Dangerous Love: You Are My One and Only Bride novel Chapter 1605

Surely, this could not be Shelly’s doing, right? At least, it did not seem like it on the surface. But he had to admit, following a series of happenings, Mark had been passive and reactionary. But how could he act otherwise? Seeing Shelly living alone after a surgery uneased him. He could not stop fussing over her.

“I… I understand. I will try to bear this in mind and not do anything that may chaff you. I’ll ask someone to do what I’ve done for Aunt Shelly in my stead, as long as that’s possible. When her leg recovers, I’ll stop letting her dominate my life.”

On the surface, it sounded as though Mark was reassuring Arianne, but the truth was that he was hammering it into himself. Every time he saw Shelly, the truth behind his history would overwhelm him before it consolidated into an unreachable thorn embedded deep in his throat.

That night, Mark tossed and turned in his bed, tortured by his loss at telling Shelly he was not coming. He remembered how Shelly had excitedly rambled on and on about the dishes she would make tomorrow for them, making it impossible.

The next morning, Mark took Arianne and Smore to the West family residence. Summer, who already knew about their arrival prior, had prepared a sumptuous feast for lunch.

The first thing Smore did upon entering through the door was to play with his little buddy, Lil’ P. Together, they were fascinated by Summer’s poodle, Little Bean.

Unfortunately, the boys were currently at an age where they would play so rough that even the most playful dog would balk. Worried that the poodle’s tiny frame would not be able to withstand two excitable humans, she told Smore early on, “Okay, you can play with doggie, but you can’t lift it up, mmkay? You’ll be hurting it, and that’s no good. You also can’t hit it; that’s a no-no. Doggie is very cute and needs to be protected, right?”

Smore quickly assented to his mother’s words, and along with Lil’ P, they stared at Little Bean intently, their eyes unblinking. There were times when his little hands reached out, drawing closer and closer to the poodle, until he stopped himself and pulled them back in. It was clear that the kids really wanted to touch it.

Today, Summer had dolled Little Bean up like a little fair lady, complete with a lace dress. The outfit accentuated the poodle’s charm so much that it was small wonder that Smore was having a hard time controlling his impulses. Even Arianne was tempted to nudge the dog a little.

Meanwhile, Mark was bantering with Jackson in the living room. Every once in a while, he would look at his phone, but other than reading messages, he did not call nor appear to reply to any of it.

Arianne caught his action multiple times already and knew what was on his mind, even if she feigned ignorance. Again, if Mark relented and went to see Shelly, it would be something she could never recover from.

After lunch, Tiffany suggested shopping for some products for her baby. Since Arianne had also been eyeing some cosmetics, the shopping trip was a done deal. They left their kids at home for Summer to babysit for a while.