Chapter 6 Tall Muscular Man

I caught a glimpse of shock on the woman's face, even though I could only see her from the side. After a moment, she turned abruptly and focused her sharp gaze on me, causing me to instinctively take a step back.

"So, she's really the reason why dad didn't pursue the partnership with your company. How low," she remarked arrogantly, scrutinizing me from head to toe.

Upon hearing that, my frown deepened. At the same time, Ares strode quickly in front of me, making me blink in surprise.

"I was the one who chose not to proceed, and you can inquire about the real reason from your dad. Don't involve my personal life here, especially Ana," Ares firmly stated to her in his baritone voice.

The woman's face wrinkled even more. "But Ares, you can still reconsider-"

"I will never change my mind, so please leave and don't come back here trying to insult my soon-to-be wife," Ares cut her off. I sighed in relief.

I remained silent as I watched them exchange a tense gaze for a moment. Eventually, the woman stormed out with a huff, and Ares quickly turned to me. I greeted his concerned expression with a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine," I quickly stated, anticipating what he was going to ask, but he ignored it.

Instead, he wearily sat on the sofa and suddenly pulled me to sit on his thigh, causing me to let out a loud yelp.

"Ares! We're in the office!" I shyly reminded him, attempting to extricate myself, but he hugged me even tighter. I even felt his head sink into my chest, leaving me stunned.

"Stay here. I just need to rest. I'm so tired..." I heard him whisper, accompanied by a lazy sigh, making me feel more fatigued as well.

"What happened? Who was that?" I asked, tapping his back gently. He continued hugging me.

"She's the heiress of the Chua clan. I withdrew the partnership her dad proposed to me a month ago," he replied in a lazy tone, which widened my eyes.

"Are you serious? Why would you do that? Haven't you wanted to merge your companies for a long time?"

In fact, he had been eagerly awaiting the Chua family's response to the proposal made by Don Damien for several months, and only last month did they respond.

The Chuas were the second most successful business tycoons in the country, with the Aragons being the only ones ahead.

Leading the way were the Galvez, who, to my knowledge, were also distant relatives of them. Ares had been eager to surpass them since then. So, when he received the response from the Chuas regarding Don Damien's partnership proposal last year, he was thrilled.

And now, he withdrew it just like that?

I heard Ares sigh once more, his hug around me tightening.

"I found out they've been involved in fraudulent activities recently. I know Dad; even if he favors them, he wouldn't want our name associated with illegal activities. It's better that I discovered this early," he explained to me, and I simply nodded.

I wondered why Lorraine seemed so angry at me earlier.

"I'm sorry for what Lorraine said to you earlier," Ares apologized. I shook my head and hugged him tightly.

"It's okay. I'm used to it," I laughed, being truthful. "Just rest, Ares. I'll stay here for a while until you're feeling better," I changed the subject.

Instead of responding, he suddenly pulled away from me and looked up. His eyes were already gentle, making me feel even more remorseful. He clearly hadn't had proper rest yet.

"I talked to your brother earlier before coming here. I'm sure he won't do that to you again, but please let me know if he does anything to you. I'm really angry, but I don't want to ruin my relationship with your whole family," he told me seriously, and my mouth fell open.

I didn't know what to say because I wasn't sure if he already knew. I also didn't know how I would react to what he had done, so I just nodded.

"I will. I'm sorry ..."

"Let's have lunch together if you want me to forgive you. Come on. I'm hungry," he quickly declared, and I just laughed, gazing at him.

-

"Just tell Sir Ares about it later, okay," Elena told me again while we were in the elevator.

I looked at her and frowned. "Why?"

Elena looked at me meaningfully and winked. "Riley and Via are going home now. We've arranged something for you," she seemed excited to tell me, so I shook my head immediately.

"I don't want to," I stated firmly and stepped out of the elevator ahead of her.

"You don't have a choice this time, Anastacia Solei. I've already informed Sir," she chased after me, and I turned to her. She just smiled and walked past me.

"You're getting married, so you should try new things before tying the knot. You might regret it," she said and left me there.

What else does she have in mind?

I shrugged and headed to my cubicle, typing a text to Ares about what Elena had mentioned. While waiting for his reply, I noticed a man swiftly passing in front of me and heading straight into Ares' office. I even caught a whiff of his cologne that lingered in my vicinity for a while. When I looked at him, I could only see his broad back in that coat. He was tall and clearly muscular. I wondered who that was...