Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ

Bait

The throbbing in my head painfully announced my returning consciousness. The ache was strong enough to make me feel sick. I tried opening my eyes, but I saw nothing but black. As I slowly regained my senses, I realized that I was tightly blindfolded with some dark piece of fabric. I was sitting on a hard, uncomfortable chair with my hands tied behind the back of the seat and another rope restraining me at my waist. My bare feet were stiff and painful from touching a smooth, cold floor. My whole body felt sore and numb. I wondered how many hours I had been sitting there. I shivered uncontrollably, but I couldn't say if it was because of the low temperature in the place I was in or of my body's exhaustion. My heart pounded, spreading the adrenalin in my veins as the overwhelming fear paralyzed me. Where was I? Was there anyone inside that room, watching me right now? What kind of a sick bastard could have kidnapped me and why? Was it because of Aren?

The squeaking sound of the door opening and then closing with a loud slam made me jump in my seat. My breathing rate quickened as I heard someone's footsteps. The echo around the steps felt as if I was inside a warehouse or a grand hall. The footsteps were getting closer. "My, my, what a lovely bride." I heard a man's mocking voice. "But such a waste of a beautiful dress. It's all dirty now." "W-who are you?" I asked with a hoarse voice from dryness in my mouth. The man leaned over me; his hand stroked my cheek, making me flinch. "I'm someone who hates your fiancé very much," he whispered to my ear. "Then you are a coward who's afraid to fight with him and go after his woman instead," I hissed, tilting my head away from his hand.

He chuckled coldly and moved closer, his breath nauseatingly brushing the skin on my neck." Oh, don't worry, gorgeous. I am going to get Aren Lan. I just needed insurance; something that could lure him in, and you turn out to be his only weakness."

I laughed in panic. "I don't think you know him too well, do you? I am not his weakness. I am merely convenient. He would never care enough to go and save me." I tried to sound convincing, but, at the same time, my heart ached at the thought that my words could be true.

He burst out into laughter, which sent chills down my spine. "Ms. Cora Bell, I know everything about you and him. I don't know all the details, but I know that he needs to get married, and judging by the fact that you've known each other for a little more than a month, I'm guessing that it's a relationship based on a contract."

"You know shit!" I snapped, which made him laugh even more viciously.

My mind kept calculating what would be better: admitting what he assumed or trying to convince him that our relationship was genuine. Unfortunately, none of those options seemed like the right choice. The contractual girl would be easy to dispose of, but Aren's true love could be used for some kind of spiteful revenge. Suddenly, I heard a buzzing phone sound; it was that man's phone.

"Talk," he said grimly, answering it.

I vaguely heard some sort of male voice talking. I couldn't understand any words, but it sounded like the person on the other side of the phone was reporting to the man who was with me in an agitated tone. "All right," the man standing beside me replied. "Proceed as planned." I heard a click suggesting he ended the call. My heart pounded wildly. Their "plan" must have been about Aren and me. Would they try to kill us? The man leaned over me again, this time grabbing my chin. "You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" He placed his hand on my thigh. "If you play along, I will let you live a little longer."

Chills ran down my spine. His fingers curled on my leg, easily sliding through the silk layers of my dress and making me feel his disgusting touch. I targeted the direction where his spiteful breath came from and spat on his face.

"Bitch!" His slap burnt my cheek, cutting my skin with something sharp he wore on his hand I hissed in pain, swallowing the blood that came from the torn corner of my lip. I knew that I shouldn't have provoked that guy, but I didn't want him to know how helpless I felt. I was blindfolded and tied. I had no idea where I was or how to escape. All I could do was to wait while trying to hide my fear to save the final shreds of my rationality. There was one good thing that came from that slap-his violent hit slightly moved up my blindfold, letting my one eye see tiny glimpses of where I was and who was there with me... although it was mainly the floor. As I lowered my head, I noticed that the men standing beside me wore black, expensive-looking shoes. A second later, I heard the door open again, and, this time, more people walked inside. Those other men had military boots as if they were part of a private army. The black-shoe guy walked over to them. "It's about time. Take her upstairs and lock her in there," he commanded. Another man walked into the room with fast, energetic strides. "That wasn't part of our deal!" I froze as I recognized his voice immediately. "She was supposed to be mine!" "Callan..." I muttered under my breath.

I should have known that he was a part of my kidnapping. He must have given his universal key to someone from the mansion.

The black shoe guy chuckled. "Mr. Winton, Aren Lan isn't an idiot. He has his way of knowing if the girl is inside the building or not. He can either use thermography or a satellite picture, and he will know. He will only walk into the trap if he thinks he can save her."

"At least take her to some further corner of the warehouse so she has a chance to survive explosives," Callan said.

"Explosives?!" I gasped and restlessly shifted in my chair, struggling to free my hands. The man in the black shoes burst into cold, spiteful laughter. "Yes, honey. We are planning for this building to blow up, and your fiancé will blow up with it." "Sick bastards! Aren won't ever come here! If you think that he -"

"He is already on his way. He must really be lovesick. You should have heard how furious he was when he found out that we have you." The black-shoe guy's spiteful chuckle spread across the room. "No..." I breathed out. I wanted to be safe, and get out of here, but I couldn't risk Aren's life. What if he truly was on his way, and he was really walking into this trap? My heart froze at the mere thought of it. "Take her," the black-shoe guy ordered. Three men stepped closer to my chair. They took away the rope from my waist but left my wrists tied as they were. "Get up and let's go!" one of those men shouted, lifting my numb body from the chair.

I could barely stand on my frozen feet, but they mocked me, commenting on the inept steps I took across the dirty concrete floor. They kept pushing me towards the door, knowing that I couldn't escape in my state. I clenched my teeth. I hoped they would pay for this, all of them. When I was by the threshold, I recognized Callan's smell.

He leaned over my ear and whispered, "You did this to yourself. You should have chosen me. If you survive the explosion, you are going to be mine, all mine to play with." He licked my ear, causing a wave of nausea in my stomach. "I would rather die with Aren than become yours," I hissed. Callan huffed angrily. "Then I will make sure that you live, and then I will play with you, making you wish you were dead!" As he walked away, letting out a furious roar, I started to pray for a miracle. If only I was stronger enough to fight those people. I had never been this defenseless in my whole life. "Move!" One of the military men pushed me toward some stairs and made me climb up. I was led across a long corridor and pushed into the room at the end of it. Then I heard the door close behind me, followed by the sound of the magnetic lock. "Hey! Don't leave me here! What are you doing!" I screamed desperately. All three of them started to laugh. One of them leaned against the door from the other side and said. "Enjoy your short stay, princess. We apologize for the inconvenience, as the room is quite dirty, but don't worry, we promise that soon you will have a blast!"