Sentenced to Marriage

Chapter 118

Calling him I tried to put all the pieces together and kept wondering who the hell was Mr. C.? It looked like that guy was involved in killing Aren’s mother as well as attempting to kill Aren. Did he hold a grudge against the entire Lan family? Moreover, as soon as I heard that Richardson had been meeting a short Asian assistant, I instantly thought of Max, but that had happened over thirty years ago! If it truly was Max, shouldn’t he be in his fifties right now? I know that a lot of Asians look younger than they actually are, but seriously?! Then again, no one would have called “a short Asian guy” a precise description. What if the assistant who had contacted Richardson wasn’t Max, but Mr. C.’s other assistant? That also made me wonder if Mr. C. wasn’t Chinese, someone who had known the Lan family, and who, for some reason, decided to target Liling and then her son. Still, the only person who could come up with a list of potential suspects was Aren.

The thoughts about Mr. C., Haskett, Max, and Lanfen occupied my mind on the way back to the penthouse. I should have been glad that Alan, Norton, and I had finally gathered all the evidence we needed against Blue Dreamland, and with the new set of firewalls in the Lan Diamond Corporation system, we could be certain that the hacker attacks could never happen again. Yet, instead of being in the mood to celebrate, I felt a knot tied around my stomach while I sat holding my phone and trying to find the courage to call Aren. I was so nervous I decided to open a bottle of wine and drink a glass to soothe my restlessness. I calmed down after the second glass and felt ready after the third one. I wasn’t drunk; I would rather call my state relaxed. I picked up my phone and made the call. “Hello?” Aren’s sleepy, hoarse voice sounded through the phone.

I gasped at the sexiness of his tone. “Hi… I’m sorry… I must have woken you up, right?” I laughed awkwardly.

“It’s 4 AM in Paris-”

“I’m sorry!”

“-but it’s nice to hear your voice,” he purred into the phone, sending a wave of pleasant shivers down my spine. “I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have called you at this hour,” I sighed, giving myself a mental kick in the butt.

He chuckled. “At least I’m not working.” “And I’m taking away your sleep instead,” I said, letting out an ironic chuckle. “I would love you to take away my sleep now…” he muttered seductively. I bit my lip. He certainly wasn’t making it easier to say what I wanted to say. “The reason why I’m calling is that something happened today. I accidentally met-”

“What are you wearing?” His words caught me off guard.

“What?”

“What. Are. You. Wearing?” he asked again, his voice amused. I looked at my clothes and instantly felt the heat as if he was there looking at me with his hungry eyes. “Um… a T-shirt and a pair of shorts,” I replied, swallowing.

He murmured and then asked, “Do you have your hair tied or loose?”

“Um, tied up in a ponytail.”

“Untie your hair,” he commanded.

I chuckled nervously. “Why should I untie -” “Indulge me,” he said, deepening his alluring voice. “You are the one who woke me up at 4 AM, so you should make it up for me somehow.”

I sighed, slightly annoyed, but then took off my hairband and brushed my hair with my fingers. “There. It’s done, happy?” I grunted.

He snorted. “Do you have a bra underneath that shirt?”

“Seriously? Aren, I have something important to tell you. Could you just hear me out?” I tried to sound serious and composed, but his questions were making me more and more flustered. He didn’t listen. “I bet you don’t wear a bra, and as I got you nervous, those pink nipples of yours are slowly becoming hard.”

I looked down at my cleavage and my nipples had just become visible through my clothing. Was he some kind of a hypnotizer or a breast charmer?!

“You turned silent, sunshine, and that means I’m right,” he chuckled teasingly. I cleared my throat. “And what are you wearing, handsome?” If he could play that game, so could I.

I heard a breathy chuckle escape his throat. “I don’t wear anything. There’s hot in here, and the hotel had some problems with the air conditioning.”

My horny mind had instantly imagined a picture of Aren covered by nothing but silk sheets. I gulped. “I keep thinking about you, sunshine. I can’t focus during the day, and I dream of you at night, “he whispered to the phone. “Y-you dream about me?” I choked out and bit my lip.

