Kissing A Stranger, Engaged To The Magnate

"After we get married, you can quit your job. You'll just need to take good care of me at home and give me a healthy son within a year. No daughters, please-they cost a fortune to raise!"

The sheer audacity of that tone.

The man sitting across from Corinne Carew was her potential partner for this blind date. Pushing forty, he sported a receding hairline and a prominent gut.

Her stepmother, Lilliana Reece, constantly complained that Corinne's standards were too high, which was how she had been forced into meeting this crude, middle-aged man.

Initially, the man had grimaced at Corinne's heavy makeup-way too much eyeshadow for his taste. But as his gaze tracked over her slender figure and quiet demeanor, his mind clearly began to wander to what she might look like naked in front of him.

"And how tall are you, by the way?" he asked.

Corinne absentmindedly stirred her coffee, not even bothering to look at him. "5 feet 6 inches."

The man looked delighted. "Hmm... That's just about what I need. I'm almost 8 feet, so I guess we have the perfect height difference! You'll have to stand on your tiptoes to kiss me, but that's not a problem-I can always just take you from behind."

Fun fact: men who brag about being "almost 8 feet" rarely break 5'9'' in reality.

Corinne finally looked up, her eyelids heavy with deliberately caked-on makeup. "I don't think you're tall enough for a woman to have to stand on her tiptoes to kiss you."

The man frowned, visibly annoyed. "What do you mean by that?"

At that exact moment, a tall man with a stern expression pushed open the café doors. He had to be pushing 6'5''.

Corinne looked up at him, a mischievous gleam flashing in her eyes. She stood up and walked straight over to the newcomer.

"Hey, handsome. Do me a favor for a second-just to show this guy what a real height difference looks like?"

The tall man frowned. Before he even had time to answer, Corinne grabbed his tie, yanked him down toward her, and, standing on her tiptoes, pressed her mouth firmly against his thin lips.

"See?" She pulled back. "You have to be at least as tall as him for a woman to stand on her tiptoes to kiss you!"

"How dare you..." The potbellied man leaped to his feet, pointing a trembling finger at Corinne, his face red with rage. "You shameless little tramp! Who kisses strangers like that? I'm telling the matchmaker. Your reputation will be ruined, and you'll never find a single soul to marry you in this circle!"

"Perfect!"

Once word got back, her stepmother Lilliana would have a much harder time forcing her into these ridiculous blind dates.

Corinne let out a contemptuous snort, aimed a mock kick at the nuisance of a date as he stormed off, and then waved at the stranger who had unwittingly "rescued" her at just the right moment.

"Thanks for the help, sir! See you around, maybe. Bye!"

She pivoted to leave, but a cold hand clamped down around her wrist.

"You kiss me without my permission, and now you plan to just walk away?"

A husky, composed male voice reached her ears. A shiver ran straight down her spine. She looked up, finally taking in his face-and something inside her stalled.

He was disconcertingly handsome.

His hair was styled with cold precision. Between his sharp features and striking eyes, something about his overall presence exuded a quiet authority and a deep, restrained sense of danger.

Oops.

Corinne, so absorbed in her little act, had just grabbed the tallest guy in the room without paying the slightest attention to his face.

Looking at him closely now, she realized she had stumbled upon someone exceptional-and someone far more dangerous than he first appeared.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "What do you want from me?"

The man stared her down, his dark eyes unreadable. His lips parted slightly, on the verge of speaking.

Just then, his assistant, dressed sharply in black, hung up a phone and stepped forward with a grave expression. "Sir, we have a situation. Sophia's plane had to turn back due to weather conditions-she won't make it back today. What's the play? The engagement banquet is tonight, and we're almost out of time."

The man absorbed the news in silence. This banquet was no trivial matter. His grandfather, who had recently undergone a heart transplant, had set a strict condition for accepting the surgery: his grandson, still single at almost thirty, had to get engaged that very evening and married three days later.

Sophia was the woman he had hired to play the role of his fiancée to appease the old man. Now, she wasn't coming.

Since the man still hadn't let go of her wrist, Corinne sighed impatiently. "Do you need something else, sir? Can you let me go now?"

Jeremy Holden observed her in silence, something indecipherable shifting in the depths of his eyes. A cold smile curved his lips.

