Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ novel Chapter 79

Idea

I leaned back in my seat, my head spinning as I couldn’t process what Jack had just told us. Anger buzzed within me as I thought that Callan was messing with us even after he died. “This is absurd! You told us before that the pathologist couldn’t find any evidence that Callan’s death was a murder, and now you can be accused of killing him?!” My frustration went beyond the limits I could handle.

Aren placed his hand on top of mine. “Calm down, Cora. We will find a solution; we just need to think carefully.”

I inwardly slapped myself for enjoying Aren’s touch and then slipped my hand away from his. As I did, he glanced at me with a hint of odd sadness flashing in his expression. Was he surprised that I was going to avoid his touch? Well, too bad he hadn’t thought about it before degrading everything we had to casual sex. Jack noticed our change in behavior right away. “You two had a fight?” My “yes” came simultaneously with Aren’s “no.” We looked at each other slightly awkwardly. Jack chuckled. “Aren, you should hurry up and apologize, or I can sense no sex for weeks if you don’t.”

He got that right. Aren might have been the sexiest guy I had ever dated or even the sexiest

guy I had ever seen, but I was not going to surrender to my desires, not anymore. Aren slid his hand around my waist, pulling me closer. “Forgive me, beautiful,” he purred seductively, his lips curving in an alluring smile. I wished I could kick his balls at that moment. Did he truly have no idea what he was doing to me and how much it hurt? Sadly for him, I wasn’t going to play the part of a good and

forgiving wife.

“If you think that your half-assed apology could make me spread my legs for you again, then you miscalculated, handsome,” I said before jerking his hand away with a bright smile painting my face.

Aren glared at me, but that only made me smile more beamingly. I could have been his contractual wife, but I demanded respect and I was not afraid of him. Jack burst out laughing. “Cora, you are a ray of sunshine in this shitty life of mine.” As I shifted my eyes to him, a sting of guilt pierced my heart. “I’m sorry, Jack. We shouldn’t have bothered you with our little problems when you could be prosecuted for something you haven’t done…”

Jack shook his head. “It was a nice form of distraction.”

Aren stayed silent, his eyes without a pinch of a smile turning from Jack to me. I suddenly got an irresistible urge to tease him. I blinked my eyes. “Don’t be mad at me, husband. You said it yourself, that we need to put emotions away.”

God, it felt good to use his own weapon against him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but as

WE

he added a cold smirk to his expression, chills ran down my spine. He wasn’t planning revenge for what I just did, was he? I waved off that thought as we finally focused on Jack and the investigation. “Do you think that it might be Wintons’ doing?” I asked. “I bet that they were looking for someone who would pay for Callan’s death, and if they found out that you were Aren’s friend then-”

“No,” Aren cut in. “The Wintons might seem strong when they talk, but they don’t have the means to mess with the FBI. I know that they have some connections in the NYPD, but this would be too big of a case for them to handle.” “Any other suggestions?” Jack smiled wryly. “If not the Wintons, then I guess it must have been the guy who kidnapped me and locked me in that warehouse,” I said, glancing at Aren. He nodded. “If he could gather an army of men to assassinate me, then who knows, maybe he has good political connections as well.” “Someone from the political family, from the government, or the senate?” Jack suggested. Aren smirked. “Not necessarily. Money talks louder than any political beliefs. All you need to do is to find the right person, willing to do whatever you need to get the money.” I felt shivers down my spine as I listened to his words. “You sound as if you were saying that from experience…” I laughed nervously. “You don’t want to know, beautiful.” He winked at me. Jack took a deep breath. “I guess that narrows the list down to the richest people in New York.” An uncomfortable grimace painted Aren’s lips. “Not necessarily New York…” A sound of frustration escaped Jack’s throat. “Fuck, Aren! How many people outside New York have you pissed?! Can we narrow this down to a few states at least, or are we talking about the whole country?!”

Aren shrugged. “I’m running a global consortium, Jack, and I bought over fifty companies on my way. Sometimes people got fired or lost their wealth, and now they certainly wish me dead, but they can only do that. If I were to make a list, I’d put five big names on it. They all hate me for business reasons.”

“But this is personal,” I said, making Aren and Jack look at me with interest.

“What do you mean?” Jack leaned forward on the table.

“I read a few messages from Callan’s phone. There were no names, but this guy mentioned that he would make Aren pay for what he did to his family,” I explained.