“What the hell is this?” I hissed, looking at the document I was given.
A lawyer in a fancy suit corrected his designer-rim glasses. “Your contract,” he said.
“Why does it say “marriage” on it?” I glared at him, blood boiling in my veins.
“This is what my client needs. He needs to get married.” The lawyer’s expression remained emotionless, making me feel as if I was tossing all my anger into a void.
I took a long breath out and glanced at the papers. “I’m not going to sign it,” I said, this time more composedly, as I crossed my arms over my chest.
The lawyer turned his head towards something, which I assumed was a one-way mirror. The second he did, the door next to the mirror opened with a slam, and a tall, black-haired man barged inside. It was Aren Lan, the only guy in this city whom no one dared to mess with. I looked at him, meeting his cold as stone gaze. I flinched but was unable to take my eyes off of him. For certain, he was dangerous, but he was also the most handsome man I had ever met in my life.
He smirked as he saw me shiver, my body submitting to him against my will. He strode across the office towards my seat. His broad shoulders and muscled chest could barely stay locked under his tailored suit jacket and tight shirt. As he stood in front of me, I could barely resist the urge to lower my gaze to his belt. He could have been deadly intimidating, but my lewd thoughts kept challenging my self-preservation instinct.
He leaned over me. His cologne was intoxicating but not as lethal as his onyx irises roaming my face. I gulped, indulging his confidence. His full lips were an inch away from mine, nearly touching them. A part of me instantly began craving their softness. My heart pounded erratically, turning me into a madwoman I had never imagined myself to be. He slightly opened his mouth, and I couldn’t restrain myself from looking at the tip of his tongue, slowly teasing the inner side of his upper lip. Unknowingly, I opened my mouth as well. He chuckled, sending a cold shower over my head.
“You can either sign it or go to jail.” He leaned back and smiled mischievously, emphasizing his impeccable jawline.
do anything
into my
with it aside from being at
“I don’t have to prove
me without proof,”
own this city. It means that if I say you go to jail, that means you go to jail.” He leaned over me again, his stare piercing right
could win, and this wasn’t a man I could win against… How did I get myself into all
***
Three weeks earlier
with that espresso!” Christine’s nosy-pitched voice certainly didn’t increase
machine, can I?” I squeezed through my teeth, trying not to shout
weekend effect couldn’t leave their systems entirely. But on Tuesdays, they were all work-mode-on, running on nothing but caffeine. Monique, Marco, and I were probably filling our 999th cup, and it wasn’t even 9 AM. I stretched my lips into a thin smile and placed the final to-go in a paper cup carrier. As I completed the order, I took the carrier back and put it
right? She could have helped instead of bitching, but she was too lazy to move her fat butt around while calling herself “the manager.” Monique placed the rest of
grin to my face and shifted my eyes to an impatient female customer. “Three lattes: one
out of the café. Well, at
my introvert’s comfort zone and put me in front of people. But as a computer freak without a diploma, I had little possibility of getting a job in my area of expertise that would actually give me a proper income. Funny, isn’t it? A former student who had once received a scholarship at Oxford University’s computer science department became a professional barista-slash-waitress. That’s what happens when you don’t have a wealthy family, but you have an ill Grandma instead. I had no regrets about abandoning my studies. Grandma’s life was more important than anything. Since I needed money to pay her medical
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