I knew I should have spent that night being proud of myself, but I had spent it crying. I wanted to be loved, and I wanted to fight for this love, but not at the price of losing myself. I was afraid that one day I would wake up bitter and tired of waiting for something that would never happen. Perhaps I was the one being selfish; I wanted him to have feelings for me just because I was filled with feelings for him, but I grew up learning that I had the right to be loved without needing to beg for it. Right now, I felt as if I was on my knees, begging him, waiting like a dog for a bone. It was pathetic. I told Aren that I would wait until after Lan Jing's birthday, but I couldn't understand why that event had to determine our relationship. Was he going to miraculously open his heart for me then? Would a witch cast a spell upon him, and he would realize that he loved me all along? I couldn't deny that my heart fluttered every time I saw him, that every time he touched me I felt shivers,
I spent that short night lying in Aren's arms. There was something bittersweet about it. We were hugging each other without our desires exploding within us or driving us to the edge of sanity. I took pleasure in feeling Aren's warmth covering my body, his strong arms keeping me from falling off the sofa. His heart beat at a soothing rate, allowing me to sleep soundly until the merciless alarm woke us up.He already had his suitcases prepared and was ready to go straight to the airport. I went there with him, watching him get on board his private jet and fly off. My chest suddenly squeezed as if I was saying my final goodbye to him, at the same time knowing that the day I would walk away from him could feel much worse than that.I wanted to shake off that depressing sensation as soon as I could, and there was only one way I was able to do that: by planning Operation Blue Dreamland. I called Jack and told him what we had and what we could get if we went to Blue Dreamland. I was glad whe
Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the coffee shop, and Lanfen was sitting in front of me. Did the feeling that it could be a trap cross my mind? Of course, but I wouldn't miss the chance to get to know my enemy. Jack trained me a little about observation, but it didn't look like someone was following us. The people inside the café that Lanfen invited me to seemed normal as well. Nevertheless, I knew that I couldn't lower my guard just because I thought it was safe around. "I'm Cora Lan," I corrected, underlining the last name before I took the first cautious sip from my coffee cup. Her lips curled up gracefully. "Of course, you are, Mrs. Lan," she said, her voice polite and serene. I had to give it to her—she was mesmerizing. From the top of her head to her small feet adorned by Dior black high heels, she was flawless. I couldn't stop staring at her porcelain complexion and her almond eyes with glowing irises in a frame of thick eyelashes, not to mention her ideal jawline and tiny
I froze, looking at Lanfen in disbelief. I had to admit that her story made some sense. If she truly was the target, that would have explained why she was the only one who appeared in the footage while the rest of whoever came there didn't. Still, I had a feeling that I was missing something..."How did you fool them?" I asked, tracing her face to catch the slightest change in her expression.She blinked at me. "Pardon?""If those professionals came there to kill you, how did you manage to escape? Besides, I saw you running out of Aren's room, and I didn't see anyone else," I said.Lanfen sighed. "I know it might sound silly, but I hid in the closet in Aren's room, hoping they wouldn't find me. One of them even walked inside... I was afraid that he might hurt Aren, but, fortunately, he didn't. Someone called that guy over, and he left the room, and then they all left. I waited for a while before I decided to run away from there... That's probably when you saw me."I hated the way her
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 L
It came to me as a shock. When I initially heard the story about how his relationship with Lanfen ended, it seemed tragic, yet it left some room for misunderstanding. I should have known that Aren wouldn't want to tell me every single detail of their relationship. No man would want to dwell on the subject that made him broken. Nonetheless, Lanfen had miscalculated. She was confident that Aren didn't have any evidence against her. She thought that as long as she blamed it all on her family, she still had a chance with Aren. Over my dead body! I would not let her get anywhere near my husband! I was mad at myself that I didn't see right through her from the start. I should have trusted my instincts, and at that moment, I made a promise to myself that I would always listen to whatever my gut feelings told me. Aren was supposed to come back to New York on Thursday, and we were going to fly together to China on Friday afternoon. In the meantime, he sent me a few details about his family, w
*Trigger Warning* Dear readers, please be aware that the second part of this chapter contains a description of physical abuse and an attempted sexual assault. I was cold, lying on something hard and uncomfortable. The place I was in was lit by nothing more than a few dimly glowing light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. I could barely see anything aside from the concrete floor and walls. My hands were cuffed and chained to a large steel ring that was built into a concrete wall right behind where my head lay. I looked at my body; I was barefoot, wearing nothing but lingerie and something that resembled a white, short, see-through nightgown. I looked around and realized that I was inside the spacious, empty hall of a raw-state building. Through the row of floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see that it was completely dark outside, and since I could see no buildings or trees, I guessed that I must have been on one of the high floors. I pulled the chain enough to sit up, but that was the furt
I opened my eyes and faced the bright sun rays creeping through the window of a familiar hospital room in Aren's clinic. It took me a while before my brain fully acknowledged that I was safe. Once I did, I let out a soft exhale along with a few tears. I was lying still as the memories flashed back before my eyes, making me wonder what had happened and how I had found myself in the clinic. I thought of sitting up. I lifted my head and instantly welcomed an overwhelming headache."Miranda said that you shouldn't move." I heard Chris's voice and saw him leaning over me a second later. "I can pull up the bed if you want to sit." His lips curled into a faint smile.I nodded, looking at him numbly and processing why he was in my room. As he pulled my bed up so I could sit, I took a closer look at him. He was wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of combat pants, but even the dark fabric couldn't hide the dried bloodstains—proof of the fight. Only then did I realize that it was his voice I hear