“Calm down, Aiden, I was just getting to know my sister-in-law,” Jess said and stood from the bed to come and stand protectively in front of Ariel.
“You don’t know what she’s capable of, Jessica. She’s the girl who faked her accident to get my attention,” Aiden said and forged forward to Ariel.
“What?!” Ariel asked incredulously.
“Yeah, what? Do you really believe someone would harm herself that way just to get you to notice her?” Jess asked.
“That person is right behind you,” Aiden said.
His face suddenly turned cold, and he commanded Jess, “Go home, Jess; give me and my wife some space; we need to catch up after my long travels,” Aiden said, his voice deep and low.
Jess heard the seriousness in his voice and knew that it was time she left and gave the couple their privacy.
“It’s okay, Jess, I can manage,” Ariel said quietly.
“Be nice, Aiden,” Jess warned beside Aiden before she left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Ariel quietly gulped as it was just her and Aiden in her room; the room suddenly felt so small.
“I don’t know how you did it, but you managed to trick my grandma into getting you married to me, but I’ll let you know this, you’re not inheriting a dime from me, understood?” He walked over and grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at him.
“I never forced or tricked anyone, I was forced as well,” Ariel snatched her hand from his, taking a step back.
“Forced?” He smirked.
“Were you forced when you planned to extort money from me with your boyfriend?” He asked darkly.
Ariel managed to escape him and go to the other side of the bed. She frowned at his words, he’d been saying things she couldn’t understand.
“I planned nothing with no one, Mr. Chaz. If you’re angry because I related with your cousin, I apologize; I’ll steer clear from her henceforth,” Ariel sounded frustrated.
What was he on about?
“Oh, little wife, don’t act naive with me. Everyone knew I was in town, so you and your poor boyfriend decided to appear in front of my car so you could claim damages. Unfortunately, I had the press take care of it,” Aiden said, approaching her again.
Ariel’s brain immediately flashed image cards in her mind as she vividly remembered the accident she had that faithful night with Mike.
She quickly snapped her head to Aiden, her eyes widening in realization. So it was him that night?!
“It- it was you?!” She gasped in shock.
No wonder she found his voice to be very familiar but she couldn’t remember where she’d heard it, the dream she had that night, it was him too.
“I’ll give it to you, you’re a good actress. Still acting innocent till now?” He was now stepping into her personal space.
“No, no, you got it all wrong, I was – ahh!” Ariel lost her footing as she tried to back away from Aiden and fell back against the floor.
Out of reflex, she reached out her hand and grabbed Aiden’s shirt, dragging him down with her.
Aiden instinctively put his hands behind Ariel’s head and directed their body to the bed for a softer landing.
“Ugh!” Ariel closed her eyes as she fell but was surprised to feel a soft surface behind her back.
She slowly opened her eyes and immediately panicked as she saw Aiden’s cold and handsome face just inches away from hers, with his strong hands placed beside her head.
“Uh, I-I’m sorry, I-”
“This is what you want?” Aiden whispered, staring down at Ariel’s cute and confused face.
He found it hard to understand how one can look so innocent yet have such a dark motive.
Ariel widened her eyes as she understood what Aiden was saying, she vigorously shook her head and placed her hand on her chest to push him away from her, but he suddenly caught one of her hands and pinned it above her head.
“Shying away from your wifely duties, little wife?” He questioned in a husky voice, lowering his face to hers.
Ariel quickly turned her head away, “No, Mr. Chaz, you’re misunderstanding me again,” She voiced quietly.
Aiden scoffed, not believing her. He looked down at his chest and found her slim hand still placed against it.
“You’re quite corny, Ariel. Saying you don’t want me, yet you’re hands are all over me,” Aiden whispered in her ear.
Ariel felt goosebumps spread across her skin as she felt his hot breath in her ear, her heart accelerated unimaginably.
She subtly removed her hand from his chest, clenching her fist on top of her chest.
“Look at me Ariel,” His voice was hypnotic.
Ariel didn’t want to but she had to obey. She slowly turned her face back to look into his eyes, and when her scared green eyes met his deep and mysterious blue ones, for a few seconds, they silently stared into each other’s eyes, each with a different thought racing through their mind.
Aiden didn’t mean to, but he stared anyway. He noticed how clear and beautiful Ariel’s eyes were, he saw how they moved from left to right, afraid of holding his gaze for too long; for a while there, he almost fell for her innocence, but when he remembered that all women were the same, he smirked down at her and proceeded to lower his face to hers.
Ariel saw his face coming right at hers and went to remove her face again but her grabbed her face with his hands and held it in place.
Ariel’s heart was drumming now. She blinked rapidly and tried using her hand to push him away, but he wouldn’t budge.
Aiden’s lips were just a breath from Ariel’s when he suddenly paused and looked into her eyes. “You’re cheap. You act like you innocent, but deep down, you’re just a horny slut who’s looking for a quickie and a quick cash,” He roughly pushed her face to the side, lifting himself away from her and scornfully looking down at her.
“Stay away from me and my family. It’s less than a year till the contract is terminated. Abide by the rules till then,” Aiden informed with narrowed eyes and immediately turned and left the room.
Ariel didn’t move; she lay there, tears falling from the sides of her eyes; she bit her lips and sobbed quietly, clenching her fists around her sheets.
She was hurt. Yes, she’s been insulted all her life, but she discovered that there was a certain kind of pain attached to a husband’s insult. It cut deeper than all the harsh words she’d ever been told.
She wasn’t attached to him or anything, but his words stung. Others might have said it just to get her to react or to make fun of her, but his, his was so scornful and full of malice.
Today, she discovered that he was the man on the day of her accident with Mike, and he was also the one who paid their medical bills, she was grateful for all he did, but she didn’t understand how he came to believe that she had planned the accident just so she could meet him and extort money from him.
She slowly wiped her tears and got up from the bed.
She stood up and walked over to her mirror and stared at herself. Her hair was disheveled, and her cheeks looked flushed; apart from that, she knew she looked overall good in shape, compared to how she used to look before.
“Don’t cry, Ariel. It’s just like he said, it’s already less than a year,” She had come to understand that there was no way it was going to be possible for her to soften such a hostile man.
He was right in some of his accusations, though; she knew she wasn’t entirely innocent. She did plan to seduce him, but it wasn’t for the reasons he believed.
She just wanted to be able to produce an heir for Grandma Nari so she could retrieve her mother’s properties in return.
Now, with the kind of tension between them, she wondered if there was any possibility of her mission being successful. The probability was low, very low.
“I won’t give up, I just have to find a subtle way to do it,” She nodded to herself in the mirror.
She wouldn’t just let a year of her life waste with her just being the secret and unknown wife of the billionaire. Since he had drawn the line of enmity, she would devise all means to get what she wanted.
A night with him would solve all these problems.
She was still staring at herself in the mirror when her phone vibrated on the bed. She walked over to the bed, thinking it was another contract requesting her signature. But when she opened her email, the headings knocked the breath out of her.
“Oh my god,” She whispered with her hand over her mouth.
An invitation to an interview for Chaz Tech Company!