Accidental Marriage, Destined Love

The thunder rolled across the pitch-black sky as heavy rain poured down like it was trying to drown the entire city.

At the end of a winding mountain road, inside a secluded villa, Louise Bennett's body was pinned down by a man's overwhelming strength.

His breath brushed hotly against the shell of her ear, sending a wave of heat spiraling low in her belly.

Her mind was foggy, but she forced her eyes open, trying to focus. All she could make out in the darkness was a shadowy figure looming over her.

"Who... are you?" she rasped, her voice hoarse from the alcohol.

He chuckled lowly, then dipped his head to press a kiss to her neck. His breath was heavy, his voice dark and laced with wicked amusement.

"The one who's gonna make you feel real good."

Louise's limbs felt terrifyingly weak-she knew then, someone had drugged her.

Frantically, she reached around until her fingers brushed the bedside lamp. Gripping it gave her a flicker of reassurance.

She tried to sound fierce, though her voice trembled, "Get off me, or else-"

"Or else what?" he taunted, his hand sliding firmly around her waist.

Without hesitation, Louise gritted her teeth, swung the lamp with all the strength she had left, and smashed it against his head. He let out a groan of pain and collapsed, going still.

She didn't wait to see if he was okay. Her only thought was escape. But when she tried to sit up, her body betrayed her-she had no strength at all. Her vision swam and everything faded into black.

When she came to, flashing lights and loud voices crashed into her ears.

"Miss Bennett, why did you sleep with another man right before your engagement?"

"Miss Bennett, have you considered how Mr. Shaw must feel about this?"

Out of nowhere, a reporter shouted, "Look at that man! Someone call an ambulance!"

Louise sat up in a daze, clothes disheveled, her mind blank-until a harsh slap landed on her face.

Tears instantly welled up. "Edgar, I... I didn't-"

The disgust in Edgar Shaw's eyes was like ice. His voice was colder than steel. "Slut."

One week later, in court.

"The defendant, Louise, is found guilty of attempted manslaughter. Sentenced to three years and two months in prison." The judge's gavel fell with a final thud.

Standing at the defendant's bench, Louise stood tall. Her stunning face showed no emotion, just traces of exhaustion.

"If either party isn't satisfied with this verdict, they may file an appeal to the higher court with a copy of the judgment within fifteen days. Court dismissed."Louise turned her head toward the observation seats, her eyes locking coldly on a tall figure. The man was undeniably good-looking-sharp brows, chiseled features, that annoyingly perfect nose. But that smirk tugging at his lips right now? It was pure mockery.

He met her gaze and, with a slight curve of his lips, spat out two words: "You deserve it."

She shut her eyes, the bitterness almost unbearable. This was the man she had loved for five whole years-and now, he was the one handing her over to the law like it was nothing. With the kind of power backing his family, she had no choice but to serve time. End of story.

Before heading to prison, she'd been led into a small room. Edgar sat dead center in a chair, looking as cold and self-important as ever.

"Why?" she asked, voice low but steady. Even now, she needed to know.

His expression didn't flinch, hard as stone. "Why? Because you're filthy."

"You know I never cheated."

That set him off. He slammed his palm on the table and barked, "Didn't cheat? Then who was that woman sleeping in someone else's bed? Who's the woman plastered all over those headlines, huh?"

Louise chuckled, the hurt in her expression twisting into satire. She stared at the man she thought she knew better than anyone, suddenly realizing how wrong she'd been. Rising from her seat like a machine, she said plainly, "It was me."

"Even behind bars for three years, I won't let you off easy. You owe me."

She nodded without a word. If the heir to Shaw Group had the clout to throw her in jail, he sure as hell had the power to ruin her in there too.

She'd always had faith in what Edgar was capable of-just never thought he'd use it against her.

What set him off most was her calm. She never grovelled, never bowed her head. It drove him mad. He shook with fury and jabbed a finger at her. "Louise, there'll come a day when you regret all this. I'll be waiting when you come crawling back."

Her eyes slowly lifted as she looked him dead in the face, scanning every inch of him. "So when the entire city of Kingswell turned its back on me, believed I'd murdered someone or cheated-did I beg you once?"

She laughed when she saw him choke on his own anger. "I didn't then, and I won't now. Or ever."

"You won't, but the Bennetts will. Your folks definitely will!"

He stood up harshly, brushing past her with a venomous glare, then slammed the door behind him.

Louise felt like all the strength had been sucked from her body. Her eyes stayed fixed on that closed door. It felt like breathing in pure hopelessness.

Two guards approached, cuffed her wrists with expressionless professionalism. "Louise, charged with attempted murder. Sentenced to three years and two months."

Four years later.

The sun was blazing overhead, and the heat was practically dancing in the air.

Inside a plain but cozy café by the street, Louise casually stirred her Blue Mountain coffee while checking out the man sitting across from her.

The summer heat was stifling, but he looked effortlessly cool in a flawless white shirt and slim black ankle pants. His sleeves were rolled with precision, exposing a glimpse of strong forearms, and two undone buttons at the collar hinted at the sculpted chest beneath-just enough to make her heart skip a beat.

Louise's first impression of him? Not bad at all. His outfit screamed effort - he clearly took this blind date seriously.

The man glanced up, and when his gaze landed on her, his face twitched ever so slightly. He swallowed, then said, "Hi."

His voice was cool and smooth, with that deep masculine edge.

She looked up. His features were strikingly sculpted-angular jaw, high nose bridge, and deep-set eyes that seemed almost too perfect to be real. That kind of face didn't come around often, and definitely not in a place like this. His jet-black eyes were fixed somewhere far away, as if lost in thought.

