Why did the man on TV, lauded as the top bachelor and head of a wealthy family, resemble her husband closely? Adrian was a stranger to Elyse when they agreed to marry. They planned to divorce after a year, citing their unresolved differences as the reason. They had no idea that they would end up living together, sharing a bed, and more. Later, Adrian proposed, "Should we make this marriage real?" Subsequently, Adrian's true identity started to surface. One day, a child asked Elyse, "Is this Daddy, Mommy?" Stunned, Adrian confronted Elyse, asking, "How could you hide my kid from me?"
In front of City Hall...
Elyse Warren walked out of the building with a marriage certificate in her hand.
Staring at it, she couldn't help but shake her head and let out a sigh. She felt like she was in a ridiculous dream. The marriage certificate in her hand meant that she was now married... to a stranger!
Suddenly, a man cleared his throat behind her and said, "Well, that's all we need to do for now. Go your way and never contact me again. Once a year has elapsed, we'll get a divorce and label lack of affection as the reason."
The man's voice was deep and firm, yet it was also icy and dismissive, which made him sound like an unpleasant person.
Elyse turned around to look at the man, whose name was Adrian Lambert, and said with an equally icy voice, "You don't have to tell me what to do. Rest assured, you'll never hear from me until it's time to get the divorce. In case you've forgotten, I'm in this situation because of the same reason as you, which is to satisfy the wishes of our families."
"That's wonderful to hear," Adrian muttered and took out a cigarette box, retrieved a stick, lit it, and began to smoke. As the smoke from the cigarette blurred his handsome face, his furrowed eyebrows appeared in and out of the haze.
He was in this mess thanks to his grandfather. If it weren't for him, Adrian would have chosen to never have anything to do with marriage, especially not with a woman he had never met.
This marriage was a result of a pact made between his grandfather and Elyse's grandmother.
From what he learned, Elyse's grandmother had saved his grandfather's life years ago. And since his grandfather went on to become the architect of the Lambert family's success, Elyse's grandmother was seen as the indirect cause of the family's prosperity. As a token of gratitude, his grandfather had seen to it that he and Elyse were betrothed to each other when they were still children.
Now that both Elyse's grandmother and his grandfather were old, they suddenly became particular about seeing their young ones get together before their time on Earth ran out. In that spirit, they had gone to great lengths to make this absurdity a reality.
Naturally, Adrian was a ruthless man who never bowed down to the will of others.
But his grandfather was an exception. He was loyal and respectful to the old man.
Though he wanted nothing more than to have absolutely nothing to do with Elyse, he couldn't bring himself to go foul of his grandfather's wish. So, he had no choice but to obtain the marriage certificate with Elyse.
"Smokers are liable to die young. I'll advise you to smoke less," Elyse suddenly said coldly. She glanced at her watch and continued, "I'm running late. I have to go and set up my stall at the market today. I will be on my way now."
Hearing this, Adrian shrugged indifferently and waved her away. But as Elyse began to walk off, he glanced at the cigarette in his hand, dropped it on the ground, and stamped it out.
At that moment, a Rolls-Royce drove into the city hall premises and pulled up in front of Adrian.
Adrian's secretary, Grayson Briggs, got out of the car, walked up to Adrian, and said respectfully, "Mr. Lambert, can I take you back to the company now?"
Adrian nodded and walked up to the passenger door, but just as he was about to get in, he paused for a moment, glanced at the marriage certificate in his hand, and then tossed it to Grayson. "Get it to my grandfather."
Grayson caught the certificate and looked at it. Seeing what it was, his eyes instantly widened in surprise.
Adrian was now a married man?!
What on earth was going on?
How could a man like Adrian, who was frigid towards women, get married out of the blue? Was this some sort of sick joke or what?
"You've got a problem?" Adrian asked irritatedly as he noticed Grayson's stupefied countenance.
Grayson snapped back to reality and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, sir. I'll see to it that Mr. Lambert gets it before the day is over."
However, before Grayson got into the driver's seat, he glanced at the marriage certificate in his hand again, confirming what he had seen. Indeed, Adrian Lambert, the heir of the Lambert family, the most prestigious family in Liverton, had just got married!
As they drove away, Adrian let out a sigh and shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe he was now a married man!
At that moment, a call came in from his grandfather, Vince Lambert.
Adrian sighed again and picked up the call. Immediately, Vince's voice came from the other end, asking, "Adrian, were you and Elyse able to get the marriage certificate?"
Adrian frowned slightly and replied through gritted teeth, "Yes, we're now married. Grayson will get the certificate to you before the day is over."
"Get it to me? What should I do with it? It's your property, not mine, keep it well. And remember, Elyse is now your responsibility. Treat her well and protect her from all harm," Vince said firmly.
"I'll do exactly just that," Adrian replied lazily. He was yet to know if Elyse was really going to agree to the divorce a year from now or prove stubborn. To further make him appear unappealing to her, Adrian had dressed up as an ordinary white-collar worker and presented himself as such.
He was afraid that if this strange woman that his grandfather had hooked him up with were to find out that he was the head of the Lambert family, she was going to refuse to let him go once a year was up.
"Adrian! Don't forget that I'm expecting a chubby baby from you, someone to carry on our family name. I expect you and your wife to get to work as soon as possible," Vince said.
Adrian opened his mouth to say something, but not a single word came out. He was just simply speechless.
"And you guys should be expecting me soon. I'll drop by for a visit in a few days."
Hearing this, Adrian sat up abruptly and said, "Hey! There's no need for that, Grandpa! We just got married! We could use some time alone."
Vince scoffed and asked, "Says who? Are you trying to forbid me from seeing my granddaughter-in-law? I'm coming over whether you like it or not." Before Adrian could argue any further, Vince abruptly hung up the call.
Adrian gritted his teeth in anger and rubbed his temples in an attempt to calm himself down. He had to establish some sort of relationship with 'his wife' now.
"Turn around now," he ordered Grayson.
"Huh?" Grayson raised an eyebrow and glanced at the rearview mirror.
"Don't expect me to repeat myself," Adrian replied coldly. The chilling words caused Grayson to shiver, prompting him to swiftly turn the steering wheel and execute a U-turn.
He couldn't fathom why Adrian had become so angry all of a sudden.
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
After two years of marriage, Kristian dropped a bombshell. "She's back. Let's get divorced. Name your price." Freya didn't argue. She just smiled and made her demands. "I want your most expensive supercar." "Okay." "The villa on the outskirts." "Sure." "And half of the billions we made together." Kristian froze. "Come again?" He thought she was ordinary—but Freya was the genius behind their fortune. And now that she'd gone, he'd do anything to win her back.
As a simple assistant, messaging the CEO in the dead of night to request shares of adult films was a bold move. Bethany, unsurprisingly, didn't receive any films. However, the CEO responded that, while he had no films to share, he could offer a live demonstration. After a night filled with passion, Bethany was certain she'd lose her job. But instead, her boss proposed, "Marry me. Please consider it." "Mr. Bates, you're kidding me, right?"
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
Sawyer, the world's top arms dealer, stunned everyone by falling for Maren—the worthless girl no one respected. People scoffed. Why chase a useless pretty face? But when powerful elites began gathering around her, jaws dropped. "She's not even married to him yet—already cashing in on his power?" they assumed. Curious eyes dug into Maren's past... only to find she was a scientific genius, a world-renowned medical expert, and heiress to a mafia empire. Later, Sawyer posted online. "My wife treats me like the enemy. Any advice?"