Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ

The secret within There was no chance that Veronica wouldn't tell Neil every single detail about our visit to the Wintons’” mansion as soon as we left and called it a day. My phone rang exactly fifteen minutes later. “I’m so sorry you had to go through this, Ms. Bell!” | heard Neil nearly cry out as | took the call.

“Don’t be. You toldto call you, and I didn’t, but mostly because | was sure that | could handle it on my own,” | said, wondering where my confidence cfrom. “Still... You are aware that | needed to report this to Mr. Lan? He got very mad... Please don’t blme if he calls you... ” His concerned tone sent a wave of anxiety right through my body.

Something about Neil’s words annoyed me. Would Aren truly blme for taking care of the problem myself instead of using Neil? Why would | need to pretend | was weak when | wasn’t?! It was the first tthat | felt strong enough to stand up against someone like Vanessa and keep my head held high. Somehow, my good mood burst like a soap bubble. A soaked in frustration growl left my throat as | ended the call with Neil. I needed to get my mind off of that entire situation. | went to Aren’s bedroom and took the jewelry box out of the safe.

“If I only knew how to open that damn lid,” | muttered angrily, staring at the beautiful carving.

| stroked the box from each side, trying to figure out anything about the hidden construction, but | felt even more lost than when I had looked at it for the first time. | was about to put it back when one of my fingers touched the metal strap, framing the lid, and it moved with an audible click. | gasped in excitement, at the sthoping that | didn’t break anything.

| grabbed my phone and turned on anwith a magnifying glass. As | looked at the frame, | noticed that it was made from eight thin pieces of metal, all with one end hidden under the next one on the left. Each little strap had a small, round button-like bulge at its right end. Once | pressed the button, | could move the strap forward or backward. Above the metal pieces were rows of tiny vertical lines combined into bigger segments, each marked with a different Chinese character. It almost resembled a ruler.

“Oh, my God! How could | be so stupid?!” | burst out laughing, finally noticing the mechanism.

As | used the online translator, | learned that the characters stood for numbers. Now, all | needed to do was to place the little buttons in the right position just like | was typing the eight -digit code... Except that | had no idea what kind of code it might have been! “Seriously?! Guessing that is like winning the fucking lottery! How am | supposed to know what kind of code opens that damn lid?!” | roared at the jewelry box.

| started to think that Aren’s mother wasn’t a nice person at all. She had created such an amazing box for one purpose only-she wanted to torment her son’s future wife. Of course, | made a few attempts to choose the right code. Having in mind that Aren’s mother was a mathematician, | tried setting the first eight digits after the decimal point of pi. The thing that made it even more complicated was the fact that there was no clear point marking where the code should begin, so | had to try setting it in eight different arrangements. When that didn’t work, | did the swith the square root of pi. That didn’t work as well... This was getting more and more frustrating. Lan Liling could have chosen any kind of combination, and since | had never even met her, | had no idea where | should start looking for the clues. | went back to my bedroom and placed the jewelry box by my bed. | kept staring at the flowers and birds carved on the wooden sides. Every detail of it was simply stunning. That madeeven more curious about what kind of secret was hidden inside that massive lid.

| laid down on my bed and closed my eyes, trying to figure out every possible eight-digit combination and slowly falling asleep. The ringing phone wokeup. | must have forgotten to turn off the sounds, and now it becan unwanted alarm. Cursing under my breath, | faced the illuminated screen, but | woke up entirely as | saw Aren’s caller ID., “Hello?” | answered with a slightly hoarse voice. “I woke you up, didn’t 1?” His deep voice cout. | bit my lip as the sound sent a wave of shivers. “I'm awake now,” | said. “I wanted to call you sooner, but | had a lot to take care of...” he explained a little nervously. “It's OK,” | replied, glancing at the clock, showing three in the morning. “I just wanted to say that you shouldn't do anything reckless like you did in the mansion.

Neil told me, this bitch tried to hit you.” Anger surfaced in his voice, but it wasn't aimed toward me. “But | did just fine, and | knew | had to deal with your crazy family at spoint.” | chuckled. Aren sighed. “Vanessa went too far. | guess that Augustus’s decision to send Callan somewhere far away took away the final ounce of her sanity.” “Can’t argue with that. She certainly resembled a mad woman...” | stated and laughed anxiously as | remembered what | said to her. “In the argument... | mentioned the eighty million investment you promised to Augustus. | hope | didn’t say something that | shouldn’t have.” “You did well.” | heard him chuckle through the phone. “You were perfect actually...” Heat painted my cheeks red in an instant. “It’s just that... | hate her,” | admitted embarrassingly “Because she is Callan’s mother?” he asked.

