Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ novel Chapter 32

Prepare to meet his family 

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 or painful for them. I was no different. So who was I to expect Aren to tell me everything from the start? Perhaps I should give it all some time. After all, our situation was far from normal... 

Neil showed up at the penthouse around 8 AM. It looked like Aren had forced his poor assistant to help me prepare for the evening‘s event. As I walked down to the salon where he waited for me, I truly hoped that he had some magic wand with him because I got up from the bed looking ten to fifteen years older than the day before. My lids were swollen, the dark circles underlined my eyes in the worst possible way, and my complexion seemed almost translucent. I couldn’t even imagine the amount of makeup I had to put on my face to cover the evidence of my sleepless night. “Oh, dear.” Neil‘s comment said it all. 

He carefully looked me up and down, a grimace painting his face, then he pulled out the phone and made a call, walking out into the corridor. He came back a minute later, looking at me with a smirk 

“Ms. Bell, it‘s time for us to go,” he said, gesturing at the door. 

It turned out that Neil had booked me a series of beauty treatments in one of New York‘s most luxurious salons. I didn‘t believe that any of that could work, but it did. After a few weird and smelly facial masks, I started resembling a living person. Once my face had been taken care of, my whole body had been scrubbed, massaged, and rubbed with essential oils to the point where I started to think of myself as a walking–talking air freshener. After five–hour treatments, I had never felt that relaxed in my whole life. I became lazy enough to wish to spend the rest of the day by the roof pool with a glass of prosecco in my hand. Unfortunately, Neil had the whole day planned for me already... 

“It‘s time to get you a dress,” he announced, leading me back to the car. 

I sighed and forced my overly relaxed mimic muscles to smile. Despite everything, I wanted to look as presentable as possible while walking by Aren‘s side. Two hours and thirty–four dresses later, I swayed out of the boutique with a work–of–art–like Elie Saab golden evening gown and Versace sandals. 

After all those sweet tortures, Neil generously took me out for lunch. We sat down in a patio 

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firmare in meet his family 

area of an Italian bistro. Neil ordered ravioli, and I decided on an arugula salad. “Are you sure that you don‘t want anything else, Ms. Bell?” Neil scanned my plate with a wry smile. 

“No, thank you. My stomach is tied with a knot. I‘m so nervous I can barely swallow anything, ” I said, sticking my fork in a cherry tomato. 

Neil chuckled. “You don‘t need to be so nervous. Mr. Lan won‘t let anything bad happen to you, and as far as I know, your relationship with Mr. Lan looks... sincere.” He waggled his eyebrows. 

I blushed and instantly shifted my eyes to the salad. “Neil... can I ask you a question about Aren?” I muttered hesitantly. 

Neil grinned. “Go ahead.” “I heard something from Miranda, and I wanted to know… Has Aren ever told you to do research on me?” 

Neil‘s smile disappeared in an instant. “I‘m uncertain if I am allowed to tell you that...” 

“Please,” I urged. “I have to know if he was interested in me before the whole contract thing.” Neil cleared his throat and leaned forward on the table. “Less than a month ago, he told me to find everything I could on a blonde girl named Cora, working in Café Dorado.” I gasped. It looked like Miranda was right. My head started to spin. I knew that it was ridiculous, but I couldn‘t help but wonder if any of our later encounters were his doing. “Were you or anyone else working for Aren spying on me?” I asked, nervously squeezing the fork in my hand. 

“Of course not.” Neil snorted. “In the report I handed Mr. Lan was information about your family, your education, and social status, along with basic information about your address, your work, and your salary.” 

I took a deep breath. “And when did you give that report to Aren?” I asked, feeling that my body had started to tremble with anxiety. 

“Two days before you‘ve signed the contract,” he replied. 

I sighed in relief. Whatever information Aren might have had on me, it couldn‘t have had any effect on what had happened. But he had been interested in me before, and I couldn‘t forget him from the moment we‘d met at the café. Was it destiny that had drawn us together? The thought of that made me giggle under my breath. 

After lunch, we returned to the penthouse, where I was allowed to rest – for an hour. Neil called over a hairstylist and a makeup artist to take care of me. With my hair tied up in a bun and delicately emphasized eyes, I was starting to enjoy looking at my reflection. In the meantime, I heard that ‘Aren came back to prepare so that we could leave for the party together. 

Finally, dressed in a fitted gown made of ornamented lace and golden petals, and with my feet slenderized with heels, I walked down the stairs to show up in front of my Prince Charming. 

Prepare to meet his family 

“You surely look like a queen. No one would be able to take their eyes off you.” Aren grinned, carefully measuring me with his devilish gaze. I smiled and blushed, walking toward my incredible date, who wore a black tailored tuxedo with an equally black shirt. I swallowed seeing how amazingly hot he looked. He reached out his hand. A wave of electricity rushed through me as I placed my palm on top of his. His touch was already making me aroused. His eyes on me carefully consumed every inch of my body. The tension between us grew by the second. He held my hand all the way to the car, his fingers roaming across the sensitive top of my palm. 

The limousine took us in front of the Four Seasons Hotel‘s entrance, where Augustus Winton‘s 80th birthday party was held. Aren helped me leave the car and then led me through the red carpet surrounded by reporters. 1 

“Focus on me, and ignore them,” he whispered to my ear, offering his arm, 

I smiled. It was easy to keep my attention solely on the sexy man by my side. He gave me all the confidence I needed to elegantly glide in my haute couture gown. “Mr. Lan!” one of the reporters called out. “Who is the lady accompanying you tonight?” Aren smirked. His hand immediately slid around my waist, possessively pulling me close to him. “This is Cora Bell, my amazing fiancée,” he replied, shifting his eyes to me. As soon as his words sounded out, multiple flashes lit up the space around us. I smiled at Aren, and he smiled back at me. The warmth in his eyes made my heart flutter. It made me want to put my arms around him, kiss him, and forget about the world around us... But then suddenly, a stabbing pain pierced my chest as the bitter reality hit me. No matter how wonderful that moment felt, it couldn‘t change the fact that it was a contractual, fake relationship. 

It took me a few deep breaths to get rid of the uncomfortable squeeze. I put a perfect smile back on my face and let Aren lead me inside. As we entered the ballroom, we headed straight to the main table. I had never met Augustus Winton, but I recognized him right away. It was an old, dark–grey–haired man with a stern gaze. He was wearing a light–grey tuxedo, which distinguished him from the guests who wore darker colors. 

“Happy birthday, Grandfather,” Aren called out, loud enough to stop every conversation at the main table. 

Augustus Winton widened his eyes and grinned as he saw us standing together before him.” Aren! So glad you could join us!” He stiffly clapped his hands, which only emphasized his pretended attitude, before his eyes turned to me. “Grandson, aren‘t you going to introduce this lovely lady standing beside you?” 

Keeping the bright smile on my face became harder the longer Augustus‘s eyes were on me. I knew that I was being tested. That old man in front of me wanted to evaluate whether Aren could finally get the packet of shares that was supposed to belong to Lan Liling, Aren‘s dead mother. Yet, before I entered a state of panic, Aren placed a soft kiss on my forehead and pulled me close to him. 

“This is my fiancée, Cora Bell,” he announced, locking his eyes on his grandfather. 

The old man got up from his seat and walked closer. “So, you two are getting married?” he