The convenient marriage - Chapter 46: Chapter 46

A week later, the Langdon's branch family's home
"Maybe you should stay home after all." Patricia expressed worried, looking towards her beautiful daughter who was currently skillfully applying her make-up.
"It's a party for all the employees, a gathering made to celebrate the founding of the company and an occasion to mingle and forge better working relationships. I just got hired by the consortium, I can't not go." Aileen sighed a bit, as though she was tired of explaining to her mother again, but did not stop at all her hands from doing their magic. She could sense where the hesitation from her mother was coming from, but pretended not to notice it, acting as casual and as normal as she could.
A week ago when they had met the Black family their sense of crisis caused by Jillian's and Zane's closeness intensified, especially Aileen's. So much so that she had tried to convince her parents at that time to do something about it, but her parents refused, arguing that it was not the right time to do so.
They insisted that even more so they should stick with acting on their original plan, as Zane's revenge would undoubtedly be greater than they originally thought. Her parents told her not to worry, they would make sure that the two would certainly separate. They told her to trust them, though they still did not explain to her the content of their plan.
As expected, Aileen thought. They cared more for themselves than for her, this realization making her distasteful of even her own parents. Their fear of the Blacks mattered more to them than her, their own daughter. They could not understand that once she separated Jillian from Zane, it would be so easy for her to make the man fall in love with her.
Jillian had just been the first one in his eyes that was all. If he had seen her first, how could that bland woman ever get this chance?
"Alright. Just make sure to take care of yourself." Patricia sighed and finally did not insist more.
Well, some might say she gave in too easily, especially since she knew very well her daughter's personality. But she was not aware that her daughter had a copy of the contract, otherwise it was doubtful she would give in this easily. Perhaps she might have even stopped her from going to work at the consortium altogether.
At the same time, Black mansion
"Master, the lady is ready." Anne respectfully informed Zane who was at this moment sitting relaxed in the living room reading a newspaper.
As a man, his preparations to go out to the party had long been completed, but for his wife, naturally they would take a bit more. So he had been patiently waiting for Aria to glamour up for the gathering of the employees.
It was the first time he was taking her to a work related function so, not to mention the small woman who had asked him countless of times if it was alright for her to attend the gathering with an evident nervous and timid attitude, he was also feeling quite giddy at the thought of presenting her officially as his wife for all to see.
Most of the employees had already heard of her, some of them had seen her in passing through the company, but with the both of them side by side at the party as a couple... it could not compare.
"Alright." Zane calmly affirmed, before raising on his feet and heading towards the hallway.
He was not really curious or anxious to see Aria in a formal dress, or with make up on her face. In the past before she had her accident, she had always appeared with a perfect attire. In fact, he had never seen her without make-up on before, even a strand of her hair was never out of place in her perfect hairdo, not a wrinkle on her clothes.
She had never allowed him to see her otherwise. Even when they had spent the night together, the next morning he would never find her by his side in bed. She would already be awake eating breakfast, or perhaps would have even left the mansion by the time he would wake up.
With the current Aria, he had already seen her in her most disheveled state, sleeping away unbothered, not a speck of make-up on her face at least once. But she should still be no different than in the past when she dolled up, he thought. Though for some reason, he could not remember exactly how the former Aria looked like with make-up on, he could not see her face with his mind's eye. He could only recall she looked perfect, but only a hazy image would form inside his head, were he to try to picture her face clearly.
"How does our lady look, master?" Anne asked enthusiastic, before Zane had the chance to deeply think about the former Aria. At the maid's words, Zane had already raised his eyes in the direction of the stairs, before he had realized how peculiar the situation of not remembering his wife's previous face truly was.
Not anything special, just like before a perfect decorated doll, a stylish hairdo, a make up akin to a painting... everything he had just thought was absolutely wrong.
Nothing resembled the perfect picture he had thought she would show once dressed up, but it only made her more lovable.
The delicate make up that only complimented her rosy healthy complexion, without drastically changing her natural features, the hair let loose in waves on her back only pinned to the side with a small flower like decoration, unhinged by any complex pins in a forced tight hairdo... These details were already enough to make Zane feel as though he was once more falling in love with Aria.
"Do I look appropriate for the occasion?" Aria asked worried when Zane appeared to be only staring at her, but did not show signs of wanting to reply to Anne's question.
Because of his firm gaze, she had already lowered her eyes to check once more the knee length dress the maids had chosen for her.
