Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ novel Chapter 29

Meet Miranda The blood drained from my face, turning it paler than pale. Aren had a fiancée?! A real, uncontracted fiancée?! If Aren and Miranda had been engaged, then why did they break up?! I was confused. I didn’t even know how to behave in front of her right now... “Oh,” I voiced out, giving her a blank stare. She burst into laughter, slightly slapping my shoulder. “Hey! I didn’t mean to freak you out; I’m just teasing you!”

I guess Miranda found her own words amusing, but I still didn’t get the joke. “So… Were you, or weren’t you Aren’s fiancée?” I asked, both flustered and annoyed.

“I was… for about six hours… until we sobered up.” She chuckled before shooting me a beaming grin. “But you… you are in a real relationship with him. I must admit that it fascinates me.”

I felt even more baffled. “Wait… so what is YOUR relationship with Aren?”

“We’re friends… nothing more than friends,” she stated firmly.

“So what was it about that thing with Aren’s ear?” I frowned.

She smirked. “I’ll tell you what… Let’s get those tests done, and then we will meet for a coffee or a drink I will tell you everything you want to know and more.”

I sighed, pretending to be cool about it, even if I wasn’t. “All right. Let’s do like you said.” She smiled before putting on a doctor’s mask. I couldn’t help but admire that professional change. It was as if she had turned into a different person. She had done a basic checkup on me, and then she typed it all down on her computer form before collecting my blood for further testing.

“Now, you need to go upstairs for the ultrasound and MRI. After you’re done, we’ll meet for some coffee and chat,” she said, in between calling for a nurse to come and take me to the rest of my examinations.

I nodded yet was still uncertain whether Miranda was a friend or foe. As soon as I left her office, I texted Neil, asking him to tell me anything about my new doctor. He called me instead.

“Did Ms. Corbyn say anything inappropriate?” he asked as I answered, concern more than obvious in the tone of his voice.

“She said that Aren and she were engaged once. That knocked me off guard and that’s why I asked…” I replied, lowering my voice as I followed the nurse to the examination room. Neil cleared his throat. “Well, she can be a little peculiar sometimes, but she is one of Mr. Lan’s most trusted associates.”

“She said that they are friends,” I added. “I suppose that is true. Ms. Corbyn and Mr. Lan have known each other for many years. They used to grow up together,” he explained.

wn

Meet Miranda

“I see… Thank you, Neil,” I muttered before ending the call.

I couldn’t say that I felt any better after hearing it. I was oddly annoyed by the fact that she might have known a lot about Aren. Aren trusted her… and that alone made me feel inferior. Then again, I couldn’t explain why I cared so much about being in his inner circle. After all, we would have nothing in common when our contract ended…

Two hours later, all the examinations were over. I was drained out and starving since I came to the clinic on an empty stomach. My desires were simple: I needed food and rest in some quiet place, far away from the MRI’s annoying buzz, which had given me a headache. I wobbled down the stairs and headed straight to the exit when Miranda suddenly blocked my way. 

“Hungry right?” she grinned, hanging her arm around my shoulder and directing me to the corridor on her left. “Starving,” I admitted, too tired to refuse her offer.

She laughed and continued leading me down the corridor. I tried to keep my guard up around her while relentlessly looking for the motive she might have had to get close to me. Was she testing me? And if she truly was, was she doing it to satisfy her curiosity, or was she doing it because Aren asked her to?

We walked into something resembling a bistro café, which was a part of Lan’s Clinic. The floor -to-ceiling windows in the warm wooden frame created a cozy, almost therapeutic atmosphere. I couldn’t wait until I would get to sit on one of those wooden chairs with linen covered cushions set by one of the many tables inside the room, but Miranda decided to take us to the small patio area, which appeared to be much more private. There was one table set in the corner. It was separated from the rest of the bistro spots with a hedge fence.

ago.”