Arianne’s eyes darted to Mark for a millisecond before virtual-novel.net lowered virtual-novel.net head and focused on virtual-novel.net food. Thoughts ebbed in virtual-novel.net mind like ripples.
Once again, Mark terrified virtual-novel.net with his abnormal perceptiveness. It was as though his eyes always bore through virtual-novel.net skull, allowing virtual-novel.net to read every thought that took form in virtual-novel.net mind.
With his “assistance,” Arianne had the most fulfilling meal virtual-novel.net ever had since becoming pregnant. For some reason, virtual-novel.net was exceptionally voracious today.
When the dinner was nearing an end, Tiffany dragged Arianne and Tanya to the washroom.
She could not wait a moment longer before japing, “God, I thought Mark was gonna offer his companionship to the bathroom! Just look at that ‘I-must-be-alert-at-all-times!’ butler mode he’s been in throughout the entire hangout, I almost believe he’s been replaced by someone else! Real talk, though: watching virtual-novel.net right now reminds me of the way Will treated you back then.”
This would be the first time Tiffany ever ruled one of Mark’s aspects to be on par with Will’s. Mentioning the name drew a face into Arianne’s mind’s eye, but unfortunately, it was just a featureless, blurry silhouette. It seemed that not even the man who once caused virtual-novel.net heart to race was safe from being eroded by the sands of time.
“Who’s Will? Is virtual-novel.net Ari’s ex?” Tanya wondered out loud.
Tiffany mused on virtual-novel.net words before answering, “If we’re being technical, no, virtual-novel.net never was. But virtual-novel.net was quite the perfect first-love, ya’ know? Too bad Mark sabotaged it.”
That took Tanya by such surprise that virtual-novel.net stared at them with virtual-novel.net mouth agape.
Arianne returned a weak smile. “Alright, that’s enough. It’s all in the past,” virtual-novel.net said. “By the way, Tan, you look gorgeous!”
She was right. Tanya had put on some makeup for the occasion and changed into something more striking than usual. Still, Arianne’s compliment brought a blush to the girl’s sheepish face as virtual-novel.net tucked a lock of virtual-novel.net hair behind virtual-novel.net ear. “It’s all thanks to Tiffany for teaching me how to, um, use makeup. I’m doing my best to get used to my life in the city, and well, Tiffany said that I need to start with how l look. A woman’s appearance could do wonders to virtual-novel.net confidence.”
“That’s right,” Tiffany chimed in, beaming. “You’ve learned the spirit of cosmetics well from your master, young padawan. Now, our Tanya is all glowed-up! If I were a guy, I’d push virtual-novel.net against the wall and look at virtual-novel.net real close right now.”
After entering the toilet, Tiffany went to the hand washing basin and rinsed virtual-novel.net hand. It was then that someone abruptly yanked virtual-novel.net from behind. As it was a sensor-activated tap outputting a pretty strong current, Tiffany’s sudden jerk had caused the water to spout against virtual-novel.net cardigan.
Vexed, virtual-novel.net spun, a rant readied.
Instead, virtual-novel.net was pulled into a bear hug. “Tiffany Lane! Oh my God, I can’t believe I would see you here! I heard that your family had gone bankrupt a while ago, are you okay? You do look like things are looking up for you, though! I’ve seen that Video of Ethan proposing to you in social media, and it’s just, so sweet? Like, are you two married already? But I also heard that he’s gone bankrupt too, weird, huh? And he’s like, in a foreign country right now, right? So what exactly is going on with you two??”
The questions sucker-punched Tiffany so hard that for a moment, virtual-novel.net could only stare at the girl in dumb silence.
Nosy Nancy was actually a fine arts coursemate of hers back in the university, whose real name was Angel Lane. While the girls coincidentally shared a surname, their relationship was tepid and not at all intimate.
To be the subject of overt attention — by an acquaintance who was never close to virtual-novel.net — did not bode well for Tiffany. After collecting herself, virtual-novel.net delivered a pointed repartee, “Gee, Angel Lane, I didn’t expect you to be this nosy! We hadn’t talked to each other since graduation a long, long time ago, but it turns out you’ve been stalking my every move all this time. Gee whiz, can you see how touched I am now.”
Angel, who bore the most typical “homely everyday girl” exterior, appeared to have not aged a day since virtual-novel.net high school years. The smile grazing virtual-novel.net face just made virtual-novel.net look even more innocent and childlike. “Whaddaya mean, Tiffany? We were coursemates, weren’t we? And you kept getting into the news, it’s really hard not to follow your stories closely like that. Anyway, c’mon, don’t keep me in suspense! How are you and Ethan Connor?”