"Hello, my name is Adelina Shaw."

Adelina took a step closer, deciding it was better to bridge the awkward gap herself since she still didn't know what to call the man.

Colton's dark gaze lingered on her face, the weight of his stare steady and unreadable. "Colton Clark," he answered, his voice low and even.

They headed into the City Hall together. The halls were unexpectedly crowded, and by the time the paperwork and ceremony were finally done, the clock was pushing noon.

Adelina stepped out into the sunlight, a hollow ache blooming in her chest.

Her engagement was over. The family she had known was gone.

What she had now was a hasty marriage—bound to a man she barely knew.

Beside her, Colton stood with calm composure, the sharp lines of his suit catching the light. She wondered if this stranger was truly someone she could lean on.

Sensing the shift in her mood, Colton spoke in a quiet, deliberate tone. "How about we get something to eat?"

A small pause followed before he added lightly, "My treat."

Adelina blinked herself out of the daze and instinctively shook her head. "That's not necessary."

His expression darkened. Plenty of women had turned him down before, but those rejections had always been part of the game. Could she be doing the same thing? The answer blindsided him.

Adelina took a moment, then found her voice again. "You're just an ordinary hotel worker. I know you earn every penny through hard work. We shouldn't waste money just because we got married."

Silence settled between them.

The idea of the Clark Group's CEO needing his wife to pinch pennies for him… if his friends ever heard, they'd never let him live it down.

If his grandmother ever caught wind of this, she'd tear into him without mercy.

Wait a minute... Hotel? The single word snagged his attention.

His gaze sharpened, and he asked slowly, "How did you know I work at a hotel?"

Keeping her face composed, Adelina slipped a badge from her purse and held it out. "I found this on the sink. I figured I should return it to the owner."

Words failed Colton for a moment.

The realization clicked into place—she hadn't recognized him at all. She'd assumed, because of that nameless badge, that he was nothing more than a hotel staff member.

After a quiet beat, Colton's mouth curved into a mischievous smile.

She had mistaken him for a hotel worker… and still agreed to marry him?

For someone long accustomed to reverence and deference, that twist of fate struck him as both absurd and oddly entertaining.

His Adam's apple dipped as he pressed his lips into a thin line, deciding to keep the truth to himself. "Alright," he said lightly.

Maybe this was exactly what he needed.

Their marriage had come together in a rush, and her ignorance of his identity gave him the perfect chance to see how sincere she truly was.

If she cared for him and not the name, he'd make damn sure she never regretted it.

He needed a wife—and the Clark family needed someone to hold the title of its lady.

With a quiet motion, Colton tucked the badge away and gave a small cough. "If we're skipping the meal, where do you want to head next?"

Adelina hesitated before answering, her voice steady but soft, "I got kicked out of my house. I don't have anywhere to stay yet."

"Kicked out?" Colton's brow furrowed at that.

He hadn't looked into her background, and the revelation of a fractured family caught him off guard.

Lowering her gaze, Adelina murmured, "I'll explain everything someday. Just… not right now."

The thought of his wife sleeping on the streets didn't sit well with Colton. He didn't press further. "Since we're married, you'll stay with me," he stated, his tone firm but calm.

The offer caught Adelina off guard.

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut in with quiet authority. "We should also spend time getting to know each other better."

After a brief internal struggle, Adelina gave a quiet nod, accepting because she truly had nowhere else to turn.

The car cut through the quiet streets, eventually pulling up in front of a modest, timeworn house tucked away on the edge of town.

Adelina stepped out, glancing at the emblem gleaming on the hood.

She didn't know much about cars, but the logo stirred a faint sense of recognition.

Was this some luxury brand?

With her brow furrowed, she reached for her phone, ready to snap a photo and search it up later.

Colton's low, deliberate throat-clearing cut through the night air. "Ahem…" He rounded the car with an even stride, catching her frozen in place, phone half-raised, eyes fixed on his prized vehicle. A hint of amusement flickered in his gaze as he said smoothly, "Come on inside with me."

He made a mental note to have Jorge swap the car for something far less conspicuous.

Adelina trailed after Colton through the creaking doorway.

The humble house carried the scent of age—its weathered, yellow-streaked walls peeling at the corners, the sagging roof tufted with stubborn weeds.

