Aaron eyed me worriedly and asked, “Is it another one of your headaches?” He placed the heel of his hands against my temples and began massaging them as if we were the only two people in the room.
Yasmin narrowed her eyes at him and asked, “Who are you?‘
Aaron’s gaze fell on Yasmin’s face, and a stormy look clouded his eyes. Just then, the club manager hurried to greet him, “Mr. Hartman! We weren’t expecting you. What brings you here this evening?”
Aaron nodded once and explained, “I’m here to announce the news of my engagement to my fiancée’s family.”
Silence filled the lounge as his words hung in the air. A beat later, my younger cousin, Jan Olsen, exclaimed from where he stood among the crowd, “He’s Aaron Hartman, the chairman of Hartman Group!”
Everyone gaped at Aaron in shock when they heard this.
Hartman Group was a behemoth in Gristonia. Its corporate presence was deeply rooted in every citizen’s daily life. I ignored my relatives and merely nestled into Aaron’s arms. My voice was rife with exhaustion and resentment as I caught him up on how I was accused of destroying Simon’s painting.
His expression turned grim as he ordered the manager to retrieve the security footage.
The blood drained from Yasmin’s face as she stopped the manager. “There’s no need for that! It’s not a big deal. I can overlook my cousin’s wrongdoing.”
Aaron merely shot the manager a dark look as he said, “Go.
He then addressed Yasmin gravely, “Ms. Sawyer, this incident involves a five–million–dollar painting, which is no small amount. We must get to the bottom of this and have the perpetrator punished under the law.”
Beads of cold sweat trickled down Yasmin’s temple. She parted her lips as if to argue but fell speechless.
Simon, on the other hand, fixed an unreadable look at the arm Aaron had shielded me with. I couldn’t tell what was on his mind.
From the crowd, Mom flashed Aaron a grin. “I’m so glad you could make it, Aaron. We’ve been waiting for you! Now that you’re here, do tell the family the good news.”
Aaron’s face softened as he greeted my mom politely before holding my hand.
He introduced himself, “Good evening, everyone. I’m Olive’s fiancé. We’ll be holding a wedding a week from now, and we gathered you here today to break the news. It’s supposed to be a joyous occasion. I didn’t think that
