I leaned back in my seat, my head spinning as I couldn't process what Jack had just told us. Anger buzzed within me as I thought that Callan was messing with us even after he died."This is absurd! You told us before that the pathologist couldn't find any evidence that Callan's death was a murder, and now you can be accused of killing him?!" My frustration went beyond the limits I could handle.Aren placed his hand on top of mine. "Calm down, Cora. We will find a solution; we just need to think carefully."I inwardly slapped myself for enjoying Aren's touch and then slipped my hand away from his. As I did, he glanced at me with a hint of odd sadness flashing in his expression. Was he surprised that I was going to avoid his touch? Well, too bad he hadn't thought about it before degrading everything we had to casual sex.Jack noticed our change in behavior right away. "You two had a fight?"My "yes" came simultaneously with Aren's "no." We looked at each other slightly awkwardly.Jack c
Aren wasn't fond of the idea even after an hour of convincing by Jack, but eventually, he gave up as he realized that it truly might have been our only chance. Of course, I suggested that I could also try to hack his email account or his phone, but then I heard a loud and firm "no" coming from Aren and Jack simultaneously. "Even if we are doing it for the right reasons, we are still committing a crime here. We are going to plant a bug in a federal agent's office, and if something goes wrong, we are all going to prison for it," Jack warned. I knew that Aren was prepared to risk his own future for the sake of getting his revenge, but he was also unwilling to risk mine. But I chose to join his war willingly, and if there was a tiny chance that I could help, then I was going to do it. Our entire conversation ended up in planning how to put a tap in Lester Packton's office. We merely mentioned the recording that I had found in the Wintons' mansion, indicating that Aren's father had plann
"Now, let's get started, shall we?" The demonic grin on Aren's face wasn't encouraging at all. I responded with a slight nod. Even though I was the one who suggested learning self-defense from Aren, I was beginning to regret that decision more by the second. "You should warm up first," he said, taking my hand and leading me to the center of the mats. We did a bit of stretching, which I found close to unbearable, and it wasn't because of my stiff body. Every single ounce of my willpower was aimed at restraining myself from looking at Aren's body. It's been two days since we hadn't slept together, and I was starting to behave like a junky at the beginning of rehab. I whimpered inwardly and bit my lip when he wasn't looking, but I could proudly say that I managed to keep my serious face throughout the warm-up. Unfortunately, my struggle had barely begun. "My, let's start with something easy," Aren said, standing some distance in front of me. "I will attack you, and you will try to def
I didn't mishear him, right? He was going to take responsibility for making me fall in love with him. But what kind of responsibility would it be? I knew that I was the one who asked for it, but I had never thought about what this responsibility should be like. Was he going to turn our contractual marriage into a permanent one, even if he didn't love me? No one can force a heart to love, but what if he'd already had feelings for me and kept denying them? My feverish thoughts quickly dissolved in the shower of his kisses, which I returned with equal passion. I wasn't sure what kind of new terms I had just agreed on, but if he was ready to take a risk and walk into the unknown, then so was I. I couldn't tell when I found myself lying on the mat with him on top of me. I bit my lip, watching him take his shirt off, and reveal those rigid chest and stomach muscles carved into perfection. Yet a shudder spread across my body as his hand slid down my sweated skin. I grabbed his hand with an a
I emptied my glass in two big gulps, cursing myself inwardly for even thinking of asking more questions about Lanfen. The sole fact that she was Aren's first girlfriend and he had nightmares in which he called her name should be enough to label her as a serious threat. Nonetheless, when he said that he was the one who proposed, it was a hard hit to take. It felt like a punch in the gut. I guessed that my mask had finally fallen off since Aren looked at me with sudden concern in his eyes while watching me refill my glass with wine."Are you OK, sunshine?" he asked, touching my hand that held the glass.I sighed and shifted my eyes to him. "I wish I could say that I am OK, but no, I am not," I said, irritation more than clear in the tone of my voice.He smirked. "Are you jealous, wife?"I glared at him. "Of course I am!" I exclaimed. "You were her hero. You had a normal, loving relationship that lasted four years, and you proposed to her without offering her a contract! Sure as hell I a
I knew that he said he would risk me falling in love with him, but this was all happening too fast. There was a thunderstorm within my heart, emotions bursting out in every possible way. I couldn't pretend any longer—I was in love with Aren Lan. I felt that the way he touched me had become different. If there had been any boundaries between us before, they were all gone at that moment. I was free-falling down the rabbit hole. I only hoped that at the end of that way down, Aren would be there to catch me...Even though I enjoyed my kissing session with Aren, the more I tried to move, the more I felt that I needed to get some rest. That day was an emotional roller coaster, and I felt that my brain had to put everything in the right order. This time, I was the one who insisted on sleeping separately. I knew that I was going to wake up stiffer than my Grandma had ever been, and I didn't need Aren around to laugh at me. Besides, my level of exhaustion made me almost certain that I would fa
The entire net of endless connections was making my head spin. We all knew that if we gave that evidence to Jack Collins, it could help bring down not only Lester Packton but the entire Marshall clan along with him. It was impossible for all of it to be merely a coincidence. Norton, Alan, and I were ecstatic to present all of those photos and documents, confirming Francis Marshall's and Lester Packton's cooperation, but Aren didn't seem to share our enthusiasm..."These are all assumptions and circumstantial evidence without a real meaning to the case. It might help Jack later, but it will not clear him of all charges," he said grimly. "What we need is Packton's confession, and Jack was also very aware that without something this evident, no one from the higher-ups would even look at the rest of what you've found."I sat back behind my desk and lowered my head. It was clear to me that those guys were corrupted. They covered each other's crimes and gained illegal profit."It would be e
Did he see me placing a bug under his desk? Idiot! I was so focused on reaching the right surface that I could stick the chip to that I stopped paying attention to the one person I should have feared the most!"What are you talking about, Agent Packton?" I covered my inner panic with a smile while sliding my hand into the purse to search for my phone.My back was leaning against his desk and had no chance to escape from the agent standing a few inches away from me. Packton's hand went to my chin. He grabbed it hard, his thumb stroking my cheek. "You're a naughty wife who tries to seduce me with her fine ass." He chuckled and licked his lips. "I met many women like you. Playing innocent and hard to get, but deep down inside, dreaming of a good fuck."I grabbed his wrist and jerked his hand away from my face. "How dare you!" I hissed. "I came here only to bring you the phone, nothing else!" I pushed him away and tried to get to the door."Where do you think you are going?!" he roared, g