Inside, the living room held only a few plain pieces of furniture, but each surface gleamed as if scrubbed with care. The faint trace of cleaning powder still lingered in the air, crisp and clean.

"This used to be my grandfather's house," Colton remarked, his voice dropping a notch.

He'd grown up here, just the two of them, and though the home was small, it held a kind of quiet dignity that spoke of years gone by.

When he noticed the slight crease between Adelina's brows, his dark eyes sharpened almost imperceptibly.

For a heartbeat, he wondered if she was looking down on him.

But Adelina's soft reply came before his thoughts could settle. "Thank you for letting me stay," she murmured, steadying her voice. "I'll help you take care of the place."

For the briefest moment, something shifted in her expression. In the dim light, she almost saw the boy Colton once had been—scrappy, stubborn, scraping his way through life with little more than grit and calloused hands.

Colton faltered, momentarily taken aback by her quiet sincerity. "Uh… yeah," he said after a beat, his voice roughened by surprise. "Sure."

While Adelina wandered through the house, her phone buzzed sharply in her pocket.

The name flashing across the screen made her brows knit together—Michael. She pressed the answer button.

"Where the hell have you disappeared to, you ungrateful brat?" Michael's harsh bark rattled through the speaker. "You've got a meeting with Bruce at the Apex Hotel tomorrow about the engagement. Get yourself home right now!"

At the mention of the engagement, Adelina's face hardened, the warmth from moments earlier vanishing in an instant. "I already told you I'm not marrying him," she said indifferently. "Why would you set this up without asking me first? I'm not your real daughter. You've always wanted me gone—shouldn't this make you happy?"

The truth was simple and brutal: the Shaw family had long since grown tired of her presence but had let her stay for the sake of keeping up appearances.

Now that she had worth in their eyes, they suddenly couldn't bear to let her leave.

On the other end of the line, Michael's voice dripped with quiet menace. "You won't be going, huh? Refuse me and I'll see that your grandmother breathes her last tonight; she doesn't have much time left anyway," he threatened.

The "grandmother" Michael mentioned was none other than Dina Shaw. She had been the one who had raised Adelina.

Confined to her bed, Dina had grown frail and dependent. Her body had been ravaged by severe heart disease.

Adelina never would've believed Michael could sink low enough to take his own mother's life just to line his own pocket.

A strangled gasp escaped her, and her eyes welled up, the red rims betraying the fury and helplessness churning inside her. Her fingers curled into tight fists as a tremor ran through her entire body.

At last, she gave in, her voice raw. "Fine. I'll go."

Once the call ended, her pulse refused to settle.

She could grind herself to the bone earning the money for Dina's treatment, but nothing guaranteed the Shaw family wouldn't pull something vile behind her back.

To keep Dina safe, she steeled herself to face them head-on and end this once and for all.

Across from her, Colton caught the flicker of fear in her gaze as she clutched the phone like a lifeline, and unease stirred quietly in his chest.

Sensing his stare, Adelina forced her expression into practiced calm, tucking her panic behind a brittle smile.

His brows drew together as he pressed. "What's going on?"

After a few seconds of silent debate, she exhaled slowly and answered quietly, "It's nothing. I just have something to handle tomorrow."

She'd always believed honesty was the foundation of any marriage, yet the thought of explaining the arranged marriage looming over her made her throat tighten.

Colton was just a hotel employee—he didn't need to be dragged into the Shaw family's mess.

Colton arched a brow, catching the tension etched between her furrowed brows and the stiff line of her lips. She was hiding something—he could feel it.

"Want me to come with you?" he asked, his voice low and steady.

Adelina snapped out a quick shake of her head and, almost on reflex, pushed at his chest with both hands. "No need!"

The softness of her touch only sharpened the sting of her rejection.

No woman had ever dared shove Colton away before. A prickling irritation stirred beneath his skin. With a measured breath, he peeled off his tailored jacket and began loosening the buttons of his crisp shirt.

Adelina's breath hitched, her cheeks flushing as his chiseled torso came into view. She jerked her gaze aside, stammering, "W-what on earth are you doing?"

Colton hesitated for a beat, a restless urge to wash the day off prickling beneath his skin.

Yet the way Adelina stiffened made it clear she'd misread his intent.

With deliberate ease, he continued loosening the buttons of his shirt, each movement laced with a teasing sort of arrogance.

