Madison never imagined the entire situation would progress this easily, much less this quickly.

Not long after they walked out of the restaurant, Jeremy drove her directly to register their marriage.

During the ride, Madison sent Elin a short message. "It's done. Thanks."

Elin replied almost instantly, "Already? You married him after meeting him one time?"

Madison answered with a laughing emoji instead of explaining further.

After that, she leaned back against the seat and stared quietly out the car window, still struggling to process everything happening around her.

Only three hours earlier, she had been waiting for a man who never came.

Now she was riding beside a completely different man on the way to become his wife.

The entire situation felt absurdly ironic.

By the time they arrived, Jeremy casually made a phone call. Even though working hours had already ended, several staff members hurried over to handle their registration personally.

Every single employee wore bright smiles despite staying late. Judging from their enthusiasm, Jeremy must have compensated them generously.

The paperwork moved astonishingly fast. Forms were filled and signed, documents were stamped, and before Madison fully processed it, everything had already been finalized.

When the document finally landed in her hands, Madison lowered her eyes and stared at it for a long moment, unable to believe it was real.

"Still not done looking at it?"

Jeremy's voice sounded above her head.

Madison looked up instinctively, but the second she did, Jeremy smoothly took the document from her fingers.

Madison looked at him blankly. "What are you doing with that?"

Without answering immediately, Jeremy slipped it neatly into the inside pocket of his coat.

"It's safer with me," he replied casually. "Who knows? Maybe you'll wake up in the middle of the night regretting this and decide to rip it apart."

Madison frowned helplessly. "I'm not going to do something like that."

A quiet chuckle escaped him. "People say a lot of things before regret kicks in." Jeremy lowered his eyes toward her, and amusement flickered through them. "I'll hold onto it for now. If you ever decide you want out, you'll have no choice but to come find me personally."

Madison didn't feel like wasting energy arguing with him.

In her eyes, this marriage had always been an arrangement built on convenience anyway. Whether she kept the legal document or Jeremy did made little difference.

"Come on," Jeremy said while walking toward the exit. "I'll drive you home."

After they got into the car, Jeremy opened his wallet and pulled out a black bank card before handing it toward Madison.

"Here."

Madison glanced at the card but made no move to accept it.

Jeremy noticed immediately and explained with a relaxed smile, "Use it for whatever you need. Since you're my wife now, it wouldn't look good if you were short on money."

"You don't need to do that. I already have enough money myself..."

"Our prenup and daily expenses are two separate matters," Jeremy interrupted calmly. "Appearances matter, Mrs. Yates. Just take it."

Madison paused briefly before finally accepting the card from him.

A second later, Jeremy reached into the back seat, grabbed a document folder, and handed it over as well. "The keys are inside," he explained. "Your car has already been delivered downstairs to your apartment building. You'll also find the address to our place in there. Whenever you're ready to move in, let me know ahead of time so I can have everything prepared."

Madison lowered her gaze to the folder in her hands, unable to describe the strange emotions rising inside her.

Jeremy had arranged everything so thoroughly that she hadn't needed to think about anything herself.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Jeremy only gave a low acknowledgment before starting the engine.

Not long afterward, the car stopped outside Madison's apartment complex. As she stepped out, Jeremy lowered the car window halfway. "If anything comes up, call me."

Madison nodded lightly in response.

Soon, the black car disappeared into the night and vanished around the corner.

Madison remained standing there for several seconds, still unable to shake the feeling that the entire night had been unreal.

After taking a slow breath, she pulled out her phone and made another call.

The line rang for quite a while before her father, Rodger Wallace, finally answered.

"Hello?" Rodger sounded exhausted. "Why are you calling me this late? Did something happen?"

"Dad, I got married."

The other end instantly fell silent.

Then, several seconds later, Rodger finally spoke again. "What did you say?"

"I got married today," Madison repeated calmly. "We just finished registering the marriage a little while ago."

Another heavy silence followed.

After a while, Rodger asked, "Who exactly did you marry?"

"I doubt you'd know him." Madison deliberately avoided giving further details. "Dad, does your previous promise still count? You said that if I got married before turning twenty-five, you'd transfer thirty percent of the company's shares to me."

"Yes, you'll get the shares," Rodger replied in a firm tone. "But before that happens, you need to start working at the company."

Madison's fingers tightened around her phone. "What exactly are you implying?"

