Sentenced to Marriage

Chapter 104

His health

We had to wait for another hour until the chaos that we had caused at the shareholders’ meeting would finally pass, and we could hope for a moment of privacy. The pictures found by Alan and Norton helped define the ultimate villains and heroes in our story, and no one dared vote against firing the current CFO, COO, and CMO. Nonetheless, even if Aren had always been prepared to offer those positions to somebody else, in case it was necessary, a change like that could never look positive in the public’s eyes. Besides, there was one more issue that worried me…

“What if Hill, Cooper, and Dawson start spreading rumors about the company? They can say anything now; they are already fired, which means they have no restraints,” I said, as we walked out of the auditorium, heading to the elevator. Aren chuckled. “They are not going to talk “How can you be so sure?” “They broke one of the fundamental laws in their contracts with Lan Diamond Corporation. They know that they can expect lawsuits because of that, and adding insulting my wife as an acting CEO of the company is only going to increase the number of zeros in the demands paragraph.” He smirked and pulled my hand, heading toward the elevators. I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t get it. If they can already expect things to be bad and they no longer have anything to lose, wouldn’t they try to bring the company down with them?”

Aren locked his beautiful black irises on me, looking at me with absolute confidence. “They have everything to lose. They are going to count on a settlement that could save at least a tiny ounce of their fortunes. They are not going to jeopardize that.”

“Is Lan Diamond Corporation planning to go on a settlement with them?” I smiled wryly, starting to feel annoyed that those jerks could get away with what they did.

Aren grinned evilly. “Oh, we are surely going to make them an offer, but I doubt if any of them would accept it.”

His words made me more and more confused. “The more reasons they’ll have to defame Lan Diamond Corporation. All they have to do is go to the press, and -”

“No one will talk to them,” he claimed, walking into his private elevator and pressing the top floor button.

I followed him, giving him a crooked smile. “I’m not certain what gives you all this confidence.

“You,” he said before kissing my forehead. “You gave me a perfect weapon against them.’

I gasped. “You mean the information I found to blackmail them? Are you going to threaten them that you will leak it to the press?”

“No, we will release it anyway because I am planning to crush them all for what they did. I merely don’t intend to put my former executives in the recent headlines.” He chuckled coldly.

“I will wait. I will let them live, breathe, and hope. And then I will take their money for defamation, destroy their lives by using the information you found, and finally, send them to jail for bribery.”

Chills ran down my spine. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

He laughed and slid his arms around my waist. “That will never happen, sunshine.”

Despite the questions and turbulence surrounding us, at that moment, I felt nothing but bliss and happiness. I could feel his warmth again and stare into his amazing like the greatest blessing I could receive. I smiled at him, my hand reaching to stroke his cheek when suddenly I realized that his skin was cold. I looked at him closely… Only then did I see that he was pale, pretending to be strong but slightly leaning his back against the wall to maintain his balance.

“Aren… Are you OK?” I asked, feeling guilty that I hadn’t noticed it before. He didn’t answer, only smiled faintly before leaning forward inertly into my arms. Under his weight, I stumbled back against the elevator wall. “Aren!” I called out, watching him lose consciousness. He lifted his head slightly to look at me but

wasn’t strong enough to stand. Once the elevator door opened, I pushed him away and put his arm over my shoulders, then my arm around his waist as I tried to walk him out. Fortunately, Neil was there in the corridor and ran to help me as soon as he saw us. He grabbed Aren’s other arm, flinging it over his shoulders so that we could lead him to the office.

“We need to take him back to the clinic,” I said to Neil while I trembled in fear, guilty that he had overstrength himself because of me.

“I’m fine… I just need to rest,” Aren mumbled, barely able to keep his eyelids open. Neil and I put Aren on the sofa. He looked paler by the second. Seeing him like that filled my heart with anxiety again. I rushed to give him a glass of water. I sat next to him on the sofa and held the glass against his mouth so that he could drink at least a little.