Step by step, he closed the distance between them, the warm glow of the lamp tracing the sharp lines of his body as the fabric fell away to reveal smooth muscle. His long, steady fingers only heightened the pull of his quiet magnetism.

The sight of him stripping down so casually sent Adelina's thoughts spinning. Heat crept up her cheeks, and her pulse thudded against her ribs. She stood frozen, mind clouded by the sudden intimacy, too flustered to speak.

Colton leaned in until his breath skimmed the shell of her ear, his voice low and unhurried. "You're my wife," he murmured, a wicked edge lacing his tone. "What do you think I'm about to do… hmm?"

The slow warmth of his breath skimmed across her skin, leaving her earlobe flushed a soft pink.

Her pulse kicked into overdrive, though she forced her voice to stay steady. "Just because we're married doesn't mean we're there yet. We barely know each other—so don't get any ideas."

A crooked grin curved across Colton's mouth. He was clearly entertained by her flustered tone.

Deciding to toy with her a little, he ignored the warning in her words and leaned closer, letting the tension stretch thin between them.

Adelina's heart thudded against her ribs, every inch of her convinced he was about to claim her mouth. Her lashes fluttered shut before she could stop herself.

Then his voice—unhurried, lazy, and maddeningly calm—broke through the silence. "Relax. I'm just going to take a shower."

The pressure in the air unraveled at once.

Adelina blinked as Colton disappeared through the doorway, a shaky breath escaping her lungs.

What on earth had she been thinking just now?

...

In the bathroom, warm steam coiled through the air while water cascaded down Colton's broad shoulders.

His breaths came heavier, the dim light glinting off the droplets sliding over his skin. What had started as playful teasing had backfired—stirring a hunger he hadn't meant to indulge.

When he finally twisted the faucet off, silence pressed in for a beat before his phone suddenly buzzed on the counter.

Colton swiped it up, voice still rough. "Hello?"

A nervous pause stretched on the other end. "Uh… Mr. Clark," Jorge stammered.

The voice he heard almost daily sounded… different now.

There was a heat in Colton's tone today—something low and dangerous that made Jorge's skin crawl.

Jorge jerked out of his daze and hurried through his report. "Mr. Clark, I've looked into the Shaw family's core members like you asked. They currently have five members—an elderly grandmother in the hospital, the father, the mother, and two young women: the elder, Adelina, and the younger one, Lainey."

He hesitated for a beat before adding more quietly, "Also… Adelina isn't the Shaw couple's biological daughter. The younger one they just reunited with is."

Colton gave a low, unreadable hum in response.

Something about that sound made the hair on the back of Jorge's neck prickle. Colton rarely showed interest in anything unrelated to business.

A suspicion crept up on him. Could it be that Colton was… actually interested in some girl?

The memory of their earlier conversation flashed in his mind—his boss casually mentioning he already had someone in mind to marry and ordering this investigation immediately after. Jorge blurted out, "Mr. Clark, wait—don't tell me… you actually went and got married? Is your wife one of the Shaw ladies? Are you together right now? Should I… uh… send over some condoms?"

Colton let out a slow, controlled breath and pressed his fingers against his temple. "Shut up."

The call ended with a sharp click. He leaned back against the cool tiles, his chest rising and falling with each steadying breath, fists unconsciously tightening at his sides.

After some time, he stepped out of the bathroom in a crisp white bathrobe, the careless arrogance he usually wore now fully restored.

Crossing the quiet living room, he found Adelina fast asleep on the sofa, her lashes casting faint shadows across her cheeks.

She had curled into herself, arms wrapped around her body, as if exhaustion had finally dragged her under without a fight.

The pale pink dress she wore clung delicately to her figure, its sheer fabric brushing against smooth skin, cinching at the waist to trace the soft lines of her body in a way that was both graceful and quietly seductive.

Colton's gaze lingered, a sharp heat rolling through him as he swallowed hard. That restless desire he'd tried to bury earlier stirred again, coiling low and dangerous.

He forced himself to rein it in, telling himself he'd only wake her and offer her the bed.

But the moment his fingertips brushed her shoulder, her hand shot out in her sleep, catching his wrist with surprising strength.

A small, broken whisper escaped her lips. "Please… don't… I don't want to marry. Don't stop paying for Grandma's treatment, please…"

His breath caught. What on earth was she talking about?

She didn't want to marry? Grandma's treatment?