Dangerous Love: You Are My One and Only Bride novel Chapter 1685

Mentioning Libby somehow caused Shelly’s face to contort in derision and disgust.

Seeing the grimace take shape in front of Arianne’s very eyes somehow fanned the flames in her. Was this how Shelly saw and used the people around her? Treating other humans as monkeys and suckers as if that made her superior to them all?

“So, what’s the next dirty, sh*tty move you’re gonna pull out, huh? Or have you reached the bottom of the barrel and are now running out of tricks? Gonna threaten Mark to fire me by using your relation to him again?” Arianne bristled hotly. “I’m warning you, don’t get too cocky. Because one day, you will go so far that you'll hoist yourself on your own petard!”

Unthinkably, Arianne’s words only made Shelly burst out laughing.

“Haha! Bless your heart, sweetie; that day won’t ever come. In fact, I dare you to tell Mark about this whole thing right now and see if he believes you! Even if Libby told you everything, so what? I am Mark’s one and only birth mother. Why would he believe the fanciful narratives two outsiders like you paint than his own family? Especially since I’ve been staying put at home like a good mother from the beginning to the end. Oh, I don’t know jacksh*t about what happened in his company now, do I? Perhaps you’ve worked together with Libby in smearing me just so you can crawl back to the Tremont Estate, too. Of course, even if you fail at every single attempt of it, you shouldn’t be ruining the relationship between me and Mark in your pettiness, should you?” she taunted, flexing the end of her sentence with faux admonishment.

It was at this moment that Arianne finally witnessed the true extent of absolute shamelessness in its full glory. “You… are the most deplorable and sorry thing I’ve ever met in my life! Not even a single trace of shame in your entire being when you bend the truth out of shape!” she fumed. “If my goal had always been to come back here, do you really think I’d need to waste my time on this?! For God’s sake, I left here precisely because I want peace of mind for me and Smore. As long as you’re here, even if you beg me on your knees, I will still never, ever, ever come back!”

Shelly strode to the coffee table and poured herself a cup of black tea, savoring its taste on her tongue. “Mark really has good taste, doesn’t he? The taste of this black tea is exquisite… Too bad his refined taste doesn’t extend to women, tee hee. Arianne, darling, if there’s nothing else for you to do here, you should leave. I don’t want to see you disturbing my life with your reeking presence, you know. Every time I see you, my body automatically retches in disgust,” she said. “So, what’s gonna come from your knowledge that I’ve been plotting against you? What can you do in retaliation, exactly? Nothing. You can do nothing but live all alone, outside, with your child like an unwanted cur, isn’t it? Mark can’t even see you unless I’m feeling particularly merciful. Without my express consent, he can’t even step out of the door! Oh, you should give up on playing this game with me, sweetie. You can’t win. Of course… if you could leave the kid to us, I guess I can stand to be just a bit nicer to you. Otherwise, well! Let’s see how long you can hold up, shall we?”

With that, she turned on her heels and headed up the stairs.

Arianne’s rage was blazing, cackling like a mad inferno. She dashed forward and snatched Shelly’s wrist, growling, “You deplorable, bastardly b*tch!”

Shelly met her gaze with contempt. “What’s this? You’re gonna get physical with me? Sure, hit me all you like. I won’t even fight you.”

Arianne knew better than to give in and punch her in the nose. If she did, it would not matter what led to this point—she would be indefensible.

It was then that Henry’s voice suddenly rang outside the door, “Mr. Tremont, welcome home.”

Arianne was still in a daze. She played back how it happened frame-by-frame in her mind, seizing on every detail she could salvage, and knew from the bottom of her heart that she did not do it. She did not push Shelly! And neither did she tug her in any way—Shelly threw herself down of her own accord!

But her fall was a little too extreme. Blood was spilling everywhere. And Shelly, frighteningly, looked like she was about to pass out any second from now.

The woman could not even answer her son intelligibly. She managed to open her mouth for a bit before appearing motionless.

Mark ordered Henry to immediately drive Shelly to the hospital.

The Tremont Estate had erupted into chaos, and yet, Arianne remained nailed to her spot with the same pose, unmoving and excluded from the snafu around her as though she was just a spectator watching from outside. Her heart was wringing in agony.

She was too acutely cognizant that even from the moment he busted through the door, Mark had not once asked of her.