The satin lilac tinted gown with a purple ribbon just below her breasts tightened in a bow at the back had a low-cut. It was just barely covering the entirety of her breasts, which had grown quite a few in the last month. But as the opaque material was overlaid with a sheer lilac lace embroidered with a multitude of roses, which even covered more of her upper body, going over the non-transparent material to form a boat neckline, the overall look of the dress should have still given a modest demure look. Was it still not enough? Was something else wrong? Aria questioned herself uneasy. She had never attended a party before, thus only listened to the advices of the maids.
"You look beautiful." Zane finally responded seeing her frowned concerned expression. He had not intended for his pause in words, but had been too mesmerized by the blooming beauty to reply timely to her question.
"Really? If something is not right, I can go and correct it. Or would it be better for me to remain home after all?" She hurriedly reasoned and was truly about to return to her room, not wanting to wait for Zane's affirmative answer. Even if she had said herself that she did not look alright for the occasion, it would have still hurt her feelings if Zane was to say so as well.
"No. You don't have to change anything." Zane immediately denied and quickly approached Aria, taking hold of her hand before the latter could go up the stairs again.
With the Madame safely handed to her husband, Marie who had helped Aria descend and Anne who had informed Zane had already quietly retreated, leaving the couple alone.
"You look absolutely stunning." Zane affirmed again, and this time had also cupped Aria's cheek, making her head rise up slightly in his direction, as his piercing blue eyes seemed to try and add truth to the words he had just uttered.
With a small shy smile appearing on the face of Aria, Zane felt assured that his point was understood by his wife, and unable to abstain himself further did what he had wanted to do since he had laid eyes on Aria as she walked down the stairs.
Many times he had kissed her these last few days, especially since they had affirmed their feelings to one another. He could barely separate himself from her each day, since they had become a true couple.
It became even harder as his mother advised him to not bring Aria to the office since the children were almost due, and an accident could happen on the way. The doctor had advised them to avoid any fright or surprises happening to the small woman, causing her an earlier delivery. It was safer to just stay in the mansion until she gave birth, and only go out if it was necessary to do so.
As such this entire week, as soon as he arrived home from work, he spent each second with Aria, cuddling and pampering her as best he could to compensate for the hours they were without each other. It was a wonderful period for the man who had fallen in love for the very first time. The downside was that as Aria was pregnant, kissing and hugging were as far as he could go unfortunately. In a way he was torturing himself each day at the same time.
"How much longer until the children are due?" He asked breathless, just as he separated his lips from Aria's slightly red ones. Another detail that seemed to provoke the man, who could barely control his urges.
"W-what?" Aria asked trying to inhale in the air that she had found difficult to breathe in before. In the past she did not know how to breathe and kiss at the same time, so she had felt unable to breathe each time they did, but these days... well, let's say her breathless state was for an entirely different reason.
"When did the doctor say you will give birth?" Zane rephrased his question, looking quite intently in Aria's eyes.
An insinuation that Aria as a previously unaccustomed to guys girl, of course would not comprehend in the slightest, the proof being her obviously confused expression.
"A month later should be." Aria replied, though even her tone appeared to be inquiring Zane why he asked this question at this exact moment. What did the kiss and her pregnancy have to do with one another, that made Zane want to know her due date?
"So still a few months more..." He spoke his thoughts out loud, as if he was calculating the date for an important appointment or event.
Releasing a bit of a barely covered frustrated sigh, Zane gingerly took his still confused wife's arm, while shaking his head from side to side, and headed to the entrance of the mansion.
How could he explain to his delicate naïve wife that he wanted to do more than just kissing? At this point, even though the amnesiac petite woman was about to give birth she was still no different than a girl who never had a boyfriend before...
An hour later, at the avenue for the party
"Have you heard? It seems that the president will bring his wife tonight." One woman slowly affirmed to a group of equally elegant dressed women.
"Really? But he has never brought her in the past." Another woman reasoned, doubting the other woman's bewildering news.
Though in the past most of the employees in the consortium believed that the president was not really married, with the appearance of Aria in the main building, naturally those knowing more than others could discuss comfortably what they knew after this matter came to light. As such, at present there were only few who did not know who Aria was or the fact that she was married into the Blacks family for more than three years already.
A portion of the people also knew that Aria was previously named Langdon, and was in fact the heiress to the Langdon fortune. Associating the president's wife's previous last name with the current new popular employee who had made herself quite well liked by the present group of women, some of the bolder people in the company had inquired Aileen's connection to Aria.
Most people knew that the main Langdon family had only one offspring for a number of generations now, but surely Aileen should still be a distant relative of the president's wife.
Although at first a bit reluctant to admit this fact, as the modest girl was quite hard-working and did not like to flaunt her personal background, in the end the branch family's daughter had no choice but to recognize the blood relation.
