Chapter 123


    Into the Lion’s den


    I spent the entire fifteen-hour flight to Shanghai being restless. Even as Iy in Aren’s arms in the


    bedroom of his luxurious private jet, I couldn’t sleep. Unlike me, Aren slept like a baby, but I guess his


    level of exhaustion finally forced his system to rest. From the moment he hade back to New York,


    he didn’t leave my side, working from my room in the clinic in between taking care of me. Even when


    Miranda had finally agreed to release me from observation, Aren didn’t go to his office to pamper me as


    if I was a child. He didn’t let me do anything by myself, and he would have carried me around the


    penthouse so I wouldn’t tire my feet if I didn’t firmly protest against it. It felt awkward at times, but I


    couldn’t help but feel my heart melting as I saw his concern filled with yet-unnamed emotions


    scratching their way out. Now, he was lying peacefully beside me, and I tried to soothe my nerves by


    stroking his thick ck hair. Looking at his beautiful sleeping face was the only thing that could dissolve


    my anxieties while we were in the air, and I could only imagine how nervous I’d be once the ne


    landed.


    “Don’t worry, sunshine. Everyone is going to love you.” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze once we


    got off at Shanghai Pudong Airport.


    I nodded and smiled nervously, although I seriously doubted that I would be treated kindly by the Lan


    family, who barely considered my husband as their own. Aren assured me of the Lans’ progressive


    mind set, but I was aware that I shouldn’t underestimate the fact that the rules of Confucianism were


    still very present in the old Chinese families, and the Lan family was certainly one of them. Confucius’s


    rules had always set a clear hierarchic order within the families, with the oldest member as the head of


    the family and the younger generations having to submit to him. The obvious fact was that male


    members were constantly prioritized, and a lot of conservative families used to say that it was a curse


    to have a daughter and a blessing when they had a son. For that reason, Lan Jing’s decision to appoint


    the daughter as an heir caused outrage among the conservatives. Unfortunately, this fact didn’t exactly


    make things easier for Liling’s son, Aren. First of all, his mother had gone against the head of the


    family, stealing the money for Winton’spany, and then marrying James Winton. Moreover, even


    though he was a man, he was the son of a daughter, and because of that fact, even the Chinese


    language itself put him at a disadvantage. While the other Lan Jing’s grandchildren called their


    grandfather “yeye”, Aren would address him as “waigong,” with “wai” meaning “outside,” to underline


    the fact that as soon as the daughter married, she became an outsider, a more distant family


    member… I bet that the way grandchildren called their grandparents didn’t matter that much in other


    Chinese families, but it was a whole different story when those grandchildren were fighting for the


    position of an heir, and unimaginable power and money.


    The Lans mansion was in the Pudong district, which was one of the ces where all the richest people


    in Shanghai had their homes. The Lans owned the entire hill with vast parks and gardens and the


    castle-like mansion at the heart of that area. Certainly, the ce was guarded by a high fence and


    surveince and security at the intelligence agency level. As soon as we arrived at the ce, we were


    greeted by several servants lined up at the entrance. The second after we got out of the limousine that


    drove us from the airport, our suitcases were taken out of the trunk and carried into the mansion. At the


    same time, the English-speaking chambein weed us into the residence and led us inside to


    show us our rooms. I was surprised to see the whole wing of the mansion reserved solely for our


    comfort, with one living room


    and master bedroom, a private office room with a small library, and a beautiful orangery.


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    “Master Lan will receive you at five o’clock. The dinner will be served at six,” said the grey-haired


    chambein.


    “Thank you, Mr. Gao,” Aren replied, giving the chambein a small nod of acknowledgment.


    Mr. Gao bowed down and left our room, closing the door behind him. I had to admit that I loved the


    modern-oriental interior design the mansion had. It was quite ascetic, leavingrge areas of


    unfurnished space that helped emphasize the oriental ornaments and a few traditional elements. Of


    course, the


    minimalistic trend didn’t apply to the bedroom, where the bed itself was enough for the family of five to


    sleepfortably. The dark wooden bed frame had artistic carvings from every side and the canopy


    was covered with the most delicate silk. I could easily picture one of the Chinese rulers sleeping in a


    bed like that. I couldn’t help but admire it.


    “Would you like to try it out?” Aren whispered to my ear as he caught me staring.


    I blushed. “I’m merely appreciating the work of art.”


    He took my hand and kissed it. “I cannot wait to try it.”


    I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. “I’m d that at least one of us is in a good mood. There’s a hard


    knot in my stomach which is more than enough to make me not think about anything sex-rted.”


    Aren chuckled and led me to sit on the bed. He sat beside me and smiled mischievously. “I can help


    you rx,” he said, brushing his lips against mine.


    His hands slipped around my waist, pulling me close enough to hear his heartbeat. He looked at me


    with his hypnotic irises, and I couldn’t help but submit to my desires. His tongue quickly found its way


    into my mouth, slowly enticing my arousal. I put my hands around his neck before I realized it, urging


    him to deepen the kiss. He chuckled against my lips as his hands reached under my shirt. I gasped,


    feeling his fingertips exploring my skin inch by inch. I barely noticed when I lost both, my shirt and my


    bra, and he began to tease the oversensitive skin on my nipples. Suddenly, he broke our kiss and


    pinned me down on the bed, his lips leaving a series of soft pecks while he moved down to stop at my


    breasts. His hands went between my legs, spreading them and pulling up my skirt. A loud moan


    escaped my throat as he stroked the already wet center of my panties. A heartbeatter, he ripped off


    the damp fabric and started caressing my most sensitive spot, making me throb.


    He raised his head to pierce me with his devouring gaze. “Should I stop now, or do you want more?”


    I bit my fip, and he grinned wickedly before thrusting his fingers inside me. “Oh, God…” I breathed as


    he increased his pace, building my climax. Then he lowered himself between my legs to tease me with


    his tongue. I exploded with a hoarse scream, but he only chuckled and kept thrusting his fingers as my


    hot sex tightened around them. Intoxicated by desire, I barely heard the sound of knocking at our door.


    “Aren…” I mumbled, hardly audibly, but he seemed to ignore the knocking, “Aren?” I repeated, finally


    getting his attention. “I think we should check what it is about,” I said hesitantly.


    Aren let out an angry sigh, but then he nodded, got up, and kissed my lips. “I’ll be right back, sunshine.”


    He grinned as he left the bedroom.


    Unfortunately, he was no longer smiling when he came back, and his expression betrayed annoyance.


    “I guess that we don’t have more time to try out the bed?” I smirked, lifting myself and trying to find the


    shreds of my panties.


    “A servant came to inform us that we have twenty minutes to prepare for an audience in my


    grandfather’s office, as if he was a fucking king or a pope,” Aren snarled.


    I stepped closer to him and stood on my toes to kiss him. “Don’t be mad. We’ll have plenty of time


    later,” I purred yfully, making his grimaced lips uncontrobly curl up.


    “You are the only one who can improve my mood in less than a second, sunshine.” He pulled me into


    his arms and softly kissed the top of my head. Thankfully, he didn’t realize how his previous words


    made me tense…


    ***


    I surprised myself that I was able to shower, change my clothes, and reapply my make-up in less than


    twenty minutes, and came down for a meeting with Aren’s grandfather on time. I was keeping my tense


    hand on Aren’s bent arm as he knocked on the office door. A secondter, a servant opened it, inviting


    us