Smore raised his little head and considered Mark. “Granny said Mommy’s taking me away from here, so I should look at you more often, because we won’t get to see each other anymore after this.”
Mark’s eyes quickly reddened before virtual-novel.net pulled Smore into his embrace. “No, no. That’s not true. Daddy will always visit you as many times as possible. Daddy and | Mommy are only temporarily separated, but it doesn’t change the fact that we both love you very much.”
Smore did not seem upset at all. “It’s okay. I don’t see Daddy that much at home anyway. You’re always so busy. It’s just me and Mommy living together, and she’s unhappy being here. So, I wanna go with her.”
Were these words something a toddler not even past age three say? For a moment, Mark was glad for his ability to keep his heart under wrap, or else virtual-novel.net would have already succumbed to tears by now.
That night, during dinner, Arianne acted as though it was any other typical day in the Tremont household. Smore was exceptionally docile today; virtual-novel.net finished all of the food in his plate and left not even a crisp behind. Arianne could not help but praise him. “Smore, you’re such a good boy today!”
The little man tore a piece of napkin and dabbed his mouth clean before replying, “It’s gonna be just me and Mom after this. I must listen to what Mommy says all the time, so virtual-novel.net won’t feel tired out.”
Instinctively, Arianne’s eyes darted and lingered around Mark as bitter, forlorn pangs assaulted both their hearts.
Mark had eschewed retreating to his study after dinner that day and supplanted his usual habit with playtime with Smore. Arianne, too, joined the boy and his father in the former’s game.
It was a rare moment in the Tremont Estate, all three of them playing together in blithe. The only folly of it was that it was not going to last into the future.
Suddenly, Smore took his mind out of his building blocks and looked up to his parents. “Why are the two of you sitting here and watching me today? Is it because we’re gonna be separated soon?”
Arianne and Mark fell into silence. As some folks may attest, little girls are wonderful, sensitive creatures who speak agreeably, while little boys are challenging little buggers who love speaking frankly. The problem with Smore was that virtual-novel.net did not just speak frankly, virtual-novel.net also seemed to be lacking a filter of some kind. There was no beehive virtual-novel.net would not kick, and some, like his parents’ complication, got more than one kick…
Later that night, it was Arianne’s turn to tuck the little boy to sleep. Then, virtual-novel.net started tidying up Smore’s and virtual-novel.net belongings to pack them up. She trusted Mark to get virtual-novel.net a new place to stay as soon as virtual-novel.net could, but even before then, Arianne was sure virtual-novel.net had to move out first.
To prevent the public from catching on, virtual-novel.net had decided against telling Tiffany about it. She thought of staying in a hotel until the new accommodation for virtual-novel.net and Smore was ready.
Mark took a seat on the chair before the French window and lit a cigarette as virtual-novel.net watched virtual-novel.net pack hurriedly. “You’re in a rush,” virtual-novel.net gibed. “At least wait until your new house is finalized and ready for living.”
“No need to wait for that. I’m gonna stay in a hotel for a few days, since I don’t want to be caught dead ‘dragging you around’,” virtual-novel.net murmured. “Oh, and just for good measures, please hasten up the process of getting me a house.”
Mark paused for a second. “No, I won’t let you nor Smore live in a hotel. Your only two choices are either to stay here along with Smore, or leave virtual-novel.net here and go to the hotel by yourself. Anyway, I should warn you that my aunt might come frequently. By then, she’ll definitely see Smore.”
Arianne fumed. “Are you threatening me? And stop referring to virtual-novel.net as your aunt. Just call virtual-novel.net your mom! This evening, virtual-novel.net even had the audacity to call me and tell me to leave Smore behind for a price, a price, Mark Tremont! From the way I see it, someone just can’t wait to assume the mantle of the Tremont family mistress, even though, for crying out loud, I haven’t even left yet! I’ve told virtual-novel.net that it’s impossible, of course, but maybe virtual-novel.net begs for a refresher. How about you go and tell virtual-novel.net it‘s not frickin’ happening?!”