Dangerous Love: You Are My One and Only Bride novel Chapter 1465

It was lunch break. Despite her reluctance, Arianne was dragged away by Sylvain to the restaurant his mother had picked.

The destination alone was enough to clue Arianne in about who his mother should be. It was a high-end fine diner, the sort of place where a meal could burn through a hole in an average person's wallet. To choose a place like this meant Sylvain’s mother lived a pretty comfortable life after her second marriage, which made her abandoning young Sylvain even more baffling.

Sylvain and Arianne arrived first. Ten minutes of waiting later, Sylvain’s mother finally came, along with a hard-hitting first impression.

She looked like a rich housewife who had gotten used to a life of privileges and comfort. An air of shrewdness followed her, probably emanating from her cream-colored business suit designed by an international household name, her permed, wavy curls, and a pair of gilded-rimmed glasses. Whether it was intended as a fashion accessory or for actual sight-corrective purposes, Arianne could not tell.

She seemed to have taken great lengths to maintain her youth since she looked at least ten years younger than her supposed age. However, the most striking observation was how much she resembled Sylvain—it was so palpable that one could not mistake the two’s relationship.

The woman did not seem to feel awkward at all. Immediately upon arrival, she greeted cheerfully, “Wow, aren’t you two early! Apologies for my tardiness. What would you like to have, Syl? Just order whatever you two fancy, sweeties; no need to restrain yourself. Speaking of which, who’s this young lady over here? Aren’t you going to introduce her to me, Syl?”

Sylvain was caught off-guard by his mother casually addressing him with an affectionate nickname despite their estrangement. “Uh, this is my friend. Look, we should probably order something first.”

Ursula trained all of her attention on Sylvain with not even a glance spared for Arianne. “Sure, sure. Oh, Syl darling, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it? You’re so big! You used to look like your dad, but now that you’re all grown-up, you look like my son instead, heh heh. Oh, I heard that your career’s gaining impressive momentum lately—working for the Tremonts, are you?”

Sylvain took the menu a waitress passed to him and thumbed through the pages. “Yeah. Tremonts, yep,” he intoned absent-mindedly.

The smile on Ursula’s face froze for a beat, but she returned to her erstwhile aplomb in the next second.

“Syl, honey, listen. I know; you must be angry with me for not coming back to you in the past, aren’t you? But try to understand, Mommy had her own set of personal woes too. Moreover, think about it—had I not allowed you the free reign to flourish on your own two feet, would you have been able to achieve the heights and plaudits of today, hmm? You know what they say: some flowers bloom in the face of adversity—and you’re that sort of flower, Syl. Besides, I’ve never shirked giving you alimonies now, have I? You can’t possibly have forgotten that I was the one who paid for your studies, yes?” she countered. “Now, can we all put those unhappy memories behind and live in the moment? We’re here today to have lunch and talk about career prospects. Your stepfather is a very affluent man; I’m telling you, giving up your position working for the Tremonts is the wiser choice. But you’ll have to evaluate these things yourself, I suppose. You’re a grown-up now. I know you’ll slowly come to an epiphany on your own.”

Sylvain looked like he was either going to erupt into laughter or burst into tears. Indeed, the “smile” he cracked would have been more accurately termed “pained grimace.”

“Okay then,” he said, enunciating every word a little too unnaturally. “I guess I’ll think about it.”