His Wife
The next morning, Arielle’s first instinct was to look for Vinson, but she was greeted with an empty bed.
Hmm? Where did he go?
She got out of bed, beginning her search for him. Later, she found out from Alfred that he had left for
work thirty minutes prior. For some reason, she felt her heart sink a little at that piece of news. Then, she
walked back to her bedroom dispiritedly.
It was then that she discovered a posh black box placed on the coffee table in the living room with a note
beside it: Wedding gift for you.
His handwriting was cursive and rushed.
This gift came as a surprise for her. She opened the box, revealing an exquisitely crafted diamond ring
that almost blinded her eyes. The shine sucked her in like a black hole.
Receiving a ring was beyond anything she could have imagined from a fake marriage. Even giving her
Maureen’s Kitchen seemed over the top, especially since they were not truly a couple.
A rush of warmth enveloped her body as she took out the ring with trembling hands and placed it on her
right ring finger. She was pleased to realize that the ring fitted her to a tee.
As she grazed against the diamonds on the ring, the corners of her lips turned up slightly. It was only
after some time that she snapped out of her trance.
After long deliberation, she finally picked up the courage to craft Vinson a short and sweet message: The
ring’s beautiful.
But her fingers hovered above the send button, not daring to click on it.
For some reason, she felt trepidation.
What’s wrong with me?
The logical side of her knew this was a fake marriage and that they would break up eventually. Yet, the
emotional side of her was saying otherwise. The ring churned out happy emotions within her, making her
feel contented.
Arielle had always seen herself as a dandelion, floating to wherever the wind took her, but this ring
seemed to have a grounding effect on her.
She hated to admit it, but his gift gave her a feeling of reassurance. Arghhh… Stop it. This isn’t real!
Just as her conflicting thoughts wrestled, she received a text from him: Awake?
Her hands froze momentarily before she rewrote her text: Just did. Then she sent it out.
The next moment, she received a call from Vinson.
Seeing his name appear on her phone screen made her face burn. She picked up the phone as she
cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “Hello?”
His deep voice fell on her ears like a stroke of velvet. “Morning. Had your breakfast?”
The grip on her phone tightened. “Not yet.”
“Mmm. Something cropped up at work. Once I’m done, I’ll have to make a trip down to Epea. I will be
back in a week’s time.”
“What time’s your flight?”
“I will be leaving for the airport in around half an hour.”
Her expression darkened as she knew that she would not make it in time to send him off at the airport.
“Don’t worry. I’ve prepared everything. Your school and… the bodyguards. They’ll protect you from any
danger. I’ll come back earlier if work permits.”
Idiot! You should worry more about yourself!
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