The Day I Kissed An Older Man by Cher the Cherished

The sun began to set, and nightfall soon came.

The bedroom at the Holdens’ house was huge, and so was the bed. After Corinne was brought there, Jeremy passed her over to some maids and instructed them, “Get her ready.”

The maids rushed forward and washed her face before putting some makeup on her. Then, she was dressed in a traditional white wedding dress, complete with a veil that covered her face. Since her vision was blurred by the veil, Corinne could see only a patch of white in front of her. As soon as she looked down, however, she saw his expensive, beautifully-crafted leather shoes near her feet.

The man’s deep, cello-like voice rang in her ears. “Cooperate with me. I won’t do anything to you.”

Behind his rather soothing tone was a strong sense of unseen pressure.

At that moment, Corinne was well aware that there was nowhere on earth she could run to. After all, if he could locate her home, he could easily find her regardless of where she ran off to.

Corinne gritted her teeth. “Fine. I’ll cooperate with you. This is the price I have to pay for messing with you. You need to give me an exact timeline though, and by that, I mean, how long do you expect me to cooperate with you? Once it’s time up, we’ll go our separate ways without ever seeing each other again.”

Jeremy was not romantically interested in her either, so he coldly replied, “Three months.”

Three months was sufficient time for his grandfather to recover from the surgery, and besides, he did not want to get involved with this woman for too long.

“Deal!” Three months was not too long nor too short, and Corinne was more or less able to accept that duration. She then took the initiative to hold the man’s hand.

“Let’s go, mister! It’s time to marry you!”

Jeremy froze slightly and glanced down at Corinne holding his hand. To his surprise, he was not particularly averse to her touch, despite his usual disinclination for physical contact.

Corinne’s hands were dainty and soft to the touch.

…

The Holdens arranged a grand yet traditional wedding. Corinne and Jeremy walked into the banquet hall to partake in the simple wedding ceremony. She was later sent to a room with an atmosphere that screamed ‘newlyweds’.

Jeremy walked into the room, he found Corinne sitting straight on the edge of the bed. Since she had not taken off her white veil, she

and he said coldly. “You can relax now. There’s no need for us

did not move.

lift her white veil. Under the warm glow of the room light, a small fairy-like face came into view. Her delicate eyelids were drooping, and she appeared incredibly calm

to wonder if she actually

slightly to one side. In turn,

instinct, Jeremy stretched out his hand so as not to let her

frowned but did

fell into his embrace. It was the first time he saw her true face without any makeup, and a look of

the god-awful makeup, turned out to

stranger’s scent lingering too close to her. It was then that she realized that Jeremy was holding her

free and said in fear, “What are you doing, mister? I should warn you that

he not been considerate enough to reach out and support her, she would have fallen face-first

his eyes. “Who told you that you and I aren’t really married?”

frowned and said warily, “Are you trying to go back on your word, mister? We agreed to

“But I don’t remember promising that

There was a thin layer of calluses on his rough fingertips, which exuded a dangerous sense of power, along

could you just act like some rascal?” Corinne stared at him and shook

even more and stared at her from up close. When he saw that Corinne’s face was all scrunched up, he let go of her with a sneer

was nonetheless pissed. “Heh. Glad I can sleep easy tonight! Old, energetic uncles like

she

you please step aside, mister? I’m sleepy, so I’m going to wash up

at her condescendingly without moving away. Corinne remained non-confrontational and

into the bathroom with her head raised high, the sound of running water

how embarrassing of a situation she was in. It was only after she was done with her bath that she realized she did not bring

wear due to its sheer weight.

door, where she saw Jeremy still sitting there on the sofa. He was busy with his

sheepishly, “Please hand me the