Rodger sighed lightly before answering, "Giving you the shares isn't the issue. The problem is that the company doesn't revolve entirely around my decisions. There are other shareholders involved, and your brother has already established himself there. If I suddenly hand over thirty percent of the shares to you, do you honestly think the others will accept it quietly?"

A crease formed between Madison's brows. "I hope this isn't your way of backing out."

"I can arrange the transfer agreement immediately if you want," Rodger answered, his tone becoming more serious. "However, before we make your position public, you need to spend some time working in the project department and gain experience there. Once you've proven yourself and secured your footing within the company, announcing your shareholder status will face far less resistance. At that point, nobody will have grounds to question it."

Madison considered his words carefully and eventually realized his reasoning made sense. "Fine."

"Report to HR tomorrow morning." Right then, Rodger ended the call.

Madison lowered her phone slowly and stared at the dark screen for a moment before making her way upstairs.

The apartment felt unusually quiet tonight.

After turning on the lights, she began packing her belongings immediately.

The moment Kieran walked in and noticed the suitcase beside her, surprise flashed briefly across his normally indifferent eyes.

"Maddie?" Kieran had completely forgotten that they were supposed to meet that afternoon. The moment he noticed her packing, unease crept across his face. "What are you doing?"

Without pausing her movements, Madison calmly folded another piece of clothing. "I'm staying at my parents' place for a while."

The tension in Kieran's expression eased almost immediately after hearing that. Casually, he tossed his coat onto the couch before walking over and wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Maddie." He rested his chin against her shoulder while lowering his voice gently. "Things were chaotic for me today, and I honestly couldn't leave. I wasn't trying to ditch you on purpose."

"I already saw the news." Madison's cold reply instantly shattered his excuse.

Kieran stiffened almost immediately. A trace of panic appeared on his face as he hurried to explain himself. "Kristina's health has always been fragile. She was born with a heart condition, okay? After coming back this time, she begged me to cooperate with this publicity stunt because it would help her career. None of it means anything. It's all for show, so don't overthink it."

Madison almost laughed from disbelief. He was actually using Kristina's alleged "heart condition" as justification, and he said it so naturally that it didn't seem to bother him at all.

Still, Madison understood his intentions perfectly. He wanted to keep both women at the same time. Disgust rose violently inside her.

Meanwhile, Kieran continued trying to smooth things over. "You have to believe me. Kristina and I are just close because we grew up together. She's basically family to me. Maddie, the person I truly care about, has always been you..."

"Kieran." Madison stopped him before he could continue. She turned around slowly to face him directly, and then looked straight into his eyes. "We're done."

Kieran's face stiffened instantly.

"Hold on, what did you just say?"

Madison met his gaze calmly. "I said we're ending this. We've hidden this relationship for five years already. That's more than enough."

A deep crease formed between Kieran's brows. "You're seriously doing this because of the livestream today?"

Madison looked at him coldly. "Isn't that enough of a reason already?"

"I explained everything to you!" Irritation quickly surfaced in Kieran's voice. "Kristina's health has always been terrible. She was born with a heart condition and can't handle stress well. I've always treated her like family, so what's wrong with looking after her? Why are you making such a huge issue out of this?"

A cold laugh slipped from Madison's lips. "I'm not the unreasonable one here." She paused briefly before adding, "Besides, I'm already married."

For a second, Kieran simply stared at her. Then he suddenly laughed.

"Maddie, I get that you're upset, but you don't need to make up ridiculous stories just to get back at me. Married? Really? Then who did you marry? If it's true, show me the proof." His tone sounded indulgent, almost as if he were humoring someone childish.

Madison remained silent.

The legal document was still with Jeremy, so she couldn't take it out even if she wanted to.

The moment Kieran noticed her silence, confidence immediately returned to his expression. Clearly, he assumed she had been bluffing.

His voice softened again. "Alright, stop being angry. I know I messed up today. Didn't you like that designer bag you saw last time? I'll buy it for you tomorrow, okay?"

Madison acted as though she hadn't heard a single word.

Without responding, she turned back toward her suitcase. After pulling the zipper shut, she lifted it from the bed and dragged it straight toward the door.

"Madison!" Kieran stepped in front of her and blocked the doorway, his expression turning gloomy. "What exactly are you trying to pull here?"

"It means this relationship is finished," Madison said as she looked directly at him with steady eyes. "Now, move aside."

Kieran remained planted in front of her without moving an inch.

