”We’re having a little too much to drink at her bachelorette party.”
Emma Miller was very sleepy. Her fiance, Nathan Davis, picked her up and brought her back to their apartment. He tucked her into bed in the dimly lit room where she lay awake for a few minutes, unaware of her surroundings. Then, coming to her senses, she forced her eyes open against the pain of an excruciating headache. As her vision cleared, she could make out the figure of a man and woman across the room, kissing passionately.
Emma tried to make sense of what she was seeing as she looked at the two kissing figures who remained unaware that she had awoken. She felt anger begin to boil inside her. “Amber, stop messing around,” the man said. “Emma only just fell asleep,” Nathan warned as he grasped the woman around her waist. “Afraid she’ll wake up?” Amber responded in an annoying tone. “You’re getting married tomorrow. Give yourself to me tonight, babe.”
“You are such a troublemaker. Let’s go to the other room,” the man smiled seductively. “No, let’s do it right here. I want to do it in front of her,” Amber swiftly unbuttoned a man’s shirt as her lips locked on his. Once again, Emma tried to hold back her tears, but she could feel them slowly trickling down her face. How could the man she was supposed to marry the next day be cheating on her, and right in front of her too?
“Behave, Nathan,” she said. “Let’s go into the bathroom. Isn’t the tub your favorite place?” “Fine, you go in and fill the tub,” Amber nudged his chest, pushing him toward the bathroom. Once Nathan had left the room, she tiptoed over to Emma and whispered, “Emma, I’m not gonna let you and Nathan get married tomorrow. I’m pregnant, and he’s mine.”
Emma balled her hands into fists as she tried to process what was happening. But once she heard the moans of the couple in the bathroom, she realized that her world had fallen apart. Three years ago, Emma had been a top model in New York. She’d given up everything to pursue her relationship with Nathan, even handing over hard-earned modeling work to Amber. But now she realized everything she had done had all gone toward preparing someone else to steal the man of her dreams.
“No,” she thought, trying to lie to herself. “This must be a dream, a horrible nightmare.” Halfway through the night, Amber complained of feeling unwell, and Nathan led her out of the apartment. He didn’t reappear, even though he was supposed to be marrying Emma the next morning.
The next day, just as planned, Emma drove to City Hall for the ceremony. As she stepped out of her car, she called Nathan. His voice on the other end of the line was cold. “Amber was injured on stage and needs me. Let’s put off the wedding until tomorrow.”
“There will be no tomorrow,” Emma thought to herself in disappointment. Walking back to her car, she felt the tears streaming down her face. She groped in her bag for her sunglasses, but then she felt her gaze drawn to a tall figure headed her way. She noticed the fitted Navy retro suit which hugged the masculine body underneath. In the corner of a wine red handkerchief poking out of the suit’s front pocket, the pants fit smoothly over his strong legs, and his polished shoes glistened in the sun.
This man had an aura that radiated power, almost like some kind of royalty. As he got closer, even though he was wearing sunglasses, Emma noticed his chiseled face and strong jaw. His full lips were enough to drive any woman crazy. She felt a jolt as she recognized him. He was the CEO of Kaleidoscope Entertainment, Eric Roberts.
Was he getting married too?
“Mr. Roberts, Miss Rose hasn’t arrived yet,” the assistant behind him reported. “Call her family and tell them that if they can’t be on time for a wedding, they shouldn’t bother coming at all,” he responded coldly. “But your father’s insistent that you have to get married today, no matter what,” his assistant said timidly. “He doesn’t care who it is. He’s made it clear that he’s done waiting for you to settle down.”
“Then just pick someone else for my contact list. I’ll give you half an hour,” the man ordered.
He also had a dilemma and a thought, even though it’s very different from mine. Eric Roberts had so much power that he could simply choose any woman he wanted. Unfortunately, even though he was one of the most eligible bachelors in town, he didn’t seem to want anyone in particular. His only priority seemed to be getting his family off his back.
Suddenly, an idea came to Emma. Wiping her tears with the sleeve of her dress, she put on her sunglasses and boldly approached the man. “Mr. Roberts, your bride hasn’t arrived, and my groom has abandoned me. Why don’t we get married instead?”
The assistant couldn’t believe his ears. How is this woman so daring?
Eric removed his sunglasses, revealing a pair of inky dark eyes. The sun glinted off his eyes, making them glimmer like diamonds. After a short moment, he turned to his assistant and ordered, “Get me her details.” Of course, the assistant already knew who Emma was. He grabbed his cell phone, did a quick search for her name, and showed the information to his boss. Two minutes later, the man’s lips twitched ever so slightly as he responded with one word, “Okay.”
Emma felt that meeting Eric was the luckiest thing that could have happened to her. He had no reason to use her. They wouldn’t need to spend much time together, and he wouldn’t require her to love him. He had no shortage of other women who would sleep with him, so she wouldn’t have to worry about fulfilling that part of the marriage. Most importantly, marrying him would make Nathan regret what he’d done.
The wedding passed in a blur. In less than 30 minutes, Emma held the marriage certificate in her hands. From now on, she was a wife, and Eric Roberts was her husband. “Mr. Roberts, can we talk?” she asked. “And ask just get in the car first.” Eric put his sunglasses back on as he walked out of the building. The newly married couple sat in the back of his Rolls-Royce. Emma nervously looked at Eric before saying, “Thank you for marrying me. If you need anything from me in return, please let me know. I have two simple requests from you.”
“Well,” he responded tiredly as he loosened his collar.
“First, unless you don’t have a choice, please don’t reveal our relationship to anyone just yet. I would appreciate it if you don’t interfere in my personal matters. But don’t worry, I have no intention of having a relationship with another man.” Eric gave a slight smirk, and Emma felt his powerful aura sweep through the car.
“I could promise you those two things for now, but after a six-month trial, I will publicly announce our marriage.”
“That’s fine with me,” Emma nodded.
“Also, I don’t believe that a married couple should live apart. Take a few days to pack up your belongings, but then I’d like you to move in with me. My assistant Luke will be in touch to give you the address.” Emma had no objections. She nodded again and said, “I agree.”
After they made their verbal agreement, Emma got out of Eric’s car, got into her own, and drove away. Eric’s assistant sat in the driver’s seat and looked at his boss in the rearview mirror. “Mr. Roberts, do you want to return to the office, or would you like to return to the mansion to give your family the news?” “Follow Emma and report her every move to me,” Eric ordered and stepped out of the car.
As the president of an international entertainment agency, he had heard Emma’s name before. He remembered that she’d once been a famous model. Three years ago, she had rejected an offer from a top entertainment agency, Star King, and gotten herself blacklisted. Eventually, she had announced that she was signing with Global Pictures Entertainment, and rumors of her relationship with Global’s boss, Nathan Davis, had begun to swirl around the industry.
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