Evelyn Brooks' life has been completely transformed ever since her parents died in a terrible accident. She went from grieving to being forced into an arranged marriage to a man who never gave her a second look. After his disastrous relationship, Edward Richards vowed never to trust in love again-that is, until he learned to love his arranged wife. Before it turned out to be desired, the marriage was first arranged and unwanted. But will "love" be sufficient to preserve their union?
EVELYN
These days, who even enters into an arranged marriage?
I had been with this man who detested everything about me for six months in a loveless marriage. During our marriage, Edward Richards truly let me know how much he despised me.
I was never touched by the man at all. He said nothing to me at all. He treated me like I didn't exist when I was in the house. He only talked to me when we were at his parent's home or in the presence of his coworkers.
I never would have imagined the outcome of my marriage to be this. My parents arranged for me to marry their best friend's son by the time I turned 22 before they passed away. Why? Since, in my opinion, they were merely bored and thought it would be wonderful to marry their kids.
Furthermore, I was a wimp for agreeing to this ridiculous agreement.
I assumed that though they never said so, Edward's parents wanted to take care of me since they knew I had no one else and that's why they wanted me to marry him.
All I had were my parents and no family. No parents, no siblings, no aunts, uncles, or anybody else.
My mother's marriage to my father left his relatives disapproving of her. His parents, who are my father's side grandparents, detested my mother and opposed my parents' union. When my father took my mother to flee and get married, it got to the point where they shunned him. After that day, my father had no family left except for my mother.
Sadly, when I was fifteen, my other grandparents-on my mother's side-passed away. Only one brother, who died young, was related to my mother. I was so left without an uncle. The family of my mother? Not that I'm aware of; I've never met them. Except for her parents and one aunt, whom she cherished dearly but who sadly passed away many years ago, my mother never spoke of any of her relatives. The small relative was a result of my mother's limited family background.
Edward's parents treated me so beautifully and kindly, which was a blessing. For as long as I could remember, they had been nice to me; they regarded me like I was their daughter, whom they had never had. Following the death of my parents, they kindly took care of me.
22 years ago, Elisa, an obstetrician, assisted my mother in giving birth to me. On that day, they grew close and became friends. Michael worked as a pediatrician. That they were both doctors astounded me.
Neither Edward nor any other healthcare professional was a doctor. In actuality, he was the owner of a business that his grandfather had left to him because Michael, being a doctor, was unable to manage it. When Edward turned 23, he took over the company with the assistance of a mentor after his grandfather passed away when he was just 16 years old.
He was a hardworking man, and it was the one thing about him that I liked. Despite having everything, he never allowed them to influence him.
I married Edward two years after my parents passed away. Our wedding was awkward, to put it mildly. When I walked down the aisle, he was emotionless. He didn't appear at all content. And our brief first kiss together as husband and wife was only two seconds long. If there was awkwardness between us, nobody showed it. My wedding was perhaps the most miserable event I have ever attended.
Not only did we not take a honeymoon trip, but we also didn't engage in any romantic activities or share a bedroom. He returned to work two days after our wedding, acting as though we had never said goodbye. I hardly ever saw Dad in the house because he was so busy. He would get up before me and go to work, returning just after I had fallen asleep.
There were moments when I thought he was intentionally doing it to avoid me.
He was only unable to avoid me when we had to go to activities together. Now and again Edward would have quiet events, and I would always accompany him. It was hard to be in public with him; we had to pretend to be in love. Imagine kissing the man you detested with all of your heart while holding hands.
Imagine for a moment.
I attempted to treat him with courtesy. Despite my efforts to be the wife he desired, he continued to disregard me.
"Do you mind?"
I blinked, realizing that I was obstructing his path.
I stepped aside right away. "Sorry."
He took out a bottle of juice from the refrigerator without saying anything else. He hadn't spoken anything to me in a long time until now.
I observed his features as I fixed my gaze on him. Although he appeared worn out and anxious, he still had a great appearance. How could someone who appeared anxious look so good?
He gave me a chilly look as he sensed that I was staring at him. I looked aside immediately.
I gave a throat clear. "I cooked for dinner, have a seat."
Even though we didn't communicate much, it was my duty as his wife to look after him. regardless of how dysfunctional our union was.
"I'm not staying for long, I have to leave soon."
I furrowed my brows. "Where are you going?"
He quickly answered, "Work."
With a sigh, I filled my glass with the juice and took a sip. It was his fourth-night missing meals.
"Aren't you tired? You returned an hour ago."
"I have better things to do."
I rolled my eyes. "You're working too much. You see yourself now, don't you? You appear prepared to jump into bed and go to sleep. Work is not as vital as your health."
He spat, gazing at me angrily this time, "I didn't ask you to care for me."
I scowled at that. I did at least have affection for him, even though this marriage was a farce. After all, he was the man I would have to live my entire life with as my spouse. And perhaps, just possibly, I was a little too attached to him.
He left me in the kitchen and said, "I will be back very late tonight, don't wait for me."
As I watched him go, I sighed. I had run out of options for getting him to listen to me or at least treat me politely. He pushed me away each time I attempted to get near to him.
"Are you okay, Evelyn?" One of the maids found me in the kitchen and asked, "Jane?"
"I'm doing OK, Jane. Edward was being Edward, simply as that."
Jane, a 56-year-old widow, had spent 20 years working with Edward's family. She remained devoted to the Richards. She was extremely kind to me and made me think of my mother; I began to love her so much.
Jane was also aware of the events of our marriage. When your spouse avoided talking to you at home and you didn't share a room, it was difficult to resist saying, "Give him some time, Sir Edward is a nice man."
I sneered. "To you."
Evelyn, he will also get fond of you. I think he will.
I was too lazy to answer that. Nor did I anticipate that he would become friendly. Everyone is aware that would take a very long time to occur.
"Anyway, do you know at what time Felix comes here tomorrow?"
Edward was driven by Felix. At forty years old, he had two children. When his grandfather was still in charge of the business, he worked as an on-call driver for Edward before Edward hired him as his driver.
"He usually will be at 5 as Sir Edward has to leave to work at 6."
I gave a nod. "All right. Would you kindly ask him to take me into town at around ten o'clock?"
"Sure, I will let him know."
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
Sara Mae Xavier is living every Omega's dream--she is the Alpha King's mate! That's until he betrays and rejects her. He also accuses her falsely, and she is sentenced to two years at the notorious North Academy, a campus made specifically for delinquent werewolves. She has no idea how she'll survive, being a weak Omega, but she soon realises that's the least of her problems. Her roommates are three Alphas, each with a notorious reputation of his own. But that's not the worst part...why on earth does she have a mate bond to all of them?
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”
For two years, Ashton had poured his heart into his marriage, yet Emalee's heart remained cold. Despite his dedication, Emalee presented him with divorce papers. She bluntly stated she could not remain married to a man whose net worth was less than a million dollars. Ashton signed the papers, closing one chapter of his life and stepping into a new beginning. Then, Ashton revealed his secret identities: a music mogul, a medical expert, and a martial arts master—each persona impressive enough to stun the world. As Ashton’s true capabilities came to light, Emalee was overwhelmed with deep regret.
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."
"Sign the divorce papers and get out!" Leanna got married to pay a debt, but she was betrayed by her husband and shunned by her in-laws. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she agreed to divorce and claimed her half of the properties. With her purse plump from the settlement, Leanna enjoyed her newfound freedom. The constant harassment from her ex's mistress never fazed her. She took back her identities as top hacker, champion racer, medical professor, and renowned jewelry designer. Then someone discovered her secret. Matthew smiled. "Will you have me as your next husband?"