A Ruling Passion – Chapter 1561

Shelly dropped her fork and knife to the table with a bang. “No member of the Tremont family shall ever deign themselves to someone this uncivilized,” she declared. “Whoever Smore’s bride may be, she will be nothing short of being prim, cultured, and of a standing befitting the Tremont prestige! She will not do anything close to what you’ve described!”

The undertone in her exclamation was that Arianne was the opposite of prim and cultured, and at all not a status-fitting wife to Mark Naturally, Arianne pouted and offered a quick rejoinder. “Slow down. That depends, though. What happens if Smore loves someone who isn’t of ‘equal standing’ or whatever? Mark and I are definitely not gonna stop him from marrying whom he loves, that’s for sure. We’re democratic like that.”

Any retort from Arianne was automatically fuel to Shelly’s fire. “But you’re not the one in-charged now, are you? As long as I’m still alive, your personal opinion does not matter. Honestly, who gave you the right to decide for the Tremont family, huh? You think you can do whatever you desire just because Mark likes you? Ha! Hate to burst your bubble, but you’re not gonna be given free reign while I’m still here!”

“Enough!”

Mark growled and leaped to his feet. “What on Earth are you trying to do, Aunt Shelly? What did Arianne do that got under your skin? Why do you keep insisting on these... these nasty tirades against her? She was the one who took care of you while you were in the hospital; for Christ’s sake, she’s lost so much weight and energy from it! Even if you can’t be grateful for the things that she’s done, you should at least let go of whatever grudges you have, right? Jesus, making a scene out of an innocent dinner, seriously?” he ranted. “No one here disputes your seniority in the family, okay, but you really ought to start remembering that you’re no more than my aunt. The real man in-charge of this family is me! And by my decree, she can do whatever she likes, as long as she fancies it. So, stop kicking up a havoc from every trivial thing you happen to not agree with! She’s the real mistress of the Tremont family. This is her home, and you’re damn sure she’s got every right to do whatever she desires in her own domain! I know you sacrificed your leg, but the debt is mine. It’s got nothing to do with her!”