She was an heiress to one of the most prestigious luxury shipping lines in the world, a bi-product of nobility, by birthright, Aurora was meant to oversee multibillion properties and be in charge of the Cunard brand that was well-regarded in the world. But she chose to be an ordinary yet independent woman and pursued a life of service as a cardiothoracic surgeon. To safeguard her family's assets, her parents had to make a deal with someone capable of overseeing something as big and broad as Cunard Shipping while ensuring corporate ownership retains in their bloodline. There was only one way that it can be done. Aurora needed to marry. Not just anyone. She needed to marry someone capable, with a proven track record on managing multi-million properties across all continents, someone their family trusted, and powerful enough to wield authority in handling an inevitable merger. His name was Jared Rickford. Known in the business scene as a ruthless strategist, CEO, President of Rickford Hotels International. Also playboy, ex-military, and a womanizer of the first degree. He was the most unsuitable man Aurora could ever think to be her husband. But she had no choice. She could not play surgeon in the Board Room. She needed the man's expertise to ensure that her family's corporate assets are secured, and she would do anything in her power to safeguard her dying father's legacy. Including agreeing to be married to the devil.
View MoreBeaminster, England. It was nearly three in the afternoon when she arrived, a cross transit between Boston and London and a long drive from London to Beaminster where one of her estates was located. It was one of the six estates she inherited from her grandmother. This old rectory was built in the end of the 17hcentury, and belonged to the former Earl of Pembroke, subsequently one of their ancestors if one could be so vigilant in tracing roots of one’s lineage. She was not sure why she went here, but this was one of the oldest, most regarded and if privacy was priority, the estate tops the charts. It was secluded enough andMrs. Potts, her estates’ care-taker and her husband Fred were given advise by Penworth to ready the estate for her use for at least two weeks. She was not sure what she needed two weeks for, but two weeks it was. She was now in the kitchen, checking what Mrs Potts was preparing for supper. She already took a short nap immediately after she a
Jared had Renata flown in from Boston to assist him with his presentation and she arrived two hours before the scheduled briefing. He was glad that his hands were not making him disable though they were still wrapped in bandages. He and Renata went ahead at the Cunard offices while Aurora followed an half an hour later. The members of the Board were beginning to fill up the room as Renata helped Cunard’s Executive Secretary Nellia with preparing Jared’s requirements. Jared was talking to some of the members of the Board when Aurora arrived wearing a sleeveless white blazer dress looking like she owned the place, and she did own it. Jared looked up and paused his thoughts as he stared at her walking, talking to some of her father’s employees, taking her time to shake their hands, asking how they are doing, all with a gentle smile on her face, and a humility that Jared observed she consistently exuded. That was it. Her character. She was humility personified, he realized and that’s wh
She was jogging her fourth cycle in the park when her smart watch started beeping indicating a call. She picked it up and found Louise on the line. She was asking her to drop by the latter’s apartment for a little chat about the other night’s gala which Louise wasn’t able to attend due to her stomach flu. Giving her a valid reason to avoid Jared’s distracting presence, and also check up on her, she accepted and decided to proceed there immediately after her routine exercise. She used to have frequent stay-overs at her friend’s place so she knew she can change and shower there. After her last round of jogging, she proceeded to Louise’ apartment which was only a few blocks away from the park.That was approximately two hours since she left their apartment and Jared started checking on the time and asked both Penworth and Sasha where she is at. “You said she went to the park for her routine run? Does that normally take two or more hours? How many rounds does she jog?” He was looking at S
Aurora woke up earlier than usual the following morning. She was not able to sleep soundly, as her mind was constantly thinking about her husband, and their scam marriage. Really, she could not allow her mental health to be so affected by his sudden decision to not have a real marriage with her. She realized that it was her ego that was mostly injured and decided she would not let it affect her deeply. She can definitely control her reactions and her emotions, and it was up to her to make herself comfortable with the arrangement she is with now. Rising from her bed, she brushed her long hair and tied it in a clean pony tail, dressed in a green pullovers and white shorts. After brushing her teeth she went to the kitchen to prepare coffee and breakfast. She was checking the cupboards for the ingredients she was needing, when Penworth greeted her a good morning. “Good morning, my lady,” Penworth quipped. He was wearing his butler uniform and looked like he did not even sleep with how cle