"This young woman offered herself up. She will do in Sophia's place," he said to his assistant.

His assistant, Tommy Jenkinson, shifted with visible discomfort. He sized Corinne up: the heavy eyeliner, the messy hair, the chaotic, whimsical outfit that looked like it belonged on a teenager. Not exactly the profile of a partner worthy of his employer.

"But sir, she's a bit..."

"It's decided. We're taking her."

Tommy didn't push it. "V-very well, sir."

Corinne felt like she had missed a step. "Me? Why me? What exactly are you planning to do to me?"

The man stared at her coldly. "I expect you to take responsibility for kissing me."

"Responsibility?" Corinne's face froze. "Are you joking? I gave you my first kiss, you know. And you're asking me to face the consequences?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Your first kiss?"

Corinne let out a plaintive groan. "I saved it for twenty years, and I just wasted it on you!"

She certainly had nerve.

Jeremy's face hardened. "Take her," he ordered coldly.

Within seconds, several men in black suits corralled Corinne out the door and shoved her into the back of a luxurious black sedan.

In the heart of the New Capital stood Lunar Century Manor, the most prestigious urban address in the country. It was here that Jeremy, the young heir to the powerful Holden family, was hosting his engagement banquet.

"Who's Jeremy's lucky bride-to-be?"

"She has to be exceptional-good family, remarkable pedigree. An ordinary woman could never hold his attention!"

"Look, there he is! God, he's gorgeous..."

"Wait. The girl next to him... is that his fiancée? She looks a little... how should I put it..."

"Not exactly what we pictured...?"

All eyes locked onto Jeremy as he guided a young woman with a decidedly eccentric appearance toward the center of the stage. The banquet host stepped forward, microphone in hand.

"Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Mr. Jeremy Holden's engagement ceremony!"

Corinne's heart hammered against her ribs. She'd spent the entire ride regretting that impulsive kiss. At worst, she had expected him to hand her over to the police for assault. She would have gladly taken the punishment.

What she hadn't anticipated was this: being dragged onto a brightly lit stage, forced into an engagement with a terrifying stranger in front of half the city's elite.

The disdain on the faces of the guests gathered below the stage was impossible to miss. Whispers rippled through the crowd.

"Is that woman... really Jeremy's fiancée? Why is she dressed like a beggar?"

"Shouldn't Jeremy's partner be someone refined and elegant? Who on earth is this woman?"

"Hmph! Jeremy has... unique tastes, to put it mildly."

Corinne had deliberately dressed like a disaster to scare off her blind date, but Jeremy seemed entirely unfazed by the murmurs. He remained indifferent to the doubts surrounding his preferences, observing the scene with the detached amusement of a spectator.

Corinne, meanwhile, felt like she had a blade pressed to her throat. Despite the glaring stares from the crowd, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and exchange engagement rings with Jeremy.

She just had to hold out until the host announced the end of the ceremony.

No one understood what Jeremy saw in her, but they all applauded warmly anyway, if only out of respect for him.

The applause had barely died down when Corinne slipped off the stage, eager to flee the venue as quickly as possible. Three elegantly dressed women immediately blocked her path.

"Which family are you from?"

"How dare you show up here looking like that?"

"What gives you the right to stand next to Jeremy with your deplorable taste in clothes?"

Corinne tried to sidestep them without a word, but the trio stubbornly boxed her in. Losing her patience, she swept a cool glance over their designer gowns and said, "In terms of style, the three of you are undoubtedly a better match for Jeremy-but let me ask you this: did he even invite you?"

"How dare you!"

All three hailed from prominent families in the New Capital and had never been subjected to such mockery. They demanded an immediate apology, threatening to keep her trapped there until she complied.

A short distance away, Zeke Callen, the second son of the Callen family, approached Jeremy and raised his glass.

"Where did you dig this woman up, Jeremy? Your grandfather is going to throw a fit if you bring her home to him."

"He just wants a granddaughter-in-law," Jeremy replied casually. "As long as she's a woman, I'm fine with it."

Zeke clicked his tongue. "Out of all the women out there, why her?"

Jeremy lowered his gaze, brought the glass to his lips, and took a slow sip of red wine, looking deep in thought.

"Because her lips are soft."

Jeremy wasn't a man who softened for anyone, so Zeke just stared at him in utter disbelief. "I never would have guessed you had such... peculiar tastes!"

