---- Chapter 143 Tara stood up, wrapped her arms around Soren's waist, and leaned into his embrace. He smiled faintly as he gently stroked her smooth, dark hair. "My parents have already picked an auspicious date for the wedding in May." May? That was a month and a half away. Tara nodded. "What do I need to prepare?" Soren leaned down and kissed her. "Just prepare yourself to be my bride." She glared at him in embarrassment.

"I'm being serious." "How is being my bride not serious?" Ignoring her shy protest, Soren scooped her up and strode into the villa. After carrying her to the bedroom on the second floor, he wasted no time before doing decidedly indecent things. At the engagement ceremony two days ago, the original host's parents showed up with her younger brother. When they saw that Tara had landed such a wealthy man, they grinned obsequiously.

---- Although Soren's family didn't say anything outright, it was clear their smiles had noticeably faded. To make matters worse, this all happened in front of so many powerful and influential guests. Tara had been troubled by it at the time as well. She pulled her family aside and told them to just act naturally and treat people normally . There was no need to try so hard to please them. Only then did her family tone it down a bit. Soren, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind at all.

He treated her parents with respect and doted on her little brother. As for the dowry, Tara's family knew better than to go overboard. They used 95% of the groom's gift money to prepare her dowry, mainly because the amount the Farrell family had given was so substantial that it had genuinely shocked them. Their conscience seemed to have returned for a moment. They thought that Tara must have poured a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into marrying into such a family.

She even seemed to have grown gentler and more mature because of it. Seeing how much their daughter had changed, they couldn't bring themselves to keep draining her financially. Besides, the money she had already given ---- them was more than enough. In fact, the Farrell family had initially offered an even larger amount of gift money, but Tara turned them down. It took her a long time to persuade them to reduce it by half, which was already the Farrell family's bottom line.

Seeing how much effort Tara put into lowering the gift money, Soren's parents couldn't help but feel a little guilty. They had assumed she was after Soren's money, but it turned out that they had completely misjudged her. Thus, even though her parents had caused them some embarrassment, the Farrell family still treated Tara very well. Tara's reason for lowering the gift money was out of concern for the original host's parents. Such a large sum.

of money all at once could be a blessing -or a disaster - depending on how they handled it. Soren didn't mind either way. What was his was hers. She even held shares in Farrell Group now. Compared to that, the gift money was nothing. Soren had only invited Jonah to the engagement ceremony . Lance and Shawn weren't invited , and ever since the incident at the banquet, there had been no contact between them. Soren never let his guard down toward them.

He kept ---- Tara well out of sight, leaving no opening for them to steal her away from him. Even though they hadn't made a move, he knew that they were just patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike. In a villa located in a prime area of Sorrentia, Lance placed a newly finished painting on the easel one morning. He then opened the windows to let the painting air-dry naturally. After getting up, he took off his apron and hung it on the coat rack before turning to leave the studio.

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A gust of wind blew in, knocking over a poorly secured canvas in the studio. Lance paused and turned back to close one of the windows, and the wind immediately died down. As he walked out, he caught sight of an old painting. The figure in the painting stirred something inside him. The beautiful woman in the painting wore a radiant smile, blending dreamily with the blue sky and white clouds behind her. It was a picture of pure serenity.

Lance stood before the painting, unwilling to move for a long time. It felt as though a piece of his heart was missing, yet he couldn't quite recall what had been lost. Amonth and a half passed in the blink of an eye. Two days before the wedding, the entire Farrell household ---- was bustling with preparations. Tara, on the other hand, didn't have much to do-mainly because Soren didn't want her to be tired. Agnes Danbury, Oscar, and Fraser absolutely loved organizing things like this.

They were all in high spirits and full of energy. Tara went along with everything they planned, since she didn't know the first thing about weddings anyway. When it came time to customize the wedding dress, it was Agnes , Soren's mother , who accompanied her to meet with the designer. Soren had wanted to go too, but Agnes firmly refused, saying it wouldn't be a real surprise otherwise.

When the wildly expensive wedding dress was delivered the day before the wedding, Agnes still wouldn't let Soren see it. But when Tara stepped out wearing it, both Agnes and the designer were speechless at how stunning she looked. The designer complimented her so much that Tara couldn't help but blush. Agnes beamed with pride. She was truly happy to have such a beautiful daughter-in-law. The day of the wedding finally arrived.

Dressed in her wedding dress, Tara waited at the villa for Soren to come and fetch her. ---- Before long, the sound of laughter and celebration rose outside. Soren pushed open the door, and there was Tara. She was seated on the bed in her wedding dress and veil, quietly waiting for him. Soren seemed dazed for a moment. He walked over slowly and knelt down. He held her soft hands tightly. "Hello, darling," he said in a low voice.

Through the veil, Tara looked at him with a shy smile and squeezed his hand in response. Soren adored how she always did such endearing things. He bent down and scooped her up, then carried her through the crowd. The bride and groom exchanged rings during the wedding ceremony . Tara smiled as she listened to his vows. She placed her hand in his, watching as he gently slid the ring onto her finger. Once that was done, he kissed the back of her hand.

From beginning to end, Soren never lifted her veil, all because he wanted to keep admiring eyes away. Tara later changed into another dress for the reception. Soren wore a cold expression, clearly unwilling to let her join in the toasts. But after a quiet scolding from his parents, he gave in. Meanwhile, Tara stood off to the side, quietly stifling a laugh. ---- As he was being scolded, Soren looked at her with a playful smile. He didn't take his gaze off her for even a second.

After finishing the toasts with Soren, she went upstairs alone to rest. She was simply too exhausted to keep going, especially with high heels on. Once in the dressing room, she began removing the hairpins from her head one by one. When she heard the door open, she assumed it was the makeup artist. But the footsteps stopped not far from the door and fell silent. Tara was just about to speak when she realized there was no movement behind her, so she turned around.

Aman ina suit stood with his back to her. He was looking down at the framed wedding photo on the table. His figure, height, and hairstyle were similar to Soren's, so she didn't think much of it and assumed he had come up to keep her company. "Honey, isn't it rude for you to be away from the reception right now?" Tara asked softly.