Sentenced to Marriage

Chapter 73

Putting on a show Perhaps, he said. Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut. With a stiff smile on my face, I tried to contain my boiling emotions. The sting of jealousy was painfully spreading throughout my body and made me hate Lanfen even if I didn’t know her. Why had I even mentioned that I would look for her?! I didn’t want to find my husband’s ex! If she was out of his life, then it would be better if it stayed that way! I hated the way her name and the memory of her could stir his emotions. It made Aren agitated and anxious. She caused it, and, as much as I didn’t like to admit it, I envied her. I bet that she knew Aren before he decided to lock all of his emotions away. She could have had his love, but she rejected him. Whoever she was and whatever her motives were, she didn’t deserve to come back to his life. “Sunshine, are you worried?” Aren asked, smiling.

“Of course I am!” I snapped. “No girl likes to hear that her man’s ex is in town!” I might have gone a little overboard with the volume because my words had instantly drawn Romina to our table.

“You have a beautiful girl with ya, and you’re still in contact with your ex?! You should be ashamed of yourself!” Romina exclaimed, sassily smacking Aren’s shoulder. I barely stifled a laugh. Aren shot me a “do something” look, but I just started at the scene with my hand clamped on my mouth.

“I’m not in contact with my ex!” Aren protested. “I haven’t seen her in years!”

With one hand on her hip and the other snapping her fingers, she said, “You should forget your ex then. Focus on the cutie-pie you have, and buy her a lot of food ’cause she’s too thin.”

Then she gave Aren another smack on the shoulder “just in case,” and she walked away.

“I’m sorry!” I burst out laughing as she walked away. “I couldn’t help it; it was hilarious!” Aren frowned at me. “Hilarious?! She hit me!” I rolled my eyes at him. “What do you want me to do? Kiss the place where it hurts?” Aren smirked. “Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ve got a lot of aching places in my body. I think I might need special care tonight.” I sighed but couldn’t hide the fact that his words sent all sorts of lewd visions to my mind. “There’s something else we need to discuss.” Suddenly, Aren’s tone became sharp

and serious. “Tomorrow is Callan’s funeral.” The news wiped my smile in a flash. I didn’t want to go there because I wasn’t sorry that he died. How could I sincerely express my condolences to the family who knew that I testified against their son, and if it was partially my testimony that put him in jail and got him dead? “It’s going to be hell…” I huffed in frustration. “You have no idea.” Aren gave me a wry smile. “The coroner said that there were no signs of a struggle, so Callan’s death is officially announced as a suicide.”

“Seriously?!” I snapped. “That’s bullshit!”

DO

Aren chuckled coldly. “Of course it is. Jack wanted a second opinion, but Packton refused. The case is closed with two prison guards fired for neglecting their duty…” I shook my head. “That is so unfair… but Vanessa is so going to use it.” Aren smiled and reached for my hand again. “I’m afraid she will, but don’t worry, we will get through this together.” I raised my eyebrows at him. “Am I a part of your private life again?” He leaned down and kissed the back of my hand. “Sometimes you are the only thing that makes me feel alive.”

Smooth talker. How could he screw up so badly and then say only the right things? I couldn’t even pretend that I hadn’t forgiven him yet. My whole body melted under the mere touch of his hand. As much as I was terrified to admit it, I reacted solely to him, as if there was an invisible mark on me. I belonged to him.

***

I spent that night in Aren’s arms and in Aren’s bed. We were both tired and quickly fell asleep. I woke up refreshed and filled with energy. As I shifted to face my husband, I smiled, appreciating his beautiful sleeping face, his long lashes, perfectly shaped cheekbones, nose, and jaw.

“Have you stared enough, sunshine?” Aren chuckled, startling me as he opened his eyes.

“Never,” I whispered, “Staring at your gorgeous face is my newest addiction.” A heartbeat later, I was pinned to the bed, and Aren was on top of me. “I can live with that,” he breathed, leaning over me to claim my lips. As his hands roamed down, caressing my skin, I shut my eyes tightly and forced myself to push him away. “Hate to spoil the mood, but we need to prepare…” I grimaced. “You are so cruel, sunshine,” he purred before biting the crook of my neck

“Hey!” I smacked his back “What if you leave a mark there?!”

He smirked. “Then the Wintons would finally have proof that I’m a vicious animal.”

“You’re unbelievable.” I clicked my tongue while getting out of bed.

