Chapter 6
“Who told you to step forward and block it? Don’t you realize you’re pregnant?”
Mandy nestled into Eric’s embrace, her eyes beginning to redden.
“Ms. Harlan is dear to you. It would break your heart if anything happened to her. I just didn’t want to see you upset.”
Eric’s expression softened abruptly.
A flash of emotion appeared in his eyes as he spoke with intensity, “Must you keep pushing yourself to the brink to feel content?”
In response, Eric kissed her passionately.
Ariana, feeling emotionally drained, quietly stepped back and walked.
away.
Eric didn’t return to the room that night.
The following morning, Eric entered the room and stared at Ariana, disappointment written all over his face.
“I looked into it. The chandelier didn’t just drop by itself. Someone intentionally loosened the screws.”
Ariana stared back in shock.
“You think it was me?
“Since Mandy got pregnant, first there was that allergy incident, and now the chandelier.”
Chapter 6
Eric sighed.
“I explained already, after Mandy has the baby, I’ll make sure she leaves. She’s been incredibly modest, trying to win your favor, and even protected. you from the falling chandelier. Why can’t you just put up with her?”
Though it was the coldest day of winter, Ariana felt an even deeper chill
in her bones.
Eric didn’t believe her.
Eric started giving Ariana the silent treatment.
Mandy stood humbly before Ariana, her eyes swollen and red.
“Ms. Harlan, please stop targeting me. Mr. Gibson is deeply in love with you. I promise to leave once I have the baby.”
Eric stood nearby, maintaining a calm demeanor, though his eyes betrayed a storm of emotions.
Ariana was aware of Eric’s indecision.
She was also aware of Mandy’s ambitions,
Ever since everyone else referred to her as Mrs. Gibson while Mandy stuck with calling her Ms. Harlan, she had realized that Mandy was far more complex than she seemed.
But Ariana didn’t care anymore.
In just three days, she planned to leave entirely with Oliver.
Yet, the day before she was set to leave, Mandy vanished.
Eric searched frantically throughout New York for Mandy, but she was nowhere to be found.
In a fit of rage, he shattered his phone.
The people around him were terrified by his outburst.
Then. Eric turned and encountered Ariana’s serene gaze.
He looked at her, stunned and incredulous.
Doubt, disappointment, and anxiety were written all over his face.
“Sweetheart, tell me, where is Mandy?”
Ariana shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
She really didn’t know.
Eric held back his frustration.
“Behave yourself, now isn’t the time for games. Mandy is still expecting.”
“I really don’t know.”
This wasn’t the first instance he’d questioned her because of Mandy, but Ariana’s heart still felt wounded and sore.
Someone handed over Mandy’s phone from before she disappeared.
The last call was to Ariana.
Eric massaged his forehead, feeling the pounding in his temples.
“Ariana, the proof is right before us. Are you still denying it? Where could Mandy possibly be?”
Ariana chuckled icily.
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“You think I arranged for Mandy to be kidnapped just because of a single phone call?”
She remembered the call Mandy had made to her before vanishing.
“I faked the allergy myself.
“I even messed with the chandelier. I knew it wouldn’t actually hit me–I just made sure to fall on you.
“A man’s heartache and guilt are the most enduring expressions of love. I plan to make Eric feel a bit more tender, a bit more remorseful, gradually compensating me until I completely take your place.”
Mandy’s ambitious intentions were unmistakable in her voice during the call.