For several long seconds, he simply stared at her before letting out a mocking laugh. "Alright then. Leave if you want. But don't forget who's been supporting you all these years. Do you seriously believe you can manage without me?"

Madison paused and slowly turned back toward him.

Confidence filled Kieran's face completely, as though he had already decided she would eventually regret leaving and come begging to return.

The moment Kieran claimed she had been living off him, Madison almost found it laughable.

Yes, Kieran had given her money before. But every single time, he acted as though he were generously feeding a helpless little pet trapped inside a luxurious cage that he paid for as well.

What Kieran never knew was that Madison had never once touched the money he gave her.

No matter how distant her father became after building a new family, Madison was still his daughter, and Rodger had never neglected her financially.

The only reason she kept that truth hidden from Kieran all this time was because she didn't want to wound his pride.

And yet he genuinely believed she couldn't survive without him. The thought almost amused her.

A cold smile appeared on Madison's lips before she grabbed her suitcase and walked past him without hesitation.

Kieran clearly hadn't expected her to leave for real. Humiliation quickly twisted into anger, and he shouted after her, "Madison, you're going to regret this!"

Madison never slowed her steps.

Regret?

The only thing Madison regretted was failing to realize what kind of man Kieran truly was sooner.

That same night, Madison moved into the seaside villa Jeremy had prepared for her. The area was peaceful, and every detail inside the house matched her taste perfectly.

Once she finished organizing her belongings, exhaustion completely took over.

Without wasting another moment, she headed straight to bed.

Her body and mind were both drained, so it didn't take long before she fell into a deep sleep.

Sometime during the night, the bedroom door quietly opened.

A tall figure stepped inside and stopped beside the bed. Silver moonlight slipped through the small gap between the curtains, casting a faint glow across Jeremy's handsome face and Madison's sleeping figure beneath the blanket.

Slowly, Jeremy lowered himself onto the edge of the bed while his eyes lingered on her face without restraint.

After watching her quietly for a while, he reached over and gently adjusted the blanket around her.

In truth, Jeremy had fallen for Madison the very first time he saw her.

Unfortunately, back then, her entire heart belonged to Kieran.

So Jeremy chose to step back instead.

At the time, he convinced himself that her happiness mattered more than anything else.

What he never expected was for that fool Kieran to throw her away over a woman like Kristina.

The thought almost made him laugh.

A faint smirk crossed Jeremy's lips just as he prepared to leave the room. Suddenly, the phone resting on the nightstand vibrated, and its screen lit up in the darkness.

A message notification appeared shortly afterward. "Maddie, I contacted Nicholas Gordon already. He said you never showed up tonight. So who exactly did you meet and marry?"

The warmth vanished instantly from Jeremy's eyes. Without hesitation, he picked up Madison's hand, pressed her finger against the screen to unlock the phone, and then deleted the message.

...

Early the next morning, Madison headed to Vanguard Entertainment, the company owned by her father.

As the biggest entertainment corporation in all of Agoshire, the building remained busy from the moment the workday began.

After parking the car, Madison entered the lobby and rode the elevator upstairs.

The Human Resources Department was located on the eighteenth floor.

The moment she walked in and introduced herself, a middle-aged man wearing glasses approached her while checking through a folder in his hands.

"Madison Wallace?" he asked while scanning the documents. "You've been assigned to the Project Department on the seventeenth floor."

Madison gave a brief nod before leaving the office.

The elevator doors opened shortly after she arrived downstairs. However, the second Madison stepped out onto the seventeenth floor, she unexpectedly came face-to-face with a group of people approaching from the opposite direction.

The woman leading them immediately caught her attention. That face was impossible not to recognize.

Kristina.

She wore luxury couture fresh off the newest designer release, while her assistant and manager followed closely beside her as they headed toward the elevator.

Madison stopped walking altogether. Out of all the possible places they could meet, it happened here.

At the same moment, Kristina noticed Madison as well. Her eyes stayed on Madison's face briefly before she slowly removed her sunglasses, revealing soft and strikingly beautiful features underneath.

Kristina already knew Kieran had kept another woman by his side while she was overseas.

After returning home, some of Kieran's friends even showed her photos of that woman before.

Still, she never expected the two of them to meet in person like this.

Kristina's gaze gradually lowered until it landed on the employee badge hanging around Madison's neck. The moment she realized what it was, faint contempt appeared in her eyes.

