The music had stopped, but the whispers hadn't.
Everywhere Mabel turned, people were watching her—their eyes sharp, their mouths curved into mocking smiles. The grand engagement party that was supposed to mark the happiest day of her life had turned into a nightmare she could never have imagined.
Her fiancé had walked away, her family's reputation was in ruins, and the humiliation she felt was so sharp it was almost physical.
Clutching the hem of her dress, she tried to steady her breathing. Don't cry. Don't let them see you break.
But then, as if the night hadn't already been cruel enough, he appeared.
Adrian Black.
The man she despised most. The man who had once been her family's rival and her personal nightmare. He stood tall in his black tailored suit, his presence sucking the air from the room. He wasn't smiling, but his sharp, unreadable expression told her he was enjoying every second of her downfall.
"What do you want from me?" she demanded, her voice cold though her hands trembled.
Adrian's lips curved into the faintest smirk. "Straight to the point. I like that."
Her pulse quickened. She knew him well enough to sense danger whenever he smiled like that.
"If you came here to mock me, you've had your fun. Now leave," she snapped.
"Mock you?" His dark gaze swept over her like a blade. "No, Mabel. I came to make you an offer."
Her heart skipped. "An offer?"
He stepped closer, his tall figure towering over her. "Marry me."
Mabel froze, her mind refusing to process the words. For a moment, she thought she had misheard him. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Adrian replied coolly. "You need to salvage your reputation. I need a wife. It's simple."
She stared at him in disbelief. "You hate me. And I hate you."
Adrian's eyes glinted with something dangerous. He leaned closer, his voice low and sharp. "Exactly. That's why this will work. No messy emotions. Just a contract. You play your role, I play mine. Everyone wins."
Her stomach twisted. This can't be real. He can't be serious.
"And why would I agree to something so ridiculous?" she demanded, though her voice cracked.
"Because," Adrian said smoothly, his words slicing through her resistance, "without me, you'll be nothing more than a discarded bride—a laughingstock. Your family's businesses will suffer. You will suffer. But with me…" His eyes narrowed, locking onto hers. "With me, you'll have my name, my protection, and the power to silence every single one of them."
Her breath caught in her throat. She hated that part of her wanted to believe him.
"You're insane," she whispered.
"Am I?" Adrian tilted his head. "Tell me, Mabel—do you really want to face tomorrow as the woman who was abandoned at her engagement? Or would you rather face them as Mrs. Black, untouchable and untamed?"
Her chest heaved. His words were poison, but they made sense. Every instinct screamed for her to refuse him, to slap him across the face and walk away.
But deep inside, she knew the truth: he was offering her the only way out of her humiliation.
And that terrified her more than his hatred ever had.
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