Chapter 1

Nicolas James Anderson, the CEO of a multimedia company who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, wakes up in a strange place. He had no memory of what had happened the previous night. His eyes are rolling as he looks around at the place. And he notices that he is in someone's room. There is a photo of a happy family hanging on the wall, and he is smiling because he will never have a family like this one.

"Arrgh ... my head". Nicolas touched his head. It felt like it was turning. He was trying to remember, but his memory seemed to be fuzzy.

"Sorry, are you up? Can I come in?" Someone asked from behind the door.

Nicolas remained silent. He did not answer because he did not know who was speaking. After a while, the door opened and a young woman appeared. Nicolas didn't know her, and they looked at each other.

"I know you're a little confused, but I just want to give you this." The young lady shows him a tray with a glass of water and some medicine. Nicolas knows that the thing is a painkiller, sometimes he takes the medicine when he is depressed.

"Who are you? Why am I here? What happened last night?" Nicolas asked curiously. He knew that the girl was the owner of the room, but he wanted to know how he could be here.

She answered: "Yesterday I saw you lying by the side of the road. I tried to wake you up, but you didn't react to me at all. I thought maybe you had a fever, because your temperature was so high. I looked for your cell phone, your medicine, your ID card, or anything else in your pocket, but I found nothing. And finally, I brought you here!" Sofie explained.

Nicolas slowly recalled what happened yesterday. He had a big fight with his parents. His father, Albert Anderson, and his mother, Maria Anderson, suddenly came to his apartment and asked him to marry someone he didn't know. That's funny. He declined, of course. He was a single man, but that didn't mean that he could just marry any girl he did not want. Besides, Nicolas had a hatred for his parents since he was a child. They never did what parents are supposed to do.

When he was a boy, the only thing he needed was love and care from his parents, but they were too busy with their work and never gave him any affection. For Nicolas, it was true that money couldn't buy happiness. His parents gave him everything he wanted, but they were never there for him, not even on the day of a parent's visit.

"Nick! You have to marry this girl! That's what I said to her father just before he passed away!" Albert said so many times that Nick wanted to silence him.

"I don't care, Dad! This is none of my business! I will never do your bidding because I don't know this girl!" Nicolas yelled at his father.

"You already know that, Dad." Nicolas said softly with tears in his eyes.

"Yes, that is right, but you're still my son, Nick!"

"Biological father! I'm grown up, Dad! For a God Shake! I have my own life. You screwed up my childhood memory and you're going to do it again, Dad? Please tell me it's a joke," Nicholas said. His gaze shifted to his mother.

"Mum, you're with me, aren't you? Please tell Dad to stop. I don't want to get married."

"I'm sorry, Nick. But this is the best choice we have."

"Why, Mom? Why do I have to marry this girl? What have you done to them that I have to pay for this?"

Marie started to explain, but Albert stopped her in her tracks.

"You'll know one day. I'll take your name off the list of heirs if you refuse." Albert said.

Nicolas was furious, but held his anger and punched the nearby wall. His right finger began to bleed, and Marie was in a panic and wanted to take care of him, but once again her husband stopped her.

"Stay where you are, Marie. This is what he wants."

"I hate you so much, Albert. This is so unfair, you know, just because of your own selfishness. You're lucky you're my father so this won't be your last day." Nicolas replied.

Nicolas would rather leave his parents than have a fight with them. He got into his Lamborghini and drove somewhere to get some rest for his brain. Nicolas went to the bar and started getting drinks until he got drunk and passed out. He had no idea what happened next until he woke up in Sofia's room and all his belongings were stolen.

"Hey...you okay? Remember anything?" Sofia asked quietly. She made Nick snap out of his thoughts by waving her hand in front of his face. Sofia crouched in front of Nicolas and looked straight at him with her brown eyes.

Nicolas was amazed. "How come those eyes are so beautiful? I had never seen such beautiful eyes. They made me drown in them'. Nicolas said in his mind.

"Yeah, I'm okay. By the way, do you have a phone? I'd like to call and ask my friend to come get me. My wallet and my stuff were stolen by someone last night, and my car was stolen as well".

"Sorry. I sold it two weeks ago. My father had cancer, so I had to sell all my belongings to buy the cure. The Doctor wants to get him operated soon, but I don't have much to pay for.

"Your dad doesn't have health insurance?" asked Nicolas and Sofia replied with a shake of her head. Her face looked sad.

"So what do you do and what is the name of the hospital?

"He is in the General Clinic. I'm a florist, not my own, but my aunt's. I've been helping her out ever since my mother passed away. Dad is still hospitalized, and I'm working to raise money to help pay for it.

Nicolas gets an idea. He grinned at Sofia.

"If you want to help me, I'll give you all the money for the surgery."

"Really? What do you want me to do?"

"Marry me and be my wife, I'll give you ten million dollars, so besides paying the bills, you can buy anything you want. Bags, clothes, jewelry, everything a woman dreams of."

Instead of agreeing to his request, Sofia laughs out loud. She thinks Nicolas is joking. How could a stranger propose marriage?

"You may think I'm joking, but I'm not. Do you want your father to get better? Do you? Pay the medical bills and take him home?"

To be honest, it was kind of a dilemma for Sofia. On one hand, she did not know this man lying in her bed talking about an unexpected way out of her financial problem. But on the other hand, she needed to get the money to pay for the operation.

"Who are you, by the way? I don't even know your name".

"Oh, I'm sorry. I lost my purse, so I can't give you my card. My name is Nicolas Anderson, but you can call me Nick. Have you ever heard the name? Anderson family?"

"No. Should I know about it?" asked Sofia, confused.

Sofia lived in a small house and did not know what happened outside. She spent her time in her flower shop. In the morning, she went to her aunt's garden, picked fresh flowers to sell, went to the shop and waited for buyers. In the evening, she went home, cleaned the house, and went to the hospital. She did the same every day. She also had no internet at home. The only consolation is playing with her cat.

"Never mind. It's a win-win for us, Sofia. We get married and you can take care of your father without worrying about anything. You have my word, Sofia. This is a win-win solution for us. So do we have a deal?"