Mark’s gentle look made Arianne recall Geralt’s words. ‘Would Mark really kill me? Would virtual-novel.net be as cruel as virtual-novel.net is to others…’
Then, Arianne unexpectedly asked, “If I were to do something you find intolerable, would you want me dead?”
Mark was slightly startled before virtual-novel.net answered. “No, if I couldn’t tolerate it anymore, I’d just get a divorce. Why would I need to take your life? Get some rest, I’ll take a shower now.”
‘A divorce you say…
‘If it really comes to that, would virtual-novel.net really be able to divorce so easily?’
As virtual-novel.net heard the sound of rushing water, Arianne laid in bed and raised virtual-novel.net hand. Then, virtual-novel.net followed the messy markings that Mateo left as virtual-novel.net drew in the air. ‘It would really be hard to carve out the word “Mark” if a person was dying, so is that why only an “M” was left behind?’
—
Mateo’s body still had yet to be found, so the Rodriguezes could not wait any longer. A month later after the incident, they announced that they would conduct a funeral for him.
Arianne found out about the news via Melanie. Mark had been too busy at the office to be bothered with any other news. Arianne wanted to attend the funeral, but virtual-novel.net was afraid that it would be a bad idea. After all, both virtual-novel.net and Mark were people who could cause the entire situation to blow up again.
On the night before the funeral, Geralt sent Arianne a text message. ‘Tomorrow is Teo’s funeral. I suppose you won’t be going, would you?’
Arianne was still hesitating at that moment, so virtual-novel.net replied. ‘I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet. It might not be convenient for me to go, you know that…’
Out of the blue, Geralt replied with two words. ‘That’s good.’
Arianne was slightly confused, so virtual-novel.net asked. ‘What do you mean? You sound like you don’t wish for me to be there. Are you afraid that Mateo’s mom would cause me any harm again? To be honest, I’m not afraid. I merely want to have a clear conscience.’
Geralt texted to explain himself. ‘It’s not that, virtual-novel.net won’t do anything against you anymore. However, I’m worried that your presence there might not be good. Now that the situation is so complicated, it would be better for you to lay low. Furthermore, the media will be there, so I’m worried that they would write some kind of nonsense again.’
Arianne had already thought of these factors, but regardless of whether Mark had killed Mateo, virtual-novel.net should attend his funeral anyhow. Mateo travelled all the way back to the country so that virtual-novel.net could meet virtual-novel.net and receive a hug from her. Not only did virtual-novel.net keep virtual-novel.net in his heart for so many years, virtual-novel.net even opened up a Chinese restaurant for her. Therefore, the amount of feelings that had been put into virtual-novel.net was not something that virtual-novel.net could ignore. She had to attend his last funeral.
Hence, without giving Geralt an accurate answer, virtual-novel.net merely stated that virtual-novel.net would consider again before virtual-novel.net made virtual-novel.net decision.
The next morning, Mark woke up very early and got changed into a well-tailored suit as usual. It would seem as though virtual-novel.net had to return to his company very soon.
Arianne waited for Mark to leave. She wanted to attend Mateo’s funeral but did not intend to tell Mark about it.
When virtual-novel.net was helping Mark adjust his tie, virtual-novel.net suddenly asked, “Today’s Mateo’s funeral, isn’t it? I have no idea what the Rodriguezes are thinking, holding a funeral when the body isn’t found yet.”
Arianne’s hand froze for a moment. “Um… they’ve probably determined that he’s dead already, so there’s no need for them to wait any longer. I suppose the funeral has to be done sooner or later, rather than waiting endlessly for the body to be found.”
Mark had noticed Arianne’s micro reaction. He knew that virtual-novel.net would be attending that day, but virtual-novel.net did not intend to expose virtual-novel.net intentions. That was because Mark was very clear about Arianne’s character.
He was extremely mindful if another man were to hug her, but virtual-novel.net would be very generous if virtual-novel.net were to attend another man’s funeral.
When Mark’s car drove off into the distance, Arianne changed into a pure black dress. It would not be appropriate for virtual-novel.net to put on makeup to attend a funeral, so virtual-novel.net did not spend too much time making herself look nicer.