The Day I Kissed An Older Man

Chapter 6

The sun began to set, and nightfall soon came.

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. As soon as she looked down, however, she saw his expensive, beautifully-crafted leather shoes near her feet.

The man’s deep, cello-like voice rang in her ears. “Cooperate with me. I won’t do anything to you.”

Behind his rather soothing tone was a strong sense of unseen pressure.

At that moment, Corinne was well aware that there was nowhere on earth she could run to. After all, if he could locate her home, he could easily find her regardless of 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, and besides, he did not want to get involved with this woman for too long.

“Deal!” Three months was not 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 glanced down at Corinne holding his hand. To his surprise, he was not particularly averse to her touch, despite his usual disinclination for physical contact.

Corinne’s hands were dainty and soft to the touch.

…

The Holdens arranged a grand yet traditional wedding. Corinne and Jeremy walked into the banquet hall to partake in 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 disdainful glimmer flashed across the man’s eyes and he said coldly. “You can relax now. There’s no need for us to play-pretend 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 fairy-like face came into view. Her delicate eyelids were drooping, and she appeared incredibly calm and well-behaved. A trail of crystal-clear saliva flowed out from the corner of her lips, and she licked her lips soon after.

Jeremy just had to wonder if she actually fell asleep while sitting up.

The movement from when 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 as not to let her fall to the ground.

Corinne frowned but did not wake up.

Jeremy was a little startled when he looked at her after she fell into his embrace. It was the first time he saw her true face without any makeup, and a look of awe appeared deep within the recesses of his eyes.

Her true appearance, sans all the god-awful makeup, turned out to be rather beautiful. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

All of a sudden, Corinne opened her eyes, likely because she had caught a whiff of a stranger’s scent lingering too close to her. It was then that she realized that Jeremy was holding her in a half-embrace, and her face was within inches of his face too.

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!”

Jeremy was appalled that she would repay his kindness with hostility the moment she opened her eyes. Had he not been considerate enough to reach out and support her, she would have fallen face- first to the ground!

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 promised 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.”

He hooked Corinne’s chin as soon as he finished his sentence. 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 young girls like you.”

Corinne might have been able to breathe a sigh of relief, but she was nonetheless pissed. “Heh. Glad I can sleep easy tonight! Old, energetic uncles like you aren’t my type either!”

Jeremy was speechless. ‘Who is she calling old and energetic?’

Corinne raised his hand and poked Jeremy’s chest. “Could you please step aside, mister? I’m sleepy, so I’m going to wash up and go to bed.”

Jeremy looked at her condescendingly without moving away. Corinne remained non-confrontational and avoided him on her own accord.

After walking into the bathroom with her head raised high, the sound of running water was soon heard.

While she stepped out of the bathtub, Corinne realized how embarrassing of a situation she was in. It was only after she was done with her bath that she realized she did not bring with her the clothes that she wished to change into!

The wedding dress was uncomfortable to wear due to its sheer weight.

After some thought, Corinne decided to peek out from the bathroom door, where she saw Jeremy still sitting there on the sofa. He was busy with his phone.

She said sheepishly, “Please hand me the clothes I wore earlier.”

Jeremy looked up slightly, glanced at her head lightly, and said, “I threw them away.”

Corinne gritted her teeth in disbelief. “Then give me another fresh set of 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?”

“For starters, you could beg me.”

Corinne slammed the bathroom door shut. ‘Forget it’, she thought, ‘I’d rather wear the wedding dress even if it’s uncomfortable!’

Just as Corinne picked up the wedding dress and was about to put it on again, someone knocked on the door outside.

She opened the door slightly, but when she saw that it was Jeremy, she grumbled, “Yes?”

The fragrance of her shower gel wafted out through the crack in the door, and the girl on the other side of the door was wearing only a bath towel. Her fair, porcelain shoulders, as well as the few strands of long wet hair falling on her collarbone, made her look incredibly attractive.

Hot blood coursed through his veins. His pupils trembled slightly, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he extended his hand to pass her a set of men’s pajamas.

Corinne was stunned for a moment. She had just reached out to grab the clothes when he lifted his hands playfully. “Aren’t you going to say thank you? Hmm?”

“Thanks…”

Corinne pursed her lips and smiled. She took the clothes in a hurry and added angrily, “For nothing!”

She slammed the door right after saying that!

Jeremy’s expression soured. The impact would have broken his arm if he withdrew his hand any slower. ‘What an ungrateful little brat,’ he thought to himself.

The set of man’s pajamas was huge on Corinne, making it look like some figureless big gunny sack was dangling from her. The pants, on the other hand, were especially big, and she could not even keep them from falling down.