The trip was the most dreadful ride Ariel had ever had in her entire life.
She kept her back straight throughout the whole ride, afraid of appearing as too relaxed or uncaring before her new husband.
She kept her face locked on the window and noticed when the car started pulling into a very expensive-looking estate.
This was a place she knew she would have never been able to come to on her own, just seeing these kinds of places in magazines and movies already made her day.
Being there in person, she thought she'd be over the moon, but unfortunately, the incident that brought her there wasn't one to rejoice over; she just felt dull as she stared at the beautiful houses and trees; they didn't seem as vibrant and colorful as they should be.
The car stopped in front of a huge black gate, which instantly rolled open, and the car drove into the massive compound.
Ariel noticed the gigantic building sitting at the center of the compound. She was familiar with the building; she had browsed almost everything about her idol except his personality.
Ariel watched in surprise as Aiden instantly left the car the moment it came to a stop in front of his home as if he felt repulsed by her presence beside him.
She sighed and opened the door for herself before the bodyguard could get to her side. She wasn't going to delude herself by letting anyone treat her like an actual Mrs. Chaz, in the best of her knowledge, her new husband had been forced into this marriage, just like she had.
And this newfound knowledge was going to be an obstacle to her mission.
How was she supposed to seduce an unwilling man? And it's not as if she is familiar with the act of seduction; she'd just been programmed for failure!
She faced the mansion and felt very small standing in front of the big house. A year, just a year in this house would determine her success or failure on her mission.
"Ms. Ariel, please," The bodyguard walked ahead of Ariel, motioning for her to follow him with his hand.
Ariel snapped out of her thoughts and followed him up.
Crossing the giant doors, Ariel realized that the inside of the building was just a reflection of the owner's personality. Everything was in black and grey; his massive living room with couches, his kitchen, and everything she could she could get her eyes on were all designed in either black or grey.
She quietly followed the bodyguard into the expensive-looking living room. She was wondering why he kept moving toward the big shelf beside the gorilla screen television, but he suddenly pulled back a book and something like a rectangular virtual touch screen appeared in front of him, he input some codes and Ariel watched on with shock as the bookshelf smoothly slid to the side, revealing a door behind the shelf.
Ariel was awed. But she knew this should be expected from the owner of the world's biggest tech company.
Ariel followed the bodyguard in and marveled at how everything in that office seemed like Edna's office in The Incredibles movie, except for the hanging suits in the glass showcase, of course.
Aiden was sitting behind a glass desk, the click-clack sounds of fingers typing away in a keyboard was the only sound that was heard in the quiet office.
"Boss, she's here," The bodyguard announced quietly.
"Leave us, Gregory," Aiden ordered without raising his face from the screen.
"Yes, boss," Gregory bowed his head and left the office, leaving only Ariel in the office with Aiden.
Ariel swallowed hard, straightening as she felt the pressure intensify.
Aiden didn't bother looking at Ariel; he had better things to attend to than looking at a gold digger.
Ariel suddenly raised her face when she heard of a printer printing something on top of the desk beside his computer.
"Take it," Aiden said, still not looking up at her.
Ariel slowly walked toward his desk, taking the paper from the printer.
She was surprised to see his company's seal on top of the document, but what shocked her more was the heading of the document.
Marriage Contract?
She thought she was already his contracted wife, but his grandma made sure she understood that this marriage was a transactional one.
"Sign it," Aiden said indifferently.
Ariel bit her lips in confusion; she didn't want to sign the contract without thoroughly going through it; not like she got an option of changing anything if something wasn't convenient for her; she just wanted to read through it and make sure she doesn't fault the rules sometimes.
"What's the matter, little wife?" Aiden asked beside Ariel.
Ariel was startled hearing his voice close beside her; she thought he had just been sitting in front of her; how did he suddenly appear beside her, or had she gotten so lost in her thoughts and didn't sense him beside her?
She slowly looked up to his handsome face to find him staring condescendingly at her.
"I- I just wanted to read through it before I sign it," Ariel fidgeted, afraid of getting hit.
She knew from experience that these kinds of rich people were usually abusive indoors, but outside, they maintained a pristine image, making loads of donations to the less privileged and pretending to be friends with the poor.
Aiden saw how fidgety Ariel was and got more annoyed by her coy act.
"Now, listen to me, woman," He said, walking dangerously close to her.
Ariel's pulse intensified with each step he took toward her. She started to slowly back away from him, holding the paper document in her hand.
"Your useless trick won't work on me," He said scornfully.
Ariel kept moving back till her lower back touched the tall shelf behind her; she instantly knew that there was nowhere else to run to.
Her heart drummed crazily within her ribcage, her hands squeezing the edge of the contract paper.
Aiden was filled with bitterness as he saw how pretentious Ariel was by acting so scared and naive; it made him hate her more and more.
He increased his pace and quickly covered the distance between them.
Ariel noticed the enraged expression on Aiden's handsome face and became super scared. She believed he was going to hit her if she still refused to do what he asked; that's how they all behaved.
Rich people are all the same; when they're outside in public spaces, they'd be angels, but once they get in an enclosed space, they change from angels to demons; she's spent her whole life living with them and has mastered their behaviors.
Ariel clenched her fists beside her, quickly thinking of a way to escape, and when he stood in front of her, suddenly raising his hand to her, Ariel realized she couldn't let herself become so stubborn and harm herself, she was so scared she could pee her pants, but, desperate times calls for desperate measures.
"I'll sign it! Please don't hurt me!" Ariel suddenly said in a shaky voice and quickly slid away from him, running back to the table and hunching over it to sign the paper she had placed on top.
Aiden frowned hard as he stared at Ariel's shaky fingers as she signed the papers; why did she even think he was going to waste his time by touching her? He never hurt women physically, but a scum human was accusing him of wanting to hurt her while putting up a good drama for him.
He scoffed. He promised himself to make sure he made the gold digger regret coming into his home.
"I-I'm d-done, s-sir," Ariel stammered.
She carefully took the paper, trying but failing to keep her hands from shaking; she didn't want to appear weak in front of her role model, but she guessed it was already late from the moment she discovered the kind of person her role model was.
"Here, sir," She stretched out the document to him, looking down at her feet.
"Get out!" Aiden ordered coldly after he had snatched the contract from her hand.
Ariel immediately clutched her bag to herself and ran out of the room, the door automatically openings she neared it; she ran straight for the exit door, ready to abandon the marriage and her mission at that moment.
"Ms. Ariel," Gregory suddenly appeared in front of the door, blocking her path.
"I want to leave. Step away from the door, please," Ariel begged, sobbing.
What a marriage, running away from home after an hour of marriage.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Ariel, but my duty does not allow me to let you escape from this home," Gregory said respectfully.
Ariel sobbed louder; she wanted to leave, and she would find another means to buy back the houses from the Chaz family. She had seen she wasn't going to last up to a month in that house and even if she did, she would still come out of the marriage the same way she came... a virgin.
She was confident that her new husband would never, even under gunpoint, pretend to look at her in a loving manner.
"Please, follow me," Gregory said and walked into the house, making sure the house was tightly shut.