Chapter 1 A Quick Marriage

The city hall still felt unreal to Kaitlin, as if she had stepped into a dream she hadn't agreed to have.

Somehow, she had gone from meeting a stranger to becoming his wife in less than two hours.

Her thoughts spun in circles until a low, steady voice pulled her back.

"I keep a place downtown, plenty of room. You can move in whenever you want," said Robert Bailey, the man who was now legally her husband, while extending a key toward her.

Instead of taking it right away, she lifted her gaze to study him.

He wore a crisp white shirt casually open at the collar, his sharp features framed by an air of quiet detachment that made him dangerously striking.

On appearances alone, fate had dealt her a winning hand.

Finally, she reached out, took the key, and murmured, "Thank you."

A flush crept into her cheeks as she added, "We may be married, but we hardly know each other. I'm not sure..." Her words faltered before she could finish.

She wasn't quite ready to stay in the same room as Robert just yet.

Even if she didn't say it out loud, Robert could tell exactly what she meant.

Hands tucked into his pockets, he leaned back slightly, a faint lift in his brow. "Work keeps me busy. I'll be heading overseas soon, and it's hard to say when I'll be back."

The meaning was clear enough. They would not be sharing the same roof anytime soon.

Relief swept through Kaitlin, though she kept it hidden. Before she could speak, Robert slipped a bank card into her hand. "Password's eight eights. I'll deposit my salary here every month. Use it as you need; don't hold back."

Kaitlin's eyes widened, and she shook her head quickly. "That's unnecessary. I earn my own living. I don't need your money."

Robert, however, ignored her refusal and gently placed the card into her palm. "Stop arguing. A husband is supposed to take care of his wife."

A quick glance at his watch betrayed the urgency pressing at him. "I've got a flight to catch. Take care of yourself."

The warmth of the card lingered in Kaitlin's palm, sending a faint shiver down her skin. After a pause, she whispered, "You take care too."

Robert gave a brief nod of acknowledgment before slipping into a waiting cab and disappearing into the city streets.

Dominic Phillips, that was his true name, not Robert Bailey. Behind the facade of an ordinary man stood the CEO of the Phillips Group.

Years of pressure from his formidable grandmother, Selene Phillips, had worn him down, yet the shallow women drawn only to his fortune left him cold.

So he chose a different path, building a false identity and selecting Kaitlin, who struck him as honest and unpretentious.

Back at the curb, Kaitlin slipped the key and bank card into her bag, missing the golden "VIP" etched across its surface.

She raised her hand to call a cab, but her phone blared suddenly.

The moment she answered, her stepmother's shrill voice pierced the line. "Where the hell are you? Mr. Singh's been waiting all day!"

The name Liam Singh, the bald, lecherous man Kaitlin despised, tightened her grip on the phone. "I'm not marrying him," she said firmly.

"Don't talk nonsense! Who do you think you are? A match with Mr. Singh is a blessing for you! I already took his money, and you'll do as I say!" Lise Watson, her stepmother, screeched.

Kaitlin bit down on her lip, but her newfound courage steadied her voice. "It's too late. I'm already married."

For a beat, the line went silent. Then came a furious roar. "You shameless little tramp! How dare you..."

Kaitlin ended the call and blocked the number before the words could land.

Her mind wandered back to the past. More than ten years ago, her father had betrayed her mother with Lise.

Her mother, consumed by heartbreak, had spiraled into depression until, one day, she ended her life by leaping from a building.

Lise had moved in soon after. At first, she had feigned kindness while her husband was around, but after giving birth to Zoe Watson, she revealed her cruelty and made Kaitlin's life unbearable.

Years of surviving her stepmother's schemes had taught Kaitlin how to protect herself. Instead of letting Lise sell her off, she had seized control of her own fate.

That was why, just two hours earlier, she had reached out to "Robert" on a dating site.

He had claimed to be twenty-nine, a programmer at a tech company, with no bad habits, steady income, a car, and a place of his own.

The information was good enough for her.

Even better, he hadn't hesitated to agree.

Remembering how quickly everything had unfolded, Kaitlin felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment.

Still, there was no turning back.

Her father's betrayal had already stripped away any faith she once had in love and marriage.

If things didn't work out with Robert, she could always walk away in a few years.