Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ novel Chapter 49

Aren shrugged out of his jacket and covered my shoulders before moving away from the bed and facing his grandfather. “Your grandson was trying to rape my fiancée, and he deserved to be punished,” he commented sternly. “Punished?! I bet that this bitch seduced him! Why else would he be inside that room?!” Vanessa spat while assisting two servants in getting Callan up to his feet. Callan looked at me with his swollen eyes, and a faint smirk curled the corner of his lips. He had a broken nose and a few other injuries. It was unclear what kind of injuries they were because his whole face was covered in blood. He was clearly in pain, but his hatred for Aren was strong enough to surface in his expression even at that moment. It was terrifying. 

Augustus processed the situation and stepped toward me. “Did Callan try to force himself on you?” he asked, raising his chin in a judgmental gesture as a warning for me to watch my mouth. 

I guessed that he still doubted that Aren and I were in a genuine relationship. My jaw clenched as I glared at him. Taking a deep breath to soothe my still trembling body, I said, “He broke into the bedroom that I locked and tried to… He tried to...” 

“Enough with that questioning!” Aren hissed, standing between me and Augustus. “I know what I saw, and I should have killed that piece of shit, but he is only slightly injured.” He pointed at Callan, who was tripping over his feet as he was led out of the room by servants, supporting his every inept step. 

James walked to Aren, an uncomfortable grimace painting his face. “I‘m sure he didn‘t mean to 

I burst out in bitter laughter. My inner rage rose beyond the point of my control. Why did all those people figure out that they needed to coax Aren while ignoring the fact that I was that bastard‘s victim?! 

“Of course!” I snapped. “He didn‘t mean to break into the bedroom, knowing that I was alone inside! He didn‘t mean to pin me down on the bed and touch me without my consent! He didn‘t mean anything bad... He is just too used to getting whatever he wants!” Aren‘s eyes landed on me in an instant, guilt surfacing in his expression before he shifted his gaze to his father and grandfather. “We are leaving. Feel free to take that piece of shit to the hospital. Just know that I will kill him the next time he tries to get anywhere near Cora.” 

A second later, he scooped me from the bed and carried me out of the room, bridal–style. I was barefoot, wearing a silk nightgown, and was only covered by his jacket, yet I didn‘t question him. I wrapped my arms around him and placed my head on his chest as he carried me down the stairs. 

“Aren!” Augustus yelled angrily while standing at the top of the stairs. “Let‘s try to be reasonable here!” 

Aren turned around, his eyes sending out a terrifying glower. “This is me being reasonable. And I suggest you pray that never changes because then I won‘t hesitate to wipe every single Winton from the face of the Earth.” He kicked the door open, and we left. 

My choice 

As Aren carried me out of the mansion, Marcus was already waiting for us, standing by the car. I had no idea when Aren called for him to come. Augustus ran after us, asking Aren to remember some business issues they‘d discussed before, suddenly exposing the fact that it was the only thing he had ever cared about. Aren ignored his desperate pleading. He just walked to the car and gently put me in the backseat while Marcus went inside to get our suitcases. A minute later, we were driving away from the mansion. I stayed silent until we left Greenwich, heading back to New York City. I wrapped myself in Aren‘s jacket, finding myself shivering from the cold, even though it was a warm night and Marcus turned on the car heater for me. As we hit the interstate highway, I finally found the strength to break the silence. I choked out, “I’m sorry.” 

Aren frowned. “How can you be sorry for anything?” 

“You lost your chance to get the evidence you wanted… It‘s because of me...” I said, lowering my head. 

“It happened because of that fucker and only because of him. Don‘t even try to blame yourself for it.” He smiled faintly and stroked my hair. 

“But maybe if we stayed there and” 

“You didn‘t want to stay, and I couldn‘t allow us to stay there either. If I‘d chosen to stay, Augustus might have been satisfied, but he would have also become suspicious, and I needed him to lower his guard instead of raising it. I just need to figure out another way to get into his office. That‘s all,” he explained. 

It was rational to think that it wasn‘t my fault. I was the victim, and I did nothing to provoke him... except for showing up in his home with Aren. Nonetheless, I couldn‘t get rid of the feeling that Aren would have had better chances of getting what he wanted if he had come to the mansion with some other contractual fiancée. I was aware that it was my degraded self esteem talking, but I couldn‘t change the way I felt. 

When we arrived at the underground parking lot, Aren took me in his arms again and carried me to the penthouse. It was one of those moments, I was grateful that he had his private 

elevator because I would have been awfully embarrassed if someone had seen me like this. I suggested that I could simply take out my shoes from the suitcase and walk by myself, but hearing his curt “no,” I decided to shut up and let him carry me. His body warmth was soothing. It kept my thoughts away from Callan. Yet as soon as he put me down in my bedroom, my body started to shiver again. 

Every sound, whether it was the rustling wind or the closing door, made me flinch and put my senses into a state of alert. It became even worse when I entered the shower. Once the water stream fell on my skin, it felt like Callan‘s nauseating touch. As I saw the bruises he left on my wrists and arms while trying to restrain me, it all became unbearable. I turned off the water and curled in the corner of the cabin. I burst out into tears, one hand clamping my mouth shut to muffle my cry. Every memory of my sick relationship with Callan returned to stab me where it hurt the most. I felt as if I had lost to him again. I felt helpless. If it wasn‘t for Aren... 

I cried until my tears stopped falling, and I became numb. I longed for some comfort. I needed someone to tell me I wasn‘t worthless, someone to help me silence those demons inflicting fear on me l used to tell myself that I could deal with anything. I was smart and intelligent, and I had read a lot of books to know how psychology works. I kept repeating to myself that I was sale and that there was nothing wrong with me, but this time everything within me screamed otherwise. Fisting my hands, I got out of the bathroom, put on my loose T–shirt and panties, and lay down on my bed. The second I closed my eyes, I saw Callan above me, panting and laughing viciously. I opened my eyes, sitting up and gasping in fear. I ran out of the bed, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of Aren‘s door. I knocked, and he opened the door a second later, almost as if he expected me to come. “What is it?” he asked as he stood before me wearing nothing but brief shorts. 

My mouth opened but no words came out. I didn‘t even know why I came knocking on his door.