Just as Tiffany was about to leave, virtual-novel.net gaze landed on Ethan as virtual-novel.net nonchalantly turned on his computer again. He didn’t even bother to look at virtual-novel.net or send virtual-novel.net to the door.
She took a deep breath after shutting the door. This was not the first time that virtual-novel.net felt tired. This time, the feeling was much stronger than usual.
***
At the Tremont Estate, Arianne was completely unaware of whatever happened to Tiffany. She went straight back into the art studio after purchasing supplies. She only cleaned up and went downstairs when Mary called virtual-novel.net down for dinner at night.
She realized that every time Mary called virtual-novel.net “Madam”, it meant that Mark was home.
As expected, virtual-novel.net found Mark sitting on the sofa, flipping through a magazine when virtual-novel.net arrived downstairs.
“Time for dinner,” Arianne reminded him.
Mark closed his magazine and walked to the dining room. He didn’t show much of a reaction or look at her. This was strange to her. They were fine during their dinner at White Water Bay Café. Why was everything so tense today?
“What’s wrong?” Arianne softly asked at the dinner table. “What have I done wrong this time?”
Her eyes shone with yearning for a more harmonious situation. Despite everything, the pair had been together for many years and virtual-novel.net didn’t want to live in a state of hostility every day.
Mark put down his cutlery and stared at virtual-novel.net apathetically. “Will Sivan will be back on the first day of the next month.”
She was surprised. He had mentioned this before, but virtual-novel.net never took it seriously, nor could virtual-novel.net understand why virtual-novel.net would let Will return all of a sudden. “Why?”
He narrowed his eyes and released a dangerous mien. “No reason…”
Arianne kept virtual-novel.net mouth shut when virtual-novel.net heard this. She never dared to mention anything about Will in front of him. Next month was only a week away…
Tiffany called virtual-novel.net a few days later to tell virtual-novel.net the news. She sounded absolutely excited on the phone. To her, the three of them had the most unshakeable friendship.
Arianne felt a strange kind of anguish. She didn’t know what Will’s return meant and was afraid of anticipating anything. “Tiffie, I’ve known about this for a while.”
Tiffany was surprised. “How did you know? Will mentioned that you’d know about this sooner than me But he’s never contacted you. I just can’t understand you two.”
Arianne took a deep breath. “Mark told me about it a week ago.”
Tiffany paused in silence, then said, “Ari, you’re married. You should keep your distance from Will, regardless. With Mark around, you can’t even be friends. However, I still wanted you to be aware of his return. I’m glad that you know.”
After ending the call, virtual-novel.net stared at the half-drawn picture on virtual-novel.net sketch board, tore it off, and threw it into the rubbish bin. She had been working on this picture for two weeks but couldn’t complete it in the end. She had lost virtual-novel.net mood and couldn’t continue drawing it.
***
Arianne lay on virtual-novel.net bed, unable to fall asleep during the wee hours of the morning. She couldn’t understand why virtual-novel.net was suffering from insomnia. Mark wasn’t around, but virtual-novel.net had gotten used to this long ago. It was such a huge bed, virtual-novel.net couldn’t even occupy one third of it.
She suddenly heard the sound of a car outside. Then, someone pushed the door open. She could see his tall and slim figure very clearly in the dark. He stumbled with every step. He had been drinking and had quite a lot to drink to boot.
She pretended to be asleep, trying virtual-novel.net best to steady virtual-novel.net breathing. Perhaps this would give virtual-novel.net a chance to get through the night peacefully…
Mark staggered into the bathroom. When virtual-novel.net stepped out, virtual-novel.net only had a towel wrapped around his waist. He didn’t change into his pajamas but went straight to bed.