“I get it! I get it! I lost control of my emotions back there, alright? God, everything is pissing me off.” Mark leaned back onto the seat and massaged his forehead. “Every time virtual-novel.net mentions Granny, my heart skips a beat out of fear and trepidation. Yet, time and again, that baleful good-for-nothing keeps coming to my doorstep, weaponizing that secret against me. I just can’t possibly let virtual-novel.net know, Brian. If this secrecy continues to hang by a thread, nothing good could come out of it. No, there isn’t going to be a next time for him. No more threats…”
“Oh, that reminds me. Make arrangements with the hospital so that they’re now standing-by for virtual-novel.net childbirth. Ari’s frail constitution makes premature delivery very possible, I don’t want any complication to occur throughout the process.”
Brian let out a silent breath of relief and answered, “Understood.”
Night fell, yet Arianne resisted calls for dinner. Just thinking back on Mark angrily lashing out in the afternoon quickly bereft virtual-novel.net of any appetite.
Seeing virtual-novel.net like this made Mary panicked. “Please, Ari, pretend that Mr. Tremont somehow lost his marbles back there, okay? There is no reason to get back at virtual-novel.net this way. You know how men are, they can’t always be perfectly reasonable all the time, so please, don’t use that small instance as a reason to be mean to yourself and the child! At least have a little bite or two?”
Arianne was lying down on the bed motionlessly. “No. No appetite. He hasn’t come back yet?”
Mary sighed. “He might have a bit more work than virtual-novel.net predicted, but even if Mr. Tremont comes back home right now, virtual-novel.net would still feel terrible seeing you like this! Come on, Ari, tell me, what do you crave? I’ll make it for you right away!” virtual-novel.net urged. “No matter What it is, you must eat something! Just look at yourself, you’re nurturing that little one inside of you, yet you still look so skinny. Your face alone has become unhealthily sharper since your pregnancy!”
Arianne, however, expressed another kind of concern. “I dare not overeat, Mary. It’s risky to have the child grow too large. I know how weak my body is, if the child grows too soon, it might become the bane of me. Plus, I heard that it’s better to deliver the child naturally rather than a cesarean, so… Look, I’m fine, Mary. I’ll tell you if I’m hungry, but for now, I really don’t feel like eating at all. You can leave me be. I’m just gonna take a nap.”
Failing to convince her, Mary left.
Halfway through virtual-novel.net descent, Mary met face-to-face with Mark, and all of virtual-novel.net frustration poured out before virtual-novel.net could adjust virtual-novel.net tone. “Where on earth have you been, young man? You’re usually home by late evening! You acted out against Ari this afternoon, and you still thought it’d be a great idea to come home so late? Do you know that your wife hasn’t eaten a thing for dinner? Christ, it’s almost nine already. Are you not gonna see virtual-novel.net and do something?!”
Mary’s words spurred Mark into clambering up the stairs, his habit of changing into his indoor shoes forgotten. Hurriedly, virtual-novel.net pushed open the door to the sight of Arianne tucked under the blanket.
He softened his steps. “You’re angry with me, aren’t you?”
Arianne’s head slid out from underneath to peep at Mark, but for the most part, virtual-novel.net feigned deaf.
Frankly, virtual-novel.net was still feeling a little sore from their exchange before. In the past, a furious Mark was so ubiquitous in virtual-novel.net daily life that virtual-novel.net barely registered any particular feelings about it. However, this time was different — virtual-novel.net had not been angry with virtual-novel.net for so long that when virtual-novel.net expressed a lick of exasperation, it formed a lump in virtual-novel.net mind that refused to dissipate.
Mark approached virtual-novel.net by the bedside with his eyes tracing his wife’s contours under the sheet. The rise on virtual-novel.net belly was prominent even when shielded, which formed a rather discordant pair with the thinness of virtual-novel.net face.
Mark had wanted so much to tell his wife to abort the child, but virtual-novel.net simply could not bring himself to say it. So now, watching virtual-novel.net being tormented by virtual-novel.net pregnancy made virtual-novel.net feel even glummer.
“You’ll be hungry if you don’t eat, won’t you?”
“If it hadn’t been you being mad at me, I could have eaten two big meals,” Arianne mumbled. “I mean, it’s not like I said something wrong that stung you where it hurt, did I?”
Mark was exceptionally patient as virtual-novel.net did his best to coax the woman out of virtual-novel.net tantrum. “I wasn’t mad at you; it was the effect of a slew of particularly bad days. I’d told you, it wasn’t directed at you at all. Look, why don’t you tell me if you have anything in mind for dinner, hmm? I’ll have someone make it for you, okay? Oh, also, I noticed that you’re pretty bored at home, so how about we invite Tiffany and Tanya over during the weekend?”
Arianne watched virtual-novel.net silently for about two beats before questioning, “What’s troubling you so much lately? Share it with me.”
He shook his head. “No, no. I’d rather be the only one worrying than to drag you into that quagmire. Come, let me help you downstairs.”
Arianne slowly and carefully sat up from virtual-novel.net position and, with his help, descended the stairs.