Sentenced to Marriage

Chapter 33

asked, a hint of mockery in his voice. His tone and attitude made my temple vein throb. I glanced at Aren, and I saw his eyes darken. A second later, his lips formed a cold smirk, more dangerous than a death threat.

I pulled a shaky breath into my lungs and stretched out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Winton, and happy birthday.” My words made the old man lift his eyebrows in surprise. Did he think that I would be too intimidated to speak? Unfortunately for him, I was too annoyed by him to be afraid. “Aren and I are getting married by the end of the month. We would love you to be present at our ceremony.” I shot him the most beaming smile my lips could form.

I

Both Aren and Augustus looked at me in disbelief. Did I say something wrong? Was I not supposed to invite his grandfather to our wedding? Oh, God… I had just screwed up Aren’s plan, didn‘t I?! If I did, then it was his fault for not telling me things that I shouldn’t do, but… what now?!

Between love and hate

I glanced nervously at Aren while panic rose within me, but then I saw a flash of a smile on Aren’s face. He wasn’t displeased. On the contrary, his expression showed confidence and satisfaction.

“We would like you to be at our wedding, Grandfather. Of course, I’ll send you an official invitation,” Aren stated, slightly nodding toward the still stunned Augustus.

“You’re in quite a rush with the wedding.” The old man tried to cover his grimace with a nervous laugh. “I bet you merely know each other. Why marry so soon?”

Aren glared at Augustus before turning his eyes my way. “When you meet the right person, you know it the second you meet.” He smiled at me warmly, sending pleasant shivers down my spine. “The moment I saw Cora, I knew that I would spend the rest of my life with her.”

My heart fluttered even though I told myself that it was just his act. Did I want it to be true? Or was it because I had never felt appreciated in my real relationship as much as I did in my fake one?

Augustus broke through my moment of daze, clearing his throat. “I have many guests tonight, but… Why don’t you and Cora come to the mansion for a Sunday dinner? If we’re about to become family soon, then we should know each other better…” he coaxed, forcing a smile.

“Honey?” His deep, seductive voice placed an instant blush on my cheeks.

I took a deep breath and looked at Aren’s grandfather. “We’d love to come.”

Augustus Winton clapped his hands. “Excellent! I will tell the kitchen to prepare Aren’s favorite then.”

Aren chuckled coldly, his arms tightening around my waist as he looked at his grandfather.” Do you even know what my favorite dish was?”

“Of course I do!” He laughed nervously. “You used to love our chef Francesco’s chicken stew.”

“That was my father. I hated it,” Aren said curtly, his tone making Augustus step back

I almost gasped at the iciness of Aren’s words. It was rather awkward to stand in the middle of their fight, yet I chose to smile as if I didn’t notice their mutual hostility.

“Then… maybe I got it wrong,” his grandfather muttered, a grim frown painting his forehead. In this fight with his grandson, it was Augustus who was at a disadvantage. He was unable to hide how much he hated that inferior position. Aren, however, clearly enjoyed every second of this situation.

“Did you see your gift from us?” Aren asked, instantly brightening his tone. Augustus gritted his teeth. “Yes… but it’s all in Chinese.”

Aren smirked. “Oh, dear… I thought that a man of the world such as yourself would recognize the best quality ginseng tonic and Da Hong Pao tea… I guess I was wrong. I apologize for that.”

Between love and hate

He bowed in a theatrical gesture.

i barely stifled a laugh. Augustus’s face flooded with blazing redness. He was like a mad volcano and a single push could cause its violent eruption. I couldn’t let that happen.

“Mr. Winton… Aren cares about you and wants you to stay in good health.” I gave him my best professional smile, which I practiced on the most irritating Café Dorado clients. “Drinking ginseng tonic every day will certainly keep you healthy for many years to come, so you can play with your great- grandchildren when they’ll appear.”

I heard Aren’s soft chuckle, but I didn’t dare look at him, too embarrassed by my own words. I guess that my contracted fiancée liked my bold announcement since he pulled me into an even closer embrace, standing behind me, my back pressed against his chest and stomach

“You heard my wife-to-be, you need to take care of yourself if you want to enjoy your great grandchildren, and we are planning a few,” he stated, his fingertips teasingly stroking my belly.

Augustus cleared his throat. “Very well… I will drink that… ginseng. Thank you for the gift,” he said with a dry smile. “Now, would you excuse me… I have other guests to entertain,” he tossed as he was turning around to walk away from us. Aren chortled and kissed the top of my head, increasing the blush on my cheeks. “You did extremely well, my future wife.” I pulled his hands away from my waist, freeing myself before facing him. “Stop teasing me like that, or else I might think that you have really fallen in love with me from the first sight.”