Though subtly she had also corrected the degree of closeness that everyone had assumed they shared. It was not right for others to think they were only 3rd degree cousins after all, when they were 1st degree ones.
"Aileen, do you know anything about it?" The second woman continued, after the first woman raised a bit her shoulders to signify she did not know the reason for this decision.
An inquisitive look from all the ladies of the group was directed towards Aileen, as though the latter could tell them why Aria had decided to join the gathering with certainty.
"My cousin, has always liked attending parties, especially since she married Zane. But had too few opportunities to do so, as Zane only participates in work related ones. But as she is pregnant now, Zane is more attentive to her wishes. So I think he could not bear leaving her alone at home, especially since she is almost due." She smilingly said, concealing her inner turmoil as best she could.
Her innocent words, if heard by an unassuming and unrelated person, would create the impression that Zane was a gentle caring person who pampered his wife and wanted to have her near him in case there were emergencies.
But if one were to go deeper in to the meaning, one could find several more implied facts than the praise worthy first one.
One, the president's wife liked parties, especially since she got married. It was clear that her new found position was meant to be flaunted, as the Blacks family's assets had grown at a much higher rate than the Langdons. Naturally, the new wife wished for all to know of her connection.
Two, why would the wife who was almost due to give birth attend the employees gathering... of course it was to establish her position in the company as well. How could remaining home be regarded as being left alone? With the two maids that they had heard accompanied Aria during her visits, it was clear that she was never alone.
"I see..." The woman acknowledged Aileen's words, but did not dare comment on the implied meaning.
There were too many eyes and ears around them to openly talk for one reason, and for the other... well the subject of their discussion was just now entering the venue, so they all had directed their attention to the entrance, not speaking anymore between themselves.
The president as always was without a single flaw. The handsome man dressed in a tight-fitting black suit and with his hair neatly combed and styled in a slicked back, casually walked inside the room, not at all expressing any hurriedness in his movements. Quite an unusual sight for the employees of the consortium.
Normally the man stepped quickly each time they saw him going in and out between the conference room, the hallway and his office. Very rarely could they study him properly, and distinguish his more defining traits with their very own eyes, and not in a picture or recorded video. But now, most likely to accommodate the heavily pregnant woman by his side, his steps were as slow as possible.
All his attention was on the small woman, whom he was assisting as gingerly as he could. His right hand held her right one as though a knight would help a princess, while his left hand went around her back to support her already pretty much inexistent waist.
"I never knew the president could be so caring." One of the women whispered.
Her voice was quite mellow but it could still clearly be heard by those in the group of women. It was evident by looking at Aileen more carefully. Although her smile and approachable nature were the same, her fingers had turned white as she tightly held the glass of wine in her hand.
"Me neither. People talked about it in the company, but to see it with our own eyes..." Another agreed to the first woman's statement. As the president had ordered for the people in the company to leave for the cafeteria when Aria visited before, there were still a lot of people left who only now had the opportunity to see the way the president treated her, or to meet the lady boss face to face for that matter.
From the things they had pried from the mouth of the reluctant Aileen, as the discreet person did not share much about the lady boss... somehow the appearance they envisioned did not match the description.
She did not tell them much, only bits and pieces here and there. But from what they could gather from her, the lady boss was a cold and alienated person. She wasn't always like this though, during her childhood she was really close to Aileen, they shared everything together as true sisters did, until she was adopted by the Langdon main family.
Aileen hadn't said it in so many words, she had only told them that she was really happy to see Aria these days as she visited the office, since they hadn't had many opportunities to meet in private and she had really missed her cousin.
It was an obvious deduction though... a previous orphan girl gained a new status, so her arrogance grew up a notch.
They could also tell that, as the Langdon heiress she was accustomed to dealing with a lot of people. So Aileen was confused as to why Aria had fainted when Faye only said two three words to her when they met in the president's office. A confusion the people from this group also shared. Was it only because she wanted to act for her husband to see?
The president did have his lunch continuously with his wife after the week that he had been away from work, following the supposed mishap.
Another piece of information that they found out from Aileen was that Aria and Zane had not interacted at all before their marriage, a matter which bewildered her colleagues, before they realized the reason for it. The two had a convenient marriage many people from the upper class were known for having. At least this was what they previously thought...
Seeing the two entering the venue, and more importantly the way in which they acted and even their matching clothes, even if they had heard about the lady boss's personality traits, or misinterpreted her intention of coming to the office, just by looking at the two together at this very moment, they all felt that the couple was a harmonious loving one, not the slightest evidence of a political marriage could be seen no matter how they looked.
