Chapter 36
Chapter 36
“A–Ariana…” Fiona stood up, frightened when she saw Ariana. She was about to back away when Brian grabbed
her wrist.
“Where are you going?” he asked leisurely. “You’re not done with my shoes. Get on your knees and continue wiping until I tell you to stop.”
“…Yes, Mr. Lodge.” Fiona got back on her knees and continued wiping Brian’s shoes.
He leaned back in his seat and looked at Ariana. “Plenty of people can do the things that you don’t want to, Ariana. In fact… They might do it better than you can.”
“I’m not here to let you nauseate me, Mr. Lodge,” Ariana said coldly.
Brian looked unfazed. “I can act like nothing happened as long as you kneel before Eve and apologize to her. The engagement party will go on as usual, and I’ll give the Torrey family a huge investment.”
He snorted when Ariana didn’t speak. “It’s just getting on your knees and apologizing–your knees should be used to this treatment, right? It’s not like you haven’t done it in the past. Can’t you do it now?”
He got up and approached her. “If you want to be a lapdog, you have to play the part well. You used to be obedient, didn’t you?”
Ariana felt nauseated by his presence and took a step back to put distance between them. Then, she sat on the couch and said, “Allow me to remind you that I wouldn’t be here if not for Ms. Lambert begging me, Mr. Lodge.
“I only have one thing to say–I don’t care whether you withdraw your investment or do your best to ruin Torrey Co. As for apologizing to Ms. Granger…”
She looked up at him and smiled. “I’m not the one who held the knife to her neck and forced her to slash it. Why should I apologize to her?”
Brian’s smile disappeared at her words. Ariana’s flippant attitude frustrated him. He couldn’t calm down. He said icily, “You’d better think about what you’re saying before getting the words out of your mouth, Ariana.”
“I’m perfectly aware of my words, Mr. Lodge. I’m not apologizing to anyone,” she said. “You can ask me a thousand times, but my answer will be the same.
The tension thickened. At that, Fiona ran to Ariana and said “I know I shouldn’t have come to see Mr. Lodge, but you shouldn’t throw a tantrum at him because of this! It’s all thanks to him that the Torrey family has everything it does now. We’ll be dead meat if he withdraws his investment!”
“Allow me to also remind you that your surname is Piper, not Torrey. What does my family’s matters have to do with you?” Ariana asked. Her sharp tone made Fiona pale.
“Fine, then! This is great!” Brian barked out a derisive laugh at Ariana’s attitude. “Jumping into that pool has addled your brains. You sure sound tough now!”
“Thanks for the compliment, Mr. Lodge. It’s all thanks to you throwing the ring into the pool–it helped wake me up,” Ariana said indifferently. “All I want is to be with the person I love, but how can a marriage that’s destined to be unjust have love in it?
“Not only am I not going to apologize, but I’m also not going to get engaged to you, Mr. Lodge. You should look for a new target. If Ms. Granger is really off limits, Ms. Pip here is a good candidate.”
She glanced at Flona. “At the very least, she’s willing to cas all her pride and dignity aside to do whatever you want, That’s how I used to be ”