“In my dreams, you come to my bedroom naked. You slid under my sheet. You are hot and wet, and you look at me with your beautiful hungry eyes. Then you kiss me while your hands roam down my body as if you were trying to prove to the entire world that I’m yours…” My heart fluttered, causing the avalanche of emotions that flooded every inch of me. The craving, the lust, and the desperate need — I could feel them all at that moment, and they all mixed with the pain of knowing that even if he said those words, there could be nothing beyond the physical attraction on his side. I closed my eyes and teased him, despite everything I felt. “You sound like you were sex deprived.”

He laughed hoarsely. “I’m an addict.”

I clenched my teeth as the blood in my veins began to boil. “Then maybe you should walk around Paris and find someone to fuck,” I hissed.

“You are the only drug for me.” His sudden statement made me shiver. “Haven’t you noticed that already?”

I pulled in a shaky breath. “I thought that you’re still hesitating…” I muttered.

“It was never a question of who. I just know that I cannot give you my all… not yet, not the way I’d want to,” he said, sounding vulnerable and honest.

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to be confident that if I could only give him a little more time, we would find our happy ending, and I was about to test that honesty. “I met Lanfen,” I blurted.

He became silent, making my heart race in anticipation. The longer the silence lasted, the more terrified I was. “Where did you meet her?” he asked after remaining quiet for more than

a minute.

“On Broadway…” I mumbled hesitantly.

“What did you do on Broadway?” An annoyance arose in his tone.

I chuckled nervously. “I went to get proof that it was someone from the Blue Dreamland who hacked our system.”

“Cora, I thought you promised me that you wouldn’t go there.” His tone turned harsh and cold.

I sighed. “I know and I’m sorry I lied to you, but nothing bad happened and I found the evidence we needed.”

“Don’t do that kind of thing anymore… and don’t lie to me,” he grunted.

I smiled. “I promise that I will never lie to you again.” “Now, tell me how you met Lanfen,” he demanded. I took a deep breath and described the whole situation. He didn’t interrupt me while I told him everything I heard. I was anxious. I couldn’t see his expression, and I heard nothing from him while I told her story. My hands started to tremble halfway through, and I struggled to breathe as if my lungs were shrinking. Finally, I told him that Lanfen knew that he wasn’t in New York, and I suspect that she kept track of whatever he was doing. “A-Aren?” I barely breathed out. “Aren, say something… I need to know how you feel about it all…”

“Do you want to know how I feel?” he asked, his tone cold and dangerous. “I am furious. I’m fucking mad, and I’m fucking disappointed in you.” I flinched. “But why?!”I cried out. “I didn’t do anything wro-”

“You should have taken Marcus or Benjamin with you! They are trained bodyguards, ready to protect you! Why the hell did you decide to talk to that fucking bitch alone without anyone around?!” he roared.

“Don’t fucking yell at me!”I growled. “I couldn’t take Marcus or Benjamin because they could blow my cover! I was trying to get evidence, remember?! It’s not like I planned to meet your fucking ex on my way out of there!”

His voice suddenly softened. “I’m sorry, sunshine… I didn’t mean to be so harsh… I just don’t want you to fight alone. To think that Lanfen approached you when she knew I wasn’t around to protect you…”

Strangely, my anger dissolved in a few seconds. None of Aren’s words were about Lanfen, as if what she told me didn’t matter. Still, I needed to know for certain. “So… you don’t believe in the things Lanfen said to me?”

He chuckled coldly. “I wouldn’t believe her, even if she was the one to tell me that the sky is blue.”

“But, what if everything that happened and the attempt to assassinate you was planned only by her family, and she didn’t know anything about it?” I muttered hesitantly.

I heard Aren taking a deep breath. “When Lanfen and I were dating, I gave her a present for our anniversary. I couldn’t afford much, but I saved money for a few months and finally bought her a golden necklace with beautiful jade. She loved it and always had it on her neck. Two days before our wedding day, I saw Lanfen talking to some guy and shoving something into his pocket. Later, I recognized that person as one of my assassins. He had this necklace in his pocket… It was given to him as an advance payment for killing me.”