"So it really is you," Kristina said slowly.

Madison had no interest in creating a scene, so she tried to walk past Kristina without engaging further.

Before she could get around her, Kristina shifted sideways and blocked her path again.

"You really do resemble me quite a bit," Kristina remarked while studying Madison carefully from head to toe. A meaningful smile tugged at her lips. "Now I understand why."

The last bit of Madison's patience nearly snapped.

"Miss Todd," Madison replied with a cold smile, "you make it sound like resembling you is some kind of achievement. Isn't your ego getting a little excessive?"

Kristina's face darkened immediately.

Before she could fire back another remark, Madison had already brushed past her and continued toward the office area.

Kristina stood there with an unpleasant expression while watching her leave. Her manager Flora Murphy quickly moved closer and lowered her voice. "Kristina, someone like her isn't worth getting upset over. She's nothing more than a small employee from the Project Department. If you want to deal with her, there'll be plenty of opportunities later."

That reminder instantly improved Kristina's mood.

She crooked a finger slightly, signaling Flora to come closer. The manager leaned in at once.

"Send word to the Project Department," Kristina instructed calmly. "They'll understand what to do."

A malicious smile slowly spread across Kristina's face as she stared at Madison's disappearing figure. "Within one week, I want her thrown out of this company."

Who did Madison think she was to work under the same roof as her?

Madison stepped into the project department, pushing open the glass door.

The instant she entered, conversations paused, and every pair of eyes in the room shifted toward her.

A woman wearing black-rimmed glasses walked over, her expression distant. "You must be the new recruit, Madison?" she asked flatly.

Madison gave a small nod.

"Come with me." The woman led her to a workstation by the window and gestured toward it. "This will be your desk. I'm Raelyn Reid, the lead of Project Team One. If you run into any issues, report to me."

With that, Raelyn offered a sarcastic smile before turning on her heel and leaving.

Madison found the interaction slightly strange, but she didn't dwell on it. She took her seat and prepared to start her work.

Yet the entire morning passed without her touching anything related to actual projects. Instead, she was constantly being sent off to handle trivial tasks—printing documents, picking up deliveries, even cleaning the office coffee machine.

She endured it without complaint.

After all, she was new. It wasn't unusual to start off with errands while settling into a new workplace.

When the lunch hour rolled around, Raelyn strolled over and rapped her knuckles lightly against Madison's desk. "Head to the cafeteria and pick up our orders. I'll take the steak set with sauce on the side. Go ask around and make sure you note everyone else's choices too. And also—"

"Hold on," Madison cut in, her patience finally snapping. "Are you guys disabled or something?"

The room went dead quiet. Every head turned toward them in shock.

Raelyn stood frozen, clearly not expecting such a response. "What did you just say?" she demanded.

Madison rose to her feet, standing slightly taller than her. She met Raelyn's gaze directly. "You seem perfectly capable of walking to me. And I'm sure you know where the cafeteria is. So why exactly can't you go and pick up your lunch yourself?"

A flush spread rapidly across Raelyn's face. "Madison, you're just a newcomer!" she snapped. "What's wrong with asking you to handle a few small tasks? Everyone goes through this when they first join!"

"I've already done the errands," Madison responded, her voice steady and deliberate. "Printing, deliveries, all of it. But picking up your lunch? That's personal. I was hired to do my job, not to act as your errand runner."

"You—"

"What's going on here?"

A low, commanding voice cut through the tension from the doorway.

Madison turned and saw a tall man step inside.

Dressed in a sleek black suit, his figure was lean and composed, his features sharp, but his expression carried a chilling detachment.

It was Colten Wallace. Her half-brother.

Raelyn's anger vanished instantly. She hurried toward him, her tone turning respectful. "Mr. Wallace, what brings you here?"

Colten didn't even spare her a glance. His attention went straight to Madison, his eyes sharp and searching.

"You're new here?" he asked.

Madison almost laughed. So he was pretending not to recognize her.

She lifted her chin slightly. "Yes, I am."

Colten shifted his gaze to Raelyn, his voice dropping several degrees. "Is the project department so overstaffed that new hires are being assigned menial tasks?"

Raelyn's complexion drained. "Mr. Wallace, I was just trying to help her get familiar with how things work here..."

"And exactly how do things work here?" His tone was cutting. "Since when do lunch runs fall under departmental responsibilities?"

Raelyn fell silent, too intimidated to respond.