The glances they exchanged, the expressions of gentleness between the two... it looked too real to be faked. Even their outward appearance matched well, the lilac tie and handkerchief of the president were an evident match for his wife's pale beautiful gown.
"And the lady also, she looks so tender and friendly. I wouldn't have guessed it." Another woman remarked, inadvertently saying out loud what all of them had thought.
The small woman was treated like a fragile flower by the usually somber man, but despite this... the arrogance that should have shone through on her face because of his actions was nowhere to be seen. They were even inclined to think she looked a bit nervous in the crowd, unaccustomed to foreign people because of shyness rather than haughtiness.
If it was only a mask she had put on for everyone to see, then she was doing a really fine job maintaining a flawless fake expression. But if she was not pretending, and only acting the way she usually was, then what of Aileen's insinuations?
One could think that the women had doubted Aileen too briskly and too rashly, by just giving a glance towards the door, and Aileen would agree to this assumption where she to know their thoughts. But she really looked like nothing they had thought, for one thing.
And for another, well the friendliness of the most popular guy amongst them towards Aria was also a major fact. Malcom, the president's approachable and most well liked friend, had not only gone and greeted his friend, as soon as the latter entered, but appeared even more glad to see his friend's wife, rather than his own friend.
"Aria, you look beautiful." Malcom appreciated sincerely as soon as he came closer, and even took hold of the latter's free hand.
"You look handsome as well." Aria replied unsure of what she should say in such situations. She was bewildered by the multitude of eyes that seemed to be directed towards them, and was not sure of how she should act. Luckily, Zane was beside her, and quite close to her. His reassuring touch on her waist and right hand gave her much courage to stand straight.
Though she was confused as to why Malcom had risen her left hand in the air, and seemed to want to bring it closer to his face.
"That hand is mine." The not rightful owner of the body part interjected, before Malcom could kiss the back of Aria's hand, and had also quickly retracted said body part towards himself. And not only retracted, he was also rubbing the tender white skin against his chest, as though to clean the germs away.
At least this was what Malcom felt Zane was trying to do.
"You do realize that I can see what you are doing, right?" Malcom questioned baffled.
"So?" Zane retorted simply, not at all hiding his actions.
"I only meant to kiss the back of her hand as a friendly gesture. Why are you acting as though I am filthier than a germ?" He expressed indignant.
His friend had already called him and informed him that Aria and he had confirmed their feelings to each other. He had even congratulated happily this particular friend, but the latter now treated him as a bacteria? After the advices he had given Zane, after the support he had shown him... once he got the girl this was how he was treated? So much for being friends, he hmphed annoyed.
"How can I know for certain whether you are or aren't?" Zane did not deny or affirm Malcom's assumption, but his question just now, did exactly that. If he, as a close friend of Malcom's, was unsure of the latter's cleanliness, then it was indirectly a confirmation.
"You, you lousy friend!" Malcolm finally affirmed, afraid of questioning Zane further. He felt he was digging his own grave were he to do so.
Seeing their exchange, the previously thoroughly nervous Aria started to slowly giggle amused, especially since Zane was still wiping her hand on his suit.
"See even my wife thinks so." Zane smirked pleased as he took Aria's action as a support for his words.
"No, no! I don't think so." Aria immediately denied flustered, as Malcom was looking wide eyed between the two people.
Not answering at all to Aria's pleading look, as the small woman was meekly looking towards Zane to retract his words, Zane lowered a bit his head and kissed the side of her head, satisfied that her attention was shifted from the nervousness she had felt before.
He wanted to introduce her to everyone today, he wanted everyone to recognize this small and beautiful wife of his, but he had been worried that he had been a bit too rash, as he felt Aria's tremble when she was walking inside the venue. But the lightened atmosphere because of Malcom just now had settled down her emotions, she appeared calmer than before.
It would seem that this evening would run smoothly, he reckoned, as his smile deepened, and he finally acknowledged her words.
Not that Malcom was too pleased he was no longer associated to a germ by the Blacks couple, after all Zane's words were directed to coaxing his wife, rather than feeling apologetic to him, the victim of this ruthless exchange.
A bit further away from the friendly atmosphere, Aileen had found herself alone. Her colleagues whether intentionally or not, had used various excuses to separate themselves from her.
She was outraged by this situation, nobody had ever avoided her in the past no matter where she went. The others always sympathized with her, and mostly ignored Jillian, because of the latter's coldness and evident distancing. But now, her welcoming and approachable nature was ruining the effort she had made to worsen her image.
Why was Jillian present at the party? She thought that as her due date was approaching, the latter would no longer move around.
And most importantly did they really have to flaunt their relationship for all to see? Didn't they realize it was testing her patience by doing this?