Robin stuck virtual-novel.net tongue out playfully. “Teehee! Not at all, Arianne. A slap in exchange for you to unearth the truth? Now that’s a fair bargain! I know you wouldn’t hit me too hard, sis. You always know not to go overboard.”
Arianne grabbed a spoonful of meatballs and placed them on Robin’s plate. “C’mon, dig in already. To tell you the truth… I haven’t made up my mind about telling Mark Honestly? His method of dealing with anything Shelly-related has been very, very lacking. I’ve been patient for far too long, and this time, that Shelly has really gone beyond the pale. I am not letting virtual-novel.net off the hook, not anymore… But I also don’t wanna trap Mark in a tough situation either, so I think this is something I must do on my own. Come on, let’s enjoy our dinner to the fullest. After this, I’m going straight to Shelly-Ann Leigh.”
“Yea, ditto,” Robin murmured pensively. “She’s Mr. Tremont’s aunt, right? He can’t go too far when he’s handling any problem related to her, can he? Either way, I think you should solve this yourself, Arianne! And no matter what you decide to do, I’ll always stand by you!”
Arianne chuckled. “You know, you got me thinking… Everyone around me trusts me so much. Everyone always voices unconditional support before I even know what to do. Tiffie’s like that, and you’re the same, and…”
‘And Tanya used to be, too.’
—
After virtual-novel.net dinner in White Water Bay Café, Arianne hailed an uber and went straight to the Tremont Estate. Soon after virtual-novel.net got into the car, virtual-novel.net called Mark, and after making sure virtual-novel.net was not at home, virtual-novel.net sighed with relief.
It was best for virtual-novel.net to be absent. That way, virtual-novel.net could confront Shelly and force a confession out of her.
From the courtyard all the way into the Tremont Estate, Arianne faced no problem nor obstacle at all. It turned out that despite virtual-novel.net departure, the retinue in the estate still treated virtual-novel.net as the de facto “Mrs. Tremont.”
Hearing footsteps approaching the entrance, Shelly rushed out to greet whom virtual-novel.net imagined was Mark. But when virtual-novel.net saw that it was Arianne, virtual-novel.net expression immediately darkened.
“What’s the meaning of this?” virtual-novel.net snapped. “How did you get in here? Don’t tell me you still have the keys to the Tremont Estate, you and Mark are divorced! You should return the keys to their rightful owner!”
Arianne leered at her. “I don’t have any keys. In fact, it was the security themselves who let me in.”
Scowling, Shelly turned toward outside and yelled, “From now on, anyone of you who let an unauthorized stranger into the house will be fired on the spot! On. The. Spot!”
Arianne’s lips curled into a mocking smirk. “Oh, shut your trap. I’m here today for you and you alone. I promise I’ll be out of here when it’s over, though, of course, I wouldn’t want to stay a second longer even if you begged me, frankly.”
“Hey, Shelly-Ann Leigh? How should I put this through your thick skull, it’s Mark who’s adamant that I stay in the company, okay? It isn’t me who’s shamelessly clinging to him,” virtual-novel.net began. “You’re so obsessed with ousting me from his life that you do everything your wicked mind could come up with to kick me out of the company, and I do mean absolutely everything, because Jesus Christ, you even resorted to a depraved, unscrupulous scheme. I’m awed, ma’am, I’m frickin’ floored. Does Tremont Enterprise’s reputation seem so dispensable to you?”
Shelly halted slightly with virtual-novel.net eyebrows slightly furrowed. “What are you yammering about? I don’t know what you’re trying to allude to.”
Arianne made herself comfortable on the couch before continuing placidly, “Oh, miss me with that bullsh*t act, would you? Mark isn’t here, so why bother? Also, don’t go about telling me that it wasn’t you who ordered Libby Sheppard to email my draft to James McGinnis. Don’t tell me it wasn’t you who thought of using Robin Cox as your scapegoat, either. Your calculative prowess is wonderful, Shelly! At first, I didn’t even think you’d ever deign to breaking standards, because I thought, at the very least, you seemed to care a lot about Mark. You must know how important Tremont Enterprise is to him, right? I thought no amount of your petty, catty hatred toward me would ever be enough reason for you to harm the company… But boy, I’ve thought so, soooo wrongly of you!”
Shelly snorted in contempt. “Please, I know it won’t make a splash against Tremont Enterprise, genius. All I want is to have you kicked out of the company like you so richly deserve, that’s all. Honestly, my goal has always been the same: I want an eyesore like you out. Anyway, now that you seem to know about everything, I don’t have to put up this charade anymore,” virtual-novel.net rejoined. “None of the things you’ve said was from Mark’s investigation, correct? He would have come to me already, otherwise. So, I guess after living in Mark’s vicinity for so long, you’ve inevitably taken after his little schemes and resourcefulness, haven’t you? Though I’m leaning toward Libby being a bumbling idiot, anyway, since virtual-novel.net must have done something to betray herself while you were watching. I bet you were standing just beside virtual-novel.net when virtual-novel.net gave me that suspicious call, weren’t you?”