Jackson, as it turned out, agreed with Mark as well, though not without trepidation. “But who’s going to be the harbinger of bad news, huh? Because I’m not doing it! How about you, Arianne? You’re her bestest-friend-in-the-whole-wide-world or whatever girls called each other, right? You also know her temperament better than I do.”
Arianne was quick to back away from the responsibility.
“Uh, but you’re married to her, right? Aren’t you more suited to this important job? Besides, you’re the one who knows how to soothe women in all kinds of mental states. Look, I’ve helped sweep the truth under the rug for so long, she’s probably going to rip me to shreds when I tell her about it, okay? So, yeah! You go and do what you do best! Just don’t pick me for the job, okay?”
Mark watched the two of them pass around the role and spoke up, “The two of you, enough! We could do it together, alright? So no one gets to be free.”
Jackson stared at him in skepticism. “By ‘together,’ you included yourself too, right?”
Frankly, Mark was a bit unwilling—but he was a man loyal to his “bro,” so he had to accept it. “Fine, fine. That includes me. Happy? Good. Now that we have a plan, we should all go back to sleep. Bring her to my place this Saturday. We’ll tell her it’s for a gathering.”
Jackson nodded worriedly. “Mm, kay. I’ll be, uh, going home now before she realizes that I’ve disappeared. Pinky-promise, y’all—we’re facing the Tiffany Hurricane together with no backsies! I don’t want nobody suddenly pulling out of this pact and leaving me behind as the sacrifice! …God, I’m scared sh*tless! Seriously, when this is over, I’ll happily repay y’all by scrubbing your floor and toilets!”
Arianne laughed in amusement. “Who said anything about scrubbing toilets? God, look at how terrified you are! Alright, let’s settle this once and for all on Saturday. You should stop tormenting yourself over it and go to sleep now. I mean, just look at the rings around your eyes! You can compete with a panda looking like that!”
Jackson had thought that his midnight trip was secretive enough. Yet, almost immediately after he stepped through the main door of White Water Bay Villa, he was almost shocked to death by Tiffany, who had disheveled hair and had donned a white sleeping gown with spaghetti straps.
She stood at the top of the stairs, her eyes piercing him. “Where. Have. You. Been? Look at how suited up you are. Wow, you even drove!”
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