Dangerous Love: You Are My One and Only Bride novel Chapter 1809

One of the few things in life that lit up Arianne’s fuse was seeing a man hit a woman. The very act of it stung her eyes and carved a frown on her face. “We’ll pay for your son’s medical bills, and that’s our last word on the matter. Excuse us, we’re not interested in your family’s internal debacle—and really, those things belong to the confines of your house, don’t you think? To bring it out on the streets like that—God, it’s just so embarrassing! Honestly, if we’re being strictly objective here, then everyone’s got fault in this. All of us need to go home and teach our children proper manners.”

Unfortunately, Arianne’s plan was thwarted the moment they returned home—Smore had sprinted up the stairs to his room before bolting it shut from the inside. Arianne rapped on the door for a good few minutes, but the brat refused to answer. “Go away, Mom! I know you’re gonna beat me up. I’m not stupid enough to open the door!”

Arianne could feel her hair bursting into flames of rage. This little twerp—he was only a bit older and already he was nigh-impossible to be disciplined! And now here he was, having picked up the habit of locking his mother outside the room!

It was not like Arianne genuinely intended to discipline her son physically; she only wanted to talk to him—correct him on his erroneous ways through good advice and whatnot, telling him not to go straight into bloodying someone’s nose over a petty squabble. If the boy continued to act that way every time he met anything against his sensibilities, he would only create more mayhem than help.

Mark returned home around the evening that day, and Arianne welcomed him by slamming the full brunt of her unallayed rage at him. “You go talk to the fruit of your loins upstairs and do something about him, mister! Because apparently, teaching him to behave is beyond me now!”

Mark was bemused. “What… happened? I heard that you left the office earlier today before time, so where did you go? And what’s wrong with Smore?”

In the same breath, Arianne recounted everything to Mark, whose silence and lack of reaction began to sow doubts in her mind about her husband’s stance. When he still made no comment by the end, her ire was reignited.

“Okay, what’s with the tight lips, huh? What, this whole thing’s a trifle to you? Not enough to warrant your esteemed evaluation? I don’t know if you’ve realized it, Mark, but your son is only three-years-old, and he’s already acting like he’s justified in dispensing punishment however he sees fit. Look at me and tell me you don’t worry about his future behavior!”

Mark took a second before finally breaking his silence. “What grounds for worry are there, exactly? My father had taught me since I was a boy that I should never shackle myself from doing whatever I want as long as I know I’m capable of it. Why cripple yourself with these restraints and restrictions and limits; what good are they for? We live in a dog-eat-dog society, Arianne. A jungle of prey and predators. Those who don’t possess the slightest talent or power, yet bear the temerity to affront us predators... deserve nothing less than to be put down and crushed back into place. And now, look at me. There’s not a single person in the entire Capital I cannot touch if I so please, is there?”

Arianne was stunned. So this… was the philosophy the Tremont Family had chosen to implant into their progenies’ mind? It resembled nothing like the values she held dear to herself. She would never want Smore to grow up as someone like Mark—their son could be as good, talented, and successful in business like his father for all she cared, but she did not want to see him inhumane!