We decided to be cautious and check what was on that flash drive once everyone left the company. It was a little after 10 PM, and since we weren't certain if the drive was password-protected, Aren and Neil met us in our full of equipment computer office. We locked the doors after making sure that all the other employees were gone from that floor, and ceremoniously plugged the USB into my computer. I checked if the flash drive wasn't infected before I opened its content, holding my breath. There was a single audio file on it. Aren, Norton, Alan, and Neil sat around me as I opened it. The recording started with some cracks and distorted sounds, which lasted about a minute. It felt discouraging. I skipped the record on fast-forward until finally, we heard two male voices. "The police want to reopen the case. Someone must have tipped them off," the first man said in a low-pitched hoarse voice. "What do you mean, someone?! It was your fucking job to make sure that no one ever digs in Lil
I couldn't cry even though I wanted to. For some sick reason, my body decided that it would be better if I kept all my intense emotions rotting inside me instead of crying them out. I lay on my bed, thinking about how this could happen. I was so engaged in his war that I poured my heart and soul into it, but he decided to crush it. Even if it was a twisted way of his to protect me, it destroyed everything and all the trust between us. I was certain of him, to the point where I wanted to risk my life for him because I thought that he would do the same... Was I only fooling myself?I stared at the ceiling, analyzing the situation of my kidnapping with a brand-new filter. What would have happened if I hadn't found my way out of there? Would Aren have risked his life to save mine, or perhaps it was merely my foolish assumption? Maybe he had never planned to enter that building in the first place. Maybe his sole purpose had always been to catch the one who wanted him dead? I felt that my h
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