"I already have my hands full taking care of you and the kid, now I have to look after your sister too? Nicholas, do you see me as your family's maid or what?"
"Keep your voice down, don't let Nevaeh hear you."
"So what if she hears? If I’d known I had to support your sister too, I’d rather marry a pig than marry you."
Hearing her brother and sister-in-law arguing made Nevaeh's already aching head throb even harder.
She had stayed up half the night doing laundry for her sister-in-law, caught a chill, and now had a nasty cold.
But listening to their fight made her feel worse. She couldn’t just lie there, so she got up, powered through, and did the dishes before knocking on the bedroom door.
Nicholas opened it. There was a fresh red scratch on his neck—hard to miss.
"What’s wrong, Nevaeh?"
She glanced at the red mark and felt her heart tighten. Then she said loudly, "Sis mentioned her coworker's brother being decent and wanted to set me up. I’m free today, so I figured I might as well go check it out."
Her sister-in-law had been grumbling non-stop for days—clearly upset because Nevaeh had refused the blind date.
Fine. If going on a date would make things easier on Nicholas, she’d do it.
Instantly, her sister-in-law’s tone changed like flipping a switch. "Now that’s the spirit! He’s free today too. I’ve already set it up for you—at Twilight Café. Go now!"
Nevaeh mumbled an okay, grabbed her backpack from her room, and walked out in a daze.
She ordered the cheapest coffee at the café and took a seat by the window.
Not long after, a black cab pulled up outside, and a tall man in a sharp black suit stepped out. He looked to be about twenty-eight or twenty-nine—handsome, smooth, and confident as he made his way into the café.
To her surprise, he headed straight towards her.
No way—this was the coworker's brother?
The man stopped right in front of her, his eyes scanning her face sharply.
"Did you bring your ID and household register?"
Startled, she stood up and replied, a little confused but truthfully, "Yeah, I brought them."
She’d been meaning to look for a rental, so she had all that stuff in her bag.
"Then let’s go. No point wasting time."
"Go where?"
Her sluggish brain, probably fogged up from the cold, was struggling to keep up.
"To register," the man said bluntly.
"Huh?" She jerked back in shock, bumped into the chair behind, and lost her balance.
The man caught her before she could fall, pulling her into his arms.
Her face ended up pressed against his chest. She could hear his steady heartbeat and faintly smell the scent on his clothes.
Her cheeks instantly went red. "Isn’t this a little... fast?"
He frowned and let her go, his voice a bit annoyed. "Wasn’t this already settled?"
That hit her like a cold splash. So her sister-in-law had worked this out behind her back, just to get rid of her.
Fine. If getting registered meant she could leave, then so be it. That way Nicholas wouldn't get caught in the middle anymore.
At the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Neither of them spoke a word the whole time—it felt more like they were filing for divorce than getting married.
Afterwards, the man tossed her a set of keys.
"Give me your WeChat. I’ll send you the house info in a bit."
As soon as she pulled out her phone and he scanned it, he turned and walked off.
In the cab, the driver looked at him respectfully and asked, "Where to next, Mr. Gaulden?"The man said flatly, "Back to the office."
"This taxi..."
"Leave it," he replied, straight to the point.
Nevaeh Grover stood there, a bit dazed. Her mind was all over the place—it honestly felt like a dream.
Still in that half-awake state, the dizziness started kicking in again. She forced herself to ask her new “husband” about the apartment.
About ten minutes later, a reply came.
Tiandi Road, Building B, 2018.
Along with the text, there was also a transfer of ten thousand yuan. He even added a note:
[If there’s anything missing, go get it yourself.]
Nevaeh didn’t accept the money. After taking a bit to collect herself, she managed to find the place.
It was around a hundred square meters, a three-bedroom setup—two bedrooms, one study, a spacious living room. There was even this massive balcony with a wide view. Even though it wasn’t in a prime area, a place this big had to be worth over a million.
But she had no clue if he paid full or got it on a mortgage.
"He came here in a cab just now... probably on a loan," she muttered to herself.
Nevaeh took a deep breath.
If this place was indeed mortgaged, and she was going to live here, then she should at least chip in for the payments, right?
It felt like the apartment was freshly bought—pretty much empty inside. Not even kitchen basics. Thinking she needed to cook later, Nevaeh decided to head out and get the essential kitchen stuff.
Dragging her tired body downstairs, she basically turned into a human backpack, hauling stuff back and forth like a hamster. By the time she was done, she was soaked in sweat, and weirdly enough, her cold seemed to be getting better.
After tidying up, the sky had started to dim. Hesitating a bit, she texted the man:
“What time do you get off work? I’ll make dinner.”
At Tianyue Group, inside the CEO’s office—
The bodyguard walked in with a stiff face, hesitated for a second, then said, “Mr. Gaulden, there seems to be a mix-up with your marriage partner.”
"Hmm?" Seymour Gaulden paused, then looked up, clearly annoyed.
Head lowered, the bodyguard continued, “The woman who was supposed to marry you waited in the café but you never showed.”
Seymour’s eyes narrowed.
Wrong person?
Then who had he ended up marrying?
He didn’t even pick this woman, didn’t hire her... but she just went along with the marriage like it was nothing?
"Well, the paperwork's done. Doesn’t matter who it is. We'll get divorced soon anyway. Did you book the old man's flight?" Seymour asked calmly.
“Yes, ten days from now.”
“Alright,” Seymour waved him off. The bodyguard left immediately.
Just then, his phone buzzed.
It was a message from that woman.
Reading the simple text, Seymour’s gaze darkened slightly.
Who exactly was she?
How did she just happen to be sitting at the exact spot, wearing a red dress, like it was all arranged?
Seymour stood still for a moment, then slowly got up from his chair.
Back at the apartment, Nevaeh sat on the couch, staring at her phone.
Getting a reply right away? She wasn't holding her breath. Even CEOs had bosses to deal with.
Then her thoughts shifted to her own job—
Advertising agency life was brutal. She had to hustle day and night just to land a project, and that meant dealing with all kinds of sleazy requests and fake smiles.
Yep, being alive wasn’t the hard part—living was.
Tomorrow she’d have to face that creep, Mr. Wang, again. Just thinking about it gave her a migraine.
She pulled out a cold pill from her pocket and stood up to grab water.
That’s when the front door made a noise.
Peeking through the peephole, she saw Seymour’s face—it was as stern as ever.
He was back.
Nevaeh’s heart instantly started racing.