A dull thud sounded, followed by a splash-someone had just thrown a glass of red wine all over Corinne.

Zeke turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Looks like your little fiancée is getting bullied. Aren't you going to see what's going on?"

Jeremy narrowed his eyes. "That won't be necessary."

Zeke was still trying to process those words when he watched Corinne grab one woman by the hair with her left hand, grab another with her right, and slam their heads together like two overripe watermelons.

The two women crumpled to the floor, out cold. The third stared at them, her jaw unhinged. "You... you..."

Corinne's expression didn't even flicker. She calmly waved a hand, gesturing for the third woman to step aside. Terrified, the woman obeyed without another squeak and didn't dare intervene further.

A smirk tugged at Zeke's lips. "I think I understand now why you set your sights on this little spitfire."

A flicker of intrigue crossed Jeremy's face as he took another sip of wine. He thought back to how she had ambushed him earlier-moving with disconcerting speed, using just one hand to yank a man of his size down for a kiss.

Extraordinary strength. And on top of that, guts and quick wits.

"Tommy, take her to get changed."

"Yes, sir!"

But instead of following Tommy, Corinne marched straight up to Jeremy and glared at him.

"You are being completely unreasonable. I just gave you a little kiss, and now you want to tie me down to you for good. Don't you think the punishment is a bit disproportionate? Can't we settle this another way-with financial compensation, for example?"

Jeremy narrowed his striking eyes, an enigmatic smile playing on his lips. "Hmm... Tell me, how much do you think a kiss from me is worth?"

Corinne studied him for a moment-scanning his face, then dropping her gaze to his thin, perfectly sculpted lips -as if she were conducting a serious appraisal.

"Hard to say for sure. It would be best if you set your own price. You're not exactly young anymore, and I highly doubt that was your first kiss, so let's cap it at thirty dollars. I can't afford to pay more than that anyway."

Ridiculous.

Tommy felt like he was watching someone willingly jump into a woodchipper. Being engaged to Jeremy should have been an unexpected stroke of luck, yet this woman seemed hellbent on provoking him.

Jeremy raised a hand, signaling Tommy to step back, then caught Corinne's pointed chin between his slender fingers.

He wasn't really using any force, but something in the gesture radiated a quiet, implicit danger.

"You have the nerve to belittle me in public. You might as well take responsibility for me to the very end, don't you think?"

Corinne frowned, utterly convinced this man had lost his mind. She still couldn't fathom why he had chosen her, especially when she looked terrifying enough to scare anyone away today.

Her lips twitched. A glint flashed in her eyes before she said in a perfectly flat tone, "Very well. Can I go to the restroom now?"

Jeremy didn't answer. He simply shot Tommy a look, silently ordering him to escort her there.

A few minutes later, Tommy returned with a grim expression and approached Jeremy. "Sir, Corinne jumped out the restroom window. She ran away. I've already sent men after her."

Jeremy, lounging elegantly on the sofa in his immaculate suit, looked exactly like a man who had expected this all along. His face betrayed nothing. He slowly swirled the red wine in his glass. "No need to chase her. Just find her address and send someone to drop off the engagement gifts."

"Yes, sir!"

Zeke had witnessed the entire circus and felt compelled to intervene. "Are you absolutely sure you want to marry a woman who bolts at the first opportunity? Honestly, I..."

"Only a woman like her will be up to the task," Jeremy said with absolute conviction.

...

It was late by the time Corinne finally returned home.

She had barely crossed the threshold when her father, Marvin, raised a hand to strike her. "You have some nerve showing your face here!"

Corinne took a casual step back, dodging the slap effortlessly.

Marvin's hand hung suspended in the air, his rage completely intact.

"Your mother found you a perfectly good match, and you dress up like a clown for the date? And then you kiss a total stranger in public on top of that! You've ruined this family's reputation! The matchmaker gave your mother an earful because of your little stunt! I want you to admit your mistake and formally apologize to your mother right now!"

Corinne shoved her hands into her pockets and fixed her father with a frigid stare. "She is not my mother. She is a stepmother who is doing everything in her power to marry me off as quickly as possible so that I'll be cut out of the family inheritance."

