Iris Adebayo knew something was wrong the moment she saw the name.
It was written clearly on the marriage certificate, bold and unforgiving, leaving no room for doubt.
Kaden Blackwood.
Her heart skipped violently.
That was not the man she was supposed to marry.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the table as she lifted her gaze. The registry office was quiet, too quiet, filled with the faint hum of the air conditioner and the smell of fresh paper and ink. Standing beside her was a man she had never met before today.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in a sharply tailored black suit that probably cost more than her entire wedding budget. His expression was calm, controlled—cold even. The kind of man who looked like emotions were an inconvenience he'd long mastered how to suppress.
He didn't look surprised.
He didn't look uncertain.
He looked like this was exactly where he intended to be.
"Miss Adebayo," the registrar said gently, tapping the document with her pen. "Please sign here so we can proceed."
Iris's throat tightened.
Less than an hour ago, she had been in a hotel hallway, frozen in shock as she listened to the man she loved apologize to another woman for choosing her too late. Her fiancé. Her groom. The man who was supposed to be standing beside her now.
Thirty minutes ago, her world had shattered.
Outside this office, reporters were waiting. Guests were seated. Her mother lay in a hospital bed, unaware that the wedding she was so proud of was already ruined. Canceling now would mean scandal, humiliation, and debts she couldn't escape.
When Kaden Blackwood's assistant had rushed toward her earlier, mistaking her for his bride, Iris had opened her mouth to correct him.
But she hadn't.
Desperation had silenced her.
She picked up the pen, her hand trembling.
Kaden finally turned to look at her. His dark eyes were sharp, assessing, as though he could already sense something was off. "If you're unsure," he said coolly, "this is your last chance to speak."
The room seemed to close in on her.
This was a mistake.
A terrible, irreversible mistake.
But walking away would destroy her.
"I'm fine," Iris said softly, forcing the words past her lips.
She signed her name.
The stamp came down with a heavy thud.
Just like that, Iris Adebayo became Mrs. Blackwood.
She didn't know who Kaden Blackwood truly was.
She didn't know what secrets he carried.
All she knew was this—she had married the wrong groom, and her life would never be the same again.