Breaking Free, Loving Again -The Flash Marriage with Mr. CEO novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21: The marriage certificate.

Before Arwen could say anything, the call was abruptly cut off. It felt strange to her that, for her mother, preserving the friendship with Aunt Beca was more important than her own daughter's life. Her mother would rather have Arwen stay in a loveless marriage for her entire life than take the time to explain things to her friend.

How could her mother be like that? And to her –her own daughter?

But with all this, Arwen realized one thing: no matter how determined she was, her mother would never allow her to make this decision on her own. Even if she decided to cancel her marriage with Ryan today, tomorrow her mother would find a way to force her back into it. The cycle wouldn't stop until Arwen left her mother with no leverage to use against her.

As this thought ran through her mind, Arwen's eyes darted around. Since it was already evening, close to the end of the working day, there was not much of a crowd around.

There was no way she was returning home today without handing this matter. She glanced at her watch, then looked around again, muttering to herself, "There is still time, Arwen. You can do this." She thought to herself as she turned to find someone.

And that's when she spotted someone. She might have chosen to ignore him before, but right now, when she was desperately searching for someone suitable, she couldn't dismiss him any longer.

She knew what she was planning to do was not right. But at the moment, nothing seemed better. She just couldn't let her mother dictate her life again and force her to stay with Ryan.

With that thought, she took a step ahead, murmuring to herself as if chanting some sacred mantra to build her confidence. "Arwen, you won't be able to set yourself free without doing this. It's just putting your signature next to his. Since no strings of emotions are attached, there's nothing to worry about. He works at the magistrate's office; he must be a decent guy. Asking for his help to put on a pretense won't hurt much."

As she was thinking and taking steps forward, Arwen failed to notice someone else heading her way. His gaze had noticed her line of sight, and the way it darkened was enough to tell that he had already read her thoughts.

"Ah–" Arwen yelped when she suddenly stumbled. She didn't realize how it happened, but someone's firm grasp on her hand prevented her from falling.

Maybe it was her recovering legs. In her anxiety to find an escape, she had momentarily forgotten about them and had tripped.

"I am sorry. I didn't see you," she apologized without even looking at who had helped her. But then her gaze met with his magnetic dark ones, stilling everything around her. Arwen never knew the chestnut brown orbs could hold such depth in it until today. One could easily spend a lifetime exploring them.

But there was something in his gaze that felt familiar to Arwen. Her expression softened as she asked, "Do I know you?"

Aiden's expression froze before it slowly hardened. The way his jaws flexed told Arwen that he was controlling his anger. But wait, did she make him angry?

She frowned not understanding for a moment, but then, realizing the way she was holding onto his hands, she could guess why.