Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ
Chapter 74

Funeral

I was glad that I didn't have to walk the entire way to the mansion's main building on foot. Marcus waited for us a little further away from the main gate. We drove away, leaving Vanessa, who looked as if she had gone mad. A tiny little part of me felt sorry for her. She had lost her son, and even if her brain lacked neurons, she must have suspected that he didn't kill himself. I would love to tell her that we shared the same suspicions, but that would only make her blame us for Callan's death more. I think we would never be able to guess what had caused her hatred, but especially now, that woman should be locked away from society for some serious treatment.

As we entered the main building, my second favorite person in the mansion showed up-the chamberlain, Lucious Maffei. I didn't think that was possible, but this guy looked at me with more disdain than before. "Hello Lucious," I greeted him with a warm smile. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?" I couldn't help but turn on my very dark sense of humor.

Lucious frowned even more, unlike my husband, who barely stifled a laugh. As we walked past him, Aren turned around and smirked. "Oh, Lucious. You should help your mistress. If she acts like a lunatic a little longer, someone might call for paramedics to come over, and it will not look pretty." The chamberlain's eyes widened in terror. With his mouth sealed, barely restraining him from cursing us, he darted out o the building toward the main gate. Aren chuckled mischievously as he watched him go. I couldn't help but stand on my toes and kiss his lips.

"What was that for?" he asked, surprised.

I shrugged. "You just think that you are sexy when you're acting all devilish." He leaned over my ear and whispered, "You make me want to do something very devilish and inappropriate..."

I blushed and pushed him away. "Wrong time and wrong place, Mr. Devil... You should wait until we get home." I winked.

Aren kissed my forehead. "Don't tease the Devil, sunshine," he said, lowering his voice as he led me deeper into the hall.

Callan was supposed to be buried at the Wintons' private cemetery at the back of the garden that belonged to the residence. All guests were to march up the hill to participate in the ceremony and then go back to the main building for meals and drinks. I truly wished it was the latter part because the current situation was rather... awkward.

Aren and I stood in the middle of a spacious hall among people who came to greet and express condolences to James Winton and Vanessa, who joined him as she walked back to the mansion. The rumors must have already spread since everyone looked at us with disdain, murmuring that we shouldn't have come here in the first place. Finally, it was our time to officially greet the hosts.

Aren bowed respectfully. "Hello, Fa-"

A hard slap from James cut off his words. I gasped, my eyes restlessly shifting from James to Aren and back to James.

"You killed my son," James Winton hissed.

His words started a wave of vicious muttering, spreading like venom within the hall.

Aren smirked coldly, "I am your son. And I didn't kill anyone."

James stepped closer, glaring at Aren. "You made a promise that you would never touch Callan. If you broke your promise" - he looked at me with eyes filled with hatred before turning his gaze back at Aren-"then I will break mine. Blood for blood."

Aren grabbed my arm and pulled me, hiding me behind his back. "Don't even think of hurting Cora!"

James huffed mockingly at him and turned around to greet the other guests. I watched the whole scene with my heart aching.

"Are you all right?" I whispered, my hand reaching out to stroke Aren's painfully burning cheek.

He caught my hand before I touched him, even though he kept his cold stare locked on his father. Then I noticed one corner of his lips curling up, forming a vicious smirk. A second later, I realized the whole

scene...

"Have you gone mad?!" Augustus's voice thundered over James Winton and everyone around him. "How dare you cause a ruckus in my home!"

James stood before him, gritting his teeth in anger, but he said nothing. Of course, Vanessa wasn't as restrained as her husband. "James had every right to punish Aren for what he did!"

she burst out in Augustus's face while tightly wrapping her hand around her husband's arm.

Perhaps I shouldn't interfere, but if she could defend her husband, so could I. "And what did Aren do exactly? If you are so eager to spit venom, then how about explaining to everyone what has truly happened?"

