"You are loud." I flinched at hearing Aren's hoarse mutter."H-how…?" It was the only part of the question I could mumble in panic.Aren lifted his upper body, supporting his weight with a bent elbow, his eyes narrowed from sleep. "How... what?""How did I end up here... like this?!" I looked at him wide-eyed, my heart pounding.Aren sighed, a faint smirk curving his lips. "You fell asleep."A wave of heat flooded me, a juicy blush surfacing on my cheeks. How could that happen? I wasn't drunk. I had barely drank two glasses of champagne. Fine, I was exhausted, but how could I fall asleep in the middle of… Oh, God…"And… why are you…?""Why am I here with you?" He finished my question. "I also need to sleep." He shrugged, glancing at me with increasing amusement."B-but..." I breathed, desperate to find a way out of this embarrassing situation.A huff of irritation escaped his throat. A second later, he hooked his arm around my waist and pulled me close. I barely registered how I found
Fortunately, there was no one except for Neil when I left Aren's office. He greeted me with a mischievous smile that had painted his lips much too often recently. But since he was the one who brought me fresh clothes, I decided to ignore his teasing. As soon as I walked into my new workspace, the day passed in a flash. Alan, Norton, and I went from one department to another, installing our program using the excuse of checking some security issues. It was the amazingly boring part of the plan, but at least it went smoothly without people complaining that we interrupted their work. It was six o'clock before I knew it—time for me to get dressed up and put on some decent makeup, preparing myself for a dinner at the Wintons' mansion. More than an hour later, dressed in a wine-red long, slandering figure dress, I looked like a brave and confident woman. I wish I could feel like one as well. Unfortunately, my anxieties didn't go away despite Aren's reassuring words. Perhaps if it were only
Callan stood in front of me, his eyes looking at me with an odd sadness and pain. He had no jacket on. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, and its sleeves were rolled up. The sleekly combed hair he had before was now ruffled. As he stepped toward me, I could smell alcohol in his breath. "Why are you with him, Cora?" he asked softly. "W-what?" His painful tone caught me off-guard more than his words. "Is it because I have never told you that I'm a Winton?" He stepped closer, his eyes tightly locked on mine. "What are you talking about?!" I stepped back, desperately trying to keep my distance. He sighed heavily and sat on the bed. "It was my Grandfather's idea. He forced me to use my Mother's name, scared that I would somehow dishonor the Winton name by involving myself in scandals while away from home. Only the professors knew that my name wasn't Garrod." "Why are you telling me this? Why now?" I took another step back and found myself leaning against the wall. "I should have told you
As Aren carried me out of the mansion, Marcus was already waiting for us, standing by the car. I had no idea when Aren called for him to come. Augustus ran after us, asking Aren to remember some business issues they'd discussed before, suddenly exposing the fact that it was the only thing he had ever cared about. Aren ignored his desperate pleading. He just walked to the car and gently put me in the backseat while Marcus went inside to get our suitcases. A minute later, we were driving away from the mansion. I stayed silent until we left Greenwich, heading back to New York City. I wrapped myself in Aren's jacket, finding myself shivering from the cold, even though it was a warm night and Marcus turned on the car heater for me. As we hit the interstate highway, I finally found the strength to break the silence.I choked out, "I'm sorry."Aren frowned. "How can you be sorry for anything?""You lost your chance to get the evidence you wanted… It's because of me…" I said, lowering my head
It was dawning when I opened my eyes after falling asleep in Aren's embrace. His arms were still around me, pulling my back against his chest. I kept blushing at the thought of last night. At some point, the intoxicating pleasure took away my ability to think clearly. Looking at the number of used condoms I saw in the basket bin, I was wondering if I would even be able to move one muscle today, but I didn't regret it. I didn't regret a second of it. I laughed inwardly, realizing how little I knew about sex and how it could feel. In Aren's arms, I felt... appreciated and cherished. It was amazing, but at the same time, it was terrifying since I knew how easily the need to feel this way again could become an addiction. Would this night change anything between us? Would it draw us closer together, or would it build an odd distance between us?The sudden wave of anxiety wiped the smile off my face. I flinched in bed as if a cold wind brushed my skin. A second later, Aren's arms shifted, t
Aren was right about one thing: going to work in this state would have been a huge mistake. With the aching body I had, I could either resemble a stupid rookie who decided to run a marathon without a warm-up or... a woman whose body wasn't prepared for the amount of late-night activities she experienced. Since it was obvious to both Norton and Alan that I would never run in a marathon... then yes, not going to work was an excellent decision. I was certain that I would never be able to handle discussing my sex life with them.As much as I was glad to have some time to recover, I wasn't completely comfortable staying alone with my thoughts. After a sweet moment of bliss, I'd become anxious. Now, I kept wondering whether it was him acting cold and arrogant or me... being completely immature. Perhaps it was supposed to be like this—there's time for work and time for affection, except for the situations when we would make love in his office... Oh, God... Had I just seriously thought about
I ended up meeting with Miranda in an Italian restaurant that she suggested. I texted Aren, informing him about it just in case he decided to come home early, but I never got his reply. I assumed that he had a lot on his mind, so I ignored the silence and decided to enjoy girl-talk and drinks."Let me get this straight… You two cuddled while you slept and then he made you a bath?!" I guessed that Miranda had a hard time processing what I'd told her.I nodded, my lips forming an awkward smile. "Yes... I guess he was worried that he had hurt me or something…"Miranda stared at me, raising one brow. "Are you sure you are still talking about Aren, the sex-on-the-leg but fucking arrogant—Aren Lan?"I released a nervous chuckle. "Well, it's hard to mistake him for anyone else, isn't it?"She grabbed her glass of wine and emptied it before violently putting it back on the table with her hand fisted on the wine glass stem. "This is crazy! Girl, I'm telling you, this guy has never acted that w
I'd never had a need to dress up. I had never even strictly followed any dress code. Yet, today, before going to Lan Diamond Tower, for the first time in my life, I decided to wear something more feminine. I didn't do it because somebody told me to, but because I wanted to. Aren bought me a lot of clothes, all designer brands. I used to see them as overpriced pieces of fabric, but that slowly started to change…I used to look at the women walking into the Café Dorado, slightly mocking their flashy style, making them look as if they escaped from the "Devil Wears Prada" film set. But truthfully, a part of me envied them. It didn't seem like they were wearing costumes, pretending to be someone they weren't. They were confident and proud. It was time for me to embrace the fact that when I was walking into the Lan Diamond Corporation, I was entering as Aren Lan's fiancée, and I wanted to look confident and proud, just like those women at Café Dorado.I searched through the closet in absolu