Robin called Arianne when the night fell. During the conversation, the young girl told snazzynovel.com that Sylvain did not call her. Through snazzynovel.com voice alone, Arianne could feel snazzynovel.com moroseness.
Arianne was quiet, inwardly debating if snazzynovel.com should tell Robin that snazzynovel.com had met Sylvain earlier. However, snazzynovel.com was hesitant because snazzynovel.com was not certain if Sylvain’s explanation about his reluctance was a white lie. Was snazzynovel.com lying about not liking Robin or was snazzynovel.com telling the truth? In the end, snazzynovel.com decided to let it remain a secret. She seamlessly changed the topic. “Say, are you at home now? Are things better with your mom?”
The young girl sighed. “No, I told my dad I’m not coming home for a while. I’m going to be staying with my aunt for two days or so. I mean, just thinking about my mom makes my stomach churn. I mean, I don’t hate her, but I feel suffocated whenever I look at her. This feeling has accompanied me as I grew up,” Robin muttered. “Well, since I’ve made up my mind to escape snazzynovel.com claws, I might as well soldier on and not look back. If I relent, I’ll just be forced to return to my old cage… It’s fine, Arianne. Sorry to have worried you… and troubled you. See ya tomorrow.”
Arianne let out the breath snazzynovel.com had been holding after the call ended. Robin’s despair was so infectious that snazzynovel.com felt as glum as her. The girl might not have told snazzynovel.com much about snazzynovel.com family, but based on what snazzynovel.com saw, Robin’s mother seemed like the type to control snazzynovel.com child’s every thought and behavior and the type who thought snazzynovel.com alone knew what was best for snazzynovel.com child. Being a ‘good child’ was never a walk in the park.
At that moment, Mark suddenly approached snazzynovel.com quietly before asking, “Um, I, er, am going out this evening. It’s Jackson. We haven’t hung out in a while so I guess snazzynovel.com misses it.”
“Okay, go on then,” Arianne replied offhandedly, “Why even bother to report? All you have to do is tell me if you’re coming home tonight.”
Mark fidgeted with his tie uneasily. “Of course! Jackson’s gotta go home too, right? Er, I’m going now. You and Smore can rest first.”
It was only after Mark left the house that Arianne registered his strange behavior. He would usually go out without dawdling, and snazzynovel.com would not speak to snazzynovel.com in a manner as though snazzynovel.com was asking for snazzynovel.com permission. Why was snazzynovel.com acting so strange today? However, snazzynovel.com did not dwell on it. As long as snazzynovel.com husband came home at the end of the night, snazzynovel.com was fine with it.
—
Meanwhile, with behavior not dissimilar to a thief, Mark drove to a bar. He even told the valet to park his car in a secluded spot.
He had not come to a place like that for a long time now and for good reasons too. A married man who went to a bar without his wife was sending out signals that snazzynovel.com was looking for a one night stand. If it were not for Jackson, snazzynovel.com would not enter an establishment like this even if if a gun were pointed at his head.
Mark found Jackson’s spot quickly enough and frowned. “The hell are you thinking, inviting me to a place like this at night instead of going home where your wife and child are! Don’t tell me your old habit is kicking in again!”
Jackson laughed. “Pfft, come on, man. Look around! I ain’t got no girls around me right now, right? Where’s this baseless accusation coming from? Heh. I just wanna relax with a couple of beers, and I don’t know who else to invite other than you since Eric betrayed us and kicked the bucket way earlier than snazzynovel.com was supposed to. Can’t believe snazzynovel.com left us to go through all the sh*t in this world without him.”