The Mysterious Fortune Behind My Surprising Husband

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.

Not a single message came from Robert after the day they got married.

A whole year slipped by in silence.

Kaitlin threw herself into her teaching job in a senior high school and, thanks to her hard work, recently landed a promotion to lead the senior class.

It should have been a moment worth celebrating, but before she had the chance to enjoy it, two students in her class suddenly broke into a fight, throwing the entire room into chaos.

Inside the faculty office, Kaitlin faced two girls with bruised cheeks and stubborn attitudes. She pressed her fingers to her forehead, trying to keep her patience. "Let's hear it-what started this fight?"

Cathryn Murphy barely bothered to hide her attitude. "Why bother asking? My dad's a major investor in this school. She hit me, so you have to kick her out. End of story."

Everyone in Qaumond knew the Murphys were big in real estate and had influence everywhere.

The principal chimed in, clearly not wanting to cross Cathryn's family, "We should probably go along with Cathryn's suggestion and expel the other one."

Turning her attention to Khloe Phillips, Kaitlin couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

She didn't know much about Khloe's family, just that her older brother spent most of his time overseas. It seemed like Khloe barely had anyone looking out for her.

Kaitlin shook her head. "I'm going to get to the bottom of what really happened before I make any decisions."

The principal seemed relieved to pass the burden along. Once he heard her words, he wasted no time handing the matter over. "You're right about that. I'll let you handle this. There are other things I need to deal with, so I'll be on my way."

With that, he walked off in a rush.

Once the principal was gone, Cathryn sprawled across the couch with a smug air, her arms folded over her chest.

She fixed Kaitlin with a sharp, defiant glare, her tone dripping with disdain. "Do you even know who my dad is? How dare you, just a lowly teacher, think you can cross me? Are you looking for trouble?"

Kaitlin stayed composed and looked directly at her student. "I don't care who your father is. What matters to me is that you're my student, and it's my job to teach and guide you."

The words left Cathryn stunned. Then, with her face twisted in anger, she shot up from her seat. "Fine! Just wait and see!"

She stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

Khloe remained seated, her eyes following her teacher. Admiration welled up inside her, and a thought crossed her mind.

If only her brother hadn't married before leaving the country. Having someone like Kaitlin as a sister-in-law would have been perfect.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Kaitlin's calm voice. "You're in no shape to sit through class right now. I'll call your family to pick you up."

Snapping out of her daze, Khloe quickly recited a phone number.

Kaitlin placed the call, and on the other end, a rich, commanding voice came through. "Who's speaking?"

Something about the tone nagged at her. It was familiar, though she couldn't quite place it.

She spoke politely. "Hello, I'm Khloe Phillips' teacher. Could you come to the school and take her home?"

Half an hour later, a sleek Maybach rolled to a stop at the school gates.

Khloe gave her teacher a small smile. "Ms. Watson, my family's here."

Kaitlin returned the smile warmly. "Alright, head home and get some rest."

"Alright." Khloe gave a small nod.

Kaitlin was about to head back toward the building when a window of the car slid down and the man behind the wheel leaned slightly forward, his expression calm and refined. "Thank you, miss."

The sight of him made Kaitlin pause. His face looked strangely familiar, though she couldn't place where she might have seen him before.

It took her a moment before she found her voice. "You're welcome. I was just doing my job as her teacher."

Dominic Phillips' dark gaze lingered on her for a beat, unreadable, before he gave a polite nod and pulled away in the sleek Maybach.

Kaitlin stood there, watching the car shrink into the distance, a faint sense of confusion clouding her mind.

Maybe she was mistaken.

Someone like her had no reason to cross paths with a man who drove a Maybach.

She pushed the thought aside and walked back toward the school.

By the time the day ended, her phone buzzed with a new message: "I want to send you something. Can you give me an address?"

The number wasn't saved in her contacts.

She stared at the screen for a while before responding, "Who is this?"

The reply came almost instantly. "Your husband."

At first, Kaitlin assumed the text was nothing more than spam.

Only a moment later did the memory of her sudden city hall wedding from a year ago come rushing back.

She groaned under her breath and pressed her palm against her forehead.

Since that day, Robert had vanished so completely from her life that she sometimes forgot she was even married.