She was getting ready for the gala when she got a call from Louise that she can’t make it due to stomach flu. Aurora knew that her stomach flu was a severe case and is medically diagnosed as GERD which makes her friend uncomfortable for hours in a day. It was not like Louise to cancel the last minute without real reason so Aurora definitely understood that there was real cause for it. She told Louise it was definitely alright and that she can go by herself at the gala. It was not something she was expecting being alone in a gala wherein she was to make her very first speech on behalf of Cunard. But there really was no choice. She had to muster her courage and pray that she would be able to pull it off tonight. She looked at her self in the mirror, her make-up smooth and classic with her dark red lips highlighting her fair skin and gold hair. She knew how to do her own make-up and hair and was satisfied with her job seeing herself in the mirror. Now she needed to dress. Her gown was
The sudden turn of events had her reeling, she had to hug herself in utter confusion. One moment he was being agreeable, affectionate even, flirting with her, asking her for a kiss then after a few minutes, he turned a 180 degree. She felt terrible. What was running on his mind, she did not know. Frankly, he was quite clear what made him change his mind. Being affectionate, teasing, flirting was not part of their arrangement. He realized that asking her to have sex with him was a breach of their marriage of convenience. He was here for a merger, not a marriage. And he was right, it will only complicate things between them. She knew he was not capable of giving her the love she wanted. He was also clear about that. Now that it was fully clear to her that he did not plan or intend to take things further with her, that he really did plan to divorce her after everything was settled in both companies, she needed to do her part as a wife while maintaining a healthy distance. That was what
Preparing for bed, she donned a black cotton tank top and cotton pajamas. She wasn’t wearing any bra so she wrapped herself with her bed robe before she opened her door and went in search for Jared and found him flipping through channels while seated in one of the comfortable couches in the living room, his face brooding as if deep in thoughts with worry and a mix of emotions which she cannot fully identify. As she sat beside him informally, sliding her left leg underneath her as she sat, Jared spoke with just a glance at her direction. “Am I allowed to take a shower?” looking at his bandaged hands. “Yes but you need to wrap your bandaged hands with plastic bag, and patches on the rest of the stitches in your shoulder blades and chest. They can’t get wet in the next 48 hours.” “Fucking unbelievable,” he complained. “I can’t even hold a glass to drink properly.” “It’s just for now,” she appeased. “At least the next 48 to 72 hours while the bandage supp
He arrived in New York earlier than she expected. She was in the kitchen when she heard the apartment door open and his six foot four frame walked in looking crisp and polished. The only deviation are the markings of tattoos in his upper arms that are now visible due to the folded sleeves of his white button down. He looked delicious and when she shifted her gaze to his dark grey eyes, she could not help but swallow a huge lump in her throat. He looked at her with so much intensity, she almost caught her breath. Those eyes were full of desire and she noticed that the man was walking purposefully towards her. She could not take her eyes off of him. She was brought back to her reality when she heard the pasta sauce boil and had to remove her gaze from her husband and focus on the task in front of her. “Flight okay?” she managed to croak. But before she could receive an answer, she felt his arm circle her waist and was pulled against him for a warm embrace. She decided to accep
She woke up with the continuous vibration of her iPhone which she left on the bedside table. They went home later than planned as Jared got waylaid by acquaintances. By the time they were on their way home, Aurora was feeling the signs of migraine and went directly to bed. She was now sitting up in the bed when she heard a knock on her door. “It’s open,” she called out while ensuring that she was covered by the blanket. She only wore her satin night gown and her breasts were evident in them. Jared came in looking fresh out of the shower, wearing a navy button down cleanly tucked under dark pants, and his casual Tod’s loafers. He looked good enough to eat, she realized. How can one man look so ruggedly good-looking, yet polished at the same time? Where is the justice in that? “Good morning,” she said in greeting thankful her voice was steady and firm despite feeling the opposite. He gave her a warm smile “Good morning. Rested well?” he said walking towards the settee located on the l
Looking down below from his eighty-six storey building provided him a bird’s eye view of downtown Boston. Skyscrapers stood side by side triumphantly creating vast scenery that can provoke insatiable eyes to experience a bit of envy to the man who was part of such a milieu. He continued to stare, as if examining every part of the city center and drawing them to him, possessing them, leaving a mark of his brilliance for having been able to come out victorious in an industry his father once dominated. A knock was heard and even though he heard it, he did not turn to acknowledge the person who was to enter. After all, there was only one person who was allowed to directly knock and enter his office without further ado. “Leave them at the table, Renata,” he said. He had a profound voice, which was unmistakably cultured and aristocratic. With his back on her, the woman whom he acknowledged as Renata gently placed the fastened folder of documents to the rose wood table. She...
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Comments