Mr. Edmond enjoyed enticing my curiosity but refused to say anything more, claiming that some facts needed to be properly swallowed. I pouted, stating that it wasn't fair, yet he stayed resilient. As we got down the hall, I finally got my purse back, along with my phone and documents. "Remember, you cannot tell anyone about the contract, and that includes your friends and family," he warned, as he saw me checking all the missed calls on my phone. I gave him a wry smile, acknowledging how hard it would be to lie to everyone for two years. First, I needed to come up with a believable story for Liam, but how could I explain getting married to a guy his ex was supposed to marry? As Mr. Edmond drove us to my apartment, I pondered whether or not to call Liam. In the end, I came up with an idiotic evasive response that I had sent in a text message. "I'm OK. I'm still alive. My purse got lost and I've got it back only now." He replied in less than a minute. "Thank God! I thought that this
By the time I finished the third glass of wine, I knew the basic information concerning Aren Lan and his family. Truthfully, it sounded like a soap opera script, a story of love, betrayal, and big money, and I would have even found the story fascinating if it weren't for the fact that sooner or later I would have to deal with that story's main characters. Should I feel fortunate that a few of them had died already? Neil was right about the necessity of drinking while listening to the story, though; the alcohol had done wonders with my ability to process the information.I learned that Aren's mother, Lan Liling, fell in love with American student James Winton. James was the son of Augustus Winton, the owner of Winton Corporation. Back in the day, Augustus's company was on the verge of bankruptcy and needed huge investments to survive. James knew that Liling was a daughter of a wealthy Chinese family and decided to persuade his girlfriend to help him. Unfortunately, Liling's father, Lan
A peal of hysteric laughter escaped my throat. I turned to my new chauffeur, praying that he would understand me and play along."Thank you for giving me a ride," I said with an awkwardly wide smile, stopping Benjamin halfway before he sat down behind the wheel.He stepped out of the car. His eyes shifted from me to Liam and back to me again."No problem, Miss." His fingers slid through the rim of his hat."Thank you," I repeated, bowing my head this time.I could see a surprise flashing through his face, yet he kept his composed expression. He nodded his head, and a few seconds later, he was pulling away from the curb. I sighed in relief as I got rid of the first part of my problem. I stepped closer to Liam, grinning like an idiot."What happened to you? Did you win a million dollars overnight or something?" he muttered, widening his eyes as he could now examine my clothes up-close."Of course not." I waved off his assumptions with my hand. "I was working at the café today when some
Once my head crashed against the water surface, I entered a state of bewilderment. I couldn't breathe. The water was cold, and I nearly panicked, sinking deeper and deeper. My mind restarted only after I saw Aren reaching out to grab my arm. He pulled me up, leading my hands to the rim of the pool. As I surfaced, I formed the strongest grip I could, and I started coughing up water. I was nowhere near drowning, but I wouldn't call staying in that freezing water a pleasant experience…"Are you all right?" Aren's voice made me raise my head.He was crouching by the pool with nothing aside from that towel wrapped around his hips. His freshly showered skin almost sparkled in the sunrise, making him absolutely God-like. I would surely appreciate him more if I wasn't freezing."I'm c-cold..." I mumbled, searching for a way to get out of this pool more gracefully than by pulling myself up and landing like a seal.He chuckled and leaned over me. "Put your arms around my neck.""W-what?" I blin
I blow-dried my hair, put on a shirt top and jeans, and was ready to come down to the kitchen. My heart rate slowed down a little, but the thought of half-naked Aren made that foolish blood pomp in my chest race again. I took many deep breaths as I walked down to the kitchen, trying to mentally prepare myself to see him again, and I sincerely hoped that this time he would be dressed.I sighed in relief when I saw him wearing a black shirt and a casual pair of jeans, but I quickly realized that it didn't make him look less disturbing... He was standing by the oven, preparing breakfast. Who would have known that this billionaire could actually use a frying pan and an oven? I walked closer and swallowed hard. He didn't make it easier for me. In his black shirt with rolled sleeves and forearm muscles tensing as he swirled vegetables in the pan, he looked insanely hot. He must have sensed me gaping at him because he shifted his eyes to me and grinned."Hope you're not allergic to eggs," he
I kept wondering what kind of a "date" Aren meant, and how was it supposed to be my assignment? I sat at the workshop, and for the first time, I couldn't focus on the job. I did some easy tasks automatically, but the parts that needed an individual approach took me longer than ever to fix. "What is wrong with you today?" Norton frowned. "You've never worked so slowly before." His comment pulled me out of my daze. I felt guilty. I had never acted sloppily in my job, and I even let someone like Mr. Always Quiet Norton point it out. "I'm sorry..." I mumbled like a scolded schoolgirl. "Norton, cut the girl some slack." Alan came to my rescue, handing me a fresh mug of coffee. "Can't you see she's thinking about a guy?" "I'm... what?" I laughed hysterically. Alan grinned wickedly, pointing at my flushed cheeks. "See, I was right. There is a guy. So... who is he?" He blinked his eyes, leaning over me. "I… He…" I panicked. I wasn't prepared to tell them anything, but since Aren and I
Benjamin drove us to the Lan Diamond Tower's underground parking lot. It was after eight, and most of the employees were already gone. Of course, Aren was still working in his office, spending his fourteenth hour answering calls and emails and dealing with all sorts of problems. I thought of going upstairs to meet him, but Neil insisted that I stay in the car until his boss was ready to come down. "Your car will be here in five minutes. You will switch cars and wait for Mr. Lan," he informed me. "I thought that Benjamin would be the one to take us there," I said, suddenly feeling anxious. "No. Marcus will be the one to take you to your date. He's Mr. Lan's private driver," Neil explained. I smiled faintly, feeling that my recently gained confidence was leaving me. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. I wanted to be courageous, but my little inner introvert made me feel awkward around new people, and I think I had already exhausted my daily limit of meeting new people. "Relax
Aren poured me another glass of wine while I started to tell him the story of my first love. Normally, I would find it uncomfortable and embarrassing, but there was something in Aren's gaze that soothed me and made me trust him. Was I making a mistake in telling him? I had never cared about rich people, and I had never researched Callan and his family, but what if Aren knew him? I observedAren as I mentioned my ex-boyfriend's name, but I couldn't read anything from his expression. Perhaps he had never heard of him, or it simply didn't matter to him. After all, it was merely something that had happened in his contract fiancée's past, one of the examples of a fairytale gone bad."I didn't care about who he was, although I heard rumors that he was from some wealthy family. I didn't like him at first. He was seriously handsome, but he was also this arrogant type who thought that everyone else was beneath him just because he had money. I stood up against him once and called him a doucheba