“But you like me that way.” He chuckled.

“I love…” I froze at what I was about to say before nervously clearing my throat.

Did he realize it as well? Or maybe he would choose to ignore it, or take it as a slip of the tongue? I wasn’t ready for this. I had yet to sort out everything that was going on between Aren and me.

“I should take a shower,” I tossed as I hurried out of his room.

I prepared myself automatically, trying to pretend that I wasn’t about to say anything that could sound like a confession. I put on delicate, appropriate makeup and wore a black Chanel dress… with a scarf that I didn’t plan to wear, and which I added when I realized that the concealer might not be enough to cover Aren’s bite mark. Was he a dog in his previous life or

something?!

After we drank a quick coffee, it was time to get to the Wintons’ mansion. I tried to prepare myself for the worst that could happen, like Vanessa calling me names and all kinds of accusations in front of the

reporters, but frankly, I was terrified. Aren kept squeezing my hand as we were on our way there, but this time I felt this kind of comfort wasn’t enough.

“If something happens, stand behind me and I will deal with it,” he said decisively. “No,” I muttered, shaking my head. “I will look like a coward if I do that… Everyone will think that I am guilty.” “I promised to protect you, and I will,” he claimed firmly. I smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Then assist me and protect me when things go south; otherwise stand and watch.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you sure about that?” Well, I wasn’t. Truthfully, I had no idea how to handle Vanessa; I only knew that I needed to state my arguments by myself. As soon as we got near the gate, we saw a thick crowd of reporters, waiting for juicy comments on the rich boy who died in a prison cell. The gate opened and we were about to drive inside when suddenly, we saw Vanessa blocking the driveway, standing with her arms spread wide.

“What the hell?!” Marcus snapped and quickly turned to Aren. “Sir, instructions?”

“Just stop. We will get out of the car, and you will drive past her,” Aren said. “But Sir, there are reporters, and Mrs. Lan—” Aren grabbed my hand and said, “I will take care of my wife… if things go south.” I smiled at him, took a deep breath, and got out of the car, waiting for Vanessa’s show to start. “How dare you show up here?! You killed the rightful heir of the Winton family! You did it, the both of you! The bastard and his whore!” Vanessa yelled, using all kinds of theatrical gestures. She was trying to paint herself as a mother who mourned after her son, making the villains of Aren and me, but she didn’t realize that I knew a few acting tricks myself, I just never had to use them before…

I clamped my mouth with my hand as I walked toward her slowly. “How can you say such awful things…” I muttered, opening my eyes wide without blinking. I waited for the reporters to turn my way and sniffled, lowering my head and pretending to cry. “What have Aren and I ever done to you? I know you have always hated Aren, but this is too much!” I burst into tears. Vanessa took a step back, as now I had the reporters in the palm of my hand. “Do you think I wanted to testify against your son? No! But this time he’d gone too far! He wanted to kill his brother and kill me! I wanted nothing more for him but to pay for

his sins! Don’t blame us if he chose to end his life with his own hand!” I fisted my hands, digging my nails into my skin, trying to make my painful expression more believable.

Once my performance had made everyone speechless for a second, Aren rushed my way, swiftly pulling me into his embrace. I buried my face in his chest, as he shielded me from the

crowd. “It’s all right, sunshine. I know how painful it is for you to be here…” Aren stroked my hair, making my act more believable, “It’s a lie! They are both lying!” Vanessa roared, but the press had already gathered around us, ignoring the venom-spilling woman completely. “Mr. Lan… Is what we just heard true? Was Mr. Winton trying to kill you and Ms…?”

“This is Mrs. Lan. That woman in my arms is my wife, and my brother tried to kill her and me on our wedding day.” With Aren’s words, the crowd’s agitation rose until all the reporters went wild.

Fortunately, the security surrounded us in seconds, allowing us to walk past the gate. I could still hear Vanessa screaming and cursing at us, but everyone seemed to ignore her. Once we walked further away from the gate, Aren finally released me from his tight embrace.

“You were absolutely perfect, beautiful,” he said, placing a sweet kiss on my lips. I chuckled. “You weren’t bad yourself, handsome. We make quite a team.” “Yes, we do.” He grinned wickedly and offered his arm in a gentlemanly way. “Now, let’s witness the rest of that freak show, shall we?” I smiled, placing my hand on his arm. I might have started to enjoy fighting by Aren’s side…