Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ

Getting married I stared in awe at the shining gem lying in my hand for a few long minutes. Its color was intensely blue, and no matter from what angle I looked at it, the stone was perfectly clear. I had never seen anything as beautiful. Did Aren truly want me to have it? It felt surreal. Wasn’t it some kind of family heritage, passed from generation to generation? It was more than obvious that the “diamond” in the name of Aren’s company wasn’t a coincidence either. How could I become the new owner of something like that? I put the diamond back into the pocket of the jewelry box and grabbed my phone since I had little knowledge about expensive gems. As soon as I googled the basic information, I froze, realizing that the pretty blue stone inside the box could be worth more than twenty million dollars! Certainly, that wasn’t a sum of money that could overwhelm Aren, but I was close to a heart attack! Two seconds later, I was calling Aren, with my heart thundering with anxiety. “Hello, Sunshine,” he said with so much smile in his voice that it made my lips curve as well. “I’m sorry to bother you at work… I just needed to tell you that I… that I opened the lid and found the diamond inside,” I claimed nervously. “I knew you would.” His confident but warm response made my heart melt. “B-but what do I do with this diamond now?” I asked, still unable to accept possessing something that had such worth. He chuckled. “My mother wanted my bride to have it, so it is now yours.” “It doesn’t make sense, Aren!” I protested. “It is your heritage. Even your company’s name says that it means a lot to you!” “The stone means a lot to the Lan family, mainly because they would like to get their hands on it, and they couldn’t. The gem was given to my Mother by my Grandmother since it was originally hers. My Grandmother loved her only daughter and always supported her. That was why she gave her the most priceless item in her dowry-a beautiful blue diamond, Tian Kong, which means the sky. Of course, each one of my Mother’s brothers thought that he deserved to get that diamond more than her, but no one could change my Grandmother’s decision. Nonetheless, I was attacked quite a few times by someone sent to get that diamond, but those poor thieves couldn’t find it. As I grew stronger and richer, I chose the name of my company to tease those bastards and state that I owned the diamond, but, frankly, you are the first person to see that gem from the moment my mother died. Now, I want you to have it. We can have it placed in some beautiful necklace or an enormous ring, and I want you to wear it with pride because that is what my Mother would want.” Aren sounded composed, but the meaning of his words only made me more restless.

“So… you’ve never opened the lid yourself?” I asked hesitantly.

“No. I didn’t even want to know how to open it. It was my Mother’s wish that I’d give it to my future wife. Besides, it was dangerous to open it then. If I’d done it and used the diamond, for example, to get the funds to start a company, I would have set a target on my back,” he explained.

“But what about me?! Doesn’t it put a target on my back now?!” I burst out in panic.

He laughed. “No, because I am strong enough to protect you. Besides, tomorrow, once we sign the papers at the registry office, it will all be over. I will become an official heir of the Lan family and thus gain my Grandfather’s full protection.”

“So your Grandfather, Lan Jing, will grant you a mark that you are untouchable or something, right?” My mind was desperate to put all of those things in order. “More or less, yes,” he replied. “But he has no authority over the Winton family. I am guessing that they know about everything your mother left you. If Augustus was willing to lower himself and almost beg you to invest in his business, then wouldn’t he try to get his hands on the diamond as well?” I questioned.

“If my father knew about the diamond, he wouldn’t let me have anything that belonged to my Mom. Fortunately, she was wise enough to create that box. When I left the Wintons’ mansion,

me, they merely assumed that I wanted to have a memento of her. Idiots.

and even if Augustus tries to steal it, he could only sell it on the black marker, and that would be impossible since all significant places are already controlled by Lan Jing,” he explained smugly. Despite everything he said, accepting the diamond still didn’t feel right. “But… how can I

it,” he said lightly. A heaved a hysteric chuckle. “But you have to agree that it isn’t something that a normal mother-in-law would have given to her son’s wife, right?” “Explain normal. Would you rather receive a thousand-year-old jade bangle?” he teased. “No! God, no!” I exclaimed, just in case he had a few of those to give as well. “I was thinking about an old photo album with family pictures

girl, stop arguing, and accept the damn diamond. I bet that it will look stunning on you… especially if you wear nothing but the necklace with it.” I bit my lip. I still felt restless, but

brace yourself

moan escaped my mouth as

voice flooded

were in the same room,

surreal that tomorrow, this man

to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee, Miranda and Monique barged

not to mention that he is going to flip when he sees you in that silk gown. I would want

same time, I couldn’t wait until I saw him in a tux. I bet that he

and the office clerks inside as if it was meant for us to handle all formalities in secrecy. Frankly, I was quite certain that it was arranged that way on purpose. Aren joined us five minutes later since the morning traffic enabled him to show up on time. As soon as he passed the threshold, all eyes were on him. My fiancé strode toward