“No. | hate her because she dared to bully my man,” | blurted out before clamping my mouth with my hand as | heard my own voice.

He laughed. “Your man?” His teasing tone only added more blush to my cheeks. “| like the sound of that.” “Stop mocking me, please,” | muttered.

“I'm not,” he said, his voice filled with amusement. “I will becyour legal husband in three days. It is only right that you callyour man.” His words glued a dumb grin to my face. The heat | felt within my body must have taken away my sanity, because a second later | mumbled, “I miss you.”. He went silent for a few seconds, which instantly filled my heart with fear. Had | gone too far? Whatever happened between us, Aren had never mentioned having feelings for me, yet the voice that left my throat was soaked in affection. “We will see each other in three days. You will go to the registry office at 7 AM with Neil, | will go there straight from the airport,” he explained in a serious tone... “Um... all right,” | responded, slightly dazed.

My chest squeezed. He didn’t react to my words. It felt too much, and this moment of silence was him drawing the line we shouldn't cross in our relationship? | pulled in a shaky breath and fisted one hand. “See you on Saturday,”1 said, trying to sound calm despite my intemal tremors. “See you on Saturday,” he repeated. | was waiting for him to end the call, but he waited a few more seconds before disconnecting and said, “I miss you too.” | gasped and then started giggling and rolling on the bed like an infatuated teenager. Was it foolish ofthat-I couldn't wait until we got married? The next day, | woke up with a smile. It was a big day- | was supposed to wear my wedding gown for the first time, and my two maids of honor were supposed to try on their dresses as well. When | got to Michaels atelier, Monique and Miranda were already there, putting on the blue silk. Both of them looked gorgeous. “This is the most beautiful dress | have ever worn in my life!” Monique exclaimed, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Michael ran around Miranda and her, sticking pins into the fabric to make sfinal adjustments. Once he finished, it was tforto fit the gown. | could hardly breathe in excitement as he revealed his creation with pride. When | saw the white dress with stunning lines of indigo flowers painted on delicate silk, | almost cried.

“Thank you,” | breathed out, smiling at Michael. “You will thankwhen you see how it fits.” He smirked.

Miranda and Monique helpedput on the gown, and | was certain of its perfection from the moment I touched i) “Oh, my...” Michael gasped as if the result surprised even him. As | looked in the mirror, my reaction was similar.

| felt like a character from a fairy tale. The dress was surrealistically beautiful. The silk layers danced with the slightest movement, creating the illusion that the painted flowers were swayed by the wind. The cut of the dress madefeel slender and sexy, emphasizing my curves in the most graceful way. “I know that his mother would have loved your choice,” Miranda whispered while admiring how astonishing the gown looked. | mouthed, “Thank you,” but as she mentioned Aren’s mother, remindingof the box and the code, an idea cto my mind. “You knew Lan Liling, didn’t you? Was there anything that you could say that mattered to her the most?”.

Miranda thought for a moment and then said, “I was five when she died, but if | could none thing that she cared about then | would say it was her son, Aren.” | wasn’t sure if that was helpful or not, but | thanked her anyway. On my way back to the penthouse, | kept thinking about the jewelry box. The painting I found inside the lid helped create the most incredible wedding dress for me. Now, | wanted to open the lid even more. | chand took the box in my hands one more time. “Maybe it is something related to Aren?” | asked myself, and then it hit me. “Idiot! I'm a complete idiot! Eight digits could be a date!” | grabbed the contract to check Aren’s birth date. It was the twenty-first of September 1990. | had never known where the combination should begin, but somehow it becclear as | noticed a small heart carved above one of the straps. | took a deep breath and started to push the metal straps, setting them in the right position. My heart hammered faster with every number | set. Finally, | moved the last strap, leaving the button to mark a 0. Something clicked, and | noticed that a round piece in the middle of the lid was slightly lifted. | grabbed it with two fingers and removed it, revealing a secret pocket within the lid. | glanced inside and froze as | was blinded by the amazing glow. Taking another deep breath, | reached inside and took out a nearly two-inch blue diamond. A weak, breathless sound left my mouth. “Lan Diamond...”