"So, would you like some coffee?" asked Veronica, the wedding planner, who had already looked like she had overdosed on caffeine."Yes, please," I said, yet secretly I was dreaming of something with alcohol."Black or white?" She tossed while gesturing to the waiter."Flat white," I replied, pulling out my phone. While Veronica was busy placing our orders, I texted Aren, "You'd better show up here. I cannot make those decisions on my own."I kept cursing him inwardly. I was new to this world of the richest, and I felt lost. I had no idea how it all worked, what was appropriate, and what was not.Aren texted back, "I'll join you in an hour. In the meantime, Veronica will lead you through it. You can do it. I trust you."The inner heat that appeared within me after I read those last three words wiped the frown off my face. As I exhaled, the annoyance disappeared. My heart started to pound, but at a different beat. Could I really do it? Was I capable of playing the role of Aren Lan's per
Blue. Now that I thought about it, it was the one color that had always been present in Aren's surroundings. It was visible in Lan Diamond Tower's architectural design, in the blue shades of glass that formed a crystal vault. It was also in Lan Diamond Corporation's logotype, not to mention, the most obvious example of Aren's enterprises—the Blue Crystal Hotel.I had long known that Aren cherished his mother's name. Perhaps he thought that by making her name's meaning present in his life, he could keep the memory of her vivid. I bet that it was also a clear message to the Winton family so they would know where his loyalty lay.I had never even thought that choosing the color of the flower arrangements and wedding decorations could have any significant meaning, but it did for Aren, and I kept grinning inwardly, overjoyed with the accidental right choice I made.While Aren talked on the phone, Neil filled me in that there was one more place we needed to go that day—I had to get myself a
"Oh... My... God!" I heard Michael exclaim behind my back, and Miranda's wicked chuckle followed.As I turned around, I saw Miranda, leaning her back against the door frame with her hands crossed over her chest. Michael stood on the threshold, his mouth open wide in shock as he looked at me."What have you done to him?" he asked, his eyes wide in terror. "Are you a witch or something? Or is he on drugs? If you fed him with something that makes him act like this, then girl, I want to meet your supplier!" he demanded, still looking at me as if I were an extraterrestrial species.Miranda prodded his elbow. "I told you, she's special."I laughed nervously, walking their way. "Truthfully, I don't know what happened just now… He… He just…" I paused, frantically searching for words to describe it, but my mind was one hot mess.Miranda grinned and winked at me. "Let's get inside and talk. And you…" She pointed at Michael. "Get that prosecco out of the fridge and three glasses. We would need t
It pretty much looked like I was far too dumb to become Aren's wife... according to his mother at least. I had spent hours scrutinizing every detail of that jewelry box, but nothing had brought me any closer to cracking the opening mechanism! It was killing me! I had always been a riddle master, but now... I couldn't even see the damn riddle! Discouraged, I took a picture of each side of the box, put it back into the safe, and went to bed.For the next few days, I kept looking at the pictures I took during every coffee or lunch break, hoping for a sudden revelation. At least I got the exact distraction I needed so I wouldn't feel like a sex-addict suffering from withdrawal. I texted Aren several times, but curt, short replies were the only messages I got back from him. I knew I should blame him, though. He must have been struggling to solve every problem before the wedding date. After two days, I stopped even ending my messages with a question mark, sending him words of encouragement
There was no chance that Veronica wouldn't tell Neil every single detail about our visit to the Wintons' mansion as soon as we left and called it a day. My phone rang exactly fifteen minutes later. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this, Ms. Bell!" I heard Neil nearly cry out as I took the call. "Don't be. You told me to call you, and I didn't, but mostly because I was sure that I could handle it on my own," I said, wondering where my confidence came from. "Still... You are aware that I needed to report this to Mr. Lan? He got very mad… Please don't blame me if he calls you... " His concerned tone sent a wave of anxiety right through my body. Something about Neil's words annoyed me. Would Aren truly blame me for taking care of the problem myself instead of using Neil? Why would I need to pretend I was weak when I wasn't?! It was the first time that I felt strong enough to stand up against someone like Vanessa and keep my head held high. Somehow, my good mood burst like a soap bub
I stared in awe at the shining gem lying in my hand for a few long minutes. Its color was intensely blue, and no matter from what angle I looked at it, the stone was perfectly clear. I had never seen anything as beautiful. Did Aren truly want me to have it? It felt surreal. Wasn't it some kind of family heritage, passed from generation to generation? It was more than obvious that the "diamond" in the name of Aren's company wasn't a coincidence either. How could I become the new owner of something like that?I put the diamond back into the pocket of the jewelry box and grabbed my phone since I had little knowledge about expensive gems. As soon as I googled the basic information, I froze, realizing that the pretty blue stone inside the box could be worth more than twenty million dollars! Certainly, that wasn't a sum of money that could overwhelm Aren, but I was close to a heart attack! Two seconds later, I was calling Aren, with my heart thundering with anxiety."Hello, Sunshine," he sa
The throbbing in my head painfully announced my returning consciousness. The ache was strong enough to make me feel sick. I tried opening my eyes, but I saw nothing but black. As I slowly regained my senses, I realized that I was tightly blindfolded with some dark piece of fabric. I was sitting on a hard, uncomfortable chair with my hands tied behind the back of the seat and another rope restraining me at my waist. My bare feet were stiff and painful from touching a smooth, cold floor. My whole body felt sore and numb. I wondered how many hours I had been sitting there. I shivered uncontrollably, but I couldn't say if it was because of the low temperature in the place I was in or of my body's exhaustion. My heart pounded, spreading the adrenalin in my veins as the overwhelming fear paralyzed me. Where was I? Was there anyone inside that room, watching me right now? What kind of a sick bastard could have kidnapped me and why? Was it because of Aren? The squeaking sound of the door ope
Tears started to wet my blindfold and flow down my cheeks, tears of fear and helplessness. I had never been so lost in my entire life. I shifted my weight from one frozen foot to another without even fully knowing what the place that I was locked in looked like."Focus, Cora! Focus! You need to think!" I shouted at myself, forcing out the last ounce of my strength.I could still hear those vicious men laughing outside my door, but I knew that they were getting ready to evacuate, and they would leave me here as soon as all the explosives were set. I heard one of them saying that the trigger would be placed on the door handle, and as soon as someone opened the door from the outside, the whole building would blow up. I knew that Aren wasn't stupid enough to walk in without checking the whole place, but what if he acted irrational and hasty? I was on the edge of a panic attack, but I couldn't allow myself to lose my senses.Breathing deeply, I took cautious steps toward the wall and then