Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ
Chapter 116

Lanfen

Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the coffee shop, and Lanfen was sitting in front of me. Did the feeling that it could be a trap cross my mind? Of course, but I wouldn't miss the chance to get to know my enemy. Jack trained me a little about observation, but it didn't look like someone was following us. The people inside the cale that lanten invited me to seemed nommal as well Nevertheless, I knew that I couldn't lower my guard just because I thought it Was safe around

"I'm coralan," I corrected, underlining the last name before I took the first cautious sip from my coffee cup

Her lips curled up gracefully. "Of course, you are, Mrs Lan," she said, her voice polite and

I had to give it to her she was mesmerizing from the top of her head to her small feet adorned by Dior black high heels, she was flawless I couldn't stop staring at her porcelain complexion and her almond eyes with glowing irises in a trame of thick eyelashes, not to mention her ideal jawline and tiny round chin. For God's sake, could she be a little less perfect?! It her face wasn't making me jealous enough, she had an hourglass figure with curvy hips and quite impressive breasts. As she sat in front of me in her posh black female suit, I seriously wished that she was at least stupid, God would make it fairer that way. "You wanted to talk to me, so let's talk," I said, curling up one corner of my lips. She lowered her gaze, her hands nervously wrapping around her cup of coffee. She seemed vulnerable and sad, which puzzled me I kept reading her face and gestures, but I couldn't replace even an ounce of hostility

I could hear her pulling a deep breath into her lungs before she raised her eyes to meet mine." I assume that you already know who I am... am I right?"

i nodded, trying to keep my emotions in check

Lanten smiled briefly at my confirmation and continued, "I wanted to talk to you because I knew that Aren wants nothing to do with me. I chose you because I'm a coward" She looked away, her eyes betraying an odd kind of sorrow

asped at the realization "How did you know where to replace me."

She shook her head. "Our meeting here was coincidental. I'd just closed an important deal and then noticed you walking behind me. I would say that it was late." She shrugged and let out of small chuckle I narrowed my eyes at her. "Closing a deal!"

"Yes, I'm a director of a company selling herbal medicine. We'll be opening our third store in New York City." she explained confidently

"A successful businesswoman." I muttered under my breath, feeling that she had to be God's favorite after all

"I haven't seen Aren for yours and I have never searched for him," she continued, but sincet moved to New York, the way things ended between us started haunting mean."

My jaw tensed. "So you wanted to talk to me so I would become your messenger." I asked,

irked by that thought. Her smile widened in amusement. "No, of course not. Let's just say that I have to let it out of my system. I know that I'm selfish, but I need someone to hear me out, and you are his wife now..." Lanfen paused, sadness flashing in her eyes before she formed her lips into a bright grin again. "I thought that you're the kind of person who'd agree to hear me out."

I kept trying to take a glimpse behind her smile and check if it wasn't al) a façade, but I saw no signs of viciousness within her. She was either a master manipulator or a genuinely good person. However, I sensed that she controlled her emotions quite well, not raising the volume of her voice even once she had laughed, and that fact alone was telling me not to trust her. I took a deep breath."Fine... Go ahead and tell me your story," I said, fisting my hand under the table since I predicted that I might not like what I would hear. She locked her eyes on me. "Let me be honest with you, I loved Aren deeply, and I knew that he loved me as well. We would be married right now if it wasn't for my family." Her words were like a sword that pierced my heart, making the air escape from my lungs in a rush. I clenched my fist under the table harder but did my best not to show how much it hurt.

