Chapter 6

The sun began to set, and night soon fell. The bedroom at the Holdens' house was huge, and so was the bed. After Corinne was brought there, Jeremy passed her over to some maids and instructed them, "Get her ready." The maids rushed forward and washed her face before putting some makeup on her. Then, she was dressed in a traditional white wedding dress, complete with a veil that covered her face. Since her vision was blurred by the veil, Corinne could see only a patch of white in front of her. When she looked down, however, she saw a man’s expensive leather shoes near her feet. The man's mellow voice sounded. "Cooperate with me. I won't do anything to you." His rather soothing tone contained a strong sense of pressure. At that moment, Corinne was well aware that there was no way she could run away. After all, since he could locate her home, he could easily find her no matter where she ran off to. Corinne gritted her teeth. "Fine. I'll cooperate with you. This is the price I have to pay for messing with you. You need to give me an exact timeline though, and by that, I mean, how long do you expect me to cooperate with you? Once it's time up, we'll go our separate ways without ever seeing each other again." Jeremy was not romantically interested in her either, so he coldly replied, "Three months." Three months was sufficient time for his grandfather to recover from the surgery. Besides, he did not want to get along with this woman for too long. "Deal!" Three months was neither too long nor too short, and Corinne was more or less able to accept that duration. She then took the initiative to hold the man's hand. "Let's go, mister! It's time to marry you!" Jeremy froze slightly and looked down at his hand that was held by Corinne. To his surprise, he was not particularly averse to her touch, despite his usual disinclination for physical contact. Corinne's hand was small and soft to the touch. - The Holdens arranged a grand yet traditional wedding. Corinne and Jeremy walked into the banquet hall for the simple wedding ceremony. She was later sent to a room with an atmosphere that screamed 'newlyweds'. When Jeremy walked into the room, he found Corinne sitting straight on the edge of the bed. Since she had not taken off her white veil, she looked like a shy little newlywed wife from ancient eras who sat in wait for her husband to enter their bridal chamber. A glint flashed across the man's eyes, and he said coldly. "You can relax now. There's no need for you to act at the moment." Corinne did not move. Jeremy noticed that something was not quite right, so he strode over and reached out to lift her white veil. Under the warm glow of the room light, a small pretty face came into his sight. Her delicate eyelids were drooping, and she appeared incredibly calm and well-behaved. A trail of saliva flowed out from the corner of her lips, and she smacked her mouth soon after. Jeremy was surprised that she actually fell asleep while sitting up. That Jeremy lifted the veil probably caused her head to tilt slightly to one side. In turn, her body lost its balance while she was still asleep, and her body tilted sideways as she fell over. By instinct, Jeremy stretched out his hand so that she wouldn’t fall to the ground. Corinne frowned but did not wake up. Jeremy was a little startled when he looked at her falling into his arms. It was the first time he saw her true face, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes. She turned out to be rather beautiful without all that god-awful makeup. All of a sudden, Corinne opened her eyes probably because she sniffed a stranger's scent lingering too close to her. It was then that she realized that Jeremy was holding her, and their faces were even inches away. She instinctively broke free and said in fear, "What are you doing, mister? I should warn you that men are supposed to keep their hands off of women. This marriage isn't real. It's an act!" He had helped her, while she was actually so hostile to him the moment she opened her eyes. Had he not been considerate enough to reach out and support her, she would have fallen flat on her face! Ticked off by her behavior, Jeremy narrowed his eyes. "Who told you that you and I aren't really married?" Corinne frowned and said warily, "Are you trying to go back on your word, mister? We agreed to end this relationship in three months!" "I did promise you that it would be over in three months." Jeremy smirked. "But I don't remember promising that nothing will happen between us during these three months." With that, he pinched Corinne's chin. There was a thin layer of calluses on his rough fingertips, which exuded a dangerous sense of power, along with a strong sense of oppressiveness. "Men ought to always keep their word, mister! How could you just act like some rascal?" Corinne stared at him and shook her head vigorously, but that was not enough to break free from his grip. Jeremy leaned over even more and stared at her from up close. When he saw that Corinne's face was all scrunched up, he let go of her with a sneer and said disdainfully, "Don't think too highly of yourself. I'm not interested in childish young girls like you." Corinne breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still upset. "Heh. Glad I can sleep easy tonight! Old men like you aren't my type either!" Jeremy was speechless as he thought, 'Who is she calling old and energetic?' Corinne poked Jeremy's chest. "Could you please step aside? I'm sleepy, so I'm going to take a shower and go to bed." Jeremy looked at her condescendingly without moving away, and Corinne avoided him instead of pushing him aside. She walked into the bathroom with her head raised high. Soon, the sound of running water was heard. She stepped out of the bathtub after she was done. It was only then that she realized she did not bring her clothes to change into! The wedding dress was uncomfortable to wear due to its sheer weight. After some thought, Corinne craned her neck out of the bathroom and saw Jeremy still looking at his phone on the sofa. She said sheepishly, "Ahem, please hand me the clothes I wore earlier today." Jeremy looked up slightly at her head and said calmly, "I threw them away." Corinne gritted her teeth in disbelief. "Then give me another set of clean clothes!" Jeremy cocked an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes at her. "Is this the kind of attitude you should have when asking someone for help?" "What kind of attitude do you expect me to have, then?" "Beg me." Corinne slammed the bathroom door shut. 'Forget it. I'd rather wear the wedding dress even if it's uncomfortable!' she thought to herself. Just as Corinne picked up the wedding dress and was about to put it on again, someone knocked on the door outside. She cracked open the door, but when she saw that it was Jeremy, she asked sullenly, "Yes?" The fragrance of her shower gel wafted through the crack, and Corinne was wearing only a bath towel. Her fair shoulders as well as the few strands of long wet hair draping over her collarbone made her look incredibly attractive. Hot blood coursed through his veins. He slightly swallowed as he passed her a set of men's pajamas. Corinne was stunned for a moment. She just reached out to grab the clothes, but the man raised his hand high playfully and said, "Aren't you going to say thank you? Hmm?" "Thanks..." Corinne chuckled. She took the clothes in a hurry and added angrily, "For nothing!" She slammed the door right after saying that! Jeremy's face fell. The impact would have broken his arm if he withdrew his hand any slower. 'What an ingrate!' he thought to himself. The set of man's pajamas was huge on Corinne, making it look like she wore clothes that were several sizes too big on her. The pants were especially big, and she could not even keep them from falling down.