Lilliana immediately put on a distressed expression, her voice softening into a tremble. "Let it go, Marvin. Don't take it out on Corinne. If she lacks maturity, it's only because I've failed in my role as a stepmother..."

Seeing his wife defend his daughter after such a humiliating ordeal only fueled Marvin's exasperation. He whirled back to Corinne, pointing a shaking finger at her. "Ungrateful! You are completely ungrateful! Lilliana waits on you hand and foot, and you can't even bring yourself to call her Mom!"

Lilliana dabbed at her eyes, playing the perfect, long-suffering wife as she spoke to her husband. "Please, let it go, Marvin. I really don't mind if she just calls me Lilliana."

Lilliana's little performance didn't surprise Corinne in the slightest. The woman had a master's degree in playing the victim, carefully curating exactly what she wanted others to see. What a pity that Marvin, blinded by her beauty, was completely incapable of seeing her true nature.

Corinne pulled a stack of documents from her bag and handed them to her father. "Here is the background information on every single date Lilliana arranged for me. Take a look at this. If you find someone in there who suits you, I'll be more than happy to marry him."

Marvin froze. He took the folder, scanned the pages, and his expression gradually hardened into stone.

The background check Corinne provided left Marvin no room for doubt: every single one of these men was a deadbeat. Most were pushing fifty and couldn't even hold down a decent job.

Marvin glared at Lilliana. "Some of these guys are my age. How could you set Corinne up with men this old?"

Lilliana stiffened. She had carefully doctored their photos and profiles in advance. The fact that Corinne-usually so quiet and unassuming-had managed to uncover the truth caught her completely off guard.

In a split second, she shifted into victim mode. "I don't understand how this is possible, Marvin! The men I picked out for Corinne were completely respectable! The matchmaker must have lied to me!"

Corinne, on the other hand, found the performance almost comical. "Look at you, still insisting they're respectable without even bothering to check. Marriage is a massive milestone, yet you clearly don't take mine seriously. Is it because I'm not your biological daughter? I highly doubt you'd let your own flesh and blood marry a man this old."

Lilliana scrambled for an excuse. "No... that's not it at all..."

Marvin wasn't having it. Furious, he slapped Lilliana across the face, throwing the stack of profiles at her.

"That's enough! You are no longer handling anything to do with Corinne's marriage. I'm suspending your credit card for the month, too. You can stay home and think about what you've done instead of spending my money!"

Lilliana paled. "Marvin, please, it's a misunderstanding..."

Marvin ignored her and turned to his younger daughter, his eyes filled with remorse. "I'm sorry you had to meet with those men, Corinne. You don't have to go on any more of these blind dates."

Corinne offered a faint smile. "Thank you, Dad."

The moment Marvin disappeared upstairs, Lilliana's expression hardened, and she shot Corinne a venomous glare.

Meeting that burning gaze, Corinne said calmly, "By the way, Lilliana, I forgot to mention one thing. Since those 'top-tier' gentlemen you dug up were clearly your ideal sons-in-law, I gave them Sherlyn's number when they asked for my contact info. I hope she ends up with one of them."

Lilliana gritted her teeth, practically vibrating with fury. "What? H-how dare you do such a thing?!"

Her precious Sherlyn was a star-far too good for those losers. Men like that had no right to even dial her number!

Having no desire to waste another breath on her stepmother, Corinne simply yawned and headed upstairs to bed.

After cursing Corinne under her breath, Lilliana was just about to follow Marvin up to his room to beg for her credit card back when the doorbell rang.

She frowned, wondering who could possibly be showing up at their house at this hour.

Swinging the door open, she found a man in a sharp suit and polished leather shoes. Behind him stood a row of men dressed in black, all carrying visibly heavy boxes. The sheer size of the group was intimidating.

Suspicious of these midnight arrivals, Lilliana kept her guard up. "Who are you looking for?"

The man at the front gave a polite nod. His name was Tommy. "Good evening, ma'am. Our employer sent us to deliver the engagement gifts intended for your daughter."

"Engagement gifts? What gifts? Who is your employer?"

"His name is Jeremy Holden."

Lilliana's eyes went wide. The name hit her like a physical blow.

"J... Jeremy Holden?! The Jeremy Holden? From the Holden family? The powerful one?"

"That's correct."

"You mean Mr. Holden has his eye on my daughter?"

