All Chapters of Sentenced to Marriage: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"What the hell is this?" I hissed, looking at the document I was given. A lawyer in a fancy suit corrected his designer-rim glasses. "Your contract," he said. "Why does it say "marriage" on it?" I glared at him, blood boiling in my veins. "This is what my client needs. He needs to get married." The lawyer's expression remained emotionless, making me feel as if I was tossing all my anger into a void. I took a long breath out and glanced at the papers. "I'm not going to sign it," I said, this time more composedly, as I crossed my arms over my chest. The lawyer turned his head towards something, which I assumed was a one-way mirror. The second he did, the door next to the mirror opened with a slam, and a tall, black-haired man barged inside. It was Aren Lan, the only guy in this city whom no one dared to mess with. I looked at him, meeting his cold as stone gaze. I flinched but was unable to take my eyes off of him. For certain, he was dangerous, but he was also the most handsome man

Monique and Marco saved my life again, taking care of the cleaning and bringing the order upstairs in a brand-new un-messed-up version. Certainly not that any of them would ever let me forget what had happened. Glancing at the upper floor, I could see that with me gone, Mr. Lan acted composedly-slash-indifferently or even politely! What the hell was his problem anyway?! I stayed put behind the counter, waiting for all three businessmen to leave. I treated it like my personal bunker, keeping me safe from any nuclear reaction that this black-haired man could induce within me. I could breathe again only when the door closed behind him. I crawled out of my hiding place and started wiping the tables, preparing them for another tourist attack. Monique walked over to me with a mischievous smirk. "Here," she said, giving me a hundred-dollar bill. "What's this?" I asked, dumbfounded. "Mr. Lan said that I should give you this. He said that you should buy yourself some good ointment for the h

I was in Grandma's room, sitting by her bed, and holding her hand. She was plugged into all sorts of equipment that helped her breathe and monitored her. She looked as if she was peacefully asleep. I only hoped that she couldn't feel any pain while being in her motionless state. I talked to her often, hoping that she could hear me, or at least know that I loved her, and I wanted her back. I had never complained about anything, especially not in her presence. I didn't want her to think that she could have been some kind of a burden to me because she wasn't. She was the only family I had left, the only person I loved in this world, and the anchor that kept me going. But I wished she could tell me what to do because I was tired of being on my own, constantly dealing with all kinds of problems. I was angry and frustrated, and all kinds of "if only" swirled inside my head. If only I had more money... If only I had the diploma... If only I could have a well-paid job... "Help me, Grandma..."

A brief, hysteric chuckle flew out of my lips. My move was risky. I was practically admitting that I went through the company's files, violating their confidentiality. No one in their right mind would ever admit to committing something like that! The more annoying fact was that I couldn't play dumb while trying to prove I was smart enough to fix their problem. Aren Lan went back to the middle of the corridor where I stood. Mr. Errington followed his boss, although his reluctance couldn't possibly be marked on his face more clearly. Aren looked around. There were plenty of other people gaping at the three of us in that corridor. "Lend me your office," Lan said, his words sounding like an unmistakable order. Mr. Errington twitched his lips but didn't dare to say a word. After a quick nod, he started walking through the corridor and stopped as he reached the corner. "This way." He pointed at the door before opening it for the big boss to walk in. "Miss Cora, after you," Aren Lan tosse

A week has passed since I solved our workshop problem. Alan and Norton called my achievement a victory, but that didn't mean that everything in our lives went back to so-called normal. We didn't have to move out of our basement, but it didn't change much in Golden Estate Investments' plans. The renovation work that was supposed to turn the old tenement into a hotel began two days after I had signed our rental agreement. In a flash, the whole area became a construction site. They might have skipped the basement for now, but even so, they turned our quiet place of work into a freaking madhouse... It took the greatest toll on Norton, whose antisocial nature had been challenged like never before. Fortunately, soundproofing headphones saved us from going insane... or committing mass murder.Certainly, my work at the coffee shop stayed as it was. There were days when Monique, Marco, and I had some fun, but mainly it was energy-draining. Thankfully, the tips made up for the stress, yet it la