Chapter 39


    His promise


    I pull in one shallow breath after another, I remembered Neil saying that Aren had a lot of enemies, but I


    used to think of them as businesspetitors, not people who literally wanted him dead!


    “I thought that your mothermitted suicide,” I said nervously, feeling my body start to tremble.


    “They made it look that way.” A painful grimace surfaced on his face.


    I raised my eyebrows, processing his words. “They?” He locked his eyes on me. “There were at least a


    few people involved in it. My father might be one of them.”


    I gasped. The deadliest form of crime that I‘d had contact with was hacking and stealing data, but Aren


    lived in a world full of killing, conspiracy, and true wickedness. Only now did I realize thatpared to


    Aren‘s, myputer world was angelically safe.


    “My head starts to spin...” I muttered, my body shivering even more.


    Aren corrected his grip on my hand and pulled me close, his arms wrapping around my body.” You‘re


    trembling. You should have taken a scarf.”


    I nodded, smiling nervously. I didn‘t want to admit that his words terrified me. I stepped into the unknown,


    naively believing that as long as I got along with Aren, I would do just fine...


    We got back inside the mansion. Aren rushed to take the nket scarf and wrap it around my shoulders,


    believing that I was shivering from the cold. Then he gave me something that had a bigger chance to


    help: he brought me a ss of wine. I drank a gulp from the ss and suddenly felt much better. As I


    enjoyed the wine, Aren confirmed our dinner order. The food arrived by the time I finished the ss,


    which was about a few minutester. Again, Aren took care of everything, asking me to wait while he


    prepared our table in the dining room. I felt awkward about being spoiled like that. I didn‘t think I could


    ever get used to doing nothing. Nheless, since Aren‘s revtion caused a huge explosion inside my


    brain, I decided to use that time to focus on my current remedy: wine.


    “The dinner is served, Mdy,” Aren announced, nonchntly bowing in front of me.


    I stifled augh, covering my mouth with my hand, but as I cleared my throat, I figured I should follow his


    example. “Lead the way then,” I said, nobly raising my chin.


    He grinned and gestured widely, inviting me to the table. He ordered shrimp pasta, which was probably


    the best pasta I had eaten in my whole life. Once I cleaned the te and emptied my second ss of


    wine, my courage passed the usual limit of being careful. I grinned happily as if the fact that people


    around Aren were dying didn‘t matter to me in the slightest.


    “Let‘s go sit by the pool,” Aren suggested, reaching out his hand to lead me.


    “There‘s a pool here as well?!” I gaped at him in undeniable excitement.


    He snorted. “Of course there is. It‘s on the second terrace.”


    Tietlim lead me there, taking the wine and our sses with us. The terrace he mentioned was filled with


    potted nts and flowers, creating the illusion of entering a secret garden. The pool was beautifully


    lighted, giving the water a beautiful inner glow. I walked to the edge and couldn‘t resist the urge to


    immerse my feet in it,


    “Sit on the edge and put your legs into the water; it‘s heated,” Aren coaxed, grinning as he saw my


    childish excitement


    i blushed but dly epted his idea. A minuteter, Aren pulled up his jeans to his knees, and we both


    sat and soaked our feet in the pool. As Aren refilled my ss of wine, I felt ready to hear the rest of his


    story. Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.


    “So… why do you feed to get inside the snakes‘ nest?” I asked, curiously locking my eyes on him.


    Aren leaned forward and smirked. “All the Wintons‘ employees sign a confidentiality use with penalties


    much more severe than the one you signed. Even if someone is fired, the former worker is forced to


    keep everything that happened during work a secret. But one of the former bodyguards was diagnosed


    with an inoperable brain tumor. He thought that he had nothing else to lose, so he came to me. The guy


    wasn‘t stupid. He wanted to get leverage in case the Wintons‘ business went south. He told me that he


    recorded a certain conversation in my father‘s study fifteen years ago. During that conversation, two


    people were discussing whether they got rid of all evidence of my mother‘s murder. He had the file


    hidden safely on a sh drive in his room at the mansion, but someone snitched him. In a desperate act,


    he hid the sh drive in my grandfather‘s office. In the end, they found nothing on him but fired him


    anyway.”


    “And you assume that the sh drive is still hidden and waiting for you?” I painted a wicked grin on my


    face.


    Heughed ominously. “Yes, I believe it‘s still there.” There was something disturbing in his reaction.


    “You seem to be certain. Why is that?” I narrowed my eyes at him.


    “Because they killed the bodyguard a day after he revealed the information. They must have known that


    he would try to tell me about the recording, but they didn‘t realize that he and I had already met the day


    before,” he said, his tone cold and emotionless.


    I could feel that my face was turning pale. I instantly started to wonder if I was one of those disposable


    people for Aren. There was nothing but a contract binding us together. Would he sacrifice me as soon as


    he got the inheritance he wanted?


    “... ra...? Cora... Are you all right?” His voice brought me back from a state of daze. He grabbed my


    hand, his eyes carefully scanning my expression. “I scared you, didn‘t I?”


    Was there any sense in denying that I was terrified?