Tommy looked slightly awkward. He hesitated a moment before answering, "You could put it that way, yes."

Lilliana's mind immediately went to Sherlyn. As a trending celebrity and a gorgeous woman, it was only natural for a wealthy, powerful man to fall for her.

But for a suitor this powerful to send his men with engagement gifts completely out of the blue? It was unbelievable.

Taking her stunned silence the wrong way, Tommy asked, "Are you opposed to this marriage?"

Lilliana snapped out of her daze and shook her head vigorously. "No, no, not at all! It's just... my daughter isn't home right now. This is huge news. It might be better to wait for her to get back before..."

Tommy cut her off. "Ma'am, your daughter has already accepted Mr. Holden's engagement ring. All you need to do is accept the gifts."

What? If Sherlyn had already accepted Jeremy Holden's ring, they must have been together for a while! Lilliana couldn't believe her daughter never told her about such an extraordinary boyfriend!

Not wanting to be impolite to guests of this caliber, Lilliana hurriedly invited Tommy inside to sit down.

Instead of entering, Tommy simply signaled his subordinates to bring the gifts inside. "Mr. Holden will visit your family in three days to officially ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."

Lilliana was taken aback all over again. "What? In three days? Isn't that... a little rushed?"

Tommy reassured her. "Don't worry, ma'am. Mr. Holden has already organized everything for the ceremony. Your daughter deserves the most beautiful and lavish wedding."

"The most beautiful and lavish wedding?" The implication was unmistakable: Jeremy was madly in love with Sherlyn. Once her daughter bore the Holden name, Lilliana would be the mother-in-law to the heir of the Holden empire.

She would never have to worry about a thing again. Endless wealth and status would be hers, and people would bow to her wherever she went!

Lilliana practically overflowed with joy as she pictured her glamorous new future.

"Very well! We will use these three days to prepare for our daughter's wedding!"

Tommy nodded and prepared to leave. "Please excuse me. I'll leave you to your evening."

Alerted by the noise, Marvin came out of his room. "Was someone here? What is all this?"

Lilliana was already caressing the expensive gifts, her heart pounding wildly.

"Marvin, I have incredible news! Jeremy, the heir to the Holden family, has his eye on Sherlyn. All these engagement gifts are for her, straight from the Holdens, and they are absolutely exquisite!"

Marvin stared at her, utterly speechless. "What? Jeremy? You mean Jeremy Holden, the president of the Holden Group? The one who just returned to the country?"

Lilliana nodded frantically. "Yes, him!"

Marvin clutched his chest, looking as though the sheer excitement might trigger a heart attack.

"My God! I never would have thought he'd fall for our Sherlyn!" Marvin gasped. Beside him, Lilliana did not hide her pride. "And you have her mother to thank for that, too!"

"Thank you for giving me such a wonderful daughter, Lilliana!"

"Oh, so you're complimenting me now? I thought you were going to suspend my credit card for the rest of the month!"

"Come on, Lilliana. I only said that in a fit of anger over what you did. Corinne might not be your biological daughter, but you still can't send her on blind dates with men that old!"

"But I didn't do it on purpose! Corinne grew up in the countryside; she's wild and hot-tempered. I was just trying to find a more mature man, someone who could put up with her tantrums! I had no idea the matchmaker would lie on those profiles!"

"It's fine, Lilliana. I'm sorry I accused you."

Lilliana was thoroughly pleased with herself. It had only taken a few sweet words to win Marvin right back over to her side.

A naive woman like Corinne would never stand a chance against her.

With Sherlyn's impending marriage into the Holden family, Lilliana's future was secured. Corinne, on the other hand, would soon be nothing more than an insignificant speck in her rearview mirror!

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Lilliana called her precious Sherlyn and demanded she come home immediately.

Barely through the front door, Sherlyn grumbled in annoyance, "What's going on, Mom? Why did I have to rush all the way back here? I still have a scene to shoot this afternoon!"

"It's about your marriage to Jeremy Holden!"

"A marriage? What marriage? I don't even know the guy!"

Lilliana's heart sank at her daughter's genuine bewilderment, but she quickly launched into the story of the lavish engagement gifts that had been delivered the night before. "What do you mean, you don't know him? Haven't you already accepted his engagement ring?"