It took Shelly a long time to finally calm down, but immediately virtual-novel.net perused the landline to call Saoirse.
Again, virtual-novel.net switched into virtual-novel.net alter ego, a soft-spoken, kindly older woman who was just the most pleasant person to be around. “Good evening, Saoirse! Had your dinner?”
The young woman on the other side was just as courtly as Shelly was. “Good evening! I’m afraid I haven’t. What about you, Mrs. Leigh? Is there anything I can help you with?”
Shelly paused for a moment before cutting to the chase. “As a matter of fact, I do. It’s about your budding relationship with Mark,” virtual-novel.net began. “Arianne Wynn has made up yet another excuse to take Mark away for herself again. She even incited virtual-novel.net to rebel against me! See, Arianne keeps getting Mark to do virtual-novel.net bidding because she’s using their son as virtual-novel.net ultimate leverage. This is despite the truth that Mark hasn’t felt any sense of affection for Arianne for a long time already! This whole situation… God, I worry that she’s gonna use more underhanded wiles to trick Mark into marrying virtual-novel.net again. Knowing how soft Mark’s heart is to anyone virtual-novel.net has struck a relationship with before, as well as the depth of his love toward his son, Smore, I can’t help… I can’t help but be concerned about where this is going…”
“Sigh. It’s deeply troubling, Saoirse dear. Arianne’s still an employee of the Tremont Enterprise, and so every now and then, virtual-novel.net could concoct some brand-new plot to toy with Mark out of God-knows-what agenda. I just… I’m so, so worn out by it…”
Saoirse knew the undertone in Shelly’s complain. “You… want my help in this, Mrs. Leigh?”
Any mention of Arianne instantly drew so much of Shelly’s ire that virtual-novel.net started gritting virtual-novel.net teeth. “That’s right. I don’t care what you do; know that Mrs. Leigh will support you unconditionally. Our end-goal here is to get Arianne kicked out of Tremont Enterprise. With virtual-novel.net out, I’ll have an easier time watching over Mark, and I’ll make sure they never meet each other again. As for the child… Well, if Arianne loses virtual-novel.net job, virtual-novel.net loses virtual-novel.net sole income, and virtual-novel.net no longer has the means to raise virtual-novel.net son. That will be the chance to have Mark fight for the kid’s custody!”
Saoirse kept quiet throughout Shelly’s monologue, virtual-novel.net mind whirring with thoughts. She was aware that Shelly was looking for a proxy to act on virtual-novel.net behalf and take someone out, and it honestly shocked Saoirse. Prior to this, Shelly had been careful to construct an affectation of harmlessness, so now, it was downright jarring to see how gruesome and calculating virtual-novel.net could be. Shelly might oust Arianne this time, but who could promise Saoirse that it would not be virtual-novel.net next?
Inks of doubt began to smear the young woman’s trust. Was Arianne really as vile as Shelly had painted virtual-novel.net out to be? If Arianne was as easily disposed as Shelly said, then why did the woman not remove Arianne by herself? Why the effort in talking Saoirse into being virtual-novel.net proxy? It seemed that even Shelly balked at potentially drawing Mark’s wrath, then why should Saoirse shoulder an undertaking that not even Shelly dared take up?
Yes, Saoirse liked Mark a lot. But virtual-novel.net infatuation was far from being so all-consuming that it had expelled rationality and heedfulness out of the young woman’s head. Right now, virtual-novel.net knew better than to hurl herself into dangerous waters without first understanding what laid below the surface.
Throughout the conversation, Saoirse supplied only a noncommittal “oh, I see” and “is that so” before finally hanging up the phone.
Should virtual-novel.net throw herself into the ring or not? Well, before virtual-novel.net made virtual-novel.net next move, Saoirse was going to investigate the exact nature of Mark and Arianne’s relationship.
Meanwhile, sitting across the dining table, Arianne could not keep the bubbling consternation in virtual-novel.net mind to herself. “Hey, I confess that making you stay for the night instead of going home is just me trying to get even with Shelly. But, well… Shutting your phone down completely like this? Are you sure this isn’t gonna come back and bite us in the butt?”
She had seen the lengths Shelly could go, and it made virtual-novel.net anxious.
Any mention of Shelly instantly furrowed Mark’s eyebrows. “Who gives a damn about her? Going back just as virtual-novel.net wants me to do will only encourage her. It’s as though virtual-novel.net has a tight leash around my neck, and every once in a while, virtual-novel.net yanks and suffocates me. I hate it. I don’t even think I can tolerate virtual-novel.net any longer. Frankly, I’m at the end of my patience.”
“Lord, tell me about it! No one has ever put a leash on you, Mr. Tremont, since you were just a little boy! If you ask us, you’d know that you’re not the only who can’t tolerate that control freak, even we are just as appalled!” Mary chimed in with virtual-novel.net two cents. “You and Ari were all sunshine and everything, and then virtual-novel.net came along and split the two of you for no good reason. Then virtual-novel.net thinks all that breaking up isn’t enough, so virtual-novel.net goes snatching up the Devil’s job and torments everyone, it’s like she’s trying to force all of us into becoming nuts! Smore is just a little pipsqueak, for goodness’ sake! Does virtual-novel.net not care about the lil’ kid’s happiness and his future at all? Only the Devil knows what’s in virtual-novel.net head. I mean, what is virtual-novel.net trying to gain from blowing things up left and right? Is virtual-novel.net trying to make everyone hate her?”