Marriage Certificate 2

"Marriage certificate?"

Scarlet blinked, recalling the hurried signing at the registry. She had barely glanced at the document, assuming it was a fulfillment of the agreement.

Lucian tilted his head slightly, watching her expression shift. "I see the realization is finally sinking in." He taunted.

Scarlet took a step back. "That's not possible," she murmured. "It must be a mistake. There's no way I… I mean, I would have known if—"

Lucian cut her off smoothly, his voice laced with amusement. "Oh, it was no mistake. The name on that certificate? Yours. The groom's name? Mine."

Scarlet's mind reeled, her body swaying slightly as she struggled to process his words.

Lucian leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper. "So tell me, wife… what are you going to do now?"

His answer fell like a thunderclap. Her head spinning, she felt dizzy "No, it's not possible."

"What is not possible?" He queried and slowly pulled out the marriage certificate from his pocket.

"Actually, I married but it was supposed to be...."

Lucian brow furrowed "it is supposed to be who?"

Scarlet averted her gaze "a loan sharks Boss but I don't know the name" her voice coming out in a whisper.

Lucian's grip on the marriage certificate tightened lightly. His voice was dangerously quiet. "A loan shark's boss?"

"Yes." Scarlet nodded, unable to meet his gaze while she quickly gave him a run down of the situation and how it came to be.

Silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating.

"You were given out in settlement of debt?" His tone was probing.

She swallowed hard. "Something like that."

Lucian exhaled sharply, his patience visibly thinning. "And you signed the papers without knowing who you were marrying?"

Lucian studied her for a long while, then spoke with an air of finality. "Well, now you do. And there is no undoing it, Scarlet.

Scarlet took a shaky step back, her breath coming in gasps. Her mind raced through every interaction—every moment and every situation that happened since the signing of that marriage.

"You knew," she finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, but laced with accusation. "You knew all along, didn't you?"

Lucian didn't deny it. He simply watched her, his gaze steady, unwavering.

"And Bryan?" she pressed, her hands curling into fists. "He kept calling you 'Boss'… was he in on it too? Did he lie to me?"

"He calls me Boss and you call Boss, who amongst you did the mistake. I think he followed you and I also instructed him not to."

Scarlet let out a bitter laugh. "Of course. And I was the fool in the middle of it all." She clenched her jaw, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "You let me believe I was just your assistant. You never said a word—"

"I was waiting," Lucian cut her off smoothly. "For the right moment."

Scarlet's hands trembled at her sides. "And what exactly was the 'right moment' for you?

Lucian took a step closer, closing the space between them. His voice gently calm and coercing . "Just when you will settle down, listen and understand the situation."

"Also, the initials on the card L. S did not hide anything when I already told you in the office but you choosed to believe the extraordinary man you married."

Scarlet was furious, "I see", she spurned on her feet and walked away toward the road they had come.

Scarlet Robert standing some distance saw her walking away and smirked. It seems she is a foolish type.

Lucian watched Scarlet's retreating figure, his expression unreadable. His hands slipped into his pockets effortlessly letting out a soft chuckle. "What a firecrackers she is?," he muttered to himself.

Scarlet, on the other hand, felt a whirlwind of emotions surge through her. Betrayal, disbelief, frustration—it was all too much.

She had been played severally, marriage she never agreed to, and worst of all, she had walked right into it without even realizing.

Scarlet Robert, standing at a distance, crossed her arms with a smirk playing on her lips. How pathetic, she mused. So she truly had no idea? She really thought she was just a mere assistant?

Lucian turned slightly, his gaze flickering toward Scarlet Robert. "You seem pleased," he remarked coolly.

She met his eyes with a confident tilt of her chin. "I'm just amused."

Lucian smiled lightly, it seems the banquet will wait, he can't let his wife run away. He took the key from the driver and took to the steering. Slowly he followed her and blocked her before she could complain.

He steeped down "Scarlet, you don't have to throw tantrums, 90% of this mistake is yours for not checking your marriage certificate at all

Scarlet clenched her fists, her breath uneven as she glared at him. "So now it's my fault?" Her voice trembled with frustration. "I was thrown into a situation I never agreed to, and you're saying I should have double-checked a marriage I never wanted in the first place?"

Lucian leaned casually against the car, his expression calm despite the storm brewing in her eyes. "You signed the papers, didn't you?" he asked, his voice maddeningly even. "Without reading them. Without confirming anything."

Scarlet opened her mouth to retort but stopped short. He was right. She had blindly accepted what was handed to her, with just one thought in mind. Settling the agreement and going her way.

"That doesn't change the fact that I never intended to marry you," she shot back, her voice laced with anger.

Lucian took a step closer, his towering presence impossible to ignore. "Intended or not, Scarlet," he said smoothly, "you 've married me. And unless you plan to walk into that banquet hall and announce to the world that you made a mistake, I suggest you accept reality."

She swallowed hard, her heart pounding. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to fight back, but deep down, she knew he held all the cards.

Lucian's gaze softened, just a fraction. "Come back with me," he said, less of a command and more of an invitation. "Let's not cause a scene, okay"

Scarlet exhaled sharply, knowing she had no real escape. Without another word, she turned on her heels and walked toward the car.

Scarlet entered the passenger seat, Lucian followed her and dutifully helped her to buckle the seat belt before he eturned to the driver side and settled in.

He retrieved some wipes and helped her dab some of the sweat on her forehead "you just smeared all you make up, is it worth it?"

Scarlet gaze remained outside the window. "Brighten up, we had a lot to do tonight, okay?"