She caught herself drifting and quickly replied, "Hi, I'm Louise Bennett."

"Dominic Ellis."

They exchanged names, then an awkward silence settled in. Dominic's eyes stayed on her, and after a beat, he said sincerely, "You're very beautiful, Miss Bennett. What brings you to a blind date?"

Louise curled her lips into a half-smile. "Word around Kingswell about me isn't pretty. Anyone who knows a little about me usually runs the other way."

Dominic raised an eyebrow, looking more intrigued, but didn't press.

"I'm thirty," he said, smoothly changing the topic. "I run my own company here in Kingswell. What about you, Miss Bennett?"

Louise hesitated a little. "I'm twenty-four, work at a company."

"Perfect."

Perfect? Louise thought she misheard and gave him a puzzled look.

"I'm six years older than you. If you're cool with that, let's go register our marriage."

Louise blinked in surprise. Her mom's will only gave her three months - now she had just three days left. Desperation had pushed her into this blind date.

Seeing her hesitate, Dominic added, "I'm here because I want to get married. Don't feel pressured though, Miss Bennett."

"No, it's not that... I just have one condition."

"Go ahead." His expression hadn't changed once - like he was unfazed by any twist.

Louise pulled out a file from her bag. "This is a prenup. There's only one main clause - our finances stay completely separate, before and after marriage."

"If you're not okay with that..."

"Got a pen?" Dominic cut her off.

A bit stunned, Louise quickly fished one out and handed it over.

He signed his name at the bottom without even reading the document. Louise stared at the bold, flowing signature, momentarily spaced out.

"You didn't even check..."

"Financial independence is one of my must-haves in marriage. Looks like we're on the same page, Miss Bennett."

"But..."

Dominic signed the second copy too. "One for each of us. Anything else?"

Louise shook her head instinctively. "Nope, that's it."

"Great. Did you bring your ID?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Alright, let's hit the marriage registration office. I've got a meeting this afternoon, and we're tight on time."

"W-We're going now?" Louise hesitated. Sure, she did want to seal the deal ASAP, but this was barely five minutes into their first meeting. Even a whirlwind marriage didn't usually go this fast.

"Is there a problem?"

Louise tucked some hair behind her ear, suddenly smiled, and said with a soft grin, "Not at all."

After leaving the marriage registration office, Louise's new husband casually asked if she needed a ride. She turned him down, and he just got in his car and drove off.

Apart from the marriage certificate in her hand and his freshly saved phone number, she didn't know a single thing about him.

But that was fine. She needed someone willing to marry her, and clearly, he needed a marriage just as much. This was nothing more than a deal - both sides getting what they wanted.

Did she still dare hope to marry someone she loved?

Louise let out a self-mocking laugh, flagged down a taxi at the curb, and got in. Since the certificate was in hand, it was time to get the rest of the paperwork sorted.

By the time she got back from work, it was already late at night. But stepping out of the cab and feeling the leftover heat radiating from the ground didn't make her any less irritated.

When she walked into the villa, the lights in the living room were still glaringly bright.

She swept her eyes across the room quickly, the sharp clicks of her heels echoing as she walked over and sat on the brown leather couch.

"You're back, Louise." Sophia Reese greeted her with a polished, fake smile.

Louise glanced at the well-dressed woman. Even though Sophia was over forty, she still looked impeccable, almost untouched by time.

No wonder her sleazy father had rushed to marry this woman less than six months after her mother passed away.

Louise looked at her once, then shifted her gaze away, letting her eyes drift down to the coffee table.

Jane, always clever, poured her a cup of rose tea. "Miss, it's freshly brewed rose tea."

Sophia's fake smile twitched a bit at being ignored. She discreetly pinched Samuel Bennett, who was sitting beside her.

Looking uncomfortable, he spoke up, "Louise, here's the thing. Jessica's just finished college, and your I want her to start helping you out at the company."

Louise sipped her tea slowly, the corners of her mouth curving into a faint smirk. So this whole late-night ambush was to talk about this?

"Sure, why not."

Sophia's face lit up. "Great. So, when are you planning to hand over half of your shares to Jessica?"

"Shares?" Louise calmly set her cup down and cast her stepmother a sharp glance. "If she wants to join the company, she can start from the bottom. If she's got the skills, she can climb her way up. If she doesn't, it's fine-I don't mind paying her salary. After all, she's Dad's daughter, and we wouldn't want people saying I'm being heartless as her sister."

Sophia glared at Samuel, who cleared his throat awkwardly. "Louise, look, I know you're worried Jessica might not be ready to manage things, but she could be a VP or something. And if you don't feel like giving her your shares, that's okay-just transfer the 20% that belonged to me."

"I've been running around all day and didn't get a chance to say this-I dropped by a few law offices and had everything notarized. The company was Mom's, and the will made it crystal clear: all the company shares go to me."

Sophia's calm façade cracked. "Louise, you can't just say stuff like that. Before you got married, you only had fifty percent. That extra twenty percent belonged to your father!"

"You're right." Louise pulled the marriage certificate out of her bag with a steady hand and tossed it lightly onto the table. "But as of today, other than the 30% spread among smaller shareholders, the rest of the company-all 70%-is mine."

"No way. That can't be real! This marriage certificate must be fake! How could you suddenly be married?" Jessica Bennett yelled, her voice rising with panic. She couldn't accept that the company she thought was almost hers had just slipped through her fingers thanks to a few words from Louise.

Louise shot a cold look at the furious Jessica curled up on the couch. Her expression was icy, not a shred of emotion in her eyes. "You sure you wanna say it's fake?"