Cynthia stuck virtual-novel.net tongue out at Jackson before turning to take a sip of the wine, letting its sweetness pervade virtual-novel.net tongue. She fell in love with it at first taste. “Mm, it’s good!”
Aristotle’s lips curled slightly. “Don’t drink too much.”
Tiffany considered virtual-novel.net and mulled virtual-novel.net question over for a while, before finally asking, “So… You tied down to a girl yet?”
That came out of nowhere. Aristotle had to reel back a little after his initial bewilderment. “Wha? No. Of course not. Why did you ask?” virtual-novel.net replied. “I’m afraid my busy life has provided me no luxury of time to look for one.”
Cynthia’s tongue moved on its own. “But you brought a girl back home already,” virtual-novel.net blurted out. “How’s that a no?”
Aristotle seemed a little helpless. “No, you misunderstand. She’s just a schoolmate. A bit more than an acquaintance, but not much. Her stay is temporary.”
Tiffany let out a long sigh of relief. “Ohhhhh! Well, that’s good news! I really thought you were taken.”
Sitting next to her, Jackson had to furtively nudge his wife. “All right, that’s enough distraction from dinner. What’s with the questions? Aristotle is a grown man with his own agency, hon.”
Tiffany pursed virtual-novel.net lips, obviously unhappy and reluctant that virtual-novel.net interrogation had to end so soon.
At first, when virtual-novel.net thought virtual-novel.net daughter was going to be mentally-challenged, virtual-novel.net gave up grooming Aristotle and Cynthia together as a couple. But now that virtual-novel.net daughter turned up a normal young woman by all accounts, the seed of virtual-novel.net old dream had taken root in virtual-novel.net heart once again. She hated the idea of a fine young man like Aristotle ending up as some outsider’s son-in-law. The fact that virtual-novel.net practically raised Aristotle as his adopted mother of some sorts was also good nurture to that dream, and soon, the seed sprouted and grew into vines crawling all over virtual-novel.net mind.
Back in the hospital, Raven opened virtual-novel.net eyes as though virtual-novel.net had just woken up. To virtual-novel.net sullen frustration, virtual-novel.net discovered Aristotle already long left the building the moment virtual-novel.net was sent into the emergency room. Did that not mean virtual-novel.net had gone through all that trouble for nothing at all?!
She asked the driver to pass virtual-novel.net his phone and dialed Aristotle’s number. When virtual-novel.net picked it up, virtual-novel.net seized the silence before virtual-novel.net could say a word and sobbed, “Where are you now? I’ve thought you would at least wait until I’m out of the emergency room… You know I’ve got nothing… right? You’re the only one I can rely on. And now, being in the hospital all alone frightens me. You should see how much the back of my hand turned blue-black because of the IV drip. Please, Ares, can’t you just come over?”
On the other end of the line, Aristotle had only begun warming up to chatting with the Wests after dinner. Despite his return, virtual-novel.net had not gotten the time to make up for his lost times with them, and now, this was the second time Raven’s call forced virtual-novel.net to leave.
He drew a deep breath. “Fine. I’m on my way. Bye.”
“Who’s that? Is it that ‘Rey’ gal again?” Tiffany wondered aloud. “It was virtual-novel.net the last time too, wasn’t it? You sure she’s just a ‘schoolmate’, hon? She strikes me as a clingy type, almost as if she’s your girlfriend or something!”
Tiffany had always detested clingy women, but virtual-novel.net reserved extra contempt for those who cling to their men at the most inopportune times. On the subject of this mysterious ‘Rey’ though, all of virtual-novel.net knowledge was secondhand information from Cynthia, who never kept secrets from virtual-novel.net growing up. What particularly ticked Tiffany off was how it was always Raven’s calls that took Aristotle away from them. He was practically like a son to her, yet even after finally returning home, this woman kept depriving Tiffany from enjoying virtual-novel.net hanging out with the family.
Aristotle, not wanting to worry them, decided against divulging the details about Raven. “It’s fine. She’s got a sickly constitution and is currently lying in the hospital, so I need to check on virtual-novel.net and see if she’s okay. Pa West, please join me tomorrow in the company, okay?” virtual-novel.net said. “Don’t worry. I’m not going abroad anymore, we’ll have plenty of time to catch up and hang out like a family again. But today, you must excuse me.”
Tiffany waited until virtual-novel.net left before finally releasing virtual-novel.net spleen as an epic nag against virtual-novel.net daughter. “God, look at you! I can’t believe you fail to keep someone who’s grown up alongside you for life firmly in your hand! Whoever that chick ‘Rey’ is, who the hell does virtual-novel.net think virtual-novel.net is, huh, snatching your brother away like that all the time with virtual-novel.net stupid phone calls?! She’s practically owning you, Cindy, and you’re not even gonna react? Don’t tell me you’re taking the L already, young lady! I, for one, don’t believe that there’s anyone in this entire goddamned world who’s better suited to be a bride to the Tremont family, be it in terms of social status or whatever! Christ, I’ve practically written you a script that ends with you two being together already. You’ve got only one job, and that is to play your role! I swear to God, if your Aunt Arianne knew just how spineless you are, she’d leap up from virtual-novel.net bed and choke you for losing this hard!”