Romans & histoires When I Marry A Stranger

Forcing a smile, she stammered, "Johnny… what are you doing here? I… I just thought since it's almost New Year, I'd stop by to see my parents after finishing my work…" Before she could finish, I cut her off. "Then why are you here in this neighborhood? And why did that man just call him 'Dad'?" I narrowed my eyes, studying the man in front of me. Something about him felt familiar. A fragment of memory surfaced— He had been at our wedding. Back then, he'd stared at my wife with a lingering, almost obsessive gaze that had made me deeply uncomfortable. But since he never appeared again afterward, I had nearly forgotten about him.

Everything about it screamed wrong but I had no other option left. I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to go this path but here I was, planning to do what I swore never to do. Marriage — and this time with a stranger. But since its not out of love, nor out of desire it's a much better option than going back to Martin. I closed my eyes, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. “It is better this way” I whispered to myself trying to convince myself that it was far better getting married to a stranger than holding on to a relationship rooted in deceit and manipulations.

he said, and i gag on my saliva. “What?!!!” I half Yell. “That's the only way I can help you. The favors have to be equal. "You marry me for six months, and after I get every property, we divorce and I pay you off,” he said. It was crazy that I would accept to marry a total stranger, but he seems to be the only one that can help me, someone above Hunter, and will be able to conquer him. “Marrying a total stranger is crazy” I said.

“Don’t want people knowing about your dirty little secret?” “No, I don’t want people to know I drunkenly married a stranger in Vegas. Is that so crazy? And it isn’t the who in this instance; it’s the marriage in general. I’d be saying the same thing to any other man I’d randomly married after drinking too much tequila.” “Make it a habit? Marrying strange men?” I flushed. “No. You’re my first.” “I’m happy to hear it.” He imbued the words with innuendo, and I squirmed in my seat. Memories of that night in the hotel room flashed in my mind. Right then, I could practically feel his hands on my body, the way I begged him to touch me—

The stranger I never wanted to marry became my husband, best friend, my cuddle mate, my adventure partner and eventually, the father of my kids. THE END

"She thought she was helping. Thought she was forcing me to build a real life instead of hiding behind my work. But all she did was turn marriage into another business transaction I have to navigate." The woman was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I'd rather marry a complete stranger than go through with marrying someone who betrayed me." Something about the way she said it made me look at her. At the determination underneath the pain. At the strength underneath the vulnerability. "I'd rather marry a complete stranger than play by my family's rules," I said. Our eyes met. Something passed between us. "At least a stranger couldn't hurt you," she said quietly. "Not the way someone you love

I look at my life falling apart around me. Three hours to decide if I'm willing to marry a stranger. I pick up my phone. My finger hovers over the number. What kind of crazy person agrees to marry a stranger? What do I have to lose? Before I can talk myself out of it, I dial. A crisp, professional voice answers on the first ring. "Grayson Enterprises, Contract Division." "I... I received a letter," I stammer. "About a marriage contract." There's a pause. Then: "Ms. Thompson. We've been expecting your call. We will pick you up now. “

Tears fall, and my throat swells shut. “Let’s put aside the fact that you were blitzed in an unfamiliar city with strangers that are rock stars. Mom says you’re not getting the annulment. Montana, you can’t stay married to a complete stranger. Who does that?” He pauses for a moment. “Insane people, that’s who.” “Joe, he’s not a stranger.” I clear my throat in the hopes my voice sounds serious. “I know we rushed the wedding, but we’re slowing things down now.”

He asked, and I shrugged feeling my eyes closing when I had my name being called like a whisper. “I have no idea where I am, I think I am in my chilly apartment with a stranger. Let me go find out who it is, toodles. And call me again tomorrow night, so we can get to the bottom of why you are with your ex-wife and what you plan to do with me, who is so so…” I couldn't even complete my words when I felt a presence behind me and I hung up the phone with Tristan abruptly and blinked repeatedly trying to keep my eyes open.

"Miss Winters, do you really want to start over with Mr. Cross? If I may say so, based on my experience, men who betray their marriages are likely to do it a second or third time. And... "Didn't your parents already arrange for you to go abroad for treatment? You'll be leaving in a month, won't you?"