เจาเย่วอันสาวน้อยผู้นำความโชคดีมาสู่ครอบครัว

“I’m sorry, Emma, but I can’t marry you.”

The words hurt more than the slap that echoed in the restaurant.

For a moment, I stood stunned at the center of the expensive restaurant, staring at the man who had been my world for the past three years as if I had never seen him before.

Daniel barely reacted to what had just happened.

Leaning back in his seat, wearing an elegant suit and sipping his wine, he looked calmly at the people who had just stared.

His lips formed a smile, but there was no tenderness or affection in his eyes.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

I clenched my fists, trying to stop myself from shaking.

Several people in the restaurant had already turned around to look at us.

My face was burning with shame.

“What did you say?” I whispered.

Daniel sighed in response.

“I said I can’t marry you”.

“Daniel, our wedding is in two weeks”.

“So what?”

I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

“But you proposed to me, you met my parents, we picked the venue, sent the invitations”.

Daniel looked at me with an expressionless face.

“I know”.

“But Daniel, how could you do this to me?”

“Emma,” he said, finally fixing his gaze on me, “do you have any idea who I am?”

I was taken aback by the sharpness in his voice.

“What are you talking about?”

Daniel took a sip of wine and looked around the restaurant.

“I’m talking about the fact that I don’t want to marry you”.

“I've met someone else.”

A terrible feeling gripped my chest.

Another woman?

“And who is she?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Before Daniel could respond, a familiar feminine voice spoke from behind my shoulder.

“Me”.

I turned around and saw Sophia Williams, Daniel’s boss’s daughter, in an elegant black dress, her dark hair cascading down her back in loose curls, and a beautiful diamond necklace shining around her neck.

She came up to our table and casually took Daniel’s hand.

He didn’t pull away, and, looking at Sophia with a charming smile, he said something that broke my heart.

I had tried so hard to earn that smile, but she had acquired it for free.

“Is this your girlfriend?” Sophia asked, looking me up and down.

Daniel nodded.

“I see now why you couldn’t get rid of her”.

I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Daniel stood up.

“Emma, I beg you, don’t make a scene”.

“I am not making a scene,” I snapped.

“You invited a woman to our engagement dinner to tell me off, and you think I am making a scene?”

Several guests turned around and started staring.

Daniel fixed his dark eyes on me.

“I never wanted to marry you”.

“What?”

“You were convenient, and that’s it”.

“I can't face everyone.”

The words struck me like a knife.

“Convenient?”

“I loved you,” I said.

“Did you?” he asked.

“I told you that I love you”.

“You said it, and I believed you”.

A terrible emptiness gnawed at my insides.

Three years of sacrifices, devotion, and love had all been for nothing.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Did you borrow money from me?”

His face changed.

“I’ll pay you back.”

“When?”

“Soon”.

“Excuse me,” Sophia said, squeezing Daniel’s hand.

“We should go now”.

He nodded and, turning to look at me for the last time, said, “I’m sorry.”

“No, you are not.”

He did not respond.

He turned around and walked out with Sophia, leaving me all alone in the center of the restaurant.

After they were gone, my legs gave out, and I gripped the table to steady myself.

My phone was ringing, but I ignored it until it stopped.

It was my mother, and, as usual, she had twenty-three unanswered calls.

When I finally silenced the phone and opened the text, my blood ran cold.

Mom: The wedding planner called. Why does Daniel not answer his phone?

Of course, the wedding planner. My guests. The invitations. The parents. All the things I had planned for the wedding in two weeks were now meaningless to me because I did not have the groom.

I stepped out of the restaurant, unwilling to see my mother yet, and entered the nearest café.

“Can I get you something?” the waitress asked.

“Coffee.”

“Any particular kind?”

“Doesn’t matter”,

“Coming right up.”

As the waitress turned around, I buried my face in my palms and tried to gather my thoughts.

Once again, my phone went off, and, with a heavy heart, I answered.

“Hello, Mom”.

“Emma, where are you? Why doesn't Daniel answer his phone? The wedding planner said something was wrong.”

“What happened?” I whispered.

“He broke up with you.”

“What?”

“He found someone else.”

“Who?”

“Sophia Williams.”

My mother inhaled sharply.

“Come home.”

“But you haven't even met me.”Your father already knows.”

“What?”

“Daniel’s parents told him. They said there is something else you should know.”

I sat up straight.

“What did they say?”

“My father’s company is in trouble.”

“What does that have to do with us?”

The waitress brought me the coffee, and I absentmindedly stirred it.

“Everything,” she said.

