Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ novel Chapter 18

Adjusting

A peal of hysteric laughter escaped my throat. I turned to my new chauffeur, praying that he would understand me and play along.

“Thank you for giving me a ride,” I said with an awkwardly wide smile, stopping Benjamin halfway before he sat down behind the wheel.

He stepped out of the car. His eyes shifted from me to Liam and back to me again.

“No problem, Miss.” His fingers slid through the rim of his hat.

“Thank you,” I repeated, bowing my head this time.

I could see a surprise flashing through his face, yet he kept his composed expression. He nodded his head, and a few seconds later, he was pulling away from the curb. I sighed in relief as I got rid of the first part of my problem. I stepped closer to Liam, grinning like an idiot.

“What happened to you? Did you win a million dollars overnight or something?” he muttered, widening his eyes as he could now examine my clothes up-close. “Of course not.” I waved off his assumptions with my hand. “I was working at the café today when some rich client spilled coffee all over my clothes… She was incredibly sorry, and she gave me this dress as an apology. Can you believe it?” I forced a laugh.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Did she give you her Gucci heels as well?” “Yes.” I nodded my head while keeping that stupid grin on my face. “This must be my luckiest day since I moved back to New York!” I exclaimed with a wide gesture, as if it could possibly make up for the fact that I was lying.

“What about the car and chauffeur?” he asked, with an unmistakable suspicion in his tone.

“She insisted to offer me a ride home. I ended up asking the chauffeur to take me to your place because I urgently need my laptop,” I said quickly and pulled him through the entrance of his building by the rim of his sleeve. I could feel his doubtful gaze on me, but I kept walking toward his apartment, pretending I didn’t notice. We walked into the elevator, and I saw him frowning.

“What?” I let out an irritated sigh.

“I don’t know,” he said, “It’s just that your story sounds quite unbelievable. That’s all.” He shrugged. I chuckled. “You are right. The truth is that I have recently become the contract fiancée of a very wealthy man. He was the one who gave me those clothes and assigned me a private chauffeur and a car.”

He burst into laughter hard enough to shed a tear. “That’s a really good one, Cora!” He kept laughing even when we left the elevator and then entered his apartment. I didn’t know whether or not to feel insulted that he chose to believe in the lie I made up in seconds over the fact that some crazy wealthy man found me attractive, but I couldn’t blame him because I

Adinolino

wouldn’t probably believe myself in the latter either.

After Liam stopped laughing, he no longer asked me any questions. He just handed me my computer, smiling beamingly. I thanked him and walked out, feeling as if I had dodged a bullet. I exited the building and began walking towards the subway when I noticed a black Bentley pulling over directly in front of me. Benjamin walked out of the car and bowed.

“I apologize, Ms. Bell. I didn’t mean to put you in a difficult situation,” he said.

“That’s OK.” I smiled. “He bought my lie, so it’s OK.”

I could see Benjamin sigh in relief as if he could lose his job if I didn’t handle the situation the way I wanted. As he opened the door to help me get into the car, I slightly patted his arm.

“Please, don’t worry about what happened. It was my fault for not telling you in advance.”

He nodded, giving me a faint smile, but I guess that he had relaxed a bit after my words. As he drove me back to the penthouse, he kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

I smirked. “If you want to say something, go ahead.” “I shouldn’t. It’s just a personal opinion,” he stated nervously.

I urged, “I don’t mind.”

Benjamin cleared his throat. “I just think that Ms. Bell is unlike any of Mr. Lan’s girlfriends…” he muttered.

“You know... you are the first to move into his penthouse. Mr. Lan cherishes his private space deeply. I have never seen him even invite a woman to his apartment.”