Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ

Chapter 58

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!” I heard Neil nearly cry out as I took the call.

“Don’t be. You told me to call you, and I didn’t, but mostly because I was sure that I could handle it on my own,” I said, wondering where my confidence came from. “Still… You are aware that I needed to report this to Mr. Lan? He got very mad… Please don’t blame me 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 blame me for taking care of the problem myself instead of using Neil? Why would I need to pretend I was weak when I wasn’t?! It was the first time that I 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 I ended the call with Neil. I needed to get my mind off of that entire situation. I went to Aren’s bedroom and took the jewelry box out of the safe.

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

I stroked the box from each side, trying to figure out anything about the hidden construction, but I felt even more lost than when I had looked at it for the first time. I 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. I gasped in excitement, at the same time hoping that I didn’t break anything.

I grabbed my phone and turned on an app with a magnifying glass. As I looked at the frame, I 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 I pressed the button, I 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.

so stupid?!” I burst out laughing, finally noticing the

stood for numbers. Now, all I needed to do was to place the little buttons in the right position just like I was

winning the fucking lottery! How am I supposed to know what kind of code

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

no clear point marking where the code should begin, so I had to try setting it in eight different arrangements. When that didn’t work, I did the same with 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 I had never even met her, I had no idea where I should start looking for the clues. I went back to my bedroom and placed the jewelry box by my bed. I kept staring at the flowers and birds carved on the wooden sides. Every detail of it was simply stunning. That made me even more

eight-digit combination and slowly falling asleep. The ringing phone woke me up. I must have forgotten to turn off the sounds, and now it became an unwanted alarm. Cursing under my breath, I faced the illuminated screen, but I woke up entirely as I saw Aren’s caller ID., “Hello?” I answered with a slightly hoarse voice. “I woke you up, didn’t I?” His deep voice came out. I bit my lip as the sound sent a wave of shivers. “I’m awake now,” I said. “I wanted to call you sooner, but I had a lot to take care of…” he explained a little nervously. “It’s OK,” I 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 I did just fine, and I knew I had to deal with your crazy family at some point.” I chuckled. Aren sighed. “Vanessa went too far. I 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…” I stated and laughed anxiously as I remembered what I said to her. “In the argument… I mentioned

is Callan’s mother?” he

out before clamping my mouth with my hand

His teasing tone only added more blush to my cheeks. “I like the

me,

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