Melanie spotted the confident sparks in Don’s eyes and understood that the old patriarch had his contingency plan mapped out. It reassured virtual-novel.net a little.
Still, virtual-novel.net could not bear to see the old man die with regrets. And so, a bold and almost-crazy idea took form in virtual-novel.net mind. “Grandpa, I was thinking… What if I undergo surgery to deliver the baby earlier than expected? I could do it after two more months. That way, you could see it before you go,” virtual-novel.net suggested. “I know it’s still a bit too early relative to the expected time of delivery, but I doubt it’ll impart too severe an effect on the baby.”
Don’s expression turned austere. “That’s a horrible idea, Melanie! You must not be reckless just because you pity me. You can’t force a baby to come out early like that, a mother’s womb is the best place for it to grow. Please, don’t entertain these crazy ideas because of some words an old geezer said… And really, Melanie, this is your weakness: you’re too altruistic! Don’t you know that men are always interested in wild, wayward women over self-sacrificing altruists?”
“And yet, everyone knows that if a man loves a woman, virtual-novel.net could be anything, even a beggar, and virtual-novel.net would still see a queen in her. But if a man has no love for her, then it wouldn’t matter how hard virtual-novel.net works and presents herself, everything virtual-novel.net does is wrong in the man’s eyes,” Melanie replied with a self-deprecative laugh. “He doesn’t love me, Grandpa. I have no leeway to be anything but ‘altruistic.’ It’s precisely because of this ‘weakness’ that has made it easier for virtual-novel.net to tolerate my existence so far.”
Don gave another heavy sigh, and suddenly, all of the vim virtual-novel.net had erstwhile accumulated seemed to have left him. Quickly, Melanie helped virtual-novel.net lay down while cooing, “Take a rest, Grandpa. I won’t disturb you anymore.”
—
It was midnight when Jackson suddenly paid the Tremont Estate a visit.
Mark’s sudden rise from their bed roused Arianne from virtual-novel.net sleep. “Hey, where are you going?”
“Jackson’s here,” virtual-novel.net answered, “He needs my help. Go back to sleep.”
Arianne’s sleep receded. “It’s the middle of the night. The only reason virtual-novel.net would be here at this hour is that there’s an emergency. I’ll go downstairs with you to see what’s going on. Did virtual-novel.net come alone? Tiffie’s not with him?”
Mark nodded, and the two descended the stairs. There, a very anxious Jackson was already waiting in the living room. He was ashen with worry.
Arianne could almost guess what was haunting him. After pouring two cups of water for the men, virtual-novel.net sat down next to Mark and asked, “Jackson, why run over here in the middle of the night?”
Jackson looked positively forlorn. “I can’t even sleep at night anymore! Every time I close my eyes, all I see is that douchebag Alejandro and his douchebaggy face, Christ! You guys, don’t tell Tiffie a single word of my visit, okay? I’m here this late at night because I had to wait till virtual-novel.net went to sleep.”
“I’ve hired someone to do some digging,” virtual-novel.net continued, “And apparently, the old Smith patriarch only has three months left before virtual-novel.net kicks the bucket. Time’s passing, man. Alejandro’s gonna inherit the Smith family business very-goddamned-soon. Then, when virtual-novel.net returns to the Capital, the first sh*t he’s gonna do is tell Tiffany that he’s, surprise, surprise!-Ethan-f**king-Connor all along! Aaargh! Just imagining how this sh*t’s gonna go down is driving me nuts!”
Arianne pulled back virtual-novel.net cuffs. “God, does virtual-novel.net remember virtual-novel.net was the one who dragged Tiffie into hell years ago? If virtual-novel.net really wants to atone for his sins, the only way to do that is to commit to his role as Alejandro Smith and never cross paths with Tiffie again,” virtual-novel.net commented. “But no, we’re dealing with an obsessive psycho here. For his need to clear away that feeling of guilt, virtual-novel.net doesn’t care if he’s making things worse for literally everyone else. The shortest word to describe virtual-novel.net would be plain-old ‘selfish.’”
Mark rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, why don’t you confess the truth to Tiffany before virtual-novel.net does, as a sort of mental inoculation? That way, when Alejandro confronts virtual-novel.net with his secret, virtual-novel.net wouldn’t be too terribly thrown off or get triggered,” virtual-novel.net suggested. “Tiffany’s well-known for being insensitive, so who’s to say virtual-novel.net can’t accept the truth forever just because virtual-novel.net didn’t take it very well that one time? Maybe all virtual-novel.net needs to buffer the shock is enough time.”
Arianne was inclined to agree with Mark. It used to be better for virtual-novel.net best friend to remain blissfully ignorant, but that was only because no one wanted a pregnant woman to be shocked. Now, the only caveat was gone, and the best way to solve this was to reveal the truth to Tiffany as soon as possible.