“My father borrowed twenty million from the Williams family, and it was supposed to be repaid after the wedding.”

I looked at the table in disbelief.

“So, the wedding was part of the deal?”

“Yes,”

My heart pounded in my chest.

“Mom, are you telling me that my father’s company will go bankrupt because Daniel’s parents are liars?”

“The Williams family has given them a month to pay back the loan. If they do not, they will take over the company.”

I felt as if I would faint.

My father’s company was his life. It provided jobs for people. It was also the source of our family’s wealth, including the big house where I lived.

All of it was in jeopardy, simply because Daniel had lost interest in me after three years of our relationship.

“I’ll come home,” I whispered.

After hanging up, I took the wedding invitation from my bag.

Emma Carter & Daniel Hayes.

I crumpled the paper in my hand.

Why should I waste my life on a man who didn’t want me anymore?

A crazy idea suddenly occurred to me, of which I could not immediately rid myself.

Perhaps I could get married anyway.

Not to Daniel, but to someone else.

Maybe a husband for rent could solve all my problems.

Without another word, I opened my phone and started searching.

How to find a husband.

I immediately deleted the query from the search engine because it sounded too desperate.

Then I began typing something else.

Fake husband for hire

The search results made my cheeks burn, and I almost closed the tab.

A strange ad caught my eye.

NEED A HUSBAND FOR A TEMPORARY MARRIAGE?

After clicking on the link, I was taken to a website offering to provide a husband for a temporary marriage.

At first, it seemed crazy, but the deeper I scrolled, the more I wanted it.

After all, it could solve many of our problems.

I needed someone who would sit next to me at the wedding, talk to Sophia’s parents, and disappear after three months.

I filled out my personal information, marital status, the reason for getting married, the length of the marriage, and the conditions under which I was willing to get married.

When the page asked for a budget, I hesitated for a moment, looked at the phone number, and entered an amount that would be enough to pay off the debts to the Williams family.

As I clicked SUBMIT, the screen went blank.

I laughed and stared at the phone and was about to joke that I had gone completely insane when my phone buzzed.

Unknown Number: Your application has been received.

Another notification appeared.

Unknown Number: The candidate is available.

My heart pounded in my chest.

Me: Who is he?

After a short pause, the unknown number responded.

Unknown Number: Alexander Black.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

The name was familiar to me; in fact, I had seen the man in passing.

I immediately searched him on G****e.

My hands shook as I scrolled down the page.

Alexander Black.

A thirty-two-year-old billionaire and the owner of the largest private investment company in the country.

He was known for being one of the worst womenizers in the city.

As I looked at the photos of this man, renowned for his arrogance and aggression, I felt a wave of disappointment sweep over me.

“This has to be some kind of mistake,” I muttered.

The phone rang again, and I hesitantly answered the call.

“Hello?” I said.

“Emma Carter?” A familiar voice asked.

“Who is this?”

“This is Alexander Black.”

My heart stopped.

The billionaire was calling me.

“I’ve read your application,” he said.

“And what do you think?” I asked.

“I’ll accept.”

I was stunned.

“You will accept what?”

“I will be your temporary husband.”

“But you haven't even met me.”I don’t need to.”

His voice was calm, emotionless.

“I have one condition.”

“What condition?”

“You should not fall in love with me.”

I was stunned; I was sure I heard wrong.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“I said that I do not want you to fall in love with me.”

I leaned closer to the phone.

“Mr. Black, the last thing I want is to fall in love with you.”

There was a long pause, and I thought I heard a sigh on the other end of the line.

“That’s good.”

“When can we meet?” I asked.

“Tonight.”

“Where?”

He gave me the address of one of the city’s most luxurious hotels.

“I’ll be there,” I said and hung up.

After I had finished the call, I still could not believe what had just happened.

I did not know this man, but he was about to become my husband.

In two weeks, I would walk down the aisle, not with the man of my dreams, but with a stranger who had agreed to this bizarre marriage solely for money.

Nevertheless, if my parents wanted me to return home, I would do that.

But what would I do about the wedding?

I had no groom, and my future was uncertain.

If Daniel Hayes wanted to ruin my life, I would show him what it meant to cross me by walking down the aisle with Alexander Black.

The billionaire who had just agreed to be my temporary husband for three months.

He was not perfect, but he was rich, and that was good enough for me.

Little did I know that this decision would change my life forever, and not because Alexander Black was an arrogant billionaire who had purchased my temporary companionship.

He was much more than that.

Because Alexander Black had already known who I was long before he agreed to become my husband.

And now, he was going to tell me why.