Ariel was alarmed, she quickly thought of what to do and did the only thing that came to her mind.
“Achoo!” She suddenly faked a forceful sneeze, making sure she did it directly at Aiden’s approaching face.
“What the hell!” He instantly reeled back from her, fishing out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping away the spits that splattered across his face.
“Oh, I’m so sorry; I’ve just discovered that I’m allergic to your kisses and closeness,” Ariel said, rejoicing inside for her achievement in halting his advances toward her.
Aiden scoffed after he finished wiping his face, he turned to her with an unreadable smirk.
Ariel was about to ask him why he was staring at her when he suddenly leaned on close and grabbed her firmly behind the neck, and before she could fully understand what was going on, she felt his lips on hers, kissing her hard and fast.
Her brain left her body in that instant as he worked his soft lips smoothly yet roughly against hers, only one thing came to her mind.
“Don’t, even think of biting me again,” Aiden tactfully retracted his lips when he noticed what she was planning to do.
Ariel felt his thumb against her lips as he smirked at her, he brought his face beside her ear and whispered, “Now, you’re going to kiss me back,” He said, his thumb slowly rubbing across her lips.
Ariel felt her traitor body reacting to his seductions; she knew this was just a game for him, but why was her body taking it so seriously?
Aiden placed a soft kiss beside her neck, chuckling sexily as he heard her muffled, soft moan; he was right; she did want him; they all did; women would be women.
But did he want her, too? Why was he going this far with her? Was it just a game to him or something else?
He was curious too.
He brought his face back to hers, and commanded, “Kiss me, Ariel,” His voice was hypnotic and commanding.
Ariel knew she should resist, but her body was acting on its own accord. She looked into his darkening blue eyes and tilted her face up to his, aligning her lips to his.
Aiden watched her for the first time; he didn’t see the apprehension in her eyes; he only saw need and… curiosity?
He leaned down his face to cover the little distance between them but she suddenly turned her face away.
Seeing that, Aiden frowned but slowly retreated to his seat.
Ariel sighed in relief as she felt the car start to move again.
They rode in silence until she saw the car drive into what looked like a hospital. She frowned, wondering what they were doing in the hospital. Was he sick? Or was he visiting someone?
She was still lost in thought when the car parked beside the huge hospital building.
“Get down,” Aiden said coldly and left the car.
Ariel blinked back to reality and quickly left the car, slowly following him. He was already entering the hospital in his long strides without waiting for her.
As she stared at the building, she knew she hadn’t been here before, but she could not help but feel very familiar with it.
“Welcome, Mr. Chaz,” The doorman bowed to him as he stepped into the building.
‘He must be a regular here,’ Ariel thought to herself.
Ariel quietly followed him in, but as they passed through the front desk, she saw a signage on the wall behind the receptionist that read: WELCOME TO THE CHAZ HOSPITAL.
Finally, it clicked.
This was his hospital, and she had seen it numerous times when she snooped him around on the Internet. It was listed as one of his billion-dollar net worths.
But then, why did he bring her here?
He halted in front of an elevator and pressed it, going into it.
Ariel would have preferred not to follow, but she knew it was only sensible she did; he had brought her here after all; it meant he needed her till the end of the journey…
Hospital journey, of course.
She slowly stepped into the elevator, moving to the other side to plaster herself against the silver wall, looking away from him.
As the elevator door closed, she felt the walls of the space getting smaller and smaller; Aiden’s figure was suddenly looking so big in her eyes, making her claustrophobic.
She felt his gaze on her but kept hers pinned to the floor, silently urging the elevator to get to the destined floor already.
Aiden saw how Ariel had been keeping to herself and got a bit confused.
His grandma had told him that she had found him a wife, but he never asked her how the other party felt about the marriage because he already concluded that what the person would want was money.
But, seeing Ariel trying her best to stay away from him made him wonder if she was sincere in her act or if this was part of her act.
He was really confused. But one thing was sure: he didn’t love her and would never love her. Maybe he had to investigate deeper about his little wife’s background and find out everything about her past.
He was surprised none of her family members had reached out to greedily ask him for money just because he was marrying their daughter or sibling. Her history looked shady as hell; she even applied for a job with a different name.
He would uncover all her secrets; maybe he might have been living in the same house with a potential threat.
The elevator door slid open, and he saw her release a sigh of relief and silently scoffed.
Did she think he wanted to be in the same space as her, either?
He ignored her and walked out of the elevator.
Ariel quickly followed him as she saw that the floor was filled with multiple white hallways and plenty of rooms; she wouldn’t want to get lost.
She trailed behind him as he walked straight ahead, walking along the brightly illuminated white hallway and pausing only when he reached the last door at the very end of the corridor.
Without knocking, he opened the door and walked into the office.
Ariel contemplated for a while before going in with him; it would just be weird if she was the only one standing outside the door on the quiet and pristine floor.
“Good evening, Mr. Chaz, please have a seat,” A beautiful middle-aged female doctor with a slim figure and an average height said to him as they entered the medical office.
Aiden went ahead and sat in front of the doctor’s desk, eyeing Ariel coldly beside him.
Ariel apprehensively stood aside, not wanting to sit where she was asked.
“Oh, please, sit Ma’am,” the female doctor doctor said to her with a smile.
Ariel watched Aiden briefly, and when she didn’t see any disagreeing signs from him, she lowered herself on the chair beside him.
As she saw herself beside him, she immediately got a de ja vu about their wedding day – if it could be called so.
She briefly looked at the doctor and then at Aiden, slowly bringing her eyes down to her lap, finding her fingers quite interesting at that moment.
“Your wife looks gorgeous, Mr. Chaz,” the female doctor compliments, staring interestingly at Ariel.
“Drop it, Carla, you know the status,” Aiden reminded coldly.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Your contracted wife looks so gorgeous; you know what, Aiden?” Doc. Carla asked, leaning forward on top of her desk.
Aiden looked beside him, staring at Ariel who had her face lowered to her lap and playing with her fingers. He knew what Doc. Carla had said was the truth; that was the first thing he noticed about Ariel, her beauty.
But he will never appreciate her for that; what was beauty if the heart wasn’t as beautiful as the face?
He turned to the doctor and found her smiling knowingly at him.
“What is it, Carla?” He asked, raising a crooked brow at her.
“Oh, nothing. I just wanted to tell you that my cousin, your best friend, Is back in town, and I might just have found the right wife for him,” Doc. Carla said, lifting the corner of her lips in a daunting smile.
Aiden frowned, “Ken? Wants to marry?” Aiden asked, not believing her.
“Yes,” She replied and turned to Ariel.
“Dear, I’m sorry this might be personal, but I know that your marriage with Mr. Chaz isn’t real. I was just wondering…” Doc. Carla trailed off, studying Ariel’s face.
“You can say whatever you have to say, Doc. I’ll understand; I’m very aware of my status beside him,” Ariel replied softly, looking up at the doctor with a faint smile.
Doc. Carla nodded, “Well, I was just wondering, after your one-year contract is over with Mr. Chaz, would you want to marry my cousin? As in, a real marriage this time around,” Doc. Carla asked seriously, turning slowly to see the angry expression on Aiden’s face.
“What?” Ariel asked unbelievably.