Chapter 11 Caught!

Arianne Wynn froze. “I’m fine sleeping in the storeroom!” Mark Tremont glanced at her, a wave of disapproval swept in his cold eyes. “I’m not asking you to sleep in my room upstairs. Mary will help you prepare the guest room next to me.” Having been exposed of her wrong assumption, Arianne felt rather awkward. Thereafter, one of the maids had served their dinner in the dining room. “Sir, miss, it’s mealtime.” Mark Tremont closed the magazine he was holding and stood up. “Eat.” He had asked her to eat together. How long has it been since she ate with him at the same table? She did not remember. Arianne Wynn, with her head lowered at the dining table, ate without making a single sound. She helped herself only to dishes that were closest to her. Mark Tremont ate slowly, making close to no sound as well. Their manner only served to emphasize the silence of the wide dining room. Butler Henry who stood beside the table sighed and picked up some dishes for Arianne with the serving spoon. “Don’t only eat vegetables. You’re growing.” “Thank you,” Arianne replied softly. As they had their meal, Arianne ate however much Butler Henry served her. Not used to eating so much in one sitting, her stomach ached slightly. Mary has finished cleaning up the room when they finished their meal. “Ari, take a look at the storeroom, see if there’s anything that I haven’t tidied up. I’ve moved most of your things upstairs.” Arianne caught a glimpse of Mark Tremont, who just seated in the living room, then acknowledged Mary with a guilty conscience. When he returned to his room, she stealthily sneaked to the storeroom and retrieved her gifts in the cardboard box under the bed. As she went upstairs, careful not to make any sound, the door next to her room opened right as she arrived. Meeting eyes, Arianne looked like a deer caught in the headlights as her eyes widened and her lashes trembling. She subconsciously hid what she held in her hands behind her back. “What’s that? Hand it over.” Mark Tremont looked down at her and commanded. Like a mischievous child who had done wrong, her resistance had only lasted for two seconds under his hot gaze before she extended her arm. “Go to sleep,” Mark Tremont said immediately after opening one of the gift boxes and glimpsing. She knew that he would not return them to her and she dared not fight back for them. She had expected this since receiving the gifts. This outcome was not a surprise. Entering her room and closing the door, Arianne huffed a long sigh. However, remembering Will Sivan’s note in the gift box, she slowly squatted down. She was doomed… Like most parents, Mark Tremont prohibited her from dating at an early age, despite this fact she was past the legal age and he was not her parent – guardian if you must… Mark Tremont thought of throwing the gifts away immediately. He had done so the past ten years however this time, he did not act upon it instantly. He tossed them on the coffee table. The more he looked at them, the more he felt annoyed at the sight. Swiftly, he opened the gift box. His face fell immediately at the note inside. Hand in hand, with you I shall grow old, huh… At the same time, Arianne Wynn who was laying in the big soft bed found herself unable to fall asleep. Used to the tiny stiff bed in the storeroom, it felt foreign. Her heart was burdened with anxiety as well, pondering when Mark Tremont would be after her. Her mobile phone beeped the moment when that thought crossed her mind. It was the phone given by Mark Tremont, so it only had his number. Arianne wanted to feign negligent, but she took a look at the mobile phone and his dark face popped into her mind. It was a text message, short and simple with only two words. “Come over.” Feeling her heart sink, Arianne draped her only jacket over herself and trudged to his room, knocking only after a long hesitation. His void tone sounded from the inside, “Come in.” Mark Tremont was habitually seated on the chair in front of the French window when Arianne entered. He had a cigarette perched between his fingers. Usually, this meant that he was not in a jolly mood. Arianne dared not approach close to him, opting to stand some distance away. “Come over,” he spoke again, his tone colder. The words were a repetition of his text message but when they came from him verbally, it frightened her more than the text. Arianne Wynn braced herself as she walked to stand beside him, still too timid to make a sound. Suddenly, he pulled her to himself, causing Arianne to drop and sit on his legs!