The blood drained from my face, turning it paler than pale. Aren had a fiancée?! A real, uncontracted fiancée?! If Aren and Miranda had been engaged, then why did they break up?! I was confused. I didn't even know how to behave in front of her right now…"Oh," I voiced out, giving her a blank stare.She burst into laughter, slightly slapping my shoulder. "Hey! I didn't mean to freak you out; I'm just teasing you!"I guess Miranda found her own words amusing, but I still didn't get the joke. "So... were you, or weren't you Aren's fiancée?" I asked, both flustered and annoyed."I was... for about six hours... until we sobered up." She chuckled before shooting me a beaming grin. "But you... you are in a real relationship with him. I must admit that it fascinates me."I felt even more baffled. "Wait… so what is YOUR relationship with Aren?""We're friends… nothing more than friends," she stated firmly."So what was it about that thing with Aren's ear?" I frowned.She smirked. "I'll tell y
My heart started to race. A tickling sensation filled me, rushing down my stomach and making me squeeze my thighs. A flush that surfaced on my cheeks was impossible to miss, just as much as the uncontrollable smile that curled my lips."Oh, my!" Miranda snickered, playfully covering her mouth with her hand. "You are head over heels for him, aren't you?"A peal of hysteric laughter escaped my throat. "What are you talking about?! I'm not in—""You cannot fool me, honey. I'm aware that Aren might have rushed your engagement because of the condition his grandfather set for him, but the fact that you didn't refuse him means a lot…" She grinned, waggling her eyebrows."I… I… had my reasons," I mumbled, avoiding her gaze.This was getting truly awkward. I couldn't tell Aren's friend that I was forbidden to have any romantic feelings toward him. Explaining the reason why Aren and I were engaged was even more complicated.Miranda sighed. "You signed the contract, didn't you?"I gasped. My eye
His stare at me was an unmistakable order to submit to him. It sent my heart into a wild race. I wanted him so badly that my whole body inwardly whimpered, begging him to let me feel his lips on my skin again. Surprisingly, he didn't push any further. He just held me in his embrace with his eyes locked on me. "T-thank you..." I mumbled, placing my trembling hands on Aren's chest and trying to push him away. He smirked and stepped back, releasing me before I would lose the last ounce of control I had. I exhaled in relief when he walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. "Hope you're hungry. I ordered steaks and a salad from Coeur de Romarin. As I remembered, you enjoyed it last time," he said, shrugging out his suit jacket. "Um... yes… I'll gladly eat it again…" I muttered, still a bit dazed from his kiss. He chuckled and took a few steps toward me. "I'm going to change. I'll be back before the food gets here. Pick a wine from the fringe, OK?" He placed a soft kiss on my foreh
I couldn't sleep that night. My heart raced and I felt restless. The next day was supposed to be my grand test of whether or not I would act well as Aren's fiancée. I could say that I wanted to do my job well because Aren was paying for my Grandma's medical treatment, but it was more than that. Fake relationship or not, I wanted to do well in front of his family. Was it weird?Yes, I was aware that I cared about him, probably much more than I should. The things he did, aside from teasing me, made the little chrysalises in my stomach turn into pesky butterflies. It was terrifying how quickly he could win me over. I was starting to treat him as an exception to my stereotypical image of a wealthy man. Of course, there was still the matter of mutual trust. Because my previous relationship damaged me, I needed full disclosure even though I knew that it could have been an unreasonable demand. Everyone had their own secrets and the right not to talk about things that were difficult for them
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?August
The man standing in front of me was my ex-boyfriend, Callan Garrod. He barely changed during those three years I hadn't seen him, but at that moment, I finally saw him without his fake mask of modesty, dressed in an expensive dark navy suit and black shirt. Aside from his rich-boy attire, he had the same sleekly combed pale-blond hair and icy-blue eyes that gave a disturbing stare. One corner of his thin lips was curled into a vicious smirk, as his eyes went through my length. "I have to admit that I'm impressed. You used to swear that you hated money, and now you are here, in the crown of Manhattan's richest… Isn't that a hypocrisy?" He chuckled, his eyes lustfully measuring my curves. I hated his eyes on me. I felt as if my body was being evaluated by him. I could see he enjoyed the view, while I found the view of him nauseating. "I was invited here," I squeezed through my clenched throat. "Oh, really? Now, that's interesting. Care to say who invited you?" Callan's amusement grew
*** TRIGGER WARNING: Dear readers, please be aware that this chapter contains examples and some descriptions of abuse and sexual violence. ***I woke up lying on the floor in the hotel room I had rented the night before. I was still wearing my fabulous golden gown. It took me a few minutes before I could stand up on my wobbly legs and go to the bathroom. I spent some time staring at my reflection, trying to recognize myself underneath my smudged makeup. That was it: I was broken.I spent three years forgetting and then denying everything that had happened in my relationship with Callan, and last night, my past showed up in front of me, making all of my nightmares resurface. The one who made me bleed stood up before me, mocking the anxieties he triggered within me. I prayed that someone would rescue me from this nightmare, but my Prince Charming only rubbed more salt into my reopened wounds. That felt truly pathetic.I untied the corset and took my Cinderella's dress off. The ball was
I did it. I told someone about my relationship with Callan. I had to fight off my embarrassment and guilt, but voicing it out freed me from the poisonous load that had been crushing me for a very long time. Yes, I let him manipulate me. Yes, I was the one who let Callan take control over me. And yes, I'd been struggling to forgive myself. I knew what was going on. I couldn't use the excuse of temporary insanity because everything inside me screamed that this wasn't right. Callan's so-called love was highly toxic. Nonetheless, I ended up blaming myself for letting that man smash me like a bug.When did I become so defenseless? It was the moment I decided that I was in love with him. He used that against me. He cut me off from all the friends I had at the university so that he could be the only person I talked to. He kept telling me that no one could ever love me as he would. He told me that I could only be happy with him and with no one else, and I believed him. I believed in his lie s