Chapter 7
Ariel had never been in such an uncomfortable situation her whole life as she was in that moment; she felt embarrassed and cornered.
She stood caged between Aiden's strong arms, sweat breaking out of her skin as she quickly thought of what to say to him.
"I-I wasn't p-planing to s-seduce you," Ariel stammered, not knowing where to direct her eyes as his bare sexy chest was placed right in front of her face.
Faced with her target, why couldn't she execute her plans anymore?
"Liar," Aiden said in a low dark voice.
He slowly removed one of his hands from the wall and placed it under her chin, forcing her face up at him.
Ariel bit her lips in embarrassment, this wasn't how it was supposed to go. She wasn't supposed to be trapped by a half-naked Aiden, with his face slowly approaching her raised one.
"No, please you misunderstood," Ariel pleaded, looking away from his spotless and poreless face.
"Shh, be still, wife," Aiden suddenly grabbed her arm and held her chin firmly.
He paused his face just inches away from hers, staring into her green eyes.
"Listen carefully, wife. Look at my lips," He clenched his fingers tighter on her chin to force her eyes to his lip.
Ariel winced "Ugh, yes, yes, I'm looking at them," Ariel replied, scared.
"Good. Do you think they're sexy?" Aiden's lips were now a whisper away from Ariel's lips.
Ariel was taken aback by the question, and for the first time, she took her time to really look at his lips; they were thin, moisturized, and indeed sexy. She found herself lost in them as she unconsciously licked her lips in preparation for kissing his.
"I knew it," Aiden said sharply and backed away from her.
He had been tempting her all the while, and the wanton look he saw on her face confirmed his suspicions. She was out to seduce him.
But why was he going through all these majors to prove it to himself? Almost like he needed to prove it before he believed it. He never got himself involved with women as physically as he just did with Ariel.
She was trouble, and he would avoid her at all costs.
"Tell me, what do you want from me?" He asked angrily.
That's when Ariel snapped out of her delusional thoughts and was startled as she heard the angry voice in front of her.
"I'm sorry, I'll just leave - argh!" Ariel screamed as she heard him punch the wall angrily.
She was frightened, she should have just stuck inside her room, now she'd gone and provoked him, what was he going to do to her now?!
"You will sign that damn contract," Aiden grabbed her hand and dragged her into her room, forcefully pushing the door open and pushing her in, following her in with a dangerous aura.
Ariel fell to the floor but quickly got herself up. This time, she was honestly scared, she didn't know he was capable of such anger.
She shakily took her phone from the bed and opened the email that was sent to her.
As she typed in her signature, she felt his brooding shadow behind her, making her more nervous.
"I-I've signed it, sir," Ariel stammered, raising the phone above her shoulders to show him the signature.
"Good," He spoke over her shoulder.
Ariel felt him back away from her and walk toward the door, but Aiden suddenly stopped and turned his face to her.
"Just know, the phone isn't free, you will pay in full before the contract ends," He said coldly and left the room.
Ariel fell beside her bed, crying. Why did her life have to be so miserable? She thought this marriage would be like an escape for her but she was wrong.
She wasn't delusional; she knew that the man she was going to marry wouldn't be in love with her. It's not like she was in love with him either, but she had hoped he would at least treat her as an equal, or just as a fellow human and not some filth.
She thought of everything that had happened from the moment she met him and she couldn't think of anything she'd done wrong that would evoke this kind of hatred from a total stranger.
That night, Ariel cried herself to sleep on the floor, thinking of how different everything would have been if her mother never died in that accident.
Ariel saw herself behind Mike's bike as he sped on. Suddenly, a car came toward them at a raging speed, but, before she could scream, she saw herself lying on the floor, blood trickling down her face, and through her blurry eyes, she made out a familiar tall figure standing beside her head, and before her vision went blank, she saw the familiar figure lean down and carried her, while ordering someone to take them quickly to the hospital.
Ariel woke with a gasp, panting for air as she quickly raised her hand to her face to check for any injuries, sighing in relief when she saw she was free of any wounds.
The dream she just had seemed so real, and...why was the figure and the voice so familiar?
She shook her head and slowly got down from the bed. It was still early in the morning but she wasn't used to sleeping in.
Being a maid her whole life had programmed her body into waking up early to do chores.
She quickly took a shower and dressed herself in a short cute floral skirt and a white blouse. Looking at herself in the mirror, she took a deep breath and nodded at herself.
Today was a new start. She wasn't going to give up so easily. She would go out there and make him breakfast and make him understand that she meant no harm, he must see her as his wife, whether he liked it or not.
She opened her door and stood at the center of the hallway, staring at Aiden's door. She sighed and removed her face from there, turning and walking down the stairs she had followed Gregory up yesterday.
As she reached the living room, she stood awed at how expensive everything was. Aiden had really made a name for himself at such a young age, too bad money couldn't buy him a good heart.
She shook her head and walked to the huge kitchen; she marveled at how large it was and couldn't help but wonder if he was a lowkey chef.
She didn't know where to start; everything seemed too clean and expensive; what if she broke something? Then she'll have more things to add to the list of things she'll be paying for, like the phone.
She sighed and lowered herself on the small chair beside the huge kitchen slab.
Thinking about her phone, she felt angry; she never asked for the phone, and she had initially refused to accept it. If she knew she had to pay for it, she would have insisted on her refusal.
"Ms. Ariel?" Gregory called from the dining.
Ariel was startled; she turned her face to see Gregory behind her.
"Good morning, Greg," Ariel said politely, standing from the chair to fully face him.
Gregory was surprised to see Ariel up so early; he walked up to her, looking down at his wristwatch.
"Ms. Ariel, this is just 4 a.m. What are you doing in the kitchen?" He asked her, looking strangely at her.
It didn't look like she came down for some water or something else because she looked like she had just stepped out of the shower, ready to take on the day.
"Ah, don't mind me, I just want to prepare breakfast for Mr. Chaz, I know he'd be leaving for work early, so-"
"Mr. Chaz?" Gregory asked, frowning slightly.
Ariel looked around in confusion for a second. She thought Gregory had seen Aiden somewhere and was calling out to him, but when she couldn't find anyone, she realized that he was asking her a question.
"Oh, yes, Mr. Chaz, our boss," She chuckled at the term she used.
"Ms. Ariel, he is your husband, I'd advise you to refer to him as one, in case Grandma Nari has a spy somewhere in the house, and, I'm sorry to inform you that Mr. Chaz left last night for Paris for an urgent business, he won't be back for some time," Gregory informed.
Ariel stared at the space beside him for a while before she suddenly smiled up at him, "Right, I see. I'll just... just do whatever then," She said quietly.
Gregory felt pity for the girl, but there was nothing he could do. He knew how his boss can be and he hoped the girl had the backbone to withstand him.
"My number is already added to your phone; call me if you ever need anything or want to go anywhere; I'm at your service," He paused and looked around.
"And you don't have to cook or do chores; there are servants for that," Gregory said and gave her a slight bow before leaving.
Ariel stood in the large kitchen, staring into the massive living room.
She smiled depreciating at herself. What was she even thinking? That he would live in the same house with her as normal couples do? Once again, he didn't fail to put it to her that he owed her no damn explanation about his life, indirectly rubbing the fact that she was contracted and never to be loved on her face.