Breaking Free, Loving Again -The Flash Marriage with Mr. CEO

Back in the car, as Arwen finished the tea, her phone rang. Seeing Aiden's name on the screen, she answered without making him wait.

"Hello," she spoke softly, but no reply came even after seconds. Frowning, she pulled the phone away to check if the call had disconnected when his voice finally came through.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his tone a shade darker than usual. "Did someone upset you?"

Arwen tried to relax as she shook her head. "No, I am fine. I am just on my way back home. Why did you call again?"

A brief silence followed before Aiden replied.

"I called to check if you got home safely."

"Oh, I am still on the way," Arwen answered, her gaze fixed on the empty road stretching before them. "Given the distance, I think it's gonna take longer than usual. But it's fine —don't stay up because of me. You should go rest. It must be late on your end."

Aiden hummed after a moment, and she smiled, wishing him night.

"Good night!"

"Good night."

Aiden was about to hang up when Arwen's voice stopped him.

"Aiden …"

Her voice came barely barely above her breath. However, he heard it loud and clear.

"Yes?" he asked, and Arwen could hear his patience in his silence. The patience that he had always provided her, no matter whenever and wherever she asked it for.

Ryan's words nudged back and forth in her thoughts, and the more they came back, the more frustrated she felt.

In one thought, she thought to tell it all to Aiden …

But then, remembering that he was away on a business trip, she decided to hold back.

"Nothing. Go to sleep," she said, though her voice carried the tinge of clear discomfort. "Don't keep worrying about me all the time. I am fine."

With that, she was about to hang up when —

"Moon."

She heard him call her name and paused. "Hmm?"

"You know I would sleep much better if, instead of holding it in, you just tell me everything," he said, his tone as soothing as ever. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Arwen blinked, taken aback slightly.

Had she been too obvious?

But she had barely said anything to him —just a few words here and there …

How did he know something was bothering her?

Now she was really curious.

Aiden's voice came through the line again, smooth yet firm. "I wouldn't have to keep twisting and turning on the bed —all night —trying to figure out what is it that's troubling you."

Since he had already guessed it, there seemed no point in keeping it to herself anymore.

Deciding to tell him all, she began, "Earlier, after I hung up your call, Ryan came to meet me in the garden. Alone …"

She narrated the entire encounter, leaving out no details. And once she finished, she grunted in frustration.

"He actually tried to provoke me against you, saying that you had a hand in that accident. He wanted me to believe that our meeting wasn't some fated encounter —that you approached me with ulterior motives and —"

"And you are troubled that he might be saying the truth?" Aiden asked, interrupting her in between.

Arwen was so lost in venting that she didn't fully register his question at first and instinctively nodded.

"Yes!"

But then she halted.

"Wait ...what did you say?" she asked, realizing what he had implied.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Aiden! You —"

Aiden's deep chuckle came through the phone.

"Fine, I get it," he said, amusement lacing his voice. "You are upset about what he said."

"No," Arwen retorted quickly, "I am mad about what he spoke about you. Not only did he try to Delyth, but he also had the audacity to blame you. How dare he?"

Aiden didn't respond immediately, and the silence stretched between them.

When she didn't hear him speaking for a long moment, she couldn't hold back anymore. "What? Are you not going to say anything now?"

She didn't want him to get upset, and that was why she was thinking about whether to tell him or not. Now that he was away, she didn't know how she would be able to soothe him.

After a pause, his voice finally came through, laced with an emotion she couldn't quite understand. "I want to ask you something." There was something in his tone —something careful, measured, almost hesitant. "When he told you that I could be one behind it all … did you consider believing him? Even for a moment?"

And with that question, Arwen understood what was bothering him.

Smiling, she replied, "Not even for a second." She let the words settle before adding, "Do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

He asked, and Arwen could imagine his deep eyes, staring intensely at her. If he had been here … in front of her, he would have tried to see through her soul to confirm her words.

"Because I somehow know that you would do anything but hurt me." She spoke with such ease, as if she hadn't even needed to think about it.

"I don't know why you care for me so much, husband," she continued, "but I do know that you care for me a lot —to the point that you wouldn't even think twice about staking yourself if it meant saving me." The memory of him embracing her while the mob attacked her flashed, and she let her lips curled into a warm smile. "There is no way you would even let the thought of hurting me cross your mind."

She wasn't sure why she trusted him on that, but she did. It was like she had all the reasons for her trust, but none that she could fully put into words.

The air between them seemed to still.

Neither of them of them spoke for a long moment. Only when the silence became too overwhelming did Arwen break it.

"Besides," she added, "wasn't it you who saved me that night … from the accident?" She let the reminder sink in. "If you truly wanted me hurt, you wouldn't have shown up to save me then. So, there is no way I am going to believe that bullsh*t."

She still remembered his embrace and desperation from that night. It seemed too surreal to believe, but still, she did.

Aiden exhaled slowly. "Aren't you trusting me too much?" he asked, his voice quieter now.

Arwen hummed. "Yes, I do trust you." She paused and then added, "Isn't trusting your partner essential for making a relationship work?" Her confidence was unwavering. "And I promised you that I would keep our marriage as real as it can be. How could I go back on that?"

Aiden was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "And what if, someday, you find out that I did approach you with a motive?" His voice was unreadable. "Will you still say the same?"