ราตรีสวัสดิ์ เซอร์อาเรส!

“Get out!”

A cold voice rang out, followed by the sound of glass shattering at her feet.

Good thing Eloise had stepped back in time—otherwise, her pants would’ve gotten soaked. Luckily, she was wearing pants and not a skirt, or she might’ve gotten cut by the shards.

She looked at the man sitting on the carpet near the bed, clearly irritated and disheveled—he was the one who had thrown the glass just to drive her away.

Her new husband, Cosmo Dominguez.

Originally, it wasn’t supposed to be Eloise who would marry him—it was supposed to be her sister, Elaine Lopez. But once the truth came out—that Eloise wasn’t really the biological daughter of the Lopez family—everything changed. She became nothing but an adopted child. She no longer held value in the family, and her parents stopped loving her.

In the end, they decided to marry her off to Zedrix Montes, the illegitimate son of the powerful Montes family, as a way of repaying the Lopezes' gratitude for raising her for twenty years.

But then Elaine suddenly insisted on marrying Zedrix herself.

The Lopezes, not wanting to lose their connection to the influential Dominguez family, pushed Eloise to marry Cosmo instead.

Cosmo Dominguez—the heir of the most powerful family in all of Tagaytay. A man admired by everyone: intelligent, handsome, and someone people couldn’t help but envy.

But after the accident that left him paralyzed, most women stayed away. Otherwise, Eloise wouldn’t have been forced to marry him.

At this point in Cosmo’s life, the glow he once had was gone. Now he was bitter, quick-tempered, and full of rage.

“I said get out! Didn’t you hear me?!” he snapped, annoyance written all over his face.

Eloise remained silent. No fear in her eyes, no pity either. She didn’t even look offended or judgmental. She was too calm.

Finally, she spoke gently, “I heard you.”

“If you heard me, then why are you still here?!” he growled.

Instead of backing down, she replied calmly, “Cosmo, we have an agreement. Our marriage was blessed.”

He knew that. Still, he glared at her. “So what? That doesn’t mean I agreed to marry you willingly.”

Eloise only nodded. “I understand.”

There was something unsettling about how simple her response was.

That’s when Cosmo realized—he didn’t need to dig deeper into her story. He already knew what she’d been through.

Those two words—“I understand”—meant she didn’t want this marriage either. Just like him, she was forced into it.

“And what exactly do you understand?” he asked coldly.

Eloise gave a faint smile. “I understand your anger. You didn’t want this marriage. And you don’t want me.”

“Is that so?” he replied, still cold.

Eloise slowly stepped forward, calm and steady. “Cosmo, can we just talk properly?”

She knew neither of them wanted this marriage. She also knew Cosmo was angry and ready to make her life hell. But if she didn’t take the first step, she’d suffer more. She needed to do something, to make things clear between them.

Cosmo stretched out his legs, leaning slightly against the bed, clearly uncomfortable. When Eloise knelt in front of him to see him better, it only irritated him more.

He hated the fact that he couldn’t move on his own. If he fell off the bed, he’d need help. And the last thing he wanted was for a woman to see him this helpless.

“We have nothing to talk about! Get out!” he yelled again.

But Eloise didn’t flinch. Her voice remained calm. “Cosmo, I just want a proper conversation. We may not have wanted this marriage, but this is our reality now. It would be better if we tried to understand each other and live peacefully as husband and wife.”

Cosmo didn’t care about her reasoning. “Why should I even try to understand you? Look at me. And you—so eager to get married. What are you after? Isn’t it obvious? You just want our family's wealth! I know my mother gave the Lopezes a dowry worth 200 million!”

On the outside, the Lopezes looked wealthy and stable. But the truth? They were drowning in debt. They were desperate to marry off one of their daughters—not for love, but to sell them off like an investment.

That 200 million peso dowry from the Dominguez family had saved the Lopezes from financial ruin. It rescued them from a crisis and, through the marriage alliance, gave them access to more opportunities and potential profits for their business.

But Eloise didn’t flinch at Cosmo’s accusation. “I’m not the Lopezes’ real daughter. But they took care of me for twenty years. I owe them. And I need to repay that debt.”

Cosmo smirked. “Heh—”

She made it sound so simple. Her reason sounded noble, sure, but he didn’t buy it. Would she really give up her entire life just to pay off a so-called debt of gratitude?

Eloise sighed softly. “Believe it or not, I just want to return the kindness the Lopezes showed me.”

Even if she didn’t marry Cosmo, they would’ve married her off to another rich man.

She used to be engaged to Zedrix. She helped him solidify his position in the Montes family, met with clients, closed deals, and supported him as he climbed the business ladder.

After Zedrix’s father passed away, Zedrix stepped up as the new head of the family. Not long after, he took control of several major companies, bringing his wealth almost on par with the Dominguez family.

Meanwhile, Elaine, who had married into the Dominguez clan, had done nothing to help the Lopez family. Because of that, the elders in the Lopez family often turned to Eloise for financial help or to use her connections to win certain projects.

It happened more than once, and Zedrix eventually grew tired of it. That’s when the rift between them started to deepen.

In public, they pretended to be a picture-perfect couple to maintain the company’s image. But behind closed doors, their relationship had long been broken.

That’s why, this time, Zedrix wanted to cut ties with the Lopez family early—before they could use him any further or force him to do what they wanted.

Cosmo naturally didn’t believe anything Eloise said. She had already lost her title as a legitimate Lopez, and now, she was just an adopted daughter.

In the world of the rich, adopted children didn’t hold much weight. The best-case scenario was for someone like her to marry into a newly rich or middle-class family.

But instead, she ended up with Cosmo.

With Cosmo, she didn’t just gain wealth—she also inherited the power and prestige that came with the Dominguez name.

Cosmo looked at Eloise, one eyebrow raised. “I still don’t believe you.”

Eloise shook her head. “Then let’s make an agreement.”

Cosmo was caught off guard. There wasn’t even a hint of sarcasm in her tone—she was dead serious.

Eloise wanted to ease his doubts about her true intentions. “You can hire a lawyer and draw up a legal agreement.”

Cosmo hesitated. “Are you being serious right now?”

Eloise already knew exactly what she wanted in the agreement, so she began explaining calmly.

“First, even if we’re married, it will only be in name. If we need to show up together in public as husband and wife, I’ll cooperate—but that’s it. There’s no real relationship between us, just appearances.”

Cosmo remained silent.

“Second, I’m in a complicated position with the Lopez family. If the time comes when I need your help to deal with them, you have to be my backup. You don’t need to show up in person or face them directly—but I need permission to use your name and power to make things happen.”

Cosmo didn’t respond.

“Third, since this marriage is just for appearances, once the time is right, I want a divorce—and when that time comes, you’ll agree to it with no conditions.”