Dangerous Love: You Are My One and Only Bride novel Chapter 1659

Jackson had the same thought. “I’m thinking the same. I’ve been watching this space for a while now; just couldn’t plan anything with it because my company’s a bit short on funds lately. If you’re serious about this, though, may I propose a cooperation?”

Capitalists always see business in anywhere they go—even during an outdoor picnic. These two were, in particular, pretty far-gone in this regard.

Suddenly, on a decidedly bad timing, Mark’s phone rang.

Traumatized by Shelly’s relentless, obsessive pursuits these days, Mark had become very allergic to phone calls in general. He dithered for a bit before finally fishing the phone out. Seeing that it was from the office instead, his grimace eased a little. “Yes?”

No one could hear what was being said from the other side, but Mark’s face slowly crunched back into a slight scowl. He did not even say a word more before hanging it up, claiming, “I have an emergency at work requiring my immediate attention. You guys go ahead and enjoy yourself without me. I’ll come back as soon as I finish it.”

Tiffany took the chance to jab at him. “You finally got the time for Ari and Smore… and then you have to go, again. Unreliable much?”

Mark shot an unfathomable look at Arianne as though there were words ready behind his teeth, yet for some reason, he could not say them out loud.

She beat him to it. “It’s fine. Go, attend that urgent thing. Call me when you’re done.”

He nodded and hurried away.

Fortunately, Smore’s attention had been completely focused on the upcoming delicious food, so he had not spared a shred of his mind on Mark leaving. If he saw his father leaving, though, he would probably wreak havoc via another toddler meltdown.

Mark could not make it back even as the picnic was over. In the end, the group had to return to the city after deciding they should meet at White Water Bay Café.

A few months ago, Shelly had gone to the office. She then sat on Arianne’s seat and had a lengthy talk with Sylvain. Yes, that was the same day that later went awry because of a certain lunch fiasco, which was why Arianne remembered that day vividly.

Shelly had messed around with Arianne’s papers that day, too—a pile that included her latest design. Could Shelly be so desperate to oust her from the Tremont Enterprise that she saw no problem going to this extreme? Could she really be so consumed by her personal grudge that not even the reputation of the entire Tremont Enterprise was worth preserving?

Arianne dared not make a case for that. The gravity of her accusation against Shelly would be momentous, and she knew very well the disparity between herself and that woman. Shelly had the leeway to bully and torment her as many times as the former liked, but she could not—not even once—wrongly charge Shelly of any wrongdoing. A single misunderstanding was all it would take to cause Mark’s inner balance to tip over to Shelly’s side.

Since Mark was the one heading the investigation, Arianne decided against starting off something on her own that could potentially harm his work rather than help him. When the truth was finally out, she would know for sure if Shelly was, indeed, the culprit.

After dinner, the group broke off and went their separate ways. Mark drove Arianne, Mary, and Smore back to the condominium. He was not going to spend the night at her place tonight, of course—if he kept avoiding the Tremont Estate, sooner or later Shelly was going to blow up again.