Augustus went pale. I knew that he didn't care about how James treated Aren or about the way James threatened me; he only cared about the fact that it had happened in front of other people. He also knew that Callan meant everything to Vanessa and that her grief had made her absolutely unpredictable and irrational. He could never allow her to speak freely and let the whole Winton family drown with her dead

son.

"Cora, my dear!" Augustus rushed my way with an apologetic smile. "We are all grieving today, aren't we? Emotions can get the best of all of us, so please forgive my son and his wife, "he said, before shifting his gaze to Vanessa and glaring at her.

A spiteful grunt escaped Vanessa's lips, but she didn't dare say anything. I guessed her sanity won the internal battle against the desire to vent her rage on Aren and me. Too bad. I would love to hear her drowning in the ugliness of her son's doings.

Suddenly, Aren turned my way, gazing at me with sad eyes. "Sunshine, perhaps the fact that I am the son of that family isn't enough to be welcomed here," he claimed, loud enough for everyone to hear. Augustus cleared his throat. "What are you talking about, Grandson?! You are an important member of this family!" he called out, more toward the guests around than to him.

A brief smirk flashed on Aren's lips as the whole room filled with murmurs again. It became clear that the old man favored Aren far more than his son. I could see that James's blood was

boiling in his veins. After so many years, he could only rely on Augustus's wealth and power, and the old man wasn't eager to hand it over. I wouldn't be surprised if James tried to assassinate his own father just so that he could fully get his hands on the Wintons' money, but right now, he had to act coy and obedient. It must have been driving him insane to see how the son he had never cherished had grown up to become independent and even wrapped Augustus around his little finger.

Finally, we all left home in a soaked in hypocrisy funeral procession. Fortunately, it was a brief ceremony mostly filled with the sound of Vanessa's whining. Was I a bad human because I felt seeing Callan's coffin going down to the ground? I wished that he lived and suffered his long life in prison, slowly learning to regret everything that he did, but would he ever regret it or apologize for what he did? I doubt it... "Can we go now?" I whispered to Aren once the ceremony was over and people started heading back to the mansion. I hoped that we could skip the food and drinks and get out of this hateful place. Aren stroked the back of my hand, his lips forming a crooked smile. "Unfortunately, not just

yet."

"What are we waiting for?" I exhaled with frustration.

He kissed my forehead and said softly. "Augustus has to make his move. Don't worry, he will come soon... very soon."

Aren was right. As soon as we walked back into the hall, I could see Augustus's eyes on us. He watched us as we got a cup of coffee. I wondered why he acted so strangely. If he wanted to talk to Aren, he could just come closer, and yet he chose to observe us, standing across the grand hall. Suddenly, someone else walked over, asking Aren if he could take five minutes of his time. Aren agreed and stepped away, leaving me alone by the coffee table.

"Cora, would you agree to talk with me for a second?" Augustus's voice startled me.

As I raised my eyes from my coffee cup, I saw Aren's grandfather standing beside me. I smirked, realizing that he didn't want to talk to Aren, but he waited for the moment he could talk to me without Aren around.

I nodded. "Of course, what it is that you wanted to talk about?"

The old, cunning man cleared his throat. "I heard that you are in possession of quite a fortune... As you know, I've got years of experience in handling money. I would like to offer you an investment that could double your wealth," he said, stretching his lips to a sly grin.

I couldn't believe it. He acted exactly as Aren predicted. He wanted me to sell the diamond and invest the money in his business. Was that the "move" that Aren was talking about? I bet that he would like to discuss the details of the investment in his private office, the place where the evidence Aren wanted was hidden... But I couldn't go there unprepared. We needed a plan.

I took a deep breath. "That is amazingly thoughtful of you, but this is the day of Callan's funeral and..."

He raised his hands in surrender and laughed. "Oh, of course! How about meeting here in my office at the mansion next week?"

"All right. I will gladly meet you and listen to your advice," I replied with a polite nod.

"Excellent!" He clasped his hands together, forming a wickedness-dripping grin.

My inner smile was just as wicked as his. Too bad he didn't even realize that he might have just given me a way to bring the whole Winton clan down.