Abby Carter had always believed that bad days couldn’t get any worse. She was wrong, they could. And apparently, they could get much, much worse.

“You’re fired.” The two words hung in the tiny café like a death sentence.

Abby stared at her manager, wondering if she had somehow misheard him. “I’m… fired?”

Her manager avoided her eyes as he wiped the counter with a cloth that was already clean. “Business has been slow so we have to let some people go.”

“But you told me yesterday that I was doing well and I’ve been working here for almost two years now.”

“Yes, I know that.”

Abby folded her hands tightly in front of him. “So why me?”

Her manager sighed. “Because you’re the newest full-time employee.”

Abby almost laughed. “Newest?”

She had worked there for nineteen months. She had opened the café before sunrise, closed it after midnight, covered shifts when people called in sick, and smiled at customers who treated her like she was invisible. And now she was being fired because she was the “newest.”

“When do I get my final paycheck?”

“Friday…, that’s the best I can do.”

“Friday?” Abby stared at him.

Her rent was due in three days; her electricity bill was already overdue, and her younger sister’s university fees were waiting on her. Friday suddenly felt like a lifetime away.

She forced a smile. “Okay.”

She then took off her apron, folded it neatly and placed it on the counter, and then she walked out. The moment the café door closed behind her, the smile on her face disappeared.

She looked up at the grey sky. “Great.”

Five minutes later, rain began pouring.

“Of course”, she said frustrated. She pulled her handbag over her head and started running because she had no umbrella and apparently no job too. She even had barely enough money for transportation and absolutely no idea what she was going to tell her sister.

She reached the corner of the street and stopped beneath the shade of a luxury hotel. She stared through the glass doors and saw people inside dressed in expensive suits and elegant gowns, waiters carrying champagne, women wearing diamonds that probably cost more than her entire apartment building.

Abby looked down at her soaked sneakers; she didn’t belong there. She was about to turn away when a hotel employee rushed through the doors.

”Miss!”

Abby looked behind herself; the employee was running towards her.

“Yes?”

“You’re late. They’re waiting for you.”

Abby blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“The meeting… Mr Blackwood has been waiting for twenty minutes.”

“Mr who?” She replied confused.

“Blackwood, please come quickly.”

Abby shook her head. “Wait, I think you’ve made a mistake.”

“You’re Ms Carter, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but…”, before Abby could explain, he hurried her inside.

“Look at me,” she protested. “I’m soaked. I don’t even know who this Mr Blackwood is.”

“I’m sure he’ll explain everything.”

The elevator doors opened and the employee gestured for her to enter.

Abby hesitated.

Maybe she should leave, she thought, but the urgency in his voice made her step inside. The elevator stopped on the thirty-second floor, the doors opened and then Abby stepped out. There was a long corridor before her lined with dark wood and expensive paintings, at the end of the corridor she saw a pair of enormous wooden doors.

The employee opened them, “Mr Blackwood is inside.”

“Wait…” The doors closed behind her.

“Seriously?”

Abby turned around, took a deep breath and then thought to herself “Maybe this was some strange job interview, maybe someone had recommended her”.

“You’re late.”

Abby spun around. A man stood at the end of the conference table. He was tall with broad shoulders, wore perfectly tailored black suit and his dark hair swept neatly away from his forehead,

He didn’t look at her immediately, he was reading something on a tablet, and then his eyes lifted.

Abby froze. The man looked at her from her wet hair down to her soaked sneakers and his expression changed.

“You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago”. Abby’s eyebrows shot up, “I wasn’t supposed to be anywhere.”

A brief silence filled the room.

His jaw tightened, “Interesting.” He placed the tablet on the table.

“Come here.”

Abby didn’t move. “Who are you?”

He lifted an eyebrow, amused by that question, “You don’t know who I am?”

“No.”

“Adrian Blackwood”, he stared at her. Apparently, she was supposed to react.

“I’m sorry. Should I know you?”

His expression became unreadable, “Everyone knows me.”

“Well, I don’t” she replied fiercely.

The corner of his mouth twitched. Before either of them could speak, the door behind them opened. A woman in an expensive cream-coloured dress entered the room, her gaze turned towards Abby, then at Adrian.

Her face immediately paled. “That’s her?”

Adrian nodded. “Yes.”

Abby looked between them, confused about the whole situation “What’s going on?”

The woman approached her slowly. “You’re Abigail Carter, right?”

“Yes.” Abby replied confused on how she knew her name.

“And you’re twenty-four?”

“Yes….”

“Then there’s no mistake.”

Abby frowned. “What mistake?”

The woman looked at Adrian before turning back to her.

“You’re the woman my Adrian is supposed to marry.”

Abby’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“Your grandmother signed the agreement years ago; our families arranged the marriage.”

Abby stared at her in disbelief. “My grandmother? My grandmother has been dead for six years.”

“I know that’s why we’ve been trying to find you.” The woman reached for the folder on the table.

Abby shook her head “This isn’t real.”

Adrian collected the folder and tossed it towards her. “Read it.”

Her hands trembled as she opened it. The first page contained a legal document and her name was there.

Abigail Rose Carter. And beneath it was another name;

Adrian Alexander Blackwood

Her heart began pounding. “This is impossible.”

“It isn’t.”

She looked up at him. “Why would my grandmother arrange a marriage with someone I’ve never even met?”

Adrian’s expression gave nothing away. “That is a question for your grandmother.”

“She’s dead!”

“Then perhaps someone else knows the answer.”

Abby pushed the document away. “Whatever this is, I’m not marrying you.”

Adrian leaned back against the table. “You have a choice.”

“Good, because I’m choosing no.” Abby turned towards the door.

“Then leave, Just remember one thing.”

She looked back.

His expression was completely emotionless. “If you walk out of that door, the people you love will suffer for your decision.”

Abby’s stomach dropped. “What does that mean?”

Adrian slid another document across the table. “This morning your sister’s university contacted my company”

Her blood ran cold. “How do you know about my sister?”

“I know about the overdue rent, the university fees, and the debt your family has been trying to hide.”

Abby stared at him in horror. “Why are you investigating me?”

“I’m not, she is; His gaze shifted towards the older woman.

The older woman gave Abby an apologetic look. “We’ve been looking for you for months.”

Abby shook her head and then she grabbed her handbag “This is insane and I don’t care what some agreement says, I’m not marrying a stranger.” She then reached for the door.

“You should think this through.”

What is that even supposed to mean, she thought.

“If you refuse this marriage, your family loses the protection my family has provided for decades.”

Abby’s heart sank. “What protection?”

Adrian didn’t answer instead; he glanced up at the clock. “Your wedding is in four weeks.” Abby stared at him and then let out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re out of your mind.”

A faint smile appeared on Adrian’s lips. “Perhaps, but we’ll still get through with it.”