    “Yes... I‘m sorry, I just.:.” My voice cracked as I searched for the right words to describe how I felt.


    He grabbed me by the shoulders, turning me to face him. “I will always keep you safe, Cora. I am loyal to


    those who are loyal to me. What I can promise you is that I will never let you get


    hurt and that I will always protect you.”


    His voice captivated me. It made me calm down in an instant. He leaned closer, his hands gently rubbing


    my arms. I locked my eyes on him, his hungry gaze forcing me to submit,


    “Trust me, Cora... I will never betray you,” he whispered, bringing his lips closer to my own,


    “I trust you,” I breathed out a second before he ced his kiss,


    I put my arms around his neck while one of his hands slid around my waist and another tangled my hair


    at the back of my head. He pulled me close, but I didn‘t resist. His lips imed mine passionately. His


    tongue moved in swift, delicate strokes that quickly turned into lush caresses. I moaned against his lips,


    feeling the shiver of pleasure increase my arousal. I craved him. I needed to fetel him closer to my body.


    I moved an inch deeper behind the pool rim, but when Aren corrected his grip and stopped supporting


    my weight for a second, I lost my bnce.


    I pushed myself against him, trying to stabilize my awkward body, but my buttocks were already slipping.


    I looked at him with a helpless grimace before I fell into the water. A secondter, he jumped after me,


    pulling my head to the surface. He helped me stand my feet on a small step near the edge of the pool,


    which was enough for me to keep my head and neck over the water, my back leaning against the pool


    rim. He caged me between his arms as he ced his hands on the edge of the pool on both sides of my


    wet body. “You love to fall into water pools, don‘t you?” Aren chuckled whilebing his dripping wet


    hair up with his fingers. “I didn‘t do it on purpose,” I grunted.


    He smirked, leaning over my ear to whisper, “You can fall all you want. I will always catch you.


    God! Did he have a note full of perfect lines for every asion memorized in that brain of his?! “You


    didn‘t catch me,” I corrected, “you pulled me up. There is a difference.” He snorted. “Only because I love


    to see you wet. However... I wish you wore less clothing.” He smiled wryly, clearly unsatisfied by the


    weak level of my dress‘s transparency. “Do you have to act like that all the time?” I frowned, barely


    resisting an urge to stare at his half–naked and wet chest.


    “Act like what?” He grinned, locking his dangerous gaze on me. “I don‘t know… smug!” I burst out,


    frustrated. Heughed again. “What’s wrong with that? “Everything,” I argued. “I won‘t stop,” he


    challenged, bringing his body closer to mine, “because I know that it works on you.”


    “It doesn‘t,” I said weakly, turning my head away to avoid his devouring gaze. “I want you, Cora. I can‘t


    give you an emotional bond, but I can give you a partnership,” he whispered, his lips gently kissing my


    neck. “I can give you sincerity, and I can give you


    protection...”


    I swallowed. His words sank deep into me. One of his hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me


    close, pressing me against his body. His lips roamed restlessly down my neck. I gasped, feeling the


    bulge in his pants rubbing against the lower part of my stomach. Unknowingly, my legs pulled away from


    the step I bnced on and wrapped around his waist. He leaned back, looking at me with his predatory


    eyes.


    “I won‘t be able to stop this time,” he warned, giving me thest chance to escape, but I only smiled at


    him, more than willing to surrender.


    As I was about to kiss those full, delicious lips of his, I heard a distracting buzzing from the


    smartwatch on his hand. Instinctively, I turned my head toward the sound. Aren‘s focus stayed entirely on


    me, as he leaned his head down, kissing my cleavage. “Ignore it,” he grunted, as the buzz continued.


    I couldn‘t. Fighting against the overwhelming pleasure Aren was giving me, I nced at the screen. “But


    it‘s Neil... isn‘t it important if he calls... despite knowing...?” I breathed out.


    An angry roar came out of his throat as he straightened and lifted me to sit on the edge of the pool


    before he jumped out himself. Dripping wet, he went inside the mansion to grab his phone, tossing me a


    nket along the way.


    “Talk,” he ordered curtly, answering Neil‘s call.


    He listened to whatever Neil was saying with an angry frown on his face. I found it incredible, how quickly


    he was able to change from a passionate lover, whose touch I could still feel on my soaked skin, to the


    fierce boss firmly managing his globalpany. I was still partially in a daze, my heart hammering


    against my chest and my skin hyper–sensitive. I wrapped myself tightly in the nket Aren gave me,


    trying to figure out what might have happened by reading Aren‘s face. A minuteter, he ended the call


    and walked back to the pool.


    “I‘m sorry, but I need to get back to thepany now. You may stay here, and Benjamin wille in the


    morning to pick you up,” he said, taking off his wet shirt. ‘I stood up and stepped closer to him. “What


    happened?” I asked, partially testing if he truly


    meant what he said about honesty and partnership. He sighed, clenching his fist. “The ns of one of


    our projects have most likely been stolen.” “Stolen... how?” I enquired. “By a hacker.” I took a deep


    breath and looked straight into his eyes. “I‘ming with you.”