Still, she typed out her address and hit send.

After thinking it over, she followed up with another short message. "Thanks."

Robert's reply appeared right away. "Don't mention it. That's what a husband should do."

Once Khloe was safely dropped off, Dominic turned the car toward Providence Road, the address that had been given to him.

Before long, the Maybach rolled to a stop outside an older apartment complex.

Carrying the gift, he stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

After stepping out of the elevator and stopping at a door, Dominic checked the number on it to be sure he was in the right place before ringing the bell.

Even with years of business experience behind him and countless negotiations under his belt, he felt a strange flicker of unease.

The door opened, and standing there was a young man.

Suspicion flashed in Nicolas Graham's eyes as he asked, "Who are you?"

Dominic didn't want to assume the worst about Kaitlin, so he asked, "Does Kaitlin live here?"

"She does," Nicolas said sharply, his voice edging toward hostility. "Why are you looking for her?"

Lowering his gaze to the gift in his hand, Dominic suddenly found the gesture almost laughable. "Forget it," he said calmly. "I must've come to the wrong place."

With nothing else to say, he stepped into the elevator, his face clouded with heaviness.

A year spent overseas had blurred the image of Kaitlin in his memory.

As her husband, he knew he had failed her in many ways.

Even so, betrayal could not be justified. Her actions were difficult to forgive.

When the elevator doors slid open, Dominic's eyes drifted to a trash bin in the hallway. He walked over and tossed the gift inside, unaware that Kaitlin had stepped into the elevator at that moment.

Outside her apartment, Kaitlin unlocked the door to find her best friend, Sadie Morgan, and Sadie's boyfriend, Nicolas, waiting comfortably on the couch.

A smile spread across her face. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Sadie jumped up and threw her arms around her. "Because then it wouldn't be a surprise! Look-we brought cake. Happy birthday!"

She pointed proudly to the table where the cake sat, grinning from ear to ear.

Nicolas rose to his feet as well, adding, "Seriously though, why are you getting home this late? Good thing Sadie has a spare key, or we would've been stranded outside."

The sight of the two of them made Kaitlin's eyes sting with emotion.

Ever since she lost her mother, birthdays had gone uncelebrated.

But in this moment, she was reminded that love still surrounded her.

Just as she was taking it all in, Nicolas's tone grew more serious. "Oh, and one more thing-some guy came by earlier asking for you. He didn't seem right, so I sent him away. Just be careful, okay? Don't open the door if you don't know who it is."

Some guy?

Kaitlin frowned, confused.

Her world was small, and outside of Sadie and Nicolas, she didn't really keep company with anyone.

So who could possibly be looking for her? Was Nicolas right? Could someone dangerous actually be after her?

The thought made her skin prickle uneasily.

Noticing the shift in her friend's expression, Sadie rolled her eyes at Nicolas. "Don't scare her like that. I saw him too, and honestly, he didn't look threatening. Probably just some salesman trying to make a living. Come on, stop worrying. Let's eat."

She tugged Kaitlin toward the dining table before Kaitlin could dwell on it further.

As they settled in, Sadie poured her a glass of wine, her lips curling into a playful grin. "So, birthday girl, did your mysterious husband remember you this year? Any presents?"

The mention of her husband made Kaitlin freeze with her fork halfway to her plate. "He said he sent me something," she answered quietly.

Sadie gave a little shrug, unimpressed. "That marriage of yours feels more like a cage. Who knows if he'll ever come back? You're just wasting the best years of your life on a man who's barely here."

Kaitlin shook her head. "I don't see it that way."

She wasn't the most social person, and she never expected much from marriage to begin with.

After seeing her mother suffer under the betrayal by a loved one, driven into a breakdown and eventually to suicide, she carried a wound so deep it left a lasting scar on her mind.

Noticing the sorrow in her expression, Nicolas swiftly lifted his glass in an attempt to brighten the mood. "Come on now, no more gloomy talk on such a cheerful day. Let's raise a toast to Kaitlin and wish her all the success that lies ahead!"

The toast drew Kaitlin's focus, and she clinked glasses with her friends, letting herself smile for a moment. None of them noticed her phone on the table, its screen lighting up again and again before fading into darkness.