AT

"I heard that you moved out with your family the day before you were supposed to marry Aren, leaving a few assassins to kill him," I smirked coldly at her. Her hand rushed to cover her mouth. "W-what?" she breathed out as her eyes widened. Her reaction surprised me. "You didn't know?" She shook her head, still clamping her mouth. "But you must have known that you were going to leave the one you allegedly loved and that your parents were going to present Aren's business ideas to Aren's grandfather as their own, right?" I tried to remain unmoved by her shocked expression. Lanfen sighed heavily and lowered her head. "Yes,' she admitted. "I knew that my parents initially agreed to our marriage because they wanted to get a contract with Lan Wang Corporation. As soon as they realized that Aren wasn't even an official Lan Jing's grandchild, they wanted to annul our engagement... But then they learned that Aren is a genius when it comes to business and his proposals could buy their way into the collaboration with the Lan family. I didn't know about their plans until it was too late. I was tricked by my own family,

p, and when I woke up the next day, I was in China. That was also the day when my father announced that I was going to marry Yang Shen, an heir of the Yang family. I had never even met him, and I wanted to refuse this ridiculous proposal, but my whole family went against me. They held me locked in my room until I agreed. I was imprisoned for more than a week with food and water given to me only once a day..." she suddenly paused and laughed humorlessly. "I know that it sounds like a cheap drama script, but my family stated that as the only child I have an obligation to multiply the family's wealth... It was the only

thing that mattered."

I seriously didn't know how to react. Should I feel sorry for her for being born into a family like that? Or perhaps her story was faked? Yet, it didn't sound as if she was lying, or at least not about the major issues.

"So you left Aren, and you married Yang Shen against your will?" I stretched my lips into a thin, uncomfortable smile.

Lanten nodded and gave me a faint smile before shifting mindlessly her eyes to a coffee cup." Yang Shen wasn't a nice person... He was abusive and treated me horribly... I spent three horrible years of my life being married to him," she said as she stirred her coffee with a spoon.

Was it possible that we had so

much in common? If she suffered that much, then I guess she must have been stronger than I was. I wasn't married to Callan, but when our relationship ended, he left me completely broken. Even though healed in time, I still had issues and problems with my self esteem. Lanfen seemed different

underneath that delicate expression was a confident woman. The more time I spent looking at her, the stronger she appeared. Then I realized the way she talked about Yang Shen, using the past tense...

"You said that you were married... but you divorced?" A nervous smile painted my lips.

Lanfen shook her head, "Shen loved to party and drink... One day, he went for a ride in his Ferrari after he had just drunk a whole bottle of whiskey by himself. He fell off the road..."

I knew that she was probably glad

that her toxic relationship had ended... tragically, but it ended for good. But something about Lanfen's story felt off. She hadn't contacted. Aren for many years; she had never tried to explain to him what had happened, and then suddenly, she appeared in New York as a successful and again single woman?! it pissed me off that her story actually sounded pitiful, and, looking into Lanfen's stunning eyes, anyone could forgive her... And that was the one thing that truly scared me. Nonetheless, there was

something else I needed to know.

I leaned forward on the table and looked at her suspiciously. "Were you the one who sent Aren your photos from New York?"

"What?" She stared at me, surprised. "Why would I ever do that? I know that he hates me..."

"Then who could have done it?" I inquired coldly.

Lanfen spread her hands wide. "I... I don't know... My enemies maybe?

I raised one eyebrow. "You have enemies?"

HER

She chuckled and smirked. "I run a business in New York, so, of course, I have enemies. Some of them might have learned about my relationship with Aren and how it all ended and decided to give Aren a tip, perhaps hoping that he hates me enough to kill me."

I didn't believe her theory, but she acted as if she didn't know about the photos, so maybe she truly wasn't the one who had sent them to Aren. However, I didn't care about those photos that much anymore. I had one more important question to ask, and I was looking forward to her explanation...

"Why did you sneak to Aren's room while he was lying in a coma in Crawford's clinic?" I asked, observing every inch of her mimic muscles.

She laughed. "Let me guess... Surveillance footage by the fire escape door?" "Yes," I confirmed calmly. "Mind explaining why you visited my husband?"

"I wanted to see him. I was worried about him, that's all." She shrugged.

I couldn't believe her arrogance. "You were so worried that you had to bring a crew to escort you?! A crew that had killed six people along the way just so you could sit by my husband's bed?!" 1 snapped.