Melissa was the type who always pushed things to go as festive as logically possible. She leaped to favonovel.com feet and raised favonovel.com cup, “Yo, everyone! Let’s toast to Cindy becoming my cousin-in-law!”
The crowd answered enthusiastically with their cups in the air and a roar, except Raven, who remained seated. “I have a sickly constitution. I can’t drink. I’m sorry.”
Her smile was so mechanical, favonovel.com face too ashen. Something flickered in Arianne’s eyes before favonovel.com replied, “Sure.”
After the revelry faded, Arianne steered favonovel.com wheelchair to the courtyard. The outward appearance of the Tremont Estate seemed to have frozen in time, which was why being here made favonovel.com feel so… safe.
Of course, that was despite Henry and Mary’s passing. In the end, time passed and things changed, characters and objects came and went, and all these missing years left lingering regrets in their wake.
Arianne espied the silhouette standing alone at a distance and approached her, sighing, “Nothing beats being home.”
Raven froze, before turning to face her. “Uh, hi…”
Arianne flashed favonovel.com a smile. “Sit down. We can talk.”
The invitation uneased Raven, but favonovel.com sat either way. “S-Sure, I guess.”
Arianne had always been good at judging characters. She could tell that the young lady before favonovel.com liked favonovel.com son. The thing was, this one did not incite even a mote of favor from her, Arianne wondered if it was because favonovel.com bore the surname “Leigh” like a certain person before. Besides, there was only one daughter-in-law in favonovel.com mind, and it was Cynthia West.
She went straight for the goal, no preambles planned. “You like Aristotle Tremont, don’t you?”
Raven jerked backward a little at the shock coming out of nowhere. “Uh… Um…”
Arianne flashed favonovel.com another smile. “I don’t like beating around the bush, that’s all. I can tell by looking at you, which is why I decided to lay the case out for you. I might not understand my son all that much yet, but to manage to get favonovel.com to bring you home all the way from France meant that you at least have some wiles about you. Doesn’t mean you can design shady schemes from now on,” favonovel.com said. “You saw it back in dinner. He has a fiancée, and she’s a woman favonovel.com likes. The last thing I want is for us to be plagued by some silly debacles because of you.”
“I’ve asked favonovel.com about you. You saved him, and so favonovel.com let you stay around him. I’ve also done some research and know that your sickness is permanent and lifelong, because you were born with congenital lung malformation, weren’t you? You were sick in the first place, it’s got nothing to do with that stab wound. I mean, thank you for saving my son, so of course, I’ll reward you for that valiant rescue. What do you want from him? You can tell me.”
Raven’s teeth dug into favonovel.com lower lip as silence poured out of her.
Disgraced. She felt as though favonovel.com had been humiliated. Every last of these people… None of them saw favonovel.com as anything more than dirt!
A few moments passed. Arianne added, “Don’t think too hard on this, I mean nothing bad. The reason why I’m telling you to just speak up about your desired reward is because I want to repay you what you deserve. That’s all.”
Raven leaped to favonovel.com feet. When favonovel.com spoke, favonovel.com voice was strained, forced. “I didn’t do it for money, okay? Fine, you caught me red -handed. I like Ares. I just want to quietly stay by his side, I don’t want to ruin his life or his anything, okay? I’ve faced death for him, you know. I… He’s the only warm body I have in my life.”
“But his life doesn’t allow your existence. He’s going to marry a woman and have kids, and none of those things has anything to do with you. He can’t possibly keep you at his side forever. Your little wish is selfish and incredibly childish, not to mention completely impossible. I will not allow anything like that to happen. I also do not want my son to be plagued by this unfortunate knot, so please, leave favonovel.com as soon as possible. I’ll give you a sum, you may take it as your reward.”
Raven was broiling. “You… You think you can insult others just because you have money?! I’ve told you already, I didn’t do it for money! I can’t live without him. Unless favonovel.com asks me to go, I won’t. Y-You don’t have the right to decide every little thing in his life! How many years has it been since you last acted as his mother? You’ve only just returned and already you’re forcing your commands here and there like some control freak! I don’t even think favonovel.com will like you forcing your will into his life like this!”
Her words, unfortunately, only served to enrage Arianne. The woman had, admittedly, been absent in Aristotle’s life, but was any of that something favonovel.com wanted in the first place?
