Chapter 1 The paperwork problem

Leah Carter pressed the edge of her marriage certificate between trembling fingers, squinting at the print like it might rearrange itself if she stared long enough.

Name of Groom: Adrian Blake.

Name of Bride: Leah Carter.

Her name. His name.

Together.

Legally married.

"This-this can't be right," she stammered, looking up at the city hall clerk. "There must be a mistake."

The clerk, a bored woman in thick glasses, chewed her gum lazily. "Ma'am, everything looks filed properly. Congratulations."

"Congratulations?" Leah echoed. "I don't even know him!"

Across the counter, the man in question-the tall, broad-shouldered stranger who'd been waiting at the next window-groaned. He ran a hand through his dark hair, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse.

"This is absurd," he said, stepping closer. His voice was deep, smooth, and way too calm for the situation. "I came here for a business authorization, not a wife."

Leah's eyes snapped toward him. "A what?"

He gave her a tight, irritated smile. "I was registering a corporate partnership, Ms. Carter-or should I say, Mrs. Blake."

Leah's jaw dropped.

The clerk's computer beeped. "Sir, ma'am, you both signed the wrong digital document. The system merged your entries. Once processed, it's automatically uploaded to the central marriage registry."

"So undo it," Adrian said sharply.

She shrugged. "You'll have to file for annulment. Takes about six weeks. Maybe longer with the backlog."

Leah felt her stomach twist. Six weeks? She barely had time to sleep, let alone deal with a legal mess like this.

Adrian exhaled through his nose. "This is unbelievable."

"Tell me about it," Leah muttered, folding her arms. "I didn't even get a proposal. Just a mistake and a husband with a suit and an attitude."

His dark eyes flicked toward her, a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "For the record, you're not exactly my dream bride either."

Leah bristled. "Oh, thank God. I'd hate for your dreams to come true today."

The clerk coughed. "You two can... take your argument outside. There's a line."

---

Outside, the late afternoon sun poured over the courthouse steps. Leah sank onto a bench, trying to steady her breathing.

She'd come here on her lunch break to sign off a form for her roommate's civil marriage-Tasha couldn't leave work, and Leah had offered to drop off the paperwork. Somehow, between scanning forms and electronic queues, she'd ended up Mrs. Somebody Blake.

Her phone buzzed. A text from the hospital.

"Night shift again. Can you cover triage?"

She groaned. "Of course. Why not. Let's add accidental marriage to today's chaos."

Adrian stood a few steps away, pacing. He looked expensive-tailored suit, silver cufflinks, shoes that had never seen a puddle. The kind of man who had assistants for his assistants.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're one of those men who sues for sport."

He stopped pacing. "Only when someone deserves it."

"Oh good. I'm sure this is all my fault somehow."

Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, Ms. Carter-Leah-this was clearly a clerical issue. I'll have my assistant file the annulment paperwork first thing tomorrow. No need to panic."

"No need to panic?" She laughed dryly. "I'm a nurse. I panic for a living."

He blinked, momentarily disarmed by her honesty.

Leah gathered her bag and stood. "Fine. Do whatever you have to. I have to get to work."

"Wait."

She turned back. "What now?"

Adrian held up his phone, showing her a notification. It was a digital copy of the registration-complete with their names and signatures. "It's public record already. My firm's clients could see this."

She frowned. "And that's my problem because...?"

"Because," he said, his jaw tightening, "if this leaks, my grandmother will see it before I can explain. And she's been trying to marry me off since I turned thirty."

Leah blinked. "Your grandmother?"

"Yes. And she will absolutely throw a party the second she hears I'm married."

For a moment, Leah almost laughed. The mighty, polished lawyer was terrified of his grandmother.

"Sounds like you have a bigger problem than I do, Mr. Blake."

His eyes met hers-cool, calculating, but with a spark of something else.

"Maybe," he said slowly, "unless we can help each other."

Leah frowned. "Help each other how?"

Adrian smiled faintly, and it was the kind of smile that spelled trouble.

"Let's just say... this mistake might not need to be fixed so quickly."

---

[End of Episode 1]

Author's Note (Talitha):

💕 Thank you for reading Legally Married by Mistake!

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