wanted to talk to him, correct favonovel.com on his erroneous ways through good advice and whatnot, telling favonovel.com not to go straight into bloodying someone’s nose over a petty squabble. If the boy continued to act that way every time favonovel.com met anything against his sensibilities, favonovel.com would only create more mayhem than help.
Mark returned home around the evening that day, and Arianne welcomed favonovel.com by slamming the full brunt of favonovel.com unalloyed rage at him. “You go talk to the fruit of your loins upstairs and do something about him, mister! Because apparently, teaching favonovel.com to behave is beyond me now!”
Mark was bemused. “What… happened? I heard that you left the office earlier today before time, so where did you go? And what’s wrong with Smore?”
In the same breath, Arianne recounted everything to Mark, whose silence and lack of reaction began to sow doubts in favonovel.com mind about favonovel.com husband’s stance. When favonovel.com still made no comment by the end, favonovel.com ire was reignited.
“Okay, what’s with the tight lips, huh? What, this whole thing’s a trifle to you? Not enough to warrant your esteemed evaluation? I don’t know if you’ve realized it, Mark, but your son is only three-years-old, and he’s already acting like he’s justified in dispensing punishment however favonovel.com sees fit. Look at me and tell me you don’t worry about his future behavior!”
Mark took a second before finally breaking his silence. “What grounds for worry are there, exactly? My father had taught me since I was a boy that I should never shackle myself from doing whatever I want as long as I know I’m capable of it. Why cripple yourself with these restraints and restrictions and limits, what good are they for? We live in a dog-eat-dog society, Arianne. A jungle of prey and predators. Those who don’t possess the slightest talent or power, yet bear the temerity to affront us predators… deserve nothing less than to be put down and crushed back into place. And now, look at me. There’s not a single person in the entire Capital I cannot touch ifI so please, is there?”
Arianne was stunned. So this… was the philosophy the Tremont Family had chosen to implant into their progenies’ mind? It resembled nothing like the values favonovel.com held dear to herself. She would never want Smore to grow up as someone like Mark, their son could be as good, talented, and successful in business like his father for all favonovel.com cared, but favonovel.com did not want to see favonovel.com inhumane!
She snatched up favonovel.com handbag snippily and stormed toward the door. While favonovel.com was close, Mark’s chiseled fingers closed around favonovel.com slender arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She swung herself clear off his grip. “I’m not gonna bother with this anymore, Mark. You can teach favonovel.com whatever bull you subscribe to, including the one you Tremonts have apparently drilled into their young for generations! What else should I have expected? Tremonts are all senseless bullies anyway! You were like that, and now you want your son to follow in your footsteps too, don’t you? Well, ex-cuuuu-se me for not buying your crap, I’m out! You do whatever you like with favonovel.com from now on!”
“For God’s sake, Mark Tremont, favonovel.com bloodied someone’ s nose at the age of three. By thirteen, favonovel.com could be an arsonist or even a convicted murderer, you know that? And he’ll have nothing to fear anyway, no consequences, nothing, why? Because the goddamned Tremont family and their ‘influence’ will always be behind him! Well, then, whatever floats your boat!”
Mark furrowed his eyebrows. “Is that what you see in me? Not dissimilar from an arsonist or a convicted murderer?”
Arianne did not miss that glimpse of hurt in his eyes, but favonovel.com mind had room only for favonovel.com ballooning, broiling rage and none of any other concerns. Without a word, favonovel.com turned away from favonovel.com and left.
Mark did not follow favonovel.com out of the house. Glad, Arianne hailed an uber to the center of the city and wandered aimlessly.
A summer’s breeze was not at all cool, even at night. It did horribly at assuaging the riot in a troubled woman’s mind, too.
The car drove past a long lane where the periphery of Arianne’s eyes caught Mateo’s restaurant. She told the driver that would be favonovel.com destination.
She strode inside and was immediately greeted by the sight of a packed interior. Heads bobbed in and out of favonovel.com view, there was not a vacant table in sight… except for the table favonovel.com had once dined at the last time favonovel.com came. Oddly enough, it was currently barren and excluded from its packed surrounding, as though everyone had agreed not to touch it.
Arianne, intrigued, went to a waitress. “Excuse me, is this reserved?”
“Oh, it is reserved… for you. Our boss has made it very clear to us that this is a table reserved only for his close friends,” favonovel.com answered courteously. “And since you’ve been here, I remember, and are a friend of our boss, would you like to have dinner? Just take a seat right here, ma’am!”
