Arriving at the Civil Affairs Bureau, Vivian William was utterly dismayed to discover that the man whom she was supposed to get her marriage certificate with had yet to arrive.
It was already more than half an hour past their agreed-upon time. Just as she was about to contact him, he called her instead.
As soon as she picked up, his furious voice blared out through the phone, “Vivian William, you liar! Have you forgotten about the sort of shameful things you’d done back in university? How dare you even think about marrying me now? Let me tell you something. That will only ever happen in your dreams! It has become rather clear to me now, seeing as you were quick to bring up marriage despite us only knowing each other for three days! If it weren’t for my ex-girlfriend having studied in the same university as you, I would’ve gotten tricked by you! You shameless woman!”
With that, he hung up.
Vivian did not even get a chance to explain herself.
The fingers clenching her phone were turning white while her lips moved soundlessly.
The man had not bother to tone down his voice at all, which meant that a lot of people had overheard her phone call. The gazes that everyone else had shot her were ones filled with scorn and disgust, stabbing into her like thousands of needles.
It was exactly like that nightmarish night two years ago.
She felt as though she was being swallowed in the darkness. No matter how hard she tried, there was simply no escape…
Beads of sweat formed upon her forehead as she paled dramatically. Without realizing, her whole body had begun to tremble uncontrollably.
Off to the side, a pair of dark, fathomless eyes watched the shivering woman thoughtfully while his slender fingers tapped on the armrests of his wheelchair.
“Mr. Norton.” At that moment, a young man hurried over to Finnick Norton’s side. Leaning down, he whispered, “Ms. Lopez has informed me that she’s still stuck in traffic. She has said that it might take her at least an hour to get here.”
“You can tell her to go back home. Tell her not to bother to come anymore.” Finnick did not even bother to turn his head. His sharp gaze was fixated on Vivian as he added placidly, “I don’t like pretentious women.”
“But…” The young man, his assistant had an upset look upon his face. “Your grandfather is pushing really hard for you to get married…”
As though he had not heard his assistant’s words, Finnick pushed the button on his wheelchair to move towards Vivian.
“Excuse me, miss? Would you please marry me?”
A crisp voice rang out, dragging Vivian out of the darkness that was threatening to swallow her whole.
Raising her head, she was slightly surprised at what had met her eyes.
She did not know when it happened, but a wheelchair-bound man seemed to come to a stop in front of her.
His features were so perfect that they would take anyone’s breath away. Sharply defined brows that rested on a chiseled face, it looked as though his face was sculpted out of marble. He emerged resembling flawless masterpiece.
Despite the simplicity of his white dress shirt, the design accentuated his lean, yet powerful build.
Being seated in a wheelchair did not take anything away from his noble and proud air at all. On the contrary, it only seemed to make him appear more aloof and unapproachable.
It was not until the man repeated his question that Vivian snapped out of the daze that she had fallen into.
“What?”
“I could not help but overhear your conversation earlier. You’re in a hurry to get married, aren’t you?”
Her breath was stuck in her lungs at his words, as humiliation and distress swept through her.
Not waiting for her to reply, the man continued in an indifferent tone. “What a coincidence. I’m in the same boat. Since our goals are alike, why don’t we lend each other a hand?” The way he said it made it sound as though he was talking about a business deal, not one of the most important events of life itself.
At this point, Vivian finally understood that this man was being serious about them getting married.Nonetheless, we’ve only just met! Getting married right off the bat is far too outrageous!
“Mister, we don’t even know each other! Don’t you think that you’re being a little too hasty and impulsive?”
“You didn’t know those men whom you went on blind dates with either.”
His reply was calm and straightforward, catching Vivian off guard, leaving her speechless.
“Oh, I get it now. You’re looking down on me because I’m a cripple, aren’t you?”
“Of course not!” – was her automatic response. When she caught sight of the small glimmer of amusement in his dark orbs, she realized that she was doing exactly what he had wanted her to.
“Miss.” He folded his hands on his lap neatly before he fixed her a burning gaze. “I’m pretty certain that you need this marriage very badly. If you miss out on this chance now, what makes you think that you’ll get another?”
She had to admit that he was very convincing.He’s right. I desperately need this marriage. Truthfully, it’s probably more accurate to say that I need to be registered in a household account here in this city. Only then will I be eligible to apply for health insurance here, to pay for Mom’s expensive medical bills.
Seconds ticked by as she stared at the man for a very long while. At long last, she squeezed out, “Are you a permanent resident here, in Sunshine City?”
His lips curled up into a small smirk. “Yes.”
Once again, Vivian fell silent. Her fingers tightened on her household register.
Although he was crippled, the man before her possessed the mannerism and looks that were certainly leagues ahead of those horrible men that she had been blind dating recently.Oh Vivian, hasn’t your sole aim for the past three months been to get married to a local resident as fast as you can? Now, the opportunity to do so is practically leaping into your arms!Why are you still hesitating?
Conflicting emotions swirled within her. In the end, she bit her lip and firmed her resolve. The woman nodded in agreement. “Alright, I agree.”
