Chapter 1296: Chapter 1304

Ariana vented her fury.

“What’s wrong with me avoiding you? We have no connection now, and I have every right to avoid you.

It’s better if we never cross paths again!”

But before she could finish her tirade, a sudden ki*s descended upon her lips, firm and commanding.

Ariana’s frustration boiled over, her struggles intensifying as she sank her teeth into Holden’s lips and lashed out with her hands in fury.

She tasted blood.

Yet despite the pain, Holden clung to her, his grip unyielding.

Feeling deeply aggrieved, Ariana’s tears flowed freely.

Seeing her tears, Holden released her, flustered by her distress.

Ariana pushed him away, tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried out, “What do you want from me? Do you want to label me as your ‘mistress’? Everyone knows you’re engaged!”

Holden tenderly ki*sed away her tears, saying, “You’re not a mistress.

Don’t speak of yourself that way.

Please, stop avoiding me.

Give me time, and I’ll give you a solution.

”

Ariana scoffed bitterly, wiping her tears as she said, “Time? How long do you need? Should I wait until Sadie’s baby is born? Or should I wait until you both age? By then, I’ll be dead, won’t I?”

Ariana was so enraged that she began to speak nonsensically, but before she could finish her sentence, Holden silenced her with a passionate ki*s, pressing his lips against hers.

“No, that won’t happen.

Even if death comes, I’ll face it by your side.

” Holden embraced Ariana tightly, showering her with ki*ses.

Ariana’s phone interrupted their moment, prompting her to push Holden away abruptly.

“I need to take this,” she declared, her tone curt.

Holden remained silent, nodding in acquiescence.

He answered the call, put it on speakerphone, and passed the phone to Ariana.

Ariana bristled at his actions but held her tongue.

Mitchel’s worried voice filled the room.

“What’s going on? Where are you? Why weren’t you picking up my calls?”

The tension from her encounter with Holden lingered as Ariana took Mitchel’s call.

Clearing her throat, Ariana instinctively glanced at Holden’s sullen expression.

Then, in a casual tone, she said, “I’m home.

I must’ve silenced my phone by mistake just now.

”

She swiftly concocted an excuse to dismiss the situation,

worried that Mitchel might detect something amiss.

Then, she asked, “Why are you calling me at this hour?”

Mitchel seemed to exhale a sigh of relief before explaining, “Rodney wants to know if you’re free next week.

The farm just received a shipment of top-notch bait, and Rodney knows that Melon is quite keen on fishing.

He’s offering the best bait.

Would you and Melon like to come over next week and go fishing?”

“Alright, we’ll come over next week,” Ariana replied.

The conversation between the two sounded remarkably familiar and intimate, similar to that of a family.

They exchanged a few more words, but Ariana detected Holden’s face turned colder.

Sensing his mood, she quickly said to the phone, “I have something else to attend to; I have to go now.

”

“Okay, I’ll pick you up this weekend,” Mitchel replied.

With that, they ended the call.

As Ariana tucked away her phone, her back turned to Holden, she felt an unexplained sense of guilt.

The room descended into a heavy silence.