Sentenced to Marriage

Chapter 123

Into the Lion’s den

I spent the entire fifteen-hour flight to Shanghai being restless. Even as I lay in Aren’s arms in the bedroom of his luxurious private jet, I couldn’t sleep. Unlike me, Aren slept like a baby, but I guess his level of exhaustion finally forced his system to rest. From the moment he had come back to New York, he didn’t leave my side, working from my room in the clinic in between taking care of me. Even when Miranda had finally agreed to release me from observation, Aren didn’t go to his office to pamper me as if I was a child. He didn’t let me do anything by myself, and he would have carried me around the penthouse so I wouldn’t tire my feet if I didn’t firmly protest against it. It felt awkward at times, but I couldn’t help but feel my heart melting as I saw his concern filled with yet-unnamed emotions scratching their way out. Now, he was lying peacefully beside me, and I tried to soothe my nerves by stroking his thick black hair. Looking at his beautiful sleeping face was the only thing that could dissolve my anxieties while we were in the air, and I could only imagine how nervous I’d become once the plane landed.

“Don’t worry, sunshine. Everyone is going to love you.” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze once we got off at Shanghai Pudong Airport.

I nodded and smiled nervously, although I seriously doubted that I would be treated kindly by the Lan family, who barely considered my husband as their own. Aren assured me of the Lans’ progressive mind set, but I was aware that I shouldn’t underestimate the fact that the rules of Confucianism were still very present in the old Chinese families, and the Lan family was certainly one of them. Confucius’s rules had always set a clear hierarchic order within the families, with the oldest member as the head of the family and the younger generations having to submit to him. The obvious fact was that male members were constantly prioritized, and a lot of conservative families used to say that it was a curse to have a daughter and a blessing when they had a son. For that reason, Lan Jing’s decision to appoint the daughter as an heir caused outrage among the conservatives. Unfortunately, this fact didn’t exactlyThis belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

make things easier for Liling’s son, Aren. First of all, his mother had gone against the head of the family, stealing the money for Winton’s company, and then marrying James Winton. Moreover, even though he was a man, he was the son of a daughter, and because of that fact, even the Chinese language itself put him at a disadvantage. While the other Lan Jing’s grandchildren called their grandfather “yeye”, Aren would address him as “waigong,” with “wai” meaning “outside,” to underline the fact that as soon as the daughter married, she became an outsider, a more distant family member… I bet that the way grandchildren called their grandparents didn’t matter that much in other Chinese families, but it was a whole different story when those grandchildren were fighting for the position of an heir, and unimaginable power and money.

The Lans mansion was in the Pudong district, which was one of the places where all the richest people in Shanghai had their homes. The Lans owned the entire hill with vast parks and gardens and the castle-like mansion at the heart of that area. Certainly, the place was guarded by a high fence and surveillance and security at the intelligence agency level. As soon as we arrived at the place, we were greeted by several servants lined up at the entrance. The second after we got out of the limousine that drove us from the airport, our suitcases were taken out of the trunk and carried into the mansion. At the same time, the English-speaking chamberlain welcomed us into the residence and led us inside to show us our rooms. I was surprised to see the whole wing of the mansion reserved solely for our comfort, with one living room

and master bedroom, a private office room with a small library, and a beautiful orangery.

“Master Lan will receive you at five o’clock. The dinner will be served at six,” said the grey-haired chamberlain.

“Thank you, Mr. Gao,” Aren replied, giving the chamberlain a small nod of acknowledgment.

Mr. Gao bowed down and left our room, closing the door behind him. I had to admit that I loved the modern-oriental interior design the mansion had. It was quite ascetic, leaving large areas of

unfurnished space that helped emphasize the oriental ornaments and a few traditional elements. Of course, the

minimalistic trend didn’t apply to the bedroom, where the bed itself was enough for the family of five to sleep comfortably. The dark wooden bed frame had artistic carvings from every side and the canopy was covered with the most delicate silk. I could easily picture one of the Chinese rulers sleeping in a bed like that. I couldn’t help but admire it.

“Would you like to try it out?” Aren whispered to my ear as he caught me staring.

I blushed. “I’m merely appreciating the work of art.”

He took my hand and kissed it. “I cannot wait to try it.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. “I’m glad that at least one of us is in a good mood. There’s a hard knot in my stomach which is more than enough to make me not think about anything sex-related.”

Aren chuckled and led me to sit on the bed. He sat beside me and smiled mischievously. “I can help you relax,” he said, brushing his lips against mine.

His hands slipped around my waist, pulling me close enough to hear his heartbeat. He looked at me with his hypnotic irises, and I couldn’t help but submit to my desires. His tongue quickly found its way into my mouth, slowly enticing my arousal. I put my hands around his neck before I realized it, urging him to deepen the kiss. He chuckled against my lips as his hands reached under my shirt. I gasped, feeling his fingertips exploring my skin inch by inch. I barely noticed when I lost both, my shirt and my bra, and he began to tease the oversensitive skin on my nipples. Suddenly, he broke our kiss and pinned me down on the bed, his lips leaving a series of soft pecks while he moved down to stop at my breasts. His hands went between my legs, spreading them and pulling up my skirt. A loud moan escaped my throat as he stroked the already wet center of my panties. A heartbeat later, he ripped off the damp fabric and started caressing my most sensitive spot, making me throb.

He raised his head to pierce me with his devouring gaze. “Should I stop now, or do you want more?”

I bit my fip, and he grinned wickedly before thrusting his fingers inside me. “Oh, God…” I breathed as he increased his pace, building my climax. Then he lowered himself between my legs to tease me with his tongue. I exploded with a hoarse scream, but he only chuckled and kept thrusting his fingers as my hot sex tightened around them. Intoxicated by desire, I barely heard the sound of knocking at our door.

“Aren…” I mumbled, hardly audibly, but he seemed to ignore the knocking, “Aren?” I repeated, finally getting his attention. “I think we should check what it is about,” I said hesitantly.

Aren let out an angry sigh, but then he nodded, got up, and kissed my lips. “I’ll be right back, sunshine.” He grinned as he left the bedroom.

Unfortunately, he was no longer smiling when he came back, and his expression betrayed annoyance. “I guess that we don’t have more time to try out the bed?” I smirked, lifting myself and trying to find the shreds of my panties.

“A servant came to inform us that we have twenty minutes to prepare for an audience in my grandfather’s office, as if he was a fucking king or a pope,” Aren snarled.

I stepped closer to him and stood on my toes to kiss him. “Don’t be mad. We’ll have plenty of time later,” I purred playfully, making his grimaced lips uncontrollably curl up.

“You are the only one who can improve my mood in less than a second, sunshine.” He pulled me into his arms and softly kissed the top of my head. Thankfully, he didn’t realize how his previous words made me tense…

***

I surprised myself that I was able to shower, change my clothes, and reapply my make-up in less than twenty minutes, and came down for a meeting with Aren’s grandfather on time. I was keeping my tense hand on Aren’s bent arm as he knocked on the office door. A second later, a servant opened it, inviting us