Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ novel Chapter 74

Funeral

I was glad that I didn’t have to walk the entire way to the mansion’s main building on foot. Marcus waited for us a little further away from the main gate. We drove away, leaving Vanessa, who looked as if she had gone mad. A tiny little part of me felt sorry for her. She had lost her son, and even if her brain lacked neurons, she must have suspected that he didn’t kill himself. I would love to tell her that we shared the same suspicions, but that would only make her blame us for Callan’s death more. I think we would never be able to guess what had caused her hatred, but especially now, that woman should be locked away from society for some serious treatment.

As we entered the main building, my second favorite person in the mansion showed up-the chamberlain, Lucious Maffei. I didn’t think that was possible, but this guy looked at me with more disdain than before.

“Hello Lucious,” I greeted him with a warm smile. “It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?” I couldn’t help but turn on my very dark sense of humor.

Lucious frowned even more, unlike my husband, who barely stifled a laugh. As we walked past him, Aren turned around and smirked. “Oh, Lucious. You should help your mistress. If she acts like a lunatic a little longer, someone might call for paramedics to come over, and it will not look pretty.” The chamberlain’s eyes widened in terror. With his mouth sealed, barely restraining him from cursing us, he darted out of the building toward the main gate. Aren chuckled mischievously as he watched him go. I couldn’t help but stand on my toes and kiss his lips.

“What was that for?” he asked, surprised.

I shrugged. “You just think that you are sexy when you’re acting all devilish.” He leaned over my ear and whispered, “You make me want to do something very devilish and inappropriate…”

I blushed and pushed him away. “Wrong time and wrong place, Mr. Devil… You should wait until we get home.” I winked.

Aren kissed my forehead. “Don’t tease the Devil, sunshine,” he said, lowering his voice as he led me deeper into the hall.

Callan was supposed to be buried at the Wintons’ private cemetery at the back of the garden that belonged to the residence. All guests were to march up the hill to participate in the ceremony and then go back to the main building for meals and drinks. I truly wished it was the latter part because the current situation was rather… awkward.

Aren and I stood in the middle of a spacious hall among people who came to greet and express condolences to James Winton and Vanessa, who joined him as she walked back to the mansion. The rumors must have already spread since everyone looked at us with disdain, murmuring that we shouldn’t have come here in the first place. Finally, it was our time to officially greet the hosts.

Aren bowed respectfully. “Hello, Fa-”

A hard slap from James cut off his words. I gasped, my eyes restlessly shifting from James to Aren and back to James.

“You killed my son,” James Winton hissed.

His words started a wave of vicious muttering, spreading like venom within the hall.

Aren smirked coldly, “I am your son. And I didn’t kill anyone.”

James stepped closer, glaring at Aren. “You made a promise that you would never touch Callan. If you broke your promise” – he looked at me with eyes filled with hatred before turning his gaze back at Aren-“then I will break mine. Blood for blood.”

Aren grabbed my arm and pulled me, hiding me behind his back. “Don’t even think of hurting Cora!”

James huffed mockingly at him and turned around to greet the other guests. I watched the whole scene with my heart aching.

“Are you all right?” I whispered, my hand reaching out to stroke Aren’s painfully burning cheek.

He caught my hand before I touched him, even though he kept his cold stare locked on his father. Then I noticed one corner of his lips curling up, forming a vicious smirk. A second later, I realized the whole scene…

“Have you gone mad?!” Augustus’s voice thundered over James Winton and everyone around him. “How dare you cause a ruckus in my home!”

James stood before him, gritting his teeth in anger, but he said nothing. Of course, Vanessa wasn’t as restrained as her husband. “James had every right to punish Aren for what he did!”

she burst out in Augustus’s face while tightly wrapping her hand around her husband’s arm.