Dangerous Love: You Are My One and Only Bride novel Chapter 1658

She yearned for a beautiful wedding with him. And then an exciting, fulfilling future. Right now, in a flight of her imagination, she could already see him in her mind’s eye, slipping their wedding ring through her finger in a church…

Despite that, she smiled and feigned casualness in her tone. “What are you saying? Your foster mom went ahead with an outrageous and earth-shattering plan just for you, Mark. I know my dad was a victim of it and I probably shouldn’t even be saying these things, but… I don’t think you did wrong. No, seriously, I don’t. Don’t ever think I’m suffering some sort of wrong or whatever because of what’s happening right now, because frankly, I think you suffered way more than I did. As long as you’re okay with this, I’m okay, got it? This whole remarriage-wedding thing… It’s definitely not something you can just pull off. You know Shelly’s not gonna let us remarry, let alone allow a grand wedding between the two of us—so don’t. Don’t be reckless.”

The conviction in Mark’s eyes was frighteningly resolute. “I’ve made up my mind, Ari. I’m going to do it.”

“You’ll regret this. You know you will,” she rebutted, shaking her head. “If you stubbornly go ahead with it, well! I’m cutting ties with you, then. I’ll… find some other guy and marry him, and I’ll find a way to vanish from your sight and your life forever. You know I’ll do it, because I always do what I say I would, so don’t force my hand! Look… I can wait, alright? I don’t mind waiting for things to get better. So please, don’t do anything that is against what’s true to your heart ‘just because’, okay? You know what they say: ‘there’s always a rainbow after a storm.’ But our storm isn’t over yet; are you telling me you can’t take it anymore? No! We will wait until the sun is up and smiling at us again. We will wait for the rainbow...

“But first, enough talk! Have your breakfast already. After that, our family can go out and have some fun. Just look at Smore! He’s so happy and excited to see his Daddy!”

The more casual and noncommittal she sounded—the more reasonable she acted—the harder it wrung Mark’s heart. Why must Arianne always act so sensibly? Why could she not, for once, take a page out of Shelly’s playbook and throw hissy, sobbing tantrums and be irrational and self-obsessed?

If she could just act even a little bit like that, Mark would seize the chance immediately and take her side without hesitance. Unlike now, where he had to quietly give up on her once again because he was just too strapped for choices.

By this time of the year, bitter, nipping winter had left the continent, leaving spring to fill its void. Outside the city, the first verdant blanket of grass had sprouted, and the land was teeming with new life.

“I’m only laying it on you as it is,” Mary murmured. “The shape of your belly is the same as Ari’s when she had Smore…”

Tiffany immediately lost her appetite. “Jackson Weeeeeeest! You heard what the doctor said, didn’t you? It’s a girl, right?!”

Jackson nodded in his most disinterested, annoyed manner. “Yea, yea, whatever; it’s a girl, hip-hip-hooray. Can you stop nagging already? I think my brain is melting from the noise. Please just let me focus on my barbecue. As you can see, I’m the only one who’s grilling food for everyone here, so yea, a little sympathy will be most appreciated, thanks.”

With contempt etched in his scowl, Mark passed some raw food to Jackson. “As if you’re the only one working hard! What, am I not doing enough for you as your errand boy? Besides, you brought this job upon yourself by being a Gordon Ramsey over everyone else’s grilling skills, effectively setting yourself up as the only qualified chef,” he quipped, before adding, “I must admit, though… The air in these parts is refreshing. A mansion built here should be very profitable.”