Colten shifted his attention back to Madison.

"The Radiance Media project," he said. "You'll take over starting now."

The assistant behind him hesitated before speaking up. "Mr. Wallace, that project is one of the company's key priorities this year. Ms. Reid has been leading it—"

"She isn't anymore." Colten's voice was absolute. His eyes remained fixed on Madison as he added, "You have forty-eight hours to secure the deal. Fail, and you can clear out your desk."

After throwing her one last meaningful look, he turned on his heel and walked out of the office.

The office remained in stunned silence long after he left.

Even Madison stood there, momentarily stunned.

She couldn't make sense of Colten's intentions. Was this his way of pushing her out—handing her a task no one could realistically complete?

The moment he was gone, the quiet shattered into hushed chatter.

Raelyn's expression twisted into something complicated—part disbelief, part resentment, and unmistakably laced with gloating.

She let out a cold laugh. "Well, you heard him. Forty-eight hours to lock in the Radiance Media deal. Fail, and you're out."

Nearby, a few coworkers leaned in, their voices low but eager. "That client? Mr. Palmer? He's infamous."

"Didn't someone say the last woman who negotiated with him got forced to drink until she landed in the hospital?"

"Closing that deal in just two days? That's not happening."

Madison didn't respond. She simply lowered her gaze and flipped open the file the assistant had placed in her hands.

Across the top, it read "Radiance Media." Client Representative: Roderick Palmer, 52. Profile: Known alcoholic, notorious womanizer, with a questionable reputation throughout the industry.

A cold smile tugged at her lips. So this was the game. Colten hadn't just assigned her a project—he had set a trap.

Still, Madison needed an opportunity to prove herself. And this so-called "Mission Impossible" was exactly that.

......

At seven in the evening, Madison arrived at the restaurant as scheduled.

An attendant guided her into an upscale private dining room, where Roderick was already seated at the head of the table.

She was dressed in a crisp white blouse paired with a fitted skirt that outlined her figure. Combined with her naturally delicate features, she looked striking.

"Well, well. Since when did your company start sending someone like you?" Roderick's eyes lit up with interest. He stretched out his hand, gesturing invitingly. "Come, sit closer."

Madison avoided his hand without hesitation and took the seat beside him on her own terms.

Roderick didn't seem bothered. Instead, he chuckled and poured her a glass of wine. "So you're Madison, right? Young and promising, I see. Let's have a drink first to set the mood."

Madison lifted the glass and took a small, symbolic sip.

Immediately, his expression shifted. "That won't do," he said, frowning. "You have to finish it. That's how things work on my side."

The two male colleagues accompanying her quickly chimed in. "Come on, Madison. Mr. Palmer's just asking for a drink. Don't spoil the atmosphere."

Madison's lips curved slightly. She set the glass back down. "Mr. Palmer, perhaps we should talk about the project first?"

He waved dismissively. "Business can wait. At the table, we drink first. Here, let me pour you another."

He reached for the bottle again.

Madison gently stopped him, her expression calm. "I don't handle alcohol well. If I drink too much, I won't be able to discuss the project properly."

Roderick laughed, leaning back in his chair. "I've already looked over your proposal—it's not bad. But there are details we still need to go through."

As he spoke, his arm came to rest along the back of her chair.

"You should understand," he continued, his tone lowering, "this project has plenty of people competing for it. But for me..."

His hand slid down to her shoulder. "If I take a liking to someone, things become much easier."

His touch lingered. "You're both capable and attractive. I appreciate that. If you're willing—"

Before he could finish, Madison's hand moved and she slapped him hard across the face.

The sound rang sharply through the room.

Roderick staggered, clutching his face in disbelief before fury exploded across his features. "You—" he bellowed. "How dare you lay a hand on me?"

He slammed the table and lunged forward, reaching for her.

But at that exact moment, the door was kicked open with force.

Before Roderick could react, a powerful kick sent him crashing backward into the wall. He collapsed awkwardly onto the table.

The room fell into stunned silence.

Madison lifted her gaze. Standing at the doorway was a tall figure in a long black coat. His posture was relaxed, but there was something sharp and dangerous in his eyes.

Jeremy lowered his leg as if nothing unusual had happened, adjusting his cuff with casual precision. Then he glanced down at Roderick, sprawled across the table, and spoke in a lazy, almost indifferent tone. "Mr. Palmer, what exactly were you planning to do to my wife?"