“I’ve never mentioned falling in love.” He smirked, leaning over my ear to whisper, “I can only admit that I wouldn’t mind fucking you every night for as long as I’m able to.” An abrupt, shaky breath left my throat, but no words followed. His words caused my brain to malfunction… again! His arrogance should have earned him a slap, but my body got turned on instead. I felt helpless. I could only see him straightening

with a satisfactory smirk, as I struggled to contain my flusteredness. “Relax, Cora,” he said, taking two glasses of champagne from the waiter’s tray. “The old bastard invited us, and that was all I wanted. Now I only need to talk to a few people, and we can get out of here.”

I sighed. He was right. I had already met his grandfather, and Aren got access to the mansion. Nonetheless, I couldn’t help but feel restless for some reason…

“Aren, darling!” I heard a female nosy voice coming from behind us. Aren clicked his tongue, annoyance surfacing in his expression.

“You’re not trying to avoid us, aren’t you?” the woman challenged.

Aren smirked and grabbed my hand before turning around to face her. She turned out to be a thin, light- brown-haired woman in her fifties, dressed in a silk navy blue gown with an Ostrich feather rim adorning her off-the-shoulder neckline. She had her hand looped around a tall, middle-aged man with greyish- blond hair and light-blue eyes, wearing a dark grey suit, a white shirt, and a navy tie, the color matching his partner’s dress.

Reth eppy love and hate

“Father, Vanessa.” Aren gave a quick nod to both of them.

After this curt greeting, I realized that I was standing in front of Vanessa and James Winton, Aren’s stepmother and father.

“Vanessa?” The woman grimaced. “What happened to “mom”?” She laughed nervously while glancing at me, “My mother is dead, and I’m no longer a child whom you could manipulate,” Aren hissed.

“How dare you talk like that to the woman who raised you!” James Winton roared.

Aren burst out into icy laughter, taking a step forward to his father. “Raised me?! A fine joke, father! I would die Bf starvation if it wasn’t for nanny Mei Lien!” “Aren…” I said softly, trying to calm him down.

As he turned his eyes on me, I saw his anger and pain. I couldn’t fully understand what caused his hatred, but I already knew that whatever he experienced during his childhood, no child deserved such treatment. I smiled faintly at him, showing him that I was there for him. He smiled back at me and took a deep breath before his eyes shifted back to his father again.

“You should thank my precious fiancée because I don’t want to cause a scene in front of her. If she wasn’t here, I wouldn’t hesitate to let everyone know how amazing a father you were to me.” His words were soaked with disdain I had never heard in his voice.

James Winton frowned and clenched his fist. “I guess you did the right thing choosing your mother’s name. You don’t deserve to call yourself Winton.”

Aren chuckled, clearly amused with what he had heard. “Grandpa seems to have a different opinion on that matter. He even invited Cora and me to a family dinner. So… see you on Sunday, father.” He smiled beamingly before turning around and leading us away from the two.

“You…” I heard James Winton’s furious hiss behind our backs.

I looked at Aren. His jaw was tense, and a slight frown on his forehead visibly marked his restrained anger. I wanted to say something to make him feel better, but what could I say? I knew close to nothing about his family… Yet, I couldn’t bear to see his painful expression. I emptied my glass of champagne and then pulled his hand to a halt. He looked at me, startled. I stood on my tiptoes, stretching my chin up, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. A bright grin appeared on his face in an instant.

“What was that for?” he asked, surprised.

A thick blush covered my cheeks. Still, I formed a confident smirk. “It was a thank you, for not killing any member of your family in my presence.”

He laughed. “You are the only reason they’re alive.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “And let it stay that way.” “It will… for now,” he said dangerously, leading me to the bar.

I felt that I could finally relax and enjoy this party and have a blissful and fun time with Aren. Of course, that didn’t last long…

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“Mr. Lan! I’m so glad to meet you here!” one of the men in expensive suits called out. “Could you spare me a minute of your time?” he asked, glancing at him and me pleadingly.

Aren sighed and then looked at me questionably.

“Go ahead. I’ll be fine.” I chuckled, pushing him toward the desperate businessman. Aren smiled wryly, then placed a quick kiss on my forehead. “I’ll be right back, honey.”

Two seconds later, he walked away with that man and disappeared among the crowd of guests. I sighed and grabbed another glass of champagne. I took a sip and smiled inwardly, thinking that I could get used to Aren’s gentleness. I could still feel the touch of his lips on my forehead, and I realized that I had already gotten used to his touch. I trusted him. “Never in a million years had I thought that I would meet you here, Cora.” The voice of the man standing behind me pierced me like a sword.

It was the voice I could recognize anywhere, even though I madly tried to forget. It was a voice with a deep velvet surface and a venomous interior. My whole body started to shiver. My heart began to race. I pulled in a shaky breath while turning around to face the one person I never wanted to see again… “Callan…”