Too Late Mr. White! I'm Married To Your Rival Now novel Chapter 98

Aria's POV

"Because they're not Aria Jones," he replied simply.

Holy crap. Did he seriously just say that? The way he said those words felt dangerously close to a confession. My heart skipped several beats before I managed to compose myself.

"I don't actually like money that much," I said, trying to salvage whatever dignity I had left.

"I know," Aiden replied.

His dark eyes found mine, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "I don't particularly care for money either. But no one ever complains about having too much, do they?"

I froze, staring into those midnight eyes dancing with amusement. My heartbeat accelerated with each passing second.

God help me. I didn't want to talk about money with Aiden right now.

I wanted to kiss him.

How could any man look so dangerously tempting when he smiled? He was like a restricted area with warning signs plastered all around—and yet I couldn't help wanting to cross the line.

When I didn't respond, Aiden raised an eyebrow. "What are you thinking? If you have something on your mind, you can say it."

Looking at his face—those sharp cheekbones, the perfect jawline, those intense eyes—my brain completely short-circuited. The words tumbled out before I could stop them.

"I don't want to talk about money right now."

"What do you want to talk about then?"

"I want to kiss you."

Oh. My. God. Did those words actually just leave my mouth?

Aiden's eyes widened slightly, his composure faltering for once. His intense gaze landed directly on my face. "Kiss me?"

My face burned so hot I could have fried eggs on my cheeks. I stood there, my scalp tingling with embarrassment. I was so mortified I could have dug a hole in the floor and built a three-bedroom apartment in it.

I quickly slapped a hand over my mouth. "I'm joking! Just telling a joke to lighten the mood! Ha ha ha ha... Not funny, huh?"

So. Freaking. Awkward.

I wanted to run.

Just as Aiden leaned toward me—oh god, was he actually going to kiss me?—his phone rang.

Thank whatever higher power existed for that interruption.

"I just remembered something I need to do," I blurted out before he could even speak. I turned and practically sprinted up the stairs.

Back in my room, I face-planted into my pillow. Thinking about my verbal diarrhea made me want to sew my own mouth shut.

I rolled around on the bed a couple times before my thoughts turned to Claire's check. I pulled it from beside my pillow, staring at the number. I'd counted the zeros wrong the first time because there were just so many of them.

Thirty million dollars!

I wondered if I was dreaming. How had I suddenly acquired Thirty million dollars?

I couldn't for the life of me understand what game Claire Bennett was playing.

I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of the check to send to Lillian: *I seriously don't understand what Claire is thinking. She showed up this morning to thank me, then handed me a check for thirty million DOLLARS! [image.jpg]*

Lillian replied instantly as if she'd been glued to her phone: *OMG! What if—hear me out—Claire's into YOU, not Aiden?*

I stared at the message: *...*

Sorry, but I wasn't into women!

That check suddenly felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket. At lunch, I decided to bring it up with Aiden.

"Mr. Carter, about Claire's Thirty million... would you help me return it to her?"

Aiden glanced at the check in my hand. "Why return it? Didn't you earn it?"

"...Don't you find this strange? Claire was your arranged match, she jumped into the pool herself last night, and today she's insisting on thanking me..."

The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that Claire was setting some kind of trap.

Aiden gave me a sideways glance. "It is peculiar."

He paused briefly before continuing nonchalantly, "But she gave you that check herself. Even if she changes her mind, you don't need to return it. Besides, she hasn't asked for it back."

"That's true, but I'm worried she's setting me up somehow."

"Would you give someone Thirty million dollars as part of setting a trap?"

Aiden looked at me, his lips curving into a dangerous smile. "So when does Mrs. Carter plan to set a trap for me?"

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