“I think we need to call Miranda,” I said, glancing at Neil while stroking Aren’s face. He smiled wryly. “I already did when I took Mr. Lan out of the clinic, and” His words were cut by the sound of the slamming open door as Miranda stormed into Aren’s office.

“Where is he?!” she shouted, slamming the door behind her. “If he has a death wish, then I could be the one who grants it!”

Neil stepped in front of her, blocking her way to Aren.

I glared at Miranda. “Keep your voice down. I know that he acted recklessly, but he did it to help me and to save his own company.”

“Nice to see you too, Miranda,” Aren mumbled, a faint smirk crossing his lips.

She sighed and raised her hands in surrender. Once she did, Neil stepped aside so she could pass. She gave me a crooked smile before shifting her attention to Aren. I checking Aren’s forehead and comparing his temperature and examining his pupils, and couldn’t help but feel annoyed. I knew that she was a

doctor and his friend, but she was also a woman, and no matter how ridiculous my emotions were, I could hardly stand another woman touching him.

“You should go back to the clinic. You didn’t even let any doctor examine you before you

dressed in that suit and escaped from the clinic.” Her irritation was more than obvious in the tone of her voice.

“What?!” I burst out and glared at Aren.

He shrugged. “I asked Neil to tell me what was going on, and going here seemed more important.”

“‘Than your life?! Are you insane?!” I snapped.

“Hey! Don’t shout at my patient!” Miranda exclaimed.

“That’s my husband! I have the right to shout at him!” I hissed. “Ladies… please…” Neil stepped in, trying to calm us down, but he only made our glares shift to him.

“If he didn’t want to act reasonable, then at least you should,” Miranda said, crossing arms over her chest.

“He is my boss…” Neil muttered, lowering his head. I looked at my husband, who seemed to be amused with all of us caring more about his health than he was. “We are going back to the clinic because I need to be sure that you are really all right.” I stroked his hair and gazed into his eyes, feeling the anxiety painfully flooding my entire body. “I can’t even imagine losing you again,” I mumbled. He faintly grabbed my hand and smiled at me. “You will never lose me, sunshine.”

*

**

Aren and I spent the rest of the day in the clinic, where I accompanied him during all kinds of medical examinations he was forced to go through. Surprisingly, the results showed that he turned out to be in excellent health except for the fact that he showed signs of fatigue as he forced his body to act with full strength right after he had spent the last twenty-two days without using his muscles. I nearly cried, relieved after hearing that there was nothing wrong with my husband. After receiving several IV drips with all sorts of nutrition substances, Miranda finally announced that I could take him home.

I had to say that it felt slightly surreal observing Aren passing the penthouse’s threshold and throwing his suit jacket on the sofa in the hall. I stopped at the door, appreciating that moment with my watery eyes and a smile curving my lips.

“What?” Aren laughed as he caught me watching.

“Nothing,” I said softly, “I just missed you. I’ve been missing you every single day.”

Aren chuckled and walked toward me, swiftly wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing me against him. “I’ve been dreaming about you…” He leaned over me, his breath on the crook of my neck

I tangled my fingers in his hair, gently playing with his soft strands. “Were they good dreams? ” I whispered.

He shook his head. “You were crying, calling out my name, but I could only hear your voice. I kept running around like I was inside a never-ending labyrinth, but I couldn’t find you anywhere, and then suddenly…” he paused, his voice cracking. “It’s OK now,” I murmured, gently leaning back so I could kiss his forehead. “You came back

to me, and that’s all that matters.”

We stayed still for a while, standing in a tight embrace until our heartbeats became

synchronized. We would have probably stayed like this for hours if it wasn’t for the sound of my ringing phone. It was Chris. I took the call and put him on speaker.

“Are you guys watching the news?!” His agitated voice instantly filled me with anxiety.

“No… why?” I asked nervously.

“Today’s events from Lan Diamond Corporation are all